Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Do You Know the Romance of the Ants?
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'Heh heh, at this rate, it'll only take a few days to occupy the capital.'
Crown Prince Remitar of the Roen Principality, advancing deep into Habis Kingdom territory after capturing Zarelon Fortress.
They had just passed by a fairly large castle, but there were no soldiers at all—only civilians who hadn't managed to evacuate.
Not a single soul put up any resistance.
Thanks to swiftly relocating the infantry via express reports, they had seized a considerable amount of territory in just half a day.
'But why haven't the wyvern patrols returned? They should be back by now.'
He had sent out two squadrons of twenty wyverns each on patrol flights to guard against possible air raids and scout enemy movements.
Yet, well past the shift change, they still hadn't returned.
"Halt the march. Prepare to camp here."
"Yes, sir!"
On the road to the Habis capital.
Spotting a small village by the roadside, he ordered a rest.
"We march early tomorrow morning. Inform everyone accordingly."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Crown Prince Remitar, who couldn't use wyverns due to his fear of flying.
He issued commands to the accompanying nobles and gazed at his magic tent being swiftly erected.
Kuuooooh!
At that moment, a wyvern's roar echoed from the darkening sky.
"The patrolling wyvern squadrons must be returning."
A noble attending the crown prince looked up at the sky and spoke.
Paaat!
Suddenly, several clusters of light flashed in the sky.
"What the—!"
Shiiiiiik.
The moment he thought they were emitting light, they streaked downward like lightning, leaving trails of afterimages.
Puk! Pubuk.
Heavy impact sounds rang out.
Kueeeeeek!
Kaaaaak!
Several wyverns that had been protecting the soldiers from above plummeted to the ground, shrieking in agony.
"Gasp!"
"E-Enemy! The enemy has appeared!"
"All units, battle stations!!!!!!!"
The instant a gasp escaped Remitar's lips, cries of "enemy" rang out, and the soldiers erecting tents scrambled for their weapons.
Kuuooooh!
The same resounding wyvern roar from moments ago echoed again.
Puuung!
A massive explosion suddenly rocked the sky.
"Urk!"
"Agh!"
The deafening boom from the nearby sky made those on the ground, staring up at the dark heavens, clutch their ears and collapse.
A shockwave that felt like it would burst their eardrums.
Kiaaaaaak!
Kuaaaaaak!
Desperate wyvern screams echoed from the sky as well.
"W-What is this?!"
Remitar, who could handle mana and thus suffered less shock, plunged into extreme chaos at the sudden enemy assault.
Shiiiiiik.
Pubuk.
Amid the turmoil, clusters of light—presumed to be magic—were being fired indiscriminately from the sky, obscured by clouds veiling the moon.
"Your Highness, it's dangerous!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
A wyvern, spinning out of control and losing balance, plummeted straight toward the prince's head as he stared dumbly at the sky.
Kuuuung!
Puuuk.
The sound of the wyvern crashing to the ground and something shattering rang out simultaneously.
"..."
And that was the last sight of Roen Principality's Crown Prince Remitar.
"Haha, hahahahaha!"
While the stunned royal guards and nobles gaped at the wyvern corpse that had devoured their lord, a refreshing laugh echoed from the sky.
In this moment, it sounded like the devil's laughter to every soldier in the Roen Principality army.
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'What? These guys aren't even a decent snack.'
Neruman's specialized night ambush attacks and various aerial combat techniques using magic.
On top of that, the Roen Principality's Sky Knights had obligingly appeared in groups of twenty right in front of me.
That many were easy pickings for the new Blast Spear formation and joint magic attacks with the beastkin.
Moreover, their main base was nothing special either.
With the heavens' help, thick clouds rolled in at dusk, allowing me to hide atop them and unleash a surprise assault.
Just like in the wyvern maneuver manual, about thirty wyverns had split into squadrons forming defensive formations.
I hit those wyvern squadrons with Blast Spears first, deafening them with Sonic Boom magic for the follow-up, and finished with a courteous Press magic uppercut.
'They're running away?'
Though it all happened in an instant, the surviving wyverns and Sky Knights finally grasped the situation.
Instead of launching from the rear, they turned tail and fled for dear life.
'Aw, what a waste.'
