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The one who flies above the one who jumps (2)

Elom’s troops hurriedly left the fortress and prepared for a surprise attack by hiding in a road that the Imperial army could pass through.

Other soldiers tucked inside the walls to defend the fort, but the advantage of the cavalry could not be taken advantage of.

In the first place, Elom’s troops were small in number, so if they defended like that, they would likely be destroyed soon.

For this reason, Elrom decided to use the mobile defense strategy as he had discussed with Frederick.

Elom’s troops, who were hiding in the grassy highlands, clicked their tongues when they saw the size of the Imperial army that soon appeared. The procession of well-armed elite soldiers shows no signs of ending.

“They are coming out hard from the beginning… Aren’t there more than our defense forces?”

“You’re doing this very deliberately.”

“If we get caught, it’s the end, so keep your voice down.”

The number of allied forces was much higher than that of the imperial army, but they were scattered here and there to protect the wide mountain range.

On the other hand, the attacking side, the Imperial Army, can concentrate their forces at will.

If the Allied Forces, which are already at a high level, are pushed out, the answer really won’t come out.

However, on the Allied side, there is a fortress where Elom’s troops stayed.

A properly constructed fortress in an appropriate strategic location is an excellent defense that can ignore a considerable difference in power.

Of course, well-trained Imperial troops cannot blindly attack the fortress.

Chris, who was lowering himself under a bush and watching the imperial army march, quietly asked Illesis in the back seat.

“Illesis, can you see the players?”

“Um… wait for a sec.”

Illesis used her familiar, which she had set aside earlier, to look behind the procession.

The young beast she saved from the city of artisans dramatically improved her scouting abilities.

After concentrating for a moment, she nodded her head slightly.

“There are people at the back of the procession under heavy escort. The number of people is five. Everyone seems to be magicians, but the amount of magic power is unusual.”

“It’s them. Five, you brought a lot. Are you going to attack Elrom?”

“All ready for battle.”

When Elom gave a brief command, the cavalry under his command tensed up.

If mage players specializing in offensive spells bombarded them, the poor acidity of their allies would not last even half a day.

So, they have to cut them off no matter what.

Fortunately, the Imperial Army didn’t even bring a ladder, let alone a battering ram, as if they believed the players.

Well, dragging siege weapons on these rough mountain roads is a great struggle.

After confirming that, Elrom once again reminds them of the goal of the operation.

“It only hits the player and gets out quickly. If we just kill them anyway, our siege warfare will drop.”

“Here they come.”

As soon as Elrom finished speaking, players appeared from beyond the peaks.

They were talking noisily among themselves, as if they had gone for a walk.

Not only the Elrom side but also the Imperial army frowned at the distraction and lack of tension, but it is a luxury to expect sincerity from those who can annihilate people just by shouting the skill name.

By the time they slowly pass through the ambush point of Elom’s troops.

Chris clicked his tongue slightly as he looked at their escorts.

“Wait, aren’t those the Rattlesnake mercenaries?”

“Are they dangerous?”

Elom asked anxiously, and Chris nodded.

“It’s a bit strong, but not enough to cancel the operation. I’ll lead the way, so everyone stick close and follow me.”

“All right. Prepare to charge.”

When the ghost horse, receiving Chris’s signal, gave a short tour, Illesis in the back seat became very nervous.

He checks her arm, which is tighter than usual, and applies the buff.

“Strengthening the horse, blessing of the wind, spirit, unstoppable charge.”

The class Chris chose this time was Seidran, an assault cavalryman that was useful in the royal family.

This class is best suited for the Elom unit’s single strike breakaway and mount combat.

In the past, you had to worry about recoil damage, but now you don’t have to do that.

The unit members, who had synchronized their breathing prior to the charge, start running at once as soon as Chris gives a signal. When some cavalrymen popped out from the grass on the side, the imperial army and players who were marching were visibly taken aback.

“Huh? I am the enemy! Quickly, to the archers in front… … .”

“That’s stupid. If you don’t want to die, shut up and raise your shield first!”

The mercenaries, relatively quick to grasp the situation, responded immediately, but Chris was already close to them.

A skill activated from above the ghost horse quickly attacks the guards and two players.

“Class change, swordsman. A flash of light!”

The sword light that jumped out of Chris’ long sword cut through the entire space around it.

It was a powerful technique from the beginning, but as the speed of the ghost horse increases, it is cut off as it touches the sword.

The two players who were targeted first died without even being able to let out a proper scream.

An enormous recoil hit the right arm holding the longsword, but it was enough to withstand because the ghost horse didn’t have enough power.

When Chris, who was at the front, cleared the way, the cavalrymen in the back could easily overrun the enemy lines. When Tyrone, who was relatively in the lead, used his skill to bind the players, the cavalrymen cut their bodies several times.

“Shadow Chain, Onslaught of Darkness!”

“This, this child… Whoops!”

The vitality bonuses of the players in the Imperial Army collapsed helplessly in front of the spear blades constantly attacking.

Even the two players Chris cut and passed by had long since died. It was because the power of his sword was so enormous that it gave off the effect of hitting it with a battering ram rather than a longsword.

Elom’s troops fled the battlefield before the screams of the Imperials were over, but the surviving mercenaries hurled spells and arrows at their backs.

Then Illesis, who was riding behind Chris’s back, skillfully blocks them.

“The stone wall that protects!”

When the spell prepared earlier was activated, a large stone wall appeared to block the Imperial Army’s attack. Thanks to that, Elrom sighed and turned his head to look behind him. When he found one surviving player, he clicked his tongue.

“Oh, there is only one left. I can’t go back now, so… … .”

