Chapter 279: Signal (7)
Chapter 279: Signal (7)
Translation: Godtl
Selena wiped away her tears.
She still had work to do—she couldn't just keep crying.
Selena approached Hagley.
"Hagley."
"......"
Hagley simply glared at Selena in silence.
The paralysis had already spread throughout his entire body, leaving him unable to move even a finger.
Though it hadn't reached his internal organs yet, it was impossible for Hagley to use any other tricks in his current state.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Selena placed her hand on Hagley's shoulder.
"W-what... are you... planning...?"
Even speaking had become difficult. His mouth was stiff, and his tongue was numb, making his words slurred. Even this was humiliating for Hagley.
"You are the core of Manggot."
"......!"
Hagley could feel it—Selena was tracing the shadow paths connected to him.
"Being the core of Manggot means, quite literally, that all the key members of Manggot are connected to you."
"Even if... you know that... what does it... matter...?"
Shadow transference requires a pre-established connection.
Under normal circumstances, the shadows linked to Hagley's other associates would have nothing to do with Selena.
However.
"There was a time when I pushed myself too far," Selena suddenly said.
"It was a reckless act—transferring both a person and a horse at the same time."
Hagley's eyes widened at her words.
Back then, Selena had taken Malia and the famed steed Cassian to Yeranhes, bringing them all the way to the Barrier of Yeranhes.
It was a forbidden technique of Manggot. Transferring unrelated individuals who weren't connected through shadows placed an extreme burden on the caster.
After that single attempt, Selena's physical condition deteriorated to the point where it resembled Frondier's state after suffering mana exhaustion twice.
And even after that, she had frantically used transference to coordinate with Frondier, leaving her completely drained after the battle.
"But thanks to nearly dying like that..."
Selena's mana surged.
Her subdued gaze seemed to peer into the 'depths' behind Hagley, distant and unfathomable.
"...I gained a deeper understanding of transference."
Selena, who had succeeded in transferring unrelated individuals through shadows.
Afterward, she became capable of interfering with shadows that weren't connected to her own.
'...Even so, I wasn't entirely confident I could pull it off until recently.'
When Selena had entered the Round Table meeting.
She hadn't particularly liked the clothes she was wearing, but they had given her one advantage.
While bowing her head and listening to Belphegor's words, she had carefully observed the shadows of the Shepherds seated around the Round Table.
If they had been more attentive, they might have noticed, but Selena had moved with extreme caution—and, more importantly, she had only examined the shadows of the Shepherds who were too preoccupied with their own bodies.
But for this to be possible, there was naturally one more hurdle she had to overcome.
"Y-you... me..."
She had to meet Hagley.
Just as Hagley had been waiting for Selena, Selena had also been searching for Hagley.
"...I'm going now, Hagley."
Her hand resting on Hagley's shoulder.
Selena's gaze, looking down at him quietly, seemed tinged with sorrow.
"I wanted to believe in you."
"......"
"I didn't care what happened to the Empire. That's why I believed in the power of Manggot—what you call Karma Fire."
"......"
"But now, I can't do that anymore."
Hagley tried to say something in response, but his paralyzed mouth couldn't form a single coherent word.
And then, Selena vanished.
Just before she disappeared, Hagley saw a chilling murderous intent flicker in her eyes.
Arrows split the sky, blades and claws flashed between the two clashing forces, and massive boulders and spells rained down from the heavens to the earth.
The Northern Barrier. The battle had surpassed grandeur—it was deafening.
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
"Don't let a single one get through!"
"Raaagh! I'll smash your skulls in!!"
Shouts and curses filled the air, and in that moment, nothing mattered except survival and victory in the war.
Angper, assigned to his post, stood atop the Barrier.
When it came to taking down the 'birds,' his sword strikes were far more effective than arrows or magic.
His divine blade, capable of cutting down enemies regardless of distance, was the most suitable weapon for bringing down the winged creatures.
But in exchange for abandoning the defense of the barrier, damage continues to accumulate upon it.
The northern front, where the Empire faces the largest onslaught of monsters.
