Chapter 158: The Moment of Reversal

‘What’s his intention?’

Ophern had mercilessly targeted Gisert’s weakness.

Unlike Gisert, who had to concentrate their power in one place, Ophern could use their power freely, so they expanded the battlefield.

That was until recently.

Not anymore.

A while ago, Ophern began to gradually tighten their front lines.

The more they narrowed the front they had worked to widen, the more comfortable it became for Gisert, because their power became concentrated.

Even though the battlefield narrowing would make things difficult for them.

“……Advance.”

Count Ophern had advanced to the point of near recklessness.

–Kiiik.

–Kiik.

The one getting excited was Gisert.

They recalled the servants they had spread wide and restrained Count Ophern, an Aura Master.

Kwaaaang!

While Count Ophern was active, House Gisert wasn’t just sitting idle either.

They weren’t fools either.

“Support! Don’t overdo it!”

“Ten servants half-destroyed!”

“Pull back! They need to be reusable!”

Gisert had once had their knight order nearly half-destroyed from a single painful failure.

They weren’t foolish or stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.

Using servants to restrain Count Ophern whenever an opportunity arose.

“Your Grace!”

They didn’t hesitate to use their pieces.

“1 …… I see. Ophern!”

“You’ve come.”

“We don’t have much to say to each other anyway.”

Kwaddeudeudeuk

Even the proud Duke Gisert was used like a chess piece.

While Count Ophern was tied down by Duke Gisert’s restraint.

“Servants! Advance!”

–Kiiiiik!

The strategists coordinated the servants, whose control had been improved through modifications in actual combat.

“They’re coming!”

“Block them!”

They were compensating for their insufficient forces with servants!

To respond to that, House Ophern also…

“Sidoa Knights, sortie!”

“Hisran, sortie!”

Brought the Sidoa Knights from the far north, and brought the Hisran Knights from the south, of which they had originally brought about half.

This was the knight order they had brought to cover the expanded battlefield.

They wouldn’t have been able to bring them if the north hadn’t stabilized thanks to Rayrn.

Kiiiiik!

“Monsters! Smash them!”

Ssuaaang! Kwang!

With one sword swing, at least three movements.

With one slash, the depth of the blade.

The knights who had deeply learned the martial arts taught by Rayrn faced the servants.

They endured, and endured again.

Kuaaak!

Compared to the powerful servants that could swing their weapons even when half-destroyed, they had frail bodies made of flesh and blood, yet they held out remarkably well.

While the knights bought time, the remaining soldiers gathered their weapons.

“Soldiers! Fire the scroll!”

“Yes, sir!”

Iron scrolls.

Swiik! Swik!

Whenever the mana-infused scrolls burst into light, magic was woven.

–Kieeeeeek!

They traded blows with each other.

The battlefield was harsh for Ophern.

“Hoh…… Is this all?”

As the battlefield narrowed and the more they concentrated their power, Gisert grew stronger.

The Duke, who used the power from the Domain of Earth, became stronger the more concentrated it was.

Ppeudeudeuk-

But it seemed difficult to control that enhanced power.

“Hm…….”

His entire body reddened, veins bulging—it wasn’t a pretty sight.

But still.

“……Ophern!”

“Are you only capable of calling out our family’s name?”

“Kek. I only bother to remember the name of what I’m about to destroy.”

“Nonsense. Which side will be destroyed? Kuh…….”

Kwaaaaang!

His power was undoubtedly formidable.

Count Ophern, who, in Rayrn’s terms, had reached the Hwagyeong stage and endlessly trained even after attaining complete Aura Masterhood.

Even with magic weapons equipped, he could barely withstand it.

Seueueu Hwaak!

Gisert, who endlessly harvested and used power as if it were infinite, was certainly strong.

A situation where Ophern might be pushed back!

But the strategists of House Ophern weren’t fools either, so they knew to bring out the hidden card they had prepared when necessary.

“Mana cannons!”

“Prepare the mana cannons!”

Cheoeok. Cheok.

The new weapon, the mana cannon, created by Rayrn.

It constantly charged mana through a formation and fired through magic—one of the deadliest weapons of mass destruction.

Rayrn, who had actually created the mana cannon, had said.

–It’s a failure.

He had dismissed it as a failure by his high standards.

“Ready to fire!”

Gooooo-

But the strategists saw potential in the mana cannon.

Because they knew that even if it didn’t meet Rayrn’s desired level, it still possessed powerful destructive force on its own!

Even if it was crude compared to what was made in Rayrn’s separate laboratory!

“Fire!”

Kwajeuk- Kwaddeudeudeuk!

They knew well that it could become another destructive weapon on this battlefield!

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

Dozens of mana cannons spewed fire.

“It’s a failure! It’s going to explode!”

“Take cover!”

Kwaddeudeuk Kwang!

Since it wasn’t a perfect weapon yet, it sometimes caught fire itself while firing.

“Kuaaaaak!”

“Kuh…”

“Re, retreat! This White Unit, regroup for now!”

Its overwhelming explosive power in an instant was enough to chill the hearts of House Gisert.

“Wha, what is that?”

“Bl, block it!”

It was enough to momentarily halt Gisert’s momentum.

“Heok……. Huk…….”

But showing one card didn’t completely turn the battle around.

Gisert’s concentrated power was strong.

For Ophern, who had abandoned their own advantage, it was natural to struggle against them.

