The Land of Lanzo operated hundreds of reconnaissance units.
Therefore, the soldier guarding the main gate of the encampment often contemplated the meaning of his existence.
“Ugh. I don’t know why I’m standing here in this cold weather.”
“Hang in there. At least we have a brazier to keep warm.”
“What good is a brazier when we don’t even have time to gather firewood?”
It was a beautiful sunny day.
A few friendly wildcats had entered the encampment, meowing and receiving fish heads from a kind-hearted cook, rubbing their heads against his feet, while the senior soldier dozed off while praying, and the officer in charge was nowhere to be seen.
The soldier thought that perhaps it was time to put down his spear and focus on praying.
His companion had already leaned his spear against the wall, closed his eyes, and joined his hands in prayer.
The soldier followed suit and closed his eyes.
At that moment, a breeze swept through the fields and caused waves on the lake.
Only when the sound of boots approached did the soldier realize someone was coming.
“Ch-Charge! Huh? What?!”
“You swear loyalty to me? Not bad.”
He looked like a man who had jumped out of a portrait of the Solletarass royals the soldier had seen before.
His white hair glimmered in the sunlight, translucent and shimmering, his high nose and sharp jawline gave him an appearance that was at odds with his regal uniform, and his yellow eyes were too wild for the composed demeanor he exuded.
The soldier had heard adults, church clergy, and training instructors speak until his ears bled.
Nobles and royals of the Solletarass Empire were all monsters, created by mixing with vile heterogeneous races, and it was our duty to drive out these monsters and create a world for true humanity.
Only then did the soldier understand why the adults had spoken that way.
Those red lips, sunken eyes, slightly pointed ears, long fingers, and a presence that defied description with mere words held a kind of majesty and charm.
If he had to choose an analogy for the atmosphere he exuded, it would be the beauty felt upon seeing a wild beast such as a tiger or lion.
Not bad, the voice echoed in the soldier’s ears.
I want that; I want to be like that; I want to impress that person; I want to pledge my loyalty.
Nothing is as deadly as the favor of the powerful.
The founders of Lanzo predicted that unless humanity overcame that, they would forever live as someone’s slaves, and a millennium later, their descendants would realize just how difficult it is to refuse that.
The soldier reflexively uttered a cry.
“Oh! My lord.”
Valencius smiled pleasantly, revealing his white, even teeth.
“General Brnoa must be inside, right? The retreat order hasn’t been issued yet.”
The soldier nodded almost numbly but blocked the entrance to the encampment as ordered.
Valencius waved his gloved hand lightly.
Psychic power manifested, and a long spear swayed precariously.
Crack!
The spear, caught in an unseen hand, shattered alongside the soldier’s last remaining will, and the Bandit Duke entered the encampment with a languid gait.
“Wha—what?”
“Crazy! Why are you here—?”
“It’s Valencius!”
Countless questions and wary voices echoed, and only then did the two sentries come to their senses.
‘Duke Valencius is a powerful sorcerer.’
‘They say he stained the sky red alone and killed the Demon King Ensis.’
“Capture him!”
“Emergency!”
“O! Light of the world!”
The soldiers who recovered their senses cast basic blessings on themselves and rushed toward the scene.
“Grant us the power to make history!”
A faint holy power swelled and then dissipated, kindling the soldiers’ eyes with vigor.
It was a low-level prayer that gradually enhanced their strength and reflexes.
Valencius laughed cheerfully as if there was nothing to worry about.
“Aha! Hahaha!”
Just the sound of his laughter caused the surrounding soldiers to cover their ears in agony.
“M-My head—”
From the grip of the Bandit Duke, serpent-like flames erupted, turning into ‘Spears of Fire’ that flew.
Whoosh!
One spear shot straight up into the sky, while the other arced and struck the carriage train.
Boom!
Flames spread in ripples, engulfing several carriages, which immediately began to catch fire.
“Bring water!”
“Food cart! Without that, we can’t advance or retreat!”
“First, pull out the intact ones!”
The soldiers hurried to drag out intact carriages.
