novelraw Chapter 353: Childhood Friends - Trench Warfare
Chapter 353: Childhood Friends - Trench Warfare
352. Childhood Friends - Trench Warfare
A new attempt always invites great resistance.
However, it was becoming evident that the desire for survival was far more primal than the urge to settle for the familiar.
Shovels were distributed to the soldiers.
“What are we supposed to do with this?”
“You want us to dig from here to there? Thaaat far? Hahaha!”
At that moment, when the soldiers' laughter and the commander's embarrassment clashed, twenty-two mages on horseback emerged from the camp. Led by Ristard Jekon Doroff, they unleashed indiscriminate magic on the unprepared enemy camp. The spectacle was, in a word, magnificent.
As the chilly early spring breeze combined with the rising heat, five colossal whirlwinds shot up into the sky.
On one side.
On the other side, clouds gathered in the sky, and suddenly, BOOM-BOOM! Thunder roared, and lightning flashed ferociously. In the distance, something bizarre was happening — the perpetual snow atop the snow-capped mountains was soaring into the sky.“Th-that... that…”
The soldiers didn’t know where to direct their gazes.
At the countless ice spears flying toward them with tremendous acceleration? At the swirling tornadoes intertwining and tossing everything into the sky? Or at the raging blue wildfire that spread wildly after being struck by lightning?
Even as mere spectators, they too faced danger. It began when the mages of the Bellita Kingdom screamed, "Are you all insane?!" and started countering.
The clear sky brightened.
The sky turned as white as if covered in fog, and a dazzling light flashed. A low hum, Wuuuuuuu- Wuuuung-! echoed, growing faster and louder as if accelerating, resonating throughout heaven and earth.
The Mana Roads, which filled the sky, began to intertwine and spiral out of control.
From this point on, it became a battle of who could throw more fuel onto the fire. Just like setting a backfire, they could only hope that the flames would spread toward the enemy.
“Hey! Damn it, DIG!! Dig, you bastards, DIG!!”
“Ahh, ouch, that hurts…!”
Somewhere in the dappled sky, where streaks of sky blue and white tangled together and flickered, an explosion occurred. The intensely compressed mana burst, scattering shrapnel that pierced the flesh of several soldiers. The initial five whirlwinds had grown into thirty-seven, randomly tearing apart the plains.
The mages seemed to be having a grand time.
To their eyes, the vast currents of mana flowing at incredible speeds were as clear as daylight.
The streams of mana, flowing through circuits they had established, accelerated at specific points, and when they reached divergence points, they split into multiple new streams, forming additional branches. Even now, someone was adding new points, making the circuit increasingly complex.
Beautiful...
And mysterious.
For magic to manifest, mana had to flow in a specific form.
For instance, to gather clouds and summon thunder, three Mana Roads had to form rings and intertwine.
When a constant flow of mana at a specific rate was maintained, clouds would gather. But the forms of the mana flows seen in the sky now were countless and beyond anyone’s understanding.
Some of them were intensifying other flows that created whirlwinds several times over. Perhaps that was why the wildfire had turned purple? There’s one collecting mana. Fascinating.
The mages, hungry for knowledge, eagerly identified and marked the most interesting points in the turbulent Mana Roads, like charting constellations.
Meanwhile, the ground below had become hell.
“Keep your heads down!!”
The tiny, sharp particles of perpetual snow, refined as they cut through the mad sky, finally began to fall to the ground. Initially, it was meant to target the enemy, but the finely ground particles did not distinguish between friend and foe.
Swish- Dadadadadada! It was the sound of rice popping. The same sound that mothers make when preparing side dishes during winter. It felt as though every housewife in the Aisel Kingdom had gathered at once.
Judging by how the soldiers collapsing to the ground were calling for their mothers, that interpretation wasn’t far off. The soldiers of the Aisel Kingdom hurriedly dug into the ground.
Even amidst the wild thrumming of magic, the operation continued.
The soldiers who barely managed to shelter themselves were ordered to connect their dugouts (“Hey, you bastards! Stop hiding and start digging!”). By the time evening arrived, a long trench had been established where they could see each other's faces and check who was alive.
