Gromkulde (3)
Of course, I was the undisputed strongest player of Elang Vitale in all of Berg. It's a tradition stretching back thousands of years from ancient Egypt that creators are good at their own creations. Just look at how that card-game kid nearly pierced my eye with a millennium needle, but like the creator who ran undefeated for ages. Sure, I didn't have any cheat ability to read minds, but even without that, I was strong. So, a challenge from the Ivory Tower Lord, Leonhard, wouldn't have been out of place if I'd reacted like, 'How dare this novice fresh out of the back hills challenge the exalted one? Crush the Ten Great Masters first before coming at me!'
Too bad I couldn't quite pull off that reaction, because my opponent was the Ivory Tower Lord. Considering the peculiarities of mages and his position at the pinnacle of them all, it was a bit hard to treat him like just anyone. 'But he did make one tempting offer.'
I'd been thinking I really needed to snag a mage from somewhere anyway. And then the top dog among them, a grand archmage, offers to become my exclusive mage if he loses to me? For free? Elang duel to win and turn a grand archmage into a magic-wielding Chun-sik versus risking getting roasted by challengers despite being the game's creator. Another challenge choice presented.
Anyway, win and repay the favor, right? Win and repay. With that mindset, I calmed down enough to accept Leonhard's challenge. The resulting matchup of Sword Master versus grand archmage wasn't a sweaty man-to-man clash with weapons in the training grounds, but on the Elang board.
The first set of the best-of-three proceeded with probing skirmishes, and it ended in my overwhelming victory.
"Gaaahhh!!"
Leonhard, having spectacularly botched the first game, let out a wail of agony. All while contorting his fairly handsome face in a way that was almost a shame to ruin. He writhed like he'd just lost a Shadow Duel.
As I cleared the remaining miniature pieces from the board, I said, "You're skilled at irregular maneuvers. But if you get too fixated on tricks and neglect the fundamentals, this is the inevitable result."
"Lies... My calculations were supposed to be perfect...!"
Once I tidied up the miniatures on the board, nothing was left. Well, I'd captured all of Leonhard's pieces, after all.
"Too fixated on tricks and neglected the fundamentals...?"
"The idea of breaking your forces into battalion-sized groups to force melee chaos was solid, but you had zero countermeasures when I focused on a single point."
Leonhard, commanding the monster faction, had dispersed his main orc forces organically and operated them like guerrillas from the forest zones, throwing down his gamble. Shake the enemy lines with orcs, then exploit gaps or protruding units with elite ogre- and troll-led strikes to seize momentum. Not a bad concept, but it fell apart if I didn't take the bait.
I wasn't panicking or flailing; instead, I counterattacked with knights and elites to pick them off piecemeal, delaying his force concentration until they got smashed without a single counter-engagement. Hmm, the Tower Lord likes sleight-of-hand tricks. I got a feel for his style.
Leonhard, slumped in his chair like a man who'd lost his soul, suddenly perked up. Whoa, life returning to that guy's body.
"Fixated on irregular plays to the point of ignoring fundamentals... A fresh evaluation. My deepest thanks for the Grand Duke of Berg's tutelage."
"No, I wasn't really trying to teach you."
"Then, before the second game, allow me one proposal."
"Proposal?"
"With my illusion magic, we could make Elang feel even more immersive. And you and I become the commanders leading our respective armies."
"Become the commanders?"
"My magic can transplant our abilities perfectly into the illusions, so how about we each lead our forces in a proper battlefield clash this time?"
Aha, Epic Heroes mode? I got the idea. Illusion magic to simulate a real battlefield vividly, with a variant rule making us epic hero pieces. Suited me just fine. I nodded immediately.
"Let's do it."
"First, though, we need to handle Your Highness's absurd mana reserves. Illusion magic is a type of sensory deception via optical illusion—it won't take hold unless we weaken the mana interference."
"Got it."
Without conscious effort, I dialed back the output of the aura enveloping my body. With a pop!, an illusion unfolded before my eyes.
"Impressive."
We'd just been sitting in my office moments ago, but the scenery had shifted seamlessly. A dense coniferous forest matching one of the map's terrains stretched before me. Observing from high above like a god's-eye view, I spotted orderly ranks of troops.
"So that's the feel."
Okay, I had it down. Unlike the first round, Leonhard moved cautiously, so I sortied my rangers. Leveraging their mobility advantage to scout terrain, exploiting the drawback that trolls and ogres made detection easy. Sure enough, mounted rangers weaving through the trees uncovered Leonhard's monster forces ambushed along a ridge line and huddled behind hills.
"Digging traps, huh. That's not how you play monsters."
A natural smirk crept onto my face. Amid that, a few orcs slipped away stealthily—probably bait. Monsters aren't played like that. My design intent for Elang was to stake everything on scouting, dragging foes into ambushes and melees. He showed talent, but failing to grasp the creator's intent meant deductions.
