222: In Chapter 220, the final battle unfolds with back-and-forth probing.

Mahamoda thought it best to immediately retreat to the Kingdom.

However, Brando, who had slightly regained consciousness, required everyone to obey Gideon's orders and continue the war.

To this, he argued vehemently.

Over half of the Professionals were lost, and of the remaining two, one was heavily injured.

Although the main force of the legion hadn't suffered many casualties and still held an advantage, they knew nothing about the enemy's intelligence. Forget a decisive battle; even a war of attrition would be very dangerous.

For half an hour, Mahamoda cited many well-founded examples.

For instance, the King of Lagu was sacrificed due to underestimating the enemy, and the two people who ambushed their own Professionals had terrifying strength, and so on.

Brando did not interrupt or stop him.

After listening quietly, he first explained that he and the others were defeated one by one by those two strange Professionals, which led to the current result.

Furthermore, Brando keenly noticed that the young-looking man who first blocked their path released magic that was very unstable.

This meant he had forcibly increased his rank through external means.

His actual level was only Magister.

The same applied to the person who appeared later. If he were a Space-type Magister, would he still need to hide in the woods and wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack?

With a direct Space Cut, they would be lucky to escape with their lives.

Speaking of this, Brando emphasized: "Mahamoda, you should understand just what kind of terrifying existence a Space-type Magister is."

Then he continued his narrative.

Based on this, it was certain that Gur City only had two High-tier Professionals.

Even though more than half of their Professionals had died, the remaining you and I are still enough to deal with them.

Mahamoda listened quietly to him, and finally nodded wordlessly in tacit agreement.

Brando smiled and leaned against the headboard, looking at Gideon: "Don't worry about the High-tier Professionals; I will solve them.

You only need to consider how to annihilate Gur's army."

"Please rest assured, Lord Brando. Gideon will surely bring victory and glory to the Kingdom!"

Turning around, he strode out of the tent.

Watching his resolute back as it was obscured by the falling door curtain, the Legion Commander said:

"Brando, I think I'm already being quite adventurous, but you seem..."

He couldn't quite figure it out.

One had to know that he and Gideon were the ones insisting on continuing the attack.

As long as Brando argued a bit, he could shift all the responsibility onto them.

No matter the outcome, he could stand in an invincible position.

If they won—Brando would describe his \"silence\" as decisive support.

If they lost—\"I didn't say anything; it was all your own choice.\"

But he didn't do that; instead, he took everything on himself and fully supported Gideon.

"Gideon was temporarily transferred to the Thorn Legion before the expedition. You know that, right?" Brando looked at the Legion Commander.

"Of course. It's also because of this that I agreed to hand over command to him."

"A second before I jumped onto the mushroom's back, His Highness the Third Prince sent an urgent secret letter.

It said that regarding the war, if Gideon has an opinion, follow it unconditionally.

If the plan doesn't go smoothly, or if there's even a danger of being surrounded, the top priority is to safely send Gideon back."

The Legion Commander was stunned and only spoke after a long while: "Top priority?"

"Yes."

"Meaning, including you and me?"

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, the Legion Commander instinctively pondered the hidden meaning.

He was useless, so it was understandable if he was abandoned. But what about Brando's Professional squad?

A Magister, a Great Knight, three Magisters, plus the Kingdom's most elite Rose Army—all of them couldn't compare to one Gideon?

Seeing his face full of disbelief, Brando smiled again: "The letter mentioned that this matter was consulted with your father, Grand Duke El, and he agreed."

His breathing stopped instantly, and the Legion Commander suddenly clenched his fist: "If I get back alive, I will definitely usurp his position as Grand Duke as soon as possible!"

...

Gideon knew nothing of the conversation inside the tent.

Even if he heard it, he wouldn't care. He only needed to know that the enemy Professionals wouldn't fall from the sky; a single high-tier magic spell would be enough.

After leaving the tent, he quickly rushed to the command post—an inconspicuous tent—and began formulating a battle plan that very night.

Although it was called a decisive battle, it wasn't about gathering all the Soldiers and pressing them into one place.

That's not a decisive battle; that's suicide.

Among the hundred thousand Soldiers, there were ten thousand cavalry, but because of the terrain and the lack of \"World\" to carry mounts, they couldn't exert their combat power.

Gideon put the ten thousand cavalry on standby in the camp. If they successfully crushed the Gur army, they wouldn't need to go to the front line.

After all, training cavalry was much more expensive than others; using them as infantry was too extravagant.

Conversely, there was no choice. If the battle was about to be lost, who cared about the cost?

Next, Gideon assigned tasks to the other ninety thousand Soldiers.

They were divided into three teams, with numbers of twenty thousand—fifty thousand—twenty thousand.

Gideon used the first twenty thousand Soldiers to trade for intelligence.

He didn't know enough about the Kingdom's new weapons—specifically what types they were, their maximum lethality, and so on. Without WD, he could only trade the Soldiers' lives for it.

Once the first unit was consumed by the opponent, he would use the information gained to quickly improve the subsequent plan and immediately mobilize the main force, the second unit, to execute it.

At this time, the Gur City side would have just finished a battle, and even Professionals would be exhausted.

