Chapter 28

“A tactic for defending a fortified position?”

The tactic in question would eventually be placed at the top of humanity’s defensive tactics. Originally, the name for it was a temporary one chosen by Lia Riley during a report to Marshal Krauzen.

“Can you explain?” the marshal asked.

“Usually, castle defenses are based on a single line on the wall. After that line is breached, the castle falls. Any continued resistance might fall to a second line inside the castle walls,” Lia explained.

“Go on…”

“When you can’t defend a single line of defense, you can divide the line into several lines for a counter while continuing to defend.”

“A first line, second line, and third line… You’re saying we should disperse the point of attack and protect the city by retreating depending on the situation?”

“Yes. Urban warfare, where every place within reach can be used as cover, offers a huge advantage to humanity’s way of fighting. Let’s maximize this advantage.”

Krauzan stroked his chin, and his eyes lit up. “Hmm, we can just retreat to a line equipped with military supplies and fortifications and engage in repeated defensive battles. If we do that, there won’t be a problem with our supplies either.”

“An offensive transition can happen smoothly by alternating the rear reserves with the tired frontline units.”

Was that all? If they’d followed the original defense tactic, they would’ve had to defend a total of three sides: the east, south and west.

With the new tactic, it was possible to have a single defense line with a gentle curve.

“This method is only feasible because Kerknude has the ocean behind it, but isn’t it worth testing?”

Krauzan, an experienced strategist, slapped his forehead and laughed. “I always thought that women with pretty faces were also smart. I’m never wrong. Most people just think they’re dull because the women don’t see a reason to speak up.”

“That’s a bit biased… but it’s still an honor,” Lia mumbled.

“I presume you already have a line in mind since you set things in motion without my permission?”

* * *

Though the above information was later reported, it was how the five defensive lines covering downtown Kerknude came to be.

[Kaisen, you can stop fighting now. Please retreat.]

While he was performing his sword art at the southern gate, a butterfly of light delivered a message to him.

The butterfly of light was otherwise known as ‘Ludien’, and the Black Rose Corps’ mage, Arte, had created it.

Already, the defensive line Lia had designed with Krauzen’s help was operating brilliantly.

“Fake Warrior, this way!”

The uruk warriors immediately followed Kaisen’s retreat, but their pursuit was broken by a hail of bullets. Gunmen provided covering from behind a stockade of grain bags, wooden barrels filled with oil, sandbags, and other items.

From the first to the third lines, Kaisen went back and forth and cut down countless uruks as he supported the defense.

He couldn’t help but be truly amazed as the uruks’ torrential momentum gradually slowed and their lines receded.

The stone towers and roofs of houses between the defensive lines served as cover against the catapulted suicide bombers as well, further aiding the strategy.

Briefly, hope flickered in their hearts.

They could win…

Unfortunately, in the end, their defensive strategy failed.

It wasn’t Lia’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Indeed, how could anyone have calculated what would come next?

They hadn’t realized the power of the Tahuf Clan, one of the Hai-khun-tark. More than anything, they hadn’t expected Tahufkiper Ranikikan and his personal combat unit, ‘Tahuf Hüller’, to advance from the uruks’ rear lines.

Craaaaaaasssssshhhh一!

An explosion brought an end to their hopes.

The ground shook, and the soldiers’ hearts pounded. Following the blast, the clock tower on the right side of the third line collapsed.

Lia had been assisting Krauzan’s command at the central headquarters and looked perplexed to see the clock tower fall. “An explosion?”

Explosions continued in the distance, splitting into two paths.

“Arte!” Sharon called out.

As a master of information warfare and the corps’ mage, Arte could be said to be the core of their defensive strategy.

The mage started to profusely sweat. “How could this…? The right wing is collapsing. The damage is devastating. There’s no way to stop it.” Magical butterflies, Ludiens, danced around Arte as she received information from them.

“The right wing, so the western gate? Why did it have to be the weakest side…?” Isla was guarding the eastern side, so it was a sturdier defensive position.

The bell continued ringing on the right side, signaling that the defensive line had completely fallen.

“One of the enemy units is headed here, the center of the defense…”

“What about the other one?”

“It’s heading toward the coast…”

There was a moment of despairing silence. The coast was busy with the evacuation, filled with unarmed soldiers and refugees. If they were exposed to the enemy, they would be helpless.

“Your Excellency, let’s retreat back to the fifth line. We have no choice but to equip the soldiers on the coast and ask them to fight…” Lia tried to say.

