Chapter 122 – Chapter 21: Barbarians
General Vandal"s main force had been defeated.
General Vandal had come out to intercept the army of the barbarian king, but his purpose had been to stop the army and buy time. Over the last few days, his movements had been consistent with mild conflicts, rather than direct battles.
However, there was news that he had been defeated. This meant that a full-scale war had taken place, and General Vandal"s army had been seriously damaged while he escaped.
In-gong was reminded of the battle against the Red Lightning tribe. They had gone out to attack the enemy base, only to retreat after suffering great damage due to the emergence of the swamp mammoths.
Contrary to popular belief, ma.s.s casualties didn"t occur so easily in a complete war. The ma.s.sacre occurred mainly when an army was defeated and tried to escape. It was because they were easy opponents while running away. In the battle where the swamp mammoths had appeared, the army had acted pretty well. So, they hadn"t lost many troops while escaping.
If Vandal was defeated, it was important to know how he had been defeated. There were still many chances if the power of his army had been maintained. Additionally, General Vandal was also unharmed.
However, it wasn"t just that. There was a chance that large fatalities could occur, such as when the barbarians had been crushed by In-gong"s troops.
It was late at night, but it wasn"t midnight yet, and In-gong"s party and the key personnel were gathered together in a warehouse.
Carack laid out a large map on the table, and everyone"s gazes focused on the map. Carack moved a pen hurriedly.
"This is the pattern that General Vandal seems to have taken."
Evian"s seven bases could be divided into three major areas. Bases five, six and seven were in the north while bases one, two and three were in the south, and the fourth base was between the third and fifth bases.
The area Carack drew an X on wasn"t far from the third base.
“The news that General Vandal was defeated was conveyed from the third base. The barbarians hadn"t just defeated Vandal but also pushed toward the third base. Currently, the third base has fallen to the barbarians."
An additional X was drawn on the third base. Many of those looking at the map made pained faces. The fact that the barbarians had reached that far meant it was really bad.
“Is there no contact from General Vandal?"
Carack frowned at Felicia"s question.
“No, not yet. But considering the last contact and the situation with the third base, it is likely that his situation isn"t very good."
Carack drew a line from the third base to the second base. The distance between the two bases was so far that it was likely he was wandering somewhere in between.
“The last report from the third base was quite confusing. It seems like the situation is a mess."
Carack put up the short piece of paper sent through the communicator next to the map.
"General Vandal"s main force was defeated. We are unable to measure the scale of the damage. The third base will be taken soon. Many deaths have occurred. The barbarian king&h.e.l.lip; north?"
Seira frowned while reading aloud the short sentences on the piece of paper precisely. The sentences were beyond common sense.
“Was General Vandal"s army crushed to such an extent that it isn"t worth pursuing? T-this is General Vandal we"re talking about!"
Felicia cried out in an aghast tone. Caitlin also looked at the map with a worried face. Kaparang shook his head.
“This can"t be. It seems like some experts have split off to trace Vandal, while the rest have turned toward the north."
There was value in tracking him, but it was up to there. It seemed like more than half of General Vandal"s army had been defeated.
In the somber atmosphere, Caitlin opened her mouth,
“Kaparang, what is the reason why the barbarian king didn"t strike at base one or two?"
“Perhaps he is aiming for Takar."
"Takar?"
Kaparang nodded at the question. He pointed to the area around Evian on the map.
“Beyond the boundary, it is a barren land that can"t even compare to Evian. For the barbarians, even Evian is a good place to live. Even so, it is unreasonable to just take this place and live in it. If the barbarians occupy Evian, the Demon King"s Palace will move in earnest."
Kaparang took a deep breath, then he smiled.
“Your Highnesses, didn"t you partic.i.p.ate in the fight against the Red Lightning Tribe?"
Caitlin nodded at the question. It had only been a few months ago. So, In-gong remembered it well since it was his first battlefield.
Kaparang continued to explain,
“The same thing happened on the boundary, but the severity is different. Compared to the Red Lightning tribe, the barbarians are much greater in number and more dangerous. If the barbarians wanted to conquer Evian, the Demon King"s Palace would send the captains to stop them.”
The Demon World was wide, and the power of the palace was scattered all over.
The captains were the power of the Demon King"s Palace.
Moving them had a very heavy meaning. The army captains had the power to shake the heavens and earth and led tens of thousands of troops. There was no species in the Demon World that wouldn"t be afraid of them.
