Temporary Magic Fortress Forward Base.
"Kuuuh......!"
The white knight commander kept retreating, spewing toxic fluid from his entire body.
His face had no eyes, nose, or mouth, only writhing malice that was rotting black, but.
I could read the emotions they were emitting as they looked at me.
Bewilderment.
And fear.
"What's wrong?"
I was approaching them without stopping, equipped with the King of Flies armor [Lord of the High Tower].
"Is this your first time facing an opponent completely immune to your attacks?"While my auto-turrets in the magic fortress poured out long-range bombardment.
I personally sortied to physically block the white knights from approaching any further.
They poured all their pollution on me as I got close, but...
I am immune to all poisons. Even that plague master Raven couldn't contaminate me with a frontal approach.
'As if your poison would work on me.'
Bang! Kuwaaaang!
Another barrage from my auto-turrets in the fortress swept across the area.
Of course, I was caught in the range too, but I easily withstood it with the overwhelming defense of [Lord of the High Tower].
On the other hand, the white knights caught in the range couldn't withstand it and collapsed, spewing toxic fluid.
"Kuuuuh......!"
The white knight commander trembled along with his few remaining subordinates.
I nullified their plague, and they had no other means to take me down.
If they tried to bypass, Kellibey would pour [Step Crusher] again onto the already devastated terrain.
And the auto-turrets would unleash a precise barrage.
The white knight commander belatedly realized that this magic fortress forward base was essentially impregnable...
Tat-!
He kicked the ground with his hooves and leaped back significantly.
Then he began to flee in an instant, leading his surviving subordinates.
"Whoa, what the! They're running away, Ash!"
Kellibey, startled, kept firing [Step Crusher] from atop the wall.
A few more white knights fell, caught in the collapsing ground and bombardment, but the white knight commander and about a dozen of his subordinates managed to successfully escape.
"It's okay, Kellibey. No need to chase recklessly."
Watching the enemies quickly disappear as if flying, I nodded.
The original reason for deploying the forward base was to blunt their spearhead, not to annihilate them.
Pursuing and completely annihilating them is the job of another unit.
"For now, we've reduced the white knights' numbers enough..."
I jumped up onto the magic fortress and nodded.
"Let's go support the other forward bases. Everyone must be struggling."
"Alright! But, are we dismantling this magic fortress before we go?"
Kellibey licked his lips as he looked at the hundred auto-defense turrets.
"It's a bit of a shame. These turret friends will disappear too..."
I grinned at Kellibey's words.
"Who says they're going to disappear?"
"Huh?"
"We poured 100 magic cores into making this. It'd be too wasteful to use it once and throw it away."
I planted the flag firmly on top of the magic fortress wall.
Then the magic walls assembled in fortress form began to disassemble in sequence, then reassembled themselves, clumping together...
And eventually transformed into the shape of a massive train. With auto-defense turrets still attached all over.
"Oh, good golly..."
Kellibey clung to the train, his eyes sparkling like a child with a huge toy. The other dwarves likewise drooled as they quickly boarded the empty spaces on the train.
"Even that Night Bringer bastard could transform between train and fortress, I can't lose out."
If I think outside the box, there are endless ways to apply my abilities.
After grasping the principle and form of how the mobile wall [Night Bringer] moves, I applied it to my magic fortress, and it worked out quite impressively.
I grinned as I sat on the roof of the train's lead car.
"Come on, let's go quickly! Everyone aboard! We're going to rescue the other forward bases-!"
Rumble!
We began to move towards the direction of the First Forward Base on our turret train.
***
The battle at the First Forward Base was almost over.
Most of the red knights had been rendered incapacitated by the combined magic bombardment of Junior and the mages, and while the red knight commander was still resisting with his few remaining subordinates...
"Honk honk! You bastard!"
Boom-!
Ratatatatat!
My magic train that suddenly appeared from behind rammed right into them, and the auto-defense turrets attached to this train poured fire at point-blank range, overwhelming them.
"Kraaah-!"
At the red knight commander's short roar, the surviving red knights began to flee quickly, just as the white knights had done earlier.
"Enough, let them go! Now's not the time to chase those guys!"
After stopping Torkel, Kuilan, Junior, and others who were urgently trying to pursue them.
I pointed towards the direction of the Second Forward Base.
"Personnel who can immediately participate in battle, board here! We're going to rescue the Second Forward Base! The remaining personnel, clean up the forward base, transform the walls into train form, and return to Crossroad! Execute!"
"Yes sir-!"
The subordinates moved immediately according to my orders without a single word of objection.
The on-site personnel Torkel, Kuilan, Junior, and other heroes, soldiers, and mages joined additionally, and we began moving towards the Second Forward Base.
"Everyone did well. Let's hang in there a bit more."
After encouraging the subordinates on the train, I nodded to Torkel.
"So, Torkel. How is it? Is the role of commander manageable?"
Torkel smiled bitterly in response.
"...At most, I've handled five or ten subordinates before, but this scale is certainly difficult. I'm very lacking."
Kuilan chuckled and slapped Torkel's shoulder.
"So modest, you were doing great!"
Junior added.
"It wasn't bad, right? However..."
"However?"
When I asked curiously, Junior shrugged.
