Chapter 1709: Third Stage [7]

There were two types of war.

The first was a war between only those involved, where civilians were excluded as much as they possibly could be.

And the second was a war where the common people lost everything because the ones fighting didn't care about them in the slightest.

August always preferred to fight the first type of war. There was no such thing as a kingdom without people, so it was pointless to fight a war where they were slaughtered without remorse.

However, Raphael was different. Even if the people in the border city were real, he wouldn't have changed his strategy. He would've similarly destroyed everything so he could get rid of the enemies in that place.

Perhaps August didn't agree with this kind of warfare, but he was not the one in command of the armies at this point in time, so there was nothing he could do about it.

Just, he had to be careful about what he let Raphael do in the future.

Nevertheless, it was too late for anyone to stop him now.

Raphael crashed through the city walls with his mercenaries and instantly started slaughtering anyone he came across.

Anyone who had an ounce of life left in their body as they fought against the rain of fire was swiftly decapitated or chopped in half. The simulated population had their blood splatter on the ground that their corpses infested, while Estavian's troops were covered in blue light and sent out of the arena.

Those who didn't die retreated far away, and among them was none other than Estavian himself.

Why would he stay in combat when the situation was already so far gone? Rather than trying to save the people who he deemed doomed from the start, he thought it was better for him to regroup with the rest and prevent any further marching from the opposing army.

Raphael knew his limits. If he tried to move further than the middle border city, then he would absolutely be confronted by a force that he couldn't stand against.

Instead of risking his own untimely defeat, Raphael ordered the fires to be put out as he took the city for himself.

Raphael's movements were only a single step in August's plan to control the entire border.

At the same time that he moved, Melania and Valerie pushed forward as well, branching off into the two other border cities to confront the geniuses stationed there.

The most important reason to secure the border was to make sure that the other side didn't have easy access to their territory.

In order to even get close to the border, they'd have to go through enemy troops.

When the entire battle shifted into their territory, how would Eris and the rest react?

Would they even be able to retaliate?

The other two border cities weren't nearly as secured as the central city. It was mainly because people expected more from Estavian. If he was able to properly control his troops, then it wouldn't be a problem for him to defend all three at once.

Since he showed such a terrible performance, there really were only two noble clan geniuses and around twenty troops that were acting as a scouting party waiting for Melania when she arrived.

BOOOOOOOM!

Standing outside of the city, Melania stomped her foot into the ground. A huge earthquake spread from below her and destroyed the ground around the city.

The air was immediately filled with screams again, but not those of agony.

If one watched the situation from above, one could see tens of thousands of simulated citizens fleeing the city through the other side, heading to the inner cities of Eris' territory.

The number of presences in the city rapidly depleted, and along with their mass migration, a blaring alarm bell rang to alert others of the invasion.

Twenty-two people rushed to the gates of the city to confront the person on the other side.

Seeing Melania standing there, the two noble clan geniuses hesitated.

They knew what she could do, and there was no way they wanted to fight her with that knowledge.

Their troops were not the same.

Perhaps they'd seen her on a screen, but to them, Melania only looked strong because the tournament administration made her look that way.

Her strength was nothing more than propaganda.

She was a commoner, after all. Where could she possibly gather enough strength to actually stand against people in their positions?

As if the command of their leaders didn't matter, the twenty of them charged, aiming to take all the glory of the third stage for themselves.

These people who originally didn't get the chance to participate in the heir wars wanted to prove that they deserved to be here more than the actual contestants.

But, if that was the case, then they would've been here from the start, right?

Melania grinned as she watched them approach her without fear.

'If it was a few months ago, I'd be terrified.'

A mob of noble clan geniuses was something every commoner feared. Even if they had the power to fight back, they'd lose everything if they tried. Their families, livelihoods, and dignity would be torn apart by the power of the noble clans.

The heir wars presented someone like Melania with a unique opportunity.

It was a chance for her to pay back all of the oppression she'd suffered under their rule without facing retribution.

Maybe these soldiers didn't know it yet, but every step they took was leading them closer and closer to humiliation.

But Melania let them have their moment.

After all, rather than defeating people who knew that they were fated to lose...

...it was far more fun to crush people who were high on misplaced arrogance.

It was like they were moving in slow motion. The crows knew what was going to happen. The two noble clan geniuses behind them knew what was going to happen. Melania knew what was going to happen.

Still, it was fun to see them charge with such vigor, showing their desire to be seen.

Melania slightly bent her knees and prepared herself to pounce like a tiger.

Strength flowed through her veins and pulsed through her flesh and bones.

Thus far, Melania rarely had to use the techniques of the Mountain God. Most of his doctrine relied on martial strength surpassing anything that intricate mana techniques could create. The specific moves that he created for himself and his disciples were incredibly destructive, meant to wreak enough havoc on any battlefield to make any enemy lose their will to fight.

Melania knew she was being watched. Eris Noct, Wilhelm Liqua, and the rest of the geniuses in the castle were probably watching to see what she, Valerie, and Raphael would do.

To an extent, it might have been unfair to these poor soldiers, but now was the time for Melania to make a point.

BOOOM!

She launched off of the ground and flew several meters into the air.

She gathered mana in her legs and circulated it through her body in a specific pattern to maximize her output.

And as she crashed back down to the ground...

'Tsunami.'

The most simple skill of the Mountain God, Draga.

...a tsunami of earth consumed the heavens.