novelraw Chapter 177 : Chapter 177
Chapter 177 : Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Yulian, who was monitoring the supply route, quietly surveyed his surroundings.
The security was tight.
‘There seem to be about five 6-star level individuals. Well, it is a war where two vassal states are participating, after all.’
It was different from Brussels or Romero, whose troop deployment had started showing holes as we attacked their supply routes.
This was a war waged by the Empire, which always emphasized prestige and face, with a Prince and its vassal states at the forefront.
The distance between Eurasia and their kingdoms was by no means short, and considering the activities of the Annihilation Squad, which was waging guerrilla warfare using Hennessy and Absinthe's information networks, they should have been a bit intimidated.
‘But these guys’ defenses are just getting stronger and stronger.’
This was evident from the fact that five 6-star knights were assigned to guard just one of the many supply convoys.
After finishing his surveillance, Yulian returned to where the main unit was and explained the situation to the members.
“Five 6-star knights, five 5-star knights, ten 1- to 4-star knights and mages. Besides them, there are about twenty regular infantry.”
“That’s double the last time,” Portran muttered with a stiff expression.
“Deploying five 6-star knights… Just how many high-ranking knights do these guys have?”
“Well, doesn’t that mean their forces on the front lines are that much more spread out?”
“That number is too dangerous unless Sir Serena returns.”
“In that case, let’s wait until Sir Serena returns.”
Such were the reactions of Zodiac, Aron, Gala, and Id.
However, Almadin and Philip had different thoughts.
“Still, we must do it,” Almadin replied in his halting speech, huffing through his nose.
“I agree. If we let them pass, a single regiment will have to fight for a month. That’s how much the burden on the soldiers on the battlefield will increase.”
The gazes of the Annihilation Squad gathered on the 2nd Sword, Yulian.
This was because he held the decision-making authority after Serena.
“I….”
Just as his voice, unable to give a definite answer, was trembling.
“Where did the captain go at a time like this?”
Raven's cynical voice pierced their ears.
He wasn't revealing his fighting spirit as openly as before, but his tone still held a familiar defiance.
Everyone's eyes turned to him.
Serena's training might have changed his exterior, but Raven's essence remained twisted.
“Is the Annihilation Squad an organization that can't function without its captain?” Raven asked again, as if in provocation. His challenging attitude got on the nerves of the Annihilation Squad members.
Yulian, frowning on their behalf, opened his mouth.
“Watch your mouth, Raven. The 2nd Sword’s patience isn't deep enough to listen to the youngest’s whining.”
Despite the warning, Raven did not back down.
On the contrary.
“I'm stating a fact. The Annihilation Squad is Eurasia’s secret sword. Captain Killian is a pillar of the kingdom, but aren’t we also some of the most skilled individuals in the kingdom?”
He spoke even more firmly.
Yulian’s eyes narrowed.
Anger rose at Raven's words, but on the other hand, he knew that what he said wasn't entirely wrong.
‘Have we been relying on him too much?’
He was reminded of the Annihilation Squad led by Bastian in the past.
The Annihilation Squad back then was much larger in number, but its combat power was probably not even half of what it was now.
In contrast, now under Killian's leadership, every member of the Annihilation Squad had reached 6-star.
Serena was a 6-star master close to becoming a Superhuman, and Yulian, Philip, and Id had reached the mid-tier 6-star level.
And Aron, Gala, Portran, and Zodiac were entry-level 6-star, with their individual combat capabilities having improved astonishingly.
Almadin could exert the power of a 6-star when using a magic tool, and even Raven had returned as a 6-star after a brief visit to Absinthe.
Their exclusive apothecary, Chamberlain Haman, was a mid-to-high-level apothecary, and Hazard, who they thought was a detection dog, was revealed to be a legendary dragon, believed to be extinct.
‘The current Annihilation Squad isn't just capable of hunting Superhumans.’
With just ten members, their strength was equivalent to an entire knight order.
Moreover, their captain, Killian, was a 7-star Sword Master.
A monster who could single-handedly take on two Superhumans with ease.
It was a level that was unimaginable in the past.
‘Is this the greatest golden age in the Annihilation Squad's history?’
Even so, it didn't lower the danger level right in front of them.
Raven continued to complain about Killian's absence.
“Damn it, that's why the captain's empty spot feels even bigger.”
Yulian looked up and glared at him.
“The captain is always busy. He even took Hazard with him, so he must have some plan this time too.”
Id stepped forward to try and calm Raven down.
However, Raven didn't back down.
“There's no guarantee that plan will change the tide of this war. The fact that we're wavering like this without the captain proves it, doesn't it?”
“……”
At Raven's words, Id shut his mouth.
It was true.
Killian's absence was having that much of an impact on the Annihilation Squad.
Yulian sighed and said, “Do you think we can’t do it without the captain?”
At his words, the surrounding members gathered their gazes.
“The captain didn't train us so hard for us to act like this.”
Yulian looked at Raven as if grumbling.
“No need to worry, Yulian.”
Raven, grinning, continued.
“‘My master’ is also moving heaven and earth for ‘Captain Killian's’ victory.”
He emphasized how much Orchid Owl thought of Killian.
‘Good grief. Should I be happy or angry about this?’
Yulian and the other Annihilation Squad members felt displeasure at Raven's tone and attitude, but knowing that the Orchid Owl he mentioned had sworn allegiance to Killian, they tried not to pay it any more mind.
They just had to accept it.
‘How did the captain tame that crazy woman?’
Orchid Owl wasn't just strong; she was a half-mad Night Walker. He knew this because he had faced her directly.
The image of drawing loyalty from such a woman was not one that could be easily pictured.
‘She wasn't the type to be subdued by force.’
Killian's leadership had a magic that drew people in.
