The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 338

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 338
Chapter 338
The Lower Front Line on the Eastern Continent.
Cronion, holding back the Imperial Army there, wanted nothing more than to grind every last soldier of the Empire into dust, but the magic required to deploy a magnetic field proved far more troublesome than anticipated.
Thus, he determined they couldn’t be annihilated until reinforcements arrived.
Instead, he focused on preventing the Imperial Army from expanding any further.
More importantly, ensuring they couldn’t influence the Central Front.
“Quiet, aren’t they?”
“Perhaps they understand the situation, sir?”
“True enough. Despite our winning streak, they’ve surely felt the true depth of Cronion’s power.”
“In truth, our strength lies not in offense but in defense. Even if tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers charge at us right now, we can hold them back without difficulty.”
“Of course.”
Without the magnetic field, there was no reason to fear the Imperial Army at all.
If they charged right now, I was confident we wouldn’t merely hold them back—we’d annihilate them completely.
I’d wondered if they might expand the magnetic field or shift its manifestation range toward us, but when I asked a scholar from Cronion, it seemed unlikely.
“I wish they’d just charge in thoughtlessly.”
“Indeed, sir.”
The Imperial Army currently held every inch of the Plains, riding an unbroken streak of victories.
Their arrogance must be reaching the heavens.
So perhaps they really would charge recklessly?
Then we could sweep them all away in one fell swoop and reclaim the Plains.
As I pondered this.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted.
“The Imperial Army is attacking!”
“Truly?”
“They’ve launched a direct assault on the main gate!”
“Wake the soldiers. It’s time to slaughter these arrogant Imperial dogs.”
The Imperial Army’s attack had begun.
At this, Cronion’s Lower Front Line commander rushed to the battlefield with a gleeful expression.
Thinking the foolish Imperial bastards had finally made their move, I smiled at the prospect of crushing their arrogance.
The battlefield I arrived at was.
Boom, crash!
Kaboom!!
Absolutely spectacular.
I’d believed the Imperial Army couldn’t even use explosives.
Yet this seemed to transcend what mere humans could unleash.
“Fire!”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
At this, Cronion’s soldiers began their counterattack.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield.
Bullets tore through the air.
Yet amid all this chaos, the commander sensed something was fundamentally wrong.
The assault was dazzling in its ferocity, yet the Imperial Army’s casualties were nearly nonexistent.
No matter how formidable Cronion was, did this make any sense?
And there was something else.
Not a single Imperial soldier had ventured close.
The meaning was unmistakable.
‘They’re drawing attention?’
The Imperial Army had no intention of engaging Cronion directly.
They were merely feigning attacks from beyond the effective range of Cronion’s firearms.
Deducing their true purpose was simple.
“It’s a diversion! Raise defensive posture!”
The Imperial Army had a different objective entirely.
And indeed, he was right.
A deafening boom shattered the air.
“Kahahaha!”
When and how they had infiltrated remained a mystery.
Dozens of Imperial soldiers burst through the defensive barrier and launched their assault.
But their combat prowess was extraordinary.
They deflected or severed every bullet fired at them.
They charged with speed and movement so erratic that aiming became impossible, striking with devastating force.
They moved like a crimson tempest, cutting through the Iron Armor Corps as if their protection meant nothing.
They toyed with the armored soldiers with overwhelming superiority.
This was no ordinary combat strength.
These were clearly elite forces from the adventurer-composed Imperial Army.
Yet why did unease persist?
The discomfort refused to dissipate.
While others believed the Imperial Army had drawn their attention to enable this infiltration, the commander alone harbored lingering doubt.
And his instinct proved correct.
“Commander! Assassins!”
“Assassins?”
“Dozens of officers, including Alex, have been assassinated!”
“Damn it, that was their true objective! What’s the current situation?”
“They’re fleeing now that they’ve been spotted….”
“You’re telling me we let them all escape?”
“My sincerest apologies! However, we’re tightening the encirclement as we speak, so we should apprehend them shortly!”
The Dark Assassin unit had eliminated the officers.
This was catastrophic.
No matter how skilled the commander was, he could not single-handedly direct all of Cronion’s forces without the assistance of his officers.
At least he survived—that was the silver lining.
Because the commander had positioned himself at the front lines to assess the battlefield, he had lived.
The losses among the officers were painful, but this level of casualties was acceptable.
“Promote all officers below him to temporary ranks! Everyone, reassert control of your positions!”
It was manageable.
The damage was severe, but we could still endure this.
Even if the entire Imperial Army came crashing down right now, I was confident we could still crush them all.
And then.
A sound that should never have reached the commander’s ears echoed across the battlefield.
BOOOOOM—!!
“No… it can’t be…!”
It was the sound of Cronion’s ammunition depot exploding.
* * *
KABOOM—!!
A brilliant explosion thundered across the air.
With it, more than half of the soldiers guarding the mechanical weapons storage and ammunition depot had relocated.
It was proof our plan had succeeded.
Likely, the Parcheon unit and the Dark Assassin unit would now begin their full-scale operations as well.
So it was time for me to move too.
Normally, I would have used my concealment skill to act cautiously, but things were different now.
“Who’s there!”
“Reveal yourself!”
“How did you infiltrate this far?”
I deactivated my concealment skill and stepped forward boldly before them.
There was no point maintaining the skill anyway—those mechanical wolves I could see would have detected me regardless.
