Chapter 556
You Appeared in My Dream. (2)
“…….”
As Ghislain woke up, he stared blankly for a moment. Then, he let out a small chuckle.
"Figures. Just a ridiculous dream."
No, seriously why on earth would Julien show up there? That made no sense at all.
Ghislain knew better than anyone what kind of life Julien had led. So, for him to appear in some war from a past Ghislain couldn’t even pinpoint was utterly absurd.
“This necklace really is something else.”
There was still no guarantee that the dreams shown by the necklace were real. It could just be fabricating illusions by mixing them with his own memories.
The only reason Ghislain kept carrying the necklace and watching these dreams was to find clues to satisfy his curiosity.
He wanted to know the true purpose behind the Salvation Church’s obsession with relics and the disappearance of Ernhardt.
“I plan to watch a few more times, but… if it’s like this, the reliability is just going to keep dropping.”
Even if he saw the dream through to the end and got an answer, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t trust it.
He had considered discussing it with someone, but after today’s dream, he immediately discarded the idea.
— Julien, you appeared in my dream.
If he said something like that, he’d be in for a serious misunderstanding. Especially among the knights who were former mercenaries they would never let him live it down.
Claude was a given. That bastard would definitely find a way to use this against him.
Kaor and Alfoi wouldn’t stay quiet about it either. Those lunatics were always itching for an opportunity to mess with him.
“No way in hell am I falling for that. Not happening.”
Even Ghislain, who usually didn’t care about his reputation, couldn’t afford to be careless this time. There were just too many crazy people around him.
— Puhaha! Master, what the hell! Why was that guy in your dream?! Why Julien, of all people?!
“…….”
See? One idiot had already popped up.
— Hey, Master, are you sure you didn’t just imagine that priest bastard? Huh? I didn’t see his real face, but the energy wrapped around him was way too similar!
“…….”
— So why did you two meet in the dream? Huh? Why as enemies? Is it because that’s more fun? Huh?
“…….”
— I mean, dream or not, isn’t this way too much?! Puhaha! Ah, if you really wanna see him, why don’t you just go in person? Wait, don’t tell me… is that your type Gyaaahhh! I’m sorry!
Dark, who had been pestering him nonstop, was swiftly thrown into the prison of Ghislain’s consciousness, where he would suffer for a while.
Shaking his head, Ghislain got up from his seat.
‘It’s not important, so there’s no need to dwell on it.’
‘From the start, this was something I didn’t need to know, yet my damned curiosity kept digging into it.’
‘And the more I watched, the more entertaining it became. I even found myself wondering what story would unfold next.’
‘So, I would simply watch the dreams whenever they appeared and hunt down the Salvation Church to gather information.’
‘Well, if the dreams end up confusing me even more later, so be it.’
That wasn’t the main goal, so it didn’t matter. Ghislain’s true objective was to eradicate the Salvation Church and bring order to the continent.
Rising from his seat, Ghislain issued a command to the entire army.
“We’re moving out.”
The Mobile Corps and the Ritania Army, having rested sufficiently, finally began their march.
Although the plan had been slightly delayed due to Helgenik, it wasn’t a bad outcome. In the meantime, even more forces had joined the allied army.
A massive force of 300,000 was now advancing toward the Kingdom of Atrode. Excluding the Ritania Army, the allied forces were divided into four legions, each consisting of 50,000 soldiers.
Each legion was composed of troops from various kingdoms. Only the 100,000-strong Ritania Army moved as a single, unified force.
“We’ll carve through the center.”
The Ritania Army chose the path where the fiercest battles were expected.
No one objected. After all, the Ritania Army was the most powerful force in the alliance.
Though Julien had withdrawn to remain with the Turian Army, the Ritania Army was still filled with formidable warriors.
“Secure every stronghold thoroughly. Consider it your duty to root out even the cockroaches hiding inside.”
Ghislain had warned Ernhardt before. He had vowed to wipe them all out, leaving not a single one behind.
Now, it was time to turn that warning into reality.
The Kingdom of Atrode was fully aware of the allied army’s approach. They were preparing for battle at their frontline fortress.
Standing before their fortress, Ghislain spoke.
“Execute Operation Meteor.”
This was the first time the entirety of Ritania’s main force was mobilizing its full power against a human enemy.
