Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 239: Battle On Two Sides

The time has come!

Just as planned, I commenced my operations by leading the first set of Magivores, an army of over seven thousand, towards the east.

Or rather, northeast, since the starting point is No Man’s Land, located far south.

The army charges for several hours nonstop, a real stampede. However, since this group consists mostly of Cadre 2 Magivores, their stamina and speed isn’t very impressive.

On the plus side, many of them are sky creatures, which gives me plenty of grounds to cover despite the many breaks in-between.

Since I estimated the journey to take me over a day to complete, I have to teleport to No Man’s Land on a frequent basis so I don’t lose access to it after the passage of a day.

It’s also to ensure no unforeseen circumstances occur to the sleeping Magivores.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort happens.

The journey is smooth, and after nearly two days of grueling travel, we finally make it to the Eastern Archipelagos.

There, I see several battleships and air vessels that take on the shape of giant floating swords.

I also see the natives of the Eastern Continent, even from my distance. They have clear light skin, with a near pampered glow about them.

All of them are dressed in what appears to be ceremonious robes colored in the monochrome hues of with black and white. The ones outside the vessels stand on what appears to be miniature floating swords.

’So this is the might of the Eastern Sects...’

How impressive.

Truly.

’They’ve taken a hold of all the small islands and made them into their territory. Now we can only face them on the water or land. But with their overwhelming numbers, a normal army would be overwhelmed.’

Unfortunately for them, they’ll be dealing with Magivores this time.

’Let’s start with this...’

I quickly command the Magivores and send them into a formation.

Then—

"ROOAAAARRRR!!!"

—They send out an aggressive shout, announcing their presence to the world.

Even from my distance, I witness as the Eastern Sects people begin to express some measure of panic.

This isn’t merely due to the presence of my Magivores.

No, they had likely seen us advance from a distance. The cause of their shock lies in two things.

Firstly, unlike Kalakuta, I don’t give them the opportunity to surrender. My sudden display of aggression betrays the normal style of the Freedom Fighters, which has undoubtedly caught them off guard.

As for the second point—

’Looks like it’s happening already...’ I smile, watching the waters before me bubble.

Then, rising from beneath it, are terrifying sea creatures shaped like a swordfish with several tentacles for fins.

Cadre 2 Magivores—Swordfin Squids.

They all rose out of the depths as a result of the cries of my Mavivores.

Poor things.

I imagine they feel like their territory has been invaded and they wish to fight against my Magivores.

But—

’You all are falling under my control.’

I raise my hand and speak to them, forcing the hundreds of Magivores to submit almost instantly.

Once they’re under my control, I send them towards the ships.

This has always been my intention.

’The Swordfin Squids are additional forces meant to help us secure great advantage in the sea battlefield. The sky Magivores will take care of the air vessels and those with flying swords. This pressure will force the enemy to either retreat or advance. But once they step on land, the remaining Magivores which I already have here will handle matters.’

I also possess a good number of Cadre 4 Magivores here, but it isn’t time to utilize them yet.

So, I send them to sleep.

’I believe the situation is a little stable for now. The most dangerous cards will remain dormant until I can completely focus on the battlefield. That will likely be in the late stages, though, since I have something else I need to take care of now.’

I use Tracing to return to No Man’s Land and awaken the second batch of Magivores.

"Let’s go!"

Without wasting any time, we quickly begin matching towards the western tundras.

I’m in a hurry now.

’The three Great Nations must have a way of communicating with each other. Since they saw the Freedom Fighters were already attacking Central Plains, the Eastern Sects and Western Alliance likely thought the decision had been made. They likely thought they could take their time to devastate the Northern Alliance. This only changed after I showed up with my Magivores, which they must have also been on guard for.’ I sigh deeply, thinking to myself as I charge ahead.

I don’t know how much they already know about me, but it’s safe to assume that they have an estimate of the total size of my army.

’In that case, they should suspect me of having more Magivores on my side. The Western Alliance should now know the situation in the east, which means they will quicken their invasion attempts. The longer I spend on the road, the more difficult they will make things for me once I arrive.’

Thankfully, the Magivores I prepared for the western tundras are far more aggressive and possess immense vitality compared to those in the first batch.

It had to be like this.

’The conditions in the tundras will be very harsh, not just for the enemies, but for us as well. These are desert creatures. Taking them to such a new and extreme environment will severely impede their combat potential. That’s why these aggressive ones are the best choice.’

Unlike with the east, I don’t have any great strategy or formation.

This will simply be a stampede.

’The rivers are frozen and the harsh winds discourage flying. This means everyone will fight on land.’

I laugh heartily as we travel unhindered.

’Let’s see how you like this!’

The journey takes two whole days, but I do not lose contact with the Eastern Archipelagos since I constantly use Tracing to travel to return there and observe the situation.

I also make changes to the formation and alter certain aspects of my plan based on the response of the opposition.

It’s very taxing, multitasking like this, but I take it all in good stride.

After a grueling travel, I finally directed my forces towards the matching army.

Unfortunately, the Western Alliance army has almost made it out of the tundras upon my arrival.

If I had arrived a day later, civilian casualties would have ensued.

But now—

’Looks like I’ll have to tweak my plans a little...’ I command my forces to split into two uneven sides.

The greater portion of them attacks from the front, while I make the second group circle around them. This not only prevents an escape, but it also alerts the Magivores of the tundras of potential threats.

