Chapter 263
Verginten’s army had been thrown into chaos. Not only did they fail to spot the enemy scouts, but they were suffering a bombardment from these hidden foes. In the midst of this army, several commanders were desperately yelling and struggling to regain control.
The first to dispel the confusion were the magic users of the 2nd Battalion of the Black Lotus Knights led by Antax, Verginten’s second daughter. Once they had composed themselves, they swiftly deployed defensive wards in the air above them.
Adelaide’s elder sister, the very person who had inspired Adelaide to become a knight and lead her own army, issued whatever orders necessary for the situation. As her flame-red hair fluttered in the gust of wind from the explosions, she hollered in a voice loud enough to overpower the loudest of attacks.
「Quick, magic defenses in the air! Once the bombardment ceases, the cavalry will charge in. Get moving if you want to live. Don’t stop and do as per our drills!」
Antax skillfully reined in her rampaging horse as she caught sight of her own troops quickly deploying a defensive barrier and other battalions following suit to fortify their overhead defenses. With that, it was clear that the army was prepared to hold off the bombardment.
Even though the shelling had been ongoing ceaselessly for some time, it was evidently not a targeted move to attack individual battalions. In that case, the Black Lotus knights and the other magic users in Count Verginten’s army would suffice for defense.
「That’s supposed to be the case…」
Despite the knowledge that everything would be fine, the defensive wards in the air still shook with every bomb. With each firing, fear would grip the hearts of the troops, shaving their nerves thin with a razor’s edge.
The mysterious bombardment was most certainly by a unit of the Seven Fangs. Since these attackers had initiated the offensive with such intensity, the Seven Fangs would likely attack once the bombing was over. Before that could happen, Verginten’s forces had to be ready to retaliate.
Antax hurriedly sent out discrete messages to keep in contact with her father the supreme commander, her brother-in-law, and her subjects.
Despite the unfathomable pressure from the bombardment, it was still possible for these troops to hold out and for their commanders to slowly regain control of their battalions. This composure was shortlived as the ground just a stone’s throw away from the front lines of Count Verginten’s army was blown sky-high. An avalanche of earth and soil came pelting down on the troops, along with the three figures who had been hiding in holes dug in the ground.
It was understandable that this sudden incident left the soldiers at the front lines shaken despite their attempts to prepare for an assault by the Seven Fangs.
「Seems like they’re dealing with Gun-chan’s shelling pretty well. At this rate, she’ll be here in no time.」
Kyrlinne’s legs were agile like raging wind, but she spoke in a calm and lighthearted manner. The great sword she had in her hand was one of its kind in the world, inspired by Gundeus’s Canon of Misery, Dolar. Kyrlinne had even requested Gwandan to specially modify it for her.
This sword was supposed to be as tall as an adult man, but it now had a serrated blade that rotated at high speed according to Kyrlinne’s will. Moreover, the blade was also a composite weapon that could even split open in the middle to reveal the barrel of a cannon for firing.
「Gun-chan’s Dolar isn’t all there is! Hear the roar of Ruina, my Iron Chunk of Destruction!」
Lynette was a little dumbfounded as she watched Kyrlinne wield the special weapon she had named gleefully. On the other hand, Gwandan seemed to be pleased by this child frolicking with a toy he had given to her.
Unlike Gundeus and Kyrlinne, Lynette had not been given any new weapons. That being said, it was probably because she was already in possession of Gandoga, an exclusive superweapon that was impossibly ahead of its time.
「Kyrlinne, it’s fine to go on a rampage but watch out not to trip yourself over.」
「Lyne—Ngh, Big Sis Torne, you’re sure a worrywart. I’ll be fine even if I run about with my eyes closed!」
「Your only flaw is how easily excitable you are.」
「Well, does that mean I have no other flaws? Wow, I just got praised!」
「If that’s how you take it, then so be it. Master Gwandan, the enemy vanguard has shields as a massive defense line, while the rear is where their firearms and magic users are. They’re rapidly regrouping.」
Lynette broke off her conversation with Kyrlinne to inform their master of Count Verginten’s army. Her tone was placid despite the phenomenal speed at which their enemy was approaching.
