Chapter 112: Reinforcements Office (3)

As the ground before Areidros bursts open, soldiers are flung in all directions.

It was not just that.

The places where soldiers had been pulling siege cannons just moments ago, and where others had been stringing their bows in front of them,

...explosions were occurring everywhere there were soldiers, right now.

"What in the-!"

The chilling screams of soldiers flung in all directions fill the air as dozens of siege weapons are destroyed in an instant.

A situation that occurred in the blink of an eye.

'Is this magic...!?'

Areidros frowned in thought but soon shook his head.

The Dispel magic was still in effect, after all.

Thus, Areidros panicked for a moment, but

"All forces-! Form ranks!!"

He soon shouted this command through clenched teeth.

At the same time, even in a state of panic, the soldiers began to form ranks as if their bodies had reacted on their own.

Although it was not a good situation as the front line that had charged in just a moment had been completely destroyed, having already gone through numerous battlefields as a commander, he began to calmly assess the situation.

No, to be precise, he tried to assess the situation.

"...!"

Before the Iron Golem tried to throw something huge at him.

The something thrown by the Iron Golem flies towards Areidros in an instant.

An eerily precise throw for something called a golem.

Inside his coat, he calmly sidestepped and tore up several Shield scrolls he had.

"Ugh!"

Soon, Areidros managed to save his life by bouncing off the stone thrown by the golem using the Shield that lasted only a few seconds.

However,

while Areidros was briefly smiling at his own survival, he soon saw that the something thrown by the golem was glowing blue.

Immediately after, he was engulfed by a bright white light.

Kwaahhhhhhhhhh-!!!!!

A huge explosion occurred.

"Sigh."

As soon as he confirmed that the commander had flown away, Kim Hyunwoo, who was atop the golem, was able to sigh in relief as he wiped away the cold sweat that had been pouring out.

Looking down immediately, he saw soldiers getting tangled up and repelled by the Iron Golem as soon as they lost their commander, and stragglers beginning to flee the battlefield already.

Seeing them all fleeing in terror just like before, Kim Hyunwoo thought,

'The mines worked well.'

What Kim Hyunwoo had made this time were mines created from power engines in the workshop.

He detached power engines from the workshop in the Tesnoka territory, slammed in the medium Magic Stones he had prepared in advance, and buried them all underground near the walls.

Of course, the mines were not just buried.

Naturally, mines from the medieval era couldn't be detonated by stepping on them.

They had to be remotely activated.

Therefore, Kim Hyun-woo asked Shadra to create a scroll that could remotely operate the power source of the buried power engine, and then detonated all the mines in the surrounding area in a chain by pressing the button when the soldiers arrived.

He knew that the power engines would explode upon receiving a strong impact.

'It was fortunate that I could press it just before entering the Dispel range.'

If, by any chance, the mines that were to start the chain explosion had not detonated upon entering the Dispel range, it would have been a very difficult situation, so Kim Hyunwoo sighed in relief as if reassured.

In fact, he had been tense until the end of the commander.

Kim Hyunwoo's plan had many variables.

If the commander had attempted to attack from all directions, Kim Hyunwoo's operation would have achieved only a minor success.

However, despite knowing these risks, he deliberately planted mines in front of the broken walls because he believed the commanders would be complacent.

The situation in the Tesnoka territory was such that no commander could afford to be complacent.

The Tesnoka territory's walls had been breached after numerous battles, and the number of soldiers had significantly decreased.

Above all, only six of the many heroes remained.

In other words, anyone could see the clear weakness in Tesnoka, and the hastily repaired walls that Kim Hyunwoo saw would have further induced complacency in the commanders.

Hastily making repairs to the walls was almost the same as indirectly revealing the state of the territory.

Anyway, through these several factors, Kim Hyunwoo knew that the commander would be complacent, and right after causing panic among the soldiers by detonating the mines, he immediately targeted the commander.

Even though the soldiers in the front lines were dealt with, there were too many from Landaron.

If the commander who had been gathering soldiers had quickly assessed the situation and charged again, it would have been quite troublesome.

However, Kim Hyunwoo had made several power engines in advance to ensure that such an event wouldn't happen, and he succeeded in throwing them precisely at the enemy commander.

As a result, the soldiers, having lost their commander and attacked by something they couldn't understand, fell into panic and were fleeing.

