112 – Request for Reinforcements (3)
As the surface in front of Araidros exploded, the soldiers were sent flying in all directions.
But that wasn’t all.
In places where soldiers had just been pulling siege cannons, and in places where soldiers had been stringing arrows on their bows just moments ago.
…Explosions were happening all over where the soldiers were.
“What is this-!”
The chilling screams of the soldiers sent flying in all directions could be heard, and dozens of siege weapons were instantly destroyed.
A situation that happened in an instant.
“Could this be… magic!?”
Araidros furrowed his brow and thought, but soon raised his head.
The dispel magic was still in effect.
That’s why Araidros momentarily panicked.
“All troops! Form ranks!”
He immediately shouted with a hoarse voice.
At the same time, the soldiers, even in their panicked state, began to form ranks as if their bodies were responding.
It wasn’t a good situation, as the frontlines that had charged forward just moments ago were completely destroyed, but as someone who had commanded numerous battlefields, he calmly began to assess the situation.
No, to be precise, he attempted to assess the situation.
“!”
Before the iron golem could hurl something massive at him.
What the iron golem threw came hurtling towards Araydros in an instant.
Chilling precision, almost beyond the definition of mere “throwing.”
Yet, even as the object hurled by the golem approached, he calmly sidestepped, tearing apart dozens of shield scrolls within his grasp.
“Kuk!”
Araydros, utilizing a shield that barely lasted a few seconds, narrowly diverted the stone thrown by the golem, saving his life.
However.
As Araydros, with a brief smile acknowledging his survival, soon witnessed the thrown object glowing in blue.
Immediately after, a new white light enveloped him.
Kwaaang-!!!!!
A massive explosion occurred.
####
“Hoo.”
Once he confirmed the command post had been obliterated, Kim Hyunwoo, who stood on the golem, wiped away the profuse sweat and could finally exhale.
Looking down immediately, he saw soldiers entangled in disarray, succumbing to the golem as soon as the command post was lost, and the Pasen soldiers already starting to retreat from the battlefield.
Watching them all flee in fear, just like last time, Kim Hyunwoo thought,
“The mines are working well.”
What Kim Hyunwoo had created this time were mines produced from the power units in the processing plant.
He had detached the power units from the processing plant in the Tesnoca territory, prepared intermediate mana stones, and forcefully embedded them all where the underground wall was in the fortress.
Of course, the mines were not simply buried.
Naturally, in the medieval era, it was not possible to detonate a mine by stepping on it.
That’s why Kim Hyun-woo asked Shadra to create a scroll that could remotely activate the power supply of the buried propulsion devices. He pressed the button when the soldiers arrived, causing all the nearby mines to explode in a chain reaction.
He knew that the propulsion devices would explode if subjected to a strong impact.
“It’s fortunate that I could press it just before entering the dispel range.”
If by any chance a mine that could have triggered a chain explosion did not explode within the dispel range, the situation would have been extremely difficult. Kim Hyun-woo let out a relieved sigh as if he had been reassured.
In fact, he had been tense the whole time until the commander was finished.
Kim Hyun-woo’s plan had many variables.
If, for instance, the commander had attempted to attack all directions, Kim Hyun-woo’s strategy would have only achieved a small degree of success.
However, despite knowing the risks, the reason why he buried mines in front of the broken walls was because he believed that the commander would let his guard down.
The situation in the Tesnoka territory was one that no commander could afford to be complacent about.
The Tesnoka territory had been breached after several fights, and the number of soldiers had decreased significantly.
Moreover, the once numerous heroes were now reduced to just six.
In other words, no matter who looked at it, the Tesnoka territory had clear weaknesses. And the hastily repaired walls that Kim Hyun-woo had seen were likely to further lull the commander into complacency.
On the contrary, just by showing signs of hasty repairs on the walls, it indirectly revealed the state of the territory.
Anyway, through these few factors, Kim Hyun-woo knew that the commander would let his guard down, and after detonating the mines and throwing the soldiers into panic, he immediately targeted the commander.
Even if the soldiers in the front line had been dealt with, there were still too many of Randalton’s soldiers.
If the commander, who was actually gathering the soldiers, quickly assessed the situation and counterattacked, it would have been quite troublesome.
However, Kim Hyun-woo successfully threw several propulsion devices that he had prepared precisely at the enemy commander, so that such a situation would not occur in the first place.
As a result, the soldiers, who were attacked by an unknown force and lost their commander, were still in a state of panic and were fleeing.
