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The soldiers covered their ears with their helmets and hunched down in unison. It wasn’t out of fear, but because they had been ordered to do so.

The magic bombardment from the four cannon gates was relentlessly striking the mountain fortress. The intensity of the bombardment felt like it could topple not just earthworks but a real mountain, yet amidst this catastrophic rain of projectiles, the fortress’s appearance remained largely unchanged.

Count Koesernis cautiously lifted his head to glance at the fortress and muttered, “Is it actually taking damage right now?”

The sound of the bombardment was shaking the ground, so Koesernis’s words could only be guessed by reading his lips. Jeongjae approached Koesernis and said, “The magical barrier surrounding the fortress is breaking.”

“What? I can’t hear you!”

Koesernis shouted over the thunderous noise. Jeongjae yelled back, straining his voice, “It’s working!”

“Understood!”

Feeling foolish for having to shout at each other just to communicate, the two men bowed their heads in embarrassment. The bombardment continued for quite some time, lasting over a minute. Jeongjae began to worry about Jenis running out of magic power, but since the fortress had yet to sustain any physical damage, Jenis didn’t stop using her magic.

“Stop it.” Jeongjae took out a necklace and whispered. The bombardment continued.

“Stop it immediately! You can’t hold on much longer!”

Finally, after Jeongjae yelled out, HMS Victoria halted the flow of mana. Instead of checking the fortress, Jeongjae turned first to look at the ironclad ship’s deck, where Jenis was trembling and leaning on her staff, nodding her head.

“What’s going on? The fortress looks fine to me?”

Koesernis asked as he approached Jeongjae. The Grand Mage shook his head while gazing up at the castle, firmly defended by the Gargoyle Queen.

“No. It’s quite damaged. It may not be visible to those who aren’t mages, but what was protecting that fortress wasn’t just bricks; it was the magical barrier that had been laid upon it. That last attack has significantly removed that barrier. We can attack it now.”

As the bombardment stopped, the Gargoyle Queen peered over the battlements, perhaps to assess the situation. Seeing the face of the Demon King’s army officer, Jeongjae’s irritation soared, and he shot a fireball at the Gargoyle Queen. Unfortunately, the Gargoyle quickly ducked her head below the wall, avoiding Jeongjae’s attack.

“Now it’s time for a full-scale assault.”

“That’s right. I’ll take the lead. Koesernis, please stay back in the rear or at the center. I hate to say this, but the frontline is no place for someone of your age.”

“Hmph.”

Koesernis stroked his beard with a dissatisfied expression, but he also knew that Jeongjae was right. Having just seen the bravest soldiers from the Southern Region struggling to breach the fortifications, Koesernis understood better than anyone that charging to the front wielding a sword would only lead to his own foolish death and the demoralization of the troops.

“That’s probably for the best. Then, I’ll leave it to you, Baron.”

Although Jeongjae wasn’t a professional military commander, he had learned quite a bit from years spent on the battlefield. While checking the lines of soldiers for the Grand Mage’s assault on the fortress, a gargoyle peered over the wall once more and shook her head, saying, “The fortress’s defenses are precarious. If the enemies come up now, we won’t be able to hold them off.”

That said, the Gargoyle had means to counter. She was the commander of the Demon King’s army, and this battle had been recognized by the Demon King himself as one determining the fate of the nation. Naturally, she had reserves. Just right now, there was a perfect, powerful reserve to deploy.

“Release the Ogres. Have them charge down the hill and crush them!”

Previously, relying on the strong defenses of the walls was the best tactic. But with the walls crumbling, there was no reason to hesitate in unleashing the giants that had been held back as reserves beyond the fortress.

As the Gargoyle Queen issued the command, towering giants over five meters tall began to bound over the walls, wielding clubs fitting their massive size. Jeongjae cursed as he saw the horde of giants appearing from the top of the hill.

“Damn it, what the hell is that!”

“It seems they had a storming squad prepared for the situation where the walls might break.”

“At least the numbers aren’t too many. Then let’s not charge but form a defensive formation here. If we break through, there’ll be no place to run!”

This wasn’t just some river but an ocean behind them. Although the main fleet was anchored, if they lost here, escaping by ship wouldn’t guarantee a bright future. Successfully retreating safely might be fortunate, but if they were defeated and their formation fell apart, the likelihood of a safe retreat becoming possible was much lower than them sinking in disarray without even being able to maneuver their ships.

Jeongjae calmly calculated the number of Ogres barreling toward them. There were maybe 300 to 400 at most, but they were monstrous creatures three times the height of a normal human, so their sheer size made their numbers seem far from small.

Jeongjae worried about the Ogres attacking cooperatively with experienced Orcs from multiple directions, but it was unlikely that even the Demon King would be capable of such tactics with the Gargoyle in charge.

Ogres hardly feel fear. This meant that controlling them with brute force like the Gargoyle Queen was nearly impossible. It appeared that instead of organizing the Ogres into a military formation, they had simply been unleashed like beasts.

The allied spear soldiers, who were at the very front due to intentional placement, were tense, swallowing hard as they extended their spears forward.

“Ugh, if I had known, I would have chosen an axe instead of a spear. I picked the wrong weapon, damn it…”

“Please, don’t come my way, don’t come my way…”

Most of the soldiers had never seen giants before in their lives. Jeongjae contemplated whether he should scold the frightened reactions of these allied soldiers for a moment but decided against it.

