Chapter 252
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Supply Line Annihilation
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Food supplies are a vital resource in any war.
With that in mind, the escorts protecting the supply wagons were considerable in number, but most of them were suddenly ensnared by sprouting wooden vines and neutralized in an instant.
Of course, some had managed to dodge the ambush.
They drew their sword auras in unison, ready to charge on horseback at a moment's notice, while the mages prepared spells to intercept me immediately.
But in focusing on me, they completely overlooked the other one.
This was a place where we could rampage freely without worrying about bystanders.
They were the enemy forces. In other words, all of them had to die.
Those staring at me noticed something off and looked up at the sky with startled faces.
"Something's falling!! Defensive magic—?!"
It was already too late.
Luna, wearing the Hand of Fury—an armament from a legion commander-class angel—was descending with butterfly-like grace.
"Tsk..."
KABOOOOOM!!!
Like a massive meteor crashing down
The explosion roared like a colossal meteor striking the earth.
The Hand of Fury, the armament of a legion commander-class angel that she wielded, possessed the power of distortion.
The punch she threw into the empty air warped and twisted the entire space, crushing everything within range.
The defensive barriers hastily erected by the mages tore apart like paper without even putting up a fight.
The wagons carrying rations and supplies, the soldiers, knights, and mages in the blast radius—all of it.
It was impossible to believe that such explosive force came from a slender girl.
"Wh... what the hell is...?"
The survivors were few and far between.
I casually snapped my fingers, igniting flames amid the wreckage of the wagons and burning it all to ash.
Then I approached the survivors, who had already lost the will to fight in that short time.
"Y-You... who the hell...?"
"The eldest son of House Cascadia in the Kingdom of Barta. Leon Cascadia."
"Gasp?!"
Cascadia. Barta. The mention of those names filled their faces with shock.
"Figured I'd at least explain why you're dying."
Slash!!
With a gruesome slicing sound, the heads of the remaining survivors flew into the air simultaneously.
As the bloodied tip of my return stroke halted, red droplets splattered onto the ground.
"Sorry for making you kill unnecessarily."
"It's fine. I'm no longer a pure angel but a fallen being now."
"Let's move."
She nodded quietly at my words.
I couldn't care less what preparations Koral and the East Continent had made this time to restart the war so boldly.
What mattered now was that they'd poked the hornet's nest.
And proving that this reckless guerrilla tactic—possible in theory but practically improbable—was actually feasible for the current Kingdom of Barta.
Asymmetric warfare, perhaps.
Sword Masters were often called strategic weapons.
Because the tide of battle could shift dramatically with just one joining the fray.
But even a Sword Master couldn't pull off what I was doing right now.
Sword Masters didn't exist only in Barta, after all.
Besides, a Sword Master's capabilities alone couldn't easily disrupt and tangle enemy operations across the country at high speed.
So they'd grown complacent.
Not realizing that our side's tactical nukes had already surpassed those standards.
After utterly demolishing the food convoy, Luna and I leisurely entered a secluded cave and spread out Koral's map.
Maps weren't easy to obtain as strategic assets, but with Barta's intelligence network, it wasn't hard.
"Taking out just this one won't cut it. Next target is here."
Cravan Plains.
Like the Balt Plains, it was one of the breadbasket regions producing food to feed their troops.
Having already lost one supply convoy, Koral would no doubt pour extra guards into the Cravan Plains escorts.
"If we smash the Cravan Plains convoy? Then what?"
"They've probably prepared thoroughly, so they won't stop easily. Next, we'll hit the weapon depots and artifact production sites."
And if they kept charging like madmen after that, only one target remained.
"Koral's royal family comes after."
Striking the royal family directly would be fine, but our primary goal was to sow discord between the East Continent and the Kingdom of Koral.
"Ready to move out whenever you're set?"
"Before that."
Luna turned her head to look outside the cave.
We hadn't bothered hiding our tracks from the start.
Our style wasn't stealth—it was blatant sabotage.
"Surround them!! Mages, set up the anti-barrier! Knights, advance to the front!!!"
A massive force had encircled the cave where we were holed up.
Likely nobles governing the Balt Plains who'd tracked us down.
It was inevitable.
After all, we'd torched rations meant to sustain their army for the long haul. To the supply officers, we were prime targets to capture and torture.
