The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 334

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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 334
Chapter 334
After felling the commander.
I joined the battle immediately.
With the situation as it was, there was no reason to continue long-range sniping, so I switched to my ‘Electric Magic Set’ and closed the distance, unleashing Thunder Cannon in rapid succession.
Of course, once the enemy numbers dwindled and the players moved in close, I couldn’t use magic properly for fear of catching them in the blast radius.
Not long after.
“Commander. We’ve eliminated all of Cronion’s Iron Armor Corps.”
“This time, the enemy stood their ground instead of fleeing, which made it easy for us to defeat them.”
“We were able to win easily thanks to Mir destroying that pile of ammunition.”
“Hahaha, those guys were pretty impressive! I wonder if tanks or helicopters will show up next!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. Words can become reality, you know.”
“So what if they do? We’ll just destroy the tanks and helicopters too! Hahaha!”
The commanders’ victory reports echoed across the battlefield.
I ordered Luke to devour the fallen, and the players began collecting their spoils and organizing the battlefield.
With the battle finished, I was considering whether to focus back on barrier construction.
Then a player who had been using exceptional reconnaissance skills to monitor Cronion’s garrison came to report to me.
Though I held the rank of commander, I wanted to hear such reports directly, so I’d made it clear they could approach me anytime.
“Reporting, sir. It appears the forces we just faced were the entire garrison of Cronion located on the opposite side of the Twilight Plain.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. They seem to have brought their entire force to obstruct our barrier expansion. I’ve confirmed this by entering the enemy garrison itself, so it’s certain.”
Then came a report that made my ears perk up with interest.
The enemy garrison was completely empty.
Was the force I’d just defeated truly their last?
‘Come to think of it, that attack we faced right after arriving wasn’t ordinary.’
If I had to guess, that assault we witnessed was probably Cronion squeezing out every last ounce of their strength.
With their dispatched forces completely annihilated, they brought their entire army to block the barrier, only to be defeated.
Thinking it through this way, the situation became clear.
As I fell into thought, the player who’d made the report sparkled with enthusiasm and offered their opinion.
“Isn’t your objective to push Cronion back and expand the front lines quickly, Mir? I believe now is the opportunity.”
“That’s right.”
“Though you defeated the commander, the results of this battle will reach Cronion’s ears soon enough.”
“Indeed.”
“So I believe we should occupy Cronion’s garrison before reinforcements arrive and establish barriers to completely control the Twilight Plain.”
A wise judgment.
They’d properly analyzed my objectives and the current situation.
Combined with their exceptional reconnaissance abilities.
This was the player Tae-ryeon had recommended, and their skills exceeded my expectations.
“What is your nickname?”
“Watcher.”
“From now on, I shall appoint you, Watcher, as Vice Commander of the reconnaissance unit. Going forward, I trust you to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance operations with greater autonomy.”
“Y-yes, thank you!”
Those of exceptional talent deserve positions befitting their abilities.
After appointing Watcher to the Vice Commander position, I immediately summoned the two legion commanders.
“Mist, Sanba-wi—I need you to expand the barrier as if we’re claiming the entire Twilight Plain.”
“Understood.”
“Consider it done!”
Now we would begin our true offensive expansion.
Our target: the entirety of the Twilight Plain.
We would breach the existing front lines—that boundary once called the “frontline” that cut across the entire Twilight Plain—and swallow the whole region whole.
“All combat personnel will immediately march to seize Cronion’s garrison.”
And then, beginning with the Twilight Plain, we would influence every battlefield against Cronion.
With this objective in mind, the players and I advanced toward Cronion.
* * *
The Emperor of the Baltika Empire.
Drakeon Baltika.
As the Empire’s sovereign, he bore countless responsibilities.
He received reports on the actively progressing expansion in the Southern Region and had to formulate development plans.
He wrestled with how to manage relations with the Western tribes that had recently been brought into the fold.
He had to strategically position and dispatch soldiers to hold back the relentless tide of monsters pouring from the North.
And he could not ignore the war with Cronion in the East, whose power had grown formidable of late.
Of course, what he considered most pressing was—
“How stands our position against Cronion?”
Cronion, the Tyranny Nation of the East.
The front lines with Cronion, which had previously maintained a tense stalemate,
had recently begun to crumble at an alarming pace.
“It appears Cronion’s mechanical weapons are far more formidable than anticipated. We may need to redirect forces even if it means halting the Southern expansion.”
“So be it. Do as you say. Though the Southern resources are valuable, the priorities have shifted.”
“A most wise decision, Your Majesty.”
“At least withdrawing forces from the West has made matters considerably easier.”
“That is surely thanks to Your Majesty’s foresight.”
“Foresight? I merely sat idle and listened to Mir’s reports.”
“Yet it was Your Majesty who took Marquis Mir under your wing and nurtured him.”
“Ha, flattery or not, it pleases the ear.”
“You honor me, Your Majesty.”
Had we not formed an alliance with the West and redirected those forces eastward, matters would have been dire indeed.
This was all thanks to Mir, who had recently proposed the Western alliance agreement.
Moreover, had he not recently volunteered to participate in the war himself?
According to the Information Department’s intelligence, the Evil God had been discovered in Cronion, and Mir appeared to have joined the war to defeat that Evil God.
While other nobles shirked their duty and withdrew, Mir had stepped forward of his own accord, leading the players to the battlefield—and from the Emperor’s perspective, this was deeply gratifying.