After all, he could hardly fault them, especially with the Ogres swinging clubs right in front of them. Jeongjae stretched out both hands and murmured, “Lightning, extend forth!”

In an instant, a magic circle of lightning appeared in Jeongjae’s hands, and blue lightning shot forth at the Ogres charging from the front. Two bolts of lightning pierced the hearts of two giants, killing them instantly.

“Koesernis. I leave the command here to you. I’ll go up there and capture the fortress.”

“Leave it to me, Baron.”

Jeongjae pondered for a moment. Was it right to face the Ogres here and assist the soldiers, or should he rush alone to achieve the strategic objective of taking the fortress? But whenever he thought about it, the Ogres seemed to be the easier enemy, while the Gargoyle Queen was the difficult foe.

The giants were foes that could be defeated, and the fortress where the Gargoyle was situated needed to be brought down as soon as possible. There was also the fear that if left unchallenged, they might come up with another way to restore the magical barrier. Jenis had nearly exhausted her mana to breach this path. If he missed this opportunity, the chance to pass over that wall might vanish forever.

Jeongjae drew a pistol from his robes again and shot a couple of the giants blocking his way with mana bullets. Although the mana bullets he fired were merely as small as peas, they could still inflict fatal wounds on the giants.

Weaving through the Ogres, Jeongjae quickly reached the hill and instead of climbing it, he cast telekinesis on himself and soared into the air.

Any excellent mage could apply telekinesis for light levitation. Jeongjae wouldn’t usually levitate himself unless he had to target a high fortress, but if there was a moment in life he had to fly, it was certainly right now.

“Whoosh!”

In an instant, the Great Mage soared over the hill and landed atop the fortress, letting out a sigh. The Gargoyle Queen looked astonished at the sudden appearance of Jeongjae.

“Not concerned about your army, huh, Mage Baron?”

“Not that, but I’m more interested in you…”

At that moment, Jeongjae glanced sideways and sealed his lips. An unbelievable sight unfolded before him. Beyond the fortress, over the hill, there stood another fortress identical to the one he had climbed, not more than several hundred meters away. Jeongjae momentarily forgot that the Gargoyle Queen was right in front of him and blinked in astonishment.

“That must be an illusion spell.”

“No, it’s definitely the real thing.”

The Gargoyle said mockingly, “Our Demon King’s army has created a double barrier to defend the eastern coastline. A million soldiers have been stationed solely to protect this barrier. Even if you take this fortress, you won’t stand a chance. Your proud ten-thousand little kids can’t do anything.”

“You’re bluffing. No way can you guard the south with a million crammed into such a gigantic barrier.”

“Even if a million are shoved into the east, there’s another million army to fill the south, you fool!”

The Gargoyle Queen let out a gleeful cackle.

“And among those, even if we annihilate a million, we still have another million in reserve. That’s the strength of the Demon King’s army. You’re talking about a nation betting its fate with just a hundred thousand.”

“One thing is certain.”

Jeongjae conjured a magic circle in both hands and declared, “You must die here. If you don’t die, I’m convinced there won’t be a way to breach through here. Die, Gargoyle Queen. Just perish along with all the authority you possess.”

“Try if you can!”

“Starburst!”

With that, Jeongjae unleashed a powerful destructive spell at the Gargoyle, initiating a fierce duel between the two titans. The Gargoyle braced herself for maximum defense, but there was no existence in the world that could withstand the ‘Starburst’ shot by the Great Mage without being thrown back.

The Gargoyle Queen tumbled across the ground before quickly getting back up to regain her stance.

“Your power has weakened, are you getting tired?”

“Tired, my foot. I have plenty of mana left to melt you away. Flame, extend forth!”

The flames extending from Jeongjae’s hands struck the Gargoyle Queen’s shoulder, igniting her body. Diamonds aren’t that heat-resistant. Seeing smoke rising from her shoulder and a part of her body vaporizing, the Gargoyle hurriedly extinguished the fire and unfurled her wings, preparing to charge at Jeongjae.

Jeongjae conjured a barrier magic circle to halt her rush, but the Gargoyle slipped underneath and delivered a powerful tackle to Jeongjae’s knees. Jeongjae screamed as he fell forward.

“Your defenses have clearly weakened, and your martial skills don’t stand a chance against me. Charging directly was a mistake, Great Mage.”

Jeongjae hastily used magic to temporarily seal what felt like a broken shin bone. It wasn’t just broken; it felt pulverized, but at least binding it with magic allowed him to move somewhat.

While Jeongjae barely dodged the Gargoyle Queen’s relentless attacks, he managed, “If I had known I’d be getting tackled, you should’ve warned me… warning foul play…”

“I’ll break your skull!”

The Gargoyle Queen lifted Jeongjae by the collar to take his life and ripped away his robe. Jeongjae desperately raised both hands, casting a powerful counterspell on his forehead. Fortunately, the Gargoyle Queen didn’t notice the spell Jeongjae had cast on himself and charged headfirst at him.

If Jeongjae had made no preparations, that headbutt would certainly have pulverized his skull. However, thanks to the countermeasure Jeongjae had thought up in an instant, the Gargoyle Queen received the shock she intended to inflict right back, staggering backward and crashing to the ground.

“If you know how to use counterspells, you should have mentioned it earlier…”

The Gargoyle Queen murmured in a daze, her head spinning. Jeongjae, enduring the pain in his leg, made a similar nonsensical remark.

 

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