53. Defend the supply line! (3)
It is heartbreaking to assume what-if, but it was also something that a ruler had to do.
If this supply line defense operation fails, the Empire will suffer tremendous damage.
1. Temporary interruption of supply.
2. The consumption of troops deployed in defense.
3. The main force should be concerned about the rear.
All three are painful, but the biggest is the annihilation of shadows.
The destruction of the shadows was big enough to mean that Ignit might have to rebuild his intelligence network.
So I had to win.
Conversely, from Roman’s point of view, this operation had to be successful.
The supply could be cut off even for a moment and the war prolonged to buy time.
This is because Roman, too, may have to bring forward the future power he had created for the great fight if he gets twisted even a little bit.
“Is it the fourth already?”
The head of the Black Moon looked at Tarion with a surprised expression.
Although he was an unmanned person who had reached the 6th stage, he thought that he was different from himself.
But looking at what they’ve endured so far, it doesn’t seem like that.
Even though he was dealing with himself with two warriors, it was because he was enduring it for now.
It was already the fourth time we fought for two days and nights.
In the meantime, Tarion had managed to hold out against the head of the Black Moon.
“I didn’t know that not being a Master would be so regretful.”
The black moon chief said with a grin.
Clearly, he was a formidable opponent even if he did not become a master.
From a huge maw that he could wield himself, it bloomed all over his body to form an ogre, and his sword was also imbued with magical powers.
Each of the three powers is powerful, but one person was handling all of them.
Of course, it wasn’t strange at all.
This is because, although rare, there are those who have learned both the magic aging method and the refining method.
It’s just that none of them were strong enough to stand on the master’s edge. If you look around the history of the continent, you can count on your fingers.
That’s why Tarion threw away his useless pride and faced the head of the Black Moon with his subordinates. It uses the fact that the number of shadows is greater than that of the black moon.
In addition, in the case of the mountain angler, I was able to buy time thanks to the magic tools Kariel gave me while worrying about Tarion.
‘Nevertheless, is it just an hour’s work?’
Tarion muttered inwardly and raised two swords.
Almost all of the magic tools Kariel gave me were destroyed. Now he had to hold the monster with only his shadows and himself.
‘I risk my life to stop it.’
The moment he thought so, waves of black magic began to spread around him.
‘It would be dangerous if it took more time.’
The head of the Black Moon thought so and raised his strength.
Unlike the first time, the leader of the shadows he had met for the fourth time was becoming more and more proficient at using his unique skills. Not only in life-and-death battles, but also through battles with unmanned soldiers of a similar level, he is crossing the wall without even realizing it.
Above all, it was great to directly face the unique skills developed by the head of the Black Moon, who had been trained to the limit.
‘Can I use it like this?’
‘Is it possible to use this magical power?’
‘Can I move like this?’
All of this was giving Tarion an experience.
Thanks to that, the firmly closed door slowly opened, and the strong master was trying to get over the fortress wall.
On the other hand, he wasn’t.
He might have reached the Master right away, but the wall was still strong.
Although he was superior to Tharion in every aspect, the wall of the black moon chief did not move at all.
“I don’t like it.”
The black moon chief, who muttered like that, raised his sword.
Even if you develop a little, your opponent will not be able to overcome the master’s wall. If he had been able to get over this gimmick with just one shot, he would have crossed it right away.
Still, it was inevitable.
Preta, who read his thoughts, moved to deal with the two shadows.
‘I will finish it myself.’
Tarion and the head of the black moon faced off silently while the two shadows rushed towards the maw to prevent it from destroying the base.
The first to move was the head of the Black Moon.
lunar eclipse
The Black Moon Chief has the most unique skill.
His unique skill, which can only be possessed by those who have reached the 6th level, is to cast a powerful stab in the midst of a sword slash that spreads in all directions.
and Tarion to defend it.
Thousands of memorized spells from the black magic waves spread around me and smashed the black slashes.
At the same time, a new type of Tarion that scatters like an illusion.
shadow world
Tarion’s new unique skill, which was upgraded by fighting the Black Moon Chief, from his original skill.
At least within his realm, he had an invincible power.
‘Are you slightly superior to me now?’
When Tharion, who was weaker than him, now had a slight edge in swordsmanship, the black moon master immediately exploded his magic.
Then, an image of a maw appeared and ate up the world of Tharion.
bang! bang!
Every time he swung his sword, Tarion’s black magic exploded, and dozens of black slashes filled it.
overwhelming negligence.
It was an inaction that even a Master could never take lightly, but Tarion endured.
As if crossing the shadows, he evaded the slashes with tremendous speed, and even created an illusion to dazzle the eyes of the head of the black moon.
“… … .”
I had to admit it now.
If left as it is, the head of the shadows will cross the master’s wall.
The moment your opponent crosses the wall, you will be in danger.
Are you overwhelmed by opponents you’ve overwhelmed before?
There will be no humiliation like this.
“Not as much as that!”
The head of the Black Moon, who shouted that, gathered all his strength. I abandoned what I had been moving according to the standard until now and moved ferociously.
However, even as he saw his opponent swinging his sword through a route that could endanger him or his life, Tarion’s eyes became calmer rather than panicked.
‘see.’
Despite being faster and more ferocious, I could see how the opponent’s sword would fly.
At this moment, in a feeling that he could deal with anyone, Tarion broke off the attacks made by the head of the black moon, making the perfect posture as he had done so far.
The moment Tarion’s sword, which finally shattered everything, flew at the head of the Black Moon, his thoughts accelerated and everything looked slow.
‘… … Am I losing?’
The moment I thought of that, I struck Tarion’s sword with a movement close to instinct.
The head of the Black Moon was not used to this unfamiliar sensation.
