Chapter 126

Chapter 126 – Chapter 21: Barbarians #5

The barbarian king departed from the fourth base and headed toward the fifth base, but it was literally just for a moment .

The fugitives joined up with the barbarian king, and he headed towards the north again . It was a move that showed indifference to the second base .

“It is an unexpected move . ”

Vandal, who was lying in bed, raised his upper body and greeted In-gong’s group . He was four meters tall, so despite lying down, In-gong wasn’t eye level with him .

The barbarian king was ignoring the troops stationed at the second base and heading north . The fifth, sixth and seventh bases were already empty, so Vandal could only presume that the barbarian king’s destination was Takar .

It was truly an unexpected move .

However, Vandal didn’t share Felicia’s and Caitlin’s quandary . Of course, the barbarian king’s policy of leaving troops behind him and going to the north was strange, but he understood it .

Vandal noticed the two people’s confused states and explained,

“The barbarian king destroyed my army before heading north . There are two reasons for this . One, he was concerned about a rear attack . The other is to buy some time in order to block the road . ”

“Block the road? Is it the way back over the Eastern Limit Line?”

Vandal nodded at Felicia’s question .

“That’s right . It is due to geographical reasons . It is impossible to cross the Eastern Limit Line toward Takar without going through Evian . There is something blocking the way beyond the limit line . ”

An unknown land was beyond the limit line . They could guess based on the barbarians they saw, but there was no clear reason .

This time, it was Caitlin who asked,

“General Vandal, the barbarians fear… Are they worried about the reinforcements from the Demon King’s Palace?”

“That’s right . The barbarians are afraid the captains will interfere . Burning Takar means that Evian’s defenses have been breached . The captains are more likely to intervene . ”

The Demon World was very wide, and the army captains were generally stationed in the north . Therefore, the captains rarely appeared at the boundaries, but there were incidents where it had happened . If Evian were broken through and Takar were taken, the captains were likely to move .

Vandal thought the barbarian king would lead the army and advance to the second base .

Only then would it be possible to create an easy situation to fight or escape the later reinforcements from the Demon King’s Palace . From the standpoint of the barbarians, it would be the worst situation if the troops of the second base joined with the reinforcements of the Demon King’s Palace .

Nevertheless, the barbarian king left the troops of the second base and headed to Takar .

“They aren’t lured here…”

In-gong muttered in a small voice . It was almost a knee-jerk thought .

The second base was a solid fortress . The walls were high, and there was even a moat . It wasn’t easy to occupy the fortress, especially when the old defense forces, Vandal’s army and the troops led by In-gong, totalled to almost 8,000 . Therefore, it was the best for the demon king’s side to fight at the second base, while it was the worst from the standpoint of the barbarians .

Carack grasped In-gong’s words and frowned .

“Indeed, is this them taking the initiative in a big fight? Instead of going to a disadvantageous battlefield, they are forcing us to make a choice . ”

The barbarian king was in the north . The intervention of the captains or reinforcements from the palace were all future events . When looking at the second situation alone, the troops of the second base were placed at a crossroads of choice .

Felicia frowned and said,

“We have abandoned three bases… It isn’t an exaggeration to say that the fourth base isn’t far from Takar . If we leave this alone, Takar really will be captured by the barbarians . We can’t allow that situation to happen . ”

“But if we leave the second base in order to fight them, they would force us to fight in a place that is suitable for them . ”

Currently, it was estimated that the barbarian king had between 13,000 and 14,000 troops . It was almost twice the size of the troops stationed at the second base . Moreover, the elite cavalry, which the barbarian king led, exerted great power when fighting on the plains . Fighting on the plains should be avoided as much as possible .

It was a dilemma .

If they let Takar fall, the Evian defense mission would fail . However, if they moved north from the second base, they would have to fight the barbarians in disadvantageous terrain . The barbarian king couldn’t let the initiative slip away . Instead of being dragged by In-gong’s momentum, he headed north to Takar first .

How should In-gong respond to this?

Vandal didn’t given an opinion . He just gazed at In-gong with calm eyes which didn’t seem to belong to an ogre . He seemed to be waiting for In-gong’s answer .

Felicia and Caitlin also looked at In-gong . Then all the people in the room, including Alita and Kaparang, focused on In-gong .

What would be his choice? How would 9th Prince handle this situation?

In-gong exhaled, then he answered in a quiet voice,

“Fight . ”

“Shutra?”

In-gong laughed at Caitlin’s surprise . He raised his eyes higher and gazed into Vandal’s eyes .

“We can’t let Takar be captured . If they want to make it difficult for us, then we just need to overcome it . ”

The basis of the strategy was to make it difficult for the opponent . The more difficult they made it, the less of an advantage the enemy would have .

“9th Prince, the plan?”

Vandal asked . Alita and Kaparang also made interested expressions . It was because in this situation, In-gong couldn’t just come up with a simple solution .

“Don’t let the barbarian king take the initiative . Force the opponent to make difficult choices . ”

In-gong replied in a calm tone .

