Free Web NovelChapter 419: Chapter 416: Progress Through Practice
The artillery battalion where Paul and Pascal were stationed temporarily ceased fire, abandoning their fruitless attempts to break the enemy line.
Meanwhile, the other Mages hidden among the National Guard had already devised a way to break through:
Without any warning, a giant hand of earth and stone erupted from the ground, slamming down hard on the barbed wire and the first trench. The soldiers inside the trench were knocked unconscious and buried alive before they could even realize what had just burst out in front of them.
After the hand crumbled, it successfully formed a ramp over the barbed wire. The National Guard infantry cheered and charged, concentrating their assault on this breach in the defenses.
"Who’s the commander down there? Why is he sending his soldiers to their deaths?" Paul made another unexpected comment. His words were proven true in an instant—artillery from the rear of the Empire Army rained shells down hard on the breach, showing no regard for even their own defenders.
The intention of the bombardment was not merely to make the enemy retreat. The existence of the giant earthen hand indicated that a Valois Mage—at least a Middle Level one—was nearby. A high-value, high-danger target had revealed itself and had to be eliminated.
This area, now preliminarily tilled by shells, became the focal point of the Mages’ exchange. Perhaps the initial artillery fire from the Empire’s position was never expected to kill the enemy Mage, but forcing them to defend against the bombardment would at least drain their protective measures.
Rays, Missiles, and strange ripples danced wildly in the air. All sorts of supernatural phenomena tangled together, and the ordinary soldiers instinctively fell back, clearing out this "arena." At the breach in the line, the Casters who had kept a low profile for the entire battle exposed their positions to one another. The clash instantly became a contest between the Empire Magic Academy and the Tower of Stars.
The battle naturally highlighted the different pedagogical focuses of the two sides:
From the Empire’s side, a torrent of Low Tier Shaping Power Magic poured out—direct and violent. The Mages from the Tower of Stars, like the other National Guard soldiers, severely lacked military training before the war. However, their Spell Tables were more diverse. Though they lacked coordination at first, they produced a variety of unexpected effects.
The Empire’s Military Mages found they couldn’t seem to land a hit on their opponents. It was as if an invisible curtain hung between them, deflecting their vision. Furthermore, compared to the straightforward and easy-to-understand fire, lightning, and ice projectiles, the "gifts" from the Valois Mages were incomprehensible Silver Stars and materialized Runes... Their lethal effects only became apparent upon impact, catching the Empire Mages slightly off-guard.
However, the Empire’s Military Mages gradually gained the upper hand. Most of them were graduates of the Royal Academy and had been trained from the very beginning to forsake chanting. In contrast, only a minority of the Casters in the Valois Army could perform silent Casting; many still needed to mutter and mumble. Although both sides required gestures and Casting Materials, the accumulation of such small disparities allowed the Empire’s firepower to gradually suppress the Kingdom’s.
Chanting also eliminated any element of stealth. What was once tradition was now magnified into a fatal problem on the battlefield.
Finally, with the battle being dominated by Low Tier Casters, the "cannon fodder" from the Royal Magic Academy held a numerical advantage over the Valois Mages and Apprentices, who primarily came from a "research institution."
On the Empire’s side, a Mage climbed out of a trench. It was Captain Schmidt, who had fought alongside Richard to take Moncado Fortress. His subordinates, who had no Casting Ability, had all moved far away from the breach where magic was flying, giving Schmidt and the other Empire Mages room to operate freely.
The Low Tier Mage wiped the mud from his face, revealing the scar on his left cheek again. The scar began to flush with blood, becoming swollen and raw-looking—a sign that he was preparing Magic.
A Fireball flew toward him... Schmidt unleashed a [Force Field Wave]. Unexpectedly, when the Fireball collided with it, it collapsed and reformed into a human shape. A hatless Valois Mage stumbled and fell in front of the trench. The scattering sparks transformed into drifting motes of light, but they had no heat and produced no steam.
Schmidt was startled by the Transformation at first, but then he immediately guessed that the "Fireball" he had seen was an Illusion Technique. ’Most Mages would choose to dodge a projectile like that,’ he thought. ’So if he disguised himself as a Fireball and launched himself, he could cross the defensive line in an instant.’
’Quick-witted, but did he not consider that the Fireball might be intercepted?’ Schmidt found it hard to judge this reckless Caster. He drew the Short Gun from his waist, intending to take a prisoner.
