< Chapter 117 - Variable #3 >
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On the plains of Silates, a literal great battle was taking place.
57,000 royal troops and 62,000 prime minister’s troops.
While the main forces of both sides were engaged in a close battle in the center, the flanks and rear were also engaged in fierce fighting.
Changes in the front line due to a diversionary maneuver using cavalry and the entry of reserve units.
Since the two sides’ power was equal and neither side was far behind in tactics, it was not easy to determine who was superior.
‘It is actually dangerous at times like this.’
Marshal Bartolain, who led the army of the chancellor, narrowed his eyes and glared at the battlefield. The moment when the most casualties occur in a war is not when one side is engaged in close combat. It is when one side turns its back and begins to flee.
It’s a tense situation right now.
But that’s why, even if just one side collapsed, it could tilt to one side.
And Marshal Bartholomew had one variable that could make that happen.
‘The Army of Mines.’
A legion of mines led by the highest-level mine caravan of the Devil’s Eye.
If they, who had taken over the Karadum fortress, had joined this battlefield by utilizing the physical strength and mobility unique to the mines and monsters, and had struck the rear of the royal army, they could have instantly turned a tense battle into a massacre.
It’s been about half an hour since the battle started.
Finally, the news arrived.
“Urgent!”
At the shout of the nearby communications wizard, Marshal Bartolain reflexively turned his head. The adjutants around him also looked at the wizard as if they were going to devour him.
Where is it?
How far have we come?
The existence of communication magic made possible the rapid exchange of information that was unimaginable on the battlefield in the past, and this brought about a revolution in tactics, as it became possible for units located far apart to communicate and link up in real time.
“Speak quickly!”
One of the impatient adjutants shouted in a threatening tone, but no one thought to stop him, because they all felt the same way.
“That, that!”
The communications wizard became tearful and let out a choked voice, sweating profusely.
“I lost.”
“what?”
“The Caravan’s army was defeated!”
Marshal Bartholomew blinked. And so did his adjutants.
A story you could never have imagined.
A completely unexpected development.
“What, what did you say? What did you just say! Huh?!”
One of the adjutants grabbed the communications wizard by the collar and shouted, but this time no one stopped him.
It was because my head was paralyzed by the embarrassing situation.
“We’ve lost! We’ve fallen apart! We’re currently scattered and retreating!”
The communications wizard was not at fault.
He simply read the transmitted information.
“how.”
Despite the battlefield being filled with all kinds of noise, the quiet soliloquy of Bartolein’s enemy reached everyone nearby.
“Who the hell is that?”
The royal army was all here.
There was no way they would have hidden mines and monsters like themselves.
No, even if that were true, he defeated an army of seven thousand men commanded by a top-tier mine in half an hour?
A squad of that size suddenly appeared?
The situation was different here.
The Caravan’s forces exposed their position by capturing the fortress of Karadum.
In other words, the moment they went to the front line, that level of power had to be revealed.
Marshal Bartolein blinked again. Instead of thinking about the incomprehensible situation, he looked at the communications wizard.
“What happened?”
The communications wizard gasped for breath at the sentence he had barely managed to form. He answered again in a strained voice. He himself could not believe the contents of the telegram.
“Two, two people······ They say they were attacked by two people.”
Silence fell among the adjutants. They were speechless at the absurdity of the story.
Two people?
An army of seven thousand led by top-tier mines, and an army made up of monsters at that, was defeated in just half an hour by two people?
It was impossible.
It was clear that there was a problem with the communication magic.
But immediately afterwards, a single word from the communications wizard gave some credibility to the absurd story.
“Demon… Slayer.”
Two men who defeated the caravan’s army.
A name so famous among devil followers.
Marshal Bartholomew looked at the battlefield again. He cursed at the flash of light in the distance.
&
“Haa··· Hak··· Ha······.”
“Hoo··· hoo······ uh······.”
Near the plains of Silates.
To be exact, it was on a low hill where the royal army and the prime minister’s army, who were fighting fiercely, could barely be seen.
Both Uther and Cordelia looked exhausted and sweating profusely.
“Whew··· Hah··· This, this··· Hyo, is it··· effective··· right?”