There were many wounded, but surprisingly, not as many dead as expected. That was the limit of large-scale magic aimed at an entire plain.
It was also proof of how tenacious human life was.
Even though it was evening, the surroundings remained bright.
Like thousands of flares lighting up the sky, the Mana Roads still whirred, emitting a glow. Today’s moon was the Blue Lotus Moon, and the energy of that moon restored the depleted mana.
It seemed like no one would be able to sleep tonight.
The soldiers carried dirt and the wounded, and since they had to eat somehow, they moved supplies into the trenches. With each unit isolated, the commanders recalled Prince Vivian's words and took independent action, each making their own decisions.
Gilbert heaved a sigh of relief and said,
“Phew. I almost died a pointless death. Sir Rev, you did great. You’re quite the digger.”
“...”
“You even moved the horses into the trench... Very impressive.”
Neigh!
Neigh!
“Still, you should get some rest, don’t you think? You’ve been at it for hours now…”
“Shut up and keep your mouth closed.”
Rev wasn’t in a good mood. It was because, when trouble broke out, Lena hadn’t been nearby, and he hadn’t been able to protect her.
He had tried to rush to her, but he happened to spot the Bante standing defenselessly. To be honest, Lena didn’t need protection.
The High Priestess, brimming with divine power, wouldn’t be hurt anyway... So he had made a careless decision.
Rev steadily dug in the direction indicated by his tracking skills. Occasionally, he poked his head out to check on Lena’s location. When he figured it was good enough, he put down his shovel and leapt over the trench.
On the other side, a tent had already been pitched. Here, in the space beyond the trench...
“Lena!”
“Rev! Thank goodness. You’re safe!”
It was the infirmary, teeming with injured soldiers. Lena, whom he had been searching for, was working in the infirmary.
Relieved to see she was safe, Rev pulled her into an embrace.
“Thank goodness, really.”
Repeating how glad she was, Lena seemed to share his feelings.
But her thoughts ran much deeper than Rev’s. She had been wondering what she would do if Rev came back injured and needed treatment.
After all, she was someone who shouldn’t even be here.
If Rev got hurt and she reached out to help, she might end up causing more harm than good — it could even lead to his death the next time.
At that moment, Rev, seemingly unaware of her inner turmoil, nagged at her.
“By the way, are you sure it’s okay for you to be working like this?”
“This much is fine. It’s not like I’m actively using blessings... I’m just doing odd jobs.”
“Lena! Weren’t you going to get the bandages? Where did you go?”
“Ah! Rev, just a moment.”
Lena hurriedly ran off with a bundle of bandages in hand.
In truth, she could heal everyone here at once... It must be hard for Lena to hold back.
Rev watched the groaning wounded, the medics working without rest, and the priests moving tirelessly. The medics would stitch up torn flesh, and then a priest would bestow a blessing of healing, allowing the wounded to recover their strength and leave their beds shortly after.
Compared to Lena, it might seem unimpressive, but it was certainly efficient. It didn’t even seem to consume much divine power.
This was the first time Rev had ever seen priests officially included in the regular army.
Before history had changed, when war broke out between the Kingdom of Astin and the Kingdom of Bellita, the Holy Cross Church had opposed it, refusing to allow the mobilization of priests. But this war... Even with twenty iterations of his past experiences, Rev could not predict its course.
However, one thing was certain.
Count Herman Forte would come here. He would undoubtedly want to crush the barracks that could instantly turn injured soldiers back into combatants.
Normally, he would capture the prince to bring a swift end to the war, but since they couldn’t pinpoint the whereabouts of Prince Vivian, attacking the barracks was the most realistic option for Count Forte.
Having confirmed Lena’s safety, Rev activated {Tracking} again.
Then, he started digging toward the direction where the prince was.
***
“What... is going on here?”
The continent’s sole Swordmaster, Count Herman Forte, had arrived. Speechless, he looked around at the bizarrely arranged encampment of his allies.
All the tents had disappeared underground. There wasn’t a single wooden barricade to be seen. The soldiers had discarded their swords and shields, carrying only shovels, bows, and quivers.
Even the knights sat dejectedly. Determined to understand the situation, Count Forte went to look for the supreme commander.
But before he even found the commander, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. A massive typhoon was swirling in the sky.
