Published at 7th of November 2020 06:57:15 AM
Chapter 238
RMSBS - Episode 238 . A Subsurface War (15)
The sound of soldier’s swords and spears striking armor and piercing flesh .
The sound of mana coalescing into various phenomena before smashing against walls of magic and steel .
The sound of buildings collapsing .
The sound of people dying .
A fierce battle broke out in the middle of Pittsburgh, the capital of Divide . A battle between those who wished to pass through and those who were ordered to hold them back .
“Get through the front line by any means!”
“Stop them!”
“They are the Outsiders!”
“They are the terrorists! Don’t show mercy!”
The two groups held a perspective of each other that differed from reality, so a clash between them was unavoidable .
As the battle progressed, the lines between both groups became more and more blurred .
*Boom*
The shock of an explosion reverberated across both forces .
While the balance of power between the two was similar, the battle itself clearly favored the Kingdom of Divide’s armed force . In a way, this should have been expected . Divide’s troops had already been in formation, with barricades strategically set up to hinder the Western Kingdom Union’s retaliation . They had predicted that the WKU would pass through this location, and had taken control of the area long before the skirmish .
On the other hand, the Western Kingdom Union had to fight without proper preparation . Moreover, no matter how close they were at a diplomatic level, the participants of this allied force were still individual countries . The Allied Forces could not move as one, and there were too many leaders making individual calls .
Without an overwhelming difference in quantity or quality, what should have been minor inefficiencies had a significant impact on the battle fought in such close quarters and with a situational disadvantage .
“Protect His Majesty!”
“Strengthen the central defense!”
Even during the battle, the Divide troops persistently fired spells at key members of the Western Kingdom Union . This only drove the soldiers of the allied forces into a greater frenzy . Such action was too radical to be taken as an attempt to subdue visitors on a diplomatic mission . This reinforced their belief that Divide had been completely co-opted by the Outsiders .
In the end, the Allied Forces had no choice but to focus their strength at the center of their formation to protect their key figures against such attacks . This had a disastrous consequence on their overall formation strength, while also greatly limiting the available tactics and individual impact of the troops .
With defeat all but solidified for the Allied Forces, it was surprising that a few movements were able to rekindle hope .
“Second troops! Get ready for… !”
One of Divide’s commanders, who was about to order his soldiers to fire, suddenly fell to the floor . Blood flowed down from the hole that had appeared in his chest .
When the Commander suddenly collapsed, Divide’s soldiers looked around in fear .
A powerful attack that left no trace apart from a lifeless body . Something able to pierce their defensive magic like a drill .
Divide’s soldiers assumed it was sniping magic and immediately invoked detection magic, but found no trace of a sniper . This was only natural though . It was the work of Romantica Eru . She had an artifact that concealed her presence .
‘Blue Rose’ .
The artifact’s hiding function made her not only invisible to the naked eye, but also had the additional functionality of fooling even detection magic .
These two functions made it worthy of its ranking as an Tier artifact .
*Bang*
A dry sound pierced the silence that had consumed Divide’s forces . This time a knight who had been leading soldiers in the front line slumped forward; his head fell to the ground .
It was impossible to avoid these attacks .
Divide’s chain of command, having lost its Commander, collapsed swiftly . Pram wasn’t idle either .
Pram sliced and diced his way through the enemy camp without hesitation . His maneuverability, enhanced by his ability to teleport short-distances, was phenomenal and none of the rank and file of Divide’s forces were able to follow his movement .
“Argh!”
“WWait!”
*Splash*
Blood fountains surged in every spot Pram suddenly appeared and Divide’s soldiers fell one after another . With absolute minimal movement, illustrating the masterful control he had over his body, he efficiently reaped the lives of numerous foes .
Very few soldiers were able to mount even the flimsiest defense against Pram’s pin-point accurate attacks . This was in a large part due to his skilled artifact usage, the Cloud Walkers .
Within a short period of time, Pram found himself rather far behind enemy lines . He did not take things easy though, having identified a few men that were skilled enough to compete against him in a head-to-head match .
The small crack, opened up by the Starling Party, gradually grew bigger and bigger . The soldiers of the Allied Forces advanced dozens of meters beyond the barricades .
The building with the teleportation gate began to appear little by little in the distance .
“Enough . ”
A knight in black armor stopped Pram’s advance .
*Clash*
The sword he used to stop Pram’s blade held a different tone to normal metal . It was a blade filled with aura, the kind that only swordsmen who had reached the highest level could wield .
*Clash*
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Their swords crossed and there was a miniature explosion of light .
Pram kept his distance from the knight in front of him while taking a moment to take in his surroundings . Before he knew it, knights dressed in black armor had surrounded him .
The black knights quickly overpowered the forces of the advancing troops .
Their number was not large, but the difference in skill was overwhelming compared to ordinary soldiers .
Pram bit his lower lip .
“The Janissaries… ”
Even when they confronted each other just before the battle broke out, Pram had guessed that their skills would be considerable . But after seeing it with his own eyes, they were truthfully far beyond his expectations .
