Ch.9090. The Sigurdian Raid

Early in the morning, after checking the system notification, Gilbert summoned Fermo and ordered all combat preparations to be made.

Despite the sudden command, Fermo saw Gilbert’s stern expression and swiftly issued orders, completing all war preparations in less than 20 minutes.

While the available God-Machine soldiers within the territory were on standby for deployment, Gilbert also linked CT-777 to his God-Machine.

[CT-777 link complete. What is Gilbert’s mission this time?]

“Protect Bismarck and end the war.”

[Mission input complete. I will establish a mission execution scenario based on the provided information.]

During his time in Bismarck, Gilbert had been regularly feeding information to CT-777. If asked to name the best artificial spirit at present, Gilbert would unhesitatingly choose CT-777.

CT-777, which players could only encounter as an enemy in Tactical Combat, was an artificial spirit with absurdly powerful performance even from gameplay analysis. Scenarios involving CT-777 were always determined by how much the artificial spirit had developed rather than the skill level of the knight piloting the God-Machine.

Because of this, there had once been discussions among players about how far CT-777 could develop if obtained by a veteran player. They wondered how far this artificial spirit, whose performance varied drastically depending on its learning progress, could grow when supporting a skilled player pushing human limits.

However, since there was an official statement that CT-777 could never be obtained, players could only engage in baseless arguments. Some users even claimed it could perform as well as Fresia, Tactical Combat’s greatest artificial spirit and the AI of the ultimate tech God-Machine Colossus.

While the general consensus among players was that it couldn’t officially surpass Fresia, Gilbert, now actually working with CT-777, couldn’t help but be amazed by its performance once again.

[Identifying Knight Gilbert’s special ability. Syncing with that ability.]

[Sync complete.]

[Gilbert, I will display information about this ability at the top of your view.]

A minimap overview, normally only visible through the system, appeared in the upper left corner of his view. CT-777 had clearly and visibly implemented content that should only be available through the system.

At this point, Gilbert couldn’t help but be amazed at CT-777’s capabilities. Only he should be able to perceive the system, yet somehow CT-777 had easily accessed it and implemented it in a more user-friendly state.

Gilbert couldn’t help but ask about this.

“CT. How are you able to display the minimap?”

[I determined this to be Gilbert’s unique ability. Is it not related to your previous forced sync with an artificial spirit without a formal contract? I have completed learning about that aspect.]

“Is that even possible?”

[It is possible. Reflecting the contractor’s abilities is not a difficult task.]

Gilbert couldn’t help but feel bewildered by CT-777’s response. No matter how advanced a growth-type artificial spirit might be, the fact that it could access something like an isekai cheat system was difficult to comprehend.

Until now, Gilbert had been the only one directly affected by the system. His active skills and stats were prime examples of this.

The only time people in this world were affected by the system was when they were indirectly influenced because of Gilbert. The special ability “Intimidation,” which could be used when Authority and Leadership stats reached certain thresholds, was one such example.

But CT-777 had casually synced with Gilbert’s system assistance and provided support. It had removed unnecessary elements and provided a minimap that condensed only the information Gilbert needed.

Although he hadn’t yet obtained Fresia, the artificial spirit of Colossus, to make a comparison, it was clear that the hypothesis players had established wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Perhaps it might even be better than Fresia.

Recalling that extremely fastidious artificial spirit, Gilbert nodded.

After all, there was nothing bad about this situation.

“Impressive.”

[This much is basic.]

Gilbert couldn’t help but burst into laughter at CT-777’s unexpected response. He couldn’t contain himself when the usually mechanical CT-777 gave such a smooth answer.

“Then I’ll test your skills.”

[Command input complete. I will support you with full power.]

While Gilbert and CT-777 were exchanging banter, he received a report from Fermo that deployment preparations were complete.

All possible preparations had now been completed. Although the goal was to clear the main scenario with minimal casualties, Gilbert didn’t expect things to go as planned.

War was always full of variables.

There were no exceptions. That was the conclusion reached by Gilbert—no, Kang Do-jun—who had traversed countless battlefields.

[Unidentified God-Machine detected. Location assessed to be the valley.]

As he composed himself and waited, they arrived at the expected infiltration route.

“To all standby forces, I have only one order.”

Don’t die.

Gilbert’s brief deployment speech penetrated deeply into the hearts of all troops who had completed their preparations.

