The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#113. Master of Fortification

Within the Palace of the Deathless King, the supreme Subspace connected to the Lion’s Key, five Undead Heroes symbolizing the chess pieces—King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, and Rook—slumbered in eternal rest.
Among them, Barden, the Corrosion Entity summoned by Sung-jun this time, was an Undead Hero symbolizing the Rook, and following Argen the Bishop who wielded invisible blades and Karcerion the Knight who commanded hypersonic cavalry charges, he was a master of fortification possessing the ability to construct fortresses and strongholds.

‘If his defensive capabilities can withstand the Permafrost Spear head-on, then he should be able to block virtually any Corrosion Entity attack.’

The reason Sung-jun chose this precise moment to unseal the Rook, while his allies fought for their lives on the Surface, was straightforward.
If he could seize Barden’s fortification abilities now, he could protect not only the 3rd Assault Team guarding the Gate on the Surface, but also all the remaining forces battling the near-calamity-class Corrosion Entity.
Moreover, Sung-jun had a formidable reinforcement at his side to aid him in defeating Barden.
Steel Golems he had personally crafted through magical means.
Excluding the three already destroyed, forty-seven Steel Knights remained—they were the trump card that would bring victory in this battle.

“I’ve just connected my Subspace to the ammunition supply mechanism of the Steel Golems! I’ll provide unlimited ammunition, so concentrate all firepower on that creature from now on!”

The magic Sung-jun had cast upon the Steel Golems moments ago was far more than mere ammunition supply.
Cooling magic to prevent barrel degradation under continuous bombardment, reinforcement magic to enhance durability, magic to amplify penetration and destructive power of fired projectiles, magic to strengthen the mana propelling the bullets to increase muzzle velocity, and durability reinforcement magic to prevent joint damage from the excessively enhanced output—nearly every buff spell Sung-jun could currently bestow upon golems was granted to these Steel Knights.
Brilliant silver-gleaming colossal steel giants then began unleashing their weapons upon the dwarf Old Man concealed behind the Fortress Wall.

—Boom! Crash-boom! Crash-crash-boom! Thud-boom!—

As mana-infused projectiles with bunker-buster-class penetration began firing at a rate exceeding 120 rounds per minute, the entire interior of the Hangar felt saturated with flying ordnance.
This made sense—while a single unit would be manageable, with forty-seven Steel Golems conducting simultaneous volleys, the enemy’s Fortress Wall would be pummeled not by 120 rounds per minute, but by 5,640 rounds—forty-seven times that amount—every single minute.
Furthermore, the siege equipment Sung-jun had strategically distributed with various elemental properties did not merely strike the Fortress Wall with brute force; they were designed to forcibly destroy the material characteristics of their targets.

—Ssssshhhhiiiing!!—

Aqua regia, which dissolved all metals save gold, erupted outward in explosions, while coolant approaching absolute zero instantaneously froze the Fortress Wall solid.
Some projectiles employed shaped-charge warhead principles, converting internal metal into metal jets that cascaded across the wall’s surface, while others contained ultra-hardened penetrators that physically abraded the Fortress Wall away.
Projectiles that rotated like drills, literally ‘grinding’ the Fortress Wall until their momentum ceased; projectiles that adhered to the wall’s surface instead of detonating, burning it with temperatures exceeding 8,000 degrees.
But what disturbed Barden most profoundly were the ‘vibration charges’—projectiles that neither exploded nor detached, instead clinging to the wall while vibrating at the exact resonant frequency of the wall’s constituent material.

“What the hell!?”

Barden’s eyes, once brimming with confidence, now trembled with shock and dismay.
His Fortress Wall, engineered to withstand any attack imaginable, was being obliterated under the concentrated barrage of fewer than fifty Steel Golems.
In panic, Barden immediately summoned a new Fortress Wall with different properties to block the bombardment, but the newly erected wall lost its essence just as rapidly as the first, crumbling swiftly into ruin.

“Don’t stop! Keep firing!”
“It’s working! Reduce it to dust!”

As the emboldened Pilots accelerated their barrage, the massive Hangar’s interior became nearly suffocating—filled with the thunderous roar of countless shells pounding the Fortress Wall and the acrid smoke billowing from chemical compounds.
Yet even within clouds of toxic gas so potent that it stung the thick, resilient skin of dwarves, the Pilots manning Sung-jun’s steel golems breathed clean air and continued their assault on the Fortress Wall.
The eyes of the magically-crafted golems possessed the ability to pierce through any darkness and obstacle to pinpoint their targets with perfect accuracy, and the Pilots aboard shared the golems’ vision through magic, allowing them to see clearly.

“Mere toys like that?!”

Barden’s furious voice echoed through the space as dozens of mechanical turrets erupted from the ground, initiating a counterattack.
It was the same devastating barrage that had reduced three steel golems to scrap metal in an instant.

—Boom!!—

Five steel golems collapsed in place with massive holes torn through their bodies, yet the relentless bombardment showed no sign of weakening.
If anything, the fire intensified—as though seeking vengeance for fallen comrades, pouring even fiercer salvos toward the Fortress Wall.
Moreover, as some golems began prioritizing the turrets over the wall itself, the newly-erected turrets were obliterated the moment they broke ground.

‘What in the world are those cannons?! I’ve never encountered any magic or artillery with such destructive power!’

