Chapter 290.
Chapter 290.
The mutt had been struggling with all its might when it blew its nose, pulled out the tear gas grenade, and began to run towards the wall.
Using magic, I poured water onto the tear gas so that our troops wouldn’t be affected. Then, I directed the green deer to chase after the mutt and shouted, "Hey! Where are you going?! I prepared a lot for dessert!"
From my pocket space, I took out one of the manriki used by the Black Water Buffalo Knights and threw it at the mutt. I pulled back forcefully as the chain wrapped around the neck of the mutt’s middle head.
“Aigoo, as expected of such a big dog, you’re full of energy." The dog was nearly four meters tall from its shoulders to its feet, and the green deer’s hooves dragged on the ground as the large dog tried to escape in any way possible.
"Green Deer! Freeze beam!”
- Freeze beam!
At my command, a freezing beam flew out of the green deer’s antler, forming ice around the mutt’s legs. As this occurred, the dog’s movements became dull, and the deer stopped getting pulled.
When I got off the deer and yanked the chain, the house-sized mutt was helplessly dragged toward me. I grabbed the middle head and looked into the mutt’s eyes. "Oho, you’re pretty good. Did you go easy on me yesterday?"
Cerberus heard me, and it grew dismayed and was unsummoned. I climbed on the deer again and looked at the wall. "Command headquarters speaking to the entire army. The enemy’s demon was destroyed. Resume the attack!"
After giving the order through the radio, I rode the deer back to the headquarters barracks. "By tonight, it should be enough.”
* * *
"Gasp!" Beta sank to the floor in a cold sweat.
"What’s wrong? Are you okay?" Delta asked worriedly.
Beta was terrified, unable to even answer the question. As Beta was seized with fear, Mu grabbed his face, essentially slapping him with the force that was exerted, and he shouted, "Get a hold of yourself!"
Feeling pain in both cheeks, Beta breathed in harshly, coming back to his senses.
"Are you all right?"
When Delta repeated the question, Beta yelled agitatedly, "Am I okay? No! How can I be okay when a monster like that is in front of me!"
Beta rarely got excited or angry, so when he raised his voice, Delta and Mu looked at him in surprise. Beta also realized his mistake, calmed down, and wiped away the cold sweat on his face. "Ev- everything’s been uncovered. There’s no way. Presumed to be a great madosa? No, that’s unquestionably a great madosa."
“Uncovered? What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’ve been discovered just from him dealing with your familiar?”
At Mu’s question, Beta nodded. "That monster used the thread-like connection between my familiar and traced it back to me, discovering everything. And then he spoke as if he were looking at me, not the familiar."
Beta took a deep breath and spoke slowly, “‘You’re pretty good. Did you go easy on me yesterday?’"
"Slack? By yesterday, you mean that Crow girl?"
Beta nodded and closed his eyes at Delta’s question. Then he bit his lips, feeling as if everything had been laid bare. "I think so."
"Did you retrieve the familiar to avoid leaking any more information?" Mu asked.
Beta shook his head as if that was definitely not it.
"No, I only unsummoned it because I was scared. I sent it back because Cerberus was disoriented after getting hit by the tear gas, and also because I was afraid."
Delta and Mu were surprised to see Beta so overwhelmed with fear.
"Maybe that person has only our Teacher-nim in his mind."
Beta’s guess made Delta and Mu frown, and Mu asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying that the great madosa in the imperial army is stronger than Teacher-nim?"
Beta shook his head. "No. It’s just that even the five of us attacking simultaneously won’t do that much damage to him."
At Beta’s confirmation, Delta and Mu looked seriously at him. Beta’s judgment especially carried weight because he was usually gentle and mild-mannered.
"I don’t think such a skilled person will show himself like this just because of some minor damage."
"Teacher-nim is arriving soon. Our enemies can also easily speculate this. It is natural for the imperial army’s great madosa to be wary of receiving damage in preparation of meeting Teacher-nim,” Mu said.
Beta shook his head once again. "No, the extent of injuries we can give him isn’t likely to impact the fight with Teacher-nim.”
"Then why do you think he’s worried about the damage?"
When Delta asked, Beta spoke in an unconfident voice. "Perhaps... It’s because of the rumors that the Space Specialist from the Magic Kingdom might join."
If the enemy were assuming he’d have to deal with two great madosas at the same time, it was natural for him to worry about even the smallest bit of damage.
"But every magician knows that Teacher-nim and Space Specialist have a poor relationship."
"It’s just a guess. In the first place, isn’t it surprising that Teacher-nim is participating in the war?"
"That’s true." At Beta’s statement, Malecia was the one who responded as he climbed back up the wall of the castle.
"Shouldn’t you rest more?"
When Mu asked, Malecia smiled bitterly and looked out of the castle where the battle had begun again. "I can rest after the war. I’m used to being in these kinds of extreme situations."
Now that he was getting old, it was harder for him to rely on his mental strength to endure like he used to. However, after calculating the time until the end of the battle, it seemed like it would be fine if his stamina didn’t hold out for long.
"It looks like tonight will be the turning point.” It was as if the instincts nurtured over the many years on the battlefield were whispering to him.
* * *
Despite sending Mac hyung and Tristan to the left and right flanks, I was notified that they failed to break through. Indeed, you could say this was the natural result since the fortress itself was difficult to attack due to its surrounding geographical features. Still, since those two were deployed, it was fortunate that there were few casualties from the enemy madosas.
“The troops directed to the detour have sent a message stating that they’re running out of drinking water. Why don’t we have them withdraw, supply them with water, then send them back?"
The detour was so rough that they had no choice but to carry a little bit of food and drinking water. In that situation, the drinking water was depleted first because of the extensive maneuvers during the battle.