“The Demon Palace of the Phoenix!”

Before Chris could finish his words, he summoned the Phoenix Demon Palace and finished off the remaining one.

The Imperial Army, who had lost five players in less than a minute, had no choice but to stare blankly at their backs.

The cavalrymen, who had wiped out not only the players but also the expensive mercenaries with a single charge, retreated with joy.

Thanks to witnessing the skills of Chris and his party, the morale of the unit rose to the top.

Before long, Elom arrives at the clearing and calms them down.

“Check allied damage!”

“No power failure. I don’t see any pursuit.”

“Um… … .”

However, Chris, who had the biggest major, was slightly separated from others and was in trouble.

After looking at his men for a while, Elom approached him with a serious expression and asked.

“Chris! Are you having any problems? Shall we return today?”

“No, I’m fine. I just have a little concern… … .”

“What is it?”

After tapping the calculator in his head for a while, Chris confesses his feelings with an expression that doesn’t seem to understand at all.

“You know the rattlesnake mercenaries we just encountered? They are a mercenary group specializing in escorting key factors, so the ransom is really no joke, right?”

“Yes, but didn’t we do it well?”

“yes. But did the Breton Empire have the capacity to hire such a veteran mercenary?”

The Breton Empire had been ruling numerous colonies since ancient times.

Because of this, the number of budget figures is different from that of other countries.

However, a war of conquest is a business that requires a lot more money than that.

No matter how much money Breton has accumulated… … .

They summoned countless players and built factories, steamships, and tanks in just a few years.

And such newspapers are strictly prohibited from being sold to other countries due to the risk of technology leakage. Even the goods produced in the factories are only consumed inside the empire.

In other words, no matter how new and novel things are made, money goes out when money goes out and never comes in.

“But these guys are fighting like rich people… … .”

Chris and Elrom, who had served in the Imperial Army, could get a rough idea of their level of funding.

Only then did Erom feel a sense of incongruity and nodded with a cautious expression.

“It sure is strange. Right now, the Empire must be very tight just to roll the army and maintain supplies… … .”

“yes? Let’s look at the other side first and then judge. Where is next?”

“I confirm the dispatch of the Imperial Army from the southern side. I want to go immediately… It says.”

Illesis, who was in charge of the unit’s communications officer, delivered General Frederick’s orders.

Covered in blood from riding behind Chris, she shuddered slightly at the atmosphere of the battlefield. Chris wanted her to go back even now, but Illesis stood firm on the ghost horse.

“Don’t look at me like that, Chris. Right now I’m in charge of reconnaissance and communications.”

“You can use a scroll for communication, and you can use scouts for reconnaissance, right? If you want to stop, feel free to tell me.”

Of course, it would be more inconvenient than Illesis’ help, but it wasn’t impossible at all.

But isn’t Illesis rather frowning after hearing his consideration?

Elom, who was next to him, also climbed onto the horse, looking at him with unstoppable eyes.

“Chris, please… No, it’s done. Let’s head south quickly. There are many places to hit within today.”

“okay. That’s the role we originally had.”

As Chris hurriedly crossed the mountains southward, he could feel Illesis in the back seat constantly pinching his side.

After crossing several steep peaks, the horses’ breathing became rough, but the ghost horse is still vigorous even after carrying two people.

Chris, who easily defeated the players in a similar way as before, groaned briefly as soon as he shook off the chase.

This time there were only three players, but it was the same with a famous mercenary as an escort.

“Um… I guess it’s not an illusion either. Guys, where did you get the money from?”

“This time, they say it’s towards the entrance of the mountain range!”

“Today is the last day, everyone, cheer up a little more!”

Elesis, who received the communication, announced the next target, and Elom encouraged his tired men.

The troops who changed horses from the nearby forts approached the entrance of the mountain range where the Imperial Army engineers were working.

After finding a way with Illesis’s familiar, and using Tyrone to defeat the scouts, he saw the Imperial army’s work site.

“Anyway, isn’t this a bit dangerous?”

Chris shakes his head when Tyrone returns from clearing the sentry and asks anxiously.

“Sometimes you have to hit me like this so the other side can’t come out as you please.”

Even for Elom’s rigorously trained troops, it was difficult to roam the entire mountain range throughout the war.

Because of this, Frederick moved the defense units organically to reduce their burden.

We planned an operation to get the maximum benefit with the minimum movement.

After estimating the amount of his magic power and the fatigue of his troops, Chris asked Elom to stop.

Then, after sending an alter ego to spy on the work site, he takes out the longbow of the phoenix and fires it.

A flaming arrow that fell in the middle of the night collapsed the tunnel just before completion, ending the players who had been placed for defense.

Tyrone, who heard the explosion and screams that erupted from the scene, turned his head and complained in a dry voice.

“It will be like this a little while ago.”

“You know that the phoenix’s magic palace has bad value for money. If I had only used this from the start, I would have been sick from depletion of mana long ago, right? Players with good survivability don’t die easily even if they get hit by this. In a battlefield like this where there may be variables, it is better to save such draws as much as possible.”

Tyrone was deliberately inducing Chris to explain in order to reduce the questions and complaints of the troops.

Chris, who knows that well, is not very annoyed and replies.

Similarly, Tyrone, who possesses the Demon Palace of the Phoenix, cannot be ignorant of cost-effectiveness issues.

Chris, who was hastily retreating after the attack, found a group of people belatedly attempting to pursue. Moving a little faster and smarter than others, they are undoubtedly famous mercenaries.

Up to two times can be considered a coincidence, but from the third time it is destiny.

Chris changed his doubts to certainty and drove the ghost horse towards the fort.