The Book Eating Magician - chapter-274

Kuuong! Kuuong! Kuuong!

Beyond the horizon, the soldiers who were enclosed in steel stepped
forward one by one with loud noises. They were covered with iron and
leather from head to toe, the swords in their hands flashed in the sun,
and their feet left deep footprints in the solid earth.

Weeds were crushed and small pebbles broke as they looked forward.

There was no sound of drumming or any war cries. The eyes of the soldiers
shone from underneath their helmets as they remained silent and poured
all their strength into moving forward.

This was the strong army of the Andras Empire.

Rather than shrinking back from the defeats which had happened since the
starting of the war, the army was overflowing with the will to retaliate.
It was terrible that 150,000 troops were moving forward, while 100,000
still remained in reserve.

Benedict, who climbed onto a hill to watch this spectacular sight, opened
his mouth to speak.

No, he burst out laughing.

“Huhuhuhu! Those imperial idiots have really become spiteful after
their pride was broken! I never imagined it would turn out this way…”

This had all stemmed from Theodore. The damage wasn’t big enough to
change the course of the unification war, but it was true that the damage
was great for one blow. Benedict’s initial purpose was achieved, but it
also ignited the enemy’s fighting spirit.

Earl Carter laughed at the situation and spoke, “Hahaha, isn’t it a
happy miscalculation? For them to overpower the eastern canyon, that is
more than I expected.”

“Huhuhu, that’s right. Our hero has played a part, so this old man
should also use some strength.”

Benedict looked around at his advisers before staring at the approaching
Andras army. The laughter disappeared, and his eyes filled with a dignity
suitable for a leader.

“An all-out confrontation on the plains.”

In a battle on the plains where no obstacles existed, it was usually a
battlefield where magicians dominated. Attack spells such as Fire Ball
were more powerful than dozens of arrows, and the firepower of a magician
could annihilate thousands of soldiers.

Even if one Fire Ball could be ignored, the knights couldn’t survive
hundreds of them pouring down. It was unknown about sword masters, but it
was a fantasy that an individual could overcome an army.

“It is a strange struggle that common sense says they can’t win,
but…”

However, none of the leaders could agree.

“Andras is outside of common sense.”

Benedict’s advisers nodded and gazed at the enemy’s frontline which
had already come into view. The infantry advanced without stopping, and
it seemed like the knights might rush forward at any time.

The most annoying things were the great shields which were made of a
blue-grey material. They covered several hundreds of square meters. It
was the titanium shield, called the ‘Magician’s Despair.’

This unidentified material was the enemy of Meltor. The magic towers
attempted to find its weakness and found it could only be neutralized
with an organized bombardment of at least 5th circle magic.

This titanium greatly reduced the magicians’ firepower, giving the
Andras Empire room to fight Meltor on the plains. Otherwise, the north
would’ve been unified under Meltor’s banner early on. Therefore,
Meltor couldn’t help feeling spite when they saw these colors.

“…A little closer and they will be within range.”

However, that didn’t mean Meltor had no strategy to deal with it.
Benedict recalled the blood that his ancestors had shed and raised his
left hand. “Let’s do the standard procedure first.”

“Should we use the Tactics Mages?”

“Mobilize the 3rd unit just in case. Use Judgment of Eurus on the great
shield in the heart of the imperial army.”

“I will follow your words!”

The advisers raised a few flags, and the command was quickly passed on to
the magicians. It took 14 seconds starting from Benedict’s command for
the action to take place. The only kingdom which could maintain such a
high-speed command system with more than 100,000 troops was Meltor.

Soon, a pale light shone on the left side of Meltor’s army, where the
Tactical Mages 3rd unit was located.

Hwiuooong…

The wind blew. It was a tactical spell which twisted the air currents and
created a vortex of power. This was proof that Judgment of Eurus was
being used. There were 16 magicians of the 5th circle and 100 magicians
of the 4th circle.

With all that ability gathered in one place, it meant they could exert a
power equivalent to a great magic. This was the strength of tactics
mages, who functioned as an army rather than individuals.

Kuooooh!

Judgment of Eurus, a vortex born in the sky, suddenly plummeted toward
the ground.

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

“R-Retreat, no, aaaack!”

“Hand! Take my handdd!”

The troops of the advancing imperial army were swept away like dead
leaves, and the whole area was covered with dust.

No matter how much magic power was lost, the physical power which arose
from the phenomenon remained. The titanium shields became distorted, and
the soldiers depending on them were thrown away with their limbs broken.

