Ch.693Penetration

Large-scale tactical deployment of magical forces.

It was once considered an impossible theory, confined to academic discussions.

Unlike Dragonborn who were naturally attuned to mana from birth, or fairies who could wield elemental magic through the blessing of The World Tree, humans with magical talent were extremely rare.

Even those born with the talent to manipulate mana couldn’t all grow up to become mages.

With talent alone, one might intuitively move mana, but controlling it to manifest magic belonged to the realm of knowledge, not intuition. And knowledge of mana control wasn’t easily accessible.

Unless one was born to wealthy merchants or noble families, being born with magical talent meant little for a farmer’s child who ate dirt to survive.

Such individuals, unable to become mages or even understand their own talents, often didn’t live past twenty, ending their lives in mana outbursts. Like a poorly handled sword wounding its own master.

Moreover, even if someone was born with magical talent—beating odds of one in tens of thousands—and by divine providence learned mana control to enter the path of a mage, they still needed considerable time to become a proper mage.

Six years at minimum.

It took at least six long years to perfectly master mana control, engrave various formulas in one’s mind, and build up enough internal mana to utilize them freely.

That’s why the Empire abandoned the cultivation of magical battalions.

To make this concept a reality, they would have to scour the entire Empire for talented children, then spend years pouring massive resources into training them as mages.

The efficiency was terrible. The time, manpower, and resources spent on cultivating a magical battalion could quadruple the number of Imperial knights and still have leftovers.

However, with the discovery of rune imprinting as a new possibility, large-scale magical force cultivation was no longer just theoretical.

With rune imprinting, creating warriors who could wield magical power became remarkably simple.

Talent?

Rune imprinting was selective too, but not like traditional magic where only one in tens of thousands qualified.

The difference was incomparable. When selecting ten warriors to check rune compatibility, one or two among them could manifest runic power.

Education?

Understanding the name and meaning of a rune was sufficient.

Rune magic, like fairy elemental magic, was a power that could be controlled through sensation and will alone, without elaborate formulas.

Cost? Time?

Creating a single minimum-output rune required just one person’s death, and once the rune imprint was placed, there was no need to accumulate internal mana.

The imprint automatically drew mana from the atmosphere to manifest magic.

Rune magic fundamentally shook the existing magical system of humanity. It allowed Dane, once suppressed by the Empire and Ka’har, to escape their status as a minor nation and dream of unbridled hegemony.

The Dane people realized what was once theoretical through mass-producing mages via rune imprinting.

Most rune mages could only handle one imprint, and their magical output wasn’t particularly high, but…

With their numbers exceeding hundreds and reaching thousands now, such shortcomings had become meaningless.

—-

“Ūruz!”

Dane archers awakening the rune of strength pull the strings of their metal bows.

A tension unlike wood or animal horn. Each time the rune archers released their strings, the steel bow limbs trembled, emitting a thunderous sound like lightning striking.

“Kuheck!”

Arrows too fast to see mercilessly pierced the prairie cavalry.

Arrow tips penetrated shields easily, grinding through armor and flesh before emerging from the other side. With each thunderbolt from the metal bows, charging cavalry were thrown backward as if struck by a dragon’s tail.

Not just arrows. As soon as the enemy light cavalry reached the range of attack magic, Dane’s rune mages began manifesting spells in unison to counter.

ᚲ ᛁ

“Kenaz!” “Īsaz!”

Spears of flame cut through the air spewing heat, while sharp hailstones rained down on the cavalry.

“Gyaaaack!”

A warrior engulfed in flames screamed and danced like a puppet, while a cavalryman caught in the ice shard rain was crushed, brain matter splattering.

“Cursed sorcerers-!”

Ka’har warriors lay sideways on their horses to avoid the streams of fire, raising shields to block the blades of hail as they advanced.

However, in the rain of arrows, it was difficult even for them to avoid all the dozens, perhaps hundreds of spells.

Moreover, the Dane army’s offensive didn’t end with just fire and ice.

ᛚ

“Laguz!”

The water rune. A massive water droplet formed in the air, enveloping and trapping a horse’s head. Cold water streams invaded the horse’s nose, mouth, eyes, and ears like snakes.

“Pugrrrrk…!”

Well-trained war horses were still just animals. Startled by the rushing water, the war horse panicked, thrashing its four legs as if swimming in deep water before losing balance and collapsing.

ᚦ

“Þurisaz!”

Lightning bolts spread in all directions, flying toward the cavalry’s weapons and discharging electricity. Electrocuted riders foamed at the mouth and convulsed.

“That can’t be dodged! Shoot arrows to deflect it!”

A Champion raised his bow to intercept the runic lightning while shouting.

Even lightning that couldn’t be avoided or blocked could be redirected if an arrow was shot nearby.

ᛟ

“Ōþila-!”

If only a Dane knight hadn’t activated the rune of theft to steal the Champion’s bow.

