Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: The 5×5 Battle (2)
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A man and a woman crouched low in the bushes.
Endless chatter poured from the man's mouth.
But most of what came out was cursing.
"Damn it! I must be crazy. I must be an idiot!"
The one muttering curses nonstop in a low voice, as if truly losing his mind, was none other than Jerry.
The woman lying beside him was Pana Taylor.
Unable to bear Jerry's irritated mumbling any longer, Pana furrowed her brow slightly.
"Senior... I hate to say this, but you're getting on my nerves. Could you please be quiet?"
Jerry's brow wrinkled sharply at Pana's curt words, delivered without a hint of apology on her face.
"You 50th Cohort brats are always so rude... You treat your seniors like dog shit. This is all that bastard's fault, right? Isn't it?"
"......"
"That Yuri punk goes wild, and you all follow suit? Can't you get your heads straight? Want me to call a muster for the 50th Cohort? I'll make you regret it big time? Huh?"
Of course, Yuri and his crew would conveniently skip that muster.
Pana grumbled inwardly about how he couldn't say a word to Yuri but took it out on her instead.
She lowered her eyes slightly at the sight of Jerry growling menacingly.
No point risking a muster over nothing.
"...Sorry."
At Pana's apology, Jerry smoothed his expression and buried his head again, repeating "I must be crazy."
Pana turned to him with a puzzled look.
"If you regret it that much... then why did you come here? Why not go over there?"
"Fuck, that's what I want to know! Why the hell did I come this way!"
Frustrated, Jerry shook the white armband on his arm.
*I really must've lost my mind for a moment, yeah! That's it!*
The 49th Cohort in the White Army numbered only eight.
Jerry was one of them, and he'd joined the White Army of his own volition, not reluctantly.
*What the hell was I thinking... Damn it!*
He must've been possessed for a moment.
How else could he make such a stupid choice?
*It started back then... yeah.*
Biting his lip, Jerry recalled Yuri's fight against the Demon King months ago.
It had been abnormal, but still—against the Demon King wielding a holy sword.
Yuri had ultimately blocked that holy sword and claimed victory, even if he passed out in the end.
That intense memory must be why.
Why he'd chosen the White Army.
And with that memory surfacing, thoughts of Kwantor Rider naturally came to mind by comparison.
*Kwantor Rider...*
Said to have inherited the Sword Lord's blood most purely, Kwantor had been forged into a monster through every martial art, elixir, and training since childhood.
It was a famous anecdote that he'd unveiled his demon sword in the Dragonless Grand Tournament during his first year.
Even back then, the five-year graduate's average realm had already been surpassed by Kwantor Rider.
Now in his third year, his true power was shrouded in mystery, fueling endless speculation.
One thing was certain: he couldn't be treated like an ordinary knight.
*Yuri's exceptional too... no, that bastard has talent worthy of being called a monster. But...!*
Could that guy really beat Kwantor Rider?
Jerry couldn't help but be skeptical.
*Yeah, even Yuri... couldn't surpass Kwantor Rider.*
The time Kwantor had spent building a solid foundation since childhood.
And even the time in the Cradle.
Yuri lacked that kind of time compared to him.
*Sure, talent can make up for time, but...*
The problem was that his opponent was Kwantor, heir to the Sword Lord's talent.
Catching up with talent was no easy feat when Kwantor himself possessed dazzling talent.
That realization only fueled Jerry's irritation.
*You idiot, you knew that and still joined the White Army? What a lunatic!*
He must've been thoroughly possessed.
As Jerry berated himself—
Zzzip—.
His movements froze.
"...Senior?"
"Shh!"
When Pana voiced her confusion, Jerry pressed a finger to his lips.
The face that had been full of turmoil moments ago transformed into that of a well-trained soldier.
He flashed a quick hand signal.
Hide your presence.
Rustle—.
The two suppressed their auras completely, blending deep into the bushes.
A moment later.
Tadak—.
Figures with blue armbands rushed past the bushes where they hid.
Jerry's eyes gleamed.
*One, two, three...*
He calmly counted the Blue Army members passing in single file.
*...Six.*
No more Blue Army appeared after the sixth, and the corner of Jerry's mouth twitched.
*Yulia, your prediction was spot on.*
In his mind, he praised Yulia.
His memory flashed back to the strategy meeting inside the Black Ship.
* * *
"That's a good hunch."
Yuri smiled and assessed Yulia's words about a 1% miracle happening.
But that lasted only a moment.
Wiping the smile away, he looked at her with serious eyes.
"So, do you have a plan to turn that hunch into reality? Something groundbreaking, a killer strategy?"
"...Well."
Yulia hesitated unusually, not quick with an answer as she normally was.
That hesitation alone proved how dire the situation was.
Catching on, Yuri asked in a flat tone.
"Then let me flip it: what strategy do you think they'll use?"
Those gathered around focused intently once more.
The room fell silent.
The atmosphere had naturally shifted to a strategy session.
"......"
After a brief silence, Yulia finally spoke.
"The Blue Army will follow Senior Kwantor's plan. No one in the Blue Army would dare oppose him. And Kwantor's strategy will be... quite textbook."
"Textbook?"
"They'll split their 150 into 25 teams of six and hit every occupation point. Definitely."
Yulia's eyes burned with strong conviction as she said it.
* * *
Jerry and Pana rose from the bushes.