Enemies clad in thick steel armor and vicious-looking mechanical wolves.
As I approached them, the weapon I drew was.
[ Witch’s Magical Sword, Barissada ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form : Sword
Grade : Legendary
Restriction : Level 600 or higher, Sword Mastery Lv 60 or higher, Intelligence 1,000 or higher
Description : A magical sword forged by the witch Farelina to slay Roland, known as the foremost of Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins.
This was it.
The weapon I had used before to attack the golems in Muldoom, the underground city of the dwarves.
Its effect was.
Shing!
‘Defense penetration.’
A piercing effect.
“Grraaah!”
Varissada pierced through the thick armor of the Cronion soldier and slashed across his chest.
“How…!”
The soldier, who had charged forward trusting in his armor and ignoring my attack, collapsed in shock.
He never imagined the armor that had protected him all this time would be breached so easily.
And the same held true for the other soldiers.
“Gasp!”
“How… our armor…!”
“Ugh.”
Varissada disregarded the soldiers’ armor, slicing cleanly through their flesh with precision.
The charging Mecha Wolves met the same fate.
No matter how hard their exterior, they contained complex circuitry within, along with a core mechanism.
Severing those in one stroke left them no chance to react.
“We cannot let them through! The ammunition stockpile and mechanical weapons storage must not be surrendered!”
“Fire!”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
They pulled their triggers.
Bullets fired from all directions.
It appeared to be a formidable attack.
[ Iron Knight’s Arrow-Deflecting Armor ]
( Non-tradeable )
Type : Armor
Grade : Epic
Ting-ting-ting!
“This can’t be!”
“All the bullets bounced off?”
“Impossible…!”
The overwhelming defensive power of my newly equipped armor deflected them all.
I had been wearing the Night’s Veil set, which had lower defense, but now that my identity was exposed, this was far superior to the Night’s Veil Cover.
True to its name as an arrow-deflecting armor, with its high defense against ranged attacks, I could easily withstand ordinary bullets with my body.
Not long after that.
“Ugh…!”
Thud.
I was able to bring down all the soldiers guarding the mechanical weapons storage and ammunition stockpile.
Now I had two objectives here.
To destroy all the mechanical weapons in the storage and detonate the ammunition stockpile.
Since my presence was already revealed, there was no point in being stealthy, so I decided to handle what could be finished quickly first.
I opened the door to the ammunition stockpile wide and retreated backward.
Then I extended my hand toward the stockpile.
– Activating 5-Circle Fire Magic ‘Fire Cannon’.
I unleashed fire-attribute magic.
The flaming Fire Cannon streaked through the air and the moment it entered the ammunition depot—
KABOOOOM—!!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
Of course, there wasn’t just one ammunition depot at the Garrison.
Still, since this was the largest one, I could significantly cripple Cronion’s military might.
The real problem came next.
‘The mechanical weapons storage.’
There were a few other ammunition depots scattered about, albeit smaller ones.
But there was only one mechanical weapons storage facility here.
If I disabled every mechanical weapon in this place, Cronion’s Lower Front Line would have no mechanical weapons left.
So destroying the mechanical weapons here was even more critical than detonating the ammunition depot.
With that thought, I entered the storage facility.
“This is more than I expected.”
An enormous number of mechanical weapons came into view.
Since Cronion dealt with explosives, I wondered if the mechanical weapons were also charged with electricity.
But it seemed fantasy was fantasy after all—they were powered by magic stones rather than electricity.
The first mechanical weapon I spotted was the Mecha Scorpion.
It was the first mechanical weapon I’d encountered when I arrived at the Frontline.
Not only that, but the Mecha Wolf I’d seen earlier was also standing by.
There were so many of them that I realized it would have been dangerous if I hadn’t deployed a magnetic field using the ultra-massive magic circle.
And then there was one more thing.
“What is this?”
Another mechanical weapon, different from the Mecha Scorpion and Mecha Wolf.
A mechanical weapon I’d never seen before caught my eye.
Even larger in frame than the Mecha Scorpion.
Long, thick metal horns adorned its head, and its body was armored with plating so thick it seemed excessive even for a mechanical weapon.
“Based on Cronion’s naming convention… is this the Mecha Rhino?”
The Mecha Rhino.
In other words, a mechanical rhinoceros.
If something like this came charging, it would be difficult to stop easily.
The sheer oppressive force suggested it would ignore ranged attacks like arrows and even magic as it charged forward.
I’d never seen it move, but with a frame this massive, even if shield bearers pooled their strength together, stopping this beast would seem nearly impossible.
Wondering why they hadn’t used such a monster, I came to a realization.
‘It’s a bit awkward, isn’t it.’
The answer was simple.
The magnetic field.
The Mecha Rhino looked powerful, but its heavy frame meant it would likely buckle at the knees the moment it stepped into the magnetic field.
In short, it had poor compatibility with us.
Regardless, once I’d confirmed the Mecha Rhino as well.
‘What a waste.’
It felt wasteful to destroy them.
When I thought about it, these were literally mechanical weapons, not living creatures.
Just as I freely wielded the diverse arsenal I had gathered from First through Luke.
These were merely weapons that moved differently depending on their master.
Did I really need to destroy them? Wasn’t there a way for me to use them instead?
As I pondered this for a moment,
‘Why not try?’
I decided to attempt it.
Seizing control of Cronion’s mechanical weapons.
A ‘hacking’ operation, in other words.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————