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Chapter 184:
Chapter 184:
Chapter 184:
Upon receiving Otto’s orders, Qasim immediately led his mages to destroy the Serpent’s Path.
Destruction was easy.
All they had to do was plant explosives made with magic stones all along the Serpents’ Path and detonate them.
It was an easy task, especially for Qasim.
*Whoosh*
With the cube-shaped device he had obtained in the past, Qasim was able to utilize some flight capabilities, allowing him to install explosives underneath the bridge.
Qasim wasn’t the only one who could fly.
*Flap* *Flap* *Flap*
“Gwik! Pengi helps too! Gwik Gwiik!”
Surprisingly, Pengi, a member of the Peng tribe, also had the ability to fly.On the other hand, swimming was out of the question for him…
‘Good.’
Nearing the end of the operation.
‘I just need to install it up to here….’
Qasim smiled as he checked the few remaining explosives in the sack at his waist.
Soon the Serpent’s Path will be destroyed, and the Baltin forces attacking Fort Chergori will be unable to move.
‘As expected, Your Majesty’s strategy reigns supreme on the continent.’
Just then.
*Booom!*
A bomb planted about five meters away from Qasim suddenly exploded.
That was a very rare occurrence, but it wasn’t entirely unheard of.
The bombs made from the crystal had a one in a hundred million chance of detonating themselves.
The odds were extremely low, given that the crystal itself was a concentration of mana, but the odd explosion did occur.
“Huh?”
Confused, Qasim looked back.
Then, the mana bombs placed along the Serpent’s Path triggered a chain reaction explosion.
Due to one mana bomb exploding, the others detonated in succession.
“Aaah!”
“Everyone, Hurry! Run now!”
The magic swordsmen who were planting the bomb with him were forced to run with all their might, or cling to a cliff for dear life.
And Qasim was….
“Huh? Uuh?”
Just then, a landslide hit where he was, and the cliff came crashing down.
“Aaaaahhhhhhhh!”
“Gik! Gwik Guik!”
Qassim and Pengi had to demonstrate their flying abilities to survive, but it was futile
*Rumble* *Tumble* *Rumble*
Chunks of rock weighing hundreds of kilograms to thousands of tons crashed down on Qasim and Peng.
*Smack*
A large boulder struck Qasim in the head.
“Keok!”
Stunned, Qasim began to fall.
“Gwiiiik! Gu, Guiiiick!”
Pengi swooped down the cliff to save Qasim.
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A few hours later.
“…Ugh.”
Qasim woke up, clutching his head in pain.
“Gik! Are you okay? Gu! Gwikk!”
“W-Where is this?”
“Guic! Pengi doesn’t know either! Gwack! I flew trying to survive and ended up seeing a cave, so I came in!”
“A cave…?”
“Giik! That’s right! Are you okay, Qasim? Gwuik!”
“My head hurts a bit, but I think I’m okay.”
“Guic! Thank goodness! Gwik!”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I survived again.”
“There’s no such thing as gratitude among friends! Guiiiikk!”
“Still, gratitude is gratitude. I already owe you my life twice. When will I ever repay this? Hahaha.”
“Gwik! Pengi helps friends! Guikk!”
“Okay. Thank you as always.”
Qasim expressed his gratitude to Peng repeatedly and then looked around.
“…It’s really a cave within the cliff.”
He peered out and saw a sheer drop of a thousand feet.
“We’re lucky to have found this cave, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to avoid the falling rocks.”
“Guic! Yes! Gwik!”
“Oh my, it’s my fate.”
Qasim lamented his predicament.
He was thinking it was going to be peaceful for a while, but then he was caught in an explosion and sent crashing down a cliff.
‘I’m too low on mana to fly right now, so I’ll have to take a break before I can return.’
If his mana had run out while flying, it would have been all over.
Furthermore, my left leg was broken and bent at an eerie angle.
“Argh!”
