Chapter 247
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: A Less Optimistic View
"I'm not sure we can afford to be so optimistic."
Kramphus said.
"We've dumped over 50% of our total faith into this. And our production rate is lower compared to Hegemonia."
Im Chunsik nodded in agreement with Kramphus's words.
"Look at this. Hegemonia has been using Possession continuously, burning through faith. Possession doesn't consume as much as Incarnation, but even so, Hegemonia only used 20% while hopping around every minute."
Runda raised her hand and said.
"I have an idea."
As eyes turned to her, Runda continued.
"What if we kill the entity Hegemonia Possesses the moment it happens?"
AR1026 shot back.
"...If that were possible, we would've done it already. Hegemonia doesn't follow any special rules when Possessing. We can guess the location, but it doesn't target specific entities."
"But Possessed entities stand out with their actions."
"By the time we react, it's too late."
"I know, but if we can narrow it down to an area, we could target it with cannon fire or airship bombardment."
"If they know they're being targeted, they just won't Possess there..."
Seong-un placed both hands on the table and lightly tapped the tips of his fingers.
"It's not impossible."
Wisdom agreed.
"I'm not sure if I fully grasp Nebula's thinking, but from what I see, if we adjust the tide a bit, we could lure Hegemonia to a specific spot."
"Exactly."
"Who'll do it? You directly? Or me?"
Seong-un shook his head.
"If you or I do it, it'll be too obvious. Too precise. Have Aldin and Eldar handle it."
The two named players looked unhappy, but they carried out Seong-un's orders without complaint.
"Next, we need to deal a clear blow to Hegemonia. Even if it costs us right now."
"You mean we're okay with taking losses...?"
Seong-un pondered briefly before saying.
"Leave only 9% of the Pantheon's faith. Use the rest freely."
Wisdom responded.
"Then we can use 'Sanctuary'."
"Yeah, otherwise it's hard to counter Hegemonia."
Im Chunsik said.
"Hey, hold on. Hegemonia's one thing, but what about the rear?"
The players knew almost exactly how many troops the United Kingdom could field.
But the numbers for special forces were uncertain.
This meant Hegemonia might attempt a rear infiltration.
Seong-un replied.
"That should be fine."
"'Should be'?"
"Then I'll say it definitively."
Brushing off the question, Seong-un said.
"With delay tactics, even with the current momentum, we can hold until evening. Take care of things even without me."
Wisdom said.
"You sound like you're leaving somewhere."
"Right. That's why I'm standing."
The players looked at Seong-un.
Runda asked.
"Where to?"
Seong-un answered.
"Depends on the situation, but sooner or later, Hegemonia will head to the Rasdasil Ruins."
"You think it'll Incarnate?"
"Yeah."
Seong-un nodded.
"I'll take Hegemonia down myself."
"Are you alright?"
At the worried voice, Ramin Solost Muel opened his eyes.
Ramin tried to sit up hastily but groaned and flopped back down.
Looking up, he saw Gorgota Palu.
"Your condition wasn't good. Some wounds were critical. Honestly, I didn't expect you to regain consciousness this soon."
With his eyes closed, Ramin said.
"Where is this?"
"Rasdasil Ruins. The rearmost point of the battlefield."
After hearing Gorgota's words, Ramin pieced together the situation.
Cannon fire echoed in the distance, and lightning flashed in the eastern sky visible through the tent flap.
Looking around while lying down, Gorgota said.
"Stay lying down. We're waiting for transport airships to carry the wounded on Orzon."
"I'm not thirsty."
"We had blood stocked."
"For me?"
"We have other vampire soldiers too."
Ramin shook his head and sat up.
Slashed and torn wounds screamed, making his vision blur, but soon his consciousness sharpened again.
"Drinking blood helped. The wounds seem to have closed a bit."
"Really?"
"What do you know about vampires to doubt it?"
Gorgota shook his head.
But he fetched clothes for Ramin and helped him stand.
"My sword?"
"Why are you looking for your sword?"
Gorgota countered, but handed Ramin his sword anyway.
Ramin drew it, assumed a stance, and swung lightly.
Even simple motions pierced him with agony—it was partly bravado—but he could still move.
And strangely, vitality coursed through him, perhaps from the blood.
Ramin asked.
"What's the war situation?"
"It was fine until recently, but if Ground Staff HQ is getting urgent, things have probably turned bad."
Ramin nodded as if he'd expected it.
"Even the rearmost is dangerous here, right? The Enraged One's target."
