3. Explosive Compression
“Please don’t try to drag me into picking sides between you, unless you both want to get beaten.”
—Great Sword Duke Sian von Roman, a remark made during a meal
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Kranasha was conversing with General Grandal before her.
“Hmm… Does this mean we must ultimately use that method?”
“It cannot be helped… Lord Kalragul is a Grand-Vander of a foreign nation. He has no reason to bury his bones alongside ours here. Indeed, he came earlier and delivered word that he was withdrawing by royal command… saying that he would ride the nearby La-Shar-Roa and return to his homeland.”
Upon hearing those words, Kranasha’s expression filled with worry.
They absolutely could not win if Lord Kalragul did not join forces with them. She herself had seen the Kel-Rupen lined up in formation outside the castle walls.
She had tried to find the hidden expert who aided Rian, but gave up—not only because she could not find them, but because it seemed they would not help.
Had someone with that level of might decided to stand with the Kingdom of Kon, the defense would already have been far easier.
Yet neither could they abandon this place and withdraw.
If this place fell, not a single major strategic point remained until the capital. They would have to face the enemy directly at the capital.
Even if they died, they had to die here.
Thus, there was only one way.
“…I understand. I shall prepare. Whew… When I first heard of it, I never imagined I would use it… So it has come to this.”
“…Lord Kranasha.”
“Yes?”
“I have been grateful for all you have done.”
“…If this too is fate… then it is fate.”
Sighing, Kranasha hurried outside.
There was no time. She had to move quickly.
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“We have confirmed that the Dragona of the Tian Kingdom has departed.”
“Have you confirmed that Kalragul is with them?”
“Yes. He was standing at the head of the formation.”
“Huhu… Just as the Second Prince predicted……”
Najeugal spoke with a low laugh.
The Kel-Rupen had come as reinforcements but had not been committed immediately.
The Kel-Rupen were a precious resource that could not be replenished. Thus, they had to be conserved as much as possible, and it was best to avoid clashes if any seemed likely.
There was no need to reduce the numbers of the Kel-Rupen by clashing with a foreign nation’s Grand-Vander hiding within the enemy camp.
Therefore, they had staged a demonstration to drive out the Grand-Vander, and just as the Prince had predicted, the Grand-Vander of the Tian Kingdom had abandoned the sinking ship.
“Were there no other peculiarities?”
“Well… if there is something peculiar, it is that they are leading all the civilians out of the fortress.”
“Oh? They are not all fleeing, are they?”
If those fellows fled, they would have to be pursued and caught.
He did not care about the others, but the Black Star had to be killed in this engagement. If they joined up elsewhere and fought together, it would become troublesome.
“No. The combat forces excluding the civilians are all remaining in place. Only a small escort force is attached to the civilians.”
“Huhu… Kranasha… For a woman, she has quite the disposition of a true warrior. Does she mean to bury her bones here?”
She must have known that if the armed forces, including the Black Star, left with the civilians, they would be pursued.
“Good. I shall respect that resolve. There is no time to delay. Once preparations are complete, commence the assault immediately. Today… we shall finish Kongtiang.”
“Yes! Understood. I shall contact General Kordan as well.”
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Kalragul led the Dragona and the civilians of the Kongtiang region toward the nearby city of Crutun, where the La-Shar-Roa were.
Although most civilians in the strategic point had evacuated long before the war broke out, when they gathered those who remained, the number was considerable.
General Grandal had hoped they would lead the civilians as well since they were heading to the La-Shar-Roa, and Kalragul accepted the proposal.
“Hmm……”
Beside him, Rian, seemingly ill at ease, kept glancing back at the fortress behind them.
Even if it was by His Majesty’s command, leaving the allied forces behind like this did not sit well with him.
Before even a day had passed since confirming their departure, Usharan had begun its invasion of the fortress.
Their allies were counterattacking fiercely enough that the bombardment sounds of Kullaren could be heard even here, but… they would not be able to last much longer.
Indeed, the outer walls had already been captured, and the Kel-Rupen and the Kanuans were climbing over the walls and surging inside with ferocious momentum.
“Lord Rian.”
“Yes. Speak, Lord Kalragul.”
