Chapter 26 - The Evil God's Roar (Part 1)

Hi ladies & gents, I will be splitting chapter 26 into 2 parts cause it is too long. As shown below is the word count.

Translator : Lunate, TLC: Baka367, Editor : Champion9124

Word Count : 3242 words

Part 1

The Civil war turmoil within the Fortress City of Paula began unnoticed as the majority of the populace was fast asleep. On the second floor passages, within the great walls where the Water Mirror HQ lies, the elites team of Izapnar were poised to launch their raid, which was followed by a battle proceeding the god militia's ambush of the Water Mirror Camp.

Just before the raid was carried out, one member of the elite group, without any regards of any danger, had brought the attack information to the Water Mirror HQ.

"Ah, Mr.Zeshald."

"What's the current situation?"(Zeshald)

In one of the rooms of the Water Mirror HQ, those who were injured in combat were being healed. In the corner of that room, several water arts users were doing their utmost to heal one lady. The young lady who wore a burned uniform of the water troupe, had been burnt around her shoulders. She was the one who brought information about the attack.

"Currently, the passageway is on a offensive and defensive stalemate, the girl has 3rd degree burns and our water arts can't..."

"Hmm, let me try..."(Zeshald)

Zeshald began to exercise his power of healing and the lady's skin started to regenerate instantly. The fact that Zeshald had mastered the healing arts, and on top of that, the effect of the sacred treasure added on, allowed him to display a miracle type of healing not known to the world of water arts in history.  

A burnt wound caused by fire arts which would normally take more than 10 days to recover, was instantly healed without leaving a scar.

"AMAZING......so this is the power of the sacred treasure!"

"Fortunately, had she not informed us about it, there would have been more injured allies."(Zeshald)

The Water Arts personnel rejoiced at the recovery of the lady, and one after another they began to carry the wounded into the room. As she was still unconscious they had left her on the bed. Zeshald began to heal those who had major injuries and at the same time he took over the command as the water mirror's military commander.

Since a while ago, Reifold had ran over towards the Queen Risha's location, thus the current situation was being transmitted immediately.

"Now then.....Yuusuke's reinforcements might not be able to make it in time."

Izapnar chose this day and this timing to attack as a strategy to make the most out of the geographical, force balance and weather advantages against the Water Mirror. Since the founding declaration of the Water Mirror, Fonclanc had also started to move. As the restructuring of the forces against the foreign enemy have not been completed yet, Izapnar had to use a way to seal and prevent the growing power by restraining the amount of forces the Water Mirror was gathering.

If the water mirror were to continue to have a substantial amount of force flowing to the Queen and if her forces were to stand in line with Izapnar's forces, the difference in terms of authority and the support from the populace within Blue Garden would reverse their positions in  power.

In order to prevent that from happening, he had to crush the water mirror no matter the type of method, be it brute force. The Water Mirror had expanded to a threatening size, and Fonclanc's troops were at the border at the same time. Due to the history they had with the Darkness God Corps, who were glaring at them from the border, he was forced into this situation.

The rain, which had continued to pour down for 3 days until yesterday, became a blessing in disguise for Izapnar.

------

"What's the current situation at the battle front?"(Izapnar)

"All according to plan., Belushya who notified them of the raid is seriously injured and currently protected within the Water Mirror Camp."(Volmes)

"Great, all that is left is to wait for the attack on Zeshald"(Izapnar)

"Just in case of failure, should we press on a little more?"(Volmes)

Izapnar replied "Yeah" to the proposal Volmes made. They continued their advance in order for the Civil War play to not fail in it's deception. At the same time, they had to eliminate all of the Queen's forces that were here in Paula, as they didn't have anywhere else to retreat to.

Just now, a scout who was monitoring the fortress on the border had arrived with news about Fonclanc's troops whom were getting to a sortie position. Currently, a part of the great wall is where the battles are occurring, it is also within the distance range whereby immediate reinforcement could reach by rushing with high speed horse drawn carriage. They could reach it in approximately 40 mins.

However, now the ground was in it's worst condition and the visibility during the dark night is bad. No matter how many wind arts were used as assistance, the wheels of the horse drawn carriage kept sinking into the mud under the weight of the many soldiers it was transporting, thus the speed wasn't very satisfactory.