Barden’s bewilderment was understandable.
In the Otherworld where he dwelled, siege magic typically amounted to crude applications of mana forced into physical destruction—nothing more sophisticated.
And projectiles, no matter how advanced, only grew heavier; they never possessed the complex mechanisms of the shells now raining down upon him.
Unknown technology—something he had never witnessed in his entire existence—was methodically eroding the Fortress Wall, a structure designed to withstand any magic from the Otherworld.
It wasn’t the raw power of the enemy’s attacks that was slowly eroding Barden’s resolve, but rather his curiosity about the mysterious technology they wielded.

“Wait!!!!!”

Barden’s cry—barely audible beneath the deafening roar of artillery, like the buzzing of a mosquito—reached Sung-jun, who raised his hand to halt the golems.
As the smoke and toxic gases filling the Gate’s interior gradually dispersed, Barden’s form came into view.
Not from direct strikes, but from the sheer concussive force of the bombardment alone—the great dwarven hero stood utterly devastated.
His outer skin melted by acidic gas, his body pierced through in countless places by shrapnel, he bled profusely from every wound, yet still refused to release the hammer gripped in his hands.

“Let’s talk.”

A voice emerged from the dwarf’s mouth—so agonized it seemed his vocal cords themselves had been corroded by the gas.
Sung-jun paused briefly in thought, then raised his hand and cast a healing spell.
Of course, since his opponent was undead, he didn’t cast ordinary healing magic; instead, he injected magically-created miasma to restore the corpse—a healing spell exclusive to the undead.

“Should I say thank you?”
“As your master, it’s only natural that I care for my subordinate’s body.”
“You haven’t even gotten my permission, and you’re already acting like my master?”
“As the master of the Palace of the Deathless King, I fought you fairly and won. According to the rules, I am now your rightful master.”
“The rules stipulate one-on-one combat as the standard. You fought with your subordinates at your side. That’s a violation of the regulations.”
“I know.”

Despite Barden’s point about breaking the rules, Sung-jun regarded him with an unbothered expression as he spoke.

“But I don’t particularly care.”
“Why not?”
“Because I never intended to fight one-on-one in the first place.”

From the beginning, Sung-jun had planned that if Barden refused to become his subordinate, he would beat him into submission.
If it looked like Barden might die, he would simply cast the undead recovery magic he’d used earlier to restore him to his original state.

“Is that… is that what the master of the Lion’s Key should say? Rather than thinking about winning fairly in combat, you’re talking about seizing the master’s position through threats and torture? Do you think the great dwarven lord Barden would yield to such coercion?!”
“If you won’t yield, let’s start again. I’m a busy person, so I need to finish this quickly.”

As Sung-jun raised his hand again, the remaining forty-two steel golems simultaneously aimed at Barden.
Panicked, Barden waved his hands frantically and shouted at Sung-jun.

“Don’t you even know the meaning of the word cowardice?!”
“I don’t. And I don’t want to know. Mages are fundamentally pragmatists.”

My teacher, Minastrias, once told me that mages aren’t fighters who achieve victory in combat—they’re those who create situations where victory is inevitable.
That’s why a mage’s ‘battle preparation’ takes an entirely different form than that of other Awakened.
Studying the terrain, preparing magical artifacts, inscribing magic circles, and laying traps.
All of it was part of the ‘fighting’ that a mage conducts.

“If having an assistant violates the rules, then the Previous Demon Lord set the rules strangely. What’s the standard for an assistant anyway? If a golem piloted by a Pilot violates the regulations, doesn’t a golem with self-awareness not? And if that’s also a violation, then is a hero fighting with an ego sword—a holy blade—following the rules? What about installing a planet-destroying explosion magic circle before the battle, summoning on top of it, and then detonating it? Is that fighting one-on-one and following the rules?”

Barden fell into confusion hearing Sung-jun’s barrage of questions.
If the rule was to fight one-on-one without assistance and win, as Sung-jun said, then the existence of autonomous golems or ego swords would also need to be considered as assistants.
However, the prideful Barden, while understanding Sung-jun’s point to some degree, was not hastily declaring surrender.

‘If I yield now, I become completely subordinate. I need to somehow maintain an equal relationship…’

Not all master-servant relationships are the same, even if they share that fundamental structure.
Some are built on absolute obedience, but others exist as partnerships between equals, where the servant performs their duties while treated as a peer to their master.
However, Sung-jun had no intention of granting Barden any such arrangement.

“My condition is simple. Absolute obedience to me. I won’t consider anything else.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry, but I too was once called a king in life. Unless you treat me as at least an equal partner, I cannot…”
“Then take another beating.”

Even as Sung-jun raised his hand once more, Barden’s resolve did not waver.
His eyes burned with determination—no matter how many times I’m torn to shreds and restored, I will never accept such a humiliating relationship.

“Sigh… Fine. Then I’ll propose new terms.”
“Does this mean you’ll treat me as an equal partner? If so, I’ll cooperate with your instructions to the fullest extent.”

Sung-jun smiled as he observed Barden’s gaze, which conveyed that this was the maximum concession he could make.
Then he presented new terms that would be most appealing to his counterpart.

“No, the subordinate relationship remains unchanged. Absolute obedience to my commands. However…”

Sung-jun spoke toward those eyes burning with fierce resolve to reject whatever he might say.

“I’ll teach you the technique I used when creating the steel golem that pierced through your Fortress Wall.”

This was the moment Sung-jun became the true master of Rook, the third artifact sleeping in the Palace of the Deathless King.

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