“It is an unavoidable matter. We should consider ourselves fortunate that they have left open a path of retreat for us, at least.”
“But……”
“With such a chasm in strength, we would all be slaughtered like dogs. You are not alone, are you? Think of your comrades in the Dragona. And what of the civilians here?”
At those words, Rian made an expression that said there was no choice.
Kranasha had asked one thing as she sent them off.
Since they could not flee from here, she had asked them to lead the civilians to where the La-Shar-Roa were.
She had likely known that if they all went together, the Kel-Rupen would pursue them.
That sorrowful, yet resolute expression was unforgettable.
If Sian stepped forward, everything could be resolved, but asking Sian for such a favor was utterly impossible.
He was not a child who enjoyed killing. He had likely destroyed only the enemy’s war machines without taking lives this time as well.
Taking sides was something he loathed even more.
It was grievous enough that he had thrown himself onto the battlefield to protect them and his comrades; they could not ask him for such a request on top of that.
Rather, it was fortunate that they had withdrawn at this point. Indeed, since leaving the battlefield, Sian’s expression had visibly brightened.
Rian reaffirmed his position and duty, thinking only of the return journey, and turned around for one last look to take in the fortress of Kongtiang.
‘…Hm?’
The ground was shaking.
The Kongtiang Fortress—no, to be precise, from beneath the Kongtiang Fortress, the earth and the air were shaking violently.
The tremors were strong enough to be felt by their party, already several dozen kilometers away.
Before long, a violent and sinister energy exploded from the Kongtiang Fortress.
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The Kongtiang region had from generation to generation been a strategic point of the Kon region, one of the Seven Kingdoms.
If the Kongtiang region were breached, there was no terrain on the path to the capital that could be exploited for defensive advantage.
In other words, the Kongtiang region had for generations served as the rampart protecting Corindel, the capital of the Kingdom of Kon.
Then one day, one hundred years ago, Grand Arcanist Arantina, head of the Kon Royal Arcane Council, came to have a doubt while speaking with her friend, Grand General Muraka.
*If an overwhelmingly powerful army that cannot be opposed breaches the Kongtiang region and advances upon Corindel, what must be done?*
If a mighty host that simply could not be stopped were to suddenly breach Kongtiang and advance, and if they had neither the troops, funds, nor leeway to stop such a force, what were they to do? Must they simply suffer helplessly?
To this doubt of Grand General Muraka, Arantina pondered, and eventually provided one answer.
*If it is a mighty army our forces cannot stop, and our nation is driven to such peril, then in that very place, we shall sacrifice our flesh to shatter their bones.*
Having conceived this thought, Arantina immediately devised a plan and set it into motion, and one year later, the Grand Arcane Formation **Explosive Compression**, which vied for the top in destructive power even among First-Class Arcana, was constructed in the Kongtiang region.
And this fact was known only to the Grand General who guarded the strategic point from generation to generation, and the leaders of certain armed groups.
Because a hidden dagger is no longer a hidden dagger once it is revealed.
Thus, Explosive Compression, the hidden dagger of the Kongtiang region, had lain concealed deep beneath Kongtiang for nearly one hundred years.
“I never thought something like this would be used in my generation… Hehehe……”
Listening to the uninterrupted sounds of bombardment and screams from outside, Grandal gazed out the window with a complicated expression.
All preparations were complete.
The civilians had all been evacuated.
Kranasha, the Black Star, and the other warriors had all heard the plan and consented to it.
And to lure the enemy deeper, into a range from which they could not escape, they were fighting incessantly outside.
The young recruits with bright futures ahead had been sent along with the Dragona under the pretext of protecting the civilians.
*Yes… This will do…….*
At their troop level, they might perhaps manage against the Kanuans, but they could not overcome even a single Kel-Rupen.
Those fellows were not simply seventy Masters. The more they gathered, the more monstrous the strength they displayed.
Indeed, the Kel-Rupen formed battle lines and, based on overwhelming force, were slaughtering their allies incessantly outside.
They could not be allowed to reach the capital. They had to be eliminated here.
If only those fellows were gone, Usharan would no longer be able to continue its invasion, and the Kingdom of Kon would buy time.