“In other words, the barbarians are focusing on destruction and looting, rather than a proper occupation. They can"t live on this land. So, they are aiming to break and obtain as much as possible."
Felicia added a supplementary explanation. Then Kaparang spoke again,
“Of course, the barbarian king has shown a power that"s incomparable to what he had before. Maybe the barbarians have a different idea this time. But if they choose to go north, then it"s likely they are after Takar. It is the best place to eat near Evian."
Caitlin was able to accept it since she had visited Takar directly. Takar had an enormous amount of wealth concentrated in it. They would be able to get more from Takar than from the whole of Evian.
"Is it due to General Vandal that they didn"t go to Takar from the beginning?"
Kaparang nodded at Caitlin"s question.
"Perhaps that isn"t all of it. Maybe they wanted to take control of the bases in order to hit Takar directly, instead of isolating Vandal.”
However, that plan had been cancelled due to In-gong. Even his allies had been surprised by the blitz attacks that allowed them to defeat the barbarians and defend three bases. It had probably been a huge surprise for the barbarians.
Alita spoke after a long sigh,
“In the end, there are two main points. Vandal"s shattered army is in the west, while the barbarian king is in the north."
Alita placed three models on the map. One was General Vandal"s army, another was the barbarian troops pursuing Vandal, and the last one was the barbarian king in the north.
Felicia frowned.
“We need to consider this. Their speed will be slow since they have a large army, but&h.e.l.lip; they are moving within Evian. They will reach here in three days or so."
It was highly likely that the barbarian king would go to the fifth base after pa.s.sing through the fourth. After reviewing the barbarian king"s antic.i.p.ated route, Felicia looked at In-gong.
"Shutra, what do you think?"
Every eye focused on In-gong after the question.
Three children of the demon king were gathered together, but it was clear who the leader of the army was.
Felicia and Caitlin a.s.sisted In-gong, but they didn"t come forward. Kaparang and Alita also respected In-gong, so they didn"t protest, let alone the leaders of the three bases who In-gong had saved.
In-gong gazed at the map and exhaled. He spoke in a determined voice,
“Abandon the fifth base and head south to save General Vandal."
"Your Highness?"
Diotima, the leader of the fifth base, was confused. It was unimaginable for her to abandon the base in the current situation. However, Caligula of the seventh base and Rothov of the sixth base were somewhat convinced as In-gong had already abandoned two bases.
In-gong explained to everyone,
"It is unreasonable to block the barbarian army at the fifth base with our current troops. It is a situation where we don"t know when the reinforcements from the Demon King"s Palace may come."
The walls of the fifth base were better than the walls of the sixth base, but they were still low. It was difficult to view it as a proper fortress. In this place, it was unreasonable to oppose the main army led by the barbarian king with only 2,000 troops.
Felicia nodded with a serious expression.
"If we take away all the supplies of the fifth base like we"ve done so far&h.e.l.lip; Well, the strong point of the fifth, sixth and seventh bases was their role as supply points. A base without supplies would just be called a sh.e.l.l."
Diotima was surprised when she heard that all the supplies would be taken, but she was the only one.
In-gong had already taken the supplies of the sixth and seventh bases. Apart from Felicia and Caitlin, no one knew what method had been used, but they weren"t surprised as it had already been repeated three times, starting from Takar.
Of course, even if all the materials were collected, the supply lines would still be cut off if all three bases were occupied.
However, before In-gong"s supplies would run out, the situation would change due to the Demon King"s Palace. Thus, there was no need to consider the long term situation.
“B-but if Your Highness throws away the fifth base, Takar will be in danger."
Diotima stuttered, and In-gong shook his head.
“There is a lot of distance between Takar and the bases. By the time the barbarian king"s army reaches Takar, we can already save General Vandal and head back. Then we will have enough power to face the barbarian king."
He didn"t think that General Vandal"s troops would have been slaughtered. It was likely that more troops had escaped.
"a.s.semble the remnants of the defeated army. Then create a main force once again."
“I know that the plan will take a lot of work. But&h.e.l.lip; for me, the soldiers of the Demon King"s Palace are more important than Takar."
It was a remark that might cause backlash, but all the people here were soldiers of the Demon King"s Palace. So, the leaders of the three bases were deeply impressed by In-gong who prioritized the lives of the soldiers.
