Ch.159Chapter 159: The Decisive Battle in the East (27).

On the way back after finishing the conversation with Jerdin.

Valt asks Lisa.

“Will you be alright? I don’t know much about imperial politics, but if things go wrong, your family could suffer great damage.”

But Lisa, perched on Valt’s neck after a long time, shows no sign of worry.

“No, that won’t happen.”

Hearing Lisa’s confident words, Lilith and Arias, who were walking alongside them, also chime in.

“That’s right. If it’s Lord Valt, you’ll perform brilliantly even on such a massive battlefield.”

“Yeah, I understand how Lisa feels. This is an opportunity in a way, an opportunity.”

Unlimited trust from his friends.

Valt thinks he’s blessed with good people.

“Don’t expect too much. This is different from small-scale engagements. At least 200,000 troops will clash. The Orc side will have even more.”

He had felt overwhelmed facing a separate force of 30,000, but now they’re talking about 200,000.

Arias and Lilith gulped, but they never doubted Valt.

“I-I’ll be in the air with Lilith, right?”

Valt grins and replies.

“Yes, that might be safer. On the battlefield, even a blind blade can easily kill you.”

This is from Valt’s original memories.

The young Gerung warrior who once raced across rough battlefields has now grown to stand shoulder to shoulder with the strongest after learning magic.

Now it’s time to consider the problem.

200,000 versus 300,000.

What should Valt do on a battlefield where at least 500,000 clash?

Various opinions emerged.

If he were just an Aura user with strong physical power, there would be limitations, but magic is different.

Mages are positioned in the rear simply because it’s tactically advantageous, not because they must be there.

A mage who taunts and disrupts enemies from the front lines.

Such battle mages, as they’re called, weren’t unheard of in the continent’s long history.

Their effectiveness is certain, but they become priority targets for elimination because they’re exposed to Aura users who are stronger than mages in personal combat.

Many mages have met their end this way, and front-line mages are always priority targets for elimination.

This probably holds true for Orcs as well.

It’s common sense to eliminate battlefield-changing mages first, and these Orcs are waging war with human-level strategies.

If Valt performs well a few times, he’ll likely become their primary target.

They all stayed up all night discussing how Valt could perform at his best.

But the problem was escape.

“Valt, can you teleport?”

Teleport is also a high-level, difficult magic.

Teleporting instantly to escape from a busy battlefield is impossible for most mages.

Even Blink is 6th circle magic, while Teleport is higher—you can only begin learning it at 7th circle and need to be an 8th circle master to use it freely.

Naturally, it’s extremely difficult to do this in combat situations.

Teleport management offices in major cities are constructed with expensive, layered magic formations, and even those can only teleport to designated locations.

There’s no way Valt, who’s only at 5th circle, could use such magic.

“Of course I can’t use it.”

Lisa starts scratching her head vigorously.

“Argh… I can attack, but it’s too difficult to hit and run. You need to cast a spell like Earthquake and then escape, but you’ll definitely become a target. Is there any way to escape from Orc Generals and Orc Lords in a battlefield with so many people?”

“Gerung warriors don’t run away, Lisa.”

“This isn’t the time for that! There are hundreds or thousands of 7th and 8th level Orcs! How will you face them!?”

Valt smiles at Lisa’s passionate response.

“Heheh, I’m joking, just joking. I won’t do something that’s practically suicide.”

“You’re a Gerung, so it doesn’t sound like a joke!!”

Then he shows his trademark smile, revealing all his neat white teeth.

Behind that smile always lurked Valt’s confidence.

As soon as she sees that smile, Lisa exclaims.

“You have a way!! You have a way! What is it! Tell me quickly!!”

Valt, still smiling, answers Lisa.

“The problem is movement, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

“Then I just need to create a spell, don’t I?”

Some might think he sounds like a legendary archmage making such a confident claim, but the people gathered here didn’t take Valt’s words lightly.

“C-can you create something other than attack magic?”

Every spell Valt had created so far had insane destructive power.

Honestly, from Lisa’s and others’ perspective, it was unclear if they were even proper spells.