The Valois Mage, dazed by the [Force Field Wave], moved again. Still crawling in the mud, he lifted his head and met Schmidt’s gaze, an Enchanted Dagger clamped between his teeth. Its blade was not metal but an irregularly shaped crystal, a replica of a flint-knapped tool.
’Damn it, it won’t fire at a critical moment!’ Schmidt pulled the trigger several times, but there was no response. The barbed wire was right next to him. There was only one spell he could cast the fastest without hand gestures...
Schmidt didn’t hesitate. He had no desire to personally find out what the Crystal Dagger could do. He lunged forward and grabbed his enemy. ’Such a slender arm...’ As a soldier, his own arms were strong and powerful, while his opponent, in both age and physique, looked like a student.
But this enemy was glaring at him fiercely, the dagger still shimmering with a dangerous light, about to be activated.
Schmidt hoisted the enemy Mage up like a rag doll. In that instant, both of their bodies became ethereal. The captain dragged the Mage into the barbed wire, and then the ethereal state ended. Another scream echoed across the battlefield as the dagger lost its luster and fell into the mud.
Schmidt was about to pick up the dagger when an explosion suddenly went off behind him, the shockwave slamming him into the barbed wire as well.
Just as the Valois Mages were about to break, the artillery battalion finished its second round of loading and decisively opened fire.
With the firing coordinates calibrated from the first attempt to bombard the barbed-wire defenses, the second volley of shells mostly avoided friendly forces and landed squarely on the enemy’s heads. The Empire’s Military Mages were hit by a double-blow of kinetic and thermal energy no less potent than their own magic, losing the strength to press their advantage and pursue the enemy Mages.
"Alright! So we can’t reach their cannons, but we can still hit the front lines, can’t we?" Paul slapped the still-warm barrel of the cannon and cheered after confirming the situation.
At this point, the Mages on both sides had their wins and losses. As if sounding a retreat, war drums beat on both sides. The Casters withdrew back into the crowds or trenches, and the artillery fire from both the Empire and the Kingdom ceased.
In truth, the war drums were not a signal for the Casters to retreat, but a command for the regular soldiers to charge. In the breach, a stream of blue, white, and red figures braved a hail of gunfire, fearlessly advancing once more. Shouting slogans to defend Valois, they plunged into the first trench.
Observing from a high vantage point, both Druao and Paul spotted the problem: the width of the front!
Even though many National Guard soldiers had reached the first trench, the trench itself was only so wide. Furthermore, the trench system was a web-like structure. The communication trenches that connected them longitudinally were not straight-through passages but were arranged in a staggered layout.
In other words, for the National Guard to break through all five defensive lines, they had to capture multiple intersections. These key points gave the defenders space to set up their guns while severely limiting the number of attackers. In the trenches, it was at best a two-on-two fight, unless the Kingdom had some weapon that could give a single soldier overwhelming firepower.
The Mages, having blended back in with the regular soldiers, tried to break the stalemate again. But just as before, the Casters on both sides remained entangled. They would immediately focus their fire on anyone who attempted to cast a spell. Consequently, even though large fires erupted in the trenches one moment and billowing clouds of poison gas rolled out the next, and despite other attempts to destroy the trench structure itself, it was all just for show. The decisive factor on the battlefield still came down to ordinary soldiers fighting gun-to-gun and blade-to-blade.
On one hand, these Mages were constantly probing and hiding, scattered among the common soldiers. They lacked effective coordination and thus couldn’t land a decisive blow. On the other hand, the Casters on the front lines at this time were mainly Low Tier Mages and Apprentices. The high-level powerhouses were kept close by the generals on both sides as a precaution against sneak attacks from their counterparts.
To put it bluntly, the situation on the front line was just a squabble between novices. The Forbidden Magic Devices and Giant Mechanical Bodies that had appeared in the last major battle were conspicuously absent, by what seemed to be a mutual understanding. They had probably been sent back to the workshop for upgrades.
The only truly effective action was when an Empire Army Mage fired a few [Lightning Bolt] spells at the barbed wire. The current didn’t need to arc through the air; instead, it traveled merrily along the wire, successfully preventing the National Guard from breaking through the line anywhere other than the existing breach.
Paul’s eyes were practically glued to the Telescope as he firmly committed the entire process to memory.