"Your Highness&h.e.l.lip;"
Diotima said in a voice mixed with admiration. In-gong smiled back at her. Then Kaparang asked with a serious expression,
"Your Highness, the exact position and situation of General Vandal are unknown. Do you have any plans for this?"
How would he find General Vandal"s troops?
"Perhaps."
In-gong nodded, and Green Wind appeared. Thanks to her recovered strength, she had the same sacred and mysterious atmosphere like when he first met her at Enger Plains.
However, Green Wind was still Green Wind. She smiled brightly to In-gong as always, and he patted her head.
&
At the same time, each army was moving in different places.
Paratus escaped from Takar and collected the remnants of the barbarians who had been defeated by In-gong.
The barbarian king had already occupied the fourth base.
Paratus raided the seventh base with a strong army, but he was left with a blank expression when all he discovered was an empty base with no supplies left. He headed toward the sixth base, but the result was the same. Additionally, although Paratus didn"t know it yet, their hunger would continue at the fifth base.
While Paratus was going hungry, the barbarian king was preparing to leave the fourth base. His main destination was the fifth base.
It had been approximately a day and a half since In-gong received news of Vandal"s defeat.
Vandal was ready for the last fight of his life.
Chapter 123 – Chapter 21: Barbarians #2
Vandal had been born on the battlefield.
He didn"t know whether his mother had been a soldier of the army or a mercenary. Maybe she had just been a pitiful civilian. Anyway, she would have been an ogre.
Vandal was an orphan. He didn"t know who his father or mother was.
From the beginning, his father had belonged to the army of the demon king. He belonged to a group that could be called either mercenaries or warlords. Vandal"s memories of his childhood were faint, so he didn"t know anything more. Still, it was clear that it hadn"t been a regular army.
His life had been saved due to the mercy of the mercenary leader, and he had grown up under the care of all the mercenaries as their mascot.
Vandal survived due to the distinctive tough vitality of an ogre and their short childhood. Among the ogres, he was a particularly strong variant. Although an ogre"s childhood was short, he had almost no suckling days.
Vandal had been born and raised on the battlefield, so his life was filled with numerous battles. There had been favourable battles and unfavourable ones. There had been overwhelming battles in which ma.s.sacres had occurred and battles in which there had been a stalemate on both sides. Of course, Vandal had experience as both the slaughterer and the victim.
Numerous battles, numerous defeats and victories&h.e.l.lip; He had hundreds or maybe even thousands of those experiences, and some of those remained unforgettable in his memories.
It was the same for the battle several days ago.
It was a total failure. Among the many battles he had experienced as a general of the demon king"s palace, it was difficult to find a larger defeat.
Approximately 9,000&h.e.l.lip; That was the number of soldiers Vandal had led. He didn"t know how many of them lived or died. That fact alone explained how terribly he had been defeated.
The number of troops that Vandal was currently leading amounted roughly to 2,000 or so. Collecting the scattered soldiers would allow him to build a large unit, but the enemy didn"t allow it.
Thousands of enemies were chasing after him. However, they weren"t the barbarian king"s main army. They were only a part of the great army that the barbarian king had raised.
Vandal"s soldiers were exhausted. As usual, many dropouts occurred during the night. There were also some who were injured and some who died. Those who thought there was no chance of winning escaped as well.
Vandal, who was at the very front of his troops, moved to the rear of the procession. However, it wasn"t to monitor those who wanted to run away.
Vandal stopped in place and looked behind him. A dust cloud could be seen from far away. It was the desperate pursuit of the barbarian king"s troops after there had already been a few conflicts over the past few days. As expected, the scale of the pursuers was much larger than Vandal"s forces. He had lost strength due to the constant hara.s.sment over the past two days.
Vandal stretched and sighed, raising his head to the sky.
Despite having been defeated in the battle against the barbarian king, Vandal attached great importance to his survival. If the army commander lost their life, the army would be lost. In order to defeat the barbarians properly, he needed to survive and lead the troops.
However, it was different now. Vandal decided to be a commander on the front lines.
"No, it isn"t even that."
He was an arrow that had served the military since childhood—a meat shield sent out to die.
He had to prevent the enemy"s advance, raise chaos and make the situation a slightly more favourable for the soldiers fighting. The rewards for the barbarians would vary depending on the merits, and the best prize, General Vandal"s head, was right in front of them.
The dust cloud became a little bit bigger. The sound of horseshoes. .h.i.tting the ground could be heard.