Failure in logistics during war never ended well.
Luna and I stepped out of the cave without any particular countermeasures.
After a flash of bright light, what emerged was an overwhelming army blanketing the forest, surrounding the cave—too vast to count.
Archers hidden behind great trees with bows drawn, mages prepping spells from behind shields.
Knights poised to charge, swords thrust forward.
"To dare... ambush a convoy? You've gone mad with a death wish. Surrender without resistance and accept judgment."
Amid them, a man in conspicuously shining armor pointed his sword at us threateningly.
"What are you waiting for?! Take down these damn brats right—!"
Thud...
His words never finished.
His head, shouting so boldly, soared through the air and crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
Shing...
My bloodied sword, Electra, hummed with a chilling ring, leaving a red trail.
"No way. This all you got?"
At my question, they shuddered with an inexplicable chill.
It wouldn't take long for all their lives to flicker out.
There were plenty of Experts, but without a single Master, they posed no threat.
As the impossible guerrilla war dragged on, Koral began bolstering protections for their follow-up units.
It started when we ambushed the convoy carrying weapons supplies.
No sooner had we struck the wagons loaded with munitions bound for the front lines than a horde of mages appeared as if lying in wait.
Moreover, much of the cargo wasn't weapons or gear but an enormous quantity of magic stones, as if preparing for something big.
According to Barta's intel, it was supposed to be a weapons and armor convoy. Where'd the info leak?
With my hood still up, they hadn't fully identified me yet.
"The rats are here!!! Activate the magic formation!!"
With that, a massive spell enveloped the area.
They'd put some thought into this, huh?
There were two main reasons a Sword Master—strategic weapon though they were—couldn't wage war like I was.
First, guerrilla tactics became tricky the moment the enemy had their own Sword Master.
Second, situations like this could always arise.
Losing one to a risky op would be a massive strategic blow.
The magic formation unfurled as if awaiting me, intertwined with the East Continent's formations.
Fused with formations, it disrupted my mana and aura flows.
Honestly, it just dulled efficiency. I could brute-force through with endless output, but gauging the enemy's hand was crucial.
Shaman-like figures overlaid rituals on the formation, muttering unintelligible chants, and its effects slammed into Luna and me.
"They're neutralized!! Move in!!"
I glanced at Luna at their shout.
"How's it feel?"
"No effect on holy power."
Checking myself, elemental mana and aura were hampered, but that was it.
My spirit energy was fine, and the Machine God's heart showed no issues.
Still, pinpointing and suppressing specific powers like this was dangerously advanced.
How'd they pull off this setup?
In thought, I noticed all the knights wearing identical artifacts.
"Gotta check that out."
I strode toward them as they nocked arrows.
"Frankly, two people causing this chaos is miraculous. Surrender now, and I'll spare your lives. I can promise you more than Barta ever could under Koral."
A Master-level leader proposed to me.
Meaning: surrender and join Koral.
I flipped back my hood, revealing my face, and some flinched.
"Th-That guy's...!?"
"You know him?"
"Leon Cascadia!! The monster of House Cascadia!!"
Word of the border incidents had spread.
"Then that one beside him... Countess Melissa Cascadia, perhaps?"
"Wrong."
Luna playfully flipped her hood, and many recoiled at her appearance.
But she ignored them, telling me calmly.
"Clever method, but not versatile enough for widespread use. They predicted we'd hit here and set a proper trap."
Good to know.
"Resistance is futile. Do you know who you're dealing with here?"
As he spoke, presences hidden all around asserted themselves strongly.
At least thirty high Experts. Five Masters, four seemingly from the East Continent.
They'd prepared hard. Dead set on wiping out Barta.
Barta currently had just one Sword Master.
Koral had more, but one died at the border.
With East Continent might added to that precarious balance, Barta's odds were near zero.
This confirmed the front lines hadn't gotten East Continent troops yet.
Whatever they were prepping, the war declaration was Koral solo, with East Continent joining later.
"Time to thin the herd here."
"What?"
The man threatening us ignited a brilliant aura blade at my calm voice.
"With your aura and mana sealed, what can you two do against five Masters?"
"If aura and mana are the issue, then I just won't use them."
I pulled a warhammer from my subspace and held it up at his question.
"I can use this instead."
"Open."
[Utopia]