I shook my head at the chief of staff. "No, reducing the range of the front line will lower the pressure on the enemy. Right now is the time where we need to put as much pressure on the enemy as we can."
"Well, that’s true, but we should also consider our troops’ exhaustion."
I spoke emphatically at the chief of staff’s concern. "It will come to an end soon. For now, it’s sufficient if the flank attacks cause the enemy to feel threatened. I’ll tell them to just pretend that they’re attacking."
The lack of drinking water was a grave situation, but we could not let the enemy take a breath. The enemy’s condition should be where the soldiers are just about ready to collapse from exhaustion.
“I’ll trust you if you say so.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to the Mercenary King’s miraculous strategic skills, they were barely able to hold on. Yet, so far, they had not been able to rest for 44 hours, suffering from the imperial army’s attacks.
The sun was slowly setting; night came quickly because it was a mountainous area. I grinned. "It’s a little early, but I think it’s almost time.”
When I clapped my hands, ten knights appeared beside me from my pocket space. The chief of staff was surprised when he saw the knights’ sudden appearance. Come to think of it, I had never summoned them in front of the chief of staff.
"Now, Uncle, it’s time for you to get ready too."
Uncle Bloody had been resting all day, and he excitedly woke up. I opened all the radio lines and gave out orders. "Command headquarters speaking to the entire army! We will take the fortress before the night passes! We are launching a full offensive!"
The 14th and 8th armies were taking a break from my commands when I gave this order, but they quickly completed their maintenance and began preparing for battle.
I ordered the divisions on the side cliffs to pretend that they were attacking and looked towards the fortress. "Agravain, what was the result of the reconnaissance of the enemy’s main force?"
"They’re approaching with a rapid march with the news that Shellen Fortress is under attack. I think they will arrive in the next two days, Master."
Two days was within the expected range.
"Lionel, how was the Magic Kingdom reconnaissance?"
The Magic Kingdom moved differently from the enemy’s main force, so it would have been difficult to specify their location without the prisoners’ information.
"Their forces number about two regiments, less than expected. However, most of them are magicians, so we expect firepower above the division level."
"And the Space Specialist?"
"I was not able to confirm it directly, but given there was a strong presence, it’s highly likely that he is participating."
There was a small chance that the presence Lionel felt was fake.
"Tch, moving his heavy butt."
In addition, he was highly authoritarian, so I thought he wouldn’t take many actions. It was very unexpected that he’d come here in person.
"We’ll need to take over the fortress quickly and renovate the fort.”
For one to hold out against two great madosas, the fortress was like a piece of paper.
"Now, here comes the ’secret weapon.’" I smiled and took my magic wand out of my pocket space.
* * *
The sound of drums announcing the battle rang throughout the fortress. These weren’t the sound of the allies’ friendly drum; it was the drumming alerting them of the imperial army’s offensive outside the fortress.
"All we have to do is endure tonight! Tomorrow, the main force will arrive! That’s why they are on a full offensive!" Malecia shouted using mana. Tired of Malecia’s cries, the soldiers shouted as loud as they could and moved to counter the imperial offensive.
"Wait, is it certain that the main force is coming tomorrow?"
When Delta whispered nervously, Malecia whispered back confidently, “Of course it’s a lie.”
“What?!”
Malecia covered Delta’s mouth with his hands as Delta exclaimed in panic. "Shh. The lie will lose effectiveness if you yell. Manage your expressions too."
"But, but-"
"As long as we get through the night, the imperial army will fall into a dilemma- retreat or take over the fortress. They will be forced to choose between the two,” said Malecia.
Delta spoke as if she didn’t understand, "Of course, they’ll try to take over the fortress. That’s what they’ve been fighting for this whole time."
"No. Not necessarily." Malecia continued to explain, rubbing his forehead from tiredness. "If they can’t get the fortress after tonight, it’d be more advantageous for the imperial army to retreat to the mountains and set up camp there rather than forcefully recapture it."
"Why is that?"
"For our main force, it’d be very dangerous to have Shellen Fortress taken, so they’ll come as fast as possible. Of course, it’ll still take two days at the earliest.”
"Then, isn’t it certain that we’ll lose before the main force comes?"
"No. The Imperial army, even if they occupy the fortress, will have to face overwhelming enemy forces without proper rest."
"Aha, that means they’ll be in the same shape as us now.”
Delta understood this in her own way, and she asked another question with a look of incomprehension, "Wait, will it make a difference if the enemy takes over one day faster?”
"Of course it will. Firstly, they’ll have plenty of time to rest. And the enemy great madosa will have time to repair the fortress. The imperial army wouldn’t have to deal with Master’s magic with just their bodies."
With Malecia’s last words, Delta understood why the enemy was charging in. There was a huge difference between the presence and absence of a fortress while defending from a great madosa. This would be even more effective if the fortress were repaired and renovated by a great madosa.
"And most of all-”
"An, an enemy has come on top of the wall!"
Malecia’s explanation was cut off by the soldier’s cry. Malecia shouted, pulling out his sword, "Magicians create lights with magic!"
To deal with the enemies who’d appeared faster than expected, Malecia ordered them to brighten up the darkened surroundings. As the wall lit up and they saw the enemy, Malecia, as well as the older commanders and knights, couldn’t help but fall into panic.
"Ahahaha! Are you all doing well!?"
A man bearing muscles like Mount Tai and a giant frame greeted with a smile, and Delta screamed, "Kyaaaaaa! No! I don’t want to die! S-save me!"
Malecia had to stop Delta right away, but he was so shocked that he couldn’t move. Malecia swallowed dryly and called the name of the intruding enemy.
"Doo, Doomstone Blade."
The arrival of the worst monster left everyone without a will to fight.