464

Episode 464: With great power comes great responsibility. (2)

Two great armies face each other on a wide plain.

One side was waving the flag of the Northern Army, the other the flag of the Duke of Delphine.

Count Mathes, who led the 2nd Legion of the Delphine Army, asked the man next to him.

"Hmm, are you sure the Earl of Fenris isn't there?"

"Yes, I would have moved if I didn't want to lose my father and sister."

The one who answered was the judge of the Salvation Church, Dentaria.

Dentaria is a priest who inspired the barbarians to create a rift in the North. After completing that mission, he has now joined the Delphian army.

Count Mathes nodded and continued.

"Even if Earl Fenris is gone, the Northern Army is still elite. There are many strong men, and they are famous for the quality of their weapons. The priests must exert their strength."

The skills of the knights and soldiers of the Northern Army and the Delphian Army would be similar. However, the equipment and weapons were the problem.

The Northern Army is renowned for maintaining mobility while carrying siege engines, all thanks to new technology developed by the Earl of Fenris.

The Delphian army, which had to move at a fast pace, did not bring siege weapons. Once the road was cleared, a follow-up supply force was to arrive.

But it was obvious that the Northern Army had deployed a lot of catapults.

"We have to clear the way as quickly as possible. We can't just deploy catapults and fight them."

On the other hand, the Northern Army was in a situation where they just had to buy time. There was no need for them to attack first.

In fact, if the Northern Army had been a little smaller in number, it wouldn't have been a problem. Even if they used catapults, they could just push back with their large army.

But the Northern Army was also a large army of 80,000 men. So, they had no intention of engaging them recklessly.

Dentaria, hearing Count Mates' concerned words, said with an expression telling her not to worry.

"Without Earl Fenris, the Northern Army will inevitably be weaker in battle. If you just blockade the 7th Circle wizards, our priests will take the lead and break the catapults. There will be some damage, but you don't have to worry too much."

"Okay, I understand."

As Count Matthes, he had no choice but to trust only superhuman priests.

Any tactical rotation would be meaningless since the enemy had deployed a lot of catapults. It was like attacking a fortress, only without walls.

So, the superhuman priests had to take the lead and disrupt the enemy camp.

'It's quite possible, since Earl Fenris is not here.'

Count Matthes really believed it, for three high priests were involved.

If we can just destroy the Northern Army, Earl Fenris will lose his base. Then the war will be easier.

Allied forces sent from other countries are arriving one by one, but they are not the main force anyway. We can just capture the capital first and then take care of them one by one.

There was not even a shred of thought in Count Mathes's mind that he would lose.

The only concerns were how to minimize the damage and how to carry out the additional orders that had been given.

"In this battle, the order has been given to eliminate that guy named Alpoy if possible."

"Are you talking about the hidden 7th Circle Wizard?"

"Yes. When you penetrate the enemy lines, if you see anyone who looks like that guy, kill him first. So that he can't join up with Earl Fenris after we retreat."

"Understood. I've checked the portrait, so I'll find him first and kill him as soon as I destroy the weapon."

Dentaria smiled cruelly.

The reason the Duke had been suffering under the Count of Fenris was because there were so many variables. One of them was Alfoy, who had been hiding his true power.

The plan of the engineer was to eliminate these variables one by one and regain control of the situation.

Count Mathes made a bitter expression as he looked at the smiling Dentaria.

'We have now crossed the river of no return.'

The vassals based in the south could not stand against the Duke of Delphine. They had long known how fearsome the Duke was.

If the vassals escape like the duke's nobles, there will be immediate retaliation.

Then, not only will the territory be in danger, but what will happen to their families who are being held hostage by the Duke's family?

Although it is a time-honored tradition to take hostage the heirs or family members of vassals, Raoul took a particularly large number of them.

There are lords who do not care about their families, but even they gave up on escaping when threatened by the duke's family. Everyone's life is precious.

'There's no choice. We have no choice but to take over the kingdom. That's the only way we can survive.'

Now there was no other way but to win the civil war. There was no choice but to go all the way with the Salvation Church.

The soldiers' morale was at an all-time low as the war had no justification and fear of the spies and the Salvation Church was added to the mix.

