The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 178

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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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Episode 178
178
3.
The war was decided the moment the intelligence operation began.
And through Yoo Sung-hyun’s efforts, they had grasped the enemy’s intentions.
They had obtained intelligence that the Basilica’s invasion would commence in ten days.
Ninyaru’s course of action was predetermined.
Strike first before the Basilica arrives here to crush them.
However, mobilizing troops was not a matter that could be concluded swiftly.
Even if they rushed their preparations before the enemy completed theirs, the time required to muster soldiers and march to war was far too short—ten days would barely suffice.
A different approach was necessary.
Thus was born the Special Detachment.
To buy time for Ninyaru to organize its military forces.
They had to shake the Basilica’s resolve.
For the Basilica too had been granted those same ten days.
If they could shake the Basilica’s main forces during that time—
Their military strength would inevitably weaken.
And if, seizing that opportunity, Ninyaru’s prepared forces were to join with the Special Detachment—
Victory and advantageous positioning in war would be assured.
Thus far, all could comprehend the strategy.
However.
“Grrr… why is the commander of this Special Detachment some foreign outsider rather than myself?”
A knight bearing the pattern of a cheetah, with fur of pale white hue, who harbored discontent even against the absolute sovereign of great Ninyaru’s command.
Silberion, commander of the White Knight Order, voiced her displeasure.
The majority of the White Knight Order following behind her echoed such grievances.
“The commander is right! Even if we are still a young order, this is too much!”
“Exactly!!! Just some foreign outsider as commander of the Special Detachment!? Isn’t this going too far!?”
“His Majesty is being unreasonable!”
Though they voiced such complaints—
Not a single one among them possessed the resolve to approach the great King and openly defy him.
Silberion, as commander, was no exception.
Moreover, there was perhaps some inferiority complex at work in her thoughts as well.
The White Knight Order was decidedly younger in age compared to the other orders.
All had become legitimate knights bearing the title of knighthood.
Yet they had been subtly excluded from important missions simply because of their youth.
And this time, they had finally been entrusted with an important mission, bringing them joy.
Yet to place a mere foreign outsider as commander of the Special Detachment—
She could not help but feel disappointed.
‘Damn it.’
Silberion ground her teeth in frustration.
All the effort I had invested felt invalidated.
This was especially true since I hadn’t heard much about what Yoo Sung-hyun had accomplished.
To them, he was merely a foreigner who had wandered in from the Labyrinth.
Naturally, they looked down on him.
But still, it was an order from the great King.
There was no choice but to obey.
However.
“Hmph, if this foreigner intends to command us, he must prove his qualifications.”
It was a thought that could perhaps be considered treason.
Yet the members of the White Knight Order actually believed it was justified.
Perhaps it was because this was a nation of feline-type humanoids?
Such behavior seemed only natural to them.
Moreover, The King—Nyao himself—had anticipated this much.
His willfulness was hardly a recent development.
The reason he said nothing else was simple.
Though called a Knight Order, compared to the Golden Knight Order or the Black Knight Order, they were still young and weak.
He thought Yoo Sung-hyun might actually govern them well.
He was also curious to see how it would unfold.
Thus, when the Special Detachment was formed and the White Knight Order gathered there.
Yoo Sung-hyun was able to arrive at the scene shortly after.
“My apologies for the delay.”
“Hmph.”
To all appearances….
‘He’s… quite strong.’
Even from Silberion’s perspective, Yoo Sung-hyun certainly appeared formidable.
Inwardly, she conceded this somewhat.
Yet her displeasure remained unchanged.
No matter how strong he might be, he was certainly weaker than herself.
So Silberion thought to herself.
‘I’ll outpace him in speed on the way to the Basilica.’
Young and still weak, the White Knight Order.
Yet they possessed one advantage over both the Golden Knight Order and the Black Knight Order.
That was speed.
They boasted swiftness unmatched by any other Knight Order.
This was the most decisive reason the White Knight Order had been selected for the Special Detachment.
With the White Knight Order’s velocity, they could traverse the distance to the Basilica—which normally took a full day—in half a day.
Being so remarkably swift.
They could be called the Knight Order most suited to the Special Detachment.
In any case, Yoo Sung-hyun had also heard such information, so after surveying the White Knight Order, he spoke.
“Everyone appears ready. Let us depart at once.”
“…Already?”
So soon?
The preparations were complete, but.
I asked again, thinking it might be too fast.