“All forces, advance.”

With the Commander-in-Chief Gilbert’s order to deploy, the main scenario attack by the Sigurd people began.

***

Early in the morning, as Brynhild infiltrated Bismarck, she couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.

Though she couldn’t quite describe it, her sharply honed intuition kept sending signals.

Don’t go…

…can’t turn back…

…can’t win…

These incomplete sentences swirled in her mind, disrupting her concentration. Such specific and negative emotions were unprecedented even for Brynhild.

Was she on edge because of the impending war that would determine the fate of the tribal alliance?

Brynhild shook her head.

That couldn’t be it.

Brynhild’s intuition was a kind of inherited ability passed down from her ancestor Sigurd. According to the records of the Sigurd tribal alliance passed down through generations, the most outstanding ability of Sigurd, the tribal founder, was his intuition that bordered on precognition.

A power that helped avoid misfortune and stay on the right path.

That was the intuitive ability of the founder Sigurd.

After the founder Sigurd, many descendants had awakened this intuition.

Nagellung, who displayed great valor during the First Imperial War, was one such descendant.

He had awakened his intuitive ability one day and used it to put the Imperial Army in numerous predicaments. Since intuition operates in a realm that can’t be explained logically, he brought numerous victories to the Sigurd clan through guerrilla tactics, evading meticulously planned traps and escaping solely based on intuition.

But the ability of intuition was capricious.

It relied solely on gut feelings rather than drawing conclusions based on evidence.

This difference might seem trivial at first glance, but on the battlefield, such small distinctions could determine life or death.

That’s why the valiant Nagellung, who blindly trusted only his intuition, eventually fell on the battlefield.

Other descendants who awakened intuition after Nagellung faced similar fates. The faintly continued ability was clearly different from the founder’s intuition.

Brynhild, who had awakened intuition in the current era, was one of those who understood this difference best.

That’s why she didn’t blindly trust her intuition. She always thought things through one more time and never forgot to establish evidence.

But this…

Brynhild’s hands tightened on the controls. While she didn’t blindly trust her intuition, she had never experienced it sending such extreme warnings before.

This wasn’t just about avoiding misfortune.

It was telling her that proceeding meant destruction.

Her intuition kept advising her not to go, as if warning her.

However, avoiding this war wasn’t the answer. Even if the path ahead led to destruction, retreating would only result in the annihilation of her people.

It was truly a dilemma.

In such situations, Brynhild always made the same choice.

[We’ll reach Bismarck in 10 minutes. Are you ready?]

“Is that even a question? Just make sure you keep up.”

Responding to Tarhal’s communication with a smile that masked her anxiety, Brynhild steeled her gaze. When faced with a dead end on both sides, her approach was always to charge straight ahead.

Fear before even starting wasn’t in her vocabulary.

[Then, I wish you good lu—]

BOOM!

Before Tarhal could finish, a thunderous sound began to shake the valley.

Brynhild felt as if her intuition was hammering something red-colored into her mind.

“What’s happening?!”

[The Imperial bastards have noticed us!]

“What? How could they notice us before we even attack? There’s no way such a large force could have come out without any preparation. It’s almost as if…”

[It’s almost as if they knew exactly when we would attack.]

When Tarhal expressed the same sentiment she was feeling, Brynhild couldn’t help but strike the control panel.

She belatedly realized that this was what her intuition had been warning about.

“Damn it! I’ll take the lead, Great Chief!”

After muttering a curse, she quickly composed herself and guided her God-Machine to the front of the advancing unit. Although they had been detected by the Imperial Army before they could even attack, her duty remained unchanged.

“For Sigurd!”

Brynhild shouted through the general communication channel and charged toward the God-Machine at the forefront of the Imperial Army, drawing her massive iron sword.

It was to awaken the warriors who had frozen at the sudden appearance of the Imperial Army.

Fortunately, upon hearing her valiant cry, the descendants of Sigurd regained their composure and followed her.

The situation seemed to be under control as intended.

Now all that remained was to seize the initiative!

Ignoring her still-warning intuition, she swung her sword with explosive mana to take down the Imperial knight at the front.

It was a strike imbued with her desire to gain the upper hand with this one blow.

But.

CLANG!

Brynhild’s confident horizontal slash was blocked with disappointing ease.

By a dazzlingly bright golden sword.