Chapter 577
Chapter 577: You Will Become a Legend. (4)
Thud.
Ghislaine collapsed onto the ground. Blood continued to flow from his mouth, nose, and ears.
He was able to strike down this black world filled with will, but the recoil was tremendous. His mental strength was enormously depleted.
But in the end, what mattered was that he had reached a new realm.
Though his mana was less than in his past life, the level of realization had surpassed before.
Ghislaine gazed at Aiden’s corpse with a reflective expression.
“Aiden.”
Even when called, the corpse gave no response. The always confident Aiden was just a cold corpse now.
Ghislaine let out a faint breath and murmured.
“I finally caught you.”
As a participant among the Seven Greats of the continent, he was truly a formidable opponent.
As much as he had grown, Aiden had undoubtedly continued to grow too. Surprisingly, that guy had always been diligent in his training.
He loved himself so much that he had made sure to take care of himself well.
Nevertheless, he had killed one of the relentless fates that had persisted since his previous life. It was the very one who had taken his life back then.
So, Ghislaine couldn’t help but feel a little relieved.
“Phew… but I couldn’t tear you apart.”
He had no hobby of mutilating corpses. After all, the guy was simply too high-level to do so.
In the end, he had even imitated his own level. Thus, he had to be satisfied with merely killing him in the same way he himself had died in the previous life.
“Lord!”
“Great Lord!”
“Wow! His Grace the Duke has won!”
The Knights of Penris and the soldiers of the mobile army rushed in, cheering.
To have fought that fearsome enemy and finally win!
Moreover, he couldn’t even understand how he managed it at the end. Even though he had swung his sword so slowly, the opponent had simply allowed himself to be hit.
The knights assumed that they were simply worn out from fighting each other.
“Anyway, we won! That’s what matters!”
Gordon shouted joyfully.
Anyway, they had fought and won. Ghislaine’s strength was indeed the greatest weapon that upheld Penris.
The knights began to pull out potions and douse Ghislaine with them. It was almost a habitual affair by now.
“Splash! Splash! Splash!”
Everyone splashed the stuff on their faces. Ghislaine could only accept it in his weak state.
Vanessa also rushed over, clutching her wound, and shouted.
“Lord! Are you okay? You mustn’t lose consciousness! Focus on what I’m saying: there are four chickens for every duck, and ducks are nine less than pigs…”
“…I’m fine. Don’t bring that up.”
Ghislaine did not want to solve that problem.
Struggling to rise, he looked around at everyone and said.
“Leave the battlefield cleanup. We need to move immediately.”
Vanessa stopped him.
“Lord, you need to rest and receive treatment now.”
That was how poor Ghislaine’s condition was. The potion treated the external wounds, but Aiden’s mana still lingered somewhat within him.
Given that he was utterly drained, it would be tough to eradicate it all for the moment.
However, Ghislaine shook his head.
“Count Bifenbelt will be moving quickly. We can recover while we travel.”
Unable to resist Ghislaine’s stubbornness, everyone reluctantly performed a brief resupply before getting back on their horses.
Ghislaine, clearly fatigued, half-closed his eyes and spoke with a sleepy voice.
“Let’s go. There isn’t much time left.”
There was no need to worry about the other side. They just needed to take down Count Bifenbelt’s forces.
Now, the end of this war was truly in sight.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Ghislaine and the mobile army charged forward once again.
They had much to gain from the battlefield, but they had to leave everything behind to move swiftly.
The painters observing from behind the Atrode army had long been scared and fled.
The only thing they took with them was the precious white horse that Aiden had ridden.
*
Meanwhile, Count Bifenbelt, marching quickly, frowned at the messenger’s report.
“They can’t be contacted?”
“Yes, we found no traces. The location is untraceable.”
Count Bifenbelt stopped his advance.
He had intended to meet the army led by the spy, but without even relay, there was only one reason for that absence.
“I guess they got to them first.”
Even if the spy’s identity had been blown, to have been struck so quickly was too much.
After some contemplation, he nodded.
“The split troops must have moved faster than anticipated.”
Certainly, the 9th Corps and 10th Corps must have been dealt with by the Ruthania Army. Confident in that, he was headed to defeat the remaining Ruthania troops.
Perhaps the Ruthania troops, having dispatched the 9th and 10th Corps, had moved quickly to deal with the spy’s army too.
“Tsk, what a shame.”
He couldn’t gather the full strength of the legion, but he could have at least brought along the army led by the spy.
Then he could have used them as cannon fodder.
