Chapter 10: Fighting Fire with Fire.
"General Litharin Fanine". Commander of the 8th infantry division of the Holy Kingdom of Asanrak.
He's the commander of the army. And Reo will be the leader of the Heroes, at least for now.
We sat inside a tent with Reo and a few of his friends, as the soldiers began their preparation for tomorrow. Our main goal as the Heroes were to attack one of the enemy's main source of power, a general of the Demon Lord's army.
"In front, the empire's troops will act as shields, the demons behind will attack after deploying their formation. Demon General, Yynfur, is your main target. I'm only the commander of the holy knights, not a commander of military."
Reo says, as he takes a sip of coffee. Everyone, including us, prepared for the fight, we weren't suited for a battle against more than a thousand, of course, but our target is one, though, they do have the capability to destroy an entire kingdom of they wanted to.
"Commander. May I ask, why don't we just bombard them with Artillery?"
Says "Rika Zerai", one of the sergeants.
"Good question, Sergeant. But you can refrain from calling me commander, for I am not your commander. For the answer, we will bombard them, but magic barriers exist. It's one of the main reasons why ranged weapon are rarely used. Though... With enough bombardment, we can break through their barriers, but also with a large cost."
"I see... But how about if we concentrate it all on one target? Forget about the costs, and just bomb that guy to death..!"
"Don't underestimate a Demon General. Our explosives would get shredded instantly when it hits his barrier. One of Yynfur's main abilities can do that with ease."
"Hmm... How about... How about we destroy the ground they're walking on- oh wait, no! Let's set up bombs under the ground so that when-"
"Foolish. Yynfur wouldn't be damaged with any of our explosives. Even if-"
"Haaaahaha..!! I've got a thermobaric bomb in my house! It's safe to say that these demons will taste the flames once more!"
T-Thermobaric bomb?! In her house?! What on earth is she doing?! How did the police- or how did no one even notice it?! How did she even make one in the first place?!
"First of all, why do you have a thermobaric bomb in your house? Second of all, demons are immune to flames."
"Fight fire with fire they say..! If we can just burn them enough, they'll surely die. Bears grew fur in order to survive in the cold. Shouldn't it be the same for demons as well? Even if bears do have fur, they can still die if frozen. Same for demons, if we melt them, they'll die."
"Hah... It's pointless arguing with you. So? What even is your plan? Freeze ice until it breaks?"
"You got it, Commander! I also have napalm bombs in my home, my plan is simple, but not that simple! If we can lay the napalm bombs under the ground, and then drop the thermobaric bomb on them, simultaneously. There's no way that they'd survive that!"
"And what if they do survive? Everything goes wrong and we lose the battle?"
"Ku-ku-ku..! Obviously, we are going to do this as the last plan, for if our soldiers are defeated, we can finish off the remaining demons, they'll be weakened of course, and then they'll melt into nothing!"
"There-"
Suddenly, Reo spits out his coffee.
"Hahahahahah!!!! I truly am a genius!! Hahahahahahhahah!!"
"Impossible... There's no way that I've lost to this idiot..! No! What if it doesn't work anyway?!?"
"What are you saying, commander..?? That's just a miracle you're talking about now, even if fire doesn't work no matter what, we can perform a miracle and burn them anyways, same for them, you know what I'm saying."
"She-she's!!- wait! Why do you even have bombs laying around your house anyways?! I'll have you arrested if you don't give a proper reason-"
"I'm a sergeant, commander. I'm one of the military. Let's just say that these were given to me as a gift from general..."
"General?! General who?! Your-"
"You're really sacrificing mankind just to arrest me?! How foolish of you-"
"Quiet! Everyone! Quiet!"
Everyone stops arguing. That military plan argument really just took a huge turn huh... Luckily, "Torn Foee", a soldier under Rika managed to calm everyone down.
"Hah... Alright. What is it? Torn? You're not even superior than me."
"That doesn't matter! You're all acting like children. Even the actual child here is smarter than you guys. She's hasn't said anything since we've gotten here. You have a plan don't you, Vixen?"
Huh? Is he talking about me?
"..."
"Hohhh..?? You have a plan, outsider? Let's hear it then."
"Umm... Excuse me, idiot. But Vixen here cannot talk."
Phew... Looks like he can explain it for me. But I do have a plan, although... Rika's plan is not that bad... I guess we can go along with her plan.
"Umm. Excuse me but. I have a plan also."
"Hm? Alright. what is it, Corporal Sandem?"
"We can send out special forces to break through their defense. Magic users for example. Once it's broken, we can launch artilleries and-"
Bla bla bla... I'm getting tired of this battle plans.