Since they were well-trained elite soldiers, we had to trust them and go.

"All troops, advance."

As soon as Count Mathes gave the order, the Delphian army began to move.

The Northern Army had already completed preparations for battle.

Claude spoke to those around him with a relaxed expression.

"We'll win if we fight anyway. They don't have weapons right now. You don't have to worry. They'll just get shot and die if we shoot at them."

Hundreds of catapults were already deployed behind the northern army. At this rate, it would be safe to assume that any enemy who came within firing range would be shot down.

Even when fighting Marquis Rodrik, Giselle made active use of catapults. Catapults were very powerful weapons if they could be properly deployed in the field.

Tennant, who had fought the Fenris Army once, expressed one concern.

"They probably don't know that we have a lot of catapults. But they're advancing anyway, which means they're confident. Maybe there are superhumans in the mix."

Common sense tells you that there is a higher probability that there are no superhumans. Superhumans are so rare. There are less than four officially known superhumans.

However, when Raviere was captured, it was revealed that there were hidden superhumans in the Salvation Church. It was a matter of uncertainty.

"If there were a superhuman, he would first aim for the catapult. With our power, we could block it, but… … . The damage would be quite significant."

There are two other unknown superhumans on this side, but if the opposing superhumans infiltrate the camp and run wild, there is bound to be damage.

Claude nodded as if he knew that much.

"So we also need to respond. I think Lady Erenes needs to use some force!"

"Okay, what should I do?"

"Yes! You can go out first now! Go and block the enemy!"

"… … Me alone?"

"Yes! By myself!"

"… … No matter how big the country is, it cannot stop an army of 100,000 people alone."

Even the most superhuman would have a hard time dealing with 100,000 people. Even if they were all soldiers, they would collapse from exhaustion after beating them.

Moreover, the dukedom is the most powerful force in the kingdom. There will be many high-level knights and magicians. There will certainly be superhumans there.

If you go out and fight alone, you will definitely die.

When Erenes showed weakness, Claude shouted in a solemn voice.

"Erenes! Don't you know that with great power comes great responsibility! If we are to reduce the damage now, you must step forward!"

It sounds like you're telling me to go out alone, kill as many people as possible, cause chaos, and then die to minimize the damage.

Even the always calm Erene couldn't help but feel annoyed when she heard those words.

"Then you? What are you going to do if you put the blame on me?"

Claude answered with his chest held high.

"I don't have much power, so I have no responsibility."

"… … ."

An awkward silence fell over the command center. Kaor and Alfoy, who were known for being idiots, also looked at each other with contempt.

Wendy immediately covered Claude's mouth and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry. I'm usually like this… … but why am I acting like this more today… … ."

Claude, who was subdued, struggled and shook off Wendy's hand, then shouted.

"No! Listen to what the man has to say! Lady Erenes must come forward before the enemy speeds up and charges!"

When people looked puzzled, Claude carefully expressed his thoughts.

"So listen carefully. When Lady Erenes goes out, don't show off your superhuman skills and just act like a top-tier knight… … ."

Claude continued his explanation. Those who heard him looked puzzled. It didn't make sense, but it sounded plausible.

Erenes nodded for a moment. Since Giselle had told him to follow her orders unconditionally in the war, he was going to listen to her for once.

"Okay, I'll go and see. If things don't go as you say, I won't follow you anymore."

"Of course. If things don't go as I say, I will step down."

At Claude's confident words, Erenes stepped forward.

What she didn't know was that Claude always wanted to step down.

The Delphine army was gradually increasing its speed, in order to charge the moment it entered the range of the catapults.

Of course, this tactic was attempted with the trust in the three superhumans who stood at the forefront. I thought that with their power, they would definitely be able to break down the enemy lines.

Count Mathes raised his hand and said.

"The vanguard will soon be within range of the catapults. We must run as fast as possible and penetrate the enemy lines."

It's an army of a whopping 100,000 men. The middle and rear ranks will definitely suffer great damage from the catapults.

However, if the superhumans break through the front lines and destroy the catapults while the rest of the soldiers charge in, they can destroy the northern army.

"Wizards, prepare! Block the magic of the enemy 7th Circle Wizards!"

