novelThe start of the war (pt. 2)
| ← Ch.200 | Ch.202 → |
Translator: Leyy3
The speed in which the Laputa soldiers marched towards the Deathwin territory was extremely quick.
If soldiers on Earth normally marched 4 to 6 kilometres an hour, the soldiers of Laputa marched at an extreme pace of over 9 kilometres an hour.
An army with good mobility can conquer the continent.
In Pangaea, where there weren't machines or methods of proper transportation, Kang Chul-In understood this point better than anyone else.
Due to this reason, Kang Chul-In stressed good mobility the most while training the soldiers of Laputa.
As a result, the soldiers of Laputa became what Kwak-Jung called 'professional walkers'.
"First, we need to take over this region." Kang Chul-In said, pointing at a certain place on a map.
"This is a mountainous region at a high altitude. It's otherwise known as the 18 peaks."
For a certain reason, it was quite a harsh name. [1]
"What kind of name... ?" Kwak-Jung asked, looking astonished.
"Ssibal." Kang Chul-In swore.
"... Sorry?"
"It literally means that."
"... ?"
"Hmm..." Kwak-Jung looked at the map for a while before opening his mouth again.
"Don't tell me... you mean that because it's extremely tiring, and there are 18 peaks, you said ssibal?"
"Exactly."
"I wonder how bad it could be..."
"Well, adding to the fact that it's extremely high, there are rocky paths, swamps, and forests on the way."
"Ha..."
"And finally..." Kang Chul-In said, looking at the other officials of Laputa.
"The enemies are being led by Overlord Aleister and his army is made of undead soldiers."
"... !"
When they heard this, the faces of the officials stiffened.
Undead monsters didn't need to eat or drink.
They also didn't tire nor need to sleep.
They had the advantage of infinite stamina which humans didn't have.
Fighting against these undead monsters in a region like this would be extremely difficult.
"This is why we set out so early." Kang Chul-In continued to speak.
"It will be a much easier fight if we first take control of that area and advance from there so that we don't need to fight in that area."
Kwak-Jung and the other officials of Laputa couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
"Wow... as expected of Milord!"
"What amazing thinking skills!"
Of course, the true reason why Kang Chul-In was able to make such decisions was because he knew the region of Ishtar like the back of his hand.
"From today, we will speed up." Kang Chul-In announced.
"Drakan."
"Yes, Milord?"
"How long do you think it'll take to get to the 18 peaks?"
"It should take around 10 days."
"4 days."
"... !"
"That's how long we will take to get there."
To be honest, it seemed like an impossible order.
The current speed in which they marched was already extremely fast, so it would be almost impossible to shorten the journey from 10 to 4 days.
"Milord, but..."
"We will get rid of some of the weight that we're carrying and continue."
"... !"
"After all, it's early fall right now. Is there a real need for us to take tents when we can just sleep outside?"
"Ohhh!!"
"What a great decision!" What Kang Chul-In said made sense.
If they got rid of the tents they were carrying, the speed of their march could definitely be increased.
And it was September anyway.
Due to the good weather, it wasn't hard for them to sleep outside, even if they didn't have tents with them.
"It won't be too late to get the necessary supplies once we take control of the 18 peaks, so make sure to speed the process up."
"Yes, Milord!!" The officials of Laputa responded in unison.
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In the Lord's hall of the Deathwin territory.
"Milord, Overlord Kang Chul-In's army has set off." Aleister's secretary and general of the 'Undying Army', Dullahan Quidor, announced.
"The size of their army?"
"It seems to be close to 10, 000. They also have 4 magical cannons, as well as a monster regiment made up of ogres, trolls, minotaurs, and 6 magical weapons that seem to look like atlases."
"Hmm... Isn't that a little small for Overlord Kang Chul-In's army?"
What Aleister said was true.
In the case of Overlord Ao Xin and Lord Atal Ramanuzan, they both had an army of 60 to 70 thousand soldiers, and even Albrecht Vilhelm and Alex Rothschild had an army of 30, 000.
But to think that the 1st Ranked Overlord, Kang Chul-In's, army only had 10, 000 men? It seemed too small.
Of course, behind this was Kang Chul-In's thought of creating a small army made up of only elites.
"Hu... Well, that's good for me, I suppose." Aleister, without knowing the strengths of each soldier of Laputa, laughed.
