◈ 532. [Side Story] Crack (3)
The next morning. advance base.
The last three months of restoration work and simultaneous battles had been fought here, and the aftermath of the previous battle remained intact.
Parts of the outer wall collapsed and were eroded by tree roots.
The tree monsters, which had driven right in front of the outpost, stopped moving in that state, took root in their place, and returned to normal trees.
I broke out in a cold sweat watching the trees lined up in the field south of the outpost.
“… Should I cut it?”
The head of the carpenter’s union, who had been working with me to restore the outpost, nodded.
“It’s not very profitable for wood, but I think it should be.”
“Can’t you eat it?”
“They are all rotten or burnt trees. I even heard a ghost once. I think it would be difficult to use it as wood.”
Well, it would be a bit embarrassing to make something out of a tree that lived until yesterday and tried to kill people.
“Cut just enough to secure sight and knock it down. Let it form a natural barricade.”
“I will, Your Highness.”
Workers and technicians brought in from the city began servicing the outpost.
Kkong-kang-kung-kung-kung-kung-kung-kung-hammer sound echoed watching the wall, turned around and saw an old man with a white beard with his hands behind his back.
Owner of the Ivory Tower. An archmage who is currently serving as the commander-in-chief of the world defense front. It was Diarmudin.
“The front line is in danger, Prince Ash.”
Diarmudin said, brushing his beard. I laughed bitterly.
“Yesterday was a great performance, Dear Mudin-nim.”
“What is the activity? You did what you always do. It goes without saying that my skills are better than that of gore clumsiness.”
Even when he joined the world defense front, he took the lead and talked about it, but after he joined the front, he was working very hard.
I mean, he’s the oldbie type who can’t just watch the newbies shoveling?
‘Oh, I’m not doing that,’ ‘Oh, I’m not using magic like that,’ ‘Oh, I’m not living life like that,’ pouring out nagging comments all over the place and taking the lead in every battle, shooting magic.
Every time I do that, I nag and whimper, so I’m not very popular, but… … I think I know what kind of personality it is.
“You mean we have to fight dozens of more battles like this in the future?”
It seems that the target of Diarmudin’s nagging this time is me. I listened quietly.
“I bet you. At this rate, the wire here will collapse.”
“… .”
“We are repelling a major offensive every few days at a level that other fronts would have to defend every few years. Materials are supplied from all over the world, so even if it’s okay, how will people cope with the accumulated fatigue?”
It was as Diarmudin said.
fatigue.
The monster wave of the third year, which came at twice as often as the monster invasions of the past, was steadily accumulating fatigue on our side.
Even in the future, the cycle is getting shorter and shorter. For a while, there will be a defensive battle once every two weeks, and in the second half of the third year, a wave of monsters will come once every 10 days.
As the cycle becomes shorter, it would be ideal to rotate this side and send them out to battle in turns… … I can’t do that now.
Because it is impossible to carry out defensive battles without elite heroes and veterans.
Even if regular soldiers rotate, in the end, the elite must continue to fight.
and cut off
“It is no coincidence that the Sky Knight Mikhail Vermilion made a mistake and failed by a narrow margin, annihilating his Order.”
Diarmudin fired nonstop.
“Everything is inevitable. All things have causes and effects.”
“… .”
“For the past three months, the Sky Knights have been abused, and they have steadily stepped towards destruction. And at the crucial moment, I made a fatal mistake in judgment.”
I gazed intently at Diarmudin.
“In the end, the Sky Knights were wiped out… … Are you saying it was my fault for managing them harshly?”
“Then are you going to deny it?”
My gaze on the ivory tower collided in the air.
Their gazes clashed violently, but eventually I sighed and looked away.
“… That’s right. Lord Diarmudin.”
I am the commander-in-chief of this front. I am responsible for all deaths.
In addition, Diarmudin’s view of looking at the war situation macroscopically from a structural point of view also makes sense.
If you look closely, you can see that the Sky Knights were wiped out for nothing because of Mikhail’s mistakes and recklessness.
However, from a distance, it can be interpreted that the operational situation of the entire frontline was pushed to the limit, so fatigue and strain piled up, and the annihilation of the Sky Knights was just one of the results brought about by this situation.
‘It may also be just the beginning.’
Due to accumulated fatigue, other heroes also start to make unusual mistakes, and the tiny flap of a butterfly’s wings can become a fuse that leads to the destruction of the front line.
This is exactly what Diarmudin pointed out.
That the monster front is structurally in crisis.
“Everyone is being consumed. and Prince Ash. That consumption is the same for you.”
“… Am I being consumed?”
“So you mean no? As the number of deaths rises, you can clearly see them sinking in depth.”
I kept my mouth shut. Diarmudin pointed a finger at me.
“If you keep fighting like this, you won’t be able to last the rest of the long race and you will have no choice but to collapse before the finish line. Like Mikhail and the Sky Knights who fell first.”
“… I am.”
I asked cautiously.
“What should I do? Could you lend me your wisdom?”
“Don’t you already know what advice I can give you?”
Diarmudin shrugged.
“Take your life.”
“… !”
“Instead of reducing fatigue by reducing the frequency of elite marches, fill the remaining empty seats with cheap lives. Although the cost of switching troops may plummet and the number of graves buried under the soil may increase, the front can be maintained.”
An elite magician among elites.
The ivory tower, a small country made up of only wizards.
Diarmudin, the lord of the ivory tower, said so. To exchange the lives of non-elites for the preservation of the power of the elites.