He was just curious how he had come to possess such an ability at his age.
As he was picturing Orchid Owl's crazed eyes in his mind, Raven suddenly said, “Yulian, you’re thinking something rude.”
Yulian flinched and turned his head.
Raven was observing his expression.
“None of your business.”
There was no time to waste on useless talk.
‘Why is Serena taking so long to get here….’
She was the core strength of the Annihilation Squad.
She always moved quickly and arrived at the necessary place at the exact right time.
But this time, her return was somewhat delayed.
It would be a lie to say her absence didn't make him feel anxious.
As Raven tried to say something again, Yulian stopped him with a gesture.
“That's enough, Raven.”
“……”
After retorting coldly, he made eye contact with each and every member of the squad.
“We finish this before Serena arrives. We'll end it in one go with Carpe Illusion.”
At Yulian's words, the Annihilation Squad members nodded their heads in silence.
Even without two Haki users, they were still the kingdom's secret sword.
***
“Serena Constantine of the Annihilation Squad.”
The guard who confirmed Serena's identity raised his sword in a salute.
With 2,000 troops, including knights and mages from the allied kingdoms and families, as well as infantry and cavalry, the guard was being kept strictly.
‘Their fighting spirit is sharp.’
That was her thought as she looked around the area where the Eurasia army was encamped.
It had been two months since the first battle.
Under her command, the Annihilation Squad had attacked the enemy's supply routes through ten guerrilla operations.
Today, she had stopped by to report to the Commander of the Knights, Escardo.
She was passing by the Blue Knight Order's barracks.
A mage wearing a Cornelia robe passing by suddenly caught her eye.
Thanks to Killian's mediation, the Blue Knight Order maintained a closer relationship with Cornelia than the other knight orders.
“……”
Normally, she would have thought nothing of it.
If her detection abilities hadn't become more sensitive after her trip to Elvenheim, she would have just passed by.
A sensation as if her skin was being pricked, even though she was using Mana Skin.
Judging by her experience of cutting down countless people, there was only one conclusion.
‘A Superhuman.’
She scanned the mage who was laughing and exchanging greetings with the knights of the Blue Knight Order.
The only Arch Mages among those in this barracks were Celot Cornelia and Kiel Cornelia, who had come as support.
But the man before her neither had the violet hair characteristic of Cornelia royalty nor was he middle-aged.
“You, there.”
At Serena's question, the Blue Knight who had been talking with the mage raised his sword in a salute.
“What is your name?”
She asked, looking at the mage.
“Ah, Lady Serena. This friend is from Cornelia's……”
“I wasn't asking you.”
Serena's gaze was fixed on the mage.
“……”
“……”
For a moment, the two's gazes met in mid-air.
Serena slowly began to draw up her mana.
She tensed her muscles so that the mana clinging to her skin could be released at any moment, so that the sword at her waist could be drawn at any time.
“Haha. What is the matter? Cornelia's Three-colored Magic Order is……”
Splat.
The face of the Blue Knight, who hadn't finished speaking, exploded.
And then.
Swish.
Serena swung Aether, cutting down the approaching mana.
“How did you know?”
“Just because.”
“I see.”
The man then properly observed Serena.
“A green-haired female knight who uses Haki. I hadn't heard that Serena Constantine of the Annihilation Squad had the ability to detect Superhumans.”
The man's voice was cold.
“You won't hear about it even in death.”
Her voice was also cold.
The man widened the distance and chanted a spell.
The knights in the vicinity were seen being swept away by a series of explosions.
‘He’s creating a diversion with area-of-effect magic. Is he planning to escape?’
She closed the distance to interrupt the man's casting.
A barrier magic was active here, where the four knight orders of Eurasia and their allies were concentrated.
‘Since he broke through it to get in, he must have prepared an escape route.’
She could not let him get away.
Rumble.
Aether, clad in Haki, cut through the magic.
Swoosh.
The man dodged the sword that came right before his nose by tilting his head.
He was excessively agile for a mage.
Immediately after, he used warp magic to widen the distance, and Serena instantly closed the gap.
Just as they were continuing their brief exchange for about 10 seconds.
Aether cut the man's leg.
“Kugh……!!”
The man flinched and exploded the mana stored in his staff.
Simultaneously, a smoke screen spread before her eyes.
‘Damn it.’
She hadn't expected him to use a smoke bomb, something Walkers would use, so naturally.
In that gap, the man was completing a long-distance warp magic.
The moment white mana swirled once to manifest the formula.
“……”
The Arch Mage's face turned to one of bewilderment.
‘The magic didn’t activate?’
Just then.
“Impersonating a Cornelia mage is a grave crime, you know.”
A soft voice came from the barracks behind them.
A woman with violet hair was smiling faintly, aiming her staff at the man.
“Dispel Magic. Seeing as my magic worked on you, you aren't a perfect Superhuman.”
If he were an Arch Mage who had surpassed the wall on his own, he could have easily ignored her magic.
“There's a high probability you are one of those fakes the Empire is said to be creating.”
Swoosh.
Violet mana began to envelop the man.
She had cut off his escape route with a single gesture.
The man was seen shouting as he chanted some formula, but it seemed it wasn't working as he intended.
“Now.”
Sharle nodded towards Serena.
Swish.
Without delay, she swung her sword, cutting the man's waist and his staff.
“Gack……”
With a final scream, the man's knees buckled.
Just then.
“An intruder!”
“They were after Prince Julian's head!”
“Be careful not to get your butts kicked!!”
The Vice-commander and a Centurion of the Blue Knight Order, who arrived late, shouted.
Such a late response.
Just as she was clicking her tongue at the Blue Knight Order's reaction.
“Shall we have a little talk?”
Sharle approached, her eyes twinkling as she asked.