Ghislain had assigned Jero a specific task.
– They’ll definitely leave so of their forces behind. Find them and slow them down, no matter what.
This was a job Jero was uniquely suited for.
With his Enhanced Vision Magic, he could see further than anyone, and with his Spatial Movent Magic, he could strike and retreat at will.
Jero moved tirelessly toward the predicted location Ghislain had provided. The distance was significant, but he had to locate the enemy as quickly as possible.
“Found them. They’re really here.”
After days of travel, Jero finally discovered the Atrodé forces.
The number of places suitable for the Atrodé Army to station themselves was limited. While they could currently hide, they’d eventually need to spread out and advance.
Ghislain had anticipated this, so finding them hadn’t been as hard as expected.
“She said I need to pin down at least two groups.”
His plan was to create havoc here, then quickly move on to the next legion.
Finding the other legions wouldn’t be difficult now; he’d already spotted the direction of their ssengers.
Frankly, Jero didn’t understand the broader strategic implications of this plan. Ghislain handled all of that. His job was simply to carry out his orders as best as he could.
“Hmph!”
His vision expanded, and he clearly saw the enemy formation. At the rear, he spotted soone who looked like the commander.
Ziiiing—!
The space around Jero rippled as it swallowed his body. Monts later, he appeared right in front of Count Vipenvelt.
BOOOOM!
As soon as he arrived, Jero unleashed his mana, but it was blocked. Naturally, they wouldn’t be so easily caught off guard.
The elderly man standing in front of Jero radiated an aura stronger than anyone he had faced before.
Troops began surrounding him, and a Mana Barrier spread throughout the area, suppressing Jero’s abilities.
But that didn’t matter. He wasn’t here to risk his life in a final stand.
Ziiing—!
Enormous Mana Blades surged into Jero’s hands.
Grinning, Jero muttered, “I’ll just play with you for a bit.”
BOOM!
Jero shifted to the side in an instant, slicing through a mage who was maintaining the barrier.
At the sa ti, the priests rushed toward him.
“You insolent fool!”
CLANG!
Jero blocked the priests’ attacks and retreated. He had no intention of seriously fighting the superhumans.
Instead…
CRACK!
“AAAAAH!”
He focused entirely on killing knights, mages, and soldiers.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Wide-scale spells would’ve been ideal, but the enemy mages were quick to unravel his spells just before they activated.
‘A 6th-Circle mage. There are so skilled ones here.’
Jero could force his spells through, but the resulting power wouldn’t be worth the mana cost.
Instead, he focused his magic internally. This flow of mana wasn’t outwardly visible, making it harder for others to interfere.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Jero’s martial arts were also exceptional. His Mana Blades sliced through nearby enemies indiscriminately.
He moved so fast that the enemy formation crumbled, casualties piling up by the second.
“Fall back! Get out of the way!”
The priests quickly realized Jero’s intent. They surrounded him, knowing only superhumans could handle him.
Wearing an irritated expression, Jero clicked his tongue.
“Tch.”
Their swift response forced him to engage with the priests.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Despite fighting six priests simultaneously, Jero didn’t falter. Gatros watched, his expression darkening.
‘This bastard…’
Even under the suppressive mana field, Jero fought like a true superhuman. Though their mages weren’t at full power, this was still remarkable.
Gatros had heard that Jero had held back Helgenique’s undead army for a long ti. He’d assud Jero managed this through wide-scale magic.
But seeing his raw combat ability firsthand was another matter entirely.
His martial arts were uncharacteristic for a mage, and the priests, lacking combat finesse, struggled to keep him contained.
BOOM!
Each ti Jero broke free, he struck down a mage or knight, weakening the barrier.
With every fallen mage, the Mana Barrier grew weaker. Jero’s Mana Blades grew stronger in turn.
Unable to stand idly by, Gatros stepped forward.
“This one’s no ordinary opponent!”
