Ch.116Chapter 116. Selection and Focus (2)

“Hmm, this is it.”

Despite the urgency of the situation, I was feeling quite exhilarated.

I’d always thought that someday I might go on a mission riding Yongyong or Chorok, but I never expected the opportunity to come so quickly.

When Yongyong swept across the battlefield, the cheers of the soldiers behind us were incredibly satisfying.

In a word, it was a real ego boost.

“…You’re drawing too much aggro.”

“Can’t be helped.”

“Good job, Yongyong.”

While Addy and I were conversing, Jacqueline was busy stroking Yongyong’s head.

Despite meeting Jacqueline for the first time today, Yongyong followed her as if they’d known each other for years.

In some ways, he seemed to enjoy her petting even more than mine.

“My assignment is the leftmost section of the front line.”

Jacqueline muttered as she jumped down from Yongyong’s head.

“I can finish this quickly.”

Swoosh-

Jacqueline’s sharp weapon protruded from her sleeve.

Shing-

Seeing Jacqueline draw her weapon, I pulled out my Black Shadow Sword as well.

“Your job is to help the allied forces advance—”

Whoosh-

Before I could ask Jacqueline anything, she charged forward.

Yongyong rose up and began flapping his wings without me giving any commands.

He really does seem to have a good connection with Jacqueline.

‘Is that a creature made with black magic?’

“That’s probably what they call a Black Golem creature.”

The name “Black Golem” suited its appearance perfectly.

The massive creature had a typical golem form, but its entire body was black.

Jacqueline breaking formation and rushing ahead independently was something both Addy and I were used to.

As we watched Jacqueline’s sword-like weapon instantly destroy the Black Golem, Addy and I also prepared for battle.

“They’re known to be difficult to destroy, but Jacqueline is different, as expected.”

“Well, does it have any weaknesses?”

“According to what’s been discovered, there’s a core hidden somewhere in its body that powers its movement. You need to precisely destroy that.”

“Where in the body is it hidden?”

“That differs from golem to golem.”

“Ugh.”

This was tougher than I thought.

Now that I’d heard about Black Golems, I was newly impressed by Jacqueline who was destroying them with a single strike.

I really can’t match Jacqueline when it comes to combat.

“Addy, stay back and provide support since it’s dangerous for you. Be careful not to let your mask slip off.”

“Yes. Just hurry up and finish this.”

Addy was more of a support type who assisted from a distance rather than engaging in close combat.

Before becoming my office secretary, she was a mage who fought alongside me on the battlefield.

And quite a skilled mage at that.

Whoosh-

‘This feeling is nostalgic.’

It felt like warm sunlight washing over my body.

The sensation of sunlight touching from head to toe, filling my entire body with energy.

Despite not having practiced magic in a long time, Addy’s skills hadn’t diminished at all.

She probably barely had time to finish the daily paperwork, let alone practice magic, yet her skills hadn’t rusted one bit.

Addy’s specialty wasn’t combat magic.

She was a typical support mage.

A buff-type mage who dramatically enhanced the physical abilities of frontline combatants.

Whoooosh-

The light poured not just on me but also on Jacqueline who was far ahead.

After providing buffs to both of us, Addy prepared the offensive magic she could use.

Kwagagak-

Meanwhile, I confronted a Black Golem.

Contrary to expectations, my sword was effective against the Black Golem.

It was fundamentally very solid, but not to the point where it couldn’t be cut.

‘Right, the First Elder yesterday was the abnormal one.’

Perhaps it was because of the fierce battle with the First Elder of the Nameless Organization last night.

Compared to him, the Black Golem was almost cute.

Though it was wrapped in black magic, the concentration wasn’t high enough to repel a sword infused with regular mana.

Additionally, as expected from its large build, the golem moved slowly.

Compared to undead, it was somewhat similar to a Death Knight.

Better defense than a Death Knight but slower speed, that kind of feeling.

Kwagagang-

“Addy! I’ll cut it up, you finish it off!”

I didn’t have the insight like Jacqueline to find and destroy the core in one go.

And there was no need to do so.

I could rely on Addy’s help from behind.

Kwang-

Addy answered with action instead of words.

She fired an energy mass at the golem I had cut into five pieces, shattering it completely.