When he came to his senses, suddenly intense pain rushed in.
Qasim pulled out the jelly made from Quran’s waste and ate it, twisting his own leg.
*Crack*
An awful sound rings out.
“Grrrr!”
Qasim groaned at the immense pain, but it was short-lived.
The effects of the jelly were undeniable.
In the blink of an eye, the pain disappeared, and the broken leg was healed.
“Keuu! His Majesty’s grace is so great. Thank you very much!”
Qasim bowed low towards the outside of the cave.
‘If you happen to get seriously injured, please eat this. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.’
Tears welled up in Qasim’s eyes as he remembered Otto, the man who had given him the jelly not long ago.
And then.
“Huh?”
Qasim exclaimed, startled to spot something in the cave.
‘Could it be a monster?’
*Snap*
As a magic swordsman, Qasim snapped his fingers and created a flame.
The tiny flame dispelled the darkness and illuminated the darkened cave.
The result.
“Hic!”
“Guic?!”
Qasim and Pengi exclaimed in disbelief.
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The army of the Kingdom of Lota, which departed from the Toorong Fortress, advanced swiftly to the capital of the Baltin Kingdom in the blink of an eye.
The reason was simple.
The current Baltin Kingdom had only a minimal force left to defend its capital.
The main force was attacking the Chergori fortress.
The reserve force was far away, chasing after Amukhan and his cavalry.
In other words, it was a completely empty house.
Of course, even if they were to attempt to occupy the capital, they would have to endure tremendous losses.
“What do we do now?”
Camille asked Otto.
“Wait. I don’t intend to fight.”
“What?”
“Checkmate. Let’s finish this cleanly by just capturing Chech IV.”
“Is that easy?”
Camille was dumbfounded.
Even if they had made it all the way to the capital, capturing the king of a kingdom shouldn’t be that simple.
However, Otto had a different idea.
“Yes, it’s quite easy.”
“What?”
“Easy as shit.”
Otto chuckled.
Gamer Kim Dojin is a master at researching and playing Otto de Scuderia to the extreme.
It was an undeniable fact.
The mere knowledge that the dwarves’ mines in the mountains of Kashmir were a bypass was proof of that.
‘They’ll hold on to the capital as long as their border is broken. It’s impossible for our forces to take the capital, we simply don’t have the manpower, and even if we did, we’d suffer heavy losses.’
But if one knows a strategy?
‘It’s easy.’
Otto smiled, and gave an order to Camille.
“From now on….”
The next moment, the plan began to flow from Otto’s mouth.
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“What can I do about this? What should I do about this!”
Chech IV nearly fainted when he received the report.
Not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine that a massive army would suddenly appear out of nowhere, like lightning in a clear sky.
He wasn’t the only one.
*Thump* *Thump*
Even the officials who were in attendance were having a hard time keeping their composure in the face of such a ridiculous situation.
“Main force! Bring in the main force! I mean, call in the main force stationed in the front!”
Then.
“Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!”
A messenger rushed in with grim news.
“They say that Fort Toorong has been occupied and the Serpent Path has been destroyed!”
“W-What?!”
“We’ve lost contact with our troops, who are attacking Fort Chergori!”
“This bloody thing!”
It was a slap in the face.
In order to defend the capital, which was as empty as a shell, the troops sent out to Kashmir were desperately needed.
Of course, the Baltin Kingdom didn’t completely lack spare troops.
An army stationed on the border with the Kingdom of Slaine to the east.
There was also an army on the border with the Kingdom of Loredin to the west.
However, if the armies stationed at both borders were to be called back, it was clear what would happen next.
Calling in the armies stationed at both borders to stop the Lota Kingdom’s army would have resulted in the entire kingdom being torn apart.
Why?
Because then not only would they have to deal with the Kingdom of Lota, but also with the neighboring Kingdoms of Slaine and Loredin.
