Ch.163Chapter 163: Eastern Decisive Battle (31)

Having confirmed the Orc King’s movement, Ruktan, Arias, and Lilith no longer had any reason to stay here.

However, apart from Ruktan, the other two seemed a bit too vulnerable to join the battlefield right now.

That’s why Ruktan had asked them that question.

But Arias and Lilith answered Ruktan without hesitation.

“We have to go! Balt is fighting out there, and so is Lisa!”

“Indeed. As Balt’s soul companion, I cannot just stand by.”

Ruktan raised an eyebrow upon hearing Lilith’s words.

“Oh? So you’re Balt’s lover? That guy only ever called you a friend.”

Arias hurriedly stepped forward and exclaimed.

“I-I’m also a spirit companion! We’re bound by spirits! Spirits are both soul and mana! The very foundation of the world!!”

Ruktan scratched the back of his head at Arias’s reaction.

“My, what a lucky bastard. Alright, so I take it you both want to go?”

The two responded with conviction.

“Yes!”

Showing his white teeth in a grin just like his brother would, Ruktan shouted loudly and began running through the air.

“Then I’ll need some platforms!! Miss Soul Companion of my little brother!”

Though startled by Ruktan’s sudden dash, Lilith, a 7th Circle mage, wasn’t so easily caught off guard.

“Gladly!”

Lilith’s platform magic proved useful in many ways. At this pace, they could quickly reach the enemy lines by dashing through the air.

“I-I’ll make us invisible!”

Arias’s specialty couldn’t be overlooked either.

Her water spirit magic had developed further, allowing her to bend light and make the group invisible despite their rapid movement.

Of course, this was possible because they had the blue sky as their backdrop.

The sky was clear without a single cloud.

“Alright, let’s go!!”

And so Ruktan, Arias, and Lilith began joining the battlefield.

***

“Charge!! The enemy has fallen into the pit! Now’s our chance! Mages, what are you waiting for?!”

BOOM!

CRASH!

BANG!

SPLASH!

Numerous spells rained down on the orcs trapped in the pit.

Of course, that pit was created by Balt.

Unlike his first massive earthquake, Balt had now become accustomed to controlling his power.

‘The impact is greater when detonated from within. If I’m underground, I can create earthquakes too.’

It’s common knowledge that explosions are more powerful when detonated from inside rather than outside.

Balt’s initial punch was a shock detonated completely underground, causing the earth to shake with tremendous power.

But after experiencing trial and error, Balt could now control his power to collapse the ground beneath the orcs’ feet.

The second time created a rather large pit, the third time a smaller one but still enough to prevent standing properly.

And now, with just a tiny bit of magical power, he could create pits that made orcs lose balance and fall.

The battlefield was much wider than Balt had anticipated.

It was impossible for Balt to cover the entire battlefield where hundreds of thousands clashed.

So he chose the path of maximum effect with minimum effort.

“Over here! 1km! Two Orc Lords, thirty Generals!”

Of course, Lisa’s contribution was dazzling in this process.

With the artifact enabling precise targeting, the orcs had no way to defend themselves.

The ground is incredibly important.

True power comes from a stable stance.

Without proper footing, one cannot exert proper strength.

This applies to everyone, whether child or adult, sword beginner or sword master.

The earth they stand on—their foundation.

When that begins to shake, even an Orc Lord cannot avoid being disrupted.

RUMBLE!!

DRRRRR-

Another of Balt’s sinkhole spells erupted beneath an Orc Lord unit, leaving the orcs completely defenseless against his magic.

“Kyahahahaha!! Balt, this is amazing!! Even better than a Great Worm!?”

Even the Great Worm, a monster known for burrowing through the earth, couldn’t compare to Balt’s current abilities.

Balt smiled at Lisa’s exclamation.

“Hah! Great! I didn’t know I’d be this good! Where to next!?”

“This way! About 800m, one Orc Lord and fifty Generals! Let’s go!!”

THUD-THUD-THUD-

Balt’s thick hands tore through the ground, extending outward to disrupt the enemy.

***

“You need to make a decision.”

Jerdin’s expression grew serious upon hearing Veron’s words.

“Until now, you’ve held the title of commander in name only, powerless to do anything. But now the situation is clear to anyone, Commander!”

Under Veron’s pressure, Jerdin’s expression finally soured.

“Ugh…! What kind of situation has that guy created! I never expected him to accomplish this much…”

What Jerdin had expected from Balt wasn’t this much.