A normal typhoon wouldn’t be that red, nor would it be spitting fire instead of lightning. It was clear that some crazy mages had lost their minds and were abusing magic. Count Forte immediately altered his course and ran toward the trenches. He grabbed a mage by the collar.
“What the hell are you doing, mage? I asked the Magic Tower to send battle-supporting mages, not lunatics who treat the battlefield like a test site.”
“C-C-Count! Th-that’s not it...! Gack!”
“Stop the magic this instant. Before I tear off your head.”
“I-it's not something I can stop! That’s the enemy’s magic!”
“The enemy’s?”
“Y-yes! Please, at least... Please let me go first... Gah!”
“Explain the situation in detail.”
“Phew… You’ll understand once you see for yourself.”
The mage rubbed his sore throat, lifted his staff, and muttered something while facing the typhoon. He seemed to be casting a spell, but it drained him so much that he slumped to the ground afterward.
Count Forte frowned as he watched the typhoon grow even larger.
“What exactly am I supposed to understand from this?”
“...At least it didn’t blow up this time. That’s all I can do. I didn’t summon it.”
“I heard you for the first time. You didn’t summon it.”
“Yes. Since last month, enemy mages have started casting random spells. Unless we have a barrier in place, there’s no way to prevent the enemy from using magic. All we can do is interfere with it, like we’re doing now.”
“...Is that your idea of interference? It got bigger.”
“At least it’s not only hitting us. It’s also harming the enemy. Anyway, it’s about time to get out of here.”
For about an hour after that, fire poured down from the typhoon.
“Good grief…”
Sitting on the edge of a trench, Count Forte watched the spectacle. He now understood why both armies had dug into the ground like moles.
He turned to the mage sitting next to him, who was casually eating a potato.
“What’s the damage? And how is the supreme commander responding to all this?”
The mage shrugged.
“Not as bad as expected. The first day was rough, about 5,000 dead, but that was it. Honestly, that’s not bad. If things had gone worse, we might’ve been wiped out. The commander made the right call to retreat. He’s handled things well since then.”
“What did he do?”
“He pulled back 20 ri (about 8 km) to reassess the situation and dug trenches like the enemy did. We struggled at first because we didn’t have enough shovels, so we kept getting pushed back. But once we set up trenches like the enemy, they found it hard to break through. Looks like this war’s going to be a long one.”
“...I see. Thanks for the report. Any other updates?”
“Yes, we only have eight mages. The enemy has over twenty, judging by the count. We’ve been taking turns blocking their magic, but it’s exhausting. We could use more mages if possible.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Carry on.”
Count Forte got up and resumed his search for the supreme commander. But as he wandered, unable to figure out where the commander was, he saw part of the enemy forces charging across a trench.
Eventually, one of their trenches was captured, but it didn’t feel like much of a loss. If anything, it seemed trivial.
Charging and calling down a typhoon just to seize a single trench? Count Forte had a bad feeling that this war would drag on for a long time — and it was a situation he absolutely did not want.
He needed to get back as quickly as possible.
To be honest, he hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place. The reason he arrived so late was that he kept delaying his departure.
For some reason, he didn’t want to leave the capital. Even though the war had started in winter, he sent the 3rd Knight Order ahead first, followed by the 2nd Knight Order. When there was no longer any excuse to delay, he finally took the 1st Knight Order and set out.
He had originally planned to delay even longer, but that was no longer an option. The war had been triggered by his son, Gilbert, kissing Princess Chloe. Then Iena and Isadora took Gilbert to the Kingdom of Aisel, further eroding his standing.
The royalist nobles began raising their voices, demanding to know why he wasn’t marching to war.
It was all so tiring.
“Why am I so desperate to stay in the capital?”
He couldn’t understand himself. The mere thought of leaving the capital filled him with unease.
Because of that, he had neglected his family, eventually leading to divorce. He had never once shared a peaceful moment with his son, Gilbert.
As he gripped his sword and gazed at the rows of trenches in the distance, Count Forte shifted the blame for his headache onto the enemy.
“For the infinite glory of the Kingdom of Bellita... I’ll sweep them all away.”
To do that...
Count Forte turned and began walking.