Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Tahup Clan's Onslaught
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“Strongpoint Defense Formation Tactic?”
The Strongpoint Defense Formation Tactic, a doctrine that would later become the cornerstone of humanity's defensive warfare.
It was said to have been a provisional name given by Ria Raily when she went to see Commander Krausen.
“Can you explain it?”
“Defensive sieges are traditionally based on a single line. The line atop the castle wall—if it’s breached, it’s over. If there’s an inner wall, you might have a second line.”
“Go on.”
“When you can't hold a single defensive line like now, you divide it into multiple lines and fall back between them.”
“You mean creating dispersed defensive centers at the first, second, and third lines, defending while retreating according to the flow of battle?”
“Yes. Urban warfare, where every available location can be used as cover, concealment, or a fortress, offers a massive advantage to humanity's way of fighting. This tactic maximizes that advantage.”
Krausen stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming.
“Hmm, if we can repeatedly fight defensively while retreating to lines equipped with logistical and fortification facilities, we won't have supply problems.”
“We can also rotate tired frontline units with reserves from the rear, allowing for a smoother transition to an offensive.”
And that wasn’t all.
Under conventional siege doctrine, they would have had to defend three fronts: the east, south, and west gates.
But with this tactic, they could form a single, gently curving defensive line.
“It’s a method that can only be used in Kerkknud, with the sea at our back, but isn't it worth a try?”
At her explanation, the battle-hardened strategist Krausen slapped his forehead and let out a hearty laugh.
“My theory is that a pretty lass is also a sharp one. And I've never been wrong. It's not that they're slow-witted, you see. They just don't feel the need to use their brains.”
“That sounds a bit like prejudice, sir… but I’m honored nonetheless.”
“To have already set the stage like this without my permission means you must have some lines in mind, right?”
Slaying Three Thousand,
Kerkknud Withdrawal Operation (3)
The above is the story I later heard of how a total of five defensive lines came to be established in the city of Kerkknud.
[Kaisen, you can stop fighting now. Fall back.]
As I was dancing with my sword endlessly at the south gate, a butterfly of light arrived with a message.
It was a Rudiyen, a light butterfly created by Arte, a mage of the Black Rose Brigade.
The defensive line, devised by Ria and swiftly refined by Krausen, was functioning splendidly, she said.
“FakeWarrior, this way!”
Uruk warriors immediately gave chase, but their pursuit was crushed by a hail of bullets and cannonballs.
Riflemen were providing cover fire from behind barricades made of grain sacks, wooden barrels filled with oil, and sandbags.
From there, from the first line to the third, I assisted the defense, cutting down countless Uruk.
I couldn't help but be genuinely impressed.
*Incredible…*
The Uruk’s momentum, which had been a veritable torrent, is slowly breaking as the lines fall back.
The explosions of the madmen launched by catapults were being absorbed by stone towers and rooftops, which served as sturdy breakwaters.
*We can win.*
*With this method, we can win.*
I held on to that sliver of hope, however briefly, but it was in vain. The strongpoint defense system failed.
It wasn't Ria's fault.
In truth, it was no one's fault. Who could have accurately calculated it?
The true power of High Kun Tark, of the Tahup Clan.
The turning point came when Tahupkipel Ranikikan and his direct combat unit, the Tahup Hyulere, moved from the rear to the front lines.
BOOOOOM—!
The signal of despair first announced its arrival through my ears.
As the ground shook violently, making my heart pound, the clock tower on the right flank of the third line collapsed with a deafening roar.
Bewilderment filled the eyes of Ria, who was assisting Krausen’s command from the central strongpoint.
“An explosion?”
Even as she spoke, *boom, boom, boom, boom…* the explosions continued in the distance, multiplying and splitting into two groups.
“Arte!”
Sharon called out.
Arte, the brigade’s mage and a master of intelligence—the very core of this defensive system—broke out in a cold sweat.
“How is this… The right flank is collapsing. The damage is devastating. There’s no way to stop it.”
Countless magical butterflies, Rudiyen, danced around Arte as she assessed the battle situation through them.
“The right flank… that would be the west gate. Of all places, the weakest one…”
Isla was defending the east gate.
But even without a mage, anyone could read the situation.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang…*
The bells signifying ‘defensive line untenable’ were ringing continuously from the right.
“One group is heading for the center of the defensive line, toward us.”
“And the other?”
“…Toward the coast.”
A brief, desperate silence fell.
The evacuation operation was in full swing at the coast. There were soldiers without guns and refugees who hadn't managed to flee the city yet.
If they were exposed to the enemy now, the unarmed would be brutally slaughtered.
