Episode 143. Mana Explosion and Aftershock (1)
It was just as the immediate adjutant had thought.
Rubin pursued two different strategies: one aimed at Eric and Dahlia, and one aimed at the other test tubes.
It took one big lure to draw the magic force away from the defensive Eric and Dahlia, while conversely, it took constant attacks and retreats to lure the test subjects away.
In the battle with the test subjects, they suffered continuous losses while deceptively showing their defeat, but they did not care.
Anyway, this isn’t a real war, because his goal wasn’t victory either.
‘Fondrian Yep.’
In fact, it was purely Haneke’s ability that led the magician force out of Eric, Dahlia, and the other test subjects.
I just moved my hands on the scoreboard as Haneke told me to, and thanks to that, I was able to fool everyone so perfectly.
But the Blue Army led by Pondrian was different. Here, it was Rubin’s undercover operation, not Haneke’s strategy, that shone.
“… … .”
Pondrian came out of the tent for a moment.
I looked up at the sky and checked the weather. The weather of the ‘Battle of Laskien’ followed the flow recorded in actual history.
‘It’s going to rain heavily soon. The examinees will be quite confused.’
The environment of war is already unfamiliar, so if it starts to rain heavily, you’ll definitely panic.
While the examiners were familiar with this type of planned weather pattern, it was the first time the candidates had encountered the ‘Battle of Laskien’.
Swish swish-
Pondrian put his hand on his battle board. He had been running his troops steadily and had already sent out scouts to check the battlefield.
A balanced formation, with a solid defense and the ability to launch an immediate offensive. With a satisfied smile, Pondrian returned to the tent.
He sat on his chair and kept checking the scoreboard.
‘Should I go out now?’
When the rain started to fall, I planned to personally lead the army and march across the plateau. If possible, I would like to find Luden Poinen.
That was when.
Beyond the tent, rain began to pour down. Just as Pondrian thought thunder was about to strike, the plateau began to rumble loudly.
Swish. Kukukukung.
Fondrian was staring at the lightning bolts. At that moment, he felt something sharp touch his neck.
“… … !”
Having grown up gracefully as a magic cadet and then as an officer cadet, I had no idea what it would feel like to have an arrowhead touch my neck in my lifetime.
Yet, instinctively, he realized that his life was in danger.
“If it were chess, I would say, checkmate.”
A low voice echoed from behind. Thunder and lightning shook the plateau once again.
Pondrian checked the shadows of others other than his on the tent wall.
“No way, no way,” he gulped.
“Security is lax, Captain. In real warfare, it’s not uncommon for commanders to be assassinated.”
There’s no way Pondrian wouldn’t know that.
But how many people would have expected that the enemy’s general would infiltrate the camp alone? We should have been wary that he was a demon warrior!
“If you scream, I’ll kill you right away. You won’t actually die, but it’ll be a pretty unpleasant experience.”
“You know very well that killing me alone won’t get you a high score.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
It doesn’t matter? Pondrian thought Luden was bluffing. So he decided to scare him more.
“If you kill me, you will be found out and killed too. What will happen then? In the end, you will be the one who suffers, Luden.”
“Well, I plan on getting out of here safely.”
“So you’re a magician anyway? How arrogant.”
“We’ll see. And actually, winning isn’t my goal.”
“…what?”
“As the commander said, I don’t expect the cadets to win the war. What matters is how they operate the military.”
At the tip of the sharp arrowhead, blood dripped from the neck of the stomach, drop by drop.
Pondrian was wearing the General’s armor, but the defensive magic embedded in it was useless against Generals. Did Luden know this too? There’s no way.
“… Infiltrating the enemy lines alone. It is a clear mistake for a general of a country to act so carelessly. It is also a failure as a commander.”
“I think that applies to the captain who let his guard down and got into trouble.”
Beyond the tent, you can see the rain pouring down endlessly. Whoosh whoosh. It looks like Pondrian’s pride is pouring down on the ground.
“If I save you once, can you do better?”
“… Cheeky, Luden. Don’t cross the line.”
“I’m serious.”
But Rubin’s tone was full of mockery, as if he was deliberately trying to provoke me.
And just as he had hoped, Pondrian was blinded by rage. The pride of the Wonhwi clan and high-ranking officer was properly crushed.
If he were to escape like this, Pondrian would surely lead a force of magicians and chase him to the ends of the earth. Rubin was sure of it.
‘Fondrian is known to be the best at commanding magic units. He doesn’t know that I know that, though.’
It was also written in the inspection report. Pondrian’s main force was the magic unit, and he could utilize their abilities to the maximum.
So provoking Pondrian had the same effect as provoking the magic unit of the Blue Army.
Swish swish―
Rubin’s other hand was busy moving, with the arrowhead held against Pondrian’s neck. He was continuing to move the Red Army on the battlefield organically.
Fortunately, the magic units of other enemy countries are also easily lured.
“… … .”
He came to assassinate me, and now he’s leisurely writing the battle plan? This couldn’t have been more humiliating for Pondrian.
“You didn’t answer, but I will spare your life anyway. I will give in.”
If you fall to this extent, it will be enough for Pondrian to chase you.
“Okay, that’s it.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Okay, wait a minute!”
Rubin pulled out the arrowhead that was aimed at his neck and left the tent without hesitation.
“cheeky……!”
Pondrian’s face turned pale and he did nothing for a moment. He didn’t even check to see if Rubin was inside the tent anymore, and just gasped for breath.
And then suddenly.
“Hey, damn it!”
