Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Two more battles had taken place since that day.
The allied forces repeatedly suffered losses and retreated under the concentrated firepower that exploited the discord between the two factions.
But when the factional alliance resumed their advance after a three-day lull—
—their demeanor had visibly changed.
"This time feels different."
"Yes. The Second Prince's forces have weakened, but..."
Luther Kyle had reappeared at the forefront of the Second Prince's army, while Duke Jordan had vanished.
As a result, the Second Prince's forces seemed less imposing, but the First Prince's army in the south was entirely different.
Wicken Calria remained at the frontlines, but right behind him stood a platinum-haired middle-aged mage clad in pristine white robes.
His mere presence distorted the surrounding space—a clear manifestation of power transcending mana, the force of Magic Force.
"Juan Douglas has taken the field? That means the prince must be left unguarded. This..."
"They must have reached some kind of agreement. Though I don't understand why Duke Jordan isn't making a move."
"We should also be prepared for the Flame Sword to suddenly appear."
"Would they really use that trick again?"
"There's no one left to infiltrate. Even if they tried, it wouldn't work. It was a one-time tactic anyway."
I hadn't expected them to reconcile so quickly.
Unnecessary words were swallowed back.
As the MacLaine father and son exchanged tense glances—
—the factional alliance began their advance.
"The arrows have lost some of their force."
Not longbows, but crossbows—and even the rapid-fire ones they possessed in small numbers. To say their quarrels lacked power was an exaggeration, but no one corrected Juan.
Compared to two or three days ago, the number of quarrels raining down from the fortress had halved.
"Either their resources are dwindling, or the soldiers are exhausted. Personally, I suspect both."
"Indeed. It's time to finish this. But Jordan..."
Juan clicked his tongue as he glanced toward the Second Prince's camp in the northeast, but Wicken shook his head at his back.
'He already broke his promise once—trusting him would be stranger.'
Who was truly responsible for the unnecessary casualties accumulated in what should have been a three-day battle?
Wicken didn't believe his father-in-law's excuses.
The Juan Douglas he knew wouldn't hesitate to stab someone in the back when least expected.
The only reason he hadn't succeeded was likely because the Second Prince's guards were stronger than anticipated.
Duke Jordan probably thought the same, which was why he was holding back despite the losses.
Ah, come to think of it, Jordan Walterheim was even more cunning than his father-in-law...
"Will Prince Rohiter be safe? If they get any strange ideas..."
"A day or two won't be a problem."
"Pardon?"
"I've taken measures to ensure his absolute safety unless Jordan or Luther personally intervene. Another advantage mages have over Aura Users."
Wicken had suspected as much when Juan took the field so easily, but it seemed he had another card up his sleeve—one he hadn't even shared with him.
Bitter as it was, Wicken didn't press further.
Now wasn't the time to stir up trouble with his father-in-law.
"But what if they do intervene?"
"Hah. You're unusually timid for a Transcendent. Do you think I'd take the field without precautions? The ones at the front are obvious, and if Jordan moves, we'll know immediately."
"As expected of you."
So he had spies planted nearby after all.
Wicken nodded with a wry smile, further convinced of his earlier suspicions.
While it was unsettling to have so many hidden cards among allies, it was also reassuring in its own way.
Wicken dismissed his lingering doubts.
"Then let's move. As agreed, we'll start by subduing the half-baked giant who dares call himself a mage."
"Yes!"
The reconnaissance was over.
With Wicken's spirited reply, the First Prince's elite forces began advancing into the battlefield, where arrows and magic bombs rained down.
"They're coming!"
At the short cry, the faces of the soldiers firing crossbows from the southern and western walls stiffened with tension.
The knight's signal meant only one thing—the arrival of the beings they most feared, the Transcendents.
Monsters who could withstand overwhelming firepower and crush morale in real time.
And this time, not only was the Grand Prince barely holding his own against one, but another ominous presence had joined the fray.
"That man—that's the Freezing Wizard! Focus your fire!"
The knight's words darkened the already exhausted soldiers' faces further.
Sensing the mood, Logan roared loud enough to echo throughout the fortress.
"Mages are different from Aura Users! Keep pressing relentlessly! Don't give them time to cast spells! And I'll handle the Stormblade as usual. Hold out! If we endure, we win!"
Words they had heard endlessly over the past week.
Yet those same words brought a faint flush back to the soldiers' faces.
"That's right. We can do this!"
"Let's try!"
"We've been winning so far!"
From a detached perspective, it might have seemed bizarre—how could baseless encouragement lift morale so easily?
But those in the thick of battle couldn't perceive that strangeness.
Except for the one who had orchestrated it.
'Still just a small trick, though.'
A skill born from sensing energy more fundamental than mere presence.
The ability to subtly steer the morale of those who believed in him.
Logan believed this skill would grow exponentially once he overcame his current limits.
'Of course, first...'
He had to survive this ordeal.
As much as he hated turning his back on the mage before him, Wicken Calria—against whom crossbows and Liberatio were useless—was an opponent only he could face.
Regardless of skill level, Wicken's attributes made him the most dangerous Transcendent to the MacLaine family.
"Hold out! If we endure, we win!"
Juan smirked bitterly at the absurd nonsense echoing from the fortress.
'Can you really endure? This time will be different, brat. I've taken the field myself.'
