Satellite Fortress

Inside the conference room where traces of the fierce battle remained intact.

Harkon asked Brun, who was in the middle of a situation briefing.

“You say the Partisan army is marching toward here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Brun answered briefly.

“It seems their purpose is to support the traitors.”

“Where are they located?”

“According to recent reconnaissance reports, they’re about a week’s distance away.”

A week.

Loen, who had been listening quietly, estimated the time internally.

The traitor forces within the legion were divided between two satellite fortresses, preparing for a last stand. They probably intended to hold out until the Partisan reinforcements arrived.

Time was pressing.

‘Of the Western Legion’s 70,000 troops, about 40,000 have fallen into the hands of traitors. If the Partisan main force and the large demon forces supporting them are added to that…’

Numerically, the allied forces were clearly at a disadvantage.

Nevertheless, neither Loen nor Harkon showed any signs of anxiety on their faces.

After all, the numerical strength and actual combat effectiveness were distinctly different.

Currently, the Southern Legion held an overwhelming advantage in terms of quality, both in soldiers and knights.

The Western Legion needn’t be mentioned. Though split in half, they had regained their commander.

Therefore, the key wasn’t whether they would win or lose.

It was how quickly and with how few casualties they could sweep up the enemies.

After a brief silence, Loen exchanged glances with Harkon.

He too seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Harkon spoke with a voice tinged with bitterness.

“I’ll handle the Vice Commander.”

Once his most trusted colleague and subordinate. His betrayal had caused Harkon to feel a deep sense of betrayal. Therefore, he intended to cut this ill-fated knot with his own hands.

Loen nodded.

“Then I’ll take Fortress No. 2.”

In the end, it was decided that each legion would take one of the two satellite fortresses and attack simultaneously.

This was the fastest and most efficient method.

“And there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“Ask anything.”

“Are there any people who must be kept alive?”

As Loen’s red eyes gazed at him, he closed his eyes.

“Hmm…”

The faces of subordinates who had once shared battlefields with him flashed through his mind.

Memories of laughing and chatting, moments of traversing life and death together.

But that was now merely a fragment of the past.

Harkon slowly shook his head.

“Once they’ve chosen betrayal, there’s no reason to keep them alive. So… do as you see fit.”

Loen asked no further questions.

At dawn, before darkness had fully receded.

On the plains in front of the satellite fortress.

“Fire!!”

With the artillery officer’s command, 50 cannons simultaneously spewed fire.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The thunderous sound that shook the earth split the silence of dawn.

Heavy shells cut through the air and soon detonated against the thick walls of the fortress.

The walls were stripped away helplessly like paper, and the entire solid stone structure shook violently. Soldiers on top of it tumbled clumsily from the bombardment. Don’t stick your heads out, get down!

The staff officers and mages standing beside Loen couldn’t hide their surprise at the sight.

“Indeed, it has enough power to pierce through a mid-level demon’s body.”

“It’s essentially similar to attack magic. Of course, it’s not as powerful as high-level magic, but still.”

This was the first time they had witnessed a simultaneous firing of dozens of cannons in actual combat. Its destructive power far exceeded everyone’s imagination. Even the commanders couldn’t help but marvel.

“Reload. Fire!”

Once again, the thunderous sound shook the plains.

Then the mages inside the fortress began to respond.

A blue barrier enveloped part of the wall, and simultaneously, various colored attack spells rained down toward the Southern Legion.

According to prior intelligence, there were fifteen mages stationed inside the fortress.

On the allied side, there were a total of seven mages including Loen’s group.

They were numerically disadvantaged.

Yet no one showed any signs of fear.

The soldiers’ eyes were filled only with absolute trust in their commander and confidence in victory.

“Barrier.”

“Mana Shield!”

The legion mages swiftly deployed defensive magic, protecting the allies.

Magic Bullet, Judgment, Electric Lance, Chain Beam.

Loen and Seraphine simultaneously cast attack spells.

Boom!

Numerous spells violently collided in mid-air.

Flames and cold, light and darkness mixed together, decorating the night sky brilliantly.