A force of 100,000 Ritania troops. Their speed had decreased due to their sheer numbers, but in return, they had brought an enormous array of siege weapons.
Ghislain intended to use them to deliver a true lesson in shock and awe both to the enemy and to his own troops.
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!
The Mobile Corps unfolded their portable Galvaniium catapults.
Rumble!
Meanwhile, the enormous Dwarven-made siege engines, transported by the 100,000-strong force, were assembled at the rear and moved into position at the front lines.
Once everything was ready, Ghislain extended his hand and smiled.
“Crush them all.”
With that single command, hundreds of catapults unleashed a barrage of boulders upon the fortress.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
No other army on the continent possessed this many siege engines. Few had the financial resources or production capacity to support such numbers.
Only Fenris, which had poured all the power of its territory into war for years, could have produced such a number. On top of that, Ghislain had also scraped up additional trebuchets from other territories.
The gathered mass of trebuchets quickly began to tear down the fortress.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
The Atrode Kingdom’s frontline fortress was rapidly losing the very definition of a fortress.
The fortress commander, Count Gairen, was completely dumbfounded by the overwhelming firepower of the Ritania army.
“H-How are we supposed to deal with this?”
There was no way to counterattack. The troops stationed on the walls had already been forced to retreat.
And it wasn’t just a retreat everyone inside the fortress was desperately dodging the rain of stones crashing down upon them.
“Why do the stones just keep coming?! How much did they bring?!”
Unless their entire 100,000-strong army had done nothing but quarry rocks, such an unrelenting bombardment should have been impossible.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
There was nowhere to hide. The relentless barrage of stones was demolishing even the buildings inside the fortress.
“Your Excellency! You must take cover!”
Count Gairen was no exception. With the command post in ruins, he had no choice but to move from place to place, just like the other soldiers.
The only difference was that he was at least under the protection of his knights.
“This is insane… Just how many trebuchets do they have?! Fire! Fire back at them!”
But his orders were nothing more than a desperate plea.
At the start, they had attempted to counter with their own trebuchets. But for every stone they launched, the enemy fired over a hundred in return.
Their trebuchets hadn’t even lasted long enough for a proper retaliation before being reduced to rubble.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Watching as stones shattered everything around him, Count Gairen clutched his head.
“Ugh… Ughhh… This is impossible.”
What kind of attack was this? If the battle was this one-sided, there was no point in fighting at all.
As Count Gairen desperately fled, a sudden flash began to flicker in the sky.
Pazik!
A spark flared up, vanishing just as quickly—
Kwoooooom!
Then, lightning began to rain down from the heavens.
“Aaaaagh!”
Dodging the trebuchet stones had been hard enough, but now magic was falling on top of them as well. It was impossible to withstand.
Count Gairen screamed in sheer panic.
“W-Where are our mages?! What are the mages doing?!”
This was the kingdom’s frontline fortress some of the most skilled mages were stationed here. And he was certain they had successfully completed the mana blockade.
Then why was enemy magic still being cast?!
When he turned toward the mages, Count Gairen immediately understood.
“Take cover!”
“Block it, now!”
“The mana barrier has collapsed!”
The mages were in complete disarray due to the relentless downpour of rocks. Naturally, they couldn’t focus solely on their magic.
The fortress mages were fewer in number than the Ritania army’s. If even a few of them lost concentration, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the enemy’s mana.
In truth, the Ritania army’s mages could have broken through with sheer force from the start, but they had simply chosen not to.
Vanessa, leading the mages, gave instructions.
“There’s no need to push yourselves too hard. We have work to do right after this. Sir Jerome is handling it alone right now. Do what’s necessary and pull back.”
“...Understood.”
As the barrage of rocks disrupted the mana barrier, the magic corps under Vanessa’s command effortlessly poured spells into the fortress.
Kwaaaang!
Pillars of fire erupted across the stronghold, and bolts of lightning struck down.
The Atrode army’s mages fell before they could properly retaliate. Many, being quick-witted, fled without hesitation.
Count Gairen ground his teeth. There was simply no way to fight back against them.
“We should have just fought outside.”
They wouldn’t have won, but at least that would have been better than sitting here, unable to do anything while being pummeled.
The mages scattered and fled. The thirty thousand troops stationed in the fortress collapsed under the assault of stones and magic before they could even put up a fight.