At this point, Jero’s combat ability rivaled that of the Battle Saintess. If anything, he was even trickier to deal with.
“Step aside!”
BOOOM!
Gatros charged forward, swinging his hand at Jero. Jero raised his arm to block.
THUD!
Their energies collided, rippling through the area.
“Priests, spread out and contain him!” Gatros shouted.
The strategy was clear: Gatros would handle Jero directly, while the priests protected the troops.
Jero smirked, clicking his tongue.
“You moved faster than I expected. I wanted to cause a bit more trouble.”
“Arrogant fool. You die here.”
THUMP!
A dark aura surged from Gatros’s entire body, overwhelming Jero under the suppressive barrier.
“Shall we keep going, then?”
Grinning, Jero swung his Mana Blades.
CLANG!
Gatros blocked the attack and retaliated with ferocious speed. The two clashed, moving so quickly they were barely visible.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The surrounding troops scrambled to avoid the aftershocks of their battle.
Even the priests seized every opportunity to unleash their power when they saw an opening.
Jero realized that if this continued, he’d be in real danger. Gauging his remaining mana, he made a decision.
‘I need to retreat. Pushing further here is aningless.’
His goal was to escape the Mana Barrier. If he could break through its edge, he could fully teleport away.
‘Heh, I’ve been training sothing new for this.’
His ti spent in the Mobile Workshop had paid off.
He had developed unwavering concentration and the endurance to repeat actions endlessly—much like Alfoy’s mastery of mana manipulation.
Now was the ti to show the results of that training.
Focusing all his mana, Jero located a gap in the barrier.
“Blink.”
FLASH!
The mana rearranged itself, forming coordinates for his escape. Jero’s body shimred as he teleported.
Grinning widely, Jero shouted, “Alright, I’ll take my leave! See you next ti!”
If he used Blink a few more tis, he’d escape the barrier entirely.
But…
“Huh?”
Gatros stood just a few paces ahead, and the troops were still surrounding him.
He hadn’t moved far. The mana had failed to fully arrange itself, forcing Jero into the nearest safe spot.
Jero scratched the back of his head awkwardly, forcing a laugh.
“Haha… You guys are pretty good.”
The Mana Barrier was denser and stronger than expected. The Atrodé Army’s 6th-Circle mages and priests had successfully blocked his escape.
Gatros tilted his head, glaring at Jero.
The Ruthanian forces were always full of strange individuals. To lose against such people and be forced to flee had left Gatros boiling with anger.
“Kill him.”
At Gatros’s command, the priests charged again, murderous intent radiating from their bodies.
“Damn it!”
Jero abandoned Blink and sprinted. If he couldn’t teleport, he’d escape on foot.
“Out of my way!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Jero struck down troops as he fled, but Gatros’s pursuit was relentless.
“This bastard!”
“Guh!”
BOOM!
Gatros’s attack struck Jero from behind, forcing him to turn and defend.
The two resud their clash, with Jero steadily retreating. Every so often, he attempted a Blink to widen the gap.
Though the distance was small, it worked. He was slowly pulling away from their formation.
Just then, Count Vipenvelt’s voice rang out.
“Stop and return at once!”
Vipenvelt had seen through Jero’s plan. The enemy was simply trying to delay them.
This confird to Vipenvelt that his strategy was correct. He couldn’t waste ti on insignificant nuisances.
Hearing the command, Gatros and the priests hesitated. Jero seized the opening, fleeing at blinding speed.
“Tch.”
Gatros clicked his tongue. Jero’s abilities had been too great to kill quickly.
‘That bastard will keep causing trouble. We should’ve killed him here.’
But it was too late. The enemy had already escaped.
Count Vipenvelt turned to Gatros, his expression cold.
“They’ll keep trying to stall us, but it’s a desperate move. They’re growing anxious. We must press on imdiately.”
“Fine. We’ll do as you say.”
The battle was left to Count Vipenvelt’s judgnt. Frustrating as it was, his words were logical.
