Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 53
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 53
16. Real Combat (4)
[To succeed in this operation, we must not give Marquis Lawrence time to respond.]
It was a plan proposed by Viscount Rognier to launch a surprise attack on Marquis Lawrence's domain.
Marquis Lawrence's domain should be completely empty right now, so even taking just about 20 Vanguards should make capturing the city not too difficult.
The only concern was that they needed to seize the city faster than Adrian could react.
[So it's a race against time.]
[Any hesitation, or even a slight delay, will drive us into a dead end. This plan is both an operation to save the three of us and a double-edged sword that will make Marquis Lawrence even more brutal.]
"Ugh..."
No one among them dared to dismiss Adrian as a young and inexperienced lord anymore.
Instead, he was regarded as an unpredictable monster beyond calculation.
Yet at Viscount Rognier's remark that their operation would make that monster even more brutal, Viscount Karma and Viscount Dougherty let out groans.
[Since we need to keep drawing the enemy's attention, we can't pull out too many troops at once. Let's detach between 10 and 20 Vanguards. Then move them quickly to an area where the spatial movement interference magic breaks down.]
"If we're at it, let's each commit 20 Vanguards. If the Sky Fortress holds out stubbornly, we can buy enough time."
[Then so be it.]
[Understood.]
Escaping the range of the spatial movement interference magic, the forces of the three houses would simultaneously teleport into Marquis Lawrence's domain.
It was a very simple operation.
[Before this operation succeeds, the lord must not be captured by the enemy. You know what that means, right?]
[Understood. We'll go into hiding entirely. If we get captured, the Domain War ends right there.]
[Then we'll contact you again once the detached forces arrive at the teleport-capable area.]
The operation was executed quickly.
* * *
Dennis, the Knight Captain of House Viscount Dougherty, spoke to his subordinates struggling under the relentless assault of Marquis Lawrence's forces.
[If this operation succeeds, the tide of battle will turn in an instant. Surely no one wants to become a defeated Knight, right?]
[No, sir!]
[Good! Then, while pretending to be pushed back as inconspicuously as possible, the designated Vanguards will peel off from the frontline one by one!]
[Yes, sir!]
[Those going on the surprise operation and those staying behind to keep the enemy's forces tied down are equally important. All of you, stay sharp!]
[Yes, understood!]
Along with Knight Captain Dennis, the designated Vanguards slipped away from the battlefield in a fairly natural manner.
And so, a surprise force against Marquis Lawrence's domain was formed, consisting of 20 Vanguards per house, 60 in total.
[My lord, this is Dennis! We've just arrived at the teleport-capable area!]
[Well done! Can you teleport directly to Marinkov City (Marquis Lawrence's domain)?]
[It seems a spatial movement interference formation has been set up—coordinates cannot be locked.]
[What about the skies above Marinkov City?]
[Ah! It works! From 1.2 km above Marinkov City, teleport coordinates can be locked!]
[Good. Execute the teleport at 12:10, Rondel Standard Time.]
[Understood!]
Teleporting into the sky guarded by the Sky Fortress was suicide, but right now, all of Marquis Lawrence's Sky Fortresses had been deployed to the external battlefields.
So there was no reason to refuse the order as unreasonable.
Knight Captain Dennis set an alarm and waited for the moment.
-Beep beep beep!
And at the very moment the alarm rang.
[Teleport!]
From three locations across the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, three units of 20 Vanguards simultaneously tore scrolls and executed spatial movement.
A massive magic circle enveloped the units, and as the surrounding mana began to condense, the light of the circle gradually intensified.
-Flash!
Then, along with the sensation unique to spatial movement—of one's body floating as if in zero gravity—the scenery around them shifted.
From a barren plain, a cloudless, clear blue world unfolded before their eyes.
[Viscount Rognier's Vanguard Knight Order Online]
[Viscount Karma's Vanguard Knight Order Online]
Then, as the communication lines merged with the Vanguard units from the other domains who had teleported in as planned, the operation's commencement was announced.
And so, the allied forces of the three viscount houses began their descent...
"I've prepared a welcome ceremony for you all. Come with me."
A stranger's voice burrowed into their minds—different in feel from communication magic.
The allied units all voiced their confusion.
[O-Over there!]
Following someone's shout, they turned their gaze and spotted a single luxury airship—famous as a noble's indulgence, like a yacht on the sea.
The luxury airship leisurely cruised before their eyes as if it had been waiting, and soon they could see a man standing on the airship's deck, unfolding a magic circle.
Recognizing who he was, Knight Captain Dennis swallowed air and shouted.
[It's Marquis Lawrence!]
[Damn it! The operation's been discovered....]