“No, that wouldn’t work. Remember, little tactical warrior, attacking is always the best move,” the marshal replied.

“Your Excellency, historically, humanity’s best chances have always been in defensive battles.”

“I mean that you can’t respond defensively to all of an opponent’s moves.”

“…?”

“I have two Fake Warriors in my hands right now. My plan is to have the third line fall back into the fourth before gradually dismantling the fourth line.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I have been fighting against the uruks for nearly 40 years, and clans with these sorts of strategies usually collapse the moment you defeat their leader, especially clans with such suicidal tactics.”

Krauzan moved the pieces on the city map in front of them back to the area Lia had marked with the number ‘4’; then he moved those pieces to the center of the curve between lines ‘4’ and ‘5’, to Ilanus Square.

He placed a horse piece, representing a Fake Warrior, in the center of the square, and he moved the other horse piece to the coast.

“I’m going to drag their leader out and ensure he dies. The uruks are smarter than they look, so they won’t come without bait. I’ll be taking that role.”

“Your Excellency…”

*Of course, I have no intention of being killed. Make sure you do things well.”

Lia tried to keep silent, but she had to shake her head. “Your Excellency, how many troops can we move? As you said, the uruks are extremely cautious. If the troops move, they’ll know we’re up to something.”

“Of course, so let’s use Hosen’s Quick-fire Team.”

Hosen’s Quick-fire Team was composed of the 1st Imperial Guards Regiment of Hosen, one of the ruined countries of the south. They were renowned for their tremendous firepower and reloading techniques that allowed them to fire in rapid succession until all their ammunition was used up.

In contrast to most countries, where the guards were made up of grenadiers, they prioritized agility and were generally small in number.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator – Rainypup

Proofreader – ilafy

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* * *

“Adjutant, where and how many defensive units do we have?”

“About twelve hundred people, in the left wing.”

“Bring them over right away.”

Krauzan’s gaze turned to the Turquoise Rose Coven’s leader.

When the wide-area barrier was damaged, the witch had also suffered a great blow, so the wrinkles on her face were deeper, and her breathing was also a mess.

The coven leader barely nodded. “If we succeed in luring them in, I will raise a barrier so that they cannot escape for some time.”

The moment the marshal’s gaze turned in his direction, Kaisen’s body shook with the weight of fate as he stood.

“No.” Sharon stole his thunder. “I’m doing this. I’ll be the lead Fake Warrior, not Kaisen.”

“But you…”

“This war will be longer. Even longer than the ‘Black Summer’. This child’s strength will be needed more than mine, which is coming to an end.”

Sharon seemed prepared to die there. No, it looked like she was looking for a place to die. Just like Kamila, her eyes were so dazzling and shining with hope that he didn’t notice them quickly enough.

“Senior, but…”

“The operation has already begun. Hurry and go to the coast. You will protect it, Kaisen, understand? Don’t give up even a single life carelessly. You are a Warrior.”

As always, Kaisen was slow on the uptake. As he traveled over the rooftops of the city, what he saw was horrendous.

‘I’ve never been optimistic, but I had no idea it would be like this…’

Amid shouts and hails of gunfire, the uruks, who had no weapons to speak of, were attacking in a frenzy. Normal uruks tend to falter when weakened by gunfire, but those guys…

“Fire! Fire and cut them down!” a soldier yelled.

“There’s no end to them!”

“D-d-daaaaaammmmnnnn!”

Even when the uruks had their tendons severed by bullets or their knees shattered by grenades, they continued to crawl forward. The moment they closed in on their targets, the evil brands engraved on their foreheads made them explode.

Any soldiers caught in the murderous heat were turned into ashes. Blood splashed over the nearby soldiers as well, acting like an acid that ate away at their bodies.

“A-aaarrrrrgggghhh!”

“M-m-my eyes!”

The uruks had a custom of discarding those born without talent or those who did not have the aptitude for fighting. It was said that the chieftain of the Tahuf Clan gathered all those who were thus abandoned under his command.

He made them the Tahuf Clan’s Suicide Unit. Using them with his own tactics, they could be a strategic force.

Humanity didn’t know the clan’s tactics at the time, so all Kaisen could do was try to calmly read the situation.

“M-mom!”

“N-no! Don’t come closer!”

Volcanic ash fluttered in the air, clouding the refugees’ senses as they retreated to the coast with such speed that it seemed they wanted to fall headlong into the sea.

