Chapter 164: Chapter 164. Going to War (4)

*Rumble*

*Rumble*

The ground shook with the sound of the horses’ hooves.

The Kashuka Knights turned around after sweeping through the Imperial Army’s entire infantry.

“Aagh!” “Help me!”

Any Imperial Army soldiers in their way would be swept to the side under the might of their charge. This was the tactic that they had employed to great effect.

“Stop them! Enter the tortoise formation to stop the cavalry!”

Following the commander’s orders, the Imperial Army moved in unison. A moment later, their shields and spears came together to form a solid wall around them.

But such a formation was useless when their opponents were heavily armed with magic weapons. Their formation would have been effective against regular cavalry, but this was anything but that.

“AAAAGH!”

They forcefully broke through once again.

In the face of such a reckless charge, the Imperial Army broke down.

The Imperial Army’s spears couldn’t pierce through the enemy’s armor, and the shields they wielded broke easily.

Their shield wall crumbled easily and many soldiers were trampled by the enemy horses’ hooves.

The Kashuka Knights soon broke through the center and began heading towards the artillery.

At this rate, the artillery troops were going to be left exposed and defenseless against the enemy’s attacks.

As a result of their efforts to sustain shelling magic on the Outsiders, they were starting to run low on mana. They didn’t have enough energy to deal with the cavalry’s approach.

Despite being plunged into crisis, Desir didn’t panic and slowly examined the enemy. His two eyes were looking for the Kashuka Knights’ planned route.

‘For cavalries that can’t make sharp turns, they’re dead the moment their planned movement is discovered.’

Having finished organizing his thoughts, Desir gave Romantica an order. “Romantica, aim for the one third from the front.”

The enemy that Desir was pointing at was armed with particularly good weapons in comparison to the rest of the cavalry.

Romantica, too, had noticed the superiority of his gear through the difference in the flow of mana and soon went into sniping mode. And the moment the target entered her line of sight… *BANG*

The bullet pierced straight through the head of the Kashuka Knights’ leader, and he tumbled off his horse like a rag doll.

Using a weapon called a rifle to concentrate a significant amount of her power into a single bullet, Romantica’s shot far surpassed her mana’s limit in terms of strength.

“Don’t stop!”

“Continue carrying out the leader’s orders!”

The Kashuka Knights turned a blind eye to their leader’s death and continued charging. Desir’s orders continued.

“Adjest, freeze the enemy’s movements.”

As soon as he finished talking, Adjest’s calculations appeared in the form of a multitude of magical arrays in front of herself.

[Forest of Crying White Crows] Fourth Circle ice magic.

Hundreds of pillars of ice surfaced along the trajectory that the Kashuka Knights were following.

“… … !”

Their movements immediately slowed. The wall that had appeared out of nowhere forced them to quickly change their route.

But without a leader to make commands, there was no way they were going to make a quick and unified decision.

Desir raised his hand towards the hesitant Kashuka Knights. [Flame Storm]

A spell that would normally be classified as being of the Third Circle surged towards the Kashuka Knights with the force of a Sixth Circle spell.

And as their silver armor dyed itself red… *BAAAAANG*

A huge firestorm erupted with a deafening roar. “Th… there’s no way… … ”

Regardless of which side they were on, everyone that was watching the scene had the same thought.

There was no one that could survive in such flames that still continued to burn fiercely.

The Kashuka Knights that had been at the center of the explosion, as well as assisting enemy troops surrounding them, were wiped out completely.

“We weren’t told about any of this! How could a magician of this level be mixed in amongst the infantry!”

Having witnessed overwhelming magical power, the Outsiders fell into a panic. The Imperial Army didn’t miss the opportunity.

“HRAAAAGH!”

A multitude of battle cries sounded.

The momentary upper hand that the Outsiders had claimed swiftly returned to the Imperial Army.

“I think we’ve done enough.” It was like Pram said.

The Starling Party had neutralized the enemy’s attacks, and completely annihilated their main troops.

They had created the current situation.

The Outsiders resisted desperately. The situation had already turned against them, yet they remained persistent.