"I thought it was a bit dangerous to enter enemy lines alone without a word or engage in one-on-one duels with enemy commanders. I wonder who he learned that from..."
Ouch.
As everyone silently looked at me with meaningful gazes as if they had made an agreement, I cleared my throat and turned my eyes towards the train's course.
"Alright, alright, we'll finish the battle evaluation later! Let's finish dealing with this!"
The Second Forward Base came into close view.
Here, an intense battle was taking place with black knights clinging close to the walls, but reinforcements deployed ahead of us were crushing the black knights' heads.
Flap! Flap!
A beast with a lion's body and giant eagle wings - a griffin.
And the Sky Knights riding those griffins.
Our Crossroad's aerial cavalry led by Mikhail had sortied from La Mancha and launched a surprise dive attack on the black knights.
"Kiiiek......!"
The black knights kept raising their scales, trying to curse the Sky Knights, but,
"Evade-!"
Each time, Mikhail gave instructions with uncanny timing, and the Sky Knights moved as one to avoid the curses.
"Reformat formation-!"
Leading the Sky Knights at the forefront, Mikhail wore a crown-shaped helmet that he had equipped for the first time in this battle.
This helmet, with impressively rising horns like a reindeer's, was the new Nightmare Slayer - [The buck stops here].
It's equipment manufactured with the magic core from defeating Cromwell.
Its effect is 'consciousness resonance with blood-related kin'.
Through this ability, Mikhail became able to share thoughts not only with Sky Knight members but also with griffins that share the same blood flowing in his heart.
All griffins and riders literally began to move with one heart and mind.
Swooooosh-!
The scene of griffin riders in the air simultaneously performing aerobatics and ravaging the enemies without a second's gap was beautiful.
Into this place where the tide of battle had already turned, my magic turret train barged in once again.
"Sweep them all away-!"
As I roared, the auto-turrets spewed fire, and the heroes who jumped off the train all at once swung their weapons.
With the Second Forward Base holding out strongly, the Sky Knights' air raids, and our rear surprise attack following, even the black knight unit could no longer endure.
They began to flee quickly through the empty defensive lines.
"Senior! And everyone!"
As I waved back to Evangeline jumping up and down on the Third Forward Base wall, Mikhail and the Sky Knight members landed beside me one by one.
"Ash. You came at the right time."
"Mikhail!"
"This Second Forward Base fell into the most precarious situation first, so I came to rescue it first."
I nodded towards the young king's new equipment as he spoke reliably.
"How's the new helmet?"
To my question, Mikhail smiled with satisfaction and tapped his helmet, [The buck stops here].
"It's very good. I can fight as if I'm one body with everyone. It's both fascinating and efficient."
By the way, Mikhail had driven out and purified the darkness embedded in this Nightmare Slayer within a day of receiving it.
It wasn't equipment with a kill count option... but still, is this even possible?
Just how much stronger has his mental fortitude become? He used to be the epitome of a fragile mentality.
When I subtly asked about his secret, Mikhail turned his gaze with a slightly saddened face and murmured.
"Hehe, marrying five people inevitably strengthens your mentality..."
"Ah."
Then I saw five queens approaching Mikhail's surroundings with fierce glares.
"Mikhail?"
"We're currently in consciousness resonance with that helmet's magic..."
"How dare you think such thoughts openly!"
"You're in for it now!"
"Uwaaaaah! I'm sorry! I was wrong! Aaaaah!"
I quickly turned around, leaving behind Mikhail's screams as he was being mauled. Well, as long as he looks happy, it's okay...
I gathered the personnel who could depart for the next battlefield immediately from the Second Forward Base.
"We must go rescue the Third Forward Base! It's where the strongest enemy in this battle is lurking, so only those with enough strength left should follow!"
The one in charge of commanding the Third Forward Base is my right-hand man, Lucas.
I think he's holding out well, but we should still go to his aid as soon as possible.
As I was thinking this and encouraging the subordinates tired from the previous battles...
Bang! Boom......!
An explosion sounded from afar.
Everyone looked that way in surprise. I hurriedly turned my head too.
And we could see a pirate ship-shaped airship falling with explosions in the not-so-distant sky.
Our Crossroad's new airship that was stationed at the Third Forward Base for retreat purposes.
"Blue Pearl...?!"
The Rompeller pirate crew's flagship was falling helplessly to the ground.
"Urgent report-!"
Following that, a single cavalryman came rushing from the direction of the Third Forward Base.
That cavalryman, his whole body frozen, nevertheless desperately rode up to us, then dismounted as if almost falling off his horse and knelt before me.
Opening his frozen, trembling lips, he reported.
"Re, reporting, Your Majesty!"
"What happened!"
"The Third Forward Base has fallen!"
The blood drained from everyone's faces.
"We were holding out well, but suddenly the enemy commander exerted some unknown immense power... When casualties occurred, they suddenly became stronger. Then the tide of battle turned sharply..."
"Oh no...!"
"Commander Lucas urgently retreated the remaining survivors, and then..."
The soldier paused his report, taking a breath. Unable to wait, I urged him on.
"After retreating them, what about Lucas?"
Then the soldier, with a deeply contorted face, barely answered.
"Saying he would buy time, he remained at the forward base...!"
--TL Notes--
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