Chapter 546
Chapter 546: Changing the Route (1)
As Jerome, the wizards, priests, and dwarves separated for their work, the speed of the mobile army increased even further.
Dudududududu!
Even while moving, Ghislaine kept asking the messenger who brought news from the Salvation Society.
“Are you sure the Revolutionary Group is involved?”
“Yes, indeed. The hidden ones have all crawled out.”
“Did they go to the Kingdom of Grimwell too?”
“Yes, most of them went together.”
“Right, if they all gather, then their numbers should be considerable.”
The Revolutionary Group had been operating stealthily all over the continent, but they hadn’t achieved any significant results.
The king and nobles had suppressed them hard, and the Revolutionary Group lost public support as they resorted to looting in the name of their cause.
Their initial ideals had completely distorted, resembling nothing more than a large band of bandits.
And now, with the Salvation Society opening rifts and inciting civil wars across various countries, the environment became even more favorable for their activities.
Ghislaine chuckled softly.
“By the way, looks like the Salvation Society is in a rush too. They’re even teaming up with those scoundrels.”
In her previous life, that was not the case. Instead, the Salvation Society viewed the Revolutionary Group as a nuisance.
They had to focus on their missionary work, but with the Revolutionary Group looting, fighting was unavoidable.
However, now the two bothersome factions were holding hands. One could say it’s all thanks to her.
‘The future has certainly changed a lot.’
When she first regressed, everything was within her expected range. She twisted every forthcoming event to favor her outcomes.
Though she still held knowledge of the future, with circumstances having vastly changed, she could no longer be certain that events identical to the past would occur.
‘Well, I did aim for this, but…’
Now she didn’t need to rely solely on her knowledge of the future. If she lacked power, that would be a different story, but she was currently leading the strongest army on the continent.
She had utilized her future knowledge to gain this power. Ultimately, Ghislaine rapidly accumulated similar strength compared to her previous life.
From now on, she could smash everything through sheer strength.
‘But that doesn’t mean the knowledge I have now is useless.’
Ghislaine had fought the Revolutionary Group a few times in her past life. She knew well who led that organization.
Of course, she hadn’t been able to annihilate the Revolutionary Group while battling the Rift Beasts. It was true that the Human Alliance hadn’t paid much attention, but the leader of the Revolutionary Group wasn’t someone to take lightly.
‘That guy was quite clever.’
He was hardened by years of looting. There was no way he would move ordinarily.
Especially when it came to mobility and ambush tactics, the direct troops he led were superior to any army.
Ghislaine smiled and spread out the map while atop her mount.
“We’re changing the route.”
The new destination she picked was the area between the Kingdom of Grimwell and the Kingdom of Atrode. It was a kingdom that had to be traversed to move between the two nations.
Ghislaine sent a new command to Claude through Dark.
“Tell him to prepare for ambushes. I’ll be starting the advance as soon as I arrive, so check the strongholds and supply routes in advance.”
— Ha, it’s hard to cover a long distance. I’m the only one going back and forth every day.
Dark grumbled a few times before transforming into a crow and flying off.
The mobile army didn’t question the reasoning. They simply followed Ghislaine as she changed direction.
Yulien and Parniel felt the same way. They fully trusted Ghislaine when it came to war.
Except for one person.
Elena, struggling to ride at the rear, pouted.
“I told you not to go running around in circles!”
Her grumbling wasn’t solely because of her dissatisfaction with Ghislaine. It was because of her precious horse.
Heeheeheek…
The horse Elena rode always seemed exhausted. Even though it was quite strong and had a good build among the mobile army, it was still the case.
That was due to the enormous weight of the massive hammer she carried.
So, Elena had to bring along three additional horses for support. Even though she fed them more potions than others, it didn’t help much.
To solve this issue, Elena had asked Ghislaine several times.
— Hurry up and switch to a rapier! I can fight well now!
— No way. If your combat ability decreases, you’ll be the one losing in life. Why would I weaken you on purpose?
— I’m already losing! Because of you, my social standing and reputation are scraping the bottom! Do you know what my nickname is?
— I don’t want to know. Either way, listen well. Lowering your combat ability is a national loss. So, absolutely not. I’ll even tell Father to legally specify that Elena cannot carry anything light.
