Episode 142. Explosion Plan (4)
“Everyone, take your positions!”
The immediate adjutant stood on the stairs and shouted. At those words, the eight men participating in the ‘Battle of Laskien’ began to move.
Now, the testing site is empty, with only a flat floor remaining.
Phew.
With the sound, a large octagon was drawn in the center of the examination room. The eight contestants stood on each corner of the octagon.
“… … .”
Eric and Dahlia stood side by side next to Rubin. They both looked visibly exhausted.
On the other hand, the examiners, including Pondrian, were very relaxed. This was possible because they had been steadily practicing the ‘Raskien Rumble’ in both board game and virtual reality formats.
In particular, Pondrian, standing across from him, was looking at Rubin with a look of laughter on his face.
“Now that we’re in the Battle of Laskien, the eight players will be randomly placed in the battlefield and will become the commanders of their respective kingdoms. Each kingdom will be distinguished by color. Are you all ready?”
The immediate aide asked. As the agent of the disguised Pondrian, he was in charge of recording the situation of the ‘Battle of Laskien’ from the outside.
The examiners nodded, and three of the candidates answered out loud.
“yes!”
“Then… let’s begin.”
As soon as he finished speaking, light poured down from the octagon again. The light gradually grew stronger, and eventually even obliterated the contestants’ appearances.
How much time has passed?
When the light finally disappeared, Rubin felt the space shift. The space where there had been only a flat floor disappeared, and new objects flooded his vision.
A forest full of bushes.
Rugged mountains and cliffs.
The sounds of insects and animals in the forest constantly rang in my ears.
Heeeeeeling.
Purururu.
At that moment, the sound of horses trotting could be heard. It was beyond the large tent blocking the view. Rubin approached the direction from which the sound was heard.
With each step I took, I could feel Haneke’s thrill echoing from his inner world.
-Wow, that’s amazing! That’s amazing.
At the foot of the hill, in a wide basin, soldiers created by the test magic tools were lined up by type of service.
Infantry, archers, heavy cavalry, and even cavalry archers. The gradually rising war clouds made the general’s heart beat faster.
‘Where is the magic unit?’
On the other hand, Rubin calmly searched for the magic unit, which was the core of this operation.
‘Oh, there it is.’
The magician troopers wore field robes. Their shoulders were adorned with red epaulettes, marking them as members of Rubin’s army.
Phew.
As Rubin appeared on the hill, the commander of the magician unit raised a handful of light in his hand. This must mean that he has confirmed the general and will bring victory.
The other units were the same. Each of them, in their own way, cheered on the general’s appearance. They weren’t real people, but looking at them, they really looked like soldiers about to go to war.
-It’s red. The Red Army. This will be fun.
‘According to the explanation I heard earlier, when commanding a unit… … .’
A ‘war board’ was needed. This was placed in the form of a scroll inside the tent.
Clang.
When I unrolled the scroll, the location of the Red Army camp appeared on the map. It was directly south of the Raskien Plateau.
On the other hand, all other areas were painted completely black.
-Are you saying that the surrounding terrain and enemies are not yet known?
All that was visible on the scoreboard were red dots. As Haneke had said, this meant that visibility had not been secured yet and the enemy had not been detected.
‘I’ll try moving the troops first.’
Rubin tapped the cavalry on the scoreboard with his finger and spread them out. Then, the cavalry units that had been maintaining their formation scattered all at once.
Doo doo doo doo.
Following Rubin’s instructions, the cavalry slowly advanced along the northern route, as if reflecting reality.
-Hmm.
‘Why, Haneke?’
Haneke was always amazed by the battlefield that was implemented in virtual reality. However, when he saw the soldiers moving, he let out a sigh as if he felt something was missing.
-You said it was an abbreviated battlefield, but it was overly simplified.
Haneke’s reaction was already there when Rubin heard the preliminary explanation from the examiner.
A stark gap from the actual battlefield.
From the perspective of strategic research, it was incomparably superior to board games, but it was bound to be different from actual warfare.
In an actual battlefield, no matter how elaborate the command system is, it would be impossible to organically command multiple units in this way.
‘There’s nothing I can do. This is just a magical tool for testing purposes.’
This was something that Rubin, who had experienced war before returning, could relate to to some extent.
-Well, I guess so. Now that I think about it, I’m not the only one here who’s experienced actual war.
It was a word referring to Rubin. The last heir of the Roinen family, who led the Assassins in an all-out war against the Imperial Army before the return.
Although he lost, his experience in commanding war at that time was precious and valuable compared to anyone else in the world. At that time, fighting the strongest army on the continent. Even Haneke would not have experienced this.
This was not on the level of the ‘Bleaching Morning’ operation that took place in Philimond. It was a literal war, more than a simple operation.