“But you won’t. It will be fighting not to do that.”
The old king’s eyebrows furrowed.
“You are a contradictory commander, Prince Ash. Although it is true that there are many who are loyal to you because they are drawn to that very contradiction.”
“… .”
“Since you have decided to walk the difficult path, isn’t it natural that trials will come your way?”
Diarmudin clicked his tongue.
“But bear in mind. The world calls a leader who can find a good compromise between ideals and reality.”
“… What if I can’t find it?”
“It would be either one. Either you’re an idiot or a dark soldier.”
Or—without a word behind his back, Diarmudin gave me a meaningful glance and jerked back. And then he went away empty.
I just grumbled.
“… After all, he is a good old man.”
But even though it was close, there was nothing wrong with it.
If this continues, the wire will not be able to withstand and will collapse.
It was like that in the game too. Unlike the 12th year, there were more battles in the 3rd year, so the fatigue of heroes and soldiers was almost always at its limit.
In the game, it was enough to just go from bad to bad with the stat debuff that comes with fatigue.
In real life here, you can’t. Fatigue does not simply reduce shame, but breaks people’s hearts.
Suddenly, I remembered professional sports, especially professional baseball player management.
Losing in a league-based professional baseball game is a strategic choice.
Discard matches to be discarded and build multipliers on matches that can be won with certainty.
And in this match, we appoint the best – a reliable starting pitcher and a reliable finisher.
Because players are people.
If you let him play all the games just because he is a good player, he will eventually wear out and break down. It is ideal to send out at points where you can win.
‘The problem is that monster defense isn’t a baseball game… … .’
If the monster front collapses, it’s the end.
Even one loss would be the end of the world. Each and every battle is bound to be an all-out war with a life and death risk.
In this situation, the bullpen to finish the start relay… … There is no way they can spare the elite members.
That’s why I’ve been fighting by throwing everything up until now, and I’ve endured somehow.
The third year was not easy. It was a time for change.
So- how?
‘It’s tough.’
I muttered to myself as I wiped my throbbing forehead.
‘It’s painful and difficult… … .’
***
Temple.
Standing in front of Mikhail’s hospital room, I caught my breath and pushed open the door. In the open hospital room
,
Mikhail was squatting and motionless.
Leaning against the wall in the corner of the bed, I buried my face between my legs. Still.
“… Mikhail.”
As I approached, I pulled a chair and sat in front of it.
“I heard you haven’t even had a sip of water. You can’t do that.”
“… .”
“You’re refusing treatment? If it stays like this, the wound may become worse and cause a bigger disease. You need to get treatment before that.”
“… .”
“Mikhail.”
Reluctantly, I spat out the following words to Mikhail, who was unmoving.
“Think of your comrades who fell while trying to save you. If you fall down like this… … .”
slap!
Before I could finish my words, Mikhail’s face immersed in the shadows flashed with scarlet eyes- and the boy knight’s fist grabbed my collar.
Mikhail shouted with a haggard face with dried bloody tears.
“Don’t speak easily!”
“… .”
“Don’t say it lightly! In front of my eyes, all of my colleagues who have been with me for the rest of my life died because of me… … ! But how do I… … !”
“It is not easy to say. I lost a lot in front of my eyes.”
I gently rebuked Mikhail, who shuddered and shouted in a shrill voice.
“But you have a remnant of people to lead.”
“… !”
seeds. soldiers. And even a spare griffon.
The remaining forces of the Vermillion Kingdom and the Blue Sky Knights still remain here at the Crossroads. And he only hopes for the crown prince’s recovery.
Is that all? In the far northwest of the continent, his homeland will also be waiting for his safe return.
The shock of defeat is indescribably great, but… … Abstaining from eating and drinking and refusing medical treatment is not something a crown prince can do.
Mikhail slowly released his hand from my collar as if he had calmed down a bit as he remembered the remaining people he was responsible for.
Mikhail lowered his head and muttered in a weak voice.
“I lost all my comrades, griffons, and weapons. now I… Can’t we fight any more?”
“The Sky Knights and the Vermilion Kingdom have contributed enough to the world defense front. I and everyone on this front know that.”
“So what? Is it okay to go back now?”
“… okay.”
Not only did the Sky Knights, the main force of the Vermilion Kingdom, be annihilated, but even the crown prince was injured. In this situation, how can we ask for more participation in the war?
However, the corners of Mikhail’s haggard lips curled up violently, as if he had taken my words seriously.
“… Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t go back like this.”
“Mikhail.”
“I lost all my precious comrades… How could I go back to my home country with only such a miserable failure?”
Blood ran through Mikhail’s pale hands and he gripped the bed tightly.
“Don’t be funny, don’t be funny. I will prove we You have to prove it. I know that we are the knights who fly the highest in the world… … .”
“… .”
With his head lowered, Mikhail continued to mutter to himself.
The psychological shock is great. I lost all my comrades right in front of my eyes.
I patted Mikhail on the shoulder one last time and stood up.
“For the sake of the people you have left, you should receive good treatment and eat well. got it?”
“… .”
“I will come again, Mikhail. I’m eating and resting comfortably. Don’t think about anything… … .”
With confidence, I left Mikhail’s hospital room.
Until the moment I left the room, Mikhail was muttering, curled up on a bed in a dark hospital room without lights.
“It can’t go on like this… I can’t admit… … I will prove… … me we… … .”
Staring into the air with scarlet eyes that flutter anxiously.
“That you can save the world… .”
