Chapter 177. Evolution (1)

8 A.M.

The boundless cold air of the snowfield, thick with morning fog, permeated deep into their lungs.

The magicians of the guerrilla group, including Desir, constantly invoked detection magic, in order to gather information about the soldiers around them.

“There are three large-scale enemy units in front of us.”

The first to notice the enemy was Romantica. Her detection magic, trained by Desir, was superior to most.

‘Did they predict our movements and have soldiers deployed?’

Desir raised his right hand up. The simple action was actually a signal to quickly communicate within the unit. All of the guerillas turned their heads in unison towards their right.

Romantica shouted once again.

“More large-scale enemy units on our right!” There were two units.

Desir responded quickly.

“Please check if there are any enemies between the unit you sensed earlier and the unit you saw now.”

Romantica, who had already begun arranging detection magic before Desir finished his sentence, invoked it where he had asked.

“… … There’s nothing there.”

As soon as the words had left Romantica’s lips, Desir lifted his left hand slightly and pointed to their left.

“Platoon Two, ready for camouflage magic!”

Before the start of this operation, Desir had divided the unit into four platoons according to their individual skill sets. Platoon Two had magicians that were specialized in support magic rather than raw firepower.

Desir gave the order, and in a demonstration that attested to just how well they were trained, they held their spells at the ready. It was imperative that their magic was invoked just before the sound of the horses’ hooves could reach the Outsiders.

“Invoke!” [Cat’s Curtain] [Frost Cloak]

Several high circle camouflage spells were simultaneously invoked and quickly coated the entire regiment.

At that exact moment, the Outsider’s detection magic invoked. A sinister breeze whipped its way through the guerilla unit’s ranks.

Yet the detection magic had found absolutely nothing. The camouflage magic invoked by Platoon Two had worked perfectly, and completely invalidated the Outsiders’ detection magic. Furthermore, the thick morning fog made it very difficult for even a keen pair of eyes to locate the guerillas that had infiltrated their ranks…

In other words, it was impossible for the Outsiders to pinpoint the position of Desir’s unit. ‘If we attack the enemy now, it could cause considerable damage, but… ’

Desir knew the enemy’s position, his unit was inside their encampment, and they were completely undetected. It was the best possible situation to launch a raid.

But the Outsiders weren’t a naive group.

‘I’m sure they’ve prepared for this kind of situation.’

Though they couldn’t be seen, and detection magic couldn’t reveal them, nothing could mask their presence if they bumped into an enemy patrol head-on.

Unlike those seen at the front-line, these Outsiders seem well-trained enough to be able to react to a surprise enemy attack.

For these reasons, Desir did not intend to attack. His unit was put together for a more important mission than dealing with the rank and file Outsiders.

‘Simply passing through is difficult enough as it is.’

He maintained course, stopping to let enemy patrols harmlessly pass by them when necessary. As a result, the guerrillas were able to slip past numerous enemy squadrons completely unnoticed

In the end, the Outsiders had been completely unable to make a move until it was already too late.

‘We’ve managed to avoid all unnecessary fighting.’

Their unit’s primary objective was to find the homunculus. And the most important thing for them was to prevent the homunculus from firing again and increasing the damage dealt to the Allied Forces.

Romantica played a big role in helping lead the guerillas to the homunculus as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Her detection magic had located the homunculus’s location from a considerable distance, and thanks to it, the unit was able to head straight towards Jormungand Citadel without any loss of time or engaging the enemy in combat.

Suddenly, the number of Outsiders that were in front of them exceeded two battalions worth. Desir had assumed that, by now, information about their unit that had penetrated the frontlines would have reached all of the Outsider forces. But up until now, there had been no sign of increased resistance.

‘They must know what we’re here for, then.’

Given that no one had stopped them from launching a raid earlier, the Outsiders must have realized that the unit’s true goal was the homunculus, and had been attempting to sneak their way into the Citadel.

Though their location hadn’t been exposed, it would now be impossible to completely avoid combat.

As Desir’s unit approached the halfway point on their path towards the Citadel, Desir could see that his prediction had been correct.

“An enemy unit ahead. It’s lined up sideways.”

A defensive line created using the largest number of troops they had encountered so far.

It would be an impossible task to sneak through this defensive line the way they had avoided enemy patrols. No, even if they could, it would take too much time.

The guerrilla group, which couldn’t afford to rest for even a moment, was now forced to change tactics, exchanging stealth for might.

Desir gave the troops a signal to ready for the charge. “Giddy-up!”

The guerrillas re-formed into their respective platoons at the instruction of Desir.

Platoon One, a magician unit with excellent firepower, took the role of the primary source of firepower.

Platoon Two, primarily dedicated to support magic, was also capable of aiding the first platoon with follow-up spells.