Yoo Sung-hyun countered as if asking why I was being like that.
“Pardon?”
Perhaps my pride was a little wounded by his response.
Silberion spoke as if to deny it.
“Ahem, no! We are already fully prepared, so let us depart at once.”
“Understood. Once everyone is ready, I shall meet you before the West Gate.”
“Very well.”
After Yoo Sung-hyun conveyed only his message and departed.
The White Knight Order members approached their commander Silberion and asked.
“C-can we really depart immediately?”
“I-isn’t this awfully rushed?”
“I-is it alright, Commander?”
Hearing their worried voices, Silberion herself felt a touch of concern.
Since this was her first formal deployment, her tension was plainly evident.
Instead, she rebuked them.
“Get your heads on straight! Are you planning to ruin our first deployment?!”
“Y-yes, sir?!”
“Ah!”
“Even the outsider is prepared to depart at once, yet you would show such pathetic conduct?!”
At Silberion’s cry, they all snapped to attention.
The outsider was preparing to march out immediately.
How could they, the White Knight Order of Ninyaru, present themselves in such a state?
Everyone rallied to Silberion’s words with fierce determination.
“Hrah!”
“No, sir, understood!”
“We shall correct ourselves at once!”
Once their spirits had completely transformed.
Silberion nodded with satisfaction.
She could not show the outsider such an unseemly display.
The fact that this was their first major mission did not mean they were weak.
They might be weaker than the other two Knight Orders.
But they were still knights.
And as such, they were overwhelmingly superior to most users of the same level.
They had every right to take pride in that.
‘Strong for an outsider, perhaps, but still just an outsider.’
Not even a native of this world.
It was only thanks to Yoo Sung-hyun’s knightly title and other honors that they held any goodwill toward him at all.
Without those, Silberion and the other White Knight Order members would have shown open hostility.
In any case, they began their preparations.
Silberion spoke.
“For a foreigner, you’re strong enough, but we still can’t acknowledge you as the commander of our Special Detachment. Let’s go show you what we’re made of.”
“Yes!!!”
“For the White Knight Order!!!”
“For Ninyaru!!!”
“For His Majesty the Great!!!”
With those battle cries, they headed toward the West Gate.
Yoo Sung-hyun, who had been waiting all along, saw them approaching.
They were armed from spirit to flesh, completely outfitted.
However, since they prioritized speed, their armor was somewhat lighter in places.
Yet as Yoo Sung-hyun observed them, he tilted his head curiously and scratched his cheek as he asked.
“You don’t have any horses?”
Now that he thought about it, he realized he’d never seen horses in Ninyaru and was curious.
At his question, Silberion’s lips curved into a clear smirk as she replied.
“The White Knight Order boasts the fastest legs among the three knight orders.”
“I see.”
“What about the horses you ride? Even so, they couldn’t be faster than our order. If you fall behind, it could cause problems for the Special Detachment.”
There was concern woven beneath the words rather than pure mockery.
However, Yoo Sung-hyun laughed at her words as if it were nothing to worry about.
Just as Silberion was about to bristle at what felt like being dismissed—
Yoo Sung-hyun snapped his fingers and opened a gateway to the Underworld.
A teal-colored portal materialized.
Silberion’s eyes narrowed as she immediately sensed something extraordinary.
What is he trying to do?
With that thought, Silberion fixed her gaze on Yoo Sung-hyun.
Fzzzzzzzzz———!!!
A divine beast emerged, radiating powerful plasma in all directions.
Anemor had arrived.
-Shrieeeeeeee———!!!
Delighted to emerge after so long, it let out a roar, and its mighty plasma pierced through the sky of the space known as the Labyrinth Gap.
At that powerful wave, Silberion stared blankly at Anemor before swallowing hard.
What in the world was that divine beast?
Silberion tensed at its mythical appearance, and behind her, the White Knight Order members’ pupils trembled violently as well.
This foreigner possessed a summon of such magnitude?
With expressions of disbelief, they all gazed upon Anemor.
“I’m glad you’re confident in your speed. Then I’ll depart first.”
“Go on ahead and wait for us then.”
-Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech———!!!
With their farewells exchanged, Yoo Sung-hyun and Helena climbed onto Anemor’s back.
As they did, Helena opened her hand and waved it gently, a mysterious smile playing across her face.
Anemor, delighted by the prospect of flying after so long, took off into the air with Yoo Sung-hyun and Helena aboard, fluttering his wings in the sky.