Desir spoke to the party members as he gasped for air.

“Like Pram said, we’ve done enough… so let’s leave the rest… to the infantry…” At his orders, Romantica questioned him.

“We’re not seeing it through to the end?”

“This is enough for now. This won’t be the last battle anyway.”

A magician’s management of their mana was more important than a knight maintaining their fitness. A magician out of mana was no different than an ordinary person with no training.

But that wasn’t the only reason why Desir ordered a retreat. ‘Something isn’t right.’

Despite his overwhelming victory, he didn’t look very happy.

Going to the rear where the command center was located, the Starling Party was able to join up with Radoria and Kelt who had been active within the artillery troops. They had retreated to the command center after the Blue Moon and Red Dragon parties finished aiding the artillery unit, as well as their personal mana stores being largely depleted.

Noticing the Starling Party, Radoria approached them.

“You guys are doing great. Thanks to you, the artillery battle was really easy. There’s a tent at the back so you should rest up a bit.”

Adjest, Romantica, and Pram hurried to the tent that Radoria was pointing at.

But Desir was different. With a stiff expression, he continued examining the battlefield. When Desir didn’t immediately join his party members to rest, Radoria spoke to him. “What’s wrong, Desir?”

“Things seem to be going easier than I expected it to. Since our main forces were sent to the central front to provide support, I’d expected the situation to be difficult… … ”

Radoria spoke as if she didn’t understand.

“Well that’s obviously because you guys have done so well.” “No, that’s not what I mean.”

The questions Desir had weren’t about the current situation. They were more about the fundamental situation itself.

The Outsiders, created by groups of criminals all over the continent, currently possessed enough power to be called the strongest on a battlefield.

It was enough to go head-to-head with the forces provided by the Western Kingdom Union. And the current force of the Imperial Army that was mobilized for this war was only a fifth of the Allied Forces’ power.

Sensing the tense atmosphere flowing between Radoria and Desir, Kelt approached them.

“It’s strange. Even though the troops that were sent to the western and central fronts were considerably large, when thinking about how powerful a force they have, the number of troops they sent here is far too little.”

Kelt seemed to have realized that something was off as well. “… … That’s certainly the case.”

“Is it because they don’t want to take the risk? If they go all-out and lose, then that’s it for them.”

At Radoria’s guess, Desir shook his head.

The troops they’d mobilized this time were far too big for them to have been preparing for next time.

If the Outsiders lost this battle, they did have the homunculus as a wildcard, but it would be near impossible for them to overturn the situation.

‘The Outsiders aren’t in a position to save their power.’

He could only assume that they had something else they were aiming for.

What could their goal be?

Desir quickly reached a conclusion. “… … The supply routes.”

“What?”

“If the homunculus at the central front was to tie down the Allied Forces’ main forces and the supply routes in the western and eastern fronts were their main goals… ”

Radoria and Kelt turned pale.

The Allied Forces that were composed of the continent’s greatest nations were truly enormous. If the supply routes were seized by the enemy, it would become impossible to maintain all those troops.

They would lose without even getting a chance to fight the enemy properly. Radoria spoke urgently to Desir.

“We’d better send a scouting party. I’ll tell the command immediately.” “We have no time for that. Romantica!”

Surprised by Desir’s call, Romantica jumped out. “What’s going on!?”

“Romantica, I need you to invoke detection magic around the port’s supply route.” Flustered, Radoria spoke.

“Desir, even if it’s Romantica, using detection magic at such a distance… … ” “We’ve always practiced within that range so it’s okay.”

Romantica cut off Radiora’s words and began invoking detection magic.

The wind blew around her, and soon it concentrated onto one point and stretched out.

As the wind searched every nook and cranny of the battlefield, Romantica’s eyebrows flinched.

“This is… ”

Desir hurriedly asked.

“Are you getting a response?”

“Around two thousand armored people are heading towards the supply route.”

At Romantica’s response, the expressions of Hebrion Academy’s party leaders hardened. Kelt murmured.

“This entire assault was a ruse… … ”

The once heated atmosphere turned cold in an instant.