CH214 The Splinters of Battle

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Exercitus Alexii marched for three days until they reached the borderlands between Fury and Kellerman territories.

During that time, Alex spent his free moments working on solutions to the two major problems plaguing the Voidheart Core. Most of his focus settled on improving the core's energy efficiency—the single most critical issue that demanded resolution.

And it was during this time that the Beta Bracer stood out.

Since this was a military campaign filled with dangers, Alex couldn't risk allowing his consciousness to descend into OmniRune's simulation space within the Greater Rune mark in his mind.

Doing so would cut him off completely from both his body and the outside world, leaving him more vulnerable than even during cultivation meditation.

The Beta Bracer solved this problem.

Through it, Alex could access OmniRune's simulation functions safely. The Legendary-grade artifact was not only versatile but also served as OmniRune's physical terminal. Even better, its projection screen had been specially incorporated with the Enclave's proprietary magical equivalent of a privacy screen filter—ensuring no one but Alex could see the contents displayed.

It was admittedly less convenient than working directly inside OmniRune's simulated space. Still, it allowed Alex to maintain awareness of his surroundings while working. That tradeoff alone made it invaluable.

It also helped that Dread was an unusually stable steed. Unlike normal horses that tended to wobble with each step, the Nightmare horse's gait was firm and even. Riding him wasn't quite like walking on solid ground, but after a few hours, Alex hardly noticed the difference.

Speaking of Dread—over the past three days, he and Fen had reached an understanding.

The Nightmare horse and the Bi-elemental wolf had come to some kind of truce, though Alex had no idea what agreement passed between them. Whatever it was, the result was clear: Fen was now permitted to ride on Dread's back along with Alex, provided he remained in his cub form.

The three days of travel also meant more than two weeks had passed since the City of Werth fell to the Wildkin horde emerging from the Ironmourn Desert.

In that time, several other cities west of Kellerman territory—closer to Fury lands—had also fallen. Splinters of the Wildkin horde had broken away after Werth's fall, scattering across the region to raid and pillage with terrifying efficiency.

Upon crossing into Kellerman territory, the Exercitus Alexii Taskforce had expected to be met by at least a retinue of Kellerman troops to guide them toward the affected areas. Instead, they found no one.

After communication was exchanged between the two noble houses, the Kellermans claimed the Wildkin had cut off the routes leading west. As such, it was impossible to send a pathfinder retinue from their heartlands, which lay further east.

Alex scoffed when he received the news of the Kellermans' response.

They were trying too hard.

The Kellerman family wanted the Furies to believe they had lost control of the west of their fief to the Wildkins. Such a move would make the Furies look down on them, yet still push them into sending a sizeable force to root out the invaders.

Once that force was committed, the Kellermans' grand scheme of striking the Fury Army from behind and crippling it before it could regroup would be made that much simpler.

In Alex's eyes, the whole ploy was laughably transparent.

The west of Kellerman fief was like an unclothed woman tempting a man, while her husband lurked behind with a weapon, waiting to strike the distracted man in the back of the head. But once the husband failed and was subdued, the woman would be left vulnerable to the man's… penetration.

And Alex had no doubt his father intended to penetrate the Kellerman fief as deeply as he could.

A knowing chuckle escaped his lips.

After a short meeting with the Division's four Regiment Commanders, the decision was made to form a vanguard force. This group would move ahead of the main army, splintering into smaller scout units to explore nearby territories and identify possible threats.

Orders were issued, and a thousand-strong vanguard unit, led by four Colonels, was dispatched.

The Vanguard soon split into four columns, each taking a different path from the main force. From there, they had the flexibility to divide further as needed, sending back information while pushing deeper to scout into enemy territory.

The Regiment Commanders took charge of all operational orders, while Alex simply observed in silence.

His eidetic memory was invaluable here. Every word, every subtle detail—both what was explained openly and what slipped out unintentionally—was carefully stored within the memory palace of his mind.

Unsurprisingly, the first Wildkin each splinter group encountered were… goblins.