Valencius watched and smiled.
The fire spears launched were not impulsive emotional attacks but carefully calculated strategies to make the movement of the Lanzo army an established fact.
‘Advancing into the uncertain lands of the Empire is burdensome, but I’ve left just enough to return home comfortably. Just as expected of me.’
He drew the Black Tear, raising a veil of flames as he strolled around the entrance to the encampment.
‘It’s about time to come out, isn’t it?’
Having lived as a warrior for 40 years, he knew the rhythm of battle.
When ambushed, the elite forces took about 1 minute and 30 seconds to mobilize, and that was plenty of time for Valencius to turn at least 300 individuals into ashes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Instead of slaughtering the soldiers, he directed the spears of fire toward the hay and supply tents everywhere.
“That way!”
“Get ready!”
“Take whatever holy relics you have!”
Perhaps the tent that was supposed to store the holy water exploded, and the shards of broken glass flew and struck Valencius’s handsome forehead, while the soldiers realized that they couldn’t jump into the flames with their makeshift lower-level spells.
Officers sprinted out, wielding winged iron bars.
“Lord! Grant us the strength to smite the enemies that threaten your sons and daughters!”
As they prayed and drove the winged iron bar into the ground, a brilliant holy power spread in wide ripples, permeating the soldiers.
“Let’s go!”
“Form groups of three!”
“You will guard the long-range prayer battalion!”
Hundreds of elite soldiers armed with large shields and swords surged forth, while the specially clad elite raised their staff adorned with the holy cross, releasing beams of divine light.
‘This is the right formation against knights and holy knights, mages, and sorcerers. Of course, the quality might suffer slightly, but it’s low maintenance, and training them will be much easier.’
Valencius thought that as he let the Black Tear stream behind him.
“I shall engage you.”
With his sword drawn, the eyes of the Lanzo soldiers revealed their confusion.
“Not me.”
In the next instant, a thunderbolt struck from the clear sky.
Bang!
An enemy knight clad in mechanical armor charged forth, wielding a red mana blade whipping through the air like a wave.
“Lady Trentia. Clear the way. Lady Sorelazie. Subdue the regular soldiers. And Rudi… I won’t ask why you’re here. Focus on the officers with powerful holy powers, just to the point they won’t die, understood?”
I entrusted the rear to the three of them and made my way toward the large tent where Brnoa was.
“Stop!”
“We have to protect the general!”
“Spears forward!”
Clang!
The regular soldiers of Lanzo formed a shield wall with large square shields and spears.
While a spear from ordinary people without mana could be blocked with just eyelids, their spears blazed white due to the holy power.
Instead of charging in, I subtly body-blocked in front of Sorelazie, waiting for her to finish her spell.
“You really don’t need to be so caring.”
“Take it when I offer. It hurts a lot if you get hit. It’s hot and cold to the bone, I tell you.”
“Oh dear. That may be so because you’re wicked to the core, but it won’t hurt that much for a pure sorceress like me. Honestly, I don’t even plan to get hit.”
“Sure, the demon’s black sword is indeed a pure color.”
“Such a delightful thing to say to your audience!”
Sorelazie rolled her eyes and struck her staff on the ground.
Thud!
With the invisible force at play, her navy blue hair rose and cascaded down, and translucent blue particles rippled outward in all directions.
Whirrrrr!
The particles attached themselves to the weapons of the Lanzo soldiers, causing them to float and soar over a hundred meters back.
“What the—?”
“Grab them!”
“Don’t get pushed!”
“T-This side is getting pulled!”
The soldiers of the Land of Lanzo lost their weapons or rolled on the ground still holding onto them.
It was a spell using the repulsion of a ‘self-field.’
The once-mighty shield wall crumbled under a single spell.
“Wha—?”
“Wait a minute. Ah, damn it.”
“We’re in trouble.”
The soldiers who had dropped their weapons looked up at me while sitting on their bottoms.
I scoffed at them and delivered swift kicks to their chins, knocking them out.
“Ow!”
“Ugh!”
“Cough!”
