Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 233 - Clash (2)

“Are you okay, Saint?”

One of the Twelve Apostles helped Irenae.

However, Irenae showed no sign of weakness. On the contrary, she wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth and spoke with determination in her eyes, “I’m alright, so please prepare for the next Holy Code.”

A Saint had to be strong and virtuous. It was the only way she could set an example for everyone. She had heard that almost every day since the day she was chosen to be a Saint.

“Alright...!”

The Twelve Apostles were moved by her determination, and they proceeded with the preparations for the next Holy Code.

As they were about to start preparing, Masila, the librarian, emerged from the protection room in the center of the top floor of the Holy Spire

‘He’s trying to prove to us that a 7th-Circle wizard is much more powerful, huh?’

The reason Masila, the librarian of the Mercenary King Allen, was on the top floor of the Holy Spire was simple. She was the smartest strategist among all the commanders, so it was necessary for her to overview everything that took place on the battlefield.

‘However, even that powerful Summon Meteor was blocked by the Saint’s Holy Code, so we still have a chance against them!’

Using the Holy Code had been Masila’s idea. She had also predicted that the wizards would not just stand there and do nothing while their enemy unleashed the Holy Code, which would empower them greatly; and she was right.

Of course, she hadn’t expected Henry himself to attack, but in the end, it was still a win for the Aenia Empire as they had grasped what Henry was capable of.

Having determined how powerful Henry was, they could properly lay out the battle tactics.

“Start praying!”

As Masila thought hard about the battle, Saint Irenae began the next Holy Code. This one was meant to energize the imperial troops and give them courage; it was commonly referred to as the Blessing of the Battlefield.

Protection and Blessing were the main Holy Codes that the Priest Organization of the Sun would stick by throughout this battle.

As the Saint and the Twelve Apostles chanted the new prayer, the entire Holy Spire was filled with light once again.

Seeing this, Henry telepathically gave Lore instructions.

- The Magical Spire should start operating the spell.

- Yes, Archmage.

Telepathy was a power that only advanced wizards could use. It allowed them to communicate with each other only using their minds.

As Henry gave his orders, Lore soon relayed the message to the Support Spire.

“Support Spire, reinforce the barrier!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Zipan castle was built in a circle, and in the center, where Doyle lived, Henry had built three spires.

Of course, since they had been built with magic, they were obviously much taller than the Holy Spire the Imperial Army had built.

Henry called these three spires the Triangular Spire.

The Triangular Spire consisted of three spires: the Bombardment Spire for magic bombardments, the Support Spire for magical support, and the Illusion Spire, staffed entirely by illusionists.

More specifically, the Support Spire was responsible for maintaining the magic barrier around Zipan, so it held the largest number of Archmages and subordinate wizards.

As Henry gave his order, the wizards waiting in the Support Spire chanted in unison.

Oong...!

The chant of the hundreds of wizards resonated throughout the entire Support Spire.

Unlike the Holy Code, the Support Spire released a blue light, which flowed akin to a wave toward the invisible barrier surrounding Zipan, strengthening it.

After confirming that the barrier had been reinforced, Lore gave an order to the Bombardment Spire.

“Being the first bombardment. Everyone, prepare the coordinates.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Bombardment Spire had less people than the Support Spire. However, since the purpose of those wizards was simply to attack, not provide support or defense, they were easier to manage and more efficient than the Support Spire.

Soon, the wizards of the four major elements cast destructive spells according to their respective specializations.

Oong!

It was always easier to destroy something than to protect or restore it. Thus, although the number of wizards was small, the wizards of the Bombardment Spire collectively had more mana than those of the Support Spire.

Soon, numerous magic circles appeared above the Bombardment Spire, and the wizards waited for the order to fire.

“We will begin our prayer as well!” shouted Logger, the leader of the Holy Knights of the Church of Peace.

Logger ordered the assembled Holy Knights to recite the Holy Code.

The Holy Code of the Holy Knights was meant to improve their overall physical prowess and their armor, but more importantly, it was meant to assuage their fears and give them courage.

“We should prepare as well.”

Ananda, the head of the monks, had the same idea. He ordered the monks under him to recite the Holy Code that would empower them.

There was a musical energy coming from both sides of the army, resulting in a melodious but also chaotic resonance.

Kington then nodded at the Sun Warriors of the Church of Peace.

‘We should start soon.’

The preparations were complete.

The imperial soldiers were still supposed to be worn out from the arduous march, but the Saint had taken care of that with her restorative powers, which was why they had been able to build the mud tower in the first place.

Therefore, Kington was eager to seize the right moment and end this war as soon as possible. No matter how great the healing powers of the Saint were, they weren’t infinite.

As Kington gestured to his adjutant, the adjutant gave the soldiers the order to advance, and...

Huumm!

