The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 331

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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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Chapter 331
Chapter 331
“Th-the Mecha Scorpion!”
Colin, who held command over the Twilight Plain, gasped in shock.
As the Mecha Scorpion burst through the barrier, he found himself unable to suppress another wave of astonishment.
Cronion’s pride—a mechanical war machine.
Among them, the Mecha Scorpion boasted overwhelming combat prowess.
That monstrosity which even Imperial Army soldiers, no matter how many combined their strength, could never topple.
Boom!!
Colin knew of this famous figure.
A nobleman of adventurer origins who enjoyed the Emperor’s favor, hailed as the hero of this age.
Marquis Mir had overturned it with a single strike.
No—it wasn’t merely overturned; its tail had been severed and its legs melted away, leaving it in a state of complete combat incapacity.
“This cannot be.”
That formidable Mecha Scorpion.
The Mecha Scorpion that had struck terror into the Imperial Army, obliterated in a single blow.
I had heard rumors of Marquis Mir, but I never imagined he possessed such overwhelming power.
Witnessing the shattered Mecha Scorpion sent a chill through my entire being.
Yet the problem extended beyond the Mecha Scorpion alone.
“Commander! Enemy forces are infiltrating through the breached barrier!”
“Stop them at once!”
“It’s impossible! Thousands of enemy soldiers have already breached!”
Cronion’s pride—the Iron Armor Brigade.
The abundance of iron ore mined and the excellence of their smelting techniques.
The entire unit was equipped with steel armor.
Their defense was formidable enough to make them extraordinarily troublesome opponents.
Beyond merely possessing superior weaponry, they even wielded ‘gunpowder cannons’—something the Empire did not possess.
Though the number of adventurer reinforcements appeared considerable, the Iron Armor Brigade’s resilience transcended imagination.
Even with greater numbers, the reinforcements would struggle to engage them effectively.
Or so I believed.
Crack!
Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap struck Colin’s eardrums.
A brilliant flash of lightning streaked across the sky, descending upon the center of the assembled enemy forces.
Crackle—!!
It transformed that entire area into a zone of electrical discharge.
“Grrrrgh!”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Ugh….”
The Iron Armor Brigade collapsed, screaming as electricity coursed through them.
Their steel armor, the pride and symbol of the Iron Armor Brigade, offered them no protection.
Instead, their armor became heavy shackles, preventing them from easily escaping the electrical field.
Moreover, the armor itself became a conductor, transmitting the current to nearby allies.
Thanks to this, a single spell brought down an enormous number of enemy soldiers.
The problem was that the attack didn’t stop after just one.
Boom, boom, crash!!
As if a typhoon had descended, thunder roared continuously.
Each time, lightning struck the enemy lines and the armored units collapsed in droves.
It was as if the heavens themselves had grown angry at Cronion’s tyranny.
Furthermore, even without that lightning, the reinforcements’ military power exceeded Colin’s expectations.
“Attack!”
“Each of those bastards is worth a merit point!”
“Excellent, one more merit point earned!”
“Spell casting complete! Front lines, fall back in order!”
“Fall back in order!”
Boom!!
Colin had assumed the adventurers, lacking loyalty to the Empire, wouldn’t actively participate in the war.
He was wrong.
The adventurers wielded their blades with even more passion than the Imperial Army.
Yet they employed superior strategy and tactics, pushing back the enemy forces.
From what he heard, it was something called the adventurers’ unique “raid formation.”
It seemed they were directly applying their experience fighting monsters to warfare.
“Were adventurers truly this powerful…?”
Colin was astounded.
As a commander of the Imperial Army, he had inwardly dismissed the reinforcements composed of adventurers.
He was mistaken.
They were formidable.
Incomparably so compared to other Imperial troops.
Had the enemy forces sensed this as well?
“Retreat! We’re retreating!”
“Fall back!”
“The Empire’s reinforcements have arrived! Everyone, withdraw for now!”
The enemy forces abandoned their infiltration and began withdrawing.
Color returned to Colin’s face.
With the enemy retreating, he needed to quickly repair the barrier and restore the defensive line.
That’s what he thought.
But the adventurer reinforcements had other ideas.
“Pursue them!”
“The merit points are getting away!”
“Chase them down!”
The reinforcements had no intention of stopping here.
I chased after the fleeing enemy forces, determined to bring down at least one more.
But even that explanation falls short.
Because.
“Damn it, this space is too cramped!”
“Tear down the barrier!”
“Yes! Let’s demolish the barrier and pursue the enemy!”
“W-what!”
The reinforcements were attempting to chase down the enemy forces by demolishing the barrier at the front line itself.
* * *
Our offensive was devastatingly effective.
Well, naturally it would be.
Even if Cronion was continuously sending troops through the collapsed barrier, it amounted to only a few thousand at most.
In contrast, our reinforcement forces numbered in the tens of thousands.
And every time I unleashed Thunder Cannon, enormous waves of enemy soldiers fell simultaneously.
There was no way they could hold their ground.
“Retreat! Fall back!”
In the end, the enemy chose to flee.
But those who had already crossed the barrier had no escape route.
The breach in the barrier was narrow, and our reinforcements’ attacks and my magic descended upon them faster than they could escape.
With this, we had secured the garrison that would become our stronghold.
‘But it’s a shame.’
Ending it here felt somewhat unsatisfying.
There were many reasons for this dissatisfaction.
The garrison seemed far too cramped to accommodate our tens of thousands of reinforcements.
I had no desire to simply let the enemy forces escape after they had dared breach the barrier and assault us.
Most of all, it would be a waste to let the users’ morale, which had risen to its peak, settle down now.