Even if they had managed to travel at the normal speed, it would be around sunrise when they arrived at the vicinity of the Great Wall. By that time, everything would have been settled. For the time being, everything is going according to plan.

"Fufufun, It will be very interesting if I returned Zeshald's corpse in reply for Gearhawk Fortress."

Opportunities is what you create for yourself, Izapnar was convinced in this saying.

(TL note: I wonder if I should use Sun Tzu quote instead:" The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself")

------

"Captain! Please Wake Up, Captain Yuusuke!"

"O waa? What What!"(Yuusuke)

Yuusuke who had been working late all night and didn’t lay down until a little while ago was awakened by the Aisha who rushed breathless into his room.

"A Civil War in Paula! Zeshald's Water Mirror and the elite troupes of Izapnar had just entered a state of war!"(Aisha)

"!!! They had finally made their move."(Yuusuke)

Just as the Deernook Fortress began to fall asleep, due to the sudden change all the soldiers began to run around and the overall tension gradually increased . Yuusuke immediately took his change of clothes and began to change into his squad’s uniform which was prepared before hand for a sortie. His hard work had paid off, up til now he had been working until midnight on the new equipment that was meant for the horse-drawn carriage.

The moment Yuusuke arrived at the base floor of the fortress, the carriages which were fully prepared by the workers who were swarming the area were all ready to go. The soldiers were also all lined up and ready for the sortie. Hivodir clad in his flame corps uniform spearheaded the leading and instructing of the soldiers.

"You have finally come, Yuusuke, at last we can depart! Now, give the soldiers an awe inspiring speech."(Hivodir)

"I’ll pass. Fonke, are the carriages ready to go?"(Yuusuke)

"Please wait awhile, just another 2 more units."(Fonke)

While watching the retrofitting of the special modification to the soldier's carriages, those whose carriages were already done with the preparation had began to move. The special modification to these carriages, which enabled them to output a decent speed even if the ground was muddy, was the attachment of sled plates in place of the wheels. Yuusuke had been working til late at night because of these plates.

"Please wait a moment Yuusuke! Shouldn't there be a speech before departure? Also, this is my first battle!"(Hivodir)(TL notes: seems like hivodir really wants a speech)

"Well, then I shall leave that to you."(Yuusuke)

"What? Okay, leave it to me."(Hivodir)

"Make it brief."(Yuusuke)

With Hivodir’s speech as an BGM, the sortie preparations of Deernook Fortress were done and they began to depart. The clear sky  after the rain was sparkling full of stars, the smell of the wet soil and humid winds was stroking on the cheeks and hair along the jet-black cloak. Yuusuke who was finally awake from the sleepiness, took in a deep breath.

"The Preparations for the sortie have been finalized! We can depart anytime!"(Fonke)

"Yosh... let's move out!"(Yuusuke)

The Darkness corps and Fonclanc's military soldiers led by Yuusuke numbered a total of 50, their mission was to depart from the Deernook fortress and reach the Great Wall of Paula.

------

~The Civil War broke out in Paula.~

The battle between the Water Mirror god militias and Izapnar's elites troopers have been going on for about one hour.

"Emergency Report! A Convoy of Fonclanc's Military is approaching us!"

"WHAT! Have you checked it properly!"

Due to the sudden news of Fonclanc's approaching Izapnar army, he unintentionally let out a panicked voice,as it was far too early even for a immediate sortie to arrive after the start of the attack. Volmes began to issue commands for defense troops which were scheduled to be relocated towards the direction in which the attackers were approaching from.

"How in the world....no, it must be that strange divine arts of the darkness corps which could build a fortress in an instant."(Izapnar)

He began grinding his teeth due to the miscalculation of not applying common sense to the plan. But he still had the location advantage. The Great Wall of Paula is a barrier comparable to a 4 story building. It would not be an easy task to counterattack and capture from within the Great Wall.

"You have arrived, Volmes."(Izpanar)

"Apparently, Fonclanc's military have arrived a little too soon."(Volmes)

"Ah, but if they could not enter the Great wall, all will be well."(Izapnar)

As long as the battle with the Water Mirror rages on within the Great Walls. The fact that you can't help from the outside is unchangeable.

