395 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Chapter 395 "Great! You can clearly see their offensive weakening! Exactly 10 minutes from now, dismantle the Barrier of Wind and launch an all-out attack!" The eyes of the wizards, who were expending all their mana to form a large-scale magic circle, all turned toward the man shouting those orders. Known for his notoriously impatient nature, the Mage of Blazing Heat, Greg Marvin, was repeatedly shouting with his face flushed bright red. His face stained with anger was not an uncommon sight when Greg was unleashing magic, but at this moment, the other wizards bore similar expressions. It was a situation that warranted it. From the onset of the battle, it had been an unexpected series of struggles. "This... this is absurd!" The repeating crossbow was something they had anticipated. It was a highly efficient weapon that even the Empire had adopted as standard equipment for its soldiers. There were strange rumors that the weapon, which was being secretly developed by the Royal Court, had first appeared in that small nation, but nonetheless, similar weapons existed on their side as well. Yet the volume of quarrels being fired far exceeded their expectations by five to six times. "Even just that would be a disaster..." But then an unforeseen shock added to the fray. A series of explosive spells, seemingly at the level of a 2-circle, consecutively detonated, scorching the ground like a carpet of fire. The command staff largely doubted their eyes at the incomprehensible spectacle. In modern warfare, it was believed walls held no significant value anymore, yet they were witnessing an incredibly resilient barrier blocking the Empire's forces. In order to put an end to that catastrophe, the Mage of the Cutting Wind, Galen Decade, took the lead to draw attention. His fierce efforts certainly had an effect. However, as a consequence, he was currently withdrawn from the front line in meditation. Thanks to his efforts, at least one fact was confirmed. – Many among those so-called secret superhumans are here. Superhuman forces capable of contending with all of Mecline's superhumans were deployed across all three military routes. Among them, however, the center force was undoubtedly the strongest. Not only with the Sword Soul and Cutting Wind, but also the leaders of the five great towers, as it was a force comprising strong individual from the Empire's finest. The problem was that this was the only positive news. "Damn it..." The battle situation had already deviated significantly from the imperial army's expectations. 'We are here in the central army. However, the northern and southern forces severely lack wizards. Could it be that there too...?' A foreboding feeling swept over him, but at this point, there was nothing more he could do. "How many soldiers are inside there? And how many wizards!? What is the general staff doing?! They haven't managed to gather a single piece of useful intelligence about the enemy!" Greg furiously kicked the ground, shouting at the top of his lungs. He knew too that there was nothing they could do until the magic circle was dismantled, but he felt that venting his frustration would settle his anxious mind, if even just a little. In response to his irritated voice, one of the commanders stepped forward. It was a person Greg recognized well. One of the imperial army strategists who had led and devised the plan for the invasion of Mecline. Wasn't he from Grandia? "There were rumors that Mecline distributed repeating crossbows to the common people and even trained them. And those explosions are not from magic but a weapon like scrolls..." At the commander’s words, who had plain brown eyes and a nondescript appearance, Greg's expression twisted immediately. "What!? Why are you only saying this now!?" "It was reported before..." "To whom!?" "..." "Tch, the general staff is rotten too. To have someone who only makes excuses in the command post." The commander who brought it up, 'Lucen Talos', had to swallow back the curse that rose up to his throat. He could not mention the name of the person to whom he had initially reported. "I told you, but you damned Empire folks didn’t believe! Not even Prince Baros or the royal family!" They argued it was preposterous to hand commoners weapons that could kill knights. And questioned how a small nation could afford to use so many scrolls in a civil conflict. "This is the cost of arrogance. Foolish imperial bastards..." Of course, it never crossed his mind that the Empire might actually lose, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious watching the kingdom’s army perform beyond expectations. His position was already quite precarious. Wasn't he once a marquis in Grandia and a strategist for the second prince faction? "To think I ended up grabbing a rotten line..." The prince who promised to grant him the rank of count in the Empire if he caused civil strife in Grandia, thereby depleting its national strength, was now a hunted traitor within the Empire. Now, the former marquis of Grandia was merely a strategist with the rank of a lowly baron. Hence, in this war, he must secure achievements at all costs. "The western part of the kingdom is clear. I can guide as much as needed. So crumble. Please." But contrary to his hopes, the fortress of Kyle showed no signs of falling easily. And at that moment, he saw a sphere of red aura, which had dominated a section of the wall far in the distance, disappear. Though he couldn’t discern who the vague figure cast outside the wall belonged to, it wasn't hard to guess. "Sword Soul!? Could it be!?" – Hurrah! Even though he hoped it wasn’t true, he could hear the enemy’s cheers, spiritedly rising even to this distant location. "...How on earth!?" He could only swallow his groans, staring at the unyielding barrier protecting his old homeland. And naturally, Lucen wasn’t the only one who saw this sight. Moreover, as the knights who climbed the walls to escape the downpour of quarrels and explosions fell one-sidedly, the banners positioned at the front of the imperial army began to move chaotically. – The wall. Above. Magic. "Damn it! Everyone, hurry up! All members of the magical battalion, advance at speed!!" At Greg Marvin’s furious cry, echoed by his interpretation of the signal, the magic circle absorbing mana beneath the wizards lost its light. Thunk. Woooooong. "Argh!" "Damn it...!" "Don't mind those who've