They hurriedly attempted to attack,
But the completion of the magic circle was faster.
Yet the completed magic circle looked strangely familiar?
As it turned out, its identity was the very same spell they had just used.
The sensation of floating, and the scenery shifting around them.
That's right.
They had been teleported the moment they finished teleporting themselves.
The first by their own will, the second by someone else's.
Normally, they could have responded in time, but unfortunately, Adrian, who had been waiting in advance, gave them no such leeway.
And at the place they arrived....
-Boom boom boom!
Three sky fortresses and nearly 100 Vanguards stood in formation.
[Teleport!]
[Ah, no! It's jammed!]
Even as they tried to tear their teleport scrolls again, spatial movement interference magic unfolded a step faster, isolating them.
* * *
I'm not exceptionally smart, but I'm not stupid either.
Still, there is one thing I consider myself rather good at...
That is, the ability to prepare for the worst-case scenario, and a tendency to weigh pros and cons to minimize losses.
Put kindly, it's prudence; put harshly, it's excessive calculation.
But now, add to that the 'Myriad Mirror'—which pierces through human psychology—and the 'Black Eagle' hound, who serves as a surveillance satellite and scout.
And I often displayed prediction abilities so perfect it seemed like I was seeing the future.
"They're here."
Having been resting aboard the airship with the great city of Marinkov in Marquis Lawrence's domain spread out below, I handed the cocktail glass I was holding to Arcia and rose from my seat.
Then I pulled a magic staff from my subspace pocket and tapped my shoulder with it like a massage.
"At this point, isn't it clairvoyance?"
At that, Pesius (the Intelligence Chief), a high-ranking knight aboard the airship with me, let out an exclamation and looked at me with a fresh expression.
Any high-ranking knight sensitive to mana would naturally notice the anomaly.
Namely, the signs of a large-scale spatial movement spell unfolding right before their eyes.
"It's simple prediction."
"It's almost frightening these days. I can't tell you how glad I am that you're not our enemy, my lord."
With the spatial movement spell on the verge of completion, I smirked.
"It's a decent enough operation, but it's useless if your thoughts are read."
"I almost feel pity for the enemies."
Then, the large-scale spatial movement spell completed.
What appeared in a blinding flash of light was a Vanguard unit of sixty.
The moment they appeared, I cast Teleport.
The Teleport Magic had already been memorized, so the spell manifested as fast as tearing a scroll.
"I've prepared a welcome ceremony for you all. Come with me."
I welcomed their arrival through telepathy magic.
The viscount-alliance Vanguards were flustered, as if wondering what the enemy's mastermind was doing here in the middle of war.
There's no need to answer their curiosity.
They'll find out soon enough.
-Fwwwwsh!
The Teleport magic I cast activated successfully.
The scenery shifted, and along with sixty Vanguards, I arrived at an unfamiliar plain.
What set it apart from an ordinary plain was that three sky fortresses floated above, and nearly 100 Vanguards surrounded them in formation.
And the moment we appeared, spatial movement interference magic unfolded, sealing off the enemies' escape.
I took back the cocktail glass I had briefly handed to Arcia, downed its contents in one gulp, and leaped off the airship.
"Disarm and surrender immediately. Do so, and your lives will be spared."
Whether unable to believe the situation, they failed to react properly.
I understand.
After all, they've been played right into my hands.
"That's right! It's Marquis Lawrence!"
"Huh?"
But then, a man in a Vanguard suit bearing the crest of Viscount Doherty's house shouted my name at the top of his lungs.
The reason for his sudden outburst soon became clear.
"If we capture Marquis Lawrence, the war ends!"
So that was their scheme.
'Ah, I didn't see this coming.'
Currently, our Marquis Lawrence house's forces had formed a circular encirclement with a space roughly 500 meters in diameter at the center.
And at the center of that encirclement stood me, along with sixty enemy Vanguards.
It was a situation that would naturally give the enemies plenty of hope.
After all, a mage who is both a Vanguard's natural counter and weak in close combat should be easy enough to deal with.
"Marquis Lawrence! Surrender quietly!"
The enemies, who had seemed helpless moments before, abruptly lunged at me.
What panicked at that were our Marquis house's troops.
-Thud!
But there was something they had overlooked—namely, the presence of Arcia, an Aura Master, and my own combat power, which felt no need to fear even with Vanguards right before my eyes.
"How dare you."
"It's Count Klein!"
Arcia, leaping from the airship, donned her Vanguard armament and blocked the path in front of me.
And just like that, a 60-vs-2 battle broke out.
[We must save the Lord Marquis!]
[Move quickly!]
Allied Vanguards rushed in from all sides, shouting that they would rescue me and Arcia… but.