The Imperial Army’s horn echoed through the air, announcing the march.

Rumble.

As the horn rang, the imperial soldiers gathered in the barracks spread out as they had been ordered.

The one hundred thousand troops were divided into five corps.

Masila called this the Five-Way Tactic because the strategy was to surround the circular Zipan castle from five directions, attacking all at once.

For that reason, the five corps were named Five-Way.

The dusty plains of Herrerne were soon trampled by the hundred thousand imperial troops, their march causing the ground to shake tremendously.

“Fire!”

However, Henry wasn’t about to just sit around and watch the imperial soldiers take action. As soon as the enemy soldiers moved, Henry immediately activated the magic circles he had made.

Boom!

The wizards cast all sorts of spells in all directions, most of them producing loud sounds that ripped through the atmosphere.

However, not a single magic attack from the Bombardment Spire reached the imperial army, as the saint at the top of the Holy Spire was praying to Irene with all her might.

‘It has begun.’

Even though arrows and magic flew at them, the imperial army continued to march toward their assigned areas to secure the positions they had planned.

The generals of the Five-Ways were meant to encircle the Zipan castle in the following way:

Ananda, the abbot and the general in charge of the First Corps, would take the eleven o’clock position.

Kington, a commander and the general in charge of the Second Corps, would take the two o’clock position.

Allen, the Mercenary King and the general in charge of the Third Corps, would take the three o’clock position.

Logger, the head of the Holy Knights and the general in charge of the Fourth Corps would take the six o'clock position.

Lastly, Walker, the Master Spearman and the general in charge of the Fifth Corps would take the eight o'clock position.

The five corps moved to their respective positions following the plans of Masila. Their movements, in turn, caught Henry's eye, giving him a glimpse of what their plan was.

‘So they divided themselves into five corps of twenty thousand men each...’

Given the circular shape of the castle, Henry expected that they would surround Zipan itself. However, it was hard to tell exactly how they would encircle the castle.

So, Henry had strategically positioned the troops of the Allied Powers in a way that they could defend the castle against a variety of possible attack methods.

Seeing the distribution of the imperial army from the air, Henry immediately fired mana into the sky.

Boom!

The mana then split into five directions: it was a signal for the allied forces to split into five corps to match the strategy of the imperial army.

‘Five!’

The generals of each corps quickly picked up on what the mana in the sky meant and immediately organized their troops from the ramparts.

Henry had divided his army into ten units of five thousand men on the outskirts of the castle in order to efficiently use his forces. However, after he fired the warning signal, the ten units quickly reorganized into five units of ten thousand troops each. Of course, Henry had already designated the generals of these newly formed units.

Boom! Boom!

The wizards launched countless magic bombardments. However, these attacks were quantity over quality, since lower-Circle wizards couldn’t realistically compare to the power of a 7th-Circle Archmage.

‘This should be enough!’

After Henry checked the formation of the corps, he cast Blink toward where Lore was.

“Lore.”

“Yes, Archamge.”

“You mustn't forget my instructions. You need to launch the magic bombardments at irregular intervals so they don’t notice my absence.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“Alright, I trust you.”

Henry had prepared everything he could. He decided to Teleport to the Highlander region, the capital of the empire, just as he had said he would at the strategic meeting from a few days prior.

‘But first...’

Before casting the ultra-long distance Teleportation to the Highlander region, Henry stretched out his right hand from the top of the Bombardment Spire where Lore stood. He then murmured, “Wisdom.”

Znggg!

The World’s Wisdom answered the call of its master.

As Henry summoned the Wisdom, the mana-infused artifact appeared in his hand.

Henry grasped the Wisdom with both hands, and...

Thud!

He slammed the Wisdom into the center of the Bombardment Spire. He then let go of the Wisdom, which had become firmly embedded into the ground, like a tree root.

“Wisdom, I trust you.”

With the Wisdom rooted into the spire, Henry quietly commanded it to supply the spire with mana. He had done that because the wizards would require an enormous amount of mana in order to continuously launch magic bombardments over a long period of time.

Thus, with the generosity expected from an Archmage, Henry decided to place his most prized treasure, the Wisdom, in the Bombardment Spire.

Ptzzz!

As he placed the Wisdom in the spire, the entire spire was overflowing with mana.

Even though the Wisdom was an artifact that accumulated mana, it wasn’t an infinite source. Besides, no matter how generous Henry was, he had no intention of using the entirety of the Wisdom’s mana for the magic bombardments.

He had merely placed it here in case there would be an emergency.

Having made sure that the entire spire could be powered by the Wisdom, Henry was ready to head for the Highlander region.

‘That’s it.’

Finally, everything was ready.

Henry exchanged one last glance with Lore, nodded slightly, then...

“Teleport.”

Henry teleported to the Highlander region to behead Arthus; he would end this war by taking his head.