"A defense force have been placed to intercept them and to prevent them from approaching the Great Wall."(Volmes)

------

The moment they had a visual on the Great Wall, Yuusuke's group began to spread out. Immediately, the confirmation of multiple enemies from Blue Garden had been sighted.

"As I thought, the foothold is inferior."

"Captain, it seems that a squad of troopers have appeared from the Great Wall's top pavement."

"Are they the intercepting troopers?"

"Probably not, they seem to be using divine arts which specialize in bows."

One after another the soldiers got off at designated position and awaited for further command from Captain Yuusuke. Using the cover of darkness, the tension from the large force have started to loosen from Yuusuke, as he began to do a hand signal of advancement for the whole force.

The ranged defense troops whom were placed on the pavement of the Great Wall at the very last minute were all on alert. Attempts to contact Zeshald, who is currently commanding the Water Mirror army, through wind arts were all being blocked by a strong wind arts interference.

"It seems like there are occasional light from that small window on the great wall....most likely, that is the place where the battle is occurring."(Vermeer)

"It's not good to jump in unprepared, have the materials arrived?"(Yuusuke)

"It had just arrived, it is pretty heavy and couldn't really move very fast."

The stones that were used for the cornerstone construction of the fortress were all fully loaded into 3 carriages and had just arrived at the scene a little later than the soldier's carriages. Fonke who was entrusted with the command of transportation came over to report.

"Yosh, Let's Begin."(Yuusuke)

Yuusuke stared towards the opening which Vermeer spoke of as he opened up his customization menu and selected the stones from the wagon.

He use the technique which he send down the stones from the skies at Gearhawk Fortress. Using it he created a row of connecting square stones which allowed him to customize the "Fortress City Paula" as a group items directly from a distance.

The Great Wall of the fortress city is divided into several layers, the moment the corner stone was connected to the wall the tempering began.

On the pavement of the Great Wall above, there were Blue Garden defense troopers who were in position to guard against Fonclanc's army. On the place where Fonclanc's troops had gathered earlier on, beams of lights could be seen near the lower part of the Great Wall, where it seemed to come from a elongated stone pillar.

Volmes, who is currently taking command of the defense forces had read reports about the weird divine arts which the Hero of Gearhawk used, the divine arts would have a phenomenon of "pre-emitting lights", thus he judged that it was clearly a gimmick of something, thus he began ordering his subordinates to destroy the stone pillar below.

"What's up, quickly destroy it."(Volmes)

"Er, erm...."

"The fireball doesn't seem to have any effect on it!"

"Same results for the water lance!"

"The wind blades too!"

They tried using lumps of stones created by the earth arts and dropping on it, but contrary to its looks of being long and narrow, it was as strong as a large stone pillar.

"Shit....., what the hell is it made out of?"

Just as the calm Volmes have started to feel impatient ~~

"..... OH NO! EVERYONE RETREAT!"(Volmes)

Including the location of the Great Wall where they just stood, the whole area began emitting light over a wide radius.

A downward draft wind from Bouzas mountain blew onto the Great wall. When the Great Wall was built, it had blocked the wind coming down from Bouzas mountain. For a long time, the earth facing the Great wall that had wished upon the caressing of the wind,  bathing in it for more than a dozen years.

For the first time, the earth on the opposite side was bathed in wind.

"WAAAA, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"

"What happened! Is it an enemy trap?"

A part of the great wall spanning about 100m on the left to the right disappeared, the internal of the structure became exposed from the side in full view. The pillars, floor and ceiling didn't collapse under it's weight as it had been further reinforced.

The Water Mirror troops and Izapnar's elite troupe who were currently in the ongoing battle in the passageway were all suddenly thrown into a stage theater. The troops from both sides, who were under confrontation, were taken aback by the event when they saw Fonclanc's army.

"Mwahahaha! This is interesting!"(Fonke)

"Fonke! Stop it with that sinister laughter in the middle of the battle, it's imprudence."

Due to the current event, the whole army stopped their movements, only members of the Darkness God Corps were showing some actions.