“Your Excellency, let’s pull the line back to the fifth. We have no choice but to arm the soldiers at the coast with reserve equipment and have them fight…”
“No, that's the wrong move. Remember this, budding strategist Yongsa. In any situation, offense is the best defense.”
“Your Excellency, humanity’s odds of victory drop drastically in anything other than a defensive battle.”
“What I meant was that posture of yours, of only reacting defensively to the enemy’s moves.”
“...?”
“I have two FakeWarrior pieces at my disposal right now. In that case, I will pull the third line back to the fourth. And then, I will let the fourth line slowly collapse.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve been fighting the Uruk for nearly forty years, and I’ve found that clans who use dark arts like that tend to crumble once you take down their leader. Especially those who command madmen.”
Krausen moved the pieces on the city map back to the line Ria had marked with a ‘4’.
Then he moved the curved line formed by the pieces to a point between ‘4’ and ‘5’.
To the location of Ilanus Square.
He placed one knight piece, representing a FakeWarrior, in the center of the square, and moved the other toward the coast.
“We’ll lure the beast here and hunt it down. The Uruk are more clever than they look. They won’t just walk into a trap. So, I will be the bait.”
“Your Excellency.”
“Of course, I have no intention of dying a dog’s death. So you all had better finish the job properly.”
I had intended to remain silent, but…
Here, I had to shake my head firmly.
“Your Excellency, how many troops can we spare for this? As you said, the Uruk are incredibly cunning. If they see our forces moving, they’ll know it’s a ploy.”
“Of course. Which is why we’ll use the Hosen Rapid-Fire Unit.”
The Hosen Rapid-Fire Corps.
It was the moniker of the 1st Royal Guard Regiment of Hosen, one of the fallen southern kingdoms.
They were famed for their rate of fire and reloading speed, capable of unleashing immense firepower in an instant until their ammunition was depleted.
In contrast to most nations that composed their guards of grenadiers, they prioritized agility, and their soldiers were generally of smaller stature.
“Adjutant, what is the current location and number of the Hosen unit?”
“About twelve hundred men, sir. They’re holding the left flank.”
“Summon them at once.”
Krausen’s gaze then turned to the head witch of the Azure-Green Rose Society.
The backlash from her grand barrier being shattered had taken a heavy toll; the wrinkles on her face were deeper, and her breathing was ragged.
The head witch managed a nod.
“If you can succeed in luring him in, I will cast a barrier to ensure he cannot escape this place for a time.”
The next moment, his gaze fixed squarely on me, and a shiver ran through my body at the premonition of a destiny stirring to life.
“No.”
But Sharon intercepted that destiny.
“I'll do it. I'm the lead FakeWarrior, not Kaisen.”
“But you are…”
“This war will be long. Longer than the last ‘Black Summer.’ This boy's power will be needed for greater things. Not mine, which is coming to an end.”
Sharon, I think, had resigned herself to death right there.
No, it seemed she was actively seeking a place to die. Just as Camilla had.
Her eyes were shining so brightly, so full of hope, that I failed to realize it quickly enough.
“Sunbae-nim, but…”
“The operation has already begun. Go to the coast. Now. You will protect them, Kaisen. Do you understand? You will not let a single life be thrown away. You’re a Yongsa.”
It was always like that.
I was always too slow to understand.
Unknowing, I leaped across the city’s rooftops, and the scene that unfolded before me was nothing short of horrific.
*I was never optimistic, but I never imagined it would be this bad…*
Amid a storm of shouts and gunfire, Uruk with no discernible armor were advancing in a frenzy.
A normal Uruk would falter if a bullet disabled the nerves in a limb, but these things…
“Shoot! Shoot them down!”
“There’s no end to them!”
“Da-da-dammit all!”
If a bullet severed the tendons in their legs, if a cannonball shattered their knees, they would crawl forward.
The moment they reached their target, by whatever means necessary.
The wicked sigil carved on their foreheads would glow with heat, and their bodies would explode.
Yes.
They were exploding.
The soldiers caught in the murderous heat were turned to charcoal.
Those nearby were drenched in the bloody aftermath of the explosion, and they melted away in agony amidst a corrosive sizzle.
“Gah, gaaaaah!”
“My… my eyes!”
The Tahup Clan’s Madmen Unit.
The Uruk had a custom of abandoning those born with deformities or those who lacked the aptitude to become warriors.
The chieftain of the Tahup Clan had reportedly gathered all these outcasts under his command.
He had then combined them with his dark arts, deploying them as these suicide commandos.
At the time, I had no way of knowing any of that. I just had to desperately try to read the situation calmly.
“M-Mom!”
“No, don’t! Stay back!”
Amidst the swirling volcanic ash, refugees were losing their minds, stampeding toward the coast.
