Chapter 357
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 357
Chapter Title: Where is this?
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Rattle, rattle.
She wondered.
Why had things turned out like this?
Everything had been fine up until she helped with the date.
Sure, the mood had been a bit off, and there had even been a shootout with smugglers in the middle.
But that was par for the course with Rimon, and Hassneti had seemed satisfied enough anyway.
The problems started after that.
Communications suddenly cut out.
Rimon vanished without a trace, leaving Hassneti to declare war all on her own.
Everything had spiraled into chaos from there.
Left abandoned without a clue what was going on, Yuna Kyung could only feel bewildered.
[This is all Team Leader's fault!]
A bluebird trapped in a cage.
Yuna Kyung ended up pinning the blame on Rimon.
Even without knowing the details, experience told her that if something crazy was happening, Rimon was probably involved.
Of course, that made it easier for her to move around.
But that was it.
Despite rummaging through the cage in frustration, she couldn't find the seven-colored bird, and Yuna Kyung could only sigh.
Including the current situation.
[Why does a zero-year-old baby bird like me have to end up in a warzone...?]
The Egyptian army marching across the plains.
Riding along in her cage amid the procession, Yuna Kyung stared blankly at the distant peak shaped like a beehive rock and muttered to herself.
Even back when she was human, she'd worked as a PAB agent but never set foot in a warzone.
She'd gotten dragged into the London incident.
Chased by the Monster Lord.
And now, a battlefield.
Why was her fate as a reborn bird even more wretched than when she was human?
It was utterly baffling.
"Horus, it's mealtime."
[What I need more than food is freedom.]
"Haha, Horus even knows how to joke."
[It's not a joke? Craving freedom is every creature's instinct!]
"Pursuing instincts is fine, but running away during war gets you treated as a deserter and shot or culled."
[On second thought, suppressing instincts might be what qualifies someone as an intelligent being.]
But what could she do?
No matter how unlucky, she still had to eat to survive.
Sighing heavily, Yuna Kyung pecked eagerly at the fruit Nadia had given her.
She could use Space Movement to escape, but she didn't want to risk her life gambling on something like this.
And beside such a Yuna Kyung, Nadia roughly filled her stomach with a chocolate bar while unfolding a map and scratching her head.
"It's still weird."
[Weird? What's weird?]
"The enemy's movements."
Whether from the bond built during training or a sense of camaraderie from suffering under a tough boss, Nadia answered Yuna Kyung's question readily, tearing into another chocolate bar.
"When I heard about the Continental Alliance forming, I figured it'd be a rough trek here."
[Expecting ambushes?]
"To some extent, yeah."
Nadia explained while chewing.
They'd mobilized hastily, so the force was just two legions.
But those two legions alone could overwhelm nearly every country in Africa.
The Egyptian army, thoroughly trained with unified equipment, was on a different level from ragtag militias that were barely better than mobs under some warlord.
Especially since Hassneti herself had led the elite force on this personal expedition—the Continental Alliance's chances had evaporated.
"For the Continental Alliance to have any shot against our army, they'd have no choice but to resort to some scheme."
[So confident you'd win a head-on fight?]
"Of course. We're the Red Dragon Clan."
One against many? Maybe.
But in wide-area annihilation battles backed by overwhelming firepower, no enemy could beat the Red Dragon Clan.
Yuna Kyung tilted her head at Nadia proudly boasting against the backdrop of towering rock pillars like cliffs, but nodded along for now.
In wars where scale mattered and firepower ruled, a full-frontal clash would favor Egypt—that much was clear.
So the Continental Alliance would have to counter them some other way...
[This is already Kilimanjaro Autonomous Territory, right?]
"Yeah, we crossed the border a while back."
[And yet no ambushes, not even a single scout. That's what seems off to you.]
"Exactly."
[Maybe they're hunkering down for a thorough defense? You know, defense is easier than offense?]
"Nah, doubt it."
This time, Nadia peeled open an almond chocolate bar and chewed as she explained.
Defense only held advantage if you could lure enemies into sturdy positions like fortresses or trenches lined with machine guns.
Castles crumbled under artillery.
Trenches became graves before tanks.
As weapons advanced, the utility of fixed positions declined, making defense harder too.
That's why advanced nations invested in radar, missiles—tools to spot and strike first.
In other words, offense was the best defense in modern strategy.
Let alone against Egypt's mightiest firepower in Africa? A defensive war would be suicide unless the Continental Alliance's commanders were birdbrains.
[Sorry, birdbrain here...]
"Haha, anyone could miss that if they don't know."
Compared to past Horuses, Yuna Kyung was actually pretty sharp, or so Nadia said sincerely—making her feel even more pathetic.
Nadia muttered while pulling out yet another chocolate bar.
"Defensive wars can be useful depending on the situation. Especially using a city as a shield."
[Using a city as a shield?]
"Fighting in densely populated areas full of key facilities like hospitals. It forces the attackers to hold back their firepower."
[Ah, so even in war, you can't have civilian casualties?]
"No, blow up the city and there's nothing left to take."