Gwandan was running shoulder to shoulder with the two girls as he detected the soldiers desperately shoving their anxiety to the back of their minds as they reconjured their fighting spirits.
「That’s the face of someone blazing with a desire to battle the enemy of their master’s daughter. Gundeus will soon end the shelling and join us. Let’s reduce their numbers as much as we can before she arrives.」
「That we shall. I’ll take you up on that, Kyrlinne.」
「Roger that!」
Less than five seconds before the clash with Verginten’s army, Antax raised her left arm and swung it down from where she was behind the soldiers bearing firearms. Gwandan noticed that this was similar to the battle with Adelaide and her battalion, though that was all it was.
「Fire!!」
Guns firing with gunpowder and magic guns peeked out from between the gaps in the line of shields. A loud roar of gunfire rang out as lead bullets and magic rounds struck Gwandan and the two girls.
Caution rose in Gwandan. Adelaide and her troops must have informed their foes about the inability of bullets to penetrate himself and the two girls. It was safe to assume that these enemy forces had taken some kind of countermeasure.
Fumu, Gwandan muttered to himself as he considered deploying a barrier. At that precise moment, the manmade girls around him bolted ahead.
「Hah！」
「Oof…」
The bullets piercing the air at high speed were stopped by Lynette who was swinging Ruina and her mace, as well as Kyrlinne. Neither of the girls had even stopped for a second the entire time.
Gwandan watched as the magic rounds and lead shattered like sand, realizing that these bullets were as useless as before. He thought that these foes would increase their gunpower or increase the density of the magic power in the magic guns, but perhaps they had lacked the time to do so.
「Seems like numbers are no threat to them.」
The soldiers bearing magic guns remained in place since they could fire in succession, while those using gunpowder swapped places with those in the rear ranks. It was clear that they were trying to maintain an unceasing line of fire. The magic users had also finished casting their spells, and an excessive amount of firepower was dedicated to taking out these three.
「How relaxed they must be to refrain from delivering fatal wounds from the very start but try to buy time for figuring out a solution. That being said, it’s utterly pointless.」
Even this mere attempt of earning more time was a failure. The countless bullets fired to buy time were crushed and rendered useless by the huge weapons wielded by Lynette and Kyrlinee before they could even hit a mark.
Despite the astonishment of this unexpected result that clouded the faces of the soldiers and Antax, the female knight did not forget their next move.
「Magic troops, attack!」
Shimmering magic bullets blinded Gwandan and the two girls. In rapid succession, attacks from the magic users rained on them.
With Gwandan and his comrades so close to the front line, it was unlikely that the bombardment would continue. Hence, even the magic users responsible for the defensive wards to counter the shelling had decided it was necessary for them to join this battle against Gwandan and the two girls.
White-scaled dragons were characterized by both an aptitude and resistance to all elements except darkness. The same was true for dragonians, and the magic unleashed in these pure magic attacks were general spells that lacked any elemental reinforcements.
The overwhelming barrage of light was so massive that it looked as though it could swallow a person whole. Such an attack was akin to a jade-colored wall of light bulldozing its way forward.
「Gwaaaaah!!」
Gwandan’s counterattack was to open his mouth as wide as he could and huff a breath in the form of a vortex of light.
The jade wall of light and white vortex of light collided head-on. Not a second was wasted in a struggle for dominance. The vortex of light shattered the wall into fine pieces and then ripped Verginten’s formation to shreds. The entire defensive row of soldiers with shields all the way to the magic users and the gunners in the rear were not spared by the ripples of this clash.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Goodbye Dragon Life, Hello Human Life
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Going by the motif, shouldn’t it be “Dolor”, not “Dolar”?