The Champion’s composite bow escaped his grip like a slave fleeing a cotton field, flying toward the Dane army.

“What is this…?”

The Champion who suddenly lost his weapon stared in bewilderment at his bow flying away. Lightning shot by a Dane crusader flew toward the distracted Champion.

—-

“Impressive. Very impressive!”

Targiyan spurred his horse to increase speed, shouting in an excited tone.

A shower of magical arts. The Dane army’s strength exceeded his expectations, which pleased him.

Unless the enemy was overwhelmingly powerful and impossible to defeat, the stronger the opponent, the better—if they could be beaten.

‘If I achieve victory against such foes, even father will have to acknowledge me. The one worthy to succeed father is neither the vile and cunning Sahakal, nor the filthy traitor Haschal, but only this Targiyan!’

Slaughtering the weak hardly counted as achievement. The fact that Dane’s legions were strong enough to threaten the Aishan was something Targiyan could only welcome.

“Enemy light cavalry! Spread out to the sides! Open a path!”

Targiyan widely dispersed the relatively lightly armored enemy light cavalry to the left and right, bringing forward the black cavalry led by Ibamai to the front.

“Ibamai! Can you break through?”

“Of course!”

Ibamai raised high a spear with the black cavalry’s flag instead of his beloved axe and shouted loudly.

“Black cavalry, charging formation! Crush and shatter the Dane front lines!”

Led by Ibamai, the heavy cavalry in black armor charged toward the enemy lines like a massive wedge, shaking the earth, directly facing the shower of arrows and magic.

—-

“Woooooah!”

The black cavalry, meticulously trained by Orhan.

These steel riders, clad in black-dyed armor with their war horses also wearing heavy barding, possessed the capability to break through any enemy they faced.

The Dane people shot their iron bows and unleashed all manner of magic at the black cavalry as they had against the light cavalry, but unlike before, their attacks failed to have proper effect.

Not only was the black cavalry’s capability and armament incomparably superior to the light cavalry’s, but the man at their head personally blocked and countered most of the magic.

【 Sky-Piercing Ice Peak 】

Ibamai’s will technique created an ice mountain in the air, becoming a massive shield protecting the black cavalry’s front line.

The magic shot by the Dane army collided with the ice mountain, exploding and neutralizing, while the shattered ice debris scattered, drumming against the black cavalry’s armor.

Even the opening spear thrown by Burgund, the defensive force’s commander-in-chief, was helplessly dispersed after being blocked by the ice wall.

Burgund, his face contorted with dismay, shouted hoarsely at the infantry to raise their spears and prepare for impact.

The distance closed in an instant.

When they were just ten steps away, the black cavalry tucked their lances under their arms, pointing the tips forward, firmly setting their posture.

At their head, Ibamai, riding at the point of the wedge formation, even coated his lance tip with ice to create a massive awl as he charged.

The Dane army didn’t just stand watching as the enemies rushed in.

ᛉ ᚢ ᛁ ᛃ

“Algiz!” “Ūruz!” “Īsaz!!” “Jēra-!”

The infantry at the Dane front line raised their long spears diagonally, awakening their rune imprints.

Not to attack the enemy, but to protect themselves from the charge that was shaking the earth like an earthquake.

Translucent mana barriers spread before them, their limbs imbued with strength like that of a frenzied bison, while ice and tree roots emerged from the ground to form walls.

“Hold-!”

“Break through-!!”

The voices of the two commanders intersected. Those trying to block the enemy and those trying to penetrate and trample them locked eyes, glaring at each other.

The next moment, four thousand black cavalry crashed into the Dane army’s front line like an avalanche.

—-

– Kwarrrrung!

A thunderous sound like a lightning storm shook the sky.

The collision concentrated the mass and speed of heavy cavalry, along with the strength and skill of the warriors at the front. It was a disaster that could neither be blocked nor stopped.

– Kwachaaang!

The mana barrier shattered with a scream like hundreds of glass windows breaking at once, and the walls of ice and tree roots were torn apart like paper.

Even the rune magic that had shone against the light cavalry was utterly powerless before Ka’har’s strongest legion.

– Kaddeuddeuk!

– Peoeok!

The Dane infantry’s spears scraped against the black cavalry’s armor and horse barding, sliding off with sparks, while the black cavalry’s lance tips buried themselves in heads and chests.

“Kyaaaack!”

“Kuheouk!”

Soldiers struck by war horses were thrown backward, and before they could rise again, they were trampled and ground under hooves.

“Aaaack!”

The screams and cries of the Dane people echoed. An unstoppable breakthrough. The black cavalry’s charge was literally smashing through the Dane’s pike formation.

“Remember my name! I am Harun Ibamai, warrior chief of the glorious Aishan, the prairie’s flame and hatred!”

Ibamai’s ice great spear impaled more than ten infantry in one strike, then scattered in all directions, sweeping away three times as many enemies.

The front line of the pike formation shattered into pieces, spraying a rain of flesh and entrails.