&

The second base’s forces departed .

They numbered approximately 8,000 . That was virtually Evian’s total power, except for the minimum needed to defend the bases .

The barbarians were willing to face the demon king’s army . So, instead of rushing, the barbarian king kept a normal speed . Since the starting points were different, there was a distance between the barbarian king’s army and the demon king’s army . In order to narrow the gap, the demon king’s army maintained a fairly fast speed .

The distance between the two armies gradually narrowed . By the time the barbarian king joined up with Paratus near the fifth base, the distance was narrowed to only half a day .

However, it was just up to there .

The demon king’s army remained exactly half a day away from the barbarian king’s army . They didn’t get any closer or further away . Whenever the barbarian king’s army stopped or reversed, the demon king’s army also did the same thing .

This happened in real time, so the barbarian king couldn’t force them to move closer .

Moreover, the difference in maneuverability was great . The demon king’s army didn’t bring a supplies unit, so it was one of the main factors that increased their speed . The soldiers didn’t have to carry supplies . Thus, their movements were slightly lighter . The demon king’s army stayed firm despite the barbarian king’s attempts to narrow the distance .

This time, the barbarian king was in a difficult situation . If he continued north, he would reach Takar, but the demon king’s army would be behind him .

Takar was its own area . It was a city that had the power to protect its huge wealth from the outlaws . So, naturally it had its own defense force . It was relatively easy to deal with Takar’s army, but it was a different story if the barbarian king had to deal with both sides at the same time .

The barbarian king was forced to choose: fight the battle at Takar in the north; or go to a place other than Takar and stop there .

Both options weren’t good . In particular, the latter method was a waste of time and materials . However, it wasn’t bad for the demon king’s army . From the outset, the purpose of the army was to protect Evian, not destroy the barbarian king .

Moreover, according to the results of Nayatra’s questioning, the barbarians were lacking supplies . It was because the leader of the fourth base had burnt all the supplies right before it had been occupied .

Although the barbarian king’s attacks were a success, he had gained few things from the third and fourth bases, while In-gong had taken all the supplies of the fifth, sixth and seventh bases . It was a type of field tactic . The basis of the strategy was to make it difficult for the opponent . In-gong didn’t miss this fact and the barbarian king was forced to choose .

Confronted with such a demand, the barbarian king responded once again .

&

“They are moving . ”

In-gong said as he shared Green Wind’s gaze and looked at the mini-map .

The barbarian king was heading straight to Takar . He was increasing the speed of his advance, like he had made up his mind .

It was good that the entire Evian area was a wilderness . It was a wide wilderness without any particular obstacles, so it was possible to see far away . If it were a place other than Evian, he wouldn’t have been able to see the movements of the barbarian king’s army, even with sensory sharing and the mini-map .

Felicia and Caitlin, who explained every situation with ‘Shutra’, accepted it easily, but Vandal was different .

Unlike the two people who knew about his inventory ability, Vandal really didn’t know anything . Therefore, the ability to see a distance using the mini-map, and the ability to store enough food and water for 8,000 people was literally thought to be ‘great magic’ .

In the end, Vandal just admired In-gong, like Alita and Kaparang .

The 9th Prince was a sleeping dragon . He had been hiding his claws for years, but he was exposing them now .

Carack remarked on In-gong’s words,

“Did the barbarian king decide to fight at Takar?”

“Perhaps . ”

If he stopped his army here, he would have to go back without any profit . Therefore, the barbarian king chose the unfavourable battle at Takar . If so, this was also good .

Carack delivered In-gong’s command, and the demon king’s army increased their advancing speed .

Then the next morning…

The barbarian king’s army arrived at Takar .

&

The sky was high and the winds were strong .

The barbarian king looked at Takar from the back of a giant, black horse . Next to him were Paratus and several other barbarians .

The barbarian king turned his head and looked back . He saw the demon king’s army which was a far distance away .

It was exquisite distance control . Although the distance was shorter than half a day, it wasn’t a distance in which the barbarian king could strike them suddenly . Additionally, they wouldn’t narrow that distance until the barbarians attacked Takar .

9th Prince…

He had defeated the forces of the barbarian king at the seventh, sixth and fifth bases . Not only had he rescued General Vandal, he had also smashed the pursuing army . 9th Prince was an interesting enemy . According to Paratus and the survivors, he was still a young boy, so the barbarian king was curious about him .

‘I will find out soon . ’

The barbarian king—Karatus turned with a smile . He was 2 . 5 meters tall with an athletic body, and he carried a large mace on his shoulder . Its size and weight were really great, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a siege weapon .

The barbarian king’s eyes narrowed . He exhaled, and at the same time, a red aura appeared around him—the mighty power of War .

“Ara, the demon king’s army . Let’s fight hard . ”

The barbarian king no longer looked back . He ran straight towards the gates of Takar like a black flash .

The 13,000 barbarians roared simultaneously . They pulled out their weapons and followed their king .

With a strong wind blowing, the battle for Takar began .