“…I never knew Dispel would be this helpful.”
As Kim Hyun-woo looked at the thousands of corpses that had piled up in a battle that lasted less than 30 minutes, he thought to himself.
If there hadn’t been Dispelling magic to mitigate the damage caused by large-scale magic during the war, they would have been able to handle the situation quickly, even in a situation like this that happened in an instant.
“But it was to prevent them from dealing with it in the first place by killing the commander.”
In fact, the commander of the Landon army would have been in a safe place where long-range attacks would not reach.
It was only possible to kill him because of the existence of the Iron Golem.
Anyway, even though Kim Hyun-woo breathed a sigh of relief because the operation could have failed if something hadn’t gone right.
“…”
Meanwhile, Tesnoka Lord Rania, who was watching in real-time as more than 10,000 troops were annihilated in an instant from a distance, had a surprised expression on her face.
“…This can’t be real.”
Honestly, when Rania first heard Kim Hyun-woo’s plan, she didn’t show any signs of it, but she was quite disappointed.
She had called for his help because she wanted him to use the item he had used in the Rartania territory when the Demon Army invaded.
Of course, Rania was well aware of her own selfishness.
From Noble mtl dot com
It was an unconscionable request to ask for the use of a weapon that could effectively defend the Rartania territory when there was no data on the enemy in other territories.
But even so, Rania had hoped that he would use it.
At least in her opinion, the Tesnoka territory had no choice but to lose its territory in the next war.
That’s why she dared to resent Kim Hyun-woo, who showed not only natural but also unreasonable – no, an unimaginable amount of favor.
Of course, because of such emotions, disappointment and self-loathing also increased.
But at this moment.
Rania found herself lifting Kim Hyun-woo without even realizing it. He stood lightly on the shoulders of the iron golem created by Cheongtapju, looking around as he watched the soldiers of Randalon fleeing. With calm eyes that seemed to indicate that this was the expected outcome, Kim Hyun-woo scanned the ground and then turned his gaze to Rania, who was looking at him. He lightly bowed his head as if acknowledging that the plan, which had seemed impossible, had been confidently executed without a single mistake.
At the same time, looking at him, who had successfully carried out the plan flawlessly and revealed without hesitation that he could be a hidden ally who had never been exposed before, saving Rania and even her territory, Rania couldn’t help but look at Kim Hyun-woo with a faint blush on her face.
####
After successfully completing the plan the next day, Kim Hyun-woo prepared to return to Lartania after hearing Roman’s report that the Pasan soldiers, except for about 2,000 of them, were practically disintegrated.
The 10,000 soldiers were undoubtedly a threat to Rania, but the judgment was made that the 2,000 soldiers could be easily stopped even in the current Tesnoka Territory.
Therefore, Kim Hyun-woo, who finished his preparations immediately, had a meeting with Rania before leaving for Lartania.
“Thank you so much.”
“No, it’s not necessary. I’ve decided to receive proper compensation.”
Kim Hyun-woo replied to Rania, who lowered her head.
In fact, it wasn’t just empty words. He had promised Rania more than he had thought.
Originally, all he wanted was the authority to buy resources at cost for about six months.
But what he promised Rania this time was the compensation of being able to buy resources in the territory at cost for more than five years, along with a tremendous amount of resources supplied free of charge once.
From Kim Hyun-woo’s perspective, this was actually a gain rather than a loss.
Of course, if Kim Hyun-woo hadn’t saved her, Rania would practically be facing death. However, because it was such a great gain, Rania also bowed her head and thanked him. “After this is over, I will visit you to express my gratitude.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, or you could come visit in person. If you do, I’ll have a bit more gratitude and gifts prepared.”
Rania, subtly trying to hold Kim Hyun-woo’s hand, laughed.
However, Elena, who naturally noticed Rania’s actions, stepped forward before Shardra could react.
“I will make sure to do that.”
She bowed briefly in greeting.
But despite Rania clearly obstructing the path, she continued.
Thud-!
She grabbed Kim Hyun-woo’s opposite hand and closed the distance.
Then,
“Surely, it will be a very generous gift.”
She whispered as if sharing a secret.
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere cooled.
“Do you understand?”
Shardra, frozen while smiling, and Elena, sending a cold gaze to Rania. However, as if she didn’t care about the surroundings, Rania urged for an answer while looking at Kim Hyun-woo.
“…Ah, yes.”
With a bewildered expression, Kim Hyun-woo unintentionally gave his answer. With that, he left the Tesnoka territory.
I like this girl…