Watching the enemy warriors and Kel-Rupen that had already penetrated deep inside the inner fortress, Grandal steeled his resolve.
At this point, no one would be able to escape. Even if they tried to flee, Lord Kranasha would buy time.
*Lord Kranasha, let us meet in the underworld.*
And inside the office, toward the small formation connected to Explosive Compression underground, he channeled vander in the prescribed sequence to verify his identity as the Grand General of the Kongtiang region.
Before long, along with a deafening roar from underground, the Grand Arcane Formation Explosive Compression began its activation.
**
This Grand Arcana, ranked among First-Class Arcana, possessed two flaws and one advantage.
The first flaw: because the flow of Exar was too violent and intense, the enemy would notice it the moment it activated.
The second flaw: the interval between the formation’s activation and the Arcana’s activation was extremely long.
Approximately one minute… especially if activated using only Thalric Stones and the formation without a Grand Arcanist, that time would extend to nearly three minutes.
Combined, these two flaws would bring about a fatal result: the moment the formation activated, the enemies would all flee beyond the Arcana’s range.
There was no way Grand Arcanist Arantina was unaware of this.
Nevertheless, the reason she had installed Explosive Compression in Kongtiang was due to a single advantage.
One advantage.
If activated despite all that, and if they lured the enemy deep enough into its range by sacrificing their own troops, it would manifest in the present world such immense destructive power that it could annihilate entirely the mighty host invading Kongtiang, and such widespread destruction that even forewarned, they could not escape.
That Explosive Compression, as Arantina had intended, leaped across a hundred years of time and space and distorted reality.
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*You think I’m stifling? Perhaps it’s better for you if I remain still, stifled. By about two hundred times.*
—An excerpt from a dialogue with La-Vander, Black Moon, and Caracal, 150 years ago
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Sian felt relieved upon leaving the battlefield, yet at the same time, an uncomfortable feeling lingered.
It was good that he would no longer be involved in the battlefield, but the figures he had left behind came to mind.
But he could not interfere simply because it was regrettable.
If someone like him intruded into the world driven by mere emotion, the paths of far too many would be crushed before him.
Such was the extent of his power.
Should the goals and dreams of countless people collide with his path, he could trample over their very lives in a single instant……
Therefore, Sian deliberately narrowed his world and avoided collisions. Centered on himself and his family, those he could never abandon.
If the Kingdom of Usharan did not collide with him and his family, there was no need to deliberately clash with it.
While thinking thus, Sian felt the earth tremble and looked toward the Kongtiang region.
*So they ended up activating it……*
Though it had been thoroughly hidden, Sian had sensed the ferocious flow of Exar underground throughout his time in the Kongtiang region.
The reason he had wanted to leave the battlefield quickly was also that if it activated, he would have difficulty protecting anyone other than his brother and Celine.
The moment the Arcana activated, a pitch-black sphere centered on the fortress Sian was watching covered the Kongtiang region.
The fortress, the region, the warriors, the Kel-Rupen and the Kanuans—everything—a massive sphere of darkness roughly five kilometers in diameter enveloped them all, and before long…
It contracted in an instant. To the size of a human head.
Nothing remained where the black sphere had enclosed the land.
Not the earth… not the castle… not even the portion of the mountain range that had lain behind the castle.
As if Krona, the colossal Harijan said in ancient times to have upheld the Heavenly Mountains, had taken a bite out of it……
At length, the black sphere, having contracted to the size of a human head, began to plummet rapidly beneath the vanished earth according to the laws of gravity, and the atmosphere began to be violently sucked into the place where even the air had been bitten away and disappeared.
A moment later, a thunderous roar spread out, and as the air that had rushed in collided violently, a thick cloud of dust billowed all the way to where the Dragona were.
Watching the entire process, Sian narrowed his eyes as though he had discovered something in the dust. ‘Heh, heh, heh, heh…….’ Sian raised his eyes in disbelief and laughed.
Celine, who had been staring blankly at the absurd sight unfolding before her and at the black sphere that now looked exceedingly small, frowned at the sudden dust cloud stirred up by the wind being sucked inward.
Before long, an immense roar erupted far away, from the center of the deeply gouged pit. It must have been the sound of the black sphere that had been floating in midair crashing down to the ground.
