A Man Caught In A Whirlpool Of Desire (3)

I thought that at least several thousand to tens of thousands must have been harmed by a single bombing run.

“Captain… this weapon is truly incredible.”

Zorban nodded to one of the rangers who had asked the question. However, the Birdfolk ranger, sensing Zorban’s expression was not good, asked.

“Why is your expression like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing else, just that our soft-hearted Lord seems to have fallen into quite deep contemplation.”

“….Is the Lord soft-hearted?”

“He is. He acts strong on the outside, but in reality, he might not want to kill even his enemies.”

“For such a person, hasn’t he made quite a lot of truly tremendous weapons?”

“He will develop even more in the future. Now is just the starting point.”

The Birdfolk ranger nodded. Seeing the creation of troops newly equipped with what were called new weapons day by day, he was also envious on one hand.

“It’s something to think positively about. Since it means we’re becoming that much more powerful, but on the other hand, we might be checked by everyone. A singularity is that easy to be excluded, after all.”

“It’s not something for us to worry about, is it?”

“Right, so you go back to your post. Don’t break the formation.”

“Yes, sir!”

Zorban sighed as he watched the ranger return while answering playfully.

‘Please, may you not be hurt…’

Zorban knew that war often ate away at a person’s spirit.

At that time, a beastkin with three Rads on her chest looked at her unit and spoke.

“The battle has begun. We are a guerrilla unit. We have been guaranteed freedom of operation, but a command to absolutely withdraw if the enemy approaches closely has been added. Then, what is the task we must do?!”

It was Bella of the Gyeon-in Tribe, a beastkin with three Rads.

She recalled the memories of sharing various stories with the Lord, who had fearlessly roamed the streets where only beastkin lived on the day he first took office, saying he was out for inspection.

‘A fun person, but a person to be grateful for. I don’t think of him as a divine messenger, but… the person who clearly established the role of our Gyeon-in Tribe… I must work hard!’

Bella, as she made a vow, spoke while looking at the many beastkin waiting for her answer.

“The Denics Team has already begun to move. They considered the explosion as a signal and seem to be entering a fire-power war by utilizing their specialty. But we will go thoroughly with a guerrilla war. Centurion over there, you take 500 people and lure the enemy. We will ambush and surprise them, then withdraw.”

At that time, there was a centurion who raised a hand at Bella’s words.

“What is it?”

“Do we absolutely have to withdraw? I was wondering if it would be okay to finish them off if the enemy is confused.”

“It is the command of the Divine Messenger. It is absolute; we do not talk back. That’s all!”

A centurion could be seen disappearing while leading 500 beastkin with a determined expression. Now the remaining 1,500 only needed to ambush and surprise the enemy forces that would be lured in from various places.

And at the same time, Duke Balsen had to taste the feeling of his mind half-fleeing.

“Wh-What on earth is this!!”

He looked at the wall of smoke rising from the explosion with a desolate expression. He saw the movements of soldiers struggling to suppress the fire, and soldiers and knights striving to kill or extinguish the flames on soldiers whose bodies had caught fire.

Moreover, as he looked at the siege weapons that were smashed into pieces or burning, he had to taste a feeling of becoming dazed; when he turned his head in a daze, Marquis Islant Bransch also had a similar expression.

“Marquis… did you receive a report that such weapons existed…?”

“I, I did not receive one. No… they must have hidden it thoroughly… Th-the number won’t be many. They won’t have many magic tools that produce that kind of power.”

It was then.

“Report!!”

A knight who ran urgently pointed at the sky and spoke.

“Unidentified objects that appear to have dropped the items that caused the explosion just a moment ago have appeared in the sky again!”

“Wh-What did the mages say?!”

The knight remained silent; with an expression of why he was asking him that, he gritted his teeth and looked at Marquis Islant Bransch, who also urgently asked the head of the mages nearby at Duke Balsen’s gaze.

“Sir Damush, how are we to respond?”

“If it is a magic tool of that magnitude… it must be something the Viscount’s territory prepared by doing its utmost. What is currently floating… might be a bluff.”

“I suppose so.. Ye-Yes, it must be. No matter how much the Ingrad Domain earns money…”

Duke Balsen stopped mid-sentence. And then he asked.

“How much do you think it would cost to manufacture a magic tool that produces that kind of power?”

“…If manufactured as a simple consumable, I think it would cost at least 3,000 Large Gold Coins.”

“Haha… what a tremendous waste of money.”

Duke Balsen had an expression of admiration. Then he tilted his head and asked.

“I think I heard… the monthly profit of the Ingrad Domain…”

Just as his memory was becoming hazy, several knights hurriedly ran over and began to report the situation. Because of that, Duke Balsen set aside his thoughts and began to respond appropriately to each report, as if he hadn’t won his dukedom for nothing.

In the meantime, Marquis Islant Bransch began to stabilize the battlefield by giving advice, and it was then.

“The enemies floating in the sky have begun to move!”

It felt like he wanted a command to be given quickly, and Duke Balsen spoke.

“Just in case, tell the mages to deploy defensive magic with all their might!”