'...I didn't know Dispel could be so helpful.'

Kim Hyunwoo thought this as he looked at the thousands of bodies piled up in less than 30 minutes of fighting.

If there had been no Dispel magic and large-scale magic could cause significant damage in war, the response to such a situation would have been swift.

'But I killed the commander first to prevent that response.'

In fact, the commander of Landaron's army would originally have been in a safe place, completely out of reach of long-range attacks.

The only reason he could be killed was because of the existence of the Iron Golem.

Kim Hyunwoo sighed in relief, as the operation could have failed had even one thing gone wrong,

"......"

but Rania, the Lord of Tesnoka, who was watching from a distance as an army of over 10,000 was instantly decimated, wore a look of shock.

"...This can't be happening."

Honestly, Rania was quite disappointed when she first heard Kim Hyunwoo's plan, though she didn't show it.

She had asked for Kim Hyunwoo's help because she wanted him to use the same thing he had used in the Lartania territory when it was invaded by the demon army.

Of course, Rania was fully aware that she was being selfish.

Asking him to use a very powerful weapon, which could effectively protect Lartania and for which the enemies had no data, on another territory's affairs was an unreasonable request.

Yet, Rania had hoped he would use it.

At least, in her opinion, the Tesnoka territory was certain to be lost in the next war.

Therefore, she dared to resent Kim Hyunwoo, who showed a logical - no, rather, an unimaginably kind - favor.

Of course, such feelings also brought about self-disappointment and self-loathing.

But at this moment,

"......"

Rania found herself looking up at Kim Hyunwoo without realizing it.

He was standing on the shoulder of the Iron Golem created by the Master of the Blue Tower, casually looking around at the soldiers of Landaron fleeing.

Kim Hyunwoo, who had been scanning the ground with calm eyes as if this was the expected outcome, soon turned his gaze to Rania, who was watching him, and gave a light nod in acknowledgment.

Seeing him confidently push forward with a plan she thought was absurd, executing it flawlessly without a single mistake-

"......"

At the same time, seeing him reveal, without hesitation, what could effectively be considered his trump card, something he had never shown before, to save her territory and, by extension, Rania herself, she found herself looking at Kim Hyunwoo with a face faintly flushed with a weak blush.

A day after successfully executing the plan to perfection,

Kim Hyunwoo prepared to return to Lartania after hearing Roman's report that, except for about 2,000 stragglers, the forces had been completely disintegrated.

The ten thousand soldiers had undoubtedly posed a threat to Rania, but it was judged that the current Tesnoka territory could sufficiently defend against the remaining 2,000 soldiers.

Therefore, having quickly finished his preparations, Kim Hyunwoo had a meeting with Rania before departing for Lartania.

"Thank you very much."

"It's nothing. I'm to receive fair compensation, after all."

Kim Hyunwoo responded to Rania, who bowed her head in gratitude.

Indeed, it wasn't just lip service; he had received a promise of compensation from Rania that exceeded his expectations.

Originally, what he wanted was the right to purchase resources at cost for about half a year.

He had been promised the right to buy resources from the territory at cost for over five years, along with a one-time provision of a tremendous amount of resources for free.

From Kim Hyunwoo's perspective, this was not a loss but rather a gain.

Of course, Rania would have been doomed without Kim Hyunwoo's intervention, but since it was quite a significant benefit, he too bowed in gratitude.

"Once this is over, I'll come to thank you in person."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Ah, or you could come to me. In fact, if you do, I'll prepare an even bigger thank-you and a gift."

Rania, with a smile, subtly tried to take Kim Hyunwoo's hand.

However, Elena, noticing Rania's actions before Shadra could even react, stepped forward.

"We shall do so."

She bowed shortly in greeting.

But, despite clearly being obstructed,

with a swift motion-

Rania grabbed Kim Hyunwoo's other hand and closed the distance between them.

And then,

"It will definitely be a very big gift."

She spoke almost in a whisper.

"......"

The atmosphere cooled down.

"You understand, don't you?"

Shadra, who had been smiling, stiffened, and Elena sent a cold gaze toward Rania, but she, as if she had no care for her surroundings, pressed Kim Hyunwoo for an answer.

"...Ah, yes."

With that involuntary response from a bewildered Kim Hyunwoo, he left the Tesnoka territory.