Although he has grown rapidly with a genius that is different from others since he was young, the master’s wall is still as strong.
Because the sword was not good, he learned martial arts, and that also reached the extreme.
Even so, I couldn’t get over the wall in the end.
Everything was done under his calculations, and his skills improved according to those calculations. The wall that had firmly blocked even him was cracking little by little at this instinctive movement.
‘Don’t admit it. That my judgment was wrong… … .’
With that in mind, I gave up my reason and surrendered to my instincts. Then, a different movement was made than before.
The two powers have pressed Tharion with a different level of power than before, but they have not been able to destroy the world of shadows.
Rather, it has become more solid and has put pressure on the Black Moon’s chief.
It was a bitter attack from the black moon chief who began to tear down the wall, but why was it completely blocked?
The reason was simple.
“Come… … .”
A sword in the shape of a sword perfectly shaped into two swords.
Even if the leader of the Black Moon was powerful, it could not be compared to the Master who perfectly crossed the wall.
“Cool!”
“… … I was lucky.”
Tharion looked at his sword while watching the black moon chief vomiting blood.
If he had become a Master a little later, he would have died.
At the last moment, the leader of the Black Moon also almost reached the Master.
“It was a good match.”
As Tarion said that, the moment he was about to swing his sword, a huge number of undead suddenly appeared around the black moon chief.
“Undead? no… … This spirit… … .”
“… … Wasn’t that a place to die?”
The black moon chief looked at the fiery skeleton warriors that appeared around him.
Unlike the undead, which radiate morale and lack of reason, the skeletal warriors whose entire bodies were on fire held their own weapons and posed like skilled warriors.
Seeing that, he was embarrassed for a while, but Tarion swung his sword with all his might and rushed toward the head of the black moon.
“late.”
The moment the head of the Black Moon muttered that, huge flaming skeleton giants appeared from all sides.
The bones of giants, said to have been the size of small hills in the past, appeared in a roaring state and collapsed the canyon, approaching to destroy Ignit’s temporary base.
“What is this… … .”
“Did you think you were the only ones waiting for the follow-up?”
Watching the words of the head of the black moon, Tarion, who was bad at this, blew aura into the sword with all his might.
Even though it was an unstable aura that had not been long since he had become a master, the destructive power was powerful.
Somehow, he wiped out all the skeletons trying to protect the head of the Black Moon, and smashed the ax and sword of the giant skeleton that was attacking him.
However, the number of giant skeletons summoned by Roman was too many.
No matter how much Tarion reached his mastery, he couldn’t stop them all.
There was a limit to the number of skeletons he could deal with alone, so he had to watch as the remaining beings destroyed the temporary base.
“… … This war is our victory.”
Confident of victory, the head of the Black Moon laughed and summoned the Black Moons.
They may have lost in battles between the chiefs, but they won the war.
Satisfied with that fact, the moment the head of the Black Moon tried to pull himself back, his expression stiffened when he heard a subordinate approaching and whispering something.
and that moment.
A huge sword swung from the sky tore the skeletal giants from attacking the temporary base in two.
Realizing that the operation had failed, the Black Moons hurriedly pulled away.
Of course, it wasn’t Tarion who would leave it alone.
He threw himself to kill even one more person, and the owner of the sword smashed the burning skulls to find and kill even those wearing red turbans who had created this situation.
Nevertheless, in the end, the head of the black moon was missed.
“Sir Achelio.”
When all the battles were over, Tarion, thinking of the huge aura blade, called him with a wrinkled expression.
Then Achelio appeared from afar.
How could the commander of the imperial palace knights who were supposed to protect the palace be here?
“you… … .”
As soon as he saw Tarion, Achelio widened his eyes and was surprised.
But that didn’t matter to Tarion.
“How are you here!”
“It was His Majesty’s order.”
“under… … One Duke of Wilkshire… … .”
“He came too.”
At Tharion’s words, Akelio sighed and said.
“He’s coming here, blocking other places that are destroying makeshift strongholds.”
“Then in the capital… … .”
At Tarion’s question, Akelio shook his head slightly.
All the masters were put on the battlefield.
That said, a surprise attack on the capital as before could be dangerous.
“kyung!”
“There was a reason. after… … Rather, let the situation be sorted out.”
At Akelio’s words, Tarion looked around and sighed.
A great number of shadows were killed by this operation.
However, the Black Moon also did a lot of damage.
There were many casualties because each other fought with everything.
So what about the result?
“Half victory?”
Tarion murmured, frowning.
This war was Ignit’s victory.
However, since many temporary bases were destroyed, it took some time for normal supply to occur.
From the point of view of the main force, which is in a hurry for time, it was a big blow.
“It will be difficult to block the next attack in this state.”
Achelio shook his head at Tarion’s words.
“Reinforcements will come soon. Gather only the fastest airships, and a small number of troops will arrive first, so we can put out the urgent fire.”
At Achelio’s words, Tarion looked at the half-destroyed base with a happy expression.
The base was transformed into a disastrous form, but the supply line was preserved anyway.
The supply line will be strengthened by the reinforcements sent by Kariel. Then the war in the north would be able to flow more stably.
The sun came up and the organization of the temporary base was finished amidst the traces of the rough battle.
The numbered shadows and many shadows had become cold corpses. Not only that, but many of the soldiers and knights who guarded the base were also dead.
Upon seeing this, Tarion’s expression was complex. Nevertheless, as the commander of this place, for the sake of those who survived, he hid his feelings and spoke confidently.
“Today we achieved our goal through the sacrifices of our colleagues. So be proud.”
Saying so, Tarion spoke to the shadows and the surviving forces.
“It is our victory.”