Tactical magic, which was comparable to 7th circle magic, wasn’t
something that the titanium could endure.

“Hrmm.” However, Benedict looked dissatisfied. It was because after
the storm passed, there were still a few people crawling out of the cloud
of dust. They were knights and aura users. If they were directly hit,
they would’ve stopped breathing. However, the power was offset by the
titanium, so they avoided any fatalities.

Then it was at that moment…

“Commander! Look over there!”

“What is going on? There… Hrmm?”

The eyes of Benedict and his advisers widened. They saw a portable
catapult being rolled on four wheels. It was a massive structure that was
being dragged from the rear of the imperial forces.

This wasn’t a siege, so why was Andras bringing a catapult to the
plains? Their opponent was Meltor, a kingdom which could intercept the
stones fired by the catapult. The Meltor troops were silent because they
couldn’t understand the scene, then the loaded catapult fired a shell.

It aimed exactly for where the Tactical Mages 3rd unit was located. The
unexpected thing was that although the action was fast, the shell fell on
empty ground, and there weren’t any casualties.

Kwaaaang!

At first glance, it seemed like a pointless attack.

“K-Kuaaack! M-Magic power?”

“The links… They are all broken. At this rate…”

“The tactical mages’ magic circle is being destroyed! The 3rd unit
will become individual magicians at this time!”

The tactical mages’ magic circle, which had taken a minimum of four
years to produce, had collapsed. Benedict was at a loss for a moment
after hearing the news, but he soon figured out the situation.

The catapult was fine. The problem was the shell that was fired.

“Surely it isn’t a titanium shell…?”

It was a metal which dissipated magic power itself, so the titanium
exerted an effect even if it wasn’t in the form of a large shield.

Andras had fired a catapult to the 3rd unit, which had been exposed after
the utilization of Judgment of Eurus. The goal wasn’t the individual
magicians but to break apart the magic circle, preventing large-scale
tactical magic from being used for a few days.

However, before Meltor could evacuate the area, the Andras Knights read
the flow and launched an assault.

“Commander! There are 100 knights coming to the front!”

“Order the 2nd unit to use Anger of the Earth…” Benedict paused
while speaking.

He was hesitant about the possibility of losing another unit after the
3rd unit. This was the exact gap that Andras aimed for.

Kwaang!

The power of the knights in full heavy armor wasn’t something that the
soldiers could prevent. Blood scattered as the knights rode through the
human bodies. After reaching Meltor’s front, the choice of stopping
them with tactical magic was lost.

They ran through the wall made of 1,000 soldiers at once and sliced at
the necks of the magicians. This was Andras’ terrible breakthrough
power. The soldiers were broken like scarecrows, and even the
well-trained magic soldiers died before they could act.

If this were left alone, the mage unit would be lost in 5 minutes. It was
the same damage Theodore had inflicted the other day, so it was
impossible to leave alone. Benedict made a quick decision and spoke to
Earl Carter, “It can’t be helped. Send ‘him’ out.”

“Isn’t it too early?”

“His power is half-exposed already. It is unfortunate, but this isn’t
a situation where we can spare anything.”

“I understand. I will tell him straight away.”

‘He’? Despite the unknown identity, the advisers all nodded at the
decision. That person would be able to stop it.

The eyes of Meltor’s troops were dark as they looked at the enemy
knights.

* * *

“Kill them now!”

“Don’t get caught! The first thing is to keep going forward!”

The knights in the lead called out as blood covered their blades in the
blink of an eye. The blood belonged to the enemies, not the knights. The
soldiers who bravely jumped forward were cut by dozens of aura blades.
The efficiency was a bit worse than that of magicians, but aura users
were also like reapers for general soldiers.

This repeated but they soon encountered resistance.

Kakang!

The swords, which were being wielded, stopped for the first time, and the
knight in the lead realized that the soldiers around him had changed.
These were the magic soldiers that Meltor was proud of. They wore
military artifacts and had magic, so their combat power was a lot higher
than ordinary soldiers.

“You are good… but! You will never be our enemy!”

Nevertheless, it was impossible to stop Andras’ advance.

Chwaaaak!

The magic soldiers collapsed with their necks pierced. They could buy
more time, but they weren’t at a level to fight the knights. Still,
they sacrificed their lives to be shields for the magicians in the rear.

This was a mission implicitly given to the magic soldiers. In order to
prevent the knights’ advance, they needed to have power on the level of
a war mage. War mages that this place didn’t have.

“―Oh, sorry for being late.” There was a grim voice and then it
seemed like two bolts of lightning struck.

Clovis Two Swords Style.

