Chapter 157 – Chapter 16

“That guy…!”
“Kuu…!”

Lillian and Priscilla, who heard the appearance and voice of the undead knight who called themselves Sirin, let out their silence without realizing it.

It was because, among the knights of the royal family, she had clearly witnessed the king’s knight captain who was escorting the king gouge out the heart with a single stab.

He is the one who caused the knights to collapse quickly with the death of the knight captain, leading to the result that they had to escape.

They didn’t think it was a woman, but the shape of that helmet was definitely the undead they remembered.

“Lillian.”
“I know. You need to calm down.”

His father and mother, who were guarded by the knight captain, were as good as dead at the hands of that knight.

Upon discovering the opponent she held grudge against, Lillian decided to put her anguish aside for a moment.

‘There’s no way Count Akina would allow such a senseless massacre. In addition, even in Harlot Kingdom, it is beneficial in many ways for the people to be alive. After all, crimes of complicity of different species and whatnot are just measures for those in power to maintain their power.’

Now I deal with the enemies of my parents.
It’s not too late to worry about it later.

Deciding to clear her complicated mind and focus on her revenge, she said nothing but glared at the missing video of her.

*                           *

Of course, the expeditionary force became more vigilant.
Because I can’t let go of my heart while listening to the words of the enemy.

What was clear, though, was that the kingdom of the dead was still not doing anything wrong.

‘What if the enemy commander Shirin moved in response to our slaughter?’

The undead hate and attack the living.
It is common sense.

However, since they are heterogeneous, history shows how wrong it is to evaluate them based on their common sense and standard.

‘Maybe we’re kicking the gains we can get from dialogue with the stupid thing called war.’

In addition, I heard that they lend skeleton workers to the people to take care of simple tasks.

What if a skeleton worker did the hard, drudgery, and a farmer just tinkered with the details?

As per capita production increases, it will lead to a large amount of food production, and if you receive the benefits cheaply by providing external goods, you will be as good as having black soil without going to war.

Thinking this far, Akina wondered if she should contact her royal family and stop this war, but after thinking about it for a while, she realized that she was a fool.

‘In the first place, if the king wins this war, he will be happy because he can claim the black soil, and even if he fails, he will be satisfied with being able to drain the power of the nobles. In addition, if you make a deal with the kingdom of the dead, the purification knights will be the first to rebel, and they will be criticized as a kingdom that made a deal with the undead, and even with the alien forces.’

People may think that Akina, who has reached the realm of Origin, is simply a strong and warlike warrior, but she is a moderate who thinks that war is not the only way to develop a country.

‘For the power of the king, I have to fight such a meaningless fight.’

However, he himself was appointed commander-in-chief by the king, and since he accepted it, he is in a position that he must follow.

‘Still, it’s good to know that they can talk. The relationship started off badly.’

I wanted to see for myself what kind of disposition the kingdom of the dead had, but it was more intelligent and gentle than I thought.

Of course, this could also be a trick, so I can’t be sure yet.

‘I’m sorry for Princess Lillian, but if you find out that you’re someone you can talk to…’

At that time, he would have to let go of Lillian, who was against his decision.

It’s a waste of Kaicent, but it’s still better than fighting a fruitless war.

Akina, whose head was cluttered with thoughts of this and that, came to hear the scout’s report.

“We were able to spot the troops at a distance of two to three hours. The terrain was flat and the number was between 10,000 and 13,000. We could not see the weapons of war we were using.”
“It must have been difficult to figure out the right number because it was dark because of the clouds?”
“That… I could tell because the undead turned on their own light.”
“What?”

When a commander questioned the scout’s detailed report, a surprising answer came.

“Is it deception?”
“There is a possibility that there is a trap somewhere…”
“But didn’t you say it was flat?”
“Maybe they hid the undead in the ground?”

The commanders proposed to stop moving and strengthen reconnaissance with the stereotype that since they were undead, they would have made a despicable plan.

‘To reveal their numbers. Let’s fight proudly, isn’t this?’