Duke Balsen threatened Damush as he watched the messengers and knights scatter after saying they understood.

“I hope your thoughts turn out to be correct.”

Damush looked at him with an expression of why he was venting his anger on him, but he also hoped his thoughts were correct as he watched the enemy who was still floating in the air without any particular movement.

At that time, movements causing chaos for the Imperial Army began to occur in various places.

First, a group was discovered in the lush forests inside Ingrad, and a commotion began to arise; the starting point of the problem was that a unit, which had previously received permission for some autonomous action, began to march into the forest to chase them, causing the formation that had been well-ordered to begin to distort.

At this, several commanders pondered whether they should inform the headquarters and deal with it, but the formation, which was too long, began to create problems.

Literally, there were too many commanders, and the situation was correct that the problem was growing because of Duke Balsen, who gave them a certain amount of autonomous operational rights instead of making them act uniformly.

“They’re starting to chase.”

The centurion who received the command to lure the enemy forces gave a command at the scout’s report.

“Withdraw slowly. Once we reach the operation area, let them discover our identity as if showing off to make them dig even deeper. That’s all. Move!”

A brief and short operational command, but the expressions of the beastkin following it were solemn. Moreover, because the following troops also knew that if they built ‘merit,’ the amount of scraps they could get here in the Ingrad Domain would increase, they all began to chase with all their might, and a long line began to form; the problem was that in the case of some knight orders at the front, they began to run while ignoring the soldiers who were lagging behind.

Despite knowing that they shouldn’t do that, they were blinded by greed. Their number reached nearly a thousand, which was a staggering figure corresponding to one-tenth of the total number of knights organized as the Ingrad subjugation force.

As a result, they became even more filled with confidence, thinking they could overcome whatever the enemy prepared, and they began to charge stupidly without dreaming that the place they were heading was a dragon’s maw.

Bella, who was watching this, perceived that the number of knights and soldiers was quite large and showed the hand signals she had planned in advance; several people from each unit began to wait for the execution command while firmly grasping the round beads hanging near their chests with both hands.

And just after the allies passed in front of those who were hiding, when the excited knights arrived not long after, beads flying through the air and gunfire began to ring out along with Bella’s hand which was raised high.

Furthermore, the moment the beads that flew through the air fell among the knights, they emitted a large number of fragments along with a roar that shook the earth, and everything caught by those fragments was torn to pieces and smashed.

That wasn’t all. Did they believe firmly in their own armor?

Without even thinking of blocking or defending against the bullets, they charged straight ahead; the allies in the front, who perceived that the attack had begun, killed every charging knight while maintaining the defensive line by firing guns toward the knights rushing at them.

Only then did the knights realize the situation was strange, but nearly half had already died with their bodies torn or holes poked in them, and the other half were scheduled to die before long.

“Rear units, check the soldiers! Front line, don’t let your guard down and make sure to confirm the kills steadily!!”

Bella’s shout echoing in the forest was telling of the Imperial Army’s tragedy.

I could tell from the explosive sounds heard from various places that hand grenades were used, and looking down from a high place, I could tell that the Imperial Army’s formation had begun to perfectly misalign, unlike at first.

“They still have some leisure before reaching our side. If it’s the range of the Mana Cannons, wouldn’t it reach their camp over there as well?”

“I believe it is possible. Shall we use them?”

I pondered for a moment at Wijel’s words and then shook my head. I thought it was not yet time. Moreover, I judged that to give even greater chaos, they shouldn’t be used now.

“They’re more clumsy than I thought…”

I thought of a thrilling war situation that I had expected, but there was no such thing. This was because the difference between the enemy and our army was so different that it could be called a difference in ‘civilization.’

Moreover, the fire from the aerial bombs was lasting quite a long time. I didn’t know what kind of magic was added to exert such power, but seeing the flames continue for over 30 minutes, I wondered if it might affect the forest by any chance.

Such a thought suddenly occurred to me. But be that as it may, the Empire didn’t seem to have intentions of just being attacked like this either, as they were seen beginning to clear a path by catching some of the flames through mobilizing mages.

“It seems they intend to operate the knight order.”

Wijel asked at the words I calmly brought out.

“What shall you do?”

“Hmm… first, let’s bomb the enemy’s rear one more time.”

“Specifically.. in the rear?”

“It’s to create a sense of anxiety. Also, even if we drop attacks flying from the sky onto the enemy’s heads, mages will be on guard now, so we won’t see much of an effect.”

It was a guess, but I thought it would probably turn out like that, and I thought it was better to instead set fire to the rear and disrupt the supplies gathered in the back.

“Burn the supplies.”

Saying he understood, Wijel took out a purple signal flare and threw it high into the sky. After that caused an explosion and I confirmed the movement of the fast-moving Birdfolk, I spoke while looking at the knights in flashy armor charging out through the path the Imperial Army had opened.

“It seems a son has come to find his father. Have him brought here.”

Saying he understood, Wijel withdrew, and I only smiled bitterly while looking at Viscount Muriel, who I felt was somehow staring at me.