He kicked his chair up and flicked the battle board. He quickly ordered the magician unit to put on their field raincoats and mount their horses.
“How dare you insult me… Let’s see how far you can go as a magician.”
I came out of the tent with bloodshot eyes and anger. My whole body was soaked by the pouring rain. It didn’t matter.
He immediately mounted his horse and commanded the troop of magicians who were also mounted on horseback.
‘That little bastard definitely didn’t come here to kill me. He’s just trying to lure me.’
But Pondrian also had an idea.
Perhaps Luden thought he would use cavalry in his pursuit. I don’t know why he’s trying to lure cavalry, but it won’t work out the way you want.
‘You never would have imagined that we’d be chased by a magician’s force.’
In the ‘Battle of Laskien’, Pondrian was proud to be the best in the Magic Brigade when it came to operating the magic unit.
He moved the battle board, advanced the magician unit, and stood at the forefront himself.
Then he ordered his magic unit to cast a wide range of searching magic, in order to thoroughly search for where the enemy general who attempted to assassinate him was hiding.
It was confirmed that the limited mana granted to the magic unit was quickly being depleted, but it didn’t matter.
If only I could properly punish that brat who had been acting up from the start and had been unpleasant to me, I could easily tolerate it. It wasn’t hard to find one.
As expected.
‘Found it!’
A red dot was caught in the magic unit’s search net. He kicked the horse’s flank with all his might and led the magic unit forward.
‘If only there were no mana restriction rules, this annoying thing wouldn’t have happened.’
It was the first time since my first day as a magic student years ago that I felt annoyed at the fact that my mana supply was limited during the test.
* * *
As they lost their composure and chased after Rubin, Pondrian’s magic unit soon reached the center of the plateau.
“f*ck!”
Pondrian, who had thought he would catch Rubin before long, was indignant.
Because the detection magic was not effective in the pouring rain, the mobility of the magic unit was also extremely limited.
Rather, it was just a confirmation of the ability of the magician to shine even in rough terrain.
‘I’ve come too far. If I give up here and go back to the barracks, the mud will be too muddy and I could be in danger.’
If you are surprised in a situation where your mobility is limited, you will be helpless.
He was an experienced man and made the most efficient decision. He ordered the friendly troops waiting in the barracks to gather near him.
‘We’ll stop here for now and wait for other units to join in.’
But, at that time.
Swoosh!
Ssaaa …
Somewhere in front, arrows poured down like rain, piercing through the raindrops. Fortunately, the arrows were not powerful enough, so only two wizards were hit.
“Your surprise attack skills are poor.”
It was Luden’s archers. He must have discovered them first, but Luden was unable to use his abilities. This revealed their location, giving them an excuse to counterattack.
Psik. At the reappearance of Rubin, whom he thought he had missed, Pondrian smiled bitterly.
I was determined to show how much damage that decision to back down could cause.
‘Let’s go up the hill first.’
Swish, swish.
Pondrian’s hands moved busily on the scoreboard. Soon, following his instructions, the magician unit began to climb the hill.
‘Now you’re even making mistakes, Luden.’
Rubin’s archers are below, and Pondrian’s magicians are climbing the hill.
If they were positioned below, it would be difficult to attack the magic unit on top of the hill. On the contrary, the magic unit had a much better attack range. If things continued like this, they would soon be able to unleash a one-sided attack.
‘I won’t make you regret taking off the General’s armor.’
Moreover, Rubin’s archers were now heading towards the center of the battlefield as if they were the target.
The center of the Laskien Plateau is a basin surrounded by several hills, making it an ideal location for attack.
Pondrian, who thought he had a clear chance of victory, immediately prepared the magic unit to cast ‘Magic Fireball’. It was one of the range magics of the fire series, and was a curved fireball.
The optimal time to cast the spell was not far away. With just one cast, Rubin’s archers would be devastated.
‘Okay, it’s about time the weather changed.’
The raindrops stopped one by one, the clouds cleared away, and the sun began to shine. Even the flow of the weather seemed to be helping him.
And just then, Luden and his archers, who had been chasing Pondrian in confusion, arrived at the center of the basin.
“Now is the time!”
but…….
Pondrian didn’t know.
The moment he ordered the magic unit to cast the Magic Wand. The moment when mana seethed from the magicians who reached out to the sky in response to his order.
The fact that Pondrian wasn’t the only one who cast the magic spell.
The magic units of other kingdoms on other hills were also casting the magic spell like that.
Although each of them reached the hill through different processes, no one realized that they were ultimately aiming for the same goal.
Except Rubin, that is.
Pondrian, who realized this fact too late, couldn’t help but doubt his eyes.
“What is this?”
Wheeeeeeee-
Suddenly, the magic arrows of the seven kingdoms were fired simultaneously in the sky.
A bizarre sight, hundreds of fireballs arcing towards a single target called Luden. It was as if I was witnessing hundreds of meteors crashing down right before my eyes.
What if all the magic units made magical attacks on the same target at the same time?
Pondrian trembled involuntarily. It was a situation he could not understand, and one he had never thought possible.
Wheeeeeeeeee.
Kuuuuuu… … .
The slow but steady pouring of raindrops from various directions created a heat wave. The raincoats of all of them, which had been soaked with raindrops just a moment ago, quickly dried.
At that moment, the faces of all the participants turned crimson, and finally, hundreds of magic cannons fell in the middle of the battlefield.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!
At the same time as the collision, Pondrian felt his body lift into the air. He had an instinctive feeling that something serious had happened that should not have happened.
Rubin was convinced after seeing that.
‘It went as planned.’
