The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 116

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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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#116. Slaves

Just as Argen had predicted, I dismissed the Skeleton Army that had sustained considerable damage from a distance, allowing the massive enemy force they had been holding back to shift toward the direction where the 2nd Assault Team was positioned.
As a result, the enemy numbers—which had been barely reduced by the concentrated barrage from two hundred steel golems—swelled to more than double their previous size in an instant.
Even with fifty additional steel golems joining the fray, the sheer overwhelming numbers forced the Awakened forces, who had been catching their breath during a momentary lull, back into the front lines. In a heartbeat, the advantage our side had seized transformed into a desperate disadvantage.

“Vanguard, fall back behind the colossal robots! Only mutants capable of ranged attacks support the front line!”

Because the steel golems served as a shield for our forces, the Western Defense Force avoided immediate annihilation, but the situation was far from sustainable.
As the Skeleton Army that had been holding back the massive enemy force was dismissed, large-scale Corrosion Entities—each exceeding the steel golems in size—began pouring into the front lines one after another.
When these formidable Corrosion Entities, wielding firepower potent enough to pierce even the magically reinforced armor of the steel golems, launched their assault, the seemingly indestructible golems began falling one by one.

“At this rate, we’ll be completely annihilated! We must break through the encirclement and retreat toward the hangar! If that remaining Level 8 Corrosion Entity joins the front line, we’re all dead!”

Second Lieutenant Lucas Bennett, the deputy commander of the 3rd Search Team, appealed to Captain Cooper with desperate urgency.

“Damn it! Who doesn’t know that?! Even if I wanted to break through, how do you expect me to breach this many enemies?! If I pull the steel giants from the defensive line now, there’s no breaking through—our forces will be annihilated on the spot!”

The greatest problem was that our strongest forces—Argen and Karcerion—were locked in a desperate struggle against the Level 8 Corrosion Entity.
To prevent other enemies from swarming toward their location, we had no choice but to hold our current position, regardless of the cost.

‘The only consolation is that there’s just one Level 8 Corrosion Entity. If another one appears, then we’re truly finished.’

In the end, the only one I could rely on was Sung-jun.
Either Sung-jun would produce additional steel golems powerful enough to overwhelm the enemy and deploy them to the battlefield, or Sung-jun himself would step forward to face the Level 8 Corrosion Entity.
With either option, it was impossible for our current forces to turn the tide of battle.
Captain Cooper gazed at the battlefield with desperate longing and murmured to himself.

‘Please, come quickly. Isn’t this the perfect moment for a hero to make his entrance?’

In Captain Cooper’s field of vision, Shirasaki Miyu and Yeonse-a came into view, unleashing brilliant magic from a distance as they attacked enemies.
I didn’t know how deep the relationship between Sung-jun and those two ran, but he wouldn’t abandon a woman he called his disciple on the battlefield like this.
It was simply that the overwhelming force needed to decisively crush the enemy wasn’t yet complete, so he was taking a bit more time to “prepare.”
Captain Cooper shook his head, dispelling the increasingly negative thoughts creeping into his mind, and swung his spear toward the enemies before him.

“Reinforcements will come! Fight on with unwavering faith!”

While the surviving Awakened forces desperately held their ground to avoid being swept away by the tide of monsters, Sung-jun was conducting a Spartan-style education with a bearded dwarf in the safety of the Underground Hangar, where not even a shadow of monsters could be seen.

***

“What’s contained here is aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid. Both are acidic solutions, but they have different properties. Aqua regia specializes in corroding metals. Even gold, which normally doesn’t react with most substances, can be dissolved by aqua regia. Conversely, hydrofluoric acid is weaker in acidity than aqua regia, but it can dissolve glass. Since neither can dissolve polyethylene, you can store them in polyethylene containers. However, they’re toxic, so when using them as explosive rounds, you must be careful to prevent friendly forces from inhaling the fumes.”
“And this box attached to the surface of this steel mass….”
“That’s called reactive armor. When it takes a hit, the explosives inside detonate and push the metal plate on the outside outward. It’s excellent for blocking the shaped-charge warheads I explained earlier.”
“An interesting concept. In a world without magic, has the technology for handling materials advanced significantly? From a purely technical standpoint, there are even aspects that surpass dwarven craftsmanship.”

In that instant, I struck the back of Barden’s head with a sharp smack.

“Surpass, you say. Speak formally to me.”
“Blast it! That was just me thinking aloud!”
“The moment my ears hear it, whether it’s thinking aloud or not is for me to judge. Don’t try to subtly match wits with me.”
“Why are you only doing this to me!? I’m not the only one who’s shown defiance, and didn’t you say that Karcerion also fought with you and submitted? So why only to me….”

As Barden said, among the five chess pieces sealed in the Palace of the Deathless King, only Argen, the Count of the Funeral Night, had voluntarily expressed his willingness to submit to me.
All the other pieces demanded that I fight them and earn the right to be their master.
However, unlike Karcerion, who I accepted as a subordinate after going through an authentication battle just like Barden, I was demanding that Barden display an attitude of thorough obedience.
To put it bluntly, I acted toward Karcerion as if dealing with a “subordinate,” but toward Barden, I acted as if dealing with a “slave.”
When Barden expressed dissatisfaction about that, my palm flew out again and struck the back of his head.