Many of the traitors’ spells collided with Loen’s magic and scattered helplessly.

Soon, a gray beam that penetrated through the storm of mana struck the barrier spread across the fortress.

Crack.

The barrier shattered like glass in an instant.

Though too far away to hear screams, Loen’s vision clearly captured the enemy mages scattering in shock.

Watching this, Psyche poked Leus in the side and whispered.

“When we enter the fortress later, don’t rush ahead alone like last time. Understand?”

“Yes, yes…! I’ll keep that in mind!”

Leus answered with a rigid posture.

Watching the magical battle unfold, Loen double-checked the plan.

The plan was simple.

Use cannons and magic to draw the enemies’ attention to the front as much as possible, then the inspectors, including herself, would infiltrate through the air using flight magic and smash the enemy command in one go.

It was then.

Suddenly, the main gate of the fortress began to open.

Just then, the operations staff officer also noticed this and urgently reported.

“Commander! The gate has opened!”

“What are they thinking?”

Loen murmured quietly.

Soon, enemy cavalry endlessly poured out from the gate.

Judging by their attire, they seemed to be a mix of knights and ordinary soldiers.

They appeared to number well over a thousand.

Eventually, the cavalry gathered in front of the gate.

Though their appearance was somewhat solemn, from the Southern Legion’s perspective, it was simply bewildering.

The operations staff officer spoke as if in disbelief.

“In my opinion… they might be trying to take advantage of the chaos of the magical battle to charge with cavalry and inflict damage on our formation.”

It was clearly an unwise move by the opponent.

Even if the Southern Legion had been an ordinary Imperial army, it would have been a reckless operation worth questioning.

Moreover, attempting a frontal charge against a legion armed with cannons and muskets?

It was nothing short of suicidal.

‘Walking right into it?’

A cold smile appeared on Loen’s lips.

The situation couldn’t be better.

“Tell the artillery to target the enemy cavalry.”

“Yes!”

In the sky above, magic from both sides was still violently colliding.

Below, a thousand-strong cavalry began their charge, making the earth tremble. Determination in the face of death shadowed their eyes.

Charge forward!!

As the enemy’s battle cry could be heard from afar, the operations staff officer asked.

“What should we do with our knight corps?”

“Keep them on standby for now.”

Normally, the orthodox response would be for our knight corps to counter-charge.

But Loen wanted to use this opportunity to see just how effective cannons were against heavily armored cavalry. It would be valuable data for the numerous battles to come.

“Magic Bullet.”

After extending her hand to strike the fortress wall once more, Loen watched the enemy cavalry’s charge.

Finally, a shower of shells rained down on the charging cavalry, kicking up thick dust.

“Fire!”

Dozens of heavy cannonballs were fired with a thunderous roar.

The upper body of an enemy cavalryman directly hit by a shell disappeared without a trace, and the warhorse he was riding collapsed into a bloody mess.

The enemy cavalry instantly fell into chaos.

A knight who had protected himself with mana couldn’t withstand the impact of the shell and fell from his horse. Some skilled knights at the front managed to deflect cannonballs with their shields or cut them in half with their swords, but they were very few.

How could they possibly remain unscathed with the weight of those shells?

“Oh my…”

Exclamations involuntarily escaped from the mouths of staff officers watching.

It felt like witnessing the change of an era right before their eyes.

The traditional combat method that relied solely on knights and mages would soon meet its end. Everyone keenly felt this. Especially in situations where knight forces were evenly matched, the importance of new weapons would undoubtedly increase even more.

At that moment, a second shower of shells flew toward the enemies.

“Execute volley fire!”

Following this, musket infantry also began volley fire against the cavalry that had approached within range.

Thunderous sounds, gunfire, and desperate screams.

The solemnity of the charge had completely disappeared, replaced only by a recklessness that resembled suicide on the battlefield.

It was just a few dozen.

The number of those who succeeded in approaching the Southern Legion. Even those were all heavily armored knights. Ordinary cavalry had long since fallen to the ground with their limbs blown off or bullet holes through them.