These relatively weak yet opportunistic creatures had seized the chaos created by the larger, stronger Wildkins. While Kellerman's militia struggled to hold their lines, the goblins slipped through, bypassing defenses to strike at loosely guarded villages.

The first Vanguard splinter company to encounter them was commanded by a relatively young but grim-faced Colonel.

That company, which had recently broken off into smaller groups to scout a mountain range, stumbled upon a human village already occupied by goblins.

The stench of blood was heavy in the air. The wails of survivors still carried faintly from within.

The raid had only just taken place—not more than half a day ago.

From a hill overlooking the village, the Colonel narrowed his gaze, analyzing the enemy strength and weighing whether to alert the main force or deal with the threat using only his company.

"One Class 4 Priest, five Class 3 lesser Priests, four Class 4 Goblin Hunters, five Class 4 Goblin Fighters, over a hundred Class 3 Goblin Warriors and Archers… the rest are Class 2 Hobgoblins. Roughly four hundred in total," the Colonel muttered after his count.

Someone whistled beside him. "That's enough goblin power to wipe out a proper town—let alone a small, insignificant village like this," the man remarked.

"Watch your words, Major. There is no such thing as an insignificant village. The people who lived there were humans like us." The Colonel chided the older middle-aged man with a stern glare.

The Major, however, only shrugged. He was clearly used to the Colonel's stiffness. Like the Colonel, he too hailed from a village in the Dankrot Plains. He had no intention of disregarding the villagers, he was merely voicing the harsh reality of things in the greater scheme.

"What do you want to do then?" he asked, glancing back at the troops behind them.

"Their force is on the weaker side," the Colonel replied after observing. Though, in truth, the force below would have terrified Alex and his platoon had they ever seen goblins grow to such strength back in the Dankrot Forest.

"There's no need to disturb the main group. We'll take them down here." His decision was firm.

Immediately, the company—composed mainly of archers—raised their bows. Dozens of arrows were nocked in unison, all aimed at the goblins below. The Colonel's eyes fixed particularly on the Class 4 Priest among them, the obvious centerpiece of the horde.

"Fire!"

Swoosh! Swoosh!! Swoosh!!!

A storm of arrows filled the sky, so dense it blotted out the sun.

The goblins were caught off guard, but their higher-class warriors reacted swiftly to protect their kin.

The Goblin Hunters drew their bows and fired blasts of energy upward, scattering a large section of arrows mid-air. At the same time, the Goblin Fighters spun rapidly, creating whirlwinds that deflected another portion of the deadly rain.

But the most impressive was the Goblin Priest.

He stepped forward, chanting quickly. A shimmering shield of energy flared into existence, spreading like a suit to cover each goblin beneath the falling arrows.

The barrier absorbed the worst of the assault, saving the horde from grievous injuries—and certain death. The Lesser Goblin Priests immediately followed his lead, chanting and layering their own shields atop his, reinforcing each individual barrier even further.

The Goblin Priest, clearly the leader of this horde, then turned his gaze toward the human company. With a furious roar, he pointed at them, his twisted face contorted with rage.

"Oh, is it just me, or do they get uglier the stronger they become?" the Major muttered, taking a step back at the Priest's monstrous expression. "What now? They seem angry."

The Colonel sighed, silently questioning why the higher-ups had paired him with such a 'carefree' man.

"That barrier must be the new Goblin Priest defence spell reported recently," he expressed. "They've become more troublesome to kill, but the principle remains the same. If one arrow won't kill them, two will."

"And if two doesn't?" the Major asked cheekily.

"Then three will," the Colonel replied coldly. "We'll keep shooting until they die."

The Major smirked. "While you do that, mind if I lead the others to cut them down?"

"That goes without saying, doesn't it, Major?" The Colonel shot him a sharp glare.

The Major chuckled, but his expression hardened as he drew his weapon.

"Let's go, men!"

"Yes, sir!"

The infantry—mostly sword and spear-bearing Shieldbearers—stepped forward at once, following their commander down the slope.

The Major and his troops charged downhill just as the goblins surged upward to meet them.

Boom!

The two forces clashed violently, steel against claw and fang, as the battle began.

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