fallen, just hurry!" As Selene, the Tower Master of Earthquake, slowly lifted her weary body, she shouted commands to those around her. By disrupting the axis of the magic circle, she effectively halted the flow of magic. Some of the weaker 3rd circle wizards within the magic battalion had sustained severe internal injuries, but given the circumstances, it was the right decision. Now was the time for the magic battalion to fully engage in the battlefield. Though their numbers were a mere 3,000, each was at least a 3rd circle wizard. They were even trained in formations solely for combat. Although not all seven great towers were present, the elite forces from five towers had mastered formations that could be utilized in any combat scenario. "Let's go!" "Move! Quickly!" As the Wizards of Tides summoned protective barriers of water, the Wizards of Blazing Heat transformed this water into steam, forming a massive spherical shield that encompassed groups of five wizards. Immediately, Wizards of Earthquake manipulated the ground beneath their group, while Wizards of Cutting Wind propelled them forward with gusts of air. At that moment, the Wizards of Freezing Solid turned the ground into sheer ice, eliminating friction, and the shielded wizards shot towards the battlefield like arrows. The moment they hit the frontline, the tide of battle was bound to shift once more. The 3,000-strong magic battalion wasn't merely there to unleash firepower on the enemy. The diverse magic they would deploy was set to enhance the imperial knights and soldiers tenfold, casting despair over their foes. "Selene, Lexie. We're moving too!" "And what about Galen!?" "We can't afford to wait!" Casting a brief glance at Galen enveloped in a stern guard formation, Greg grasped his horse's reins and bolted towards the battlefield. Though he could control wind as a secondary attribute, he lacked the vast mana reserves or refined skill to soar through the air delivering magical bombardments like Galen. The difference between Galen, a 6th circle Master, and him, an Expert, was a mere single step yet insurmountable. Nonetheless, he had his own means. "Let's go!" The force called magic power, known as Mana force, had an innate effect similar to the force exhibited by knights even without specific magical intervention. Combined with a bit of magic... "Neigh!” When a horse enveloped in fiery magic rushed at blistering speed towards the battlefield, two more horses, imbued with brown and blue mana, followed closely. Thud, thud, thud. "Move aside! Out of the way!" Greg screamed repeatedly as he charged like a madman. As the battlefield drew nearer, he could witness Sword Soul and Nelly overpowering the enemy king. A place where golden and white mana intermingled, creating their own battlefield. An environment where even Sword Soul’s disciple waited outside, looking for an opening, as the golden aura was gradually cornered. As his mind conjured the enemy king’s inevitable demise, his anxious heart began to settle slightly. 'It would be wasteful to devote resources there.' Currently, he and his comrades needed to focus on confronting the other wizards who had outdone the Wizard of Cutting Wind. Resolving thus, Greg summoned his magical strength. Then, it happened. Crash! Something in the shape of a hand suddenly emerged from the ground, grasping the foot of his horse. 'A golem?' Neighing! The horse, which had been dashing at a terrifying speed, toppled over the field with a deathly screech. "Gasp!" Thankfully, Galen, sensing the flow of magic ahead of time, had already leaped into the air, using the carcass as a stepping stone. Now close to the wall, horses were no longer necessary. In fact, this magic enabled him to pinpoint the enemy wizards' locations. 'Over there!' He stepped atop a wind-swept staircase and soared above the wall, scanning for traces of magic. But what he witnessed atop the wall in just a moment’s glimpse caused his face to contort with disdain. Imperial knights who barely scaled the fortress were being overpowered without getting a chance to counter. The alarmed reports about something unusual on the wall were certainly not exaggerated. Yet, a mage’s eye saw beyond that. 'Artifacts? Every enemy knight?' Even as his knights faltered, he observed that enemy knights displayed subtle but distinct mana movements, further tipping the balance atop the fortress against them. What he saw and sensed was unbelievable—even utilizing the Empire’s entire budget couldn't equip approximately 2,000 knights with artifacts. 'What on earth...?' When he conquers this fortress, he must interrogate the enemy knights to uncover their secrets. Determined thus, Greg fixed his sights on a closer target. Before him stood the traces of surging mana and a female knight cloaked in a red aura. 'Mages—two, Aura user—one.' With quick analysis, his eyes locked onto the girl with mismatched red and blue eyes. ‘So that rumor... was true after all.’ To put it politely, it had seemed like nonsense. If it hadn’t been Sword Soul who mentioned it, he would have laughed it off as lunacy, yet it appeared to be truth. For such a young mage to exist in an era where mana was fading—she would have been a divine prodigy had she been born in the ancient times. While inwardly admiring, as Greg soared towards the wall, he could hear his knights' cries. "There's something strange with the wall!" "Be careful!" Loyal men thinking of victory even as they endured the blades of their foes. Yet he was already cautious. ‘If the wall is strange, I’ll simply avoid stepping on it.’ While he couldn’t freely levitate and cast spells, momentarily stopping mid-flight was well within his capabilities. Dangling outside the wall’s edge, Greg halted flight and prepared his most powerful magic. "Mega Flare!" Whoosh. Boom! The fireballs manifesting before him incinerated incoming quarrels, transforming into a wild barrage upon the target. Boom, boom, boom, boom! Beside him, a section of the wall crumbled, unleashing a storm of stone upon the same target. And it didn’t end there. Shaa-rarak! Suddenly, raindrops from the sky transformed into tiny, sharp daggers that descended from above, targeting them. This was the handiwork of three mages from the Empire's pride, the renowned 7 Great Towers, who had unleashed their attacks with all their might. Before them, a female knight enveloped in a curtain of red aura stood resolutely, ready to intercept their onslaught.