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Jeongjae did not disembark from the ship in a normal manner. It was partly due to his anxiety from seeing the Gargoyle Queen beating up the soldiers, but primarily, it was to showcase his own entrance to the enemy.

On the deck, the soldiers cheered as they saw the Grand Mage jumping down, his blue robe fluttering in the wind.

“That’s right! We have a great hero on our side!”

“I’ve heard that even the Gargoyle Queen can’t resist him!”

The soldiers’ cheers served as a strong defensive mechanism to cover their own fears, yet most of it was grounded in reality. The Gargoyle Queen frowned and mumbled as she witnessed Jeongjae’s grand leap from the ship.

“Park Jeongjae…”

“Star’s Flash!”

Determining that there was no need for basic introductions between him and the Gargoyle Queen, Jeongjae unleashed an attack spell impulsively. Like pulling peanuts from his pocket, the spell came out naturally and caught the Gargoyle by surprise, who couldn’t even defend herself and was hit directly by the blue ray, sending her staggering backwards.

“All troops, climb up the mountain fortress now! Hurry!”

Douglas Koesernis, having assessed the situation, swung his cavalry sword and issued commands. The soldiers of the Southern Army, frightened by the appearance of the Gargoyle, hastily began their advance up the hill to reach the fortress. Just as Jeongjae gathered the magic circle for a decisive blow against the Gargoyle, the Gargoyle Queen flapped her small wings and soared into the sky.

“Don’t assume this fight will be like last time!”

“Last time? I only remember beating you up without any resistance!”

As Jeongjae taunted the Gargoyle to her face, in an instant, she clenched her fist and charged at him, but Jeongjae’s magic circle shot lightning towards her.

“Flame, come crashing down!”

“Ugh!”

At that moment, the punch the Gargoyle threw twisted the flow of mana and repelled the lightning shot back toward Jeongjae. He widened his eyes in surprise as the lightning returned and struck him directly.

“What the hell did I just do?”

Jeongjae flailed his robe in an attempt to extinguish the fire that had caught on it as he shouted. The Gargoyle raised her fist with a triumphant expression.

“Luck has its limits, Grand Mage. You can never keep the Gargoyle Queen down forever!”

“Luck, huh? I was just about to say what you did was merely a stroke of luck.”

“Ugh!”

The Gargoyle Queen closed in on Jeongjae and threw a punch. In a hurry, Jeongjae cast a body enhancement spell on himself to prepare for close combat. The first punch from the vanguard of the Demon King’s Army was blocked by Jeongjae’s robe, but the second attack tore a piece of his robe and hurt his arm. Jeongjae licked his lips in acknowledgment of the Gargoyle’s prowess.

“Driven by rage, huh? Was the battle in the gorge that frustrating?”

“If you never feel anger, you won’t grow. I’ve studied your fighting style on my own. If you thought I’d look down on you for life, you’re mistaken!”

To Jeongjae’s eye, the Gargoyle had only become physically stronger due to her anger, and it didn’t seem like she had made any particular gains from her studies. Instead of pointing that out, Jeongjae decided to show the Gargoyle Queen a fighting style she had never seen before.

“Oh really? Then does your study include this weapon?”

Jeongjae pulled out Sherlock Holmes’s revolver from his coat and pointed it at the Gargoyle. The Gargoyle tilted her head in confusion.

“What is that? A toy? A straw? Or a miniature cannon?”

“The last one is the most accurate.”

With a bang, a tiny mana bullet was shot from the revolver. It flew directly toward the Gargoyle and struck her body, bouncing off. The Gargoyle Queen stumbled back slightly, shaking her head and scoffing.

“Hah! If this is all you’ve got—”

Another bang! This time it hit her leg. The high-ranking Demon Army officer slightly lost her balance and wobbled. Yet, she still had the energy to scoff again.

“Just this? Just this much pain—”

Bang! A third shot. Bang! A fourth! As Jeongjae deemed it sufficient to push the Gargoyle Queen back and secure enough distance, he took out a scroll from his pocket and murmured.

“Infinite Barrage Magic, Vanpleet.”

“What did you just say—”

But the Gargoyle’s question didn’t last long. As Jeongjae’s chant finished, the revolver’s cylinder spun at a speed akin to a Vulcan cannon, spitting out an immense number of bullets. This time, even the Gargoyle could not maintain her balance. Valuable diamond shards fell from her body.

After firing dozens of rounds in mere seconds, Jeongjae’s revolver stopped. The barrel was starting to overheat, and Jeongjae did not want to waste too much mana at this moment. Cooling the hot gun, the Grand Mage slowly approached the Gargoyle Queen.

“Looks like my studying may have been insufficient.”

The Gargoyle, having momentarily sat on the ground and staring at the pieces of her body that had fallen off, trembled and stood up.

“I can’t… let you pass.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“No one can pass beyond this coast, that is the order of the Demon King! The Demon King’s orders are a sacred gospel! Even if a hero were to come, we wouldn’t let them through.”

“Are you under any delusion?”

Jeongjae chuckled.

“Walter? Walter Hellhound. If you’d fought him, you’d know. Sure, he’s cleverer than me, but in a direct fight, I’m way stronger. I’ll teach you. If Walter Hellhound had shown up on this ship, it would have been much easier to stop him. But you don’t have the strength to stop me.”

“Hah!”