That Logan had fought Wicken evenly without being an Aura User was unbelievable—but that was all he amounted to.
If Logan had come at him instead, Juan was confident he could turn him into an ice sculpture before finishing a cup of tea.
Of course, his task now wasn't to deal with Logan.
'A shame.'
The biggest factor in repelling the Second Prince's Luther and wounding Jordan hadn't been their new weapons, but the strange magic of an enemy mage.
Though to a true mage like himself, that magic was riddled with fatal flaws.
'First, the half-baked one who stopped short of transcendence...'
Whoooom.
Magic Force dyed the surroundings as his will moved.
His transcendent power—originally ice-attribute, now augmented with wind after surpassing human limits—searched for the presence of another Magic Force wielder somewhere within the fortress.
'Found you.'
And instantly—
'Stop. And trap.'
The higher-concept ice magic that froze all movement combined with inverted wind magic that stifled motion, revealing the power of a true mage.
A true mage could easily shake off this level of interference with dual attributes and willpower alone.
'As expected...'
The half-baked mage who had been cheating his way into casting 6th-circle spells couldn't even resist this.
Juan could clearly sense his panic through the Magic Force.
Smiling, Juan raised his artifact—Kelahan's Staff—and aimed it at the fortress walls.
"I'll neutralize their weapons! Advance!"
While disrupting the half-baked mage's magic, he simultaneously conjured protective barriers of wind and ice over the frontline allies.
With more critical tasks at hand, he couldn't shield the entire army, but the quarrels and bombs raining down on the vanguard lost over half their potency.
For the knights, that was enough.
"The attacks are weaker!"
"Charge!"
"This is our chance!"
'How's that? This is the power of a true mage.'
Shedding the constraints of being a prince, the true mage watched the shifting battlefield with a leisurely smile.
"Fire!!"
"Pour it all out!"
Booooom!
Kwaaaaang!
What was happening?
The giant Transcendent who had been so easily repelled in the first battle now rampaged like an entirely different beast.
When he reached the walls first and struck with his massive warhammer, the entire fortress seemed to tremble.
And then—
"Hah, so they did reinforce it with magic."
Stepping onto the cracks his blow had left in the wall, he sprinted upward.
"Stop him!!"
Patrick swiftly intercepted him, but the soldiers watching paled.
Their lord's blazing Force Blade seemed like a flickering candle compared to the giant's radiant crimson aura.
Their grim expectations became reality instantly.
Kwaaaaang!
"I'll turn you into pulp!"
Where the colossal warhammer passed—
—people were reduced to bloody mist in a grotesque, almost magical spectacle.
'Don't block it head-on.'
Having learned harsh lessons from fighting Aura Users before, Patrick condensed his Force Blade to its limit, dodging every attack and targeting only the giant's openings.
That Luther Kyle was relatively slow for a Transcendent was his only consolation.
Thud!
The crimson aura flickering over the giant's armor shattered even that slim hope.
"Kuhahaha! The lord fights like a damn rat!"
Whooosh!
Even without aura, the monstrous hammer's passing strikes obliterated everything in their path.
All Patrick could do was draw the Transcendent's attention to minimize casualties—
—leaving his face twisted in frustration.
Then—
Flash!
Tat-tat-tat!
"What the—?!"
Luther Kyle's eyes darted around after irritably deflecting two beams of light.
He could normally shrug off attacks from average knights unharmed, but those beams carried enough force to give him pause.
'Not even advanced-level... Wait, intermediate shouldn't be this strong either?'
Two young knights—one with red hair, the other blue—stood dozens of meters apart, having fired orange and gray beams at him.
Luther's eyes narrowed.
Though his expression seemed fiercer, it was more intrigued than angry.
"Puhahaha! Since when do knights use magic-like tricks? This is fun. Fine, come at me—all of you!"
Kwaaaaang!
The Transcendent's weapon, enhanced by his physical prowess, unleashed another storm of blood without hesitation.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Kwaang!
Sslash!
"Not using that trick? Keep holding back, and you'll die like this!"
A shallow cut on his cheek from a passing sword.
The necrosis-inducing aura was pushed out by a surge of golden Force.
Meanwhile, Logan's Snake Blade left an identical wound on his opponent, making him smirk.
"I'll save it for your death. You can feel the gap closing, can't you, Marquis?"
Wicken Calria's twisted expression.
Though Logan had successfully baited him, his own heart wasn't at ease.
The overall momentum favored the enemy—he could tell just from the atmosphere.
'Show me an opening—just a small one. I'll finish you.'
The mere fact that he could think this against a Transcendent proved how far he'd come.
Even with two powerful stat-boosting artifacts and Lux's aid, Wicken was also wielding extraordinary artifacts.
Meaning Logan's personal combat power was now nearly on par with Wicken's.
Focusing on his evolving swordsmanship and achievements, Logan forcibly calmed his restless heart.
But as his duel with Wicken intensified, forcing them to dart across the battlefield as usual—
"Aaaagh!"
"Ambush!"
"Behind!!"
Screams erupted from the enemy's rear.
His head turned instinctively.
There, at the eastern edge, an army was cutting through the Second Prince's rear.
Their numbers were less than a fraction of the factional alliance's forces, but—
—the middle-aged man at their forefront,
and the eagle emblem on their banner made Logan smile reflexively.