“Still, soon one of Duke Penris or Prince of Turian will die.”
The 2nd and 4th Corps were acting together. No matter how strong those two were, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the combined assault of these two legions.
He had a hunch that good news was on its way soon.
While he worried about the remaining 3rd Corps, they just needed to stall for time.
“Let’s go, it’s a shame, but there’s no helping it.”
He had planned to use the army led by the spy as fodder anyway. With just the 1st Corps, he was confident they could take down the weakened Ruthania army.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The 1st Corps accelerated to an almost reckless speed.
A huge force of 30,000 troops. No matter how quickly one wanted to move, there was a lot to manage.
Still, they moved rather quickly. That’s why Count Bifenbelt attempted a bold maneuver.
At this rate, they would arrive within the expected time frame—unless they faced any interruptions.
“Stop at once!”
The 6th Circle Mage of the 1st Corps shouted urgently.
He unleashed his magic before anyone around could say anything. Following him, other mages released their magic as well.
Seeing this, Count Bifenbelt urgently commanded.
“Stop! Everyone halt!”
Whee!
The sudden stop command threw the formations of the swiftly advancing army into chaos.
The mages, oblivious, continued to unleash their magic.
Soon, the ground slightly trembled ahead, and flames erupted.
Piiiiiing.
The flames were rather pathetic. It seemed significantly weakened from its original power.
Such flames appeared in various places.
Count Bifenbelt squinted his eyes and asked.
“What’s happening?”
The mage clicked his tongue in response.
“It’s a trap. A significant amount of mana has been detected underground. It seems they set a trap using runestones.”
“If that’s the case…”
The mage scanned the area with sharp eyes.
“Indeed. A mage lies in hiding. The one who triggered the spell must be nearby.”
“Search the surroundings immediately! Look for more traps!”
The mages and soldiers thoroughly inspected the area ahead. They had embedded so many runestones that they were practically everywhere.
Time was of the essence, but they were held back by useless matters.
Count Bifenbelt ground his teeth.
“These guys are taking this seriously.”
Only the Ruthania army used runestones like pebbles in this manner.
It was clear who had dug these traps.
“It must be that Jerome.”
He was being blatantly obstructive. At that moment, he regretted having let him go.
The hidden mage didn’t even need to be searched out.
“There he is!”
“Catch him!”
“Unleash the mana field!”
As expected, the culprit was Jerome.
As soon as he was discovered, he took off swiftly. After gaining some distance, he even used spatial teleportation magic to flee.
Count Bifenbelt and Gathros bit their lips.
What a pesky little brat. He was highly annoying.
As annoyed as the 1st Corps was, Jerome was suffering just as much while escaping.
“Huff, huff… Ugh, this is tough.”
He looked down at the deep gash in his chest and made a sorrowful face.
“Wow, this has really dragged on.”
The wound Aiden had inflicted was finally healing. That was how wild the mana left inside had gone.
He had only performed emergency treatment to save mana.
Even though he had reached a level where he could recover mana just by breathing, the enemies he had to face were too strong.
“I guess I should take a little break.”
Jerome’s mission was to delay the enemies.
The problem was he hadn’t been told how long he needed to do it.
He had no idea how the war was progressing. So Jerome kept repeating the same acts.
Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to such tasks. He became a patient man while working on artifacts.
“Ugh, should I go again?”
After a short rest, Jerome moved again. He headed first in the direction the 1st Corps was going as he eagerly dug more traps.
There were still a few runestones left in the subspace. While he could absorb the mana contained in the runestones, it was still easier to dig traps using them.
Hastily inscribing spells, he buried runestones into the ground. Now all he had to do was unleash magic once the enemies appeared.
Waiting in hiding, he saw the 1st Corps appear. Jerome gauged the distance and activated the spell.
The runestones were set to explode after some time.
“They will deactivate again, right?”
It didn’t matter if he failed; he just needed to buy time.
However, the enemy response changed as well.
Boom!
At the forefront was Gathros. With each movement he made, black energy tunneled into the ground.
Boom! Bam!
The runestones began to explode, colliding with Gathros’s aura. He managed to sense the mana as he approached and unleashed black energy in all directions.
Boom! Bam! Boom!
The painstakingly set traps were rendered completely useless.
Jerome watched the scene with a frustrated expression.
“…Ah, they really handle things brutishly.”
At this rate, by the time they reached the battlefield, they would be quite drained. Yet, expending so much energy meant they were confident they could win even in that state.
“There’s no helping it. I’ll just have to become more compatible.”
Boom!
