Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 121
Just two hours since the battle began.
The castle walls had already become a scene of carnage.
"Guoooo-!"
"Keuaaak!"
The terrible howls of the Dragon-Human soldiers and the screams of the Sea Folk soldiers, along with the clash of weapons, were deafening.
Red blood mixed with seawater, turning the view hazy, while the metallic stench of iron and blood pierced the nostrils.
"Captain, we can't hold out like this any longer!"
The Sea Folk soldiers, centered around the temple knights, were desperately trying to hold back the Dragon-Human soldiers, but they alone were insufficient to handle the endless waves of enemies.
Moreover, the Dragon-Human soldiers weren't the only threat they faced.
Flash-!
Magic cannon bombardments continuously targeting the castle walls.
Since the Dragon-Human soldiers kept reviving no matter how many times they were killed, the enemy side kept firing magic cannons without distinguishing between friend and foe.
"Fall back!"
Nam-gung Rin stepped forward in front of the soldiers and formed hand seals.
[Clear Mirror Seal]
Instantly, a mystical mirror appeared in the air.
Flash-.
The mirror reflected the incoming bombardment from afar, hitting a group of Dragon-Human soldiers climbing the castle walls and knocking them down.
"Wounded, over here!"
Following that, she summoned colorful clouds to transport the wounded down from the castle walls.
While Nam-gung Rin used various techniques to help the Sea Folk soldiers.
"Pontos, grant your people the blessing of healing!"
Leila also channeled divine power from the rear, healing fallen soldiers and boosting the morale of the exhausted.
Wherever her touch reached, wounds healed and faint hope flickered in the soldiers' eyes.
Nam-gung Cheon, who had joined the castle walls at some point, knocked down Dragon-Human soldiers while focusing on protecting his sister and Leila from the corporate dogs.
However, the battle situation remained grim.
Uoooo-!
The Dragon-Human soldiers, whose souls had been stolen by an evil god, would only fight until their contracts were severed.
They knew no pain and never tired.
When one fell, two would take its place; when two fell, three would fill the gap.
"It's, it's broken through!"
"Where are the reinforcements?"
"Euaaak!"
The Dragon-Human soldiers had already broken through various points of the defense line on the castle walls and began throwing Sea Folk soldiers around.
Nam-gung Rin exhaled heavily and gritted her teeth.
'We can't hold out like this. When will that person...'
They were barely holding on, but at this rate, the front lines would collapse before long.
Guoooo-!
"Tch."
A Dragon-Human soldier swung a curved blade at Nam-gung Rin. Her hair was cut and scattered in the air.
'When did they get this close...!'
Before she knew it, they had reached the watchtower on the castle walls.
Just when the battle situation was becoming severely disadvantageous.
Rattle-.
Down below the castle walls.
Something stirred beneath the sandy floor where the Dragon-Human soldiers stood.
At first, she thought she had seen wrong.
Rattle- Rattle-.
Soon, a sound like thousands of pebbles rolling simultaneously echoed across the battlefield.
An enormous number of bones that had been sleeping in the deep sea began to move one by one.
"That's..."
Nam-gung Rin was the first to notice the changing tide of battle.
Her eyes widened.
"Skeletons?"
As she said, the bones scattered here and there began to find their places and take the form of skeletons.
Rattle- Rattle-.
Thousands of bones gathered and merged, soon taking the forms of knights, archers, spearmen, and more.
Countless white bone flowers bloomed amidst the waves of black Dragon-Human soldiers.
"Gueu?"
Even the mindless Dragon-Human soldiers seemed confused by this situation, stopping their movements to look down at their feet.
Flash-.
Suddenly, red magical light flashed in the empty eye sockets of the skeletons.
The skeletons stood up immediately.
Stab-.
Stab-.
Without any hesitation, they charged at the nearest Dragon-Human soldiers and began stabbing them.
The bone spears and swords couldn't pierce their tough scales, but they were sufficient to sever the tendons between joints.
Guoooo-!
The Dragon-Human soldiers seemed confused by the appearance of these unfamiliar undead, but soon began fighting entangled with the skeletons, following their instinctive bloodlust.
Crack-.
Crunch-.
Skeletons shattered by Dragon-Human soldiers' punches.
But when one broke, two or three would climb up the Dragon-Human soldier's body.
While individual skeletons couldn't match a Dragon-Human soldier, three or four of them would cling to each Dragon-Human soldier, tearing at the spaces between scales with bone blades and cutting muscles.
Guoooo-!
"Wh-what are those things?"
"Skeletons?"
The Sea Folk soldiers who had been rolling around with Dragon-Human soldiers on the castle walls looked down at the battlefield below in bewilderment at the suddenly halted offensive.
Wondering what was happening, they saw that the Dragon-Human soldiers could no longer climb the castle walls.
They were just entangled in battle with the white bones below, howling.
"What in the world is that..."
"Could that be the reinforcements the High Priestess Leila mentioned...?"
And at the head of the skeleton army, the center of this chaos.
Step-.
A man in a black robe walked out.
***
Several days later.
Night had fallen and the enemy attacks had ceased.
Torches burned brightly on the castle walls, preparing for any possible enemy assault, but fortunately, there were no signs of attack.
On the first day of war, the Dragon-Human soldiers who seemed ready to breach the castle walls and capture the city at any moment hadn't even reached the walls since becoming entangled with the waves of skeletons.
It was the third day since the war had become a drawn-out war of attrition.
"The casualties have decreased."
In the temple of Atlantis.
Seo-jin checked the casualty numbers from this battle together with Leila.
Except for the first day when damage occurred due to the time it took to create Behemoth, there were few casualties.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine."