I wasn’t sure how big the core inside the golem was, but that level of destructive power would definitely have destroyed it.

‘Okay.’

After confirming that Addy had cleanly finished it off, I rushed forward.

Jacqueline had already taken down several golems and moved far ahead.

I needed to step up my game.

**

“P-Princess!”

“Hmmmm.”

Arte lowered the telescope from her eye and let out an ambiguous groan.

The massive undead wyvern that suddenly appeared from the allied forces’ side had descended upon the battlefield where the Black Golems were gathered.

From Arte’s vantage point overlooking the battlefield, she could clearly see what was happening.

The area where the undead wyvern had suddenly intruded was being sharply penetrated.

The few people who had dropped with the wyvern were destroying the Black Golems at an incredible pace and advancing forward.

Much faster than Arte had anticipated.

‘That undead wyvern…’

Arte’s eyes flashed as she watched the undead wyvern that had taken to the air again and was about to swoop down.

She hadn’t expected an undead to appear from the allied forces’ side.

‘Surely they don’t have a black mage on their side too.’

“Princess! What should we do?”

“Wait a moment. I’m thinking.”

Arte had somehow become the final decision-maker for the Flora Kingdom’s forces.

While she had initially been present on the battlefield merely to maintain her position as royalty, as the battle progressed, Arte had become the core of Flora Kingdom’s operations.

It couldn’t be helped.

Almost all the creatures being deployed on the battlefield were coming through routes that Princess Arte knew about.

Even as Arte was thinking, the front line was being rapidly breached.

The allied forces had advanced and were now pouring into Flora Kingdom’s camp through the devastated front line.

At this rate, their camp would be pushed back and annihilated—it was almost certain.

“Order a retreat for now.”

“Understood!”

The commander of the kingdom’s forces nodded as soon as he heard Arte’s words and immediately ran off somewhere.

So far, there had been no casualties among the “human” forces of the kingdom, but if the allied forces advanced further, they would soon reach where the real “soldiers” were stationed.

If that happened, it wouldn’t be the creatures made with black magic taking damage, but real soldiers being mercilessly slaughtered.

“Where did that come from?”

Arte muttered, looking at the undead wyvern soaring in the air.

‘It looks like something that old Third Elder summoned.’

Arte was almost 100% certain.

There was no way the allied forces had a black mage who could summon undead, let alone an undead wyvern.

That meant the undead wyvern there was very likely a being that the Third Elder had brought into this world.

‘That means those people over there are the ones who captured the Third Elder.’

Arte’s eyes flashed as she looked at the two people leading the charge.

If she could capture them, she could surely gain favor in the eyes of the Founder, even surpassing the First Elder.

A momentary greed flickered in Arte’s eyes.

The thought crossed her mind that if she gained the Founder’s favor, she could receive even greater power.

Arte looked around to confirm that no one was near her.

“Number One.”

“Yes.”

In response to Arte’s voice, someone appeared in the previously empty space.

It was a white-haired man with looks so handsome he could have been sculpted.

A man dressed in a white suit similar to the color of his hair.

“Do you see those people?”

“Yes.”

The man called Number One shared Arte’s view.

Two people moving sharply at the front line, destroying Black Golems without hesitation.

“Capture them. Preferably alive.”

“Understood.”

“If you can’t capture them, you can kill them, but the priority is to take them alive.”

“Yes.”

Number One nodded slightly and disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.

Arte, with curiosity, began to survey the overall battlefield situation again.

The kingdom’s forces were slowly retreating, likely due to the withdrawal order given through the commander.

It was regrettable to cede that area to the enemy, but with the current momentum and forces, it seemed impossible to hold.

‘I should inform the First Elder too. That the ones who took down the Third Elder seem to have appeared.’

Arte couldn’t help but smile at the thought that she had obtained information ahead of the First Elder.

Arte secretly felt both inferiority and jealousy toward the First Elder.

He had joined the Nameless Organization first and earned the Founder’s deep trust, and his magical achievements were also enviable.

‘He’ll be shocked when I capture those guys and reveal their identities. Hehehe.’

Arte laughed pleasantly as she imagined the First Elder’s surprised face with his characteristic low voice.

Little did she imagine that just a few hours ago, the First Elder she envied had been defeated and imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the O’Neil Kingdom.