[...Huh?]
"Wars cost money."
Burn everything, win the battle, but less loot means it doesn't pay off.
Nadia shrugged casually, licking chocolate remnants off her fingers, utterly blocking Yuna Kyung's retort.
"Well, this war might not care about that."
[...]
Hassneti was furious enough to pierce the heavens right now.
Enemy using a city as shield or not, she'd burn the whole thing down anyway.
Yuna Kyung was speechless at Nadia's calm words.
This girl was Seven Dragon Society kin too.
And here she was, on a battlefield.
It hit her anew.
'Team Leader, what are you gonna do...?'
Yuna Kyung fretted anxiously.
Even Rimon—could he stop this war?
And if he did, could he handle the aftermath?
Doubts swelled within her.
But undeterred by such worries, the Egyptian army crossed Kilimanjaro Autonomous Territory without hindrance.
Through vast plains.
Past towering rocks.
Chasing long sunset shadows.
Circling dense rock pillars.
Toward the rising morning star.
During yet another meal amid the endless march—
[Hm?]
Yuna Kyung cocked her head.
[Hmm?]
Then tilted it the other way.
[...What is it?]
Something felt off.
She couldn't pinpoint what.
Just an eerie sense of wrongness.
As Yuna Kyung racked her brains, groaning over the inexplicable unease—
"Nadia."
"Found something, Princess?"
Nadia came rushing over, slinging the backpack with Yuna Kyung's cage onto her back at the gruff voice.
Hassneti asked coldly, cigarette in mouth.
"Where are we?"
"Kilimanjaro Autonomous Territory, obviously."
"Exact position?"
"Exactly? Well... um."
Nadia scratched her head and pulled out the map from her backpack.
She looked around, then answered confidently.
"No idea?"
"... "
"Eh? Wait, what did I just say?"
Startled by her own words, Nadia blinked wide-eyed, fumbling with the map again to compare with the terrain.
But the more she did, the more confused her face grew, rendering her efforts futile.
"Th-this can't be...?"
Perhaps embarrassed to show such incompetence before her revered princess, Nadia looked on the verge of tears.
But Hassneti didn't blame her.
She just issued quiet orders.
"Go to the command vehicle and check the coordinates."
"Ah...! Yes, I'll check right away and report back!"
Her face lighting up at last, Nadia dashed to the rear command vehicle.
The modernized Egyptian army's command vehicle brimmed with cutting-edge gear; pinpointing their location should be easy.
But moments later...
Nadia returned from the command vehicle, even more flustered, forced to report.
"Princess. I checked, but the equipment's malfunctioning—we can't pinpoint our position..."
"... "
"S-sorry! I'll send out scouts right now to—"
"No need."
"Huh?"
"Instead, release Horus to scout the surroundings, and roll call the entire army."
"...!"
As realization dawned, her eyes widened briefly.
Then Nadia hurriedly opened Yuna Kyung's cage per Hassneti's orders and shouted urgently.
"Fly as far as you can!"
[Direction doesn't matter?]
"Right! Just pick one and fly straight—come back and report anything unusual."
'Jackpot!'
Flap flap!
Perplexed but eager, Yuna Kyung beat her wings hard.
Now that she was free from the cage, she figured she'd just escape and find Rimon...
[Eh?]
But Yuna Kyung panicked.
She'd flown straight east.
Yet the Egyptian procession, Nadia included, appeared ahead again.
No matter how many times she changed direction.
Even using Space Movement.
Same result.
Like a fish in a tank, flying straight somehow looped her back over the Egyptian army.
Finally giving up escape, Yuna Kyung returned, wings drooping, and reported the fact.
Nadia, hearing her out, stared at Hassneti with a grim face.
"Princess, looks like the area's sealed off."
"Troops?"
"Roll call's ongoing, but roughly—a whole division or more's out of contact already."
"...I see."
Thousands missing without a word was shocking.
Yet Hassneti neither startled nor panicked.
She just gazed across the plains.
Nadia bowed her head, even more intimidated.
"Sorry. I should've noticed the barrier sooner..."
"This isn't a barrier."
"What do you mean?"
"We're trapped in a formation."
"Huh?"
Nadia gaped at Hassneti's words.
A barrier from skills or magic? Maybe.
But a massive psionic formation like this? She'd have sensed it.
Formations capable of that were...
"...!"
In that instant.
Nadia swallowed reflexively.
She scanned around, pupils shaking.
Vast plains dotted with huge shadows.
She'd passed those eight rock pillars dozens of times without registering them until now.
And as far as Nadia knew...
Only one formation linked such absurd phenomena to eight pillars.
"St-Stone Soldier Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation?"
From the Bronze Age to now.
Among the Seven Dragon Society's countless ultimate formations, always top-ranked.
So intricate only one clan could craft it, a massive time and money sink.
Yet installed everywhere for its unmatched utility.
"We're trapped in that devilish Black Dragon Clan's formation?!"
In the Heroes Age of old.
The formation that even a Sword Master couldn't breach around Leviathan.
Trapped in that? Nadia could only reel in horror.