Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 272

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 272

175. The Familiar Scent of Mana

The barbarians, that is, the natives of the eastern wilderness called barbarians.

The reason they couldn’t achieve any significant gains despite their tedious battles with the Empire was simple.

Unlike the Empire, they failed to establish a highly civilized society and still maintained a tribal structure.

Rather than the superiority of civilization, they ultimately couldn’t produce elite talent from their territory and manpower.

While individual combat prowess was strong, that only applied to warriors, and they failed to properly equip themselves with mages and summoners, the so-called ‘asymmetric forces.’

That’s why the barbarians were repeatedly repelled, and it seemed this time would be no different.

“These guys are really insane. What do they think they’ll accomplish with siege weapons?”

“They’re not in their right minds. They should just stick to guerrilla warfare like before.”

“Charging in groups like that in front of mages?”

The soldiers at the 2nd Outpost weren’t worried at all.

If Drenik had mechanical engineering, Alteon had magic.

And very excellent mages at that.

“Mages!”

The Second Outpost.

Following the orders of Edward Danter, who stepped up as commander in Owen Termion’s absence, the mages.

The mages rearranged their mana while recalling magic effective for defense.

‘What the hell is this?’

At this point, Edward also harbored perfectly reasonable doubts.

Why were they charging like that?

When the obvious outcome was predictable?

When a future of being roasted by fireballs and fleeing in disarray was obvious?

But there was no more time.

The enemies were charging toward this place, siege weapons in their hands, and if this place was breached, the 1st Encampment and the village behind it would be in danger.

‘I have to do this.’

Edward shouted.

“Prepare magic!”

The five mages who took position above selected the most suitable magic for defense and immediately drew up their mana.

And they rearranged their mana.

No, they should have rearranged it.

“What, what’s this?”

However, the mana wouldn’t move.

More precisely, the mana that was about to be rearranged scattered instantly.

One mage instinctively realized the reason and muttered with an ominous expression.

“Mana… interference field?”

Edward also grasped the situation.

Magic wasn’t working.

‘This is bad.’

But a commander must not waver.

This was something he learned from watching Owen Termion.

Even if one wavers, they must hide it.

‘Then the summoners can’t use summoning arts either.’

Interfering with mana meant that all acts using mana would be hindered.

Summoners also used mana, and typically used even more mana than mages.

Therefore, Edward made the best decision he could at the moment.

“Find the mana stones nearby!”

Unless someone had cast the interference field directly with perfect timing, they usually utilized mana stones.

Drawing magic circles into mana stones, applying triggers, then making them automatically activate at specific timings.

There must definitely be mana stones somewhere.

“The barbarians are close! Find them quickly!”

But if they weren’t fools, they wouldn’t have placed them somewhere easily discoverable.

So it wasn’t inside the outpost.

Then…

“Under the wooden fence! Archers! Check under the wooden fence!”

At Edward’s shout, the archers stuck their heads out beyond the wooden fence.

Swoosh!

But then, the charging barbarian archers released a shower of arrows, and the Alteon archers fell helplessly.

Edward was certain.

Down there, there was a mana stone emitting the interference field.

He didn’t know how it was installed there, but what mattered now was the fact that it had to be destroyed.

Clang!

Edward drew his sword while simultaneously deflecting an arrow flying toward an archer’s head and shouted.

“Archers! Shoot arrows to destroy the mana stone! We can only stop them by destroying it!”

The Eastern Army was strong and bold.

Though arrows flew wildly overhead, the archers didn’t yield and stuck their upper bodies out beyond the wooden fence to aim their bows.

“Ugh!”

“Ahhh!”

Amid the rising screams, the barbarians were approaching close range—

“Shoot without delay!”

Finally, an arrow shot by one archer hit the mana stone buried under the wooden fence precisely.

Crack!

‘Got it.’

“Mages, cast magic…”

It was the moment Edward was about to shout, thinking they finally succeeded.

“Y-Your Highness!”

A knight pointed under the wooden fence.

For a moment, Edward doubted his eyes.

There were more mana stones.