— Uuuaaaah! This is so frustrating!
No matter how much she shouted, Ghislaine did not permit changing weapons. So, Elena was always brimming with anger.
Of course, she was not one to simply give up. Being blood-related to her brother didn’t change that. She had her own plans.
‘Don’t think this will remain your world for long.’
As she muttered villainous dialogue inside her head, Elena twisted the corners of her mouth upward.
Elena sometimes trained combat techniques with Parniel. Parniel’s fighting skills were the most suitable for Elena.
From Elena’s perspective, Parniel was one of the few who could match Ghislaine in battle.
So she could hold onto hope. After all, didn’t she have powers similar to Parniel’s?
‘Just wait and see. If this drags on into a prolonged battle, I’ll eventually win.’
Currently, her durability was becoming something beyond human, just like Parniel.
Of course, she was well aware that it was impossible at present. But if she continued to gain practical experience and train hard…
There would come a day when she could swing that hammer at that guy’s head.
‘Then I’ll elegantly maintain my use of the rapier.’
Thus, Elena ignited her own ambitions.
*
Kingdom of Grimwell.
This nation had been excellently stalling the rifts and pushing back the rebels.
Thanks to that, troop morale was extremely high. They had accrued many victories up until now. They believed this turmoil would end soon enough.
“Don’t be afraid! As always, we will triumph!”
As the commander shouted, the troops at the fortress stood tall.
Before them, there was quite a sizable army. Approximately 100,000 strong.
That was five times more than the 20,000 troops stationed in the fortress.
Even so, the soldiers still wore confident expressions.
‘We can win again this time.’
‘We’ve continued to win.’
‘We should be able to hold back others just fine.’
The Atrode army, divided into three legions, marched as if to besiege the Royal Castle of Grimwell.
War doesn’t simply end by rushing forward and attacking the visible enemy. With a large army, supply lines must also be secured.
Their primary objective was to capture the king. To do so, they had to march while occupying at least minimal strongholds.
Gathros had changed due to his defeat in the Ruthania Kingdom. He no longer overestimated his abilities and became more cautious.
“Our target is the Royal Castle. We must proceed as quickly as possible. I don’t know how to handle the troops, so I will give you full authority. If you need power, use me anywhere. I won’t shy away, even at the front of the battlefield.”
Gathros spoke to the cold-looking middle-aged man before him.
“Leave it to me. I will proceed in the quickest way possible.”
Count Bifenbelt, who held the position of Chief Commander, bowed his head to Gathros.
He was a renowned general who made remarkable contributions to conquering the Kingdom of Atrode. He was also the most trusted follower of Duke Linster.
Indeed, Count Bifenbelt quickly arranged the troops and rapidly issued commands.
“Prepare the ladders. We will disable the castle walls and approach right away. Wizards…”
The numbers of the Atrode army were overwhelming. And Count Bifenbelt, who had worked alongside the high priests of the Salvation Society, was well-acquainted with their strength.
“Priests, please move first.”
There were as many as five superhuman high priests here. Without fear, they soared toward the fortress at Count Bifenbelt’s words.
“What the… Who are those guys?”
“Seeing them fly, they seem to be superhumans from the Salvation Society…”
“No way, just five of them? Are they really coming to surrender?”
At first, the fortress’s soldiers just watched the spectacle. Superhumans were indeed powerful, but there were a considerable number of knights and wizards here.
No matter how powerful the superhumans were, confronting them with just five would be unreasonable.
Thus, everyone was left dumbfounded.
“What are you staring at! Shoot! Attack now!”
PAAAAH!
Countless arrows flew from the fortress. However, the priests protected themselves with black energy and advanced without hesitation, letting the arrows glide off them.
As they neared the fortress, they unleashed all their energy.
QUAAAAAA!
Thousands of strands of black energy erupted from their bodies, spreading in all directions.
Cursed light, the cry of the abyss.
With five high priests unleashing their powers simultaneously, the scope of their attack was vast enough to cover the sky above the fortress.
At that astonishing sight, the fortress soldiers’ expressions twisted in fear.