Yeranhes, which suffered particularly severe damage last winter.
May, who left without using Restore.
The culmination of all these factors.
"......As expected."
Angper's eyes, stationed atop the barrier, shift to the right. His gaze sinks heavily.
"The time has come."
Boom! Craaash!
Like a tidal wave, the monsters surge forward. Gradually, creatures crawling from the deepest depths—ones of a different caliber—cling to the barrier, and then—Craaack!
Finally, from the perspective of the monsters and Manggot, at long last—
"Ah, aah...... Aaaaah!!"
"N-no! Stop them, we have to stop......!"
Amidst the soldiers' screams and despair, the barrier collapses.
"Hold the wall!!"
One knight shouts, but even faster, the mages begin their chanting.
Crrrack!
A massive block of ice fills the shattered gaps in the barrier.
"Grrgh!"
Yet the hastily erected ice wall is far too weak compared to the original barrier.
It has no means to withstand the renewed assault of monsters. The mages continue pouring mana to reinforce the ice, but the rate of destruction far outpaces their efforts.
"L-Lord Angper! The wall has been breached!"
A knight rushes to Angper and cries out.
"Yes, I see it."
"Give the order, quickly!"
But Angper shakes his head in response.
"I am not the one to give orders."
"W-what? What do you mean?!"
Angper has been receiving periodic reports.
The state of the Empire's barriers as a whole, which areas are most critical.
And based on the soldiers' reports and communications, the most urgent location is right here—the northern front.
Since this is a barrier where 'Restoration' is not used, this outcome was nearly inevitable.
Thus—
"My wife will be the one to give the orders."
Angper is merely acting 'as predetermined.'
"The best outcome is the barrier not collapsing. But the probability of that is low."
Frondier spoke within the room Osprey had led him into.
"As Her Majesty the Empress said, if I am to be considered a single spear aimed at Manggot—"
Frondier manipulated Black Heaven to mark the Empire's barriers and Manggot's position, then drew an arrow. It was an overly simplified, makeshift representation—hardly a proper map.
"We must prepare for the possibility of failure."
"......"
At those words, everyone's expressions darkened.
But Frondier shook his head.
"Failure isn't just my death."
"......Then what is it?"
"Simply put, the barrier collapsing before the spear reaches the enemy's heart. That, too, would mean the operation has failed."
Frondier's plan has a countdown.
A countdown until the barrier collapses.
If this expires, even if Frondier pierces Manggot's heart, it cannot be considered a complete success.
"From the Empire's perspective, we must assume Frondier doesn't exist from the start."
Aten spoke, and Frondier nodded.
"Practically speaking, that's correct. My operation cannot be the Empire's overall strategy."
"Frondier, what are you trying to say? That even now, we should abandon parts of the Empire and shrink the barrier?"
If Frondier's plan is disregarded, the Empire's success in this war would mean defending entirely against the monsters and Manggot with their own strength.
Given the current barrier deployment, that is unrealistic.
At this, Frondier looked around at everyone.
"......I have one proposal."
All eyes gathered on him.
"If you accept this operation of mine as 'the Empire's operation.'"
"......!"
Philly was the first to grasp the meaning, her eyes widening.
In other words, the entire Empire would cooperate to thrust forward this single spear—Frondier. That was the implication of his words.
"There is a way to slow the countdown and deal with the enemy more effectively."
"What is it?"
"Assume from the start that the barrier will break."
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion, and Frondier pointed to the barrier he had created.
"I possess a magic called 'Restoration.' Lord Ludwig, who was with me in Tyburn, would know."
Ludwig nodded at this. The astonishing sight of the barrier rewinding and restoring itself was still vivid in his mind.
"And in truth, I've already constructed that magic into a magic circle."
"W-what?!"
It was Osprey who was shocked by those words.
Magic Circles aren't something that can be created for every type of magic. Particularly for spells where intuition is crucial, the efficiency of Magic Circles drops significantly.
Take, for example, Ludwig's 'Chain Lightning'—its power and consistency vary depending on his condition, mental clarity, and even a bit of chance.