Jerome’s body shot out like a beam of light. Sparkling mana blades erupted from both of his hands.
Gathros glared and shouted.
“You’re here!”
“Don’t hurry too much.”
Bang!
The two stopped speaking and clashed. Priests flew in from the surroundings and attacked Jerome.
As one of the Seven Greats of the continent, Jerome fought excellently against such joint attacks.
The wounds he sustained from Aiden hadn’t fully healed, and he was considerably fatigued from continually hampering the Atrode army, yet he could still fight a little longer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Enormous pressure was coming from all directions. While Jerome continued to fight while creating distance, just when he seized an opportunity, he quickly dashed sideways.
And taunted.
“If you chase after me, you’ll waste time! If you’re fine with it, then come along!”
It was a life-threatening provocation, but it was certainly worth attempting to buy time.
By running away like that, Gathros and the priests found it even harder to pursue.
One person was causing the entire army to be hindered.
Jerome engaged in nothing but evasive maneuvers, making it challenging to capture him.
Of course, if they truly committed to taking down Jerome, they could catch him, but the Atrode army wasn’t in a position to do that.
“Ugh, you wretched punk!”
Gathros, unable to pursue effectively, spat out his anger repeatedly.
Now Gathros, the priests, and the skilled knights were at the forefront, charging forward. Even the mages crept up the middle of the formation.
After a while, Jerome returned several times to obstruct their path, but it was gradually losing effectiveness. The Atrode army was beginning to respond strongly as well.
Ultimately, Jerome had no choice but to retreat his fatigued body.
“I’ve done what I could.”
A battle would break out soon. To assist his allies, he needed to recover his mana properly.
So, he sought out a hidden place to rest.
Thanks to that, the Atrode army was able to move quickly again. However, they had already wasted quite a bit of time.
Count Bifenbelt repeatedly urged his guys.
“Run faster! We need to finish one side before the Ruthania army can regroup!”
That’s how the war would be easily concluded. One of either Duke Penris or Prince Turian would return alive after encountering the 3rd Corps.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
They charged with full force and finally arrived at the most critical stronghold of the allied forces.
There was a reason this place was important. It was the hub of all roads, making it the best for receiving supplies and reinforcements.
Especially, it was a direct route to the Sardina Kingdom, the center of the allied forces.
All the supplies and troops from each kingdom gathered at Sardina initially. Therefore, the allied forces absolutely could not afford to lose this stronghold.
If the Atrode army took this place by mistake, they could cut off all supplies and sweep the surrounding areas.
“If we take this place, victory is ours!”
Count Bifenbelt shouted loudly.
Once this stronghold was captured, the rest would be easy. They could easily kill or trap the remaining allied forces. So, they absolutely had to seize this place.
Naturally, the remaining Ruthania army was stationed here. It was precisely that important a stronghold.
But when they approached with that belief…
“…Why?”
The troops stationed at this stronghold were not Ruthania soldiers. It was the legion led by Marquis Gideon of Turian.
“What the… why?”
Count Bifenbelt fell into confusion.
There was no way Gideon could hold this place. It was merely a temporary delay at best.
And yet, they made such a dangerous decision?
If the opponent wasn’t foolish, it meant they had something else in mind.
The corners of Count Bifenbelt’s eyes twitched. If the Ruthania army was not here, he needed to reanalyze the situation from the beginning.
“The 5th Corps and the 6th Corps, the 7th and 8th Corps, the 9th and 10th Corps.”
The Atrode army had divided into three regions to mount their offensive.
One side must have dealt with half of the Ruthania army, one side with the Prince of Turian, and the remaining one with Duke Penris.
On the allied forces’ side, two corps had been wiped out by the Atrode army, and one was led by the spy. The remaining one was standing before Marquis Gideon.
So then…
Where on earth had the remaining half of the Ruthania army gone?
A sinister thought rose in Count Bifenbelt’s mind.
“What if… from the very beginning, the entire Ruthania army was mobilized…?”
There would be one battlefield left. Whether the Prince of Turian or Duke Penris had gone there, one of those two powerful beings would become free.
If that one person moved separately and targeted the main force of the Atrode army that had been waiting…
Having grasped the situation, Count Bifenbelt shouted loudly.
“Everyone! Attack immediately! We must take this place as quickly as possible! And contact the other corps! Halt all operations and gather here!”
The 3rd Corps was moving alone, and the 2nd and 4th Corps would take some time to converge.
He hoped it wouldn’t be so, but…
By now, at least one corps had probably been ambushed while on the move.