This wasn’t sheer cruelty but a kind act to prevent accusations of having done nothing later.
“You coward! To attack unarmed soldiers!”
Of course, they had the freedom to think otherwise.
A heavily armored infantry unit armed with blazing holy power swords and shields stood in my way.
They were undoubtedly elite forces countering knights and holy knights of Lanzo.
With the holy power accumulating blessings, the longer we delayed, the more unfavorable it became.
Therefore, rather than engage in direct hand-to-hand combat, I decided to exercise my right to call upon my loyal knight.
“Who are the ones who crossed the border first to talk about cowardice? How ridiculous! Lady Trentia. Teach them chivalry today!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a thunderous roar that shook the ground, Lady Trentia, clad in mechanical armor, charged forward.
“I am the knight of Duke Valencius, known as Trentia!”
Screech!
With every step she took, steam erupted from her back, and beneath the plate armor, the steel fibers contracted like muscles.
“I shall send all you traitors to your maker!”
“Lord!”
Shouting in the name of the same deity, Lady Trentia clashed with the heavy infantry commander of Lanzo.
Her sword, cloaked in holy power, blazed like a sacred sword, while the commander’s sword shimmered red like one wielded by the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the Demon King.
The commander’s sword executed a graceful arc as it sliced upward, while Lady Trentia’s sword delivered a fierce straight cut downward.
Bang!
Where points met, red and white lights collided, sending the Lanzo heavy infantry commander flying backward like a kicked ball.
The heavy infantry soldiers gasped in shock, and as Lady Trentia raised her sword, shadows cast over them.
“I will teach you traitors today about the honor and loyalty of knighthood, so learn gratefully!”
“Shut up, you slave mixed with heterogeneous blood!”
“Generational dedication is the greatest glory!”
Clang!
Steel clashed against steel and men flew through the air.
I walked through the chaos.
“What are you doing? Why can’t you even capture three people!”
In front of me, beside the large tent, there was a rather high-ranking officer.
He appeared to be busy, multitasking on prayer, speaking, listening, and responding simultaneously.
He grasped a winged column with his left hand as he raised his prayers.
The column’s wings glowed white with holy power, spreading holy energy throughout the encampment.
“What about the witch hunters?”
“They can’t function as a unit due to too many injuries!”
“We are maintaining distance to restrict their mana usage as much as possible.”
“And this is the situation we’re in?!”
“Chief of the Blessing Troop! The heavy infantry is requesting additional prayers!”
“Damn! I will do something about it!”
Watching the officer juggling four tasks simultaneously inspired some respect.
It seemed the issues arising from the supreme commander embodying the best forces were no different from Lanzo.
“Duke Valencius has appeared up ahead!”
“How far?”
I shouted at the searching officer.
“Right in front!”
His eyes widened, and he seemed to hesitate.
“Th-This…”
I saw Rudi’s shadow rising behind him and grinned.
What a shame.
I was curious what he would say.
Poof!
As Rudi covered the officer’s mouth with one hand, he stabbed deeply into the officer’s left elbow and a few places along his side with a sandworm tooth dagger.
He wasn’t in fatal danger and could be healed easily with a healing spell, but it left him unable to do anything for the moment.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh?”
The soldiers and messengers, horrified at seeing their superior collapse before their eyes, froze in shock.
Rudi aimed the barrel of the gun at them.
“Bang!”
Woosh!
Modified shotgun pellets sprayed out, splattering blood everywhere as soldiers and messengers were knocked back.
…The pellets were small enough not to cause life-threatening injuries.
…Probably.
I only confirmed that much and shifted my gaze to search for Brnoa.
His chestnut-colored sideburns ran toward the grand tent.
I scoffed and lunged.
“Is the commander really going to hide in a tent during this situation?!”
Yanking him by the shoulder, I spun him around and slapped him hard across the face.
Smack!
“Wha?”
It was someone else.
“Damn it!”
Smack!
I smacked him again out of frustration.
At that moment, the tent flaps opened, and the real Brnoa emerged.
He wore a dazed expression.