“As long as the main force is committed to defense, I thought it would be enough to buy time . ”
The knight who blocked Pram muttered unexpectedly .
Clearly, it was largely thanks to the Starling Party’s performance that the Allied Forces had managed to advance this far . Their opponents had been strong enough to bring things to a draw, but they were nothing more than strawmen in the face of the Starling Party .
But the tables turned once again as the Janissaries stepped forward .
“Urgh… !”
Knights of the Allied Forces, who had advanced with Pram, were helplessly cut down by the Janissary’s counter-attack . Even though they were also proud of their skills, the difference was too great .
The knights of Janissary were far stronger than any other knight . If they couldn’t stop them here, the damage to Allied Forces would accumulate swiftly .
For a moment, Pram used his Cloud Walkers to move towards the back of the knight in front of him . It was the perfect surprise attack, impossible to defend against without knowing the exact timing of the attack .
“I was expecting you to do that!”
But the Janissary knight turned around with inhuman reflexes and speed .
However, Pram had already gathered a substantial amount of aura, and it had begun to materialize, a tell-tale give away that Pram had advanced to the Bishop Class .
Light gathered at the tip of his sword . The incredibly condensed aura shot off like a meteor, striking the knight before he could even react . The white stream of light pierced the knights’ sword, and then his figure, at a speed that exceeded sound itself . Fragments of the shattered sword scattered in all directions like pieces of shrapnel .
“… … !”
The Janissary knights, who had surrounded Pram, showed signs of embarrassment .
A young boy, a mere teenager, had killed one of Divide’s best knights in an instant .
As the Janissary knights attempted to use a pincer attack on Pram, to avenge their comrade…
“I’ll deal with that boy . You guys stop the other enemies . ”
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A heavy voice overwhelmed the area . At the same time, Pram sensed the movement of a huge amount of aura heading his way .
He raised the sword urgently .
*Clash*
The power made Pram’s body bounce backward, even though he guarded himself as best as he could . His fingers were left numb .
He hurriedly corrected his posture, raising his head and looking straight ahead at the source of the attack .
Leader of the Janissaries, Brepon, stood before him . He crooked his finger .
“Come . ”
Pram clenched his teeth .
Brepon was a King-Class swordsman .
Pram was no match for such an opponent . He didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve, like Adjest who could boost her physical ability . He couldn’t keep his distance and snipe him, like Romantica could . Nor could he plan the entire encounter, making the enemy move like a puppet of fate, finishing him off with a ridiculous spell, like Desir .
But he couldn’t back down . If he couldn’t stop Brepon now, the damage to troops behind him would be serious .
‘I have no choice but to go all out from the beginning . ’
Pram concentrated his aura to the limit . Aura gathered around the sword and gave off a dazzling light . If it had been ordinary iron, it would have immediately crumpled under such power, but it contained the aura without any problem . This was due to it being made out of Blankšum .
“That’s a pretty good sword . ”
“Ahhhh!”
Pram kicked off against the ground with a shout .
Pram’s movement, a swordsman that had reached the Bishop Class, was far beyond anything a normal human’s comprehension and ability to replicate . His movement, which he had strengthened to the maximum by using all of his aura, was incomparable to any other time he had fought .
He did not neglect to use his Cloud Walkers . Using them at the ideal moment, he immediately changed his angle of approach in a movement that appeared to defy physics . As he reached the ten-meter mark, Pram thrust his sword forward, letting loose the condensed aura .
Two swords collided .
*Boom*
An explosion of aura created a thunderous noise . It was so loud that it felt as if it were the work of magic, rather than swordcraft .
“Amazing . I never thought you’d come this far at your age . ”
Brepon was very relaxed, blocking Pram’s attack effortlessly .
“But just because you’re fast and powerful, doesn’t mean you are a strong swordsman . ”
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Brepon pushed Pram back and swung his sword .
Brepon slashed and thrust several times at Pram . The moment he did so, Pram was forced to abandon all offense and put his all into defending .
‘He’s strong . ’
Each blow was fatal . If he didn’t put all of his strength into defense, he would have died several times in that exchange .
What was surprising was that this was not even Brepon’s full power . Brepon was wielding his sword with an utterly relaxed expression .
“Urgh… ”
Pram groaned .
‘But if I’m going to hold out somehow… ’
But at that moment Brepon spoke, as if reading Pram’s thoughts .
“Don’t think your actions will have any effect on this battle, just because you’re keeping me preoccupied . ”
Several arcs of lightning touched down around Pram and Brepon . The direction it had come from was in the air .
Pram looked up . His vision was filled with magic pouring down without stop .
‘The Wyvern Army!’
Divide’s Wyverns Army had complete domination of the sky . They constantly fired magic at the Allied Forces, barely needing to worry about defense at all .
It was not easy to stop their attack, which they continued to perform while moving fast on their wyverns . At least, the magicians of the tower, led by Zod, were pouring their resources into defensive magic, so this was not yet the death blow for the Western Kingdom Union . However, they were barely holding out .
The most powerful magical forces the Allied Forces had in this battle was now devoted entirely to defense .
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
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ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock, Nhan