Pana stared in the direction the six Blue Army members had vanished, letting out a small exclamation.
"It's really six. You nailed the Blue Army's strategy."
"Not for nothing is she called the Silver Ring's prodigy."
Jerry puffed up with pride, even though it wasn't his doing.
Seeing that, Pana smiled faintly and flashed an eager expression.
"Great start! Then let's get moving as scouts on our mission!"
Jerry's face crumpled, and a scolding tone burst out.
"Scouts my ass—you're just glorified errand boys."
He grumbled nonstop, but his legs were already moving.
Pana stuck close behind her grumbling senior.
* * *
"Good work. Go on now."
"Yes, Senior!"
Yulia watched the 50th Cohort scout bow and depart.
She etched the information he'd relayed into her mind while taking in the forest and sky at a glance.
*Textbook, as expected.*
Her prediction had come true exactly as she'd anticipated, but Yulia felt no joy.
She knew too well that this was just the beginning.
*We've only found and placed one puzzle piece so far...*
And there were piles more pieces to find.
"...Can we really complete this puzzle?"
Muttering to herself, Yulia thought of the one who'd set off to find the key piece.
His words naturally came back to her.
* * *
The prediction that the Blue Army would deploy in 25 teams of six.
Yuri crossed his arms at Yulia's confident gaze, as if this much was certain.
"Hmm, 25 teams of six... Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on just five occupation points?"
"They don't need to. Their base members' capabilities overwhelmingly outclass ours."
"By how much?"
"If my calculations are right, to take down one average Blue Army team of six... we'd need at least three times that."
"...So 18 of us just to catch six?"
"That's the minimum. For a comfortable edge, 20... And if they dig in purely on defense, it'd take at least 25 to break them."
"......"
From the 50th Cohort to the 48th.
No—even all Cradle cohorts' data in her head allowed Yulia to make that call.
Meanwhile, Yuri was speechless, not having anticipated such a power gap.
He finally understood why she'd called their strategy "textbook."
*To counter 25 simultaneous assaults on occupation points, we'd need to assault 25 ourselves—but that's impossible for us.*
Even if predicted, it was a strategy the enemy couldn't block.
Nothing more "textbook" than that.
Yuri looked at Yulia and asked.
"So, no way at all?"
The urging continued.
Normally, Yuri would've racked his brain for a strategy, but this time he fully deferred to Yulia.
He trusted her more when it came to brains.
And Yulia rewarded that trust with an answer.
"It's not that there's absolutely no way..."
"Oh, there is?"
"...Just that the odds are way too low. A 1% chance, like I said."
"Better than zero. Spill it."
"...My plan is this."
Yulia drew a dagger from her bosom and scratched a map and numbers onto the Black Ship's floor.
Moments later.
Everyone instantly recognized the diagram as the occupation points' layout.
Yulia began explaining while eyeing her sketch.
"First, we'll form five occupation forces of 20 each, totaling 100. Once the quest starts, each heads to the nearest five in column five... and digs in here."
Her finger swept across 1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 5-5.
The five closest to their starting point, reachable before the Blue Army.
Securing them first would let them fortify defenses.
Twenty should suffice for holding them.
The listeners nodded, deeming it solid.
Then Teresa asked.
"What about the remaining 50?"
"They'll be saboteurs and scouts."
"Saboteurs and scouts?"
"First, ten in pairs as scouts. Objective: monitor each point's activity and track Kwantor Rider's position. Avoid combat, prioritize relaying intel to allies."
"And the other 40?"
"Four teams of ten saboteurs, one per column's points. Gotta prevent any column from completing bingo."
"...With just ten each?"
"Not occupying—just disrupting, buying time. Possible to some degree. If we give it our all."
The listeners fell silent at Yulia's final words: *if we give it our all*.
They grasped her strategy.
And why she'd sounded so uncertain.
*It's all about choice and focus.*
*...Isn't this too extreme?*
One line only—pouring everything into column five to complete bingo.
The issue: if Kwantor Rider hit the concentrated force, it all crumbled.
Plus, failure by even one saboteur team meant Blue Army victory.
Silence hung heavy as Yulia sighed softly.
"Ha... By my math, this is our only shot at winning."
Her bitter smile spread gloom through the room.
And at that exact moment.
"Nice!"
A particularly upbeat voice pierced the White Army's ears.
"The framework's solid. Tweak it a bit, and it'll be way better!"
Yuri's beaming face, grinning like a kid, entered everyone's view.
* * *
Yulia's recollection cut short.
Boom—!
A sudden dull explosion rang out.
Something flew straight at her.
Zzzip—.
What skidded across the dirt was none other than the 50th Cohort scout who'd just left her.
Yulia whipped her head toward the direction he'd come flying, face urgent at his unconscious sprawl.
Soon, she spotted a red-haired youth approaching with sword drawn.
Her face hardened the instant she saw him.
*...Michel Ahn.*
He was well-known even among the 48th Cohort.
Nicknamed "Kwantor's Butler."
True to the name, he shadowed Kwantor everywhere.
Which meant...
*Kwantor Rider's nearby.*
The moment Yulia's wavering gaze shifted behind Michel Ahn—
Step, step—.
He appeared, as if on cue.
Sauntering forward leisurely, like walking a carpet Michel had laid out.
A groan-like mutter escaped Yulia's lips.
"...Kwantor Rider."