Leila, who had been gaunt from using too much divine power on the first day, had also recovered her health.
Nam-gung Rin, who was beside them, added a comment.
"At this rate, it seems we'll win the war easily."
"Right."
While one Dragon-Human soldier was strong enough to face five or six Sea Folk, that only mattered if they could engage in direct combat with swords and spears.
Since the skeletons were clinging to their trouser legs, they couldn't even climb the castle walls.
The enemies would feel burdened by the inability to maintain the magical power needed to sustain the Dragon-Human soldiers.
Moreover, the enemies had brought nearly ten thousand tribesmen for the siege.
If the war continued like this, they would run short of military supplies, so just defending the city would guarantee victory.
So the enemy side would react soon.
However, it would be the corporate side reacting, not Lunaria.
Being calculating, they would rather quickly acknowledge defeat and side with the royal family and temple to minimize losses.
There would be room for negotiation only while the victory wasn't completely decided.
They would make contact as early as today, or within a few days at the latest.
That was the nature of corporate types.
"It's about time for a reaction."
Just as he had that thought.
Slam-.
Nam-gung Cheon opened the door and entered, bringing news.
"It's them! They say they want to talk with you."
News that the corporate side had made contact requesting negotiations.
Seo-jin nodded with a smile.
The plan was gradually racing toward its conclusion.
"I'll go right away."
***
The rebel barracks on the outskirts of Atlantis.
Lunaria bit her nails while receiving battle reports.
Her face was distorted with anxiety and anger.
"You still haven't breached the castle walls? Even after deploying ten thousand Dragon-Human soldiers?"
The Sea Dragon Tribe commander who delivered the report bowed his head.
"Th-that's... Atlantis's resistance is stronger than expected. Especially since that foreigner called Nova appeared, the battle situation has been stagnant."
The combat power of the skeleton soldiers he summoned wasn't much, but their numbers and regenerative ability were the problem.
An uncountable number of skeletons that wouldn't die kept clinging to the Dragon-Human soldiers, making it difficult to even approach the castle walls.
Bang-!
Lunaria slammed the table with her fist. Her eyes flashed with murderous intent.
'He's blocking my path at every turn.'
She should have eliminated him when she had the chance before; that oversight of letting him go had become a stumbling block.
This situation wasn't good.
'No matter how nearly invincible the Dragon-Human soldiers are, the magical power of the Sea Dragon Tribe priests controlling them has limits.'
If this war of attrition continued, they would inevitably face defeat.
Initially, she expected to conquer Atlantis in a single night, but unexpected variables kept arising.
The skeletons were an unexpected variable, and the fact that the Sea Folk soldiers of Atlantis, whom she thought weak, fought desperately for their lives was also a major variable.
If not for that, she would have conquered Atlantis without much trouble on the first day of war.
She expected them to flee in terror, but she never imagined they would fight while actually shedding blood.
"What about the corporate infiltration team? They should have captured Leila by now, so why is there no news?"
Lunaria had high expectations for the infiltration team directly commanded by Manager Haizen.
If they captured Leila, even without necessarily conquering the city, she could attempt the original plan of Leviathan's revival.
However, no matter how long she waited, no contact came from them.
"Th-that's... we've also lost contact with the infiltration team, Your Majesty. And... we've received reports that the hostages have disappeared from the citadel."
"What? Which hostages are you talking about!"
The commander stammered in confusion.
"Th-that's, Prince Kshtra and other high-ranking opposition figures. The prison where they were held was found empty."
Upon hearing the report, Lunaria ground her teeth until they might break.
Crack-.
All the pieces fell into place in Lunaria's mind.
The stagnant battle situation, the silence of the Darkrock infiltration team, and Prince Kshtra's disappearance.
Everything pointed to one conclusion.
'As expected, they planned to abandon me from the beginning.'
They had spirited away Kshtra to install a new puppet and prevent her from obtaining Leviathan's power.
She knew those people would show their true colors someday, but facing that situation was utterly unpleasant.
After all, they were foreigners. Untrustworthy bunch.
"Huu."
Lunaria forced down her anger and dismissed the Sea Dragon Tribe commander.
"Withdraw now. And prepare for retreat."
Fighting further in this state would only increase meaningless casualties.
If she had won the first day's battle, she could have captured Leila and taken the city, making things easier, but now, far from regaining the initiative, only greater damage was anticipated.
Given this situation.
'There's no choice.'
Though imperfect, she had to move to the next plan.
"Haa."
"......"
The Sea Dragon Tribe commander bowed and withdrew, leaving Lunaria with her dejected expression.
Alone in the barracks, Lunaria.
She pulled out a bag that had been stored under the bed.
Blood samples from the chieftains of the twelve clans.
The blood of five tribal chieftains who had cooperated with the rebellion, and the blood of seven Atlantis tribal chieftains obtained through a thief as a condition for corporate cooperation.
With even Kshtra gone, she had no choice but to use this directly.
Offering this body for that person wasn't regrettable at all.
However, this method was too unstable compared to what was originally planned.
The possibility of failure was high, and even if successful, it would likely lead to an incomplete revival.
"......"
Lunaria was deep in thought, staring at the samples, when.
Rustle-.
Then, a woman entered like a shadow, parting the barracks' curtain.
"Who's there!"
Lunaria turned around in shock.
Leaning against the barracks' pillar was a strange person in a black leather suit.
A skilled thief employed by the corporate side.
She held a small bag in her hand.
Francesca the Phantom Thief playfully bowed to Lunaria and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I've come with a very interesting proposal. Would you like to hear it?"