Platoon Three, composed of soldiers renowned for having outstanding defensive capabilities, took towards the front.

Platoon Four, handling light weapons and capable of rapid movement, an auxiliary unit would rapidly relocate to defend the flanks of Platoon One and Two in response to the situation. Desir folded his straightened finger to confirm that all the troops had moved into their set positions.

It was also the signal to charge. [Fire Wall]

[Thunder Break] *Boom* *Boooooom*

The artillery fire magic carried out by Platoon One was unleashed in the direction of the enemy’s defensive line.

A wall of unbearable heat, made of devastating fire, soared up and lurched towards the Outsiders. Several large arcs of lighting splintered into the sky and crashed towards the ground. The Outsiders were caught completely defenseless to the unashamed shelling from Desir’s unit of elite forces.

Despite the impressive display from the guerilla unit, they had little in the way of numbers. Only a small portion of the defensive formation in front of them collapsed, despite the awesome demonstration of firepower.

But Desir ordered the charge without hesitation. The guerrilla force’s vanguard dug into the gap in the Outsider’s wall, piercing it deeply and widening it within moments.

Even though it was the largest unit the guerillas had seen in their excursion so far, it wasn’t difficult for them to break through. The individuals that comprised the elite force were excellent, make no mistake, but that wasn’t the reason why such a large group had been swiftly neutralized.

The Outsiders had constructed their line of defense such that the guerrillas would be unwilling to make a detour and be forced to engage them in battle.

But in the end, that was why they had lost.

In order to increase the area that a limited number of troops can cover, the density of the troops had to decrease. If the goal was to prevent a weak spy unit from infiltrating, it would have been a success. But such a tactic could never prevent the advance of a high-quality guerilla charge.

‘They gave us the chance to break through without actually having to stop our advance.’

The Outsiders attacked with all their might, and finally inflicted the first instance of damage to the unit.

Desir was able to invert a majority of the incoming magic though, so few losses occurred.

Everything was going as well as Desir had predicted. They had nearly made it through, and successfully reached the edge of the outer perimeter.

“… … … … !”

The magicians on the battlefield all felt the flow of an incredible amount of mana. At the top of the Jormungand Citadel, the mist half-cleared and the sky was now visible to the soldiers on the ground below.

Everyone present felt the color drain from their face.

A white flash began forming in front of their eyes.

It was a powerful artillery attack, capable of destroying a wide area in a single attack. Someone muttered while looking at it.

“Shouldn’t there be five hours left… ?”

The homunculus’s attack had been fired off every twelve hours. So far. This cooldown between attacks had been so precise that it couldn’t possibly be inaccurate. Those who were there were perplexed at the sight of the growing mass of mana. Perplexion grew as this attack was going to be fired much earlier than scheduled.

Desir was quick to grasp the implications of the situation. ‘We’ve been fooled. The twelve-hour cooldown was a trick’

The previous rounds of artillery fire were carried out every twelve hours, which led to the illusion of there being a significant cooldown between attacks. Humans are quick to find patterns and speculate on why such patterns exist. Obviously, if twelve hours were required between attacks, it must be because the enemy needed time to gather the necessary amount of mana for the attack. In hindsight, this was a foolish assumption.

How could a spell that requires twelve hours to calculate, land in the exact spot that would deal maximum damage every time?

How could a spell that requires twelve hours of gathering mana, not be detectable at such range?

The white light turned towards the Outsiders currently on the defensive line, before turning further inwards towards the guerrillas trying to break through.

There was a commotion among the Outsiders, quick to realize what was about to happen. “No, wait!”

All of the Outsiders, who had been swarming to stop the guerrillas, stopped dead in their tracks. They didn’t understand why this was happening to them.

They were unwilling martyrs, used to stop the guerillas lead by Desir for only a single moment.

A deadly trap, designed to kill Desir no matter the cost.

The light began to intensify.

*Clap*

As the glare from the light became so bright that the troops on the ground became unable to see, a single clap could be heard.

*Boom!*

Both sides were instantly enveloped by the overwhelming light of the super-massive spell that had been unleashed. The white flash disintegrated the surroundings and devoured all that dared to stand before it.

Yet when the light faded, there were still a few people left standing.

Huge shields of structured geometric forms surrounded the survivors. The cracked shield shattered as the impressive-looking equipment in Desir’s hand shattered.

“I brought four, just to be safe, and three of them were smashed in a single blow… ”

It was the Aurora system, the strongest defensive system created by mankind, created by Desir when he provided Zod with his future knowledge.

Desir had brought several portable Aurora systems with him for use against the homunculus. However, his thorough preparation could only withstand a single blow. He did not lose his composure under such nerve-wracking circumstances, but simply recovered what remained of his broken equipment and gazed up towards the source of the attack.

‘What a disgusting way of doing things.’