They began reorganizing, but it took ti. The casualties Jero had inflicted—especially among the mages—had been significant.
As Vipenvelt watched his forces regroup, his expression darkened.
‘Duke Fenris, you must’ve anticipated this. But you won’t be able to respond in ti. The other legions have already departed.’
In the end, Jero’s interference had only confird Vipenvelt’s confidence.
This war would co down to speed.
“Move out! Full speed ahead!”
After a brief pause to regroup, the 1st Legion charged forward like a storm.
***
Count Jairus, the commander of the Atroth 4th Corps, knew the ti had co.
“So, the 1st Corps has moved.”
“Yes, sir. You and the 2nd Corps will handle one direction.”
At the ssenger’s report, Count Jairus nodded.
He didn’t know whether the Fenris Duke or the Crown Prince of Turian would be in his path. But it didn’t matter—one of them would be there, and they had to be killed.
Of course, this wasn’t a task he could accomplish alone. No matter how strong their forces were, Fenris Duke and the Turian Prince were out-of-standard powerhouses.
But with the 2nd Corps, things would be different.
The one leading the 2nd Corps was the fad "Noble Knight" Aiden—one of the strongest in this region.
Moreover, combining both corps ant they had eight priests. It was nearly impossible to lose with that kind of force.
“Speed is crucial. I’ll leave first, so make sure the 2nd Corps follows quickly.”
“Understood.”
In mobile warfare, speed alone wasn’t enough. This wasn’t a simple footrace.
What mattered more was achieving the strategic objective before the enemy could react.
The most critical task was to intercept Fenris Duke or the Turian Prince before they could regroup with any other forces.
“Move out! From now on, we march at full speed without rest!”
The 4th Corps, which had been on standby for this exact mont, was full of explosive energy.
Dudududududu!
The 4th Corps, entirely composed of cavalry, thundered forward. The 2nd Corps would follow closely behind.
Confident in their speed, they soon noticed a dust cloud rising far ahead—a group of soldiers was approaching them.
“Hm? What’s that?”
Jairus tilted his head in confusion. There shouldn’t be any forces coming from this direction.
The 2nd Corps was positioned behind them, so the approaching group didn’t make any sense.
“Everyone, halt!”
Unsure if this was another Atroth unit, Jairus decided to stop and observe.
As the distant forces drew closer, Jairus frowned.
They were far too fast. They weren’t even slowing down, charging recklessly forward like madn.
But then, as he focused on the incoming soldiers, his eyes widened in horror.
“That… that army is…”
Dudududududu!
It was a cavalry unit—heavily armored yet moving at incredible speed.
There was only one force on the continent that could wield such absurd equipnt.
“R-Ruthania?”
The strongest force in Ruthania—the Fenris Cavalry—was the only unit capable of moving like this.
And there was one more reason why he was certain.
Hiiiiiiing!
The ferocious black warhorse at the front, and atop it, the man with glowing crimson eyes.
“Fenris Duke!”
It couldn’t be. Why was Fenris Duke here, appearing out of nowhere?
Sothing had gone terribly wrong. Fenris Duke was supposed to be elsewhere, engaged in a pursuit.
“Prepare for battle! Battle positions!”
Jairus scread, hastily pulling back to the rear of his formation. A collision was imminent.
Fwoooosh!
The crimson glow from Ghislain’s spear erupted violently. At the sa ti, the black warhorse, wreathed in that sa crimson light, charged even faster.
Dududududu!
Before long, Ghislain had left the Fenris Cavalry far behind, charging alone toward the Atroth formation.
The Atroth forces were thrown into disarray at the sudden confrontation.
They were cavalry too, but they had stopped moving. anwhile, Ghislain and his n were increasing their montum.
Jairus scread in panic.
“Stop him!”
Four priests shot forward from the Atroth lines.
Kwoooom!
The crimson blaze of Ghislain’s charge tore into the Atroth formation.
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