The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 332

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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 332
Chapter 332
[ Your level has increased. ]
Not monsters, but enemies are still enemies.
Moreover, since the number of defeated enemy soldiers was considerable, my level rose quite substantially.
[ Luke has consumed a ‘Mecha Scorpion’. ]
[ Luke has consumed an ‘Iron Armor Corps Soldier’. ]
….
Luke’s feeding continued in succession.
The enemy soldiers who fell by my hand, including the mechanical scorpion, were devoured by Luke.
Not only did numerous stats increase, but I was able to obtain items like ‘Mana Core’ and ‘Mana Cannon Components’ from the Mecha Scorpion.
I also collected a large number of iron equipment from the Iron Armor Corps soldiers.
In any case, I left the remaining cleanup to the users.
“Commander, are you here?”
I began my role as Commander.
I had worried whether the mechanical scorpion might have gotten to the commander, but fortunately, the commander had survived.
The commander who rushed over urgently at my call must have heard that I had received the rank of Commander, for he immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
“Marquis Mir! Or rather, Commander Mir! You’ve arrived!”
“Are you the commander?”
“Yes! I am Colin, the field commander overseeing the Twilight Plains!”
“By the Emperor’s command, I shall take command of this position from now on.”
“Yes! Our unit will also fall under Commander Mir’s authority, so please feel free to give us any orders!”
The Imperial Army now under my command.
Well, truthfully, it wasn’t particularly significant.
After all, there weren’t that many Imperial soldiers stationed here.
“Please provide me with a battlefield report first.”
“Yes!”
I then received an explanation about the frontline known as the Twilight Plains.
According to what I heard, the original frontline here was not the plains but the Stone Territory to the rear.
The enemy had pushed the line forward while concentrating their forces on other fronts, but without additional reinforcements arriving, they were being pushed back on this disadvantageous line.
By location and terrain, it wasn’t a particularly important position.
Perhaps that’s why the users were deployed here.
Even if we couldn’t hold it, there was no great danger, and if we pushed back the enemy, it would be a reasonably good position.
However.
‘Not bad at all.’
In truth, where on a battlefield is there a position that isn’t important?
This place was no exception.
It may seem like an unimportant frontline for now, but if I push back the enemy and advance the line forward?
This position would be exactly where I could strike at the enemy’s flank in the fierce battle raging above.
“That concludes the report. However, the barrier has been severely damaged, and I’m uncertain what to do about it…. Ah, I’m not blaming you, Commander! Thanks to your excellent judgment, we were able to completely destroy the enemy forces! It’s just….”
Colin continued, his tone troubled.
“I heard the Engineering Corps headed toward the upper front lines. Even if we request them immediately, it will take considerable time, and even if we attempt repairs ourselves, it will fall far short of withstanding Cronion’s assault….”
The reason was simple.
Without the Engineering Corps, we couldn’t repair the barrier.
And because of that, we became vulnerable to Cronion’s attacks.
However, from my perspective, this was not a concern at all.
“Mist, Sanba-wi.”
“Yes, Mir.”
“You called?”
I summoned the two Guild Masters who were also Legion Commanders, leading the production-focused players.
Mist and Sanba-wi.
And then.
“We will begin the front-line expansion construction immediately.”
I issued the expansion order at once.
The Empire’s Engineering Corps?
We don’t need them.
While they would certainly be helpful, our own Engineering Corps, composed of production players with keen eyes, possesses considerable skill as well.
Moreover, with South Korea’s two greatest craftsmen serving as Legion Commanders to oversee the expansion, it would be even better.
What mattered was.
“How should we determine the scale of the expansion?”
The scale of the expansion.
Though we had annihilated the invading enemies, just a bit further ahead lay Cronion’s territory.
As such, if we recklessly enlarged the barrier’s scale due to our victory in the first battle, the enemy might attack before we could even complete it.
Yet to conservatively expand the barrier only slightly would be a waste of this magnificent victory we had just achieved.
“Commander Mir, the Twilight Plain is terrain favorable for Cronion’s mechanical war machines. Therefore, despite the great victory, it would be better to reduce the scale and repair the barrier as quickly as possible….”
The NPC commander offered his opinion, but.
“The two of you may determine the scale according to the situation. However, my approach is ‘forward expansion.'”
“Forward expansion…?”
My thinking was entirely different.
I had already stepped into the Empire’s war, and with so many players under my command, I had to lead them to victory.
I needed to recover Luke’s heart embedded in Cronion’s mechanical war machines, and defeat the newly emerged Evil God.
Rather than passively holding our ground and dragging out time, I intended to stand at the forefront and push through the war as swiftly as possible.
Therefore.
“From now on, we will repeat attacks and expansion. No—we will conduct them simultaneously.”
“Yes…?”
We would conduct attacks and barrier expansion at the same time.
At this, the commander Colin wore a dumbfounded expression, but.
“Understood.”
“Leave it to us!”
The reactions of Mist and Sanba-wi, who would actually carry out the expansion work, were calm and composed.
No, rather, they seemed to enjoy it.
After all, when people typically think of war, Production Guild members tend to operate in the rear, so their accomplishments often go unnoticed.
But now, by expanding the barriers and producing tangible, visible results, it was only natural they would be pleased.
The Production Guild members shared the same desire—to earn merit in this war and receive rewards.
“Sir, this is far too dangerous! You don’t yet understand how powerful Cronion’s mechanical weapons truly are!”
“I’ll confirm that directly on the battlefield.”