The fleeing wyverns looked like walking piles of gold to me.
But I had to be satisfied with this much.
This wasn't my land anyway, and pushing too hard could lead to mishaps.
"Drop all weapons and equipment and retreat! Anyone who resists will not be spared!"
Riding Bebeto, I flew over the startled Roen Principality soldiers.
Infusing my voice with mana so all could hear, I shouted forcefully.
'Time to wield the stick properly.'
Yet the soldiers, out of their minds, didn't budge.
Tens of thousands of them writhed like an ant swarm in the darkness all around.
"Explosion!"
No more words were needed.
In an empty field devoid of soldiers, I unleashed Explosion, the most destructive 6th-circle attack spell.
Shwaaaaaaaaak.
The manhole activated, swiftly merging with the earth's mana to summon a red mass of light to the ground.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
Fwoooooosh!
'Whoa! Is this really Explosion?'
Even I, who cast it, was astonished by the spectacle.
It displayed twice the destructive power and range of the Explosions I'd cast before.
The scorched earth bubbled like lava from the intense heat, and bright red fireballs spread out in a perfect circle.
The dramatic boost in attack power from the mixed mana.
Even a 7th-circle mage would have to yield to me now.
"Burn Flare!"
"Inferno!"
"Blaze!"
"Fire Field!"
"Flame!"
The clever beastkin followed up, unleashing a barrage of fire magic.
Kwagwang!
Fwoooooosh.
The most powerful fire-based 5th-circle attack spells detonated amid the panicked Roen soldiers.
"Uwaaaaaak!"
"R-Retreat!"
"Retreat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As magic rained down in the pitch darkness, the Roen Principality army finally realized the value of life.
Screaming, they scattered like fleas in all directions.
'Ground forces without Sky Knight support... they're just peanuts in a dog's meal.'
Abnormal troop deployment.
Ground forces as useless as peanuts in dog food.
What a shame.
And now I understood why every kingdom on the continent was pouring national resources into securing wyverns and training Sky Knights.
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"Master, this one's dead."
"Is it? Too bad."
"What about this one?"
"Did it survive?"
"The wyvern's dead, but the human lived."
"Then don't kill it. Just strip off the Air Plate."
"Got it."
The battle was over.
An enormous clash involving tens of thousands of troops and the Roen Principality's maximum forces.
Yet it ended in the most ridiculous fashion, in a single instant.
And then began Kaiyer and his subordinate Sky Knights' actions.
They landed beside the crashed wyverns, pouring top-grade holy water on the survivors' wounds and into their mouths to revive them.
They even tended to the Sky Knights who had ridden them.
Kindly stripping off their Air Plates.
Sssizzle.
Without forgetting to pour holy water as a courtesy.
"Ugh."
"You awake? If you don't want to die, go rummage through those scattered supplies over there and keep yourself warm."
Kaiyer kindly instructing them on how to survive.
"Y-You bastards! What do you think you're—!"
Puk!
Of course, it didn't seem that kind after saving their lives.
Fists and feet swung mercilessly at any backtalk or curses.
"I go out of my way to save you, and you spew filth? This is why being nice to people just brings trouble."
"..."
Russiaete watched it all.
She couldn't wrap her head around Kaiyer's actions.
A mannerly knight, permitted by the gods, who had personally saved her in her moments of crisis.
And now he had changed.
"Need a spear? I can spare one if you want."
"Huh? N-No..."
Kaiyer suddenly pulled a spear canister from a dead wyvern's neck and offered it with feigned generosity.
"Just say the word if you change your mind. I can give you a few."
Distributing spoils of war like a total bureaucrat.
Russiaete could only blink her wide eyes and watch their antics(?).
"Master, all done."
"Good. How many survived?"
"We acquired 49 wyverns today."
"Hoo, more than I thought."
"What now?"
"Tie 'em up."
"Got it."
Simple exchanges.
His subordinate Sky Knights handled it with practiced ease, not like amateurs.
They really tied them up.
Kuaaaaa!
Naturally, the surviving wyverns resisted.
It was their instinctive nature not to submit to anyone but their rider Sky Knight friends and masters.
Puk!
Kuaak!
Pububuk.
Karrararar!
