Unexpected Ambush
"Hey, Tilia. This is a bit different from what we expected, huh?"
Yoahim glanced sideways at Tilia, who stared back with a face frozen stiff. Clearly, she hadn't anticipated this either.
The demon-led unit seemed to know in advance that Yoahim's forces would be coming here. Their movements were too precise.
A grim suspicion flashed through Tilia's mind. What if information leaked? What if there's a spy inside Haellagoria?
Yoahim was thinking the exact same thing.
"You think info leaked?"
Tilia bit her purple lips hard. Her drenched hair, limp like wet rags, began to twitch with mana.
"...No, no way. That can't be. The lord only told his adjutants that you'd be leading the vanguard out today. No way it got out."
"But Jade, the guy managing the gate, knew we were coming. What if he's the spy?"
Tilia shook her head.
"No. Jade wouldn't betray us. He lost his family to Alzahar's forces. Him siding with Alzahar? Doesn't make sense."
"Then what? Why the hell are they waiting for us?"
Tilia clicked her tongue and spoke up.
"But there could be a spy among the subordinates. Someone must've stolen the info Jade got. I have a pretty good guess who."
"Who?"
"The supply officer's suspicious. You know Gate 12 where Jade is stationed is far from here. Even if one of Jade's men stole info on us, relaying it to Levia Castle in a day would've been impossible."
Yoahim nodded. Gates 12 and 19 were connected, but the actual distance was enormous. Plus, using a gate required the manager's permission and left records. No spy in Yoahim's unit could've slipped through to Gate 19 without Jade knowing.
"But the supply officer could. Supplies get shipped from Haellagoria to Gate 12 first, then forwarded to Gate 19. He could've moved there without suspicion and passed info to another spy at Gate 19. You can figure out the rest."
The spy at Gate 19 would've slipped away late at night and delivered the message to Levia Castle. The result? The demon unit now occupying Elga Village.
"Take Gate 19, and they can push all the way to Gate 12. Behind that's Haellagoria. Gate 19's importance sets it apart from the others."
Of course, if Gate 19 fell, they could just sever the link to Gate 12. But if it got breached before word reached them, Alzahar's army would march straight into Haellagoria.
"Levia's castellan probably plans to repel the vanguard here at Elga Village, then push back to Gate 19. We're not the only ones tired of this endless standoff. Yoahim, your role's crucial. If you get pushed back here, Gate 19's in danger."
Yoahim nodded, then furrowed his brow.
"My role?"
"Yeah, yours."
"Not ours?"
"Ours? I'm heading back to Haellagoria through Gate 19. They spotted our moves from Levia Castle—we can't waste time either."
It was a solid reason. At first, Yoahim thought combining forces to push toward Levia Castle made sense, but on second thought, without the main army, it was pointless.
Tilia would return to Haellagoria, bring the main force, and the vanguard would link up to assault Levia Castle.
No more delays.
With that, Tilia wheeled her phantom steed around and galloped back toward Gate 19.
Yoahim shifted his gaze from her retreating figure to Elga Village ahead.
"You cowardly bastards! How long you gonna hide and whisper? Draw your swords! Let's fight!"
The demon bellowed, taunting Yoahim. Each crack of the whip in his hand assaulted their ears with menace.
"Demons, huh..."
Having played the game for ages, Yoahim knew all about them. Humanoid like people, but with vampire-pale skin and blood-red eyes. Stronger and tougher than humans, born with magic affinity that produced elite mages. The big difference? The pair of horns on their heads.
Those horns acted like antennae, gathering ambient info to heighten their senses—but they were also a glaring weakness. Snap them, and the demon went limp.
"Gotta be tough."
The demon's name: Delly. Level 66. Yoahim? Level 41. A 25-level gap wasn't something to shrug off.
"But the EXP will be juicy."
That rush of levels after grinding a tough boss. Yoahim knew it well from countless game sessions.
"Whole unit."
Yoahim didn't hesitate. He slashed his raised hand down and roared.
"Charge!"
Rooooaaar!
The undead let out eerie cries as they advanced. Fastest ghouls hit the front, barreling toward the enemy. Skeleton warriors and zombies followed.