Despite mobilizing new weapons and magical tools to barely maintain the battlefield, Ophern was gradually being pushed back.

“Regroup!”

“Sidoa Knights, swap!”

Flags coordinating the battlefield waved ceaselessly, and the stratagem battle among the strategists continued, dividing every minute and second.

‘I need to come up with something.’

‘I can’t be pushed back here.’

‘My lord!’

How would the enemy move if I moved?

How to respond to the enemy’s movements?

Even if I gave an order, could our allies carry it out?

Endlessly.

Ruthlessly, to the point where it seemed their trained brains might burn out!

Coordinating and adjusting the battlefield to lead soldiers was a difficult task even for strategists born with outstanding talent!

‘I have to endure.’

Even if they didn’t have the stamina of a knight, they had to endure the current situation with mental strength.

As strategists on a battlefield where hundreds or thousands could die from a single wrong judgment, they had to bear that weight.

“The enemy’s formation is changing.”

“How?”

“The left flank is empty!”

At some point, a change occurred in House Ophern’s battlefield.

For a moment, it was as if lightning struck the strategists of Gisert.

–Their concentration dropped.

–Maybe their power waned.

–The left flank… that’s their core!

–Something happened. What in the world? No, does it matter!?

Eye contact flashed in an instant.

They communicated with just their eyes.

These were strategists who had been steeped in the battlefield for a long time.

Having experienced real combat and surviving through stratagem battles, they were more tempered than before.

They couldn’t know why Ophern had made such a bad move.

But the empty left flank was an opportunity.

Those who create and use opportunities are first-rate.

Those who exploit existing opportunities are second-rate.

Those who don’t even realize an opportunity are third-rate.

They weren’t fools.

They were at the level of exploiting an opportunity they had spotted.

As second-rate strategists, they could act without hesitation.

“Are we going through with it?”

“We have to! It’s an opportunity we don’t know why it came!”

“The possibility of a trap?”

“None. I can be certain. The soldiers are also moving away. No knights either.”

“If we use the opportunity well, we can take the center.”

“That’s it!”

Countless calculations.

Methods.

Schemes.

After calculating and deriving countless moves like lightning, the strategists of House Gisert made a decision.

“Send all knights into the left flank!”

“In the meantime, the right flank will concentrate! Form a defensive line!”

“The center prepares to charge!”

Hwiik- Hwik-

Flags fluttered ceaselessly according to their orders.

The move was made.

It wasn’t just a single move in chess.

It was a move that depended on thousands of lives.

‘It’s an opportunity.’

‘Now. Now.’

An opportunity that may never come again.

It was rare for House Ophern’s strategists to show a losing move.

‘Is it for Count Ophern?’

‘I can’t tell.’

Who cared about the reason?

Wasn’t it enough to just charge forward?

In a stratagem battle, when you saw an opening in the enemy, you had to bite down hard.

You had to create a mistake so painful that the enemy couldn’t recover.

Squeeze into the small gap, widen it, widen it further!

Create a huge gap!

Kwadeuk!

And then they could devour the entire House Ophern.

There was no better time than now, when the battlefield was concentrated.

“Send a signal to His Grace!”

“Make sure he can jump out anytime!”

They coordinated the battlefield, spitting saliva.

The strategists were highly excited, as if they would seize this opportunity no matter what!

Cheoeok. Cheok.

“Advance!”

“Right flank, move!”

Now!

At their orders, House Gisert began to move.

Cheoeok.

The flags waved according to their thoughts.

And in that moment, tens of thousands moved in unison!

Jjireureureu-

Even standing still, it was thrilling enough to send chills.

Their legs tingled.

But they couldn’t miss even a single moment.

‘Even if it’s not a trap, they must be aiming for something. We have to respond to whatever move they make.’

‘It’s over. It was a fun fight… Stupid Ophern.’

Each strategist thought endlessly while watching the battlefield.

The empty left flank of House Ophern.

“Uwaaaaak!”

“Advance!”

“Stab them!”

Soldiers of House Gisert charged.

–Kiiik!

Well-coordinated servants ran faster than horses.

Puuk- Puk-

The servants, weapons of mass destruction, began swinging their arms at the soldiers of House Ophern.

With continuous modifications, the latest servants, closer to humanoid form, moved swiftly.

“Kuaaak!”

Even well-trained soldiers could barely hold on!

The soldiers of House Gisert filled the empty left flank of House Ophern!

They succeeded!

They aimed at the gap!

And stabbed it perfectly!

At this point, no matter what preparation House Ophern had made, they couldn’t stop it.

The seemingly evenly matched battlefield appeared to be completely overturned.

‘We won!’

Bureureureu-

The tingling in his legs, the chills returned.

Even stronger!

The excitement of seeing the entire battlefield orchestrated according to their plan and victory in sight!

The thrill of defeating House Ophern, which would be a credit to any county or even all of Malexia!

It was the greatest happiness and thrill of a lifetime.

But.

Geugeugeugeugeugeugeung-

Changes on the battlefield always emerge suddenly from unseen gaps.

“There is a fluctuation in mana!”

In an instant, the battlefield where victory seemed certain was being overturned again!

“Tha, that! That!”

Due to a sudden change!

A sudden flow!

When a reversal happens on top of a reversal, the damage grows even greater!

Kwaddeudeudeudeudeudeuk-

Space itself was changing.