Throwing rocks with crazy strength and calling it “Rock Cannon,” creating whirlwinds by swinging his palm and turning his body, collapsing mountains to crush enemies, creating rocks in mid-air and throwing them to the ground—the boundary between magic and something else was a bit strange.

So Valt’s original spells weren’t completely considered magic. But since they were attack spells, it seemed acceptable.

Valt’s argument that throwing ice or throwing rocks was essentially the same thing was convincing.

But movement magic is different.

It requires precise manipulation, calculation, and construction of mana based on circles, and if even one element is off, the spell won’t activate.

That’s why people who understood magic looked at Valt with quite surprised expressions.

“Of course, I’m a mage too. I should have a movement spell. Or rather, I will have one soon.”

“What is it! I’m so curious!”

“I’m curious too.”

“Me too!!”

With everyone curious, Valt smiles and explains the movement magic to everyone.

After hearing the explanation, Lisa’s eyes widened, and she started laughing.

“A-amazing!! Is that possible!?”

“W-well… should we call it Valt-style movement magic…? It’s incredible…”

“Amazing…! I couldn’t do it, but if it’s Lord Valt…!”

With everyone’s different reactions, Valt gives a thumbs up.

“I’ve already practiced once. It worked well. I’ll show you how elusive a Gerung mage can be in battle.”

Lisa raises her hand excitedly and shouts.

“Me! Can you take me with you!? With that method, I think I could follow you!?”

“Can you hold on tight?”

From their first meeting until now, no one has been better at clinging to Valt’s body than Lisa.

At first, Arias and Lilith looked at her disapprovingly, but now they’ve grown accustomed to it, like a squirrel attached to an old tree.

“Who do you think I am!! I’m Lisa Valentine, world champion at riding Valt!!”

“Good, your keen eye will be helpful. Let’s go together.”

In this battle, Valt had no intention of directly engaging the enemy.

The kingdom’s army itself was already powerful with many formidable figures.

Valt just hoped that this powerful army wouldn’t be instantly overwhelmed by the stronger and more numerous Orc army.

It was uncertain how the Orc King would act, but everyone here believed that Valt’s participation alone could provide sufficient support to the kingdom’s allied forces.

They were curious to see how a single battle mage could change the battlefield.

***

“What!? Hey! Are you telling me to clean up after your girlfriends!?”

“I can’t trust anyone but you, brother. You must do it.”

How many Gerung warriors would listen if told to skip combat and protect people from behind?

Asking Luktan to escort Arias and Lilith was actually more difficult for Valt than devising strategies.

“No! You want me to miss that incredible battlefield and just protect people!? Does this make sense, brother!? Me, a great Gerung warrior, skipping battle to guard people!?”

He’s not someone who can be persuaded easily. So Valt decided to use a stronger approach.

“Brother, are you stronger than me?”

Luktan hesitates at Valt’s direct factual attack.

“Y-you bastard, how unfair to state facts like that! Anyway, I can’t do it! The battlefield is calling me! My heart is already racing at the thought of crossing that battlefield with my honey, what right do you have to…”

“Would you like a Butengk?”

Butengk refers to a duel that Gerung warriors use to persuade each other when they disagree.

It’s a very old Gerung custom, but rarely practiced these days.

“Hey! You’d win that! Are you threatening your brother!?”

“Would you do it as a favor, considering everything I’ve done for you?”

Luktan, who has received much from Valt, frowns intensely as he contemplates.

“Nnnnngh!!!”

For a Gerung warrior who loves fighting more than eating, being told to stay back and defend is truly difficult.

But Valt decided to dangle a carrot.

“Brother, you know it would be difficult to fight the Orc King, right?”

“…What are you getting at now?”

“Have you forgotten? While escorting those two, the Orc King’s attacks might come your way.”

At that moment, Luktan’s eyes light up, and he starts laughing heartily.

“T-that’s right! Hah! Hahahahaha!! Of course! Am I the kind of shameless person who wouldn’t help his brother? Don’t worry!! I’ll protect your girlfriends very thoroughly!”

Convincing Luktan: complete.

Now all that remains is the actual confrontation.