The soldiers who saw me and Arcia fight recalled their experience at the Viscounty of Parma and dropped their urgency.
"Is it a mistake that I didn't account for this situation? No—it's because there was no need to account for it in the first place."
This situation doesn't even qualify as a crisis.
"Surrender now!"
Beams of light that filled my entire vision arrived before my eyes.
Each strike carried the power of a 6th Circle spell—a Vanguard's Force attack.
Under normal circumstances, anyone would be forced to panic.
Even a Grand Mage of the 7th Circle would need at least a brief cast to counter with magic one circle lower, the 6th Circle.
Meanwhile, a Vanguard simply swings its sword and Force is released—it's no wonder they're called a natural counter.
"It's you who should surrender."
But through the battle at the Viscounty of Parma, I confirmed that a 5th Circle Hard Shield, if used well, can deflect a Vanguard's attacks.
Of course, deflecting isn't exactly easy….
Perhaps it's because I've repeated countless fierce battles in a game where the senses of reality were shared?
-Ting!
"W-What is this?"
I found this rather easy.
The 5th Circle Hard Shield spread out at a precise angle, bouncing off the Force that came streaking like a beam.
And when a Vanguard's attack is blocked, it exposes an opening—because there's a momentary delay in the process of converting Aura into Force.
'Laser Cannon.'
-Boooom!
The 6th Circle attack spell, which I had been casting since before using the Hard Shield, fired at zero range.
"Guh!"
The Vanguard's head burst apart.
Magic is most powerful immediately after activation, and its power diminishes the farther it travels from the caster.
I was exploiting that property.
"W-Wait."
-Boooom!
"Eeek!"
-Boooom!
"Hah!"
-Boooom!
After that, I simply dodged Vanguard attacks or deflected them with a Hard Shield, then blew off heads one after another.
As the death toll quickly surpassed five and neared ten, the Vanguard from Viscount Doherty's house, who had urged the others to attack me, shouted urgently.
"Damn it! Don't subdue—kill him! Either way, the Domain War ends!"
When had they ever held back when charging at me?
I snorted and aimed my Magic Staff at the Vanguard from Viscount Doherty's house, who was screaming orders as if commanding.
'Flame Blast.'
The 7th Circle grand spell I had memorized surged forth with terrifying might toward its target.
If they're close, I blow their heads off with a 6th Circle spell; if they're far, I suppress or kill them with a 7th Circle grand spell.
Simple, yet a very effective combat style.
"Hup!"
The Vanguard from Viscount Doherty's house swallowed air and attempted to dodge, but the 7th Circle spell didn't unfold slowly enough to allow an unguarded escape.
In the end, he chose to trust the defense of his Force Armor and swing his Force Sword to cancel out the spell.
-Booooom!
Though it was futile anyway.
"Ghkk!"
Fortunately, he survived, but he was knocked down and unable to move.
Having taken care of that talkative commander, I coordinated with Arcia and dealt with Vanguards rushing in from all sides.
"What kind of mage is this?!"
"That's the line I've heard the most today."
"Kugh!"
While casting a spell, I dodged the Force Sword aiming for my vitals.
Force projectiles flying in as ranged attacks were deflected using Hard Shield.
Additionally, Arcia and I frequently switched positions to confuse the enemy.
It was a situation where it wouldn't have been strange for us to trip over each other's feet, but Arcia and I were fairly relaxed.
According to what the subordinates said after the battle in Viscount Parma's Viscounty, my and Arcia's fighting looked less like a desperate struggle for survival and more like dancing.
I don't take that at face value, but doesn't it mean that much composure was visible?
"Ah...."
The enemies attacked fiercely, but in the end, they couldn't break through the wall Arcia and I formed.
With the timeout reached, the allied Vanguards who had come to support us subdued the enemies one by one.
The battle was over.
"You've worked hard, my lord."
The temporary Vanguard commanders from Marquis Lawrence's domain approached with awkward smiles.
[Relationship: Favorable / Obedience due to employment]
[Status: Fear / Awe]
Most of the emotions displayed in the Myriad Mirror were like this.
I had succeeded in instilling a strong presence in my subordinates with just two battles, but it seemed I had gone a bit overboard.
I took out a drink from my subspace and brought it to my lips, taking a large gulp as I spoke to my subordinates.
"The variables are gone now. Let's slowly bring the Domain War to an end."
"Yes!"
The subordinates all answered with crisp, orderly salutes.
The feeling of receiving salutes from subordinates who looked at me with awe.
Not a bad feeling at all.
"Give me a drink."
"Orange flavor?"
"No, peach."
"Okay."
However, just as I was basking in the joy of victory, Arcia's request snapped me right out of my reverie.