And in a row, countless mana stones.

“…”

Edward opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Brace for impact.”

No mages, no summoners.

And those belligerent barbarians, whose individual combat prowess was superior to the Imperial Army, were approaching with siege weapons.

“We must hold out until the 1st Garrison arrives.”

From now on, it was the beginning of a kill-or-be-killed battle.

A large-scale group battle that Edward had never experienced even once.

‘I have to do this.’

However, Edward steeled his resolve more than ever.

As long as Owen Termion was absent, he was the commander of this outpost, and everyone was looking at him.

“Archers!”

Edward shouted.

“Fire!”

Owen Termion.

The commander of the Eastern Army, eldest son of Duke Termion House, and the one who received the full trust of the eastern people, was currently blaming himself.

‘Why didn’t I anticipate this? No, I should have rushed there the moment I realized those guys were in the scrap warehouse.’

This is a diversionary operation.

Launch a surprise attack on the 1st Outpost, then use that opportunity to attack the 2nd Outpost.

Of course, the surprise attack failed.

Every last one of them was tied up tight and taken prisoner.

If it had succeeded, the 1st Outpost would be in tremendous chaos by now and support for the 2nd Outpost would have been delayed.

However, the surprise attack—that is, the sudden assault—succeeded in causing confusion and creating chaos.

‘His Highness the Prince must hold out well.’

According to the urgent communication, the enemy numbers about one thousand.

Plus siege weapons.

The barbarians, who until now had no decent smelting technology, let alone siege weapons, now have siege weapons.

‘Could it really be Drenik?’

Owen hoped that wasn’t the case.

Though they occasionally engaged in local battles with Drenik, they hadn’t crossed the line.

After all, the real enemy of this Eastern Front was the barbarians.

But if Drenik had really secretly supported the barbarians to cause this?

‘Then it would truly… become irreversible.’

Owen hadn’t come here to wage war.

He had come to reduce the death toll from war and protect this eastern territory.

That’s why a full-scale war was unacceptable.

War must not sweep through lives again.

Owen had already experienced war in his childhood.

More precisely, he learned what war was through his father who returned from war.

His father had changed somehow from that time.

Sometimes… he would wake up at night screaming, and at dawn he would swing his sword like a madman.

‘But can it be stopped?’

The barbarians numbered about one thousand.

Perhaps the battle was already underway.

If so, they would have to prepare for great sacrifices, and the impact would be completely different from the past when casualties were at most a dozen or so.

War must not break out again.

Absolutely not.

“Many people must never die again.”

Then a voice came from beside him.

Words that seemed to reveal Owen’s own heart completely.

It was Dane.

“A thousand barbarians would be more than any force the garrison has faced here in the east so far, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Until now, it’s all been guerrilla warfare or small-scale battles.”

“Then we must prevent war.”

Fourteen years old.

That’s what he knew.

The same age as his youngest brother.

Such a young boy was saying this.

That they must prevent war.

With the same thoughts as himself.

But how?

The battle must have already begun.

“The best option is to make the enemies retreat without fighting. Or make them stop fighting.”

There are mages and summoners, but…

The barbarians would know that better than anyone, yet they still came in droves, which means they have countermeasures.

“Looking at the situation comprehensively, the barbarians who until now were content with guerrilla warfare or small-scale battles for moderate plundering have mobilized large-scale forces targeting each outpost.”

Then Dane continued.

“That means there’s someone with sufficient reason and motivation who stands to benefit from this.”

Calm speculation and situational analysis pouring out while riding.

“What result do those guys want from this? Reduction of the Alteon Empire’s eastern garrison? Or just some chaos?”

Plus an eerie hypothesis.

“Probably the ‘large-scale battle’ itself.”

Why was he being convinced?

He was the commander, and the fellow speaking to him was Leila’s cute friend just an hour ago.

“Then…”

“Yes. We must stop the battle. At least, we must prevent close combat where barbarians and our Imperial Army get entangled.”

From the moment large-scale battle begins and casualties rapidly increase, justification disappears.