The skeleton warriors holding the enemy front line crumbled like a sandcastle when the ghouls slammed in. Zombies wedged through the gaps, drawing fire with their sturdy bodies and tanking hits for allies.
"Fire!"
Skeleton archers' arrows arced through the sky, raining on the foes. Undead-style, the enemy didn't drop instantly but staggered from the impacts.
Boom! Boom-boom!
Fiery mana arrows exploded loudly, toppling skeletons. Skeleton mages were weak alone, but grouped up, their spells packed real punch.
"Charge! Charge! Break their lines!"
Shattering the front line was easy. No matter their numbers, the skeleton warriors couldn't match Yoahim's unit.
But...
"Advance! Show Haellagos's dogs our wrath!"
Delly cracked his whip, and the waiting main force surged. As the front-line skeletons collapsed helplessly, ghouls and zombies burst through, blocking Yoahim's assault.
"Magic ready! Fire!"
The demon unit's skeleton mages unleashed in unison. Blasts of flame everywhere battered Yoahim's front lines hard.
Yoahim clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Leon! Clear the ghouls and zombies! Sasha! Snipe the skeleton mages!"
"Got it, Apostle!"
"Leave it to me, Apostle!"
Leon and Sasha moved like lightning on command. Leon rode down foes, slicing them apart; Sasha loosed endless arrows, dropping mages one by one.
"We're outnumbered..."
No matter how good Leon and Sasha were, numbers were a bitch in war. When troop quality matched, sheer volume decided it.
Yoahim drew his sword without pause, yanked the reins, and charged the enemy. His mount thundered through the horrific undead fray without flinching—warhorse blood, snorting hot and pounding the earth fiercely.
"Inventory!"
He opened his inventory, grabbed the oak staff and Ha Meks Han, then swung the staff and yelled.
"Fireball!"
A massive fire orb erupted with mana drain, blasting skeleton warriors to bits. Yoahim kept riding, spamming.
"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!"
Each blast chunked enemies down in droves. Magic was gold in mass battles.
Fuck, mana’s running low.
A few barrages, and he was scraping bottom. To flip the numbers, though, his magic was the only play. He considered pulling back to regen, but...
"That's the commander! Unhorse the commander!"
Delly's shout turned the fighting enemies toward Yoahim. They charged fearlessly, hurling themselves at him.
"Tch!"
Normal troops would've bolted from a charging rider. Undead? Zero fear. They ignored their own damage, lunging to grab legs and drag him down.
"Annoying fucks!"
The horse buckled under undead strength. Yoahim leaped off before falling, mace already in hand.
Crack!
Full-swing mace pulverized a skeleton warrior's skull. As he landed, hordes rushed to seize him. One mace couldn't handle them all; staff was mana-dead.
But Yoahim stayed cool. He grinned and shouted.
"Shield!"
Basic barrier spell. Normally shattered by a few arrows.
But...
"Grraaahhh..."
Crackle-crackle-zap!
Mighty lightning coursed over the shield, shocking the horde. Skeletons crumbled; zombies and ghouls jerked back, convulsing.
Yoahim bashed heads with his mace in the gap, then fell back.
"Gotcha! Kraahaha!"
Whip! Tough cord wrapped Yoahim tight. Delly's whip.
"Your rampage ends here! With the commander caught, this battle's mine—Gyaaaah!"
Lightning surged along the whip. Delly convulsed like he was seizing, eyes rolling back.
Yoahim released the whip-hand as Delly collapsed gurgling.
"Huh. Can use it like that too."
Channel lightning through the whip instead of direct bolt. Improv move, but killer results. Satisfied.
"Skills and spells really are different."
Skills: fast activation, fixed effects. Spells: slower, but endless versatility. Couldn't fuse Shield and Lightning Bolt into a skill, but a new spell? Easy.
"Grrgh... You sneaky bastard... No more cheap tricks—face me fair! Can't you mages even swing a sword?!"
Delly staggered up. Level gap meant no one-shot.
"Yeah, thanks for the praise."
"What? I didn't praise shit!"
"Nah, you did."
Playing dirty = playing well. If that's not praise, what is?
Yoahim grinned. He'd swapped mace for sword.
"Wonder how much EXP you give. Come at me."
"Was gonna anyway! You filthy spell-slinger!"
Enraged Delly whipped at Yoahim.