The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 335
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 335
Chapter 335
The battle we fought when we first arrived at the Frontline wasn’t particularly difficult, if I’m being honest.
Mir had taken down the most formidable enemy—the Mecha Scorpion—and besides, the numerical disadvantage was simply too great on their side.
The second battle was much the same.
The mortars were certainly threatening, but Mir had detonated the ammunition stockpile beforehand, neutralizing the threat before it could claim lives.
This time, however, things were different.
“Enemies!”
“Why are there so many of them?”
“They all look even bigger because they’re wearing Iron Armor.”
First, the enemy numbers were overwhelming.
Until now, we’d faced at most a few thousand.
But now, even a rough count suggested over ten thousand.
One might think it wouldn’t be a problem since our user force numbered in the tens of thousands.
“Our numbers have dropped considerably too.”
“Well, not everyone can stay logged in constantly—they have real lives to attend to.”
“That’s true.”
“Don’t lose heart, everyone! This is our chance to rack up contributions while fewer people are online!”
No, that wasn’t it.
Our user force had indeed dwindled.
It wasn’t due to deaths.
It was real-world issues.
As more users logged out to handle real-life matters, our numbers naturally decreased.
Still, in pure numerical terms, we still had a slight advantage.
Though we’d only fought twice, our consecutive victories had filled the users with confidence, and they drew their weapons boldly, expecting another triumph.
Moments later.
“Fire!”
Whoosh—!
The battle with Cronion had begun.
Fortunately, the barrier had been erected, giving our user force a slight advantage.
The problem was that they were using long-range explosive weapons like mortars, just as in the previous battle.
And.
Boom—!
“Argh!”
“The barrier’s been breached!”
“How is it so powerful?”
It was the presence of the mechanical weapon—the Mecha Scorpion.
As it had demonstrated in the first battle, the Mecha Scorpion was firing mana cannons while anchoring itself with eight sharp legs.
To modern eyes, the attack was indistinguishable from a laser blast, and the barrier was being riddled with holes.
It spoke to the sheer destructive power of the mana cannon.
And there was another problem.
“Where is Mir?”
“Couldn’t he use that attack from last time again?”
“If we could just deal with those mechanical scorpions somehow!”
The commander of the user forces.
Mir was nowhere to be seen.
How remarkable had Mir’s performance been in the battles so far?
If Mir appeared now like before, toppling the Mecha Scorpions and electrocuting the Iron Armor Corps, the battle would be so much easier.
But Mir was nowhere to be found.
That wasn’t all.
“Where did the Sages go?”
“The Engineering Corps isn’t showing up either.”
“Well, the Engineering Corps wasn’t really helping in combat anyway…”
“What are you talking about! We need them to repair that broken barrier!”
“So where did they go?”
The Engineering Corps, composed of production-type users.
And a considerable number of the Sages were nowhere to be seen.
No wonder the battle felt increasingly difficult.
As the users grew discontent.
“Everyone, please focus on defense! Mir is preparing a strategy, so there’s no need to worry!”
“Hahahaha! What’s everyone so worried about! After seeing what he’s shown us so far, you still don’t believe? Trust and fight!”
“You don’t need to aggressively defeat them. The barrier can be rebuilt. Just focus on suppressing fire, block the attacks, and buy us time.”
The Legion Commanders stepped forward to calm the users.
Hearing this, the users reluctantly focused on defense.
The Mecha Scorpions’ mana cannons were simply impossible to block.
BOOM!
“Hahahaha! Quite the impact!”
The Legion Commanders were different.
Victor, the Guild Master of the Legion Guild, raised a massive shield and threw himself forward, taking the mana cannon blast with his body.
“Adamantine!”
Tae-ryeon deployed a Taoist technique, creating a defensive barrier that deflected the mana cannon, and.
Proving they were South Korea’s greatest users, they brilliantly blocked the mana cannons.
And the rankers weren’t just them.
Yul-ha, who was splitting the mana cannons in half with her sword, and other famous rankers from Second were positioned here.
It wasn’t asking them to defeat enemies—focusing on defense was entirely manageable.
However.
“How much longer are we supposed to just endure?”
As time passed, the users’ discontent grew.
Just blocking attacks.
What kind of order was this?
They wouldn’t provide details, so how much longer were we supposed to just endure this?
User complaints reached their breaking point.
The moment soldiers began suggesting a retreat, unable to hold the line any longer.
“You’ve all held on remarkably well.”
A familiar voice called out from behind.
And with it.
“We were able to complete it thanks to all of you.”
Whoosh!
Brilliant light erupted from their garrison.
* * *
The enemy’s numbers.
And the mechanical weapons that came with them—the Mecha Scorpions—I assessed them all.
I understood then.
If we engaged them straightforwardly, victory was possible, but we’d suffer devastating casualties.
‘I could clear out the Mecha Scorpions using Eternal Crystals, but….’
One Eternal Crystal per Mecha Scorpion?
That was far too wasteful.
Soon I’d have to face Luke’s mechanical weapons infused with his dark heart, and the Evil God as well.
I couldn’t squander Eternal Crystals—which charged slowly—so recklessly.
So instead of unleashing Eternal Crystals indiscriminately, I devised a more efficient approach.
Specifically, I conceived a method utilizing the Engineering Corps, who had nothing to do once combat began.
“Mist, Sanba-wi.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll draw up blueprints for you now. Please proceed according to my designs.”
“Now? But battle is about to break out….”
“Which is why we must hurry.”
“What exactly is it… Wait, could it be!”