The magicians of the Delphin army raised their magical power.

There are a whopping 5 Circle 6 magicians participating here. In addition, there are many Circle 5 magicians and Circle 4 magicians.

Even if the enemy had a 7th circle magician, it would be possible to block the enemy's magic.

At that moment, the Delphine army was gradually approaching the northern army and increasing its speed.

"Huh? What is it?"

An elf quickly ran out from the northern army's camp and blocked the Delphian army's path.

The elf was radiating considerable momentum. Count Mates squinted at the sight.

"It's obvious what your intentions are."

He slowed down his advance for a moment to consult with Dentaria next to him.

"It seems like they're asking for a knight duel. What do you think?"

"Hmm, judging by the aura, he seems to be a top-level player. This is a good opportunity to eliminate him before the battle."

"I think so too. They're doing all sorts of things without the Earl of Fenris."

"You wouldn't think there were three superhumans here."

No one would have thought that there would be three superhumans in one army. The Duke and the Salvationists had to go to great lengths to completely destroy the Northern Army.

Of course, the Northern Army is also famous for having many outstanding figures. It seemed that they were planning to send a fairly strong figure to have a knightly battle to raise morale.

If we could defeat the enemy here, our morale would go up even more. There was no reason to turn down such a good opportunity when we were in a tactically disadvantaged position.

"There are many who have been ordered to be killed. Gillian, Kaor, Belinda… … But that elf seems to be someone who is not in the information. There is no way that that foul-mouthed elf would show up."

Dentaria tilted her head a few times before continuing.

"Well, judging by his aura, he seems to be just as good as them. I guess it wouldn't hurt to kill him first."

"That's right. If we kill even one of those guys, the damage our troops will suffer when they clash will be reduced."

"I'll go out and take care of it right away. Commander, charge as soon as I kill the guy. I'll run right away too."

"Yes, that's right."

Count Mathes deliberately slowed down the pace of his advance.

The Delphine army, which had been advancing without stopping, stopped as soon as the vanguard entered the range of the catapults. However, there was no enemy attack.

"As expected, you wanted a knightly duel. Very good. I will drive the enemy away as soon as the duel is over."

The elf looks pretty strong, but this is a fight for a superhuman. Even someone who is close to being a superhuman wouldn't think they could beat Dentaria.

If he was that strong, wouldn't rumors have spread already?

I was prepared for the damage to be quite significant, but it was a really good thing that I was able to start by taking out one of the enemy's strongest players.

Dentaria walked out leisurely and faced Erenes.

"What's your name? It seems like you're not in the information."

"Erenes."

"Was there such an elf? It wasn't Lumina or Ascon."

Erenes did not answer him and asked something else.

"Why did you stop the military?"

"Didn't you come out here to have a knights' duel?"

"That's true. But I didn't think they would come out. Why didn't we just charge in and fight like this? If we lost, the situation would have been worse."

"Huh, hahahaha! Lose? I lost? You stupid elf. Who do you think I am to say something like that?"

"Then does that mean you came out knowing you would win?"

"Yes, now that Earl Fenris is gone, there are no more superhumans in the Northern Army. No matter who appears, they can't be my opponent."

Gooooooooo… … .

A black energy slowly rose from Dentaria's body. The energy began to press hard against Erenes' body.

He said with a cruel smile.

"As you said, we are at a disadvantage because of the catapults. So, shouldn't we accept the offer of a grand battle? If we start by eliminating someone as skilled as you, our losses will be reduced by that amount."

"I see. That's interesting."

"What are you talking about?"

"You guys are moving like that light-hearted guy."

Ddddddddd.

Vines began to grow from beneath Erenes' feet and climb up her body.

Suddenly, wooden armor began to cover her body, and deer-like horns sprouted from her head.

A soft green aura spread out from her body and circled around her as if protecting her.

Dentaria's eyes widened at the sight.

"You… …were you hiding your skills?"

The energy I feel now is not top-notch. At least, it is superhuman.

Erenes said, taking a step forward.

"Why didn't you just use the entire army to trample me down? Then I would have retreated too."

"what?"

"Actually, we were thinking of starting by eliminating one superhuman."

grasp!

An intense green light emanated from her eyes.