Vandal"s ogre guards stood beside him. Among them, the orc who was Vandal"s deputy, Zico, was absent as he had died in the battle against the barbarian king.
Vandal took a deep breath and poured strength into his two hands which were holding a weapon. Due to the catastrophic battle against the barbarian king, his left arm wasn"t working properly. Its aura circulation wasn"t natural either, and there was pain in his right leg every time he moved.
How could he fight against the enemy in this state? However, this was the way Vandal had chosen to live his entire life.
Vandal was reminded of the mercenary leader who had been his idol in his childhood. The mercenary leader had been an orc, and he had used to say the same thing in battle,
"It"s a good day to die."
Vandal laughed. It was bulls.h.i.t. Was this that day?
"They"re coming."
Vandal said. There was a vacancy, so the now 23 members of his guards grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle.
There was more dust. The enemy"s shouting could now be heard as well. The screams and sounds of cavalry were indeed amazing.
Vandal roared as he faced the enemies. The roaring seemed to shake the heavens and earth as the cavalry rode on. Some horses panicked and dropped their riders.
Vandal laughed, and his aura rose up like flames.
"Go."
The situation was like this, and Vandal, his ogre guards and his soldiers rushed forward wildly.
&
Yakuzan was the chief of the Red Lightning tribe.
He held his weapon in his last fight, instead of running away. He had challenged Vandal, who was sweeping through the orcs.
"Kuhang!"
Vandal roared and wielded a large hammer. Before Vandal"s power, Body Hardening was useless. The barbarians. .h.i.t by the battle hammer exploded and died.
Vandal felt the battlefield with his entire body. He wielded his battle hammer towards the barbarians on both sides and found himself alone. He felt satisfied as his charge had disrupted the barbarians" formation.
Dozens of spears flew toward him. The ogre guards were nowhere in sight, but Vandal picked up a barbarian at his feet to use as a shield. However, there were too many spears, and the large spears mangled Vandal"s shoulders, arms and thighs.
As he threw himself at the barbarians, Vandal only protected his head. He moved through the barbarians with a pained roar and blended in with the enemies in order to interfere with the spear attacks.
However, the barbarians didn"t care about any damages to their allies. Among the barbarians, those with a particularly strong red aura around them threw spears.
This time, Vandal scattered aura from his hammer into the air instead of picking up another barbarian, and Vandal"s aura exploded into the sky, destroying the spears or twisting their trajectory.
“Ararararai!"
Vandal gave his ogre battle cry and rushed towards the barbarians with red energy. It was an unimaginable pace for a person with critical wounds all over his body.
The barbarians were trampled on by Vandal, and they died. The barbarians with red energy at the front couldn"t avoid or stop Vandal"s hammer. Like the other barbarian warriors, their bodies exploded and they died.
Vandal"s eyes shone, and the blue aura radiating from him was running wild.
However, a spear then pierced Vandal"s back. Vandal swallowed the pain and swung his battle hammer. He was about to hit the enemy who damaged him, but that was it. The barbarians with the red aura rushed in at once. They were many times stronger than the common barbarians, but they still couldn"t withstand Vandal"s strikes. Every movement made the spears which were already embedded in his body hurt even more.
Vandal put down the battle hammer and used his fists. Some of the barbarians lost their lives to his fists, but it was only for a short time. No matter how much vitality an ogre had, he was still a living being. He had lost too much blood. His life force was scattered, and Vandal"s movements became slower. He wasn"t able to exert his strength properly.
A few spears were sticking out of his chest, and Vandal coughed up blood. A barbarian before him paused for a moment, and Vandal swung a fist with all his strength. He crushed the face of the man and looked up at the sky.
“Ararararai!"
His last roar.
Vandal laughed excitedly. Instead of waiting for death like Yakuzan, he moved until the end. He raised his fist once again!
Kw.a.n.g!
The sound came from Vandal"s chest, not his fist. A red energy exploded at Vandal"s chest, and he fell to the ground. The barbarians ran over to Vandal and stabbed him with more spears.
"The end."
Vandal was lucky his heart wasn"t pierced, but he couldn"t go on anymore. With the last of his strength, Vandal squeezed the ankle of a barbarian who had stabbed him, and he stared up at the sky. Yes, there was a clear sky.
"It"s a good day to die."
Vandal thought and laughed bitterly. He closed his eyes.
Then a meteor fell from the sky. It was a dark blue meteor. It tore through the sky and exploded to Vandal"s right. A black and a white object revolved around Vandal and pushed all the barbarians away.