“This is it, this is it, absolutely.”
Cordelia, carried on Uther’s back, created a series of magical lights in the sky.
It is colored red so that it can be seen from a distance, as if it is about to rush into battle.
Uther and Cordelia won.
The two of them achieved the incredible feat of defeating an army of seven thousand men.
Of course, the two of them did not annihilate the Seven Thousand Army.
The number of people knocked down was a little over a thousand.
Of course, that was a huge number, but it was not enough to defeat an entire caravan squad.
‘It might be easy to think that way, but.’
In the first place, ‘annihilation’ in the military did not really mean that all soldiers died.
Unable to continue combat.
The moment the top commander, Caravan, and the two upper-level minions right below him died, the monster army lost its head.
There was a golden storm galloping forward.
It was only natural that the monsters, having lost their commander, would run away indiscriminately.
“Haa··· ha······ I’m going to die······.”
Cordelia eventually collapsed in a state of semi-exhaustion.
Although he had absorbed a lot of Yuder’s health with Life Drain, he had also consumed that much magic power, so his physical condition was in a terrible state.
The Golden Storm required an enormous amount of magical power, as well as its power and range, and even Cordelia, who had the magical power of a great wizard, would have difficulty maintaining it for more than five minutes on her own.
But since I used that kind of magic for over 15 minutes, it was natural for it to spread.
“Haa··· ha······.”
In fact, Yuder was also on the verge of death. His health was slowly being drained by the life drain.
[For something like that… isn’t it okay?]
Belencia’s doubts were natural.
Before I knew it, the sweat that had been pouring down my body had stopped, and my breathing, which had become rough while paired with Cordelia, was also stabilizing.
“Because recovery is quick.”
The reason why Uder himself has infinite stamina is not only because his blood vessels are so large, but also because his recovery speed is incredibly fast.
Should I say that if I rest a little, I will recover quickly?
It was a character that was made red, but when you look at it a few minutes later, it has already become full-blown.
“The roof… Yuder.”
Uder laughed awkwardly at the remark made by the person who had experienced the spicy taste of infinite recovery most intensely, to the point of death.
“Anyway… it works.”
Although it was subtle, changes were slowly occurring on the front lines.
The quick-witted Marshal Bartolena simply made one judgment call.
‘Get out before we get in.’
The army of monsters led by the highest-level mine – a force of seven thousand – was defeated and fled.
Even though it was a world where communication magic was developed, it would have been impossible to know the exact situation of the battle, so the presence of Uder himself and Cordelia would have been too heavy for Marshal Bartolain.
‘But those two are sending out signals that they are on their way now.’
Of course, it was impossible to tell just from the red light whether it was Uther and Cordelia or just a light created by the wizard.
But the lights closing in from the direction where the caravan detachment should have appeared were enough to amplify Marshal Bartolain’s anxiety.
“They’ll solidify their defensive stance and then try to retreat when they find an opening.”
It was impossible to suddenly withdraw one’s foot once the rotation had already begun.
The reason such a movement was possible was because the prime minister had initially deployed his troops in a manner that waited for the caravan unit to join.
‘That means it was defensive from the beginning.’
And the defensive aspect was the same for the royal army.
The existence of the caravan unit must have been a huge burden to the royal army as well.
“Well, I feel proud.”
“Haa··· ha······ What?”
“No, the fact that such a large army is moving because of the two of us.”
At Uther’s words, Cordelia blinked and soon began to laugh heartily.
“I see?”
“Oh, I guess we really got stronger.”
A sword that can change the situation.
A great wizard who can fight against armies alone.
“Oh my, our family’s swindler, Geumseong.”
“Yeah, our beast wizard.”
Melissa sighed as Cordelia and Uther looked at each other and exchanged polite words.
[Whew······ Surely you wouldn’t do the same thing here, ahh, ahh, haak haak, it feels so good!]
This wouldn’t have happened normally, but it was between two people.
Cordelia blushed and pouted at Melissa’s anxious voice, which she had already seen many examples of.
“Who, who do you think is a beast?”
[Excuse me, what is that guy with the nickname Beast talking about······.]