Because of the secondary cloud of dust that rose from it, Sir Celine narrowed her eyes and looked toward Kontiang—or rather, toward what had once been the Kontiang region—and saw certain figures flickering into view.
“Huh?”
It seemed Celine was not the only one to see them, for one of the Dragona beside her also cried out in alarm. ‘Could it be… Sir Kranasha and the armed warriors have returned alive?’ Although it had been unavoidable, the Dragona, who had felt uneasy about leaving only them behind, brightened.
If they had prepared destruction on such a scale, then it was possible they had also prepared some special means of escape in advance.
But soon the Dragona’s expressions sank into despair.
What emerged through the hazy dust were… dozens of Kel-Lupens flashing crimson eye-light.
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“Hah… hah… Kranasha… Grandal… you mad bastards……. I really nearly died……”
Nazgal grumbled as he pushed through the dust.
If General Kordan had not been there, he would have died for certain.
Seeing the phenomenon that had unfolded behind them only made that thought more certain.
An implosion that compressed everything within its range and turned it into a tiny point.
If it had crumpled and forced a five-kilometer diameter into something the size of a human head, then being alive inside that would be the truly strange thing.
Not even a Grand-Vander—no, not even the grandfather of a Grand-Vander—could come back alive from within that.
The instant he felt the flow of Exar, mighty and wicked beyond measure, deep underground, he cut down the Black Star bastards who were clinging to him and gathered the Vanders and Kel-Lupens around them, centered on General Kordan.
It was already too late to run away. That was why he had to place his hopes on General Kordan.
To be precise, he placed his hopes on the first-class artifact General Kordan possessed,
Named after Narangel, the legendary demon said to have played with space in the ancient Age of Myths, the artifact “Narangel’s Gate” could, once per day, move up to sixty-six companions including its owner within a radius of twenty kilometers.
Countless troops had died, but he had managed to save himself, the armed warriors, and sixty Kel-Lupens.
Before long, Nazgal looked far ahead, at the Dragona visible through the dust, and smiled.
Because he recalled another order from Second Prince Rakun. ‘It will be difficult… but if you can suppress Kontiang quickly and catch up with the Dragona, pursue them and bring me the head of that Grand-Vander called Karagul as well. Opportunities to find a Grand-Vander traveling separately are rare…….’
If the Grand-Vander fought together with the Black Star bastards inside Kontiang, it would be difficult, but if he fought while burdened with those Dragona brats beside him and the civilians, they could finish him off with the Kel-Lupens’ combined assault while minimizing damage.
That was why he had let them leave.
From the beginning, the reason he had left the Dragona traveling with the civilians alone, though he could have attacked them, was also that.
If they went around dragging all that baggage with them, they would not be able to flee far.
He had intended to finish off the Kontiang region, then pursue them with only the Kel-Lupens and a small number of armed warriors.
The reason General Kordan had come in the first place was also to launch a surprise attack through Narangel’s Gate if the Dragona had gone farther than expected.
“Heh heh… General Kordan… even in that urgent moment, you did not forget……”
“Whew… I truly nearly died. Let us hurry, finish them off, and go rest.”
General Kordan spoke as though they were picking fish up from dry land.
Nazgal agreed as well. With sixty Kel-Lupens, they could deal with a lone Grand-Vander, especially one with much to protect, without difficulty.
At length, Nazgal gave orders to the Kel-Lupens, and the Kel-Lupens split the dust as they charged fiercely toward Karagul at the very front of the Dragona.
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‘…Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…….’
Until now, he had stayed still because he did not want to get involved.
To him, Usharan and Kon were both the same. They were merely groups colliding for different ideals and interests.
He would not have cared even if it had been Tian, let alone a foreign country.
It was only because his brother stood on the side of the Kon Kingdom that he had helped just enough to ensure his brother would not be in danger; he had not actively helped because that would have made it seem as though he were taking one side.
That was also why he had let slide the fact that they had tried to kill his brother.
They had not charged at them in particular; they had merely charged because they were defending the castle. And since they had not suffered damage to that extent, he could overlook it.
But when they had chased them this far, asking to be beaten, it seemed rude to refuse.