"Ah..."
When a wyvern revived by holy water resisted, brutal beatings ensued without mercy.
One of Kaiyer's Sky Knights pummeled the wyvern's snout with his fist.
Chunks of the wyvern's massive teeth scattered.
And atop that wyvern's head, a gold wyvern raked its back and body with claws.
Kugegegge.
The resisting wyvern spread its wings on the ground, slammed its head down, and showed submission.
Then the Sky Knights bound its ankles.
It wasn't just one or two.
Kaiyer and his Sky Knights bustled amid the massive piles of war supplies.
"All done? Let's head out. The ones we knocked out might wake up."
"Got it, Master."
They wore Sky Knight gear, but calling them knights felt oddly off—those five.
"Lady Russiaete, if you have time, order the local lords to guard these."
"Huh?"
Russiaete followed Kaiyer's gaze.
"Ah..."
She had forgotten.
The Roen Principality army had suffered a crushing defeat and retreated, leaving behind an enormous amount of military supplies.
'Am I dreaming right now?'
She could hardly believe her eyes.
How could just six wyverns repel 100 wyverns and tens of thousands of soldiers?
But she had to believe.
The results before her eyes were reality, not a dream.
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"F-Failure? They suffered a crushing defeat?"
"Yes. According to the latest report, 100 wyverns and 30,000 troops from the Roen Principality invading Habis Kingdom were ambushed and forced to retreat."
"Do you think that makes sense? Habis Kingdom's remaining forces are barely equivalent to an imperial barony. And you're saying that kingdom ambushed and routed an elite Roen Principality army?"
"That's..."
Count Dabesyan had no reply to Duke Yanovis's incredulous question.
How could he know, when he wasn't there?
But the report stated it clearly.
The routed Roen Principality army had hastily retreated to their principality.
"Damn it."
A crude word slipped from Duke Yanovis's lips.
A duke of the empire, yet he discarded dignity for mercenary-like speech.
"A precise report will arrive soon."
"I don't need it! Who cares about reports? I don't want to hear excuses from those idiots who couldn't handle a defenseless kingdom!"
Duke Yanovis raged fiercely.
With the Bazran Empire unable to focus on Habis Kingdom, their plan to quietly occupy it under the principality's name had gone awry.
The territorial expansion plan had unraveled from the very first step.
Duke Yanovis's white lion mustache trembled with fury.
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'Dig the canal, catch the pike, eat the pheasant and its eggs too. Puahaha, how good can it feel?'
This windfall, rivaling a lottery jackpot, put me in high spirits just thinking about it.
Helped Habis Kingdom, and in return, acquired 40 wyverns.
Of the 49 captured, I gifted the 9 with severe injuries—too grave for holy water to heal flight capability quickly—to Russiaete.
A grand gesture no one but me could pull off.
The sight of Princess Russiaete tearfully bidding me farewell is etched in my memory.
And thanks to this haul, I'm now a great lord possessing over 100 wyverns.
On the continent, only imperial marquesses and above owned 100 or more in their territories.
But even if they came running barefoot, they couldn't have them.
100 wyverns bred from Bebeto's offspring in less than a year.
No one could catch up.
'It'll be quiet for a while.'
Whatever the Rabiter Empire's goal in inciting the Roen Principality, they couldn't invade Habis Kingdom without cause.
'Please send gifts like this next year too.'
Gazing at the sky, I earnestly prayed to the gods.
My modest wish, not too greedy.
The grand-scale gods wouldn't ignore it.
Kuuooooh!
Far off, the Foreign Sky Wing Squadron came into view.
Bebeto spotted home and let out a mighty roar.
'Good job, buddy.'
My lucky charm Bebeto.
Rumors said he sneaked into the female wyvern hangar every night lately, but I decided not to mind.
Bebeto, who endured hardships following me, got only orc meals and a warm bed as reward.
If I blocked his species instincts too, what fun would life be?
To secure Bebeto's dominant genes, I secretly instructed my female-owning Sky Knights to open the hangar doors whenever he came.
'Tonight's samgyeopsal party too. Heh heh.'
Me, back from hard work.
All that remained was to stuff myself and rest deeply.
Isn't that the winter romance granted to ants who toiled without rest?