I had my rangers rain arrows to pin the bait unit, then spread my main force wide. Feigning retreat to lure them out with rangers as bait, I encircled the ambush site in reverse. Then, the knights' massed charge. Leading with the knights' monstrous breakthrough power via spearhead, I mercilessly shredded the orcs who hadn't even formed proper defensive lines.
As my illusion self—perfectly copying my abilities—led the charge, blood sprayed everywhere. An ogre blocking the path split in half from a casual sword swing, and aura-wielding superhuman knights pierced the depth of the monsters waiting in their traps.
"Gaaah! My ambush!"
Leonhard bellowed. Facing the knight breakthrough led by Sword Master me, his hero piece stepped forward.
"Urghhh!"
With Leonhard's grunt, his illusion raised its staff. Dozens of layered magic circles glowed with mana, drawing in surrounding ice and snow to form a massive ice mass—an astonishing sight.
Rumble.
The ice block soared skyward like a meteor, plummeting toward the knights disrupting the monsters. My hero piece promptly raised its sword. As the blade shed its steel form for an aura blade, brilliant blue aura like starlight surged forth.
"No way—you split my spell?!"
Swinging at the sky cleaved the ice in two, sending it crashing not onto the knights but harmless orcs. Replying to stunned Leonhard, "Putting ourselves in as commanders made it too favorable for me."
"......"
The ice crushed orcs on impact, followed by arrow barrages from high ground. Naturally, the monsters met another total wipeout ending. As the last orc collapsed with dozens of arrows in its body, the illusion faded.
In place of the god's-eye battlefield stood Leonhard, face like his soul had fled.
"Good attempt, wrong opponent."
"......"
Leonhard stared blankly, then muttered weakly, "Indeed... The empire's youngest Sword Master, not even twenty yet... The continent's strongest..."
"I win."
"Yes. I lose."
For someone who'd boldly challenged me to Elang, Leonhard shrugged cleanly at his utter defeat. "No issue. Even without losing, I planned to stay awhile."
"You planned to stay here anyway?"
"Didn't monsters with intelligence appear? Got curious, thought I'd study them. Anyway, a promise is a promise—I'll stay in Berg as your exclusive mage, no pay needed, for the time being."
"Ah, that angle. If you want, I can have rangers take you beyond the Great Wall on patrols."
"Perfect. But one condition."
"Condition?"
"Once a week, you must grant me a rematch challenge."
I nodded readily. "Once a week? Even once a day would be fine."
Decided. From now on, Leonhard wasn't the Tower Lord—he was my construction foreman. The project was already massive scale; time to put those skills to good use.
Emperor Giovanni was enjoying Elang with Ludwin Court Count while discussing aid for the north. Then, senseless violence struck the emperor.
Said violence: a personal letter from Estiang Berg requesting support.
Per the letter, it wasn't just intelligent monsters— an orc chieftain or even king had appeared. That orc had learned human tactics, and despite sacrificing two thousand as pawns in mere months, vast hordes lurked in the snow mountains and beyond.
Facing this unprecedented crisis, the old emperor's blood ran cold.
"Hmm."
The emperor let out a short groan.
Estiang Berg. Undefeated against northern monsters thus far. Ask any imperial who the empire's—or continent's—strongest knight was, and a hundred out of a hundred named him first. And now that man requested aid to rebuild the Great Wall entirely.
"War is ultimately waged by armies, is it not?"
"True enough."
The emperor nodded readily at the court count's words. Even if Estiang could single-handedly slaughter thousands, fighting potentially hundreds of thousands of monsters was another matter. No matter how strong, rampaging solo into the mountains to wipe out hordes and plant a flag was impossible.
"No matter how mighty the Grand Duke of Berg, one hand can't block ten."
"So we must respond to Berg's request... but, Your Majesty, aren't the aid items already decided?"
"He plans massive Great Wall reconstruction for a defensive line, so prioritize materials and food."
"How about candid discussion with the nobles?"
"With the nobles?"
The court count advised, "Unprecedented situation, and Berg's Grand Duke requests aid personally. Better than imagining the wall breached and tens of thousands of monsters marching south."
"They won't want to imagine that either, you mean."
"Bluntly, they lack grounds to oppose."
The emperor lowered his voice. "Then discreetly summon Duke Leste and Duke Iliad. Say I have confidential matters to discuss—they'll come running."
"If aid to the north is settled, better to share the burden than bear it alone."
"Indeed. As long as Berg holds, it won't breach, but we must prepare for if. After Berg falls, it's their turn."
"Understood. I'll send discreet messengers to the two dukes."
"Discussions first. What drudgery at my age."
The old emperor's chest ached. Sighing, he pressed his wrinkled eyes with his fingers.