Humans have ways of dealing with Magivores and warding them off. They should also know by instinct that human armies aren’t looking to settle into their territories.

I imagine the Western Alliance army intentionally marched slowly and didn’t cause any major commotion because of this

Thus, they were able to leave the tundras without much of a problem.

But it’s all for naught.

With my army posing as rival Magivores, the Western Tundra Magivores start to become erratic.

They step out of hiding, lashing out to protect their territory.

Unfortunately for them, this only makes them vulnerable to my control.

The moment they appear, I seize control.

Then—

"Attack!"

I initiate an assault on both sides.

Now trapped in the middle of two fierce Magivore armies, the Western Alliance can only resist with all their might.

The soldiers, with their uniformed fur coats and sleek projectile weapons that appear to be made of black metal, engage in futile resistance.

I only watch for a moment before returning to the east and continuing my battle there.

The problem with the Swordfin Squids is that their defenses are too minimal, and they are actually not a very powerful species.

They’re only exceptional at sea battles, but even then—

’There were only hundreds of them. It’s no surprise that they are all dead.’

I sigh deeply.

Thankfully, my objective has been achieved.

The Eastern Sect people have finally decided to advance into the land. They’ve even begun engaging with the Magivores I kept as the final line of defense.

That means... It’s finally time.

"Awake, my Cadre 4 darlings." With a cruel smirk on my face, I command the nine Cadre 4 Magivores to intercept the coming soldiers before vanishing.

With the two sides now confronting each other, even without me giving the orders, these wild Magivores will naturally seek to destroy their enemies.

Returning to the Western Tundras, I give the same order and my pawns become more aggressive in the battle.

Unlike Kalakuta, who stands at the forefront of battle, I remain at the rear and give my orders with silent precision. This allows me to manipulate the scenes on both battlefields without my life being threatened.

Hehe...

I’m certain these people expected someone like Kalakuta as their opposition.

Unfortunately for them, they got me.

And I’m not as nice as Kalakuta.

Even if they surrender, I won’t stop. I intend to completely stomp on the enemy.

Since no Freedom Fighters joined me in this fight, I didn’t have to follow Kalakuta’s method of offering his enemies a chance to retreat or surrender.

It was more efficient to attack them right away, so I did.

These people are witnesses to that.

So they have to die.

Yes, I recognize how unscrupulous and merciless my thought process is.

But we have all chosen to put our lives on the line in this battle. This is also a Trial Scenario I need to complete, or else I’d either die or be stuck in here forever.

I can’t afford to be lenient.

Several hours pass, and just as I predicted from the enemies—

"R-retreat!!"

—They begin to make their attempts to escape.

"Hehe... perfect!"

A retreating foe is easy to pick off.

Since the battle began and I started controlling the Magivores from behind the scenes, I also walked through the battlefields—particularly the escape routes.

Hehe!

That means...

"Where do you think you’re going?" I brandish my blade and stare at the surviving few who managed to break out of the Magivores blocking their path.

They barely survived, and their evident exhaustion tells me they’re easy prey.

I can finish them off myself.

"Y-you bastard!"

They yell at me, frustrated and angry.

It’s too bad.

I really don’t care what they call me.

As long as I win!

WHOOSH!

******

"Haaa... haaa..."

The battle finally concluded after three days.

Even before it started, I had strained myself to reach the target locations and strategize effectively.

I took account of everything and responded to changes in real time.

Even when the enemies fled, I didn’t spare a single one. Once the battle was over, I didn’t stay satisfied with the temporary peace.

Instead, I used their vessels and my Magivores to advance towards their lands.

Yes... Their Continents!

All continents in this Trial Scenario are relatively close to each other.

It didn’t take me a day to arrive on both continents, and with the Magivores I was able to bring across the waters, I slaughtered the remaining army at the cost.

I even managed to capture a few important individuals—representatives of their respective Great Nations.

Needless to say, the war has been won.

This battle has finally established me as a dominant force in this world, and now—more than ever—I look forward to the future.

I only hope Kalakuta has resolved matters at his end.

Returning to No Man’s Land with prisoners is rather difficult, since I have to alternate between both sides and ensure the non-lethality of the surviving Magivores whenever I leave a particular area.

Thankfully, I curbed this issue by immobilizing all the parties whenever I leave a particular location.

This continues until we finally return to No Man’s Land, where both sides finally unite and I lead everyone to the Sanctuary as a whole unit.

There, I have the non combative staff welcome me with relief and joy.

However, they have an unexpected news that taints the moment of celebration.

The Imperial Knight spy I captured all those months ago escaped with the surviving Imperial Family in my absence.

No one even knows how they escaped.

And since the people here are non-combative staff, they stood no chance against an actual Imperial Knight who even managed to steal an Armament.

Upon hearing this, I quickly chase after them.

It doesn’t even take me an entire day before I find their corpses in the black desert.

How foolish.

They really thought they could escape out here on their own.

I find the situation very strange.

But it’s over.

I can’t question the spy or any member of the Imperial Family any longer. It appears that Chapter has finally closed.

I still have a lot of unanswered questions and suspicions regarding the spy’s actions.

However...

... There’s no longer a point.

"The Great Bridgeworks project is no longer being threatened, and I even have new prisoners I want to interrogate.’ My smile widens as soon as I have this thought.

’Let’s channel our questions there...’