You may ask, isn’t this just a one-sided war against a coalition of clans with no experience in war?
Who is the opponent?
The continent’s strongest assassins, led by the 8-star Siren Roinen. They were all skilled warriors who had risen to the top ranks.
Even for the undefeated imperial army, it was a war in which they had to give their all.
Even though he lost the war, Haneke knew how valuable the war experience was.
‘Compared to the great general, this is just an insignificant experience.’
Although he is so humble now, Rubin, who led the army in that great war, was a commander worthy of respect.
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‘Anyway, it’s true that waging war has become much easier with the battle board, right? That’s a good thing. Things have become easier.’
-It got easier. I agree with that.
And that’s not all.
Rubin clenched and unclenched his fists. While participating in the ‘Battle of Laskien’, he wondered if there had been any changes to his body, but there were none.
Only the Mana Ring was still frozen. There was nothing wrong with the Darkness Ring.
This means that Rubin can personally move and assassinate the opposing general if necessary.
-You’re going to move it yourself? Wasn’t that part of our plan?
‘It’ll be a lot easier to lure them if I do it myself.’
-Of course, you are a general. A single soldier won’t be able to properly capture you. Besides, the examiners have their mana blocked.
It wasn’t part of the plan, but there was ample reason to believe it. Haneke reluctantly accepted the plan.
-But if I were a general, I would never have infiltrated the enemy lines.
Rubin shrugged and left the tent.
At the bottom of the hill, I looked down at the lined up Red Army. Then, I opened the battle plan again and reorganized all the units.
‘The purpose of this war is not victory. I will follow that advice when I fight Telmah later.’
After a while, the Red Army, under Rubin’s orders, began an operation to lure out the magic units of each kingdom.
* * *
The immediate aide of the Jang Education Committee was watching the situation from outside. The whole situation was being recorded on a recording stone, but the analysis was ultimately his job.
‘The Red Army has seized another opportunity for a surprise attack. Is this the tenth time?’
Doo doo doo doo-
The ones who appeared, shaking the ground, were the green army commanded by one of the test subjects. Their cavalry consisted of heavy armor and horse archers.
After that, the cavalry split into two groups and each dispersed to the north and south. Doo doo doo. The movement of the cavalry shook the ground again.
But at that time.
“… … !”
Enemy troops blocking the cavalry heading north.
As the adjutant saw, it was the Red Army cavalry. They were aiming straight for the rear of the Green Army. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to annihilate their opponents.
‘This time too?’
The Red Army failed to launch a surprise attack again. This was the tenth time. They had created ten opportunities for a surprise attack, but failed to succeed even once.
‘Is this where Cadet Luden’s limitations are revealed?’
After the surprise attack failed, the Red Army retreated with some of its troops lost. The adjutant who was watching had a look of regret on his face.
Considering the determination, application, composure, and creativity that he has shown so far, it was definitely a disappointing part.
Although the capabilities of an unmanned unit and a military commander are completely different, the gap between the talents of the Luden cadets was too great.
Beyond lacking talent, he even seemed foolish. Clearly, he was a cadet who had proven to have overwhelming talent that no one could match in other fields.
‘Do you have any intention of winning?’
It was beyond common sense. From the perspective of his immediate aide, Rubin was so strange.
furthermore.
‘Where the hell are you, Cadet Luden?’
What was most incomprehensible was Luden’s strange behavior immediately after the war began. The first thing he did was take off his ‘General’s Armor’.
Whether it was a board game or a virtual reality, the conditions for defeat in the ‘Battle of Laskien’ were the same.
‘The death of the great general.’
That is why the general was given a special protective device, which was called the ‘General’s Armor’.
The General’s armor was engraved with powerful defensive magic. Thanks to this, he would not die from a single blow even if he was directly attacked by the enemy.
It was a kind of consideration for the cadets who were commanding a war for the first time in their lives.
But Luden took off the armor of such a great general.
‘Is it confidence or recklessness? Even if I’m a lowly magician, it’s like that.’
Even though the Mana Ring was frozen, the Aura Ring seemed to be overconfident in the characteristics of a complete Magical Warrior.
However, no matter how outstanding an Aura is, there is a clear limit to what an individual, especially a general who loses immediately upon his death, can do on the battlefield.
‘Why are you doing that? Did you choose survival over victory? Just to survive until the end?’
There were also some cadets like that. They had no confidence in winning the war, and their strategy was to simply endure.
Luden took off the general’s armor and changed the unit insignia of his generals. He even changed the general’s armor into the battle uniform of a common soldier.
In fact, Luden even hid his face under his thick helmet. Archers? Magicians? Or heavy cavalry? It was difficult to even tell where Luden was.
‘You’re hiding your identity as the General. You know full well that it won’t have much significance in this test.’