“Yes, it’s a magic circle.”
“A magic circle!”
The method I’d used to defeat the Silver Storm God in Belmore Territory.
Installing a magic circle.
Back then, I’d essentially constructed that colossal magic circle entirely by myself, but this time was different.
As long as the blueprints were drawn properly.
“Leave it to us!”
“A magic circle? Now that’s intriguing!”
The Engineering Corps would construct the magic circle themselves.
Rather than simply digging trenches like in Belmore Territory, they’d stack materials according to the magic circle’s pattern—far more detailed and robust.
Even without my direct supervision, Mist and Sanba-wi issued instructions with obsessive precision.
Next.
“We’ll need the assistance of the mages.”
I received assistance from the Sages.
After distributing the Mana Stones, I connected the formations by sprinkling Mana Stone powder over the constructed magic circles.
And then, all the way to installing Mana Stones at the critical points.
The Mana Stones in my subspace couldn’t be traded, but with the excess Gold I’d accumulated recently, I’d purchased ordinary Mana Stones in abundance, making this possible.
With the help of countless users, I completed the magic circle installation in an instant.
“You’ve all held out remarkably well.”
I offered words of encouragement to the users holding back Cronion at the barrier.
Thunk.
I drove an Eternal Crystal into the center of the magic circle.
Whooooom—.
I channeled mana into it and activated the spell.
Using a single Eternal Crystal and an enormous magic circle to efficiently counter Cronion’s soldiers, the spell I activated was none other than.
– Activating 5th Circle Lightning Magic ‘Magnetic Field’.
An application spell of ‘Lightning Field’, a 5th Circle Lightning Magic that creates an electric current zone.
It was Magnetic Field.
Its effect was, true to its name, forming a magnetic field.
Or more precisely, it was magic that increased the magnetism of a certain area.
However, since it was activated with a magic circle massive enough to fill the entire garrison and an Eternal Crystal as its core.
Whooooom—!
Its range and power were on a completely different scale from an ordinary Magnetic Field.
The magic circle glowed, and the Magnetic Field manifested in the area where Cronion’s soldiers were positioned.
And immediately.
Crunch!
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“My… body…”
Cronion’s soldiers collapsed in place.
No, beyond merely collapsing, they fell to the ground and couldn’t get back up, as if their bodies were glued to the floor.
The reason was simple.
The iron armor they were wearing.
It was being pulled to the ground like magnets by the magnetism of the ‘Magnetic Field’.
Even as some of them tried to raise their guns, the guns too stuck to the floor, making it impossible to aim at us.
Screeeech—.
The Mecha Scorpions were no different.
Their sturdy metal bodies sank to the ground, and their tails, which had been standing rigidly as they prepared their mana cannons, were also driven into the floor.
Some of them even fired their mana cannons without being able to cancel them, causing explosions right where they stood.
That’s right.
This was the strategy against Cronion that I had devised.
Even ordinary soldiers are equipped with iron gear, and especially the powerful mechanical weapons are literally made of metal.
As such, they all had no choice but to be vulnerable to magnetism.
Thanks to that, I was able to render the entire enemy force incapacitated by consuming a colossal magic circle and one Eternal Crystal.
“Attack!”
Immediately, our counteroffensive began.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
The roar of the players echoed across the battlefield.
Until now, the players had done nothing but endure Cronion’s assaults to buy time.
All that pent-up frustration burst forth.
And since Cronion couldn’t mount any counterattack whatsoever.
Crash!
The players unleashed their full fury upon the enemy forces.
Throughout this, the iron armor and steel weapons our players wore and wielded remained unaffected by the magnetic field.
Why was that?
The reason was simple—I had adjusted the magic circle accordingly.
‘I’ve already analyzed the composition of the materials used in Cronion’s soldiers’ armor and mechanical weapons.’
The iron they used differed subtly from that employed by the Empire.
Though it was still iron, the composition was distinctly different, one might say.
So I modified the magnetic field’s formula to respond only to Cronion’s iron.
Of course, altering the formula of a magnetic field—which fell into applied magic—was extraordinarily difficult.
‘But I’ve grown quite accustomed to magic by now.’
The Knight Commander of the Blue Moon Knight Order, Raymond Mistborn.
Perhaps it was due to the extended time spent discussing and researching with him?
My understanding of magic had reached an impressive level, and because of that, this degree of formula modification wasn’t particularly challenging.
“We… we must retreat!”
“But our bodies…!”
Cronion’s soldiers realized the truth.
The tide of battle had already turned decisively in favor of the Imperial Army.
They attempted to flee, but the magnetic force pulling at their armor made even escape impossible, let alone mounting an offense.
Remove their armor, you ask?
Most of them had equipped their protective gear so thoroughly that removing it was nearly impossible.
A handful managed to barely strip off their armor and attempt to flee.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Thud!
“Gahhh!”
“We can’t miss a single point of contribution! Kahahaha!”
Our players seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Thus, the one-sided assault continued.
We didn’t slaughter every immobilized enemy; instead, we captured most of those already rendered combat-ineffective.
Taking prisoners during war offered numerous strategic advantages.
Of course, I had no particular plans for them—I intended to hand them all over to the Imperial Army.
The Imperial Army would handle the rest themselves.
Thus, before long, as the Eternal Crystal’s mana depleted and the Magnetic Field’s manifestation began to wane,
“Commander, we’ve finished the cleanup.”
“Well done.”
“Isn’t it all thanks to you, Commander?”
Once again, my forces had emerged victorious from the battle without suffering any significant casualties.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————