Watching the fortress crumble so easily, Ghislain let out a chuckle.
“There’s no need for an actual Meteor. If rocks are pouring from the sky like this, that’s Meteor, isn’t it?”
That was why the operation was called Meteor.
“...”
The mage standing beside him, assigned to assist, kept his mouth shut. He wanted to disagree, but he had no argument.
Judging by the state of the fortress, it really did look like a 9th-circle spell, Meteor, had rained down.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
The fortress was continuously battered by stones and magic until even calling it ruins would be an understatement it was nothing more than a pile of rubble.
After confirming its destruction, Ghislain raised his hand.
“Alright, let’s wrap this up.”
The moment Ghislain charged forward on Black King, the waiting Ritania troops surged ahead with him.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Siege ladders and battering rams weren’t needed. They simply climbed over the wreckage of the fallen fortress.
Reaching the battlefield first, Ghislain leaped over the debris and swung his spear.
Kwaaaang!
Nearby enemy soldiers were killed instantly, unable to even scream. The fortress was already littered with corpses.
The Atrode army had no way to stop the advancing Ritania troops. Most of their forces had been crushed by falling rocks or obliterated by magic.
“H-Hold the line!”
“Run! Get out of here!”
“We can’t win anyway!”
The Atrode soldiers threw down their weapons and fled. None of them wanted to fight against this absurd army.
Even the remaining troops scattered in all directions, leaving Count Gairen standing there in a daze.
“How... how could this happen…?”
The Ritania army’s strength was widely rumored. Still, orders had been given to hold out for as long as possible.
Even though they were outnumbered, they still had a force of thirty thousand. Surely, they had believed, they could endure within this formidable fortress.
Yet, they hadn’t even lasted half a day.
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of approaching hoofbeats made Count Gairen turn his head.
A young man rode toward him atop a black horse radiating a ferocious aura.
That must be the infamous Duke of Fenris.
“D-Duke of Fenris?”
“That’s right.”
“I surrender. According to noble custom, I—”
“Cockroaches.”
Ghislain cut off Count Gairen’s words as he raised his spear.
“I don’t leave a single one alive.”
Slash!
Before he could even finish his sentence, Count Gairen’s head was sent flying.
With the fortress now completely secured, Ghislain spoke.
“We rest for a day and then move to the next stronghold. Leave some troops behind to secure the area. And… gather the stones.”
To ensure complete annihilation of the enemy, they needed to fully dominate the surrounding area as well. They couldn’t allow any stragglers to escape or find places to hide.
They had to be killed or driven out herded straight toward the Kingdom of Grimwell.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The battle had ended in an instant, and the Ritania army raised their weapons in a triumphant cheer. War had never felt this easy when fighting alongside Ghislain.
The knights who had followed him since the early days wore expressions of deep sentiment.
“Back in the day, we really had to fight with our bare hands.”
“We’ve come a long way.”
“There were more than a few times we nearly died.”
Back then, they hadn’t had this kind of overwhelming firepower. They had once launched themselves off castle walls in desperate charges, even attempted night raids using hot-air balloons.
Lucas slung his spear over his shoulder and chuckled.
“All that suffering turns out it was just to get us to this point.”
They had done everything imaginable to win. Now that they had finally acquired such overwhelming strength, it felt incredibly rewarding.
The Ritania army rested for only a day before advancing to the next stronghold. They weren’t even tired after all, they hadn’t exerted much effort.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The next fortress was no different from the last. The Atrode army was left floundering, helplessly absorbing blow after blow.
Watching the fortress crumble, Ghislain’s expression remained indifferent.
“I suppose they’ve pulled out all their transcendents.”
Without transcendents, there was no fortress that could withstand Operation Meteor. The only way to counter it was to have a comparable number of catapults or a superior magical force.
But no fortress could possibly possess that many catapults, nor could any magic corps surpass the Ritania army, which boasted the strongest magical power on the continent.
That left only one solution transcendents had to step onto the battlefield themselves. But the Atrode army’s elite had already marched toward the Kingdom of Grimwell.
And so, one by one, the Atrode army’s fortresses fell to the advancing Ritania forces.
Amid their smooth conquest, new information reached Ghislain.
“The Grimwell royal castle[a] has been seized! The King of Grimwell has been captured!”
That meant Gartros had acquired the relic he sought.
[a]is it fine to remove the stars?