In an instant, a barrier of lightning formed around Anemor, and like a flash of electricity, he vanished from that spot, twinkling like a distant star.
Silberion, who had been staring blankly at the sight, suddenly snapped to attention and shouted to her knights.
“E-everyone, move out!!! W-we can’t fall behind———!!!”
“”Y-yes, yes———!!!””
All responded with vigor, but truthfully.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
How were they supposed to chase after that?
They would have to push themselves to cover the distance.
Only then could the honor of the Special Detachment—no, the White Knight Order—avoid plummeting into the abyss entirely.
‘Damn it!!!’
Silberion felt a bitter sense of injustice at the thought of why this foreigner possessed such a powerful familiar.
4.
Anemor accelerated through the sky at tremendous speed, while Yoo Sung-hyun and Helena rode comfortably upon his back.
Of the two, Helena appeared genuinely delighted.
It wasn’t the flight itself that thrilled her.
Or was there a connection?
“Ahahaha! You did well, Yoo Sung-hyun.”
“Hm? What did I do?”
“Well, never mind. Anyway, that was fun.”
For Helena, who had noticed Silberion’s subtle contempt toward Yoo Sung-hyun, it was deeply satisfying.
But for Yoo Sung-hyun, who knew nothing of it, it was hardly noteworthy.
So she let it pass.
Helena herself understood that wasn’t what mattered now.
During their journey, Yoo Sung-hyun asked Anemor to slow down.
Even so, they maintained considerable speed.
Compared to before, it was noticeably slower.
Out of consideration for the White Knight Order?
That wasn’t the reason at all.
“Oh? Preparing in advance, are you?”
“Yeah, the more materials I gather, the stronger it becomes.”
At Yoo Sung-hyun’s words, Helena nodded in agreement.
As she did, she examined the ground beneath where Anemor was flying.
She could see entrances to the Underworld appearing here and there.
They were all collecting the corpses of Labyrinth monsters, users, or NPCs that had flowed into this Labyrinth Gap.
Thus, Yoo Sung-hyun gathered vast quantities of corpses into the Underworld as he headed toward the Basilica.
Though they called themselves the Special Detachment.
‘This will definitely be necessary for a large-scale war.’
He was exerting his power to open the curtain of war.
Gathering those corpses that numbered in the hundreds and thousands.
Yoo Sung-hyun, meticulously preparing for the Overlord battle, thought simultaneously.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve used an Explosion Build. I should give it a try.’
With this many Explosion Builds, I wondered what would actually happen.
Yoo Sung-hyun, growing slightly curious, continued his preparations steadily as he made his way toward the Basilica.
5.
The Basilica’s walls were different from Ninyaru’s.
Ninyaru, which could hardly be called anything less than a fortress blessed by heaven, was surrounded by the Labyrinth on all sides, so it was fair to say there were virtually no gaps.
That small gap Sibren had discovered this time had only been found after several hundred years.
By contrast, the Basilica’s walls were like those of any ordinary city.
Three of the four sides were surrounded by the Labyrinth, but the eastern wall protruded completely outward, and the Basilica’s sky was entirely open above.
Yet the protruding eastern wall was tall, sturdy, and thick.
It instilled a sense of security in the Basilica’s soldiers.
Even a careless complacency about whether it truly needed to be defended.
Today was no exception.
The soldiers guarding the East Gate dozed lazily and voiced their complaints.
“Why do we have to guard this place? Who’s going to attack?”
“Hey, it’s still better than patrolling the city.”
“Heh, that’s true enough.”
“We just slack off a bit and then head back inside.”
The soldiers spoke thus.
Not a shred of military discipline was visible.
Not even a hint of loyalty could be seen.
Yet even lying down, one of them gazed at the ground below the wall.
Ground quite distant from the wall.
But then.
“Huh?”
“What is it?”
“Doesn’t the ground look like it’s moving?”
“What are you talking about, the ground moving? Wait, huh?”
At those words, another soldier lifted his head.
The ground truly was moving.
Or rather, should one say it was undulating?
The soldier rubbed his eyes at the thought and looked more carefully.
They were not the ground.
A legion with bodies like black shadows, emanating a teal-blue aura that seeped forth.
An undead legion gestured toward the wall.
“A-A-ALARMMMMM!!!”
An urgent bell tolled through the air.
The prelude to war was unfolding at the Basilica.

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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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