According to Gideon's plan, the second unit would not give the enemy army any breathing room to engage in close-quarters combat. When both sides had fought fiercely to exhaustion, it would be the time for the Third Army to strike.

Everything was ready.

The next morning, as the sky was just turning white.

In the forest where people were rarely seen, a large number of Soldiers holding spears with both hands passed through.

Closely following behind were archers with bows and arrows.

There were no knights in different styles of armor or Magisters in robes.

To maintain the element of surprise and avoid being targeted because their clothing was too conspicuous, except for the personal Guards, other low-tier Professionals in the legion were dressed just like the Soldiers.

In the woods at the foot of the mountain about five kilometers away, a group of Soldiers dressed completely differently from them were advancing rapidly with guns.

Both sides were not slow, and five kilometers wasn't very far.

Unsurprisingly, they bumped into each other at the top of the mountain.

"Covert fire!"

"Release arrows!"

The Soldiers in camouflage gear hid behind the trees nearest to them, aiming their guns and pulling the triggers.

As flames flashed from the muzzles, arrows flew from the other side.

Bullets and arrows passed each other; while the latter was only halfway, the former had already hit the targets.

Flesh and blood flew.

Seeing their side suffer casualties far exceeding the enemy's upon the first encounter, the officer's eyes turned bloodshot as he ordered the Professionals to provide magical cover and the knights to launch a charge.

Something that made their jaws drop happened.

The fireballs, wind blades, Ice Cones, and lightning flying toward the enemy army, though they unstoppably smashed trees and pierced trunks, were stopped in front of that group of ordinary Soldiers as if blocked by an invisible barrier, suspended in mid-air.

Until the magic power was exhausted and they dissipated without a trace.

"Mental Energy?!" a knight running forward shouted in shock.

Impossible. All magic was blocked. Could it be that they were all Professionals?

Then what was the point of fighting?

The vanguard commander personally appointed by Gideon was naturally no fool.

After a bit of thought, he understood that the problem likely lay with the enemy's weapons.

"Don't stop!" he roared, turning back to tell his Professional adjutant to send the news back immediately.

The slaughter continued, and the corpses on the ground gradually piled up.

After sacrificing a large number of Soldiers, the Kingdom finally succeeded in charging into the First Army.

Their eyes were bloodshot as they raised their spears and longswords, about to begin the massacre.

Did these Soldiers without swords, spears, or armor understand what close-quarters combat was?

Mockery appeared in the eyes of the Kingdom's Soldiers, but only for a brief moment.

Facing them as they rushed forward, the Gur Soldiers more than ten meters away did not show fear or panic on their faces.

They calmly, as if they had done it countless times, skillfully drew a straight-bladed short sword from the side of their boots and inserted the hilt into the slot under the muzzle.

Soldiers who didn't practice spear and sword were likely not proficient in close combat.

Gideon could see through this simple logic, and naturally, Zhang Mu could too.

Under his intentional concealment, there was no way for the Kingdom's Soldiers to know that besides shooting, the First Army Soldiers' daily training focused most on bayonet fighting.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Gur Soldiers, who had just been expressionless, suddenly looked ferocious, as if they had a blood feud with the Kingdom's Soldiers, and charged with overwhelming killing intent.

This was what Zhang Mu had taught them.

If you can't feel killing intent toward a stranger, then imagine them as the person you hate the most.

"Damn it!"

After breaking a fallen tree trunk, the Kingdom's vanguard commander took in this scene: "Report to the Legion Commander!"

In the tent, Gideon, who received the news, looked calm: "Reply to the vanguard: fight to the last man, and send back all the intelligence gathered."

"Yes!"

The morning sun rose.

"Report! The vanguard has suffered heavy casualties, with only about three thousand Soldiers left. The enemy is faltering!"

"Report! Enemy reinforcements have arrived, about four thousand people, carrying a kind of iron bottle that explodes!"

Gideon, standing in the middle of the tent with his hands behind his back and eyes closed, opened them.

Gur had already sent out all its troops. As long as the Second Army surrounded the hill, they could win the war.

However, he didn't do so and laughed to himself: "So, we thought of the same thing."

He did nothing and fell silent.

In the past, he would have.

"Report! The vanguard has been wiped out! Enemy casualties are roughly 2,000!"

Despite the terrifying ten-to-one casualty ratio, his expression remained unchanged as he gave orders to the Professional messenger responsible for transmitting information: "Second Army on standby, Third Army set out.

Tell the Second Army to watch what the enemy is doing."

The order was sent.

The twenty thousand Soldiers of the Third Army, who had been waiting in the woods near the main battlefield, immediately set out and charged toward the hilltop.

The hill wasn't high, and they reached the top in ten minutes. The Gur army, who were sitting and resting, immediately scrambled to fight.

Because the reaction was somewhat hurried, they didn't have time to aim and shoot, so the Kingdom's army avoided the hail of bullets and engaged in direct hand-to-hand combat.

"Report! The enemy was unaware of the ambush, suffered over 2,000 casualties, and is retreating!"

"Report! The enemy has pre-dug trenches on another hilltop. Our army's pursuit was repelled!"