“Now that I think about it, shouldn’t Mir be arriving at the battlefield soon?”
And moments later.
The report the Emperor had been awaiting arrived.
“Your Majesty. Cronion has launched an attack with mechanical war machines on the Twilight Plains.”
“…Is that so? How troublesome. I deliberately pulled back our garrison to give Mir an opportunity, but Cronion reacted faster than expected. And if they’ve brought mechanical war machines….”
“Fortunately, the enemy forces were completely annihilated without any casualties among our troops.”
“Hmm? How was that even possible?”
“The moment Cronion launched their attack, Marquis Mir and the reinforcements arrived at the battlefield.”
“Ho.”
“According to reports, Marquis Mir destroyed Cronion’s mechanical war machine in a single strike and trapped and annihilated Cronion’s Iron Armor Corps.”
It wasn’t merely news that Mir had arrived at the battlefield.
The moment Mir reached the battlefield, reports of victory came flooding in—Cronion’s mechanical war machines and soldiers had been defeated.
The Emperor’s expression brightened considerably upon hearing this.
“Haha, I wonder why only the news I wish to hear keeps arriving.”
“Upon arriving at the garrison, he’s been expanding the barrier and pushing the front lines forward.”
“Excellent, excellent. Isn’t ours the only side pushing the front lines forward?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Recently, only bad news had been coming from the front lines against Cronion, and I had been troubled by it.
But the moment Mir arrived, he brought news of victory.
Though the Stone Territory was adjacent to this sector, making it not particularly strategically vital, a victory was still a victory.
I couldn’t help but feel pleased.
However, not long after, a follow-up report arrived that startled the Emperor.
“Marquis Mir has occupied Cronion’s garrison on the far side of the Twilight Plains.”
“…What? Does that mean Marquis Mir has occupied the entire Twilight Plains?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. He has occupied the Twilight Plains and is now rapidly constructing barriers.”
Mir had occupied the Twilight Plains.
The Emperor’s expression sharpened upon hearing this.
In truth, the reason I had sent Mir and the adventurers to the Twilight Plains was because it was such a dangerous location.
The Twilight Plains were ideal terrain for Cronion’s mechanical devices to operate, giving them a significant advantage and making combat there extremely difficult.
That’s why, until now, we had merely been defending while relying on the Stone Territory.
And Cronion, too, had been content to hold the plains without venturing into the disadvantageous Stone Territory.
But to occupy the entire plains?
This was no ordinary matter.
“Bring me a map at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor quickly studied the map.
The Twilight Plains lay below the battlefield.
Until now, I had never even considered occupying it, but if the Twilight Plains were occupied…?
Simply moving upward from there would allow us to strike at Cronion’s flank from the middle of the front lines.
And that wasn’t all.
With just a bit more movement, we could even receive troop reinforcements and supplies through the sea.
The barren wasteland we’d never considered occupying had now become a critical strategic stronghold that could lead us to victory.
“Inform Marquis Mir of the current situation in detail immediately. Perhaps we may end this war sooner than expected.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This is our opportunity. Spare no resources in supporting the battlefield—especially Marquis Mir.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor who issued the command smiled.
In that moment, the value of Mir’s existence rose considerably in his mind.
* * *
Capturing Cronion’s garrison at the edge of the Twilight Plains proved simple.
As the Watcher who served as a sentinel had said, Cronion’s garrison was nearly devoid of troops.
Thanks to that, we seized the enemy garrison swiftly without suffering any casualties.
“Construct the barrier immediately.”
“Understood!”
“Let’s do it!”
We expanded the barrier at once.
From my perspective, our ability to capture this place wasn’t because Cronion was weak or the Twilight Plains unimportant.
It was because we ruthlessly exploited the consequences of their supposedly certain surprise assault failing.
Had Cronion learned of this, they would have sent reinforcements immediately.
Considering the maps and battle reports received from the Empire, the Twilight Plains were indeed a strategically vital stronghold.
As expected.
“Cronion’s forces are approaching!”
Not long after, Cronion began their assault.
They understood it as well.
How strategically crucial the Twilight Plains were.
They had naturally believed their assault would succeed, allowing them to seize the Empire’s garrison and subsequently advance into the Stone Territory.
Yet their garrison was not only captured by the Imperial Army but devoured by it—so their shock at returning was inevitable.
As such.
“An enormous force! Not the thousands of Imperial troops we’ve seen before! The visible numbers alone exceed ten thousand!”
I could sense that Cronion was coming with serious intent.
It wasn’t merely the sheer number of soldiers.
“The mechanical scorpion we saw before! No, the Mecha Scorpion—that mechanical weapon is visible too! I count three just in sight! There may be more!”
Though the situation was urgent, they had brought several Mecha Scorpions—machines so powerful I’d used a special-grade magic stone against them.
The fortunate part, however.
“What’s the status of the barrier?”
“Construction is complete on the side where Cronion is attacking.”
The barrier had been finished.
Then there’s nothing to worry about.
With the barrier in place, I can focus on the attack with peace of mind.
Though the enemy’s numbers have grown and their threatening mechanical weapons have increased.
“There is no retreat. I will defend the Twilight Plains. No—I will annihilate the enemy and advance even further.”
The thought of losing never crossed my mind.
Rather, Cronion, feeling increasingly threatened, hastily deployed the mechanical weapon into which Luke’s heart had been transplanted.
And the Evil God, presumed to be the ‘Purple Mechanical Deity’, was sent forth—Cronion simply wanted to end this war quickly.

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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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