"Neer Sandem", another soldier under Rika continued talking for a while, explaining his plan to us. Huh? What's this now? A radio... Oh?!- is this Sting's signals? Have they- no... They have gotten 5% of E.M Magic's full potential already!?
"Vixen. It's me, Manta... It's difficult trying to speak to you, but basically, Frelhr has created a basic magic amplification device. Using the blueprints of Divine Intervention, we managed to use it as reference to make a smaller, and magical version of LASER."
Heh..? This quick? It should've taken at least 5 years... I don't get it... Also, I thought it was Sting...
"This is Sting's magic, I'm only speaking to you with it. Actually, I've come to tell you that we've created a new spell already."
What?! A new spell?! It should've-... Hah... These guys really are unexpected huh...
"Divine Whirlpool. You activate it by using Burning Rock, Spatial Lift, and Cast of the Iron Maiden, all at the same time."
What?! What on earth?! What do you mean by all of that?!
"Burning Rock. It's a famous dance used by the Mharkalayen Sun Tribe. you know the rest... Divine Whirlpool is a mixture of all of the spells casted simultaneously. We saw this when we were watching ants. Ants in the northern lands. They carried leaves even though there were no plants, or trees nearby. That's when I found out. They dug a hole through space!"
What..??! What are you talking about?! Have you gone mad..?!
"The angels. Once they descend upon us, their trails never disappear. I assume that one went down on the Northern Regions, ripping a tiny hole in space, ants managed to find it out and began using it. It's basically just wormhole reaching into another place. It was 5 years ago when they began using it. Now, we've seen massive changes on the hole..! A .05 nanometers change is evident!"
What..?! I need to get out... Why is she just talking nonsense..?!
"That's when we found out. Divine Whirlpool. It's a form of reality distorting magic. Combined of magic and techniques. If you can pull it off effectively, you could create a wormhole through space as well. Though, it is very risky, and dangerous. But with your level, I assume you can do it!"
Huh??? I can?! What are you even talking about?!
"Just combine all of them together. Burning Rock, Spatial Lift, and Cast of the Iron Maiden. You'll have to learn Burning Rock though, because it's not a magic spell, nor it is a skill. It's a dance! Find someone who can teach it to you! It's easy, for you at least. Fin has managed to do it before. So you probably can too... Good luck, Vixen!"
Wait. Don't just disappear like that!!!
I sigh... What on earth is the Burning Rock dance..?! Oh, and Sandem is still explaining to Rika about his plans.
Afterwards, Rika just rejected his plans, it was a total waste of time. We all slept for the night later. When morning came, everyone began moving towards the enemy.
The battle was taking place in the plateaus, there weren't much places to hide in, so our plan as the Heroes would definitely not do too good. General Litharin Fanine wasn't just known as the general for nothing, he was also the leader of the Fanine Clan, a clan existing 5 thousand years ago, they were savage human beasts, made specifically to tear down monsters.
"You wretched fools shall not perceive this land!! For it is the last sacred lands of Terui!!! My men shall not falter to the immense pressure of your power, for we are the last pawns of God!!!!"
"RAAHHH!!"
"GGHAAAA!!!"
The enemy forces clashes with Litharin's forces, colliding with swords, spears and horses. Meanwhile, the soldiers next to us began firing artillery into the battle, ignoring both sides as the shells hit the flesh, and the ground.
"Crowler. Head to the sky and find Yynfur. There, we will throw Vixen up to you so she can use Divine Intervention."
Den says. Crowler nods before jumping upwards. Rayan grabs me and throws me towards Crowler, he catches me so I can then use Divine Intervention.
"Sniper Imitation. Blood Magic: Blood Hardening."
BOOM
[Sniper Imitation] and [Blood Hardening] were used at the same time, as Divine Intervention shot, blood fused with the bullets, aided by [Sniper Imitation]. It was to use Divine Intervention at 100% of it's full power, since the sun was always blocked.
The monsters behind the frontlines were decimated. But as the smokes disappear, we realize General Yynfur still remained. He looks at us from this distance... Uh-oh. We're definitely doomed. He chants something before firing a spell at us, it hits Crowler but I managed to avoid it in time.
"Crowler! Vixen!!"
Ow. I fall into the ground. It's not a problem since I've fallen into the ground many times now. But for Crowler...
"Oh god... Lare! Liand! Hurry up!"
His entire arm was blown off, he's unconscious but he should still be alive.
"Man..! What did I tell you about underestimating..?!"
"How disgusting..! We need medics!!"
Well, the injury isn't fatal, but he'll lose a lot of abilities after. For now, we should worry about the battle.
"Fire the artilleries!"
"They've crushed our men in front! Retreat!"