"Report! The Second Army has surrounded the hill and is launching a fierce attack. The number of enemy arrows has drastically decreased!"

Only half left.

Gideon took a few steps forward to the sand table piled up overnight, his eyes falling on the low hill where the two armies were fighting.

Surrounded to death...

After staring at the hilltop with a few small trees for a long time, he finally said slowly: "From the Third Army, draw thirty thousand Soldiers to support."

Several people busy analyzing battle reports around the table looked up in confusion.

According to the strategy formulated last night, this should be the time for the entire Third Army to set out and wipe out the Gur army.

They looked at each other, and one person spoke up: "Lord Legion Commander, this is different from our..."

"Give the order."

The voice wasn't loud, but the speaker felt a chill throughout his body: "Yes!"

The Kingdom's military discipline wasn't bad. Although it was sudden, they quickly mobilized thirty thousand Soldiers and rushed to the low hill at full speed.

"Report! Thirty thousand Soldiers have joined the siege!"

"Report! The number of enemy arrows has surged!"

"Report! Our army has suffered heavy casualties but is about to break into the trenches!"

Victory seemed to be approaching. The messenger's voice gradually became lighter, and his expression relaxed quite a bit.

Another battle report arrived. After scanning it, his just-curled lips suddenly stiffened:

"Re... report! Our army was hit by multiple rounds of plunging arrow fire. The arrows cause violent explosions with a huge range. Our... our army of fifty thousand Soldiers has less than ten thousand left!"

Nearly wiped out. Everyone in the tent instinctively stopped their movements and looked at the messenger in shock.

"Heh, hahaha..." Gideon laughed maniacally, drawing everyone's gaze.

They were all wondering if the acting Legion Commander had gone mad from being unable to bear such tragic casualties.

"I knew it, I knew it!"

Gideon smashed a fist into the sand table, and the low hill the Gur army was defending was crushed, mud flying everywhere: "Explosions. You can release explosions, so of course you would desperately increase the power,

always trying to lure me into concentrating my forces for an attack, even going so far as to put your entire army in a desperate situation with no retreat!"

"Messenger!"

"Here!"

"Order the remaining twenty thousand of the Third Army to set out, along with the ten thousand cavalry in the camp!"

"Yes!"

"Tell them not to maintain formation. Advance in a dispersed manner as much as possible, and do the same during combat!"

"Yes!"

The overall situation was decided.

Gideon pulled over a wooden chair and sat down, his forehead covered in sweat, panting heavily.

"Legion... Lord Legion Commander."

After the crowd looked at each other blankly for a while, a battle report analyst asked hesitantly: "What you just said..."

"Explosions." Gideon didn't try to be profound. After catching his breath, he explained with a smile, "Their reinforcements brought exploding iron canisters.

I don't understand the principle, and I don't know how they make them, but it doesn't matter. It's enough that I know they have them."

Standing up, he walked to the sand table and re-piled the scattered mud in its original place: "Everyone.

If you found a wand in a maze that was only Apprentice Level but could be promoted to Legendary at most, would you despise its current low level and give up using it?"

"How could that be!" the Professional battle report analyst shouted. "Even if I had to give my whole life, I would...

I understand, Lord Legion Commander."

Nodding in approval, Gideon leaned over and stared at the messily piled mud fragments: "The Gur army's commander had the same idea as me—to decide the outcome in one go.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept his only two armies so close together.

Since he decided this, and he clearly has iron canisters, why didn't the front army carry them? Is it because there aren't enough?

Hehe, with such a plentiful supply of arrows, that reason doesn't hold water.

Then there's only one possibility: they are luring the enemy, hoping we concentrate our Soldiers so their explosive arrows can exert maximum power, seeking to wipe out our main force in one battle."

"So that's how it is," everyone said, listening intently.

"Mr. Gideon's military ability is indeed impressive. No wonder Mr. Brando fully..."

"Legion... Lord Legion Commander."

The messenger clutching the sound transmission crystal spoke with a suddenly trembling voice.

Gideon had an ominous premonition in his heart: "What's wrong?"

"You'd better... look at this." His right hand, handing over the bark paper, wouldn't stop shaking as if he were ill.

Taking the paper, Gideon scanned it quickly from left to right.

Our army's remaining thirty thousand Soldiers gathered and immediately prepared to advance in a dispersed manner, but before the order was fully conveyed to the Soldiers, an arrow suddenly fell straight from the sky.

Seeing this, he frowned.

Even if the arrow's explosion was powerful, what could a single one do?

He continued reading.

The rest seemed to be a verbal account from a Soldier on the scene.

"I fell behind and was anxiously looking for the unit, but the officer hadn't told me where the assembly point was.

So I climbed to the top of a large tree and saw my comrades, small as ants, in the distance.

It seemed they were about to set out. I was very anxious and wanted to shout for them to wait for me.

They didn't respond to me; strangely, they were looking up at the sky.

I looked too.

It was a strange-looking arrow, without a very sharp arrowhead.

When it fell vertically near everyone's heads, I don't know what happened. My vision suddenly went white, there was a blast, and also... burning... so hot...

I can't... breathe..."