Although sniping the opposing general is effective in real combat, it is not a strategy that will get you a high score on this test. This is because it is clearly different from the intention of this test.
Let me remind you again that you don’t necessarily have to win this test. It’s just a test to evaluate how efficiently, skillfully, and meaningfully you can operate your unit.
‘Unfortunately, it seems that’s the end for that cadet. By the way, what is that guy trying to do, hiding among the soldiers?’
It was the most peculiar part of the Eight Generals. It seemed like there was something important enough to take on the risk of the Generals’ death, which was one of the conditions for defeat.
Well, we’ll find out soon enough.
‘By the way, what about Eric and Dahlia?’
The immediate adjutant checked the status of the remaining applicants.
The Red Army and the Yellow Army. Their situation actually seemed better than Rubin’s.
We continued to reorganize our formations, identify terrain features through reconnaissance, and operate our units as stably as possible.
Both of them seemed to be using defensive strategies to buy time.
‘This is a common strategy among test takers. I guess it’s their first time experiencing this. However… … .’
The immediate adjutant’s gaze shifted to one side.
The cavalrymen were constantly provoking the camps of the two armies. Upon closer inspection, they were part of the Red Army led by Luden.
Luden’s cavalry corps, divided into two squads, were persistently provoking each of the two camps.
It’s as if they knew that the colors red and yellow were Eric and Dahlia, and they just kept digging into those two.
The target was the magic unit located at the rear.
‘If we keep being held back like that, we’ll end up out of the line.’
If a unit is continuously attacked, its morale drops and it becomes temporarily out of control.
However, Eric and Dahlia only thought of it as a deterrent to the cavalry unit, and did not realize that it was only targeting the magic unit.
‘You can’t see it since you’re there. But I can see it since I’m looking down from above.’
It was a long time before Eric and Dahlia realized this. Realizing it belatedly, the two tried to defend themselves, but as expected, due to their lack of experience, they were unable to respond properly.
As expected.
The magic unit, whose morale had fallen to rock bottom, lost control. They broke away from the camp and began to pursue Luden’s cavalry archers.
‘I didn’t understand the situation.’
The immediate adjutant who overlooks the battlefield can see it clearly, but Eric and Dahlia cannot.
It was an essential virtue for all war commanders to understand the situation through experience and atmosphere, not through eyes and vision.
“… … !”
Then, all of a sudden, the immediate aide felt something strange. He suddenly realized what he had been missing all this time.
Repeated surprise attacks, failures, and even successive defeats by Rubin’s Red Army.
Maybe, all this that Luden did wasn’t a mistake? It just seemed like a mistake to me.
‘We understand the world not through our eyes and sight, but through our experiences and atmosphere.’
What if the things that he had mistakenly seen from above were actually what Luden had intended? What if he had mistakenly seen them only with his own eyes?
‘That’s ridiculous. You’re saying that you’re going to operate your unit based on your experience and understanding of the battlefield atmosphere? You’re just a cadet?’
It’s hard to believe, but if that’s true, then Luden’s intentions were clear.
‘They’re only targeting the magic unit and luring them.’
The immediate adjutant returned the record stone and played it back. Then, on the other stone, he drew the movement paths of each country’s magic unit one by one.
And the result.
‘…as expected.’
Only Dahlia and Eric, who had been on the defensive, were completely out of control due to concentrated attacks, and the other examiners’ magic units had also been receiving continuous baiting attacks and restraints since the start of the war, gradually losing morale.
furthermore…….
‘Why does it seem like everyone is heading to the same place?’
At that moment, a chill ran down the back of the immediate adjutant. The battlefield was going according to Luden’s script!
No matter how hard I think about it, I can’t figure out what Rubin wants right now. But I think I know that his goal isn’t to win this war.
Another thing that was certain was that all the kingdom’s magic units were currently playing into Rubin’s hands. Those who were actually waging war did not know it.
Well, how could they know something that can’t be seen even when looking down from above?
‘Surely not, even your Majesty?’
The immediate adjutant quickly checked the situation of the Blue Army commanded by Pondrian.
He wasn’t much different.
No, it was actually a more serious situation.
‘The commander is personally chasing down Luden’s archers, exposing himself as a general. You must know that it is dangerous, right? Why?’
At that moment, the invisible war of nerves between Rubin and Pondrian that had been going on throughout the test came to the adjutant’s mind.
The immediate adjutant despised and was wary of Rubin, who was Chloe’s close friend, and Rubin was challenging Pondrian.
If they were trying to get Pondrian to move, they would have needed a corresponding provocation.
No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one provocation that could paralyze the reasoning of Pondrian’s stomach during the test.
‘You’re saying that there’s Luden in that archer unit that the captain is chasing?’