Creating a Magic Circle for such a spell is inherently difficult, and even if one were made, its effectiveness would undoubtedly be inferior to casting the spell directly.
Yet, he claimed to have created a Magic Circle for the grand spell 'Restoration'? And had already installed it?
However, Frondier calmly nodded and continued speaking.
"I will activate the Magic Circles sequentially from the east and stop at the north. This has three effects. First, it will mislead the enemy into thinking I'm at the Barrier. Second, it will lure the enemies toward the north."
Of course, the real second effect was to draw in enough of Manggot's forces to enable shadow transference to Mei.
"And third, it allows us to decide which part of the Barrier will break first."
"......Ah!"
At those words, everyone nodded in understanding.
In a situation where all parts of the Barrier have been restored, leaving only the severely damaged Northern Barrier unrepaired—it's obvious which part will collapse first.
"The enemies will witness the Barrier being repaired in a clockwise direction. Manggot is positioned in the west, so realistically, they'll target the north rather than the east, which would require them to circle all the way around. Their attention will naturally be drawn northward."
And if the Barrier breaks, their focus will instantly converge on the north.
"Manggot will use shadow transference to secure victory. Even if not their entire force, it will still be a substantial number."
The crux of this war lies in how Manggot attacks.
Rather than simply overpowering them with brute force, we must pay even closer attention to their movements.
"Then, we strike in that gap."
Frondier's eyes gleamed sharply.
Just as Frondier predicted, Manggot's shadow transference begins.
Manggot's forces gather toward the north. The astonishing range of shadow transference allows them to swarm the north in an instant.
However.
The swelling numbers are merely an illusion—they've only converged.
—The first to appear will be the two arrows I shoot.
At the Northern Barrier, where Manggot's forces hastily gather.
Right toward that point.
Swish—
Two faint lines streak silently across the ground.
One originates from the Barrier, the other from Manggot's forces.
Slash—
Thud, squelch!
Wherever they pass, lives are severed one by one, moving on to the next shadow, and the next, instinctively targeting the areas with the highest concentration of shadows.
Result.
Pat!
Mei and Selena appear simultaneously among the northern shadows.
"......?"
"??"
For a brief moment, the two freeze upon seeing each other.
They exchange glances that ask, 'Who are you?' but—
They simply perform their roles.
"Gah, aaaargh!"
"Kyaaaah!!"
Blood sprays and limbs scatter among Manggot's ranks.
Screams beget more screams, and the forces that arrived via transference plunge into chaos.
No one expects the moment they shadow-transfer to their allies to be the most dangerous.
A massacre born of complete complacency.
Selena, an assassin who has reached the pinnacle of her craft, and Mei, who has mastered every technique through relentless training, cut them down without mercy.
But these two alone cannot slaughter all of Manggot.
Once the element of surprise fades, facing Manggot—who are accustomed to battling the monsters of the Outside—in an all-out fight would be difficult for just the two of them.
Thus.
—Next.
From the very beginning, beyond the Barrier,
Those who had not participated in the battle held their breath, waiting for their moment.
"......Confirmed."
A man at the forefront answers a call, then hangs up.
"Lady Malia's orders have been issued."
—We need the Empire's strongest knight order.
A chilling aura radiates from the forest, their gazes sharp.
They had been forbidden from joining the Barrier's defense, forced to endure with all their might while watching soldiers and knights perish.
Their wrath had already reached its peak.
"We shall become the Empire's flames."
As he spoke, Knight Commander Silvain drew his sword.
With his left hand.
"Roah Knight Order——!!!"
Shing—!
In unison, blades are unsheathed, and the knights' eyes lock onto Manggot's forces gathered beyond.
A killing intent so overwhelming it could slaughter men with its mere presence surges forth.
"Wipe them out!!!"
Having waited for the opportune moment, the Empire's strongest knight order finally charges.
Their claws begin to tear across the ground.
Toward Manggot.
Toward the Karma Fire—becoming the Karma Fire themselves.