"Even though Kang Chul-In's army might be powerful, it still won't be a match for my army of 50, 000 undead monsters. I will win this war and keep my position as Overlord in the 2nd Lord Rankings."
Aleister was confident.
250, 000 gold that Alex Rothschild had given him.
20, 000 dead bodies that Overlord Ao Xin provided.
10, 000 troops from Lord Atal Ramanuzan.
1, 000 Machine soldiers from Lord Ludwig Heinel.
As well as 5, 000 extra soldiers from both Albrecht Vilhelm and Ao Xin who would arrive within 3 weeks.
Adding this to Aleister's original army, they numbered at nearly 50, 000 soldiers. They outnumbered Kang Chul-In's army 5 to 1.
"Quidor!" Aleister shouted, confidently.
"Yes, Milord?"
"Is the strategy that Rothschild gave us ready yet?"
"Everything is ready, sir."
"Huhu... Good. Kang Chul-In... Get ready for this!"
"Yes, sir."
"How long do you think it'll take for Kang Chul-In's army to get to the 18 peaks?"
"Hmm... Won't it take at least 10 days, Milord?"
"Hmm... 10 days. Alright. You take Atal Ramunzan's soldiers, and go wait there. Wait there, and ambush Kang Chul-In's army when they arrive!"
"Yes, Milord!" At Aleister's command, General Quidor immediately set out.
"Overlord Kang Chul-In..."
Aleister's dry lips were nearly stuck to his ears, as his grin grew wider and wider with each passing moment.
"Did you really think I'd just wait here for you to come? Kuku... If you really think that, then you'd better prepare for your army to be annihilated!!"
He had prepared a lot of things, enough for him to stay confident in fighting against Kang Chul-In who was ranked 1st.
------------
After throwing out any unnecessary supplies, the Laputa army was able to advance at frightening speeds and make it to the 18 peaks within 4 days.
"Congratulations, Milord!" Kwak-Jung spoke.
"Congratulations, Milord!!"
"Congratulations, Milord!!"
Soon after, each official congratulated Kang Chul-In. It made sense that they did.
Their goal of conquering and taking over the 18 peaks were close to being finished. If they just marched for another hour, they would be able to set up bases on the 18 peaks.
"..."
But Kang Chul-In's expression didn't change.
"Milord, what is it?" Lucia asked.
"Something's strange."
"Sorry?"
"It's too easy."
"Well, isn't that because Milord's decision-making was so on point that the enemies couldn't respond?"
It was true that Kang Chul-In's decision was made extremely quickly and that the marching speed of the Laputa army was very fast.
But,
Something feels strange.
Kang Chul-In didn't like the situation they were in.
His instincts were warning him, and that bothered him.
Shing!
Kang Chul-In took out Laputa's soul core.
"... !"
Looking at Kang Chul-In suddenly taking out a sword, the officials were shocked, but immediately came to their senses and realized that the reason behind it was to use the cosmic force.
-Will you activate the 'basic radar'? Yes / No
"Yes."
-The basic radar is being activated...
Using 2000 gold, Kang Chul-In used the Cosmic Force to scan around the 18 peaks as if he wouldn't let a single living thing get out unnoticed.
"Ah!!" Kwak-Jung pointed at one picture taken by the Cosmic Force, shouting.
"W-What is that!!"
Kang Chul-In and the other officials stared at the photo.
"... As expected." Kang Chul-In smirked, as if he knew that this would happen.
In the photo, it revealed soldiers waiting near the front of the 18 peaks.
"Milord, we need to hurry and enter." Kwak-Jung spoke.
"No."
But Kang Chul-In shook his head.
"If we go in here, we'll get decimated."
"What? But if the enemies take control of the 18 peaks before we do..."
"Their aim is to ambush us, not to take control of the 18 peaks."
"I-Is that so?"
"The 18 peaks have already been taken over."
"... !"
"Look out how these guys are lined up. It looks as if they'll ambush us from left to right, but they don't look like they're lined up to take control of the peaks."
"But that doesn't mean that the 18 peaks have already been..."
"What you say makes sense." Kang Chul-In said, his eyes shining.
"Aleister, that bastard, found out how to use the 'tunnel'. It's suicide going inside the 18 peaks right now."
He could say this because he knew Aleister's abilities better than anyone.
[1] 18 in korean is pronounced as 'ship-pal', which sounds similar to the Korean swear word 'ssibal'.
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