"Erm, Full Force attack!?"(Yuusuke)

Because everyone seemed stunned, Yuusuke took the opportunity and ordered an attack. The Fonclanc army immediately headed towards the elite troops from Blue Garden who were inside the Great Wall, the first blow was sent out by Shaheed.

"OUCH! Argh, aaa~~~....~~"

Enhanced by the Darkness God corp's sword, the water ball which was amplified hit one of the opposing elite troupe members as he was dropped to the ground. In order to return that blow, the elite troupe scattered and hid behind the nearby obstacles and pillars, while attacking from the side.

"Captain, make a declaration as the Water Mirror reinforcements."(Isotta?)

"Oh, alright. Isotta, please use your voice."(Yuusuke)

"Yes."(Isotta)

Using her wind arts skill she secretly transmit it to a certain target, this skill allow her to amplify a voice wave extensively by using the surrounding area's air, this technique is called "Hiroden". Using Isotta's skill to amplify, Yuusuke's voice resounded around the area where it had become a battlefield.

"~~~ Ehh, This is the Darkness God Corps Captain Yuusuke, I come from Fonclanc. We are here to cover the Water Mirror’s Army, Best Regards.~~"(Yuusuke)

In that moment, the whole battlefield when silent.

"A~....Captain, should you say that now?"

"Yuusuke! No matter how tempting you shouldn't be using [Hiroden]!"

"Well, in some sense, it's so captain-like."(Shaheed)

Vermeer made a confirmation as he wiped of his overflowing sweat. "Why aren't there any introductions to my squad?" Hivodir pointed it out as he protested. Shaheed began to show understanding of the "Yuusuke-like" actions, Fonke wouldn’t stop laughing, while Aisha took an alert stance.

"There is no helping it, I have no experience and never took drama lessons before."(Yuusuke)

Rather than that, he took the enemy by surprise as their movements have stopped after [Hiroden], Yuusuke sure is defiant. Though it seems that it also stopped the allies' movement.

"In any case, we came from Fonclanc to dabble in the leadership of Paula and to cover the Water Mirror Army! Attack the enemies!"(Yuusuke)

"Roger that! Everyone attack the enemies!"

Yuusuke reissued his attack command. The one he had always rehearsed was finally put into practice. Due to the distance, most of the people from the Fonclanc army couldn't deal killing blows, but in the drafty passage in front of the elite troops were the Water Mirror army whom they were currently confronting, thus it became cumbersome and absurd to attack.

"Damn it....where are the reinforcements! What happened to the suppression, at this rate we will all be eliminated."

"No this place is no good! Let's retreat to where there is a wall!"

The elite troupe began to retreat just in time before the Water Mirror troops pushed up front and chased them within the passage. While Fonclanc's army sniped the elite troupe from far, in order to cut down the enemies' strength.

It became a shooting game with Divine arts due to the poor visibility as both armies were in the dark, but the elite troupe released a light divine arts to differentiate between allies and enemies. They didn't realize that Fonclanc's army was in the wilderness outside and hidden in darkness, all the while the counterattack for the Water Mirror forces wasn't given.

The defense troops whom finally arrived from the pavement above the Great Wall started to counterattack and intercept the position, but due to the distance their attack were inefficient, those who were hit directly only abstained some injuries.

The Sky on the east gradually began to change from deep blue to purple, notifying the arrival of dawn. While in a winning mood, Isotta felt a dangerous presence approaching the left rear of Fonclanc's army and issued a warning.

It was the same [Artless] presence that she had felt while in Deernook Fortress. Thus the other scouting units became wary and started to use their wind for a searching operation.

"From the left flank a cavalry unit is approaching! No wait...., the direction it's heading is the Great Wall of Paula, I think most likely the combat zone!"

"Even cavalry?"

"I can't feel the divine arts wave....certainly not"

"The cavalry is approaching! They...number 200!"

After hearing the reports of the 200 cavalry approaching, the soldiers began causing a commotion. The entire Fonclanc's army consciously turn towards the direction of the approaching forces, the approaching sound of horse hooves blowing up the muddy earth could be heard. And then ~

"[Artless] Warriors!"

From the darkness cutting through the lights of the horizon, a battle group of [Artless] equipped with swords and bows. The White corps appeared.