So, as commander, I issued orders to the legion commanders.
Though they were at considerable distance, I could easily relay my instructions through communication artifacts.
“We will pursue them.”
– Will that be alright?
“There are no significant anomalies beyond the barrier. Though the enemy numbers are substantial, they remain within manageable levels.”
– Understood.
– Hahahaha! I like your thinking!
The guild masters of the Major Guilds.
In other words, the legion commanders were also welcoming the idea.
However, there was one problem.
– Hmm, this barrier is rather bothersome. Can we destroy it?
The barrier itself.
The barrier that the mechanical scorpion had destroyed and emerged from.
Initially, it had served as a stalwart defense, preventing the enemy from entering all at once.
Now it had become an obstacle impeding pursuit.
Still, I hesitated for a moment—after all, it was supposedly the frontline’s defensive barrier. Could I really destroy it?
‘But if we’re going to expand the frontline, we’ll need to rebuild these anyway.’
My hesitation was brief.
“I’ll bring down the barrier.”
– Hm? Alone?
The moment I made my decision, I swapped my equipment.
[ Phoenix Feather Staff ]
( Non-tradeable )
Type : Staff
Grade : Legendary
Requirement : Level 500+, Intelligence 2,000+
Description : A flame staff crafted using the feather of the legendary phoenix as a conduit.
Until now, the equipment I’d been using was an ‘Electric Magic Set’ that amplified lightning attributes.
Now I was outfitted entirely in a ‘Flame Magic Set’—weapon, armor, and accessories all amplifying fire attributes.
Normally, swapping equipment would take considerable time, but thanks to Luke, I could exchange everything in the blink of an eye.
With the newly drawn ‘Phoenix Feather Staff’ raised in hand, I
– activated the 5-Circle fire spell ‘Fire Cannon’.
unleashed the magic toward the barrier.
With the ‘Flame Magic Set’ equipped, the firepower and sheer size of the incoming fireball was staggering.
The spell that flew forth struck not the fleeing enemies, but something else.
Boom!!
The Fire Cannon slammed into the barrier.
The spell detonated instantly.
The barrier exploded from the tremendous force.
I hadn’t merely destroyed the barrier.
The shattered fragments were hurled by the blast like shrapnel, striking the fleeing enemies hard.
One attack that both destroyed the barrier and used its fragments to assault the enemy—two birds with one stone.
Continuing in that manner,
Boom, boom, crash!!
I detonated all the surrounding barriers.
“No, no, noooo!”
What appeared to be the Imperial Army’s commander let out a wail,
but I paid it no mind.
The barriers I’d just destroyed would be rebuilt larger and more expansive anyway.
As the barriers crumbled,
“The barrier is gone!”
“Charge!”
“Cut them all down!”
“The enemy commander is fleeing!”
“Fire!”
The players surged forward with excitement, leaping over the shattered barrier as they pursued the enemy forces.
At that, I repositioned myself as well.
Magic was best suited as an area-of-effect technique, not as a long-range sniper attack.
Using White Fish Swimming to move with blinding speed, I dashed forward and scaled the barrier that still stood unbroken.
I could have switched back to my ‘Electric Magic Set’ and unleashed Thunder Cannon from here.
‘But I can’t let them escape like this.’
Surveying the battlefield, I realized my true objective lay elsewhere.
As commander, I needed to see the larger picture.
With morale surging as it was, the players could certainly crush the enemy forces—armor-clad units or otherwise.
What I needed to do now was.
‘Prevent the enemy from fleeing.’
That was it.
I drew out a new Eternal Crystal.
Attaching the Eternal Crystal to the Phoenix Feather Staff and synchronizing its mana, I activated the staff’s unique skill.
– Activating 4-Circle Fire Magic: Fire Wall.
I cast Fire Wall.
Fire Wall was originally a defensive spell meant to block enemy attacks, but I wielded it differently.
Whoosh!
A barrier of flames erupted along the enemy’s escape route.
Rather than defense, I used Fire Wall to seal off the passages through which they might flee.
Ordinarily, a standard Fire Wall couldn’t possibly block so many escape routes.
Crackle!
The immense mana contained within the Eternal Crystal flowed into the staff.
That mana amplified the range of my flame magic, and the staff’s unique skill expanded it further.
Combined with my recently strengthened Wisdom enhancement, the magic’s mana consumption plummeted.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
The flame barrier continued to spread, sealing off every escape route.
“F-Flames!”
“The escape routes are blocked!”
“What kind of mage can conjure magic on such a scale?”
The enemy forces panicked.
Some of them, trusting in their iron armor, attempted to push through the barrier.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
“It burns!”
“Help me!”
The flame barrier’s firepower was far from weak.
With their escape routes sealed, the enemy forces had no choice but to.
“We have no choice!”
“Fight!”
“B-but! The difference in troop numbers!”
“There’s nowhere to run anyway! We have to fight!”
“Jenzaaang!”
I had to engage the reinforcements composed of users.
Since the Legion Commanders were already leading the users forward, I focused on maintaining the magic rather than attacking directly.
Or rather, more than simply maintaining it.
“Th-the flame barrier is narrowing!”
“Aaaahhh!”
I gradually constricted the barrier’s range, encircling the enemy forces with the flame wall that blocked their advance.
The enemy either melted into the narrowing flame barrier or were forced to launch desperate attacks toward us.
Not long after.
“We won!”
I managed to defeat all the enemy forces.
The first battle with Cronion—occurring the moment we arrived at the Battlefield, before we’d even established our garrison.
The result was nothing short of a decisive victory.

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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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