Vandal opened his eyes. His ears couldn"t hear properly, but his eyes were still fine. He saw the back of a white-haired man with a blue cloak. Vandal knew that back. Although the appearance was different from what he remembered, Vandal was able to recognize it with one glance.
"Why?"
Vandal opened his mouth. At the same time, In-gong, the meteor from the sky, raised his right hand which was holding a flag. He stuck it into the ground and shouted,
"Below the King"s Flag!"
Kwaaaaaang!
A pure white light exploded. The light coming from the flagpole soared into the sky and spread in a circle.
King&h.e.l.lip;
It was a king"s back.
In-gong didn"t look back at Vandal. Instead, In-gong looked straight ahead. He could feel the power of War from the red aura. It was the first time he had faced such a power, but he knew what it was instantly.
So, In-gong used Below the King"s Flag. He pushed back the power of War using Conquest, and at the same time, he gave Vandal"s soldiers in the vicinity the ability to conquer War.
"Conquer."
The woman with white hair whispered.
She said to him, "Conquer the power of War. Obey and rule!"
The War Knight wasn"t here, and the red energy was merely a remnant of that power. So, it was impossible for the power of a Conquest Knight to be stopped.
In-gong raised the flagpole of light from the ground once again, and the red aura covering the barbarians was peeled off by the shockwave of white energy.
"Shutra!"
Caitlin shouted from within In-gong"s arms. Due to the King"s Flag, she was wrapped in a white light.
In-gong released her from his arms, then he glanced at White Eagle and Black Eagle which were pushing the barbarians around. The barbarians were strewn all over the place, and In-gong and Caitlin had jumped alone into the middle of the battlefield.
At dawn on the day they heard about Vandal, In-gong had moved the troops of the fifth base to the south. He had predicted Vandal"s movement route and moved southwest diagonally, while Green Wind had searched from the sky. Instead of using Below the King"s Flag, he had concentrated on the mini-map and searched for Vandal.
By the time In-gong found him, Vandal had already been engaging in combat. In-gong had left Alita to lead the rest of the troops and held Caitlin in his arms. He had then moved ahead on White Eagle.
In-gong had been able to see more of the situation as he moved closer. Vandal had been in the middle of thousands of enemies.
However, In-gong hadn"t hesitated. Rather than being afraid, Caitlin had activated the quad-core and amplified their aura as well. Then they descended. He had used Night Watch"s ability to fly and arranged White Eagle and Black Eagle.
And now&h.e.l.lip;
In-gong made a quick judgment and pushed the power of War back with Conquest. He infused Earth Quaker with power, which started to emit angry cries, and activated Conquest again.
“Karma!"
Karma appeared behind In-gong after he used Call. She was surprised to find barbarians strewn around but soon understood why she was called. Before In-gong could call her name, she pulled the broken spears out of Vandal and started to cast special druid recovery spells.
"Master!"
Green Wind called out to In-gong and used Protection of the Wind. The green wind wound around In-gong and Caitlin, while White Eagle and Black Eagle continued spinning around him.
"9th Prince."
In-gong turned back at the quiet voice. The completely b.l.o.o.d.y Vandal was making an excited smile. Despite the fact that he was dying, he raised his hand slowly, extending only one finger.
There was no time. Conquest had pushed War back, but White Eagle and Black Eagle couldn"t block all the barbarians forever.
However, In-gong still approached Vandal. He grabbed the finger lightly like they were shaking hands.
That"s how things were.
The white light of Below the King"s Flag spread to Vandal, who nodded toward In-gong. In-gong let go of the finger and turned to Caitlin.
“Please look after Vandal and Karma."
“Leave it to me, and be careful."
"Noona as well."
The two exchanged a small smile and shared their aura through the quad-core. Caitlin stood beside Vandal with her white and blue aura, while In-gong called White Eagle and Black Eagle to him. A single white shield was placed on In-gong"s left arm.
The result caused a gap. The barbarians noticed this and shouted with glee. They rushed toward In-gong from all sides.
"Master."
Green Wind said. Caitlin"s aura was transformed into the dragon style in In-gong"s body.
"Dragon Blood."
Dragon style was then invoked&h.e.l.lip;
And all that power was devoured by one thing—
“Black Specter.”
In-gong chanted amidst the barbarians" roars.
With Violent Kaltein"s equipment, he triggered Night Watch"s super special move.