The demons have won, at least for now. Litharin survived and began his retreat along with the rest of the survivors. We were now proceeding to plan B. Bombard them. Once they cross a certain line, Rika's bombs will detonate, and enemy survivors will be picked off one by one. Not by our infantry, or anyone else, but by the artilleries, and one man.
"Render Essaten", another soldier under Rika. He'll be the one to signal the artilleries after the explosions, it's a risky job but he's the only one who can do it.
"Wait for it wait for it..!! And boo-"
BOOM
An ear-piercing sound shuts Rika up as the napalm bombs detonate under the enemies. Sandem charges towards a perfect spot before kneeling down and shooting the thermobaric bomb at the demons.
KABOOM
"Wooohooo!!! Send them demons back to hell!!!"
The demons burn and melt, dying of many different ways as the napalm spreads. Render is sent out near the enemies, laying down in a safe position before signaling the artilleries to fire at the remaining enemies.
"Get em Render!!!! Finish off the small fry!!"
It's a beautiful sight for us humans, but for the demons, its hell. Don't they come from a place like this anyways?
Torn looks at the battle with a pair of binoculars, then he faces us with a concerned expression.
"H-hey! Their general is still alive!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
We all look back. He's right..! General Yynfur emerges from the flames, stepping out of the napalm fields to meet Render.
"Yes! West west..! And-... Oh.... Cra-"
The collosal beast stomps on the fragile human. This has gotten bad.
"Render!!! God! Fire at him!!! You bastards should see that giant demon already!!"
The artillerymen shoots at General Yynfur but the shells stop quickly upon contact with a barrier.
"Hah..! Reo told you about this! What should we do if they survived!?"
"I don't know..! This is the last plan for when everything goes bad..! If this didn't work... Everyone would simply die..."
"Don't worry."
I say. My throat should be fine with that amount of words.
We shouldn't lose moral. I have remembered what Manta told me. Actually, before all of this happened, I received a book from General Litharin.
"What's this- oh. It's you, Vixen was it? What are you doing here?"
Hmm... He looked really strong, probably even rivaling my strength.
"Oh! Did you come here for my book? Haha! Do you like dancing? You can borrow it for a while..! You won't be at the frontlines anyway! Hahahahahaha!!"
Afterwards, he handed me the book. The book showed descriptions about a dance used by the Mharkalayen Sun Tribe. Actually, this is just a book about breakdancing!!! What on earth am I supposed to do with this?!
And then I realized. It's just like what the ants did. Hold on, how did those 4 even managed to find about the ants?!
"Didn't know you could talk..! What is it, outsider?!"
Heh. It's finally my time to shine. I jump off the cliff and began walking towards Yynfur. The soldiers look surprised, trying to stop me along the way.
"Hey! Wait! I understand that you're one of the heroes... You're probably strong too, but you're no match for that monster! Not even General could beat it!"
It is true that General Litharin has almost the same level of strength as me. But he hasn't even fought General Yynfur yet! I hold my hand out to stop him.
"H-huh..? You're telling me that you have a plan?! Even at this moment?!"
Yes I do, but I can't tell you that. Because I cannot speak.
"Outsider!! Don't die on us!!"
Rika yells. Don't worry. I won't die here.
I continue walking forward, until I come face to face with General Yynfur. A few miles away from the military bases and my allies, is the burning fields with the fallen soldiers. Render's corpse remained near the gigantic foot of General Yynfur. How horrible. But it's unavoidable in war.
I throw away Divine Intervention, along with all my weapons. This was going to be a hand-to-hand fight now, even if my enemy is almost 8 meters tall.
"How's it feel to crush a bug, General?"
I can finally talk normally after all this time not being able to..!
"Mortal... No... You're not mortal... Why is such a monster on the mortal's side..?"
He asks with that low, demonic voice.
"Hm? What are you talking about? I can't blame you if you think I'm a monster for being this strong, but that's kind of an insult to me, you know?"
We stared at each other. Waiting for the other one to make the first move. The ominous feeling in the air seemed to wait for death.
I have understood [Divine Whirlpool] now. It will be extremely risky and dangerous, but, if I can just perform this, everyone will be saved. [Burning Rock], [Spatial Lift], and [Cast of the Iron Maiden], all of them are exhausting to use, I can't even cast [Cast of the Iron Maiden] yet, and I've only learned about [Burning Rock], I haven't used it before, but this will surely work.
I think I kind of understand what you said now, Rabbit. "It is better to win, than to lose, we don't talk about in-between.".
So you've been telling me to either fight, than to give up, huh? Fine then! I shall accept this way of living! So that there won't be anymore people who will die!
Apologies to you, Render. I should've arrived sooner...