And what have you seen so far?
Cordelia pursed her lips again at Melissa’s fact bomb and pinched the cheek of Uther, the culprit behind all this.
[Anyway, what are you going to do now? Are you going to join the royal army?]
“I guess that’s the way it should be for now.”
Uther took a deep breath after giving a short answer. He picked up Cordelia, who was still grumbling, and kicked off the ground.
&
The course of the battle went as Yuder had expected.
The Prime Minister’s army, which had maintained a defensive posture as much as possible, began to flee after offering the monsters as a retreat sacrifice, and the royal army did not pursue the Prime Minister’s army.
“Defeat the monsters! That alone is a great achievement!”
Once rotation had occurred, it was impossible for either side to completely withdraw.
In fact, the Jaesang Army lost over 10,000 monsters in this battle and had to lose a considerable number of troops during the retreat.
But despite this, Marshal Bartholomew chose to retreat.
There was concern that if an unknown force that had defeated the seven thousand troops led by the highest-level mines began to stir up the battlefield in earnest, the entire prime minister’s army could suffer a complete defeat.
‘There must have been some calculation that the monsters could be replenished somehow.’
In any case, it was a fortunate thing for Uder.
It was impossible for Cordelia, who was completely exhausted, and Uther, who had recovered somewhat but was not in full condition, to play the decisive role that Marshal Bartolain had thought.
‘Anyway, a victory is a victory.’
The royal army was victorious and the prime minister’s army was defeated.
And here’s one more piece of good news.
“Cordelia!”
“Sister!”
By coincidence or fate, Gale and Adelia were at the point where Uther and Cordelia met.
It had already been several months since they last saw each other since their wedding.
“Oh, my little brother. My baby.”
“Hehehe, my sister.”
Adelia was very worried about her younger brother who had left for the enemy territory.
Her emotions were running wild and she greeted Cordelia more passionately than usual, and Cordelia buried her face in Adelia’s chest and enjoyed it.
But how much time had passed since we shared each other’s body temperature and scent like that?
Adelia suddenly narrowed her eyes and said.
“for a moment.”
“uh?”
“No, something… seems to have changed.”
“Rice, has it changed?”
“Uh, something. It’s like I’ve become a bit more mature… that kind of feeling?”
At Adelia’s comment, Cordelia blushed and started sweating profusely.
As expected from our older sister.
My sister was a beast too.
Otherwise it doesn’t make sense.
That’s understandable. How can you know that just by looking at a face?
Adelia frowned even more at Cordelia’s suspicious reaction. And then at some point, she opened her eyes wide and said.
“Hey, Cordelia. You?”
Instead of answering, Cordelia pursed her lips and avoided eye contact, and Adelia let out a long sigh.
I turned my head towards the guy who had led my kind, gentle, and innocent younger brother into the pit of corruption.
And the culprit.
The conman and beast tried hard to focus only on the front, ignoring the gaze pouring down from behind.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah, I’m glad you’re okay too. Your sister-in-law looks healthy too.”
As always, Yuder smiled brightly at Gail’s leisurely answer.
It was definitely Gail who seemed to be less playful and more mature than before, perhaps because she was married.
‘I guess that’s because it’s a battlefield.’
Anyway, I’m really glad I met Gale here.
“Brother, father and father-in-law······.”
“He’s somewhere else. Thanks to the bag you left behind, I had a lot to prepare.”
“It seems like the message was conveyed well. How is Maia?”
“Yeah, you look healthy.”
“Phew.”
When he heard Maya’s news, Yuder breathed a sigh of relief without realizing it.
The Black Man – It was because of the memories that Yuder had when he touched the sword.
‘Maia······.’
I heard that you were doing well, but I still wanted to see you.
This time, I definitely wanted to protect it.
“Uder?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. More importantly, brother. I would like you to tell me what happened.”
It was still a battlefield, and the fighting had just ended.
But Yuder was anxious as he thought about what had happened in the past month – or maybe even two months.
“Okay, I understand. But let’s talk about it with your sister-in-law too.”
After saying that, Gail called Adelia and Cordelia and began telling them the story.
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< Chapter 117 - Variable #3 > End