Even though they had shown their intention to withdraw from the war, they still did this.
If he had not been here, everyone here would have died. Karagul and his brother, of course, and even the civilians.
Grind.
Having thought that far, Sian ground his teeth and drew the sword he had never once drawn until now.
What fault did the toys have?
He would quickly break them, then tenderize those slick bastards behind them who had gone out of their way to come this far to be beaten.
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‘Damned bastards…….’
Why were they picking a fight with people who were simply trying to return home in peace?
Karagul was flustered by the sudden situation, but he quickly grasped it and stepped back, giving orders for the formation.
Rian and Celine rapidly reorganized the formation, but the situation was hopeless.
If all sixty charged… he would be able to destroy only about ten before meeting his death.
If he fought together with the ones behind him, perhaps fourteen… that was the limit.
Their coordinated attacks were that terrifying. They were not merely sixty Masters.
Steeling his resolve, he drew up the Exar and Vander within his body.
At that moment, he felt the images of the Kel-Lupens charging toward him ripple.
‘Hm? What is this?’
Wondering whether they had pulled some trick, he examined the enemy, and saw that the images of all the Kel-Lupens were wavering.
But it was strange. Over the wavering Kel-Lupens, the images of other Kel-Lupens were overlapping.
The Kel-Lupen coming from the right overlapped with the image of a Kel-Lupen far away.
The image of a Kel-Lupen leaping down from above overlapped with the image of a Kel-Lupen sweeping across the ground as it charged.
To Karagul’s perception, it felt long, but in the blink of an eye, the images of all the other Kel-Lupens overlapped onto a single Kel-Lupen. One and sixty, sixty and one……
Had Kranasha been alive to see this sight, he would have been aghast. The very technique that had shattered the cores of four Kel-Lupens on the battlefield was being reproduced.
The only difference was that this time, there were sixty.
And at that moment, a single sword pierced through a core and jutted out.
Like a single awl piercing through dozens of stacked sheets of paper.
A single sword pierced through the cores of every Kel-Lupen whose form seemed to waver.
The tip of the sword that had skewered the cores withdrew again through the hole it had made, as if its duty was done, but as though it had been strained, the very end of the blade broke off as it pulled free, scattering the fragment to the ground.
By chance, Karagul picked up the fragment of the sword that had broken off after catching on the core of the Kel-Lupen closest to him among the dozens of pierced cores, and soon discovered something unusual.
The clean state of the fragment, as though it had never once been drawn from its sheath.
Though it had broken off, perhaps twisted by an immense force, the fragment itself had preserved an exceedingly pristine state.
Among the Dragona, there was only one being who had never once used his sword like this.
‘…Sian?’
Without even having time to pay attention to the Kel-Lupens all sprawled across the ground, Karagul looked around, but Sian was nowhere to be seen.
Then, at that moment, from far away in the dust, faint screams seemed to drift over.
Thwack! Whump! Crack!
Guh! Urgh! Gak!
Before long, when the dust cleared, everyone, including the Dragona, could see the scene.
Beyond the sprawled Kel-Lupens, six people were being beaten with great enthusiasm.
“Misters! I! Huh! Said! I was just! Leaving! So why! Did you! Chase me! All the way! Here! Argh!”
“Kraugh! Gak!”
“I was going quietly! But you had to! Come all the way here! Grrr!”
Four of them had already fainted, and two were being vigorously beaten by Sian with the flat of the broken sword.
‘…Is that the one called Nazgal? I do not know who the rest are.’
Karagul decided to stop paying attention. It did not matter who they were.
Considering what Sian had just done, it was only natural that two mere Masters were being beaten.
Once Sian had tenderized them sufficiently, they could pick them up and interrogate them then.
‘When he is done, I will have to give them a few blows myself… I am not very pleased either…….’
Thinking so, he took command of the Dragona, who were staring at Sian with expressions of disbelief, and began collecting the wreckage of the fallen Kel-Lupens.
Even if they could no longer be used because their cores were damaged, the king would be pleased if they brought them to him. They would have research value.
Since it might take a long time, Karagul first began directing the personnel, calming the startled people, and proceeding with what needed to be done.