Wartime Confusion Hidden Technique.

Wolf’s Frenzy.

12—no, 24 slashes simultaneously struck the bodies of the knights in
this space.

Puhwaak!

It was too late to notice by the time blood was spurting out The
swordsman avoided the drops of blood which splattered near his eyes and
kicked the corpse of a knight. The knight’s head and limbs were cut
off, and the knights stopped for a moment as they saw their colleague’s
body.

“Are you stupid?” Randolph laughed coldly as he stabbed the two
knights who had stopped moving.

As soon as Randolph appeared, he showed off his strength, which defeated
three knights, and shook the blood off his blade. The other knights
stared at him. Their instincts told them this monster’s power.

“…Sword master?”

Why was there a sword master in a magic kingdom? They hesitated as this
question appeared in their minds. Randolph didn’t miss this opportunity
and raised his pair of swords.

Puok!

Then a knight was pierced in the heart from behind. The stabbing motion
was too fast and sharp to be seen. It was like an attack from a warrior
who had been on the battlefield for years. Simultaneously, several
knights collapsed, and several people appeared behind their backs.

“What, who are you?” The nervous leader of the knights cried out.

Meanwhile, the people chuckled and didn’t reply.

The aura at the ends of their swords and spears proved that they
weren’t magic soldiers. If they had one thing in common, it was the
wolves which were carved somewhere, like on their armor, sheathes, or
waistbands.

Then Randolph opened his mouth to answer the question, “We are
mercenaries hired by Meltor, the Wandering Wolves.”

“What?”

A sword master working as a mercenary…?

Randolph pointed his blades at the knight who couldn’t hide his
disbelief.

“I’m sorry, but you have to die.”

“D-Dammit!”

A sword master had come into an area with dozens of aura users. Most of
all, there were the magic soldiers in the area. The operation would fail
if they got caught this way.

The chief knight grasped his sword tightly as he sensed this, while the
knights also raised their aura. There was no surrendering even if it
meant dying. The knights had been raised to be loyal to the empire, so
there was no changing their allegiance.

Shortly afterward, the knights and mercenaries started the melee.

It seemed impossible, since the mercenaries were less skilled than the
knights. However, the difference was small in comparison to the magic
soldiers, and the mercenaries had good artifacts with secondary magic.

Additionally, Meltor’s assistance improved the conditions.

Kakang! Kang! Chwaack!

The knights lost their strength and fell to the swords of the
mercenaries. It would’ve been impossible without help, but this was a
war and this was the result. The knights fell down one by one.

It was even more prominent in Randolph’s case. His invisible swords
caused the heads of several people to fly away at once. It was done at a
speed which only one of the Seven Swords could keep up with.

“Well, should I let them earn their pay…”

Little by little, Randolph stepped back, allowing his men to finish the
job. Putting aside the mercenaries, he was a master who would shake up
the battlefield by himself. It was more efficient to move according to
commands, rather than without any thought. Now it was time to go back to
the outskirts of the army and look at the enemy’s gaps.

Randolph thought up to there, but his feet stopped.

‘No, I was stopped.’

It was more accurate to say that he was forced to stop. This was like his
feet were glued to the ground, causing Randolph to turn his attention to
behind him. His double swords were pulled from their sheaths and aimed at
the enemy.

“Who?”

A white-haired woman appeared like a ghost and replied to his question,
“The empire’s 5th Sword, Delkur. It is a pleasure.”

‘Delkur,’ Randolph’s eyebrows raised slightly at the name. He
looked at his stuck legs and asked again, …I see. Are you the
‘Shadow’? Is this it?”

“Yes, is it strange? It is a technique called Shadow Step. I can’t
move, but you can’t escape before I release it.”

“It is a nasty technique.”

Kyah! For Randolph to speak in a tough tone with that face? “I like
it.”

After these words, Delkur suddenly pulled out a spear and pointed it at
him. No, it wasn’t a normal spear. At 1.8 meters long and with the
semblance to an arming sword, it was a strange weapon that replaced the
handle of a sword with a spear handle.

Kakiing.

She smiled with killing intent in her eyes.

“How is it? I wonder if you can beat me at this distance?”

“Hrmm, we’ll see.”

The distance between the two masters was only 3 meters. A falchion had a
much shorter reach, however, it was a reasonable distance when stabbing
with a spear. Even so, Randolph laughed as he raised his double swords.

“Why do I feel like I won’t lose?”

“Ahahaha! How impudent!”

A little distance away from the battlefield, the two masters of Andras
aimed their weapons at each other.