He had merely hoped Balt would help prevent the kingdoms from being annihilated by the Orc Lords and Generals.

He certainly hadn’t expected him to cover such a vast area.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Balt alone had completely changed the course of the war.

Thanks to Balt, the excited kingdoms were capturing Orc Lords and racking up military achievements, and rather than just defending against the Orc Lords’ attacks, they were now gaining momentum, believing they could even capture the Orc King.

“This is our opportunity! You must advance now to capture the Orc King. You saw it yourself—the Orc King is preparing to march! If the commander delays, who knows what damage might occur!”

“Damn it all…!”

It was too fast—much too fast.

This war wasn’t supposed to end so quickly.

Wars cost money, but they also make money.

Selling supplies needed for war could make one rich.

Jerdin had expected this war to last at least a month.

The annihilation of the orcs was inevitable, but the process was what mattered most.

Jerdin had planned to use this war to strengthen his position in the Eastern Continent, but thanks to Balt, he now didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘The situation isn’t all bad. In fact, it might be good. I was the one who recommended that Geruntu fellow, and I’m the one who’s using him effectively. If the war ends quickly because of this, it might lead to even better results.’

Jerdin, who harbored ambitions of creating a massive nation like the Empire, decided to use this opportunity.

A quick end to the orc war that he had expected to drag on.

And the tremendous contribution of Prince Geruntu in the process.

Plus, he had even formed an alliance with that Geruntu prince.

He didn’t understand why the Geruntu prince was going this far, but he simply dismissed him as a stupid barbarian who loved fighting without considering gains and losses.

‘Quickly stabilize the East and monopolize trade with the South. I can’t deny Geruntu’s potential now.’

Jerdin was a man full of ambition, but he also had a keen eye for political situations.

As they say, seeing one reveals ten.

Just by observing Balt, a single Geruntu, Jerdin began to see how the Southern Geruntu might develop in the future.

‘The East belongs to us, the Central to Halquin, and the South has the highest possibility of becoming a great empire under Geruntu. This is certain.’

Having finished his thoughts, Jerdin finally lifted his heavy bottom and spoke to Veron.

“You’re right. If the commander doesn’t move now, when will he? Tell the Orc King subjugation unit to assemble!”

Only then did Veron break into a bright smile, loudly acknowledging the order before rushing out.

“Yes, Commander!!”

After Veron left, Jerdin finally grinned to himself and began to mutter.

“Kukukuk, yes. Things are going well. It wouldn’t make sense for me, Jerdin, to miss out on the feast I’ve prepared. I truly owe you one, Geruntu Prince.”

***

“Kyaa! KYAAAK!! L-Lilith! Make the platform higher!!”

Stray arrows and spells whizzed between Arias and Lilith.

WHOOSH!

Though the arrows shot into the air had little power, Arias clutched her startled heart.

In such large-scale wars, many soldiers inevitably die from such stray arrows.

“Stop!”

As Ruktan shouted with a clenched fist, Lilith stopped creating platforms.

The three stood in mid-air, quietly observing the battlefield situation.

“Whew~ My little brother is no joke! Hahaha!! That’s how it should be!!”

Elves have good eyesight, similar to Geruntu.

Relatively much better than vampires, so Lilith asked Arias.

“Arias, where’s Balt?”

“He’s probably digging through the ground, how could we see him?”

But that was Arias’s miscalculation.

BOOM!

The ground suddenly erupted!

And immediately, the surface began pulling orcs down like quicksand.

Seeing this, Arias looked dumbfounded.

“Seems like he has multiple versions of ground digging…”

“Amazing. That’s Balt for you. Let’s go too, Arias!”

As Lilith tried to create platforms to run toward the battle, Arias hurriedly grabbed her.

“Are you crazy? You want to jump into that?”

But Lilith only tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes, what’s strange about that?”

“It’s strange!! We’ll die if we jump in there, you idiot!”

Looking at the area where magic and various weapons were being fired indiscriminately, Lilith nodded.

“Hmm… it does look dangerous, I admit.”

“I’m telling you, she gets weird sometimes.”

While Arias and Lilith were bickering, Ruktan jumped off the platform spell.

“Balt’s girlfriends! I’ll part ways with you here! Don’t get hurt!! HAHAHAHAHA!!”

The second Geruntu, who was discovering his power beyond a great warrior thanks to his younger brother Balt.

Ruktan Geruntu leaped into the battlefield.