—Smack!—

“Ow! Why are you hitting me again!”
“The moment you show defiance after taking one hit, it proves your mindset isn’t ready yet. From the moment Karcerion lost the authentication battle, he was in a state of absolute obedience. If I hit Karcerion’s head without reason, he wouldn’t say ‘Why are you hitting me!’ but rather ‘I apologize for displeasing my lord!’ and immediately drop to his knees.”
“By that logic, wouldn’t Argen also show defiance the moment he got hit?”
“He wouldn’t do anything to deserve being hit in the first place. And since he voluntarily became my subordinate without an authentication battle, I intend to treat him accordingly.”
“Then if I had not demanded an authentication battle and voluntarily become your subordinate from the start….”
“Then I might have been speaking to you formally. Perhaps I would have treated you not as a lord and subordinate, but as partners cooperating toward the same goal.”
“Then from now on, if I promise full support….”
“No, that won’t work now. What I meant was you voluntarily cooperating with me ‘in a situation favorable to you.’ Not promising cooperation in a situation where I can beat you senseless like this.”
“So no matter what I do from now on, I am….”
“A slave.”
“Kyyyyyaaaaahhhhh!!!!”
“How dare you glare at your magnificent master!”

I pummeled Barden mercilessly with my mana-infused fists.
Then I cast recovery magic on his limp body to bring him back to his feet.
Had my opponent been Karcerion the Knight, such a method would have been unthinkable, but since Barden’s true form—a master of fortification—was not particularly strong in direct combat, it was a forceful tactic I could employ.

“Anyway, we don’t have much time, so I’ll teach you only what’s necessary and quickly. Everything you’ve learned so far is in your head, right?”
“…Yes….”
“Good. Then, regarding the reinforcement formula I used when creating the steel golems….”

Barden, a Dwarf Hero and master craftsman, absorbed the knowledge of modern weaponry I explained like a sponge, rapidly and thoroughly.
And finally, when the explanation of all the techniques that had breached his defenses came to an end, a sinister laugh escaped from Barden’s lips.

“Hehehehe… So that’s what it was. Indeed, when the world is different, the laws that compose that world are also different….”

As I raised my hand to strike the back of his head again, Barden twisted his neck to evade my blow.
Then he glared at me and opened his mouth.

“Don’t touch me with those filthy hands, you lowly human.”
“Has this bastard lost his mind….”
“Hehe… It seems you still don’t understand the situation properly. I have already absorbed all the core knowledge you possess. That means something like this is now possible.”

Barden leaped backward and swung the hammer in his hand, and a colossal barrier rose between us.
Unlike the barriers he had summoned before, this was a ‘new-model’ barrier designed to withstand every single shell I had used during the Certification Battle.

“This is a new barrier created by applying the techniques you taught me. Filthy human. I demand a rematch of the Certification Battle. If I emerge victorious, you shall become my slave.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Perfectly sane. How dare a human mage demand that a great Dwarf Lord become his slave. I shall beat that arrogant mouth of yours thoroughly until you can never spout such nonsense again.”

Watching Barden’s confident gaze fixed upon me, I let out a deep sigh.
Then I snapped my fingers and instantly dispelled the barrier Barden had summoned.

“What?!!? What is this?!”
“The master who wins the Certification Battle gains absolute control over the defeated subordinate. Even if the subordinate becomes stronger after the Certification Battle, the control once obtained never returns.”

I approached Barden, who was backing away step by step with fear etched across his face, and cracked my knuckles with a sharp sound.

“Think about why you have no choice but to be beaten.”

***

“I won’t be casting any healing magic on you this time.”

I said this to Barden, who stared at me with a face swollen like a dumpling.
I added an explanation that I’d only beaten him “moderately enough”—his face was puffed up, but his body could move without significant hindrance.
At that, Barden pouted his greatly swollen lips and grumbled.

“Does the planet Earth have no respect for elders….”
“Want another round?”
“No, sir! Respect for elders? Forget that—rank comes first! Yes! Your command is absolute law!”

I turned my head away from Barden, whose eyes burned with killing intent, and gazed behind me.
There, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles I’d pulled from the Subspace were lined up in perfect rows and columns.

“Barden.”
“Yes, sir.”
“With your ability to construct a fortress in an instant, converting those tanks into golems shouldn’t be difficult, would it?”
“…It should be possible, but if those golems are like the one you used to attack me, that’s a different story. Those aren’t ordinary magic-operated golems—they’re more like complex mechanical devices.”
“I designed them that way because I had to minimize magical expenditure to convert tanks into golems. You don’t need to replicate them exactly. If dwarvish techniques can substitute or improve performance in certain areas, feel free to redesign as you see fit. Just don’t let the overall performance degrade.”

As I finished speaking, I brought my finger to my forehead, and a small cluster of light gathered at my fingertip.

“This is a visualization spell—magic that renders the golem blueprints in my mind comprehensible to others. Accept this, combine my designs with your techniques, and create a new golem.”

I brought my glowing fingertip to Barden’s forehead, and the light cluster absorbed into his brow like it was seeping inward.
Within Barden’s eyes, a complex magical circle swirled with blue light.

“Fascinating design. This should be quite enjoyable to work with.”

Barden rose from his seat, his expression suddenly ablaze with enthusiasm—a stark contrast to moments before.
He approached the tanks filling one side of the hangar and spoke.

“If we’re going to make them, we might as well make them stronger. That means increasing the size somewhat. Would that be acceptable?”
“As long as they can exit through the hangar entrance, size doesn’t matter.”
“Then I’ll make them 8 meters—larger than the original 4-meter design. I’ll reinforce the armor plating with dwarvish techniques to make it stronger and thicker, and add melee weapons alongside ranged armaments.”
“But these golems synchronize with the operator’s will to fight. Melee weapons would be difficult to utilize effectively. The soldiers here fight with guns, not swords and shields.”
“I’ll handle that problem. After all, you have the perfect operator for this, sir.”

With that, Barden tossed the hammer in his hand lightly and caught it again.

“Could you summon some Skeleton Soldiers for me? About four hundred should suffice.”

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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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