What would simply be reported as ‘barbarians’ large-scale attack attempt’ becomes ‘large-scale battle with barbarians and numerous casualties.’

The implications of this are significant.

Because—

‘The Imperial Palace’s orders will change afterward.’

Having received such a report, the Imperial Palace would also have to make decisions.

‘How far is this fellow seeing?’

Suddenly, he began to become truly curious about the fellow called Dane Sogress.

“…Do you like alcohol?”

So this incongruous question came out, but Dane grinned and answered.

“Is there good alcohol in the east?”

“…There is. Very good alcohol. The kind that’s even better when you drink it after battle.”

Owen smiled back, then finally shouted.

“Pick up the pace! We ride at full speed to the 1st Outpost!”

Not to eliminate the barbarians, but to prevent ‘war.’

“Aaaaargh!”

“Th-the wooden fence!”

Gradually, the 2nd Outpost was crumbling.

More precisely, the thick wooden fences that should block the barbarians were cracking and breaking here and there, and the main gate was in danger of being breached.

“Shoot! Shoot!”

The garrison’s only countermeasure was arrows fired from atop the wooden fence.

However, the thick leather armor frustratingly blocked the arrows to some extent, and they even had shields.

“The magic tools aren’t working!”

“You idiot! There’s a jamming field!”

The mages and summoners who had always distinguished themselves in past battles had now fallen to being less useful than ordinary soldiers.

‘So if it’s breached, we all die.’

The 2nd Outpost’s total force was 300 men.

Not insufficient numbers for defense, but without mages and summoners, not enough force to conduct a siege defense with the wooden fence between them.

But Edward knows.

He must desperately hold out until the 1st Outpost’s forces arrive and defend that main gate.

“Waaaaaaah!”

Barbarians charging with torrential momentum.

And finally, the battering ram, a siege weapon, reached the main gate and began pounding it.

Thud!

The hastily reinforced main gate shook.

“Shoot!”

Arrows rained down like rain from atop the wooden fence, but the barbarians also counterattacked by throwing axes and firing arrows.

Thud, thoom!

And the continuing impacts.

“Your Highness! Right now the main gate is…”

Crack, craaack.

Edward saw it.

The Main Gate slowly beginning to crack.

Should he allow it?

‘No.’

Edward urgently grabbed materials and ran.

“Reinforce the Main Gate! It absolutely cannot be breached!”

The soldiers followed behind him.

Edward added materials to the shaking Main Gate, and brave soldiers hammered nails over it.

“It’s dangerous, Your Highness!”

It was dangerous.

Because he was the commander.

But if he didn’t step forward, the soldiers wouldn’t move.

Bang, bang, bang!

Perhaps thanks to the skillful reinforcement that continued even amid the shaking.

The Main Gate looked like it could hold out a bit longer.

But ultimately, it was just buying time.

‘When will the garrison arrive.’

As despair slowly welled up, the Main Gate was still shaking from the battering ram’s impacts…

Craaack!

Finally, a huge crack appeared in the Main Gate.

It could no longer hold.

“Prepare for close combat!”

The soldiers also sensed this and all raised their weapons, looking toward the Main Gate area.

Until now, it had been a series of small-scale battles.

But now they had to engage in tangled, life-or-death combat.

Against barbarians where one faced three soldiers alone.

“Mother…”

“Oh God…”

As everyone called out the names of those they thought of in their minds…

Crash!

Finally, the moment the Main Gate broke and the battering ram thrust its head through.

“Answer the Call.”

Along with a voice heard from somewhere, two massive summoned beasts appeared in the void, in front of the wooden fence.

“Krwaaaaaaaaak!”

“Kruuuuuuuuu!”

Eterak.

Among summoned beasts, they were famous for being fierce and powerful.

In this place where no magic or summoning arts could be activated due to the mana interference field—

Eterak had appeared.

“Krwaaaaaaaaak!”

In an instant, everyone’s movements stopped, and the barbarians who were about to charge in halted their advance.

And Edward quietly murmured one person’s name amid the familiar scent of mana.

“Dane…”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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