Even the enemy knights who managed to approach were soon completely slaughtered by the waiting legion knight corps.

Loen, having confirmed the usefulness of cannons.

She sensed that the time had come.

“Leave it to me!”

After temporarily handing over the command baton to the Armored Knight Corps Commander who was also the Chief of Staff, Loen extended her hand to Psyche.

“Psyche, take my hand.”

“Yes!”

Then Leus also took Seraphine’s hand.

Loen and Seraphine, rising into the sky, shot toward the airspace above the fortress like a flash of light.

Inside the fortress walls was utter chaos.

Soldiers and knights were in extreme confusion due to the thunderous sounds shaking the walls.

Even the officers who should have been commanding them were busy arguing with each other.

“I never expected the cavalry to be annihilated without inflicting any damage…”

“I told you not to send them out!”

“You should have insisted more strongly!”

An officer opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“W-what do we do now, Commander…?”

In response to his question, the commander looked toward the inner fortress, tightly sealed.

It remained shrouded in silence.

What were Regimental Commander Alber and his direct guard doing?

How could they not show even a glimpse of themselves despite the situation deteriorating to this extent?

“Damn it.”

There had been no additional instructions beyond the order to defend the walls at all costs.

The officers on the ground were burning with anxiety.

“T-there, in the sky!”

At a soldier’s urgent cry, the commander looked up at the sky, and his eyes widened in shock.

And at that moment.

“Dodge!!”

The nineteen thousand soldiers and hundred-odd knights who were densely packed inside the fortress.

Above the heads of this massive force, those they had only heard of in rumors, those grim reapers in black uniforms… were falling like meteors.

To be precise, two women were floating in the sky, while two others, a man and a woman, were descending to the ground with terrifying momentum.

Swoosh! Boom!

With a sound like a massive rock falling, the dragon tribe girl with sky-blue hair landed on the ground.

The ground cracked like a spider web and caved in around her, and a powerful shockwave blew away the surrounding knights.

“This is insane…”

Following her, a young noble youth landed and swung his sword, dyeing the surrounding area with black flames.

“Argh!”

At the sudden surprise attack, nearby knights either collapsed with groans or hastily retreated.

An empty circular space instantly formed around the two.

Just as angry knights were about to launch a counterattack.

Rumble!

With a sound like the air was being torn apart, several blue lightning bolts and black fragment storms poured down from the sky like a rain of death.

Soldiers fell into panic, terrified, and knights who couldn’t dodge in time convulsed as their entire bodies were electrocuted.

Even the officers who should have been calmly assessing the situation and giving commands had long since lost their reason.

Most of them only deeply regretted their choice to betray.

‘Of all things… blinded by promotion.’

‘I was a fool to trust that bastard.’

It was a belated regret, but it was already too late.

A black fragment embedded in the ground caught the eye of an officer who was trembling in despair with his head bowed.

‘Fragment…?’ That was his last thought.

Boom!

Each fragment triggered a chain of explosions, mercilessly sweeping the surrounding area.

The interior of the fortress instantly turned into a scene of carnage, with blood and flesh mixed together.

Only pain and desperate groans filled the surroundings, and it was difficult to find anyone still standing unharmed.

Eventually, very slowly.

The black-haired woman and the blonde woman descended to the center of the fortress interior.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Together with the man and woman who had landed earlier, they walked inward, crossing the hellscape filled with screams.

Their target was one.

The main fortress where the key figure who had led the internal division of the Western Legion, the 1st Regimental Commander Alber, was hiding along with the Vice Commander and Chief of Staff.

“…”

Those fortunate enough to have survived could only wordlessly stare at their retreating figures, paralyzed with fear.

They no longer had even the courage to resist.

Meanwhile, Western Legion Commander Harkon, who had set out to the other satellite fortress with his knight corps.

“Any survivors?”

“None. We’ve completed confirmation kills.”

Having cut down all the traitor knights guarding the interior, he proceeded toward the inner castle where the Vice Commander was staying, without even glancing at the soldiers who were overwhelmed by his presence.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.