If all of this is true, the opposing commander is either a proud knight or a commander who is confident of victory.

‘It’s fun.’

Akina, who had never had a head-to-head confrontation like this before, felt a strange excitement.

To see the match only with force, without any technique or strategy.
He never imagined that other commanders would do something like this.

‘Let’s fight fair and square.’

Akina led his troops, feeling that an undead knight named Sirin might be a match for her.

As the scouts reported, a little over two hours later, the magic of creating light high in the sky unfolded from beyond, confirming their troops like a flashbang.

A level that looks very small because of the distance.

Akina let his troops rest just in case at the sight of the opponent aiming for a round battle to see the winner in one battle.

“I rest here.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what the undead will do.”
“What are you doing here? How?”

Akina pointed to an empty plain.

“What the enemies can do here is to attack with magic. And I wonder if we won’t notice such a large-scale operation of mana. Even if the enemies move, we have enough time to respond, so let’s rest.”

At Akina’s command, the commanders ordered a break while feeling ominous.

On the other hand, the Cameld Kingdom also responded that they were dumbfounded by this situation.

“No matter how far you are, you rest with the enemy in front of you?”
“According to reports, Count Akina Karaiden is a strong knight, but I heard that he has a lot of experience in war and is a competent commander.”

When the vampires wondered how to accept this, Shirin’s shoulders began to shake.

“Whoop, whoop, whoop. Haha! I never thought I would come to another world and meet someone I like!”
“Sirin? What do you mean?”
“It means to prove ourselves whether we will fight confidently or not.”

Every time I looked at the information that the spies who went out to the human world came to know that the people of this world are not normal.

The idea of ​​democracy was a forbidden knowledge that would shock even them, but because of that, their wariness toward the other species went beyond the limit.

However, in this crazy world, there is a lord and knight who considers fairness as a virtue.

“We don’t have to be on our nerves either. You guys should rest until the enemy moves.”

In this way, the most peaceful time passed at the moment when the armies of both sides were supposed to change the most fiercely.

‘It’s not disturbing our rest. Do you want to fight fair and square?’

Kai Sent, who was resting with his party, had a hunch that the kingdom of the dead, or the knight Shirin, had a fair temper.

“Chillin…”

However, in the video, Lillian thought that the heroine who called herself Sirin was the enemy who killed her parents, so she was burning with murderous intent.

“Winning the war comes first.”
“I know.”

Priscilla was controlled by her side to prevent her from doing stupid things to ruin everything to get her revenge.

“Whoa. Whoa.”

Although she knows in her head that she is right, she sees the excitement of a recruit when she has the object of her revenge before her eyes.

Knowing that he couldn’t say such a thing to Lillian now, Kaicent had to share his thoughts with Artemis.

-Please be careful.-
‘Of course you have to be careful. Lillian is so excited…’
-It’s not like that.-

Artemis emphasized that the opponent to be careful of was Sirin, not Lillian.

– The kingdom of the dead has existed for 10 years. Of course, he would have obtained various information, but insisted on a head-to-head fight against Count Akina? This means there’s an unexpected trap or you’re confident you’ll crush Count Akina head-on.-
‘Akina-sama… ?’
– If the enemy has created a trap, the situation is better. However, Count Akina is the core and strongest power of this army. If that power is destroyed by Shirin, then defeat is the only answer.-

Akina is defeated?
Kaicent, who had never imagined such a thing, felt a strong ominous feeling.

But apart from the ominousness, Akina, who thought he had enough rest, raised his voice with mana.

“Rise up everyone! Let’s start a war!”

Everyone who was resting on alert at her voice stood up.

“Tanks! In line! Artillery commanders, report as soon as they reach the effective range!”

First, he started a classic attack using weapons.
Because it is the weapon that can inflict physical and mental damage most easily on heterogeneous species.

“We are moving according to the information the spies found out.”
“A chariot is an iron mass and a long-range weapon. This is a typical tactic.”
“Hmph, if we were going to fall to a weapon like that, we would have fallen long ago. They’re stupid too.”