The city fell into chaos in an instant, only made worse by the constant sounds of gunfire and clanging bells.

In the chaos, the cries of young mothers losing their children, soldiers missing their weapons, and children looking for their parents drowned each other out.

Cross Sword Style – 4th Form, Shoot.

First, Kaisen had to use proper footwork. He saw the maddened uruks close behind the retreating refugees. At the same time, he saw a child standing guard over his fallen mother, holding a pickaxe in a last attempt at defense.

Cross Sword Style – 5th Form, Sudden Attack.

The technique required a quick forward leap while striking the ground with the scabbard to spin and strike an enemy with the sword in the other hand.

The attack channeled all of the centrifugal force through Kaisen’s blade, drawing a red line through the air and removing the maddened uruks’ legs before they exploded.

“Are you okay?” Kaisen asked the boy.

Tears welled up on the boy’s face. He’d been prepared for death, and his pants were damp with urine.

“You’re doing great,” Kaisen said, “hurry up and take your mother.”

‘You are so much better than me. I caused my mother to die.’ Kaisen believed the boy would simply take his mother and head to the shore.

After a moment, he heard the boy cry out, “Thank you so much, Mr. Hero!”

He didn’t know what to say to that. Instead of trying to come up with a response, Kaisen just glanced back and saluted.

The child’s mother lowered her head. In a sort of sad hallucination, he saw the image of himself and his own mother overlaid on the two refugees.

There was no time for hallucinations or anything like that. The battle was in full swing.

The maddened uruks seemed to have no awareness of anything other than their targets. Judging from the saliva flowing from their lips, they hardly had the consciousness to even form a coherent thought.

“Sorcery always has a caster. In the future, keep in mind that how quickly your soldiers take down such dark mages will determine the outcome of the war.”

Kaisen’s dragon eyes, which could zoom and enhance his vision, found his target—the mage who’d caused the catastrophe on the castle walls.

Though he didn’t recognize it at the time, it was his second encounter with Tahufkipel Ranikikan.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s an ordinary shaman…’ Unlike the other uruk chiefs, the monster was neither tall nor imposing. Instead, he had a deformed back.

Human skulls swayed at the end of the uruk’s staff as he commanded the maddened uruks, and bone armor made from knitted-together human sternums, hundreds of them, covered his body.

‘Should I awaken the power of the dragon spirit now? No, that wouldn’t work.’ He would be out of the action for hours after using such power for even three minutes. What if the uruk was merely another follower and not the chief?

Kaisen hesitated for a moment before leaping upward, cracking the tile below his feet with the force of his jump. His enhanced leg strength made him a living missile as he shot toward his target.

He had complete control.

‘Perfect…’ All of his momentum and the added force of his final spin before he swung Aradementel should’ve ensured victory. ‘Got it.’

Kaisen truly believed there was no way for his attack to be countered.

Suddenly, a maddened uruk appeared without a sound. Kaisen was unable to stop Aradamantel as it unfolded a graceful crimson trail and cleanly sliced through the uruk’s body.

Still, the stigma on the uruk’s face remained.

Booooooomm—!

The creature’s body exploded in a flash of light and smoke, temporarily blocking Kaisen’s hearing and smell.

It was hot…

His skin felt like it was burning.

The shiver of death ran down his spine. If it weren’t for his Fake Warrior physique, he would have just died. He swung Aradamantel to clear the smoke just to see that the uruk shaman had already retreated.

Countless maddened uruks waited between him and his target and relentlessly charged forward.

Even if he cut again and again, even if he killed again and again, more filled in the gaps. The endless wave of maddened uruks moved mechanically toward him without any sense of fear.

A Hüller burst into laughter, and a cold chill ran through Kaisen’s body.

“Nu, nunununununueeet! There is no way for you to atone, you whose soul has been stained with the unholy blood of a false creation!”

Maddened uruks leaped from the roofs on either side of Kaisen, and he instinctively tried to use the power of his dragon spirit.

There were hundreds of them. No, even a glimpse showed there were thousands. The last thing he did was swing his sword in a large arc to cut dozens of them down in a single strike.

The series of loud explosions that followed threatened to ruin his eardrums, and all feeling in his body vanished beneath the intense pain that dyed his vision yellow.

A nearby soldier witnessed the explosion and the swirling inferno afterward.

“Th-the Fake Warrior died!” he screamed in horror.