The city streets instantly turned into a scene from hell.
An auditory chaos of ringing bells, gunshots, and whistles churned together.
Within that chaos, the cries of a strong man who had lost his child, a soldier who had dropped his gun, and children searching for their mothers pushed and pulled at one another.
─ Sipmunjado, Fourth Form: Release.
First, I prepare to draw.
I could see the madmen closing in right behind them.
And then, I saw a boy, standing guard over his fallen mother, raising a pickaxe.
─ Sipmunjado, Fifth Form: Sudden Assault.
A technique where I dash forward in a single bound, then strike the ground with my scabbard to control momentum, centrifugal force, and inertia.
A charging attack that channels the flow of all that power in reverse, infusing it into the blade.
As a line of crimson blood drew across the horizon, the madmen, their legs severed, tumbled to the ground and exploded.
“Are you all right?”
Perhaps he had prepared for death; tears welled in the boy’s eyes. His pants were soaked.
“You’re very brave. Take your mother and go, quickly.”
*You’re so much better than me.*
*I let my mother die.*
I thought they were heading for the coast as he helped his mother up, but a moment later, the boy’s shout reached me.
“Thank you so much, Yongsa-nim!”
I didn't know the proper way to respond.
Because I didn't know, I just glanced back and offered a salute. The boy’s mother bowed her head repeatedly.
Over their figures, an image of my mother and my younger self was superimposed. What a sad hallucination.
*There’s no time for hallucinations.*
*I’m in the middle of a battle. Read the situation.*
The madmen all had the whites of their eyes showing. They were drooling, too, as if they had no consciousness.
- *Dark arts always have a conductor. Remember that. In the future, how quickly you cadets can eliminate the caster will determine the tide of battle.*
The next moment, the Dragon’s Eye, which brings distant things into close view, found a faraway target.
It was the same caster who had caused the catastrophe at the wall.
This was my second encounter with Tahupkipel Ranikikan, though I couldn't recognize him at the time.
*He doesn’t seem like an ordinary caster…*
Unlike other chieftains, he wasn't large or imposing; he was just a hunchback with a grotesquely bent spine.
From the tip of the staff he used to command the madmen, human skulls dangled and swayed.
The bone armor covering his entire body… it was woven from human sternums. There must have been at least a thousand of them.
*Should I awaken the Dragon Spirit’s power now?*
No, I can't do that.
After using it for three minutes, I’ll be incapacitated for hours. What if he’s not the chieftain? What will happen to the right flank?
The moment my hesitation ended, the roof tiles at my feet shattered and flew in all directions.
My powerfully enhanced leg strength propels my body forward, shattering the roof.
To get behind him in an instant.
*Perfectly.*
Even the weight of the sudden stop was added to the centrifugal force, placing Aradamanthel on the perfect trajectory for a slash. I was certain of victory.
*I’ve got you.*
He couldn’t possibly mount a proper counterattack. Or so I thought.
—Blocked.
By a madman Uruk that had appeared out of nowhere, truly without a sound.
Aradamanthel, tracing an elegant arc of crimson, cleanly bisected the Uruk’s body.
But as I saw the sigil on its face remain intact,
BOOOOM…!
Its body exploded.
A flash of light and a cloud of smoke erupted, temporarily shutting down my senses of hearing and smell.
*It’s hot.*
*My skin feels like it’s burning.*
A shiver of death ran down my spine. Had it not been for the FakeWarrior’s body, that would have killed me.
When I swung Aradamanthel wide to clear the smoke, the caster had already retreated a fair distance.
And before him stood a wall of countless madmen. They were charging at me insanely.
Even if I cut them down again and again.
Even if I killed them again and again.
Even if I struck them down and they fell.
These madmen, devoid of fear, advancing mechanically and without end, were the natural enemy of a swordsman.
Just then, the Hyulere let out a booming laugh, and an icy chill shot through my body.
“Nu, nunununununueeet! For one such as you, whose very soul is tainted by the unholy blood of a flawed creation, there is not even a path to atonement!”
A shudder ran through me.
The moment I instinctively tried to draw on the Dragon Spirit’s power.
Madmen who had stealthily moved onto the roofs on either side leaped down upon me.
There were hundreds of them.
No, at a glance, it was closer to a thousand.
A wide swing of my sword that cut down a dozen Uruk was the last thing I did.
*Boom, boom, kaboom, kaboom-boom-boom…* a chain of explosions, loud enough to burst my eardrums, destroyed my hearing.
And as my vision, which had turned pure white, became tinged with a sickly yellow amid a pain beyond normal thresholds, every sensation in my body vanished.
A soldier who witnessed the storm of explosions screamed in terror.
“The… The FakeWarrior is dead.”