The vampires who were attached to Shirin’s side as adjutants laughed at the expeditionary force using typical tactics.

It is because they have personally experienced the weapons of war due to the attack of the nobles trying to regain the kingdom of Lucy Arkenel, and overcame it by force.

In addition, as the time of 10 years passed, they developed a technique to counter their tactics.

“First of all, the tank will be dealt with.”
“Send the Watchers!”

At Sirin’s command, one of her lieutenants shouted.

Then, inside the unit, the skeleton cavalrymen, who had translucent bodies and wore old robes that seemed to have no defensive capabilities, began to charge.

“Check the unidentified cavalry!”
“Fast!”
“Don’t panic! We only shoot when the enemy comes within range!”

The tank unit’s mission is to shoot enemies when they come and drive them into their bodies.
So even if the enemy cavalry rushed quickly, there was nothing to panic.

“Shoot!”

Kwak!

When the enemy came within range, the tanks fired, thinking of where the enemy would suffer the most damage.

The shell of the tank uses magic power to fire, but what is inside the shell is gunpowder made with the knowledge of earthlings.

Explosions from gunpowder and acrid smells shocked and frightened those who encountered it for the first time, but they were already familiar with the Cameld Kingdom.

Whoop!

A watchtower coming out through the dust and smoke.
Surprisingly, the observatory was unharmed.

“No damage!?”
“There’s no need to be scared! Even if you do, you can’t penetrate this inside… Kuk!”

Even if the enemy doesn’t take damage, they won’t be attacked inside the thick metal armor.

I thought so, but the translucent spear possessed by the Observer penetrated the armor and stabbed only the creatures inside it.

Because they only believed in the tank’s defense, the tank units that did not evade maneuvers were instantly annihilated.

“Anti-tank squadron!”
“They’re mounted soldiers made up of spirits…”

Akina and other magicians were surprised to find that they were cavalry soldiers made up entirely of spiritual bodies.

It was because it was the first time I had experienced the method of attacking only the crew by penetrating the armor with a spirit body rather than trying hard to pierce the hard armor.

In the first place, Necromancers did not even have a moment to test this method because they quietly belonged to the Mage Tower and studied, or were branded as evil wizards and subjugated by knights.

The Observers who annihilated the tank corps did not leave the tank as if they were proud of their booty.

“Magic Musketeers! Advance!”

If the enemy is made up of spiritual bodies, the magic gun that fires mana will be effective.

Just as the musketeers were moving to deal with the Observers, the silent tanks suddenly began to move.

“The chariots?”
“Were there any survivors?”
“No, wait. Something’s wrong.”

Even though the chariots are moving, the Observers are not paying attention.

Moments later, when the gun barrel of the tank pointed at them, the faces of Akina and the lieutenants hardened.

Kwak! Bang!

“Aww!”
“Keep!”

The crew members who became zombies piloted the tank as if they had intelligence and fired at Akina’s army.

The Cameld Kingdom, which has been stable for hundreds of years, has developed technology to use ignorant skeletons and zombies as multiple workers.

Unlike this world where necromancy was not properly developed due to public perception, Kameld Kingdom, where necromancy was widely spread and developed steadily, was like a disaster for the living.

“Fire at allied tanks!”

It takes a lot of time and money to make a tank, but if you waste it, you will suffer great damage, so you ordered the artillery unit to fire.

Kwak Kwa Kwa Kwam!

As the artillery fire poured down on the tank troops, the tanks exploded one by one and turned to scrap metal.

As if the Observers had completed their mission, they returned, leaving behind the tank that had become scrap metal.

“…”

Except for the screams of the wounded, there was thick silence in the expeditionary force, who did not know that the tank corps would be incapacitated in this way, no, turned into enemies.

‘Look. If we had made up our minds, the peace you enjoy would not have existed.’
‘Harlot… No, it is the perfect counter to the tactics used by the kingdoms of our world.’

Surely there must be a way to repel the attack of the artillery unit.

Akina had a hunch that she was facing the strongest and most dangerous enemy she had ever faced.