The Gargoyle Queen spread her wings and soared into the sky. Jeongjae briefly assumed she was charging at him again and took a defensive stance, but instead of attacking him, she turned towards the mountain fortress and flew off over the hills. Seeing the Gargoyle land lightly on the ramparts, Jeongjae sighed.

“This is going to really be tough.”

At that moment, the cross pendant around his neck began to hum and chatter at him. Remembering that the pendant was connected to the cross Jenis was wearing, Jeongjae urgently took it out and listened.

“Professor, can you hear me? Professor?”

“Uh, yeah. What’s up? That guy just escaped into a troublesome terrain.”

“In my opinion, that mountain fortress itself is a masterpiece. I’ve been observing from here, but the soldiers trying to climb it are sliding down, unable to make any progress towards the top. The structure itself has defensive magic in place. Charging the soldiers forward like this wouldn’t be effective.”

After hearing Jenis’s words, Jeongjae looked up at the Southern Allied soldiers charging towards the hill. Indeed, many soldiers were trying to ascend, but along the way, they slipped down or fell to arrows, with those digging into small caves on the hill to hide taking cover.

The allied soldiers were clever. After a few failed attempts, instead of climbing up blindly, they had devised a strategy of creating grooves in the earth on the hill, hiding in them, and stepping up as if using stairs.

The soldiers were achieving remarkable results through excellent cooperation, nearing the summit, but for whatever reason—whether it was because the number reaching the top was low or there was a real reason—the moment they attempted to ascend the fortress, they were met with resistance and slid back down.

At this rate, it was evident that the allies’ losses would pile up like snowdrifts. This army had a goal beyond just breaching the fortress. If this army, which would need to continue advancing towards the Demon King’s Castle, suffered great losses here, even if they won, it would merely be a Pyrrhic victory.

“Hm, if there’s magic involved, should I try to approach and dispel it?”

“The area is too wide to attempt dispelling. Do you think you can decode a warding magic circle that stretches for several kilometers all at once?”

“I guess I’ll have to deploy a scout to gather information.”

“And what if the Gargoyle suddenly pops out and attacks? You’d be completely defenseless.”

“Well, then what should we do?”

“I’ll break the barrier with physical force. In the meantime, you’ll order Koesernis to retreat the soldiers towards the port.”

“Break it with physical force? Retreat the soldiers? What do you mean?”

“Battleship crew! All hands on deck! Get on the deck to prepare for what comes next!”

Hearing Jenis’s shout, Jeongjae finally understood her plan and turned to face the sea. The armored ship of the Great Sage had approached the coast, presenting its four cannons aimed straight at the fortress wall.

At that moment, the HMS Victory aiming at the fortress seemed much more fearsome and powerful than the Kraken approaching the coast.

“This ship really lives up to being called the new king of the sea.”

“How did you know? That’s the slogan I’ll use to promote this ship.”

And the communication through the cross ended. Jeongjae rushed over to Baron Jeongjae, who was encouraging the soldiers in the middle of the coast, to relay Jenis’s message.

“Jenis Harker is going to use that magic she used on the Kraken against the fortress. You must have heard the cannon fire from afar, so I trust you understand my words.”

“That magic? You mean, that magic, Baron?”

“Yes, that’s the magic.”

“Then we need to retreat the soldiers to evacuate to the coast.”

“That’s the command from the Great Sage.”

There was no need for lengthy discussion. Koesernis issued signals to the hornblower and standard-bearer, commanding a full retreat and reorganizing. All but a few soldiers enthralled by scrambling up the hill immediately responded to the horn and began to retreat towards the coast.

The foremost soldiers, noticing the unusualness of their fellows not following them, listened carefully to the horn and recognized the retreat signal. Seeing the Southern Army instantly withdrawing towards the coast like a receding tide, the Gargoyle wore a strange expression.

“Those humans must be plotting something again; it just feels weird when they retreat deliberately… Do not pursue! If we recklessly chase them and lose soldiers, the Demon King will be furious!”

Had it been any other time, the Gargoyle Queen would have jumped out eagerly yelling, “Now’s our chance! Everyone, rush them!” Results-based as it was, in this situation, her usual habit of rushing out of the fortress might have been more helpful.

If the Gargoyle had kept a close distance to the Southern Army, Jenis wouldn’t have dared to unleash the Infinite Barrage Magic there. Yet, the excessive burden regarding the significance of this battle even suppressed the Gargoyle’s rash and impatient tendencies. Seeing the Gargoyle hiding inside the fortress, Jenis sighed in relief.

“What a fool. Even knowing that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for an ambush, she’s holed up in there, fearing nonexistent counterattacks. One should distinguish caution from foolishness. To put it bluntly, she’s a foolish one.”

As Jenis sneered at the Gargoyle Queen, she took out another Vanpleet scroll from her bosom. This scroll had been sufficiently copied in quantity since the moment the armored ship was equipped with four cannons.

“Professor, after I use this magic, I will be leaving this battle. The remaining issue is for you to handle.”

Jenis’s voice was conveyed through the cross.

“Understood. Rest easy on the ship.”

Jeongjae’s reply was also transmitted through the cross. Receiving his answer, Jenis sighed in relief and threw the scroll into the sky, chanting.

“No wall, no matter how strong, can withstand. The stone wall will crumble like a sandcastle, and an iron wall will seem like paper.”

The scroll melted away in the sky as the cannons glowed blue, aiming right at the fortress wall. Jenis widened her eyes.

“Infinite Barrage Magic, Vanpleet.”

 

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