"It might just be a temporary shift. The tide doesn't flip that fast."
"We abandoned the city floating in the skies that all continents envied. To the Empire, it's like discarding Orzon. For a swordsman, it's like offering your sword arm."
Ramin squinted with one eye, checking the blade's damage, and said.
"If they've sacrificed that much, they'll come with equal resolve."
"Greed?"
"More like conviction. How else would you bare your arm without believing you can stab their heart?"
As Gorgota moved to refute, gunfire rang out from outside the tent.
A soldier rushed toward Ground Staff HQ, shouting.
"Enemies! West side!"
The west was completely opposite the enemy's advance.
Ramin and Gorgota exchanged glances and dashed west.
A place where enemies appearing was nearly impossible, but in Lost World, no strategy was truly impossible.
'Fangs,' composed of the most seasoned members of the Teeth—special forces who were also priests of the Enraged One—had bypassed the Empire's scouting net by borrowing divine power to achieve superhuman physical feats.
Leading them was Arrega Rob, the Enraged One's seventh apostle, who assumed the Pantheon's players had withdrawn due to injuries.
He was battered from the fight with Ramin, but better off than Ramin, who was wrapped head to toe in bandages.
Arrega clicked his tongue upon confirming one Fang agent spotted by an Imperial scout.
"Even in the rear, they're guarding this far out?"
He couldn't afford to despair.
Even if the tide favored the United Kingdom, it meant the Enraged One couldn't challenge the major domain.
If they failed to breach the Empire's lines despite the improved situation, Arrega's mission was the final card to destroy the Rasdasil Ruins from the United Kingdom's perspective.
"Since we've been spotted, we attack now. Is the unit ready?"
The Fangs affirmed with silence.
The black-clad figures entered the Rasdasil Ruins.
'They've entered.'
Hegemonia confirmed Arrega Rob and the Fangs entering the Staff HQ in the Rasdasil Ruins.
Just over a kilometer from the rear defense line to the ruins' center.
Possessing one of those Fang agents immediately could work.
Couldn't collapse the ruins in 60 seconds, but if unopposed, they had the power to do it given time.
Hegemonia could perform near-miraculous feats even in ordinary soldiers' bodies because their level 31 stats reflected proportionally.
Perfect body control, perception of materials' hardness, strength, vector directions, and instincts understanding diverse creature emotions and behaviors followed automatically. For Hegemonia, miracles via individual soldiers weren't hard.
The problem: approaching that close risked easy detection by Pantheon's players.
The Enraged One was a god, but so were the enemies.
Killing a Possessed entity with domain power required substantial faith, and such counters would inflict heavy damage on Hegemonia.
Not as bad as Incarnation death, but Possession death penalties were no joke. At this level, definite level down and faith total reduction. War capacity drops.
Hegemonia's Possession-hopping to reverse the tide was itself a dangerous stunt.
'So play it safe as much as possible. No need for risks.'
Arrega and Fangs in the rear were one ploy.
Hegemonia judged steadily approaching while crumbling defenses would win the war. Might need direct power for the final step, but not yet.
Hegemonia narrowed his eyes, scanning the next shift.
'Retreating?'
The Empire's defense line edge pulled back before properly engaging United Kingdom forces.
Areas near apostle fights like Sal Kait, Rakrak, Ankar De, Redin—hard for UK entry—yet redirecting troops.
'Preserving forces safely to fortify the rear more?'
Not a convincing judgment, but Pantheon wasn't just Nebula fighting the war.
'Could be a sloppy call.'
Initially suspicious, now greed stirred.
Breaching that retreating line could create absolute advantage.
'...Alright.'
Awakening in a private orc soldier, Hegemonia prepared to charge the battlefield.
But an irritating itch on the nape forced him to look back first.
The orc-Hegemonia turned around.
The Pantheon's room called 'Sanctuary'.
Vast interior crammed with noisy boxes.
Boxes densely wired, emitting lights and beeps.
At Sanctuary's center sat a Lizardman.
No one in the Empire didn't know this Lizardman's name, but now no one was beside him.
Not even his close brothers.
The Lizardman seemed deep in thought.
Before him, a square monitor displayed Janggi pieces, Go stones, dice scattered wildly.
Some Janggi pieces unused in standard games, Go stones each named, dice from tetrahedrons to d20s.
After much deliberation, the Lizardman nodded as if realizing something and picked up a Janggi piece, moving it to the screen's upper side.
"The general!"