“But…!”
“That’s enough advice. I’ll organize the formations, so just follow your superior’s orders.”
I’d already heard the briefing about the battlefield, so there was no need to listen to Colin any further.
I assigned him to an appropriate position and began organizing the encampment first.
“We’ll start by constructing the tents!”
“We’ll begin building the barriers immediately, so everyone lend a hand!”
“Come on, let’s move!”
The encampment construction began at once.
We created space for tens of thousands of players to stay, with tents and all necessary facilities.
And we rebuilt the collapsed barriers anew.
Meanwhile.
“Combat-focused players will advance ahead to protect the barriers being constructed and begin reconnaissance.”
“Yes, sir!”
The combat players moved with urgency.
If our reinforcements had been NPCs, they would have complained about the hardship of working without rest immediately upon arriving at the battlefield.
But players were different.
Give them vague downtime, and they’d only complain that their logged-in gaming time was being wasted.
So I kept them as busy as possible.
Building quarters, expanding barriers, conducting reconnaissance—
While our reinforcements expanded the encampment at an incredible pace the moment they arrived at the battlefield.
On the opposite side, Cronion had also become aware of our presence.
* * *
Tyranny Nation, Cronion’s front line.
Specifically, at the edge of the Twilight Plain.
Or rather, at the command tent of what Cronion called the Dawn Plains front, a man’s voice rang out.
“You’re telling me we failed?”
“I apologize.”
“We deployed the Mecha Scorpion itself, yet how incompetent was the command that we failed? Against mere Imperial Army soldiers crawling out onto the plains—not even the Stone Territory, where mechanical weapons move awkwardly?”
Anger filled the man’s voice.
Naturally.
He had issued attack orders deploying the Mecha Scorpion, Cronion’s elite mechanical weapon operating on the critical central front line.
Yet they had failed to capture an encampment defended by merely a few thousand Imperial soldiers—not even the critical front line, not the Stone Territory where mechanical weapons moved poorly, but a simple encampment.
What in the world was this?
By his calculations, this should have been a battle they could have won with nothing but mindless charge orders, regardless of any actual command.
Moreover.
“Annihilated?”
“…Yes, sir.”
Scarcely a single soldier survived.
The loss of the Mecha Scorpion alone was painful enough, but for the soldiers who launched the attack to be completely wiped out?
It was a defeat so absolute it bordered on absurdity.
I wanted to punish the commander immediately, but that very commander hadn’t returned from the battlefield.
The man suppressed his rage and began to piece together what had happened.
Fortunately, even without survivors, uncovering the reason for the defeat proved straightforward.
Though the soldiers had perished, scouts who had been monitoring the battle from a distance remained alive.
“Reinforcements?”
“Yes, sir. It appears adventurers arrived as reinforcements.”
“When you say adventurers, you mean those ‘outsiders’?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Tens of thousands. Particularly, there appeared to be several exceptionally powerful mages among them.”
“Mages?”
“The Mecha Scorpion’s defeat and the soldiers’ annihilation appear to stem from these mages. It seems multiple high-level mages anticipated our ambush and prepared a counterattack.”
“The information about our ambush was classified with absolute secrecy.”
“However, if the information hadn’t leaked, the mages’ attacks would be inexplicable. Attacks surpassing the Mecha Scorpion’s magical cannon, and a vast barrier of flame covering the escape routes.”
The scout’s report was so fantastical it strained credibility.
A magical cannon more powerful than the Mecha Scorpion’s had arrived and felled it in a single strike.
A colossal barrier of flames had risen to engulf the escape routes.
Even to his ears, this was no ordinary matter.
It felt like the work of the legendary Blue Moon Knight Order he’d heard rumors of.
Adventurers improvising such attacks on the spot?
Impossible.
It made far more sense that information about the ambush had leaked somehow, and the adventurer reinforcements had prepared a counterattack accordingly.
“Immediately inspect the security protocols and root out the traitors.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thus, the man decided to begin with a security review.
In truth, he wanted nothing more than to launch an immediate counteroffensive and annihilate the reinforcements that dared slaughter his soldiers, but—
‘The situation is unfavorable.’
This attack had been his carefully orchestrated masterpiece.
With its failure, the troop strength on this front was far from ideal.
It was an operation he’d never imagined would fail.
So for now, observing the battlefield and assessing the situation took priority.
‘Still, we should be safe for a while.’
Tens of thousands of reinforcements, no less.
Having just arrived, they would first need time to reach their garrison and acclimate to the battlefield.
Since the barrier had collapsed so significantly, time would be needed to repair it.
So I thought there wouldn’t be any major problems for a while.
But then.
“The Imperial Army is expanding the barrier!”
“Isn’t that only natural?”
“The scale is enormous. Moreover, it doesn’t seem like they intend to expand it just once and be done!”
“What do you mean….”
“They’re expanding the barrier recklessly without regard for boundaries! At this rate, it will soon be visible even from our garrison!”
“…What?”
I was wrong.
The Imperial Army’s reinforcements had arrived and were now committing the absurd act of extending the barrier toward Cronion.
“Summon the soldiers at once! We must stop the Imperial Army from expanding the barrier any further!”
At my command, the man rose urgently and assembled the soldiers.
The decisive strike had failed and the soldiers had been annihilated, leaving far fewer soldiers in the garrison.
But I couldn’t simply stand by and watch.
The man urgently sent a support request to headquarters, then led the Iron Armor Corps remaining in the garrison and rushed toward the front lines.

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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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