“W-why is that…?”
Someone mumbled.
They too knew what technique the priests had just used. After all, they had suffered significant damage from one of the high priests belonging to the Revolutionary Group.
It was undoubtedly a powerful attack.
However, they also understood that this was a final move usually reserved for desperate situations. Using it carelessly might jeopardize the priests’ lives.
Yet now they saw five of them rushing in carelessly to use it.
Before they could unravel their confusion, the black energy poured down upon the fortress like rain.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK!
“Uaaaah!”
Soldiers screamed as they perished.
Even the superhumans were forced to focus on defense due to the strength of the attack. Ordinary soldiers could not withstand such overwhelming power.
The fortress commander shouted loudly.
“Wizards! The wizards should handle this! Hurry!”
The enemy had not attempted to block their magic. For reasons unknown, it allowed their own wizards to cast spells.
QUAAAAA!
Numerous spells raced toward the priests from the fortress.
KWAAANG! KWAAANG! KWAANG!
The wizards of Grimwell were also quite skilled. Moreover, there were many of them.
The priests of the Salvation Society hurriedly retreated, blocking magic.
“Urgh!”
“Quickly, get out of the way!”
The attack launched by the priests was effectively their last resort. If their energy ran low, they might even draw upon their life force.
Having already spent more than half their strength in the initial attack, a half-powered superhuman would find it challenging to contend with knights and mages alone.
Though a few were injured due to their lack of energy, the priests of the Salvation Society protected themselves with the remaining energy and fled swiftly.
The fortress commander gritted his teeth at the unexpected assault.
“Who would have thought they’d dare to charge straight in like that!”
Superhumans were strong, but they needed thorough protection from their allies. Getting injured or killed from an enemy’s concentrated attack could not happen.
Thus, movements of only superhumans were rare. Typically, they moved mixed in with their allies to utilize their incredible strength as effectively as possible.
However, the enemy had boldly pierced through that recognition.
“Do not stop, keep the assault going! We must inflict as many injuries as we can!”
The fortress commander shouted loudly. The wizards persistently cast spells aimed at the priests.
The fortress commander let out a heavy breath as he watched the fleeing priests.
“I should have killed at least one of them…”
Still, the priests had managed to retreat while exerting considerable energy. Some were injured.
If the superhumans fell back, it would become much easier to withstand the enemy, no matter how many they had.
This side had also sustained serious damage from the sudden attack, but the fortress commander felt they could hold on until the reinforcements arrived.
However, the real assault of the Atrode army began then.
“Start!”
As soon as Count Bifenbelt’s words fell, the wizards of the Atrode army immediately cast their spells.
KWAAANG! KWAAAAANG!
The Grimwell army was attacking the priests while unblocking their magic. The wizards of the Atrode army took advantage of that gap to strike.
“Uaaaagh!”
“It’s magic!”
“Block it! Hurry, raise the magic barrier again!”
The wizards of the Grimwell army barely attempted to block magic as they threw up their magic barriers. However, many of the fortress soldiers had already disappeared.
“H-how is this happening…?”
The fortress commander wore a dazed expression. Could it be that they used the priests as bait to seize that brief opening?
If things had gone even slightly wrong, they could have lost their precious superhumans. Yet, they executed this strategy anyway!
The opposing commander was remarkably audacious.
That audacious commander, Count Bifenbelt, spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Priests, you’ll have to serve as bait once more. I will provide support for the knights.”
“Understood.”
To others, superhumans were to be used sparingly and with caution. But Bifenbelt was utilizing the superhumans simply as bait.
He thought of even superhumans merely as one part of his troop composition.
“I apologize. For the sake of victory, we must use whatever we can.”
“Indeed, a worthy action for a favored duke.”
In some respects, it was an impolite behavior, yet Gathros found it rather appealing for that very reason.
The strength of the Ruthania army wasn’t solely due to Ghislaine’s power.
Their absurd operational skills, backed by a mighty army, were also significant issues.
To face them, a commander with equivalent excellence was required. And Count Bifenbelt possessed that capability.
“Then I shall trust you entirely. Go forth and rampage as you wish.”
Gathros grinned cruelly as he soared toward the fortress.