“What have you people done to bring this to this point! How the hell did things come to this! Does this even make sense?! Does it make any sense at all?!!”
Chech IV vented his anger by berating his vassals.
He had every good reason.
Unimaginable things happened one after another.
He couldn’t even begin to fathom where it all began or where things went wrong.
But this wasn’t the time for finger-pointing.
They had to put out the fire at their feet first.
After all, the army of the Lota Kingdom, which had already advanced to their doorstep, was about to lay siege to the capital city….
“Why is nobody saying anything? Why is nobody speaking up?! We should be coming up with a plan, shouldn’t we?!”
Chech IV repeatedly urged his officials, but unfortunately, there was no response.
Unfortunately, his subjects were not exactly the most adept at strategizing.
No troops at hand.
The enemy is near.
And no reinforcements to call upon.
It was a situation where he couldn’t do this or that
“Y-Your Highness.”
A vassal spoke up cautiously.
“I think the only option for now is for us to fight them in the capital.”
At that, the others chimed in.
“We agree, Your Majesty.”
“For now, we have no choice but to hold out.”
“We’ll have to hold out until our troops who chased the enemy cavalry return.”
Of course, there were other opinions.
“Your Majesty, I believe you are right to do Mongjin.”
“Cherish the Jade Body.”¹
“For now, I believe it is time to look ahead to the future.”
A Mongjin is when a king empties his capital and takes refuge, a highly dishonorable act.
However, in the current situation, it was also worth considering as a viable option.
If King Chech IV were to be captured, it would cause all kinds of trouble.
‘What should I do?’
Chech IV contemplated.
Should he fight a decisive battle at the capital?
Or perhaps he should retreat.
That was entirely up to Chech IV in the end.
‘Mongjin at a time when public sentiment is in turmoil….’
Last winter.
The Baltin Kingdom was ravaged by a devastating snowstorm, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people as they froze to death.
As a result, even as summer approaches, the public sentiment remains very grim.
Amidst all this, if they were to lose the war, if the capital were to fall, and even the king were to flee, it was as clear as day how public sentiment would turn out.
‘Yeah, being caught in such a situation, I can’t just flee. How can I run away from rural lords in Kashmir? Rather than showing my back to the likes of Otto de Scuderia, I’d rather die.’
Chech IV’s sense of pride was unbending.
Any other enemy would have been one thing, but running away from a provincial lord, the lowest of the low, would have brought judgment on him.
He couldn’t imagine how far the rumors would spread.
Even if he did manage to escape and survive this, he’d be criticized for the rest of his life.
“All of you listen.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
King Chech IV declared to his subjects.
“There will be no Mongjin! I will stand guard over the capital! How could I turn my back on a mere rural lord, and how could I abandon my people and flee? Bring me my sword and armor now!”
Having thus declared, King Chech IV commanded his subjects.
“Issue a conscription now and prepare for a decisive battle! We will defend our capital against the invading enemy!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“And send messengers to each border, instructing them to send half of the stationed troops back here! Also, order our cavalry units chasing the enemy’s cavalry to return to the capital…”
Just then.
*Clang!*
*Clang!* *Crash!* *Bang!*
There was a flurry of activity in the palace courtyard.
“Enemies!”
“Enemies are coming!”
Soon after, screams began to echo.
“Your Majesty!”
The knight guarding the entrance rushed in and shouted.
“The enemy is attacking! They have penetrated our palace!”
“W-What!”
“The enemies are numerous, you must quickly take shelter!”
The news was like a bolt out of the blue.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. The practice of referring to kings as “jade body” has its roots in the Joseon Dynasty (????), which lasted from 1392 to 1910.
The term “jade body” symbolized the king’s divine and virtuous nature. Jade, revered for its purity and strength, embodied the ideal qualities expected of a ruler. By adopting this title, kings emphasized their moral authority and connection to heavenly principles. (Though think I explained it already back then in previous(?) chapters)