“…Balascamb… has fallen.”

Though not even the shadow of the enemy’s sword had been seen.

The atmosphere in the command center was already as if the enemy had invaded.

“From a dizzying height where attack magic couldn’t reach, they summoned undead solely for the purpose of mass attack. It seems they crushed the castle with that.”

“The high-ranking mages and numerous troops in the main castle died instantly without even being able to fight properly. Forces outside the main castle were also annihilated after being attacked in the chaotic situation, and the remaining personnel all surrendered and were taken prisoner.”

“This is nonsense! Undead are fundamentally a technique that uses existing corpses. To suddenly summon undead large enough to crush a castle from thin air, you’d first need to summon that many corpses into the air. How is that possible?”

“There’s also a method of inflating the size of undead using mana, isn’t there?”

“That’s armchair theory. Unless hundreds of necromancers simultaneously poured in mana. No, even then, there wouldn’t be enough mana.”

“Isn’t Gale Elilaz famous for her large mana capacity? Could she have possibly helped?”

“No, even then it’s impossible!”

“Isn’t how they did it not important right now!? We should be discussing how to recapture it immediately!”

“The Tower of Protection side is launching a major offensive! The frontlines are collapsing quickly, and at this rate, all our forward units will be devoured! If we’re to save them, we must recapture Balascamb as soon as possible!”

“Aren’t we discussing how to recapture it right now!? The enemy are monsters who crushed Balascamb in one go! How can we discuss attacking without even analyzing the enemy when the same attack might come flying at our recapture forces this time!?”

“—Everyone shut up.”

At Teur’s low words, those who had been raising their voices with veins popping in their necks all closed their mouths.

This was proof that Teur’s authority was still valid among his subordinates, but at the same time, it meant that people were so crowded that they were unconsciously arguing even with the tower’s royalty present.

The cause was clear.

Yes.

It was fear.

Even those who could be called the most elite in the Tower of Control, belonging to the command center, were frightened by the situation unfolding now.

Teur examined the map, showing the battlefield situation.

The territory controlled by Control was gradually being occupied by enemies.

In a way, it was natural.

Balascamb, which could be called the core of the country along with the tower, was broken through in one go, and along with it, the high-ranking mages gathered from various places were taken out all at once.

There were still units maintaining combat power here and there, but because the core stronghold supporting their backs had been lost, they were like kites with cut strings.

They were hurriedly calling in the raiding units that were originally meant to strike the Tin Knight’s party to form a second front, but the area they managed to protect this way was only about half of what Control originally ruled. In just a few days of battle, half their territory had been lost.

Teur reflected on his judgment.

Should I not have concentrated our forces?

No, if he had done that, the Tin Knight’s party would have rampaged here and there, defeating the separated bloodline members one by one.

Should I have gathered them all in one place instead of dividing between the tower and Balascamb?

This, too, was impossible.

Leaving the tower—where the tower head and Witch of the North were—empty was out of the question, and Balascamb, which was not only crucial for maintaining the front lines but also had enormous symbolic significance, was also land that absolutely couldn’t be given up helplessly.

Was the response too slow?

That wasn’t it either.

Teur had immediately mobilized forces, even leaving the border with the Tower of Annihilation defenseless, right after learning that the Tin Knight’s party was specifically targeting royalty.

Because the Tin Knight party’s actions were too swift, they failed to complete the encirclement, but without even that, it would have been impossible to create a second front like now.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was nothing wrong with the moves he made, the judgments he made.

That was why it was more absurd.

The situation had become like this even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

What tormented Teur even more was that this wasn’t even the worst.

If that attack that annihilated Balascamb. If they can reproduce it once more… this time even this tower would be in danger.

The defense levels of Balascamb and the tower were almost the same.

In other words, an attack that could destroy Balascamb in one blow could also collapse the tower instantly.

Now that they knew the enemy’s method, they could prepare to some extent by deploying spirits in the airspace around the tower, but what if the anti-air network created that way was broken through?

Cold sweat ran down Teur’s spine.

He was by no means incompetent, but there were irrationalities in the world that couldn’t be solved by that alone.

So, in a single phrase.

“—The opponent is too overwhelming.”

Thud.

A clear shoe sound echoed.

Towards the intruder who appeared in a space that should not allow external intrusion, the Control mages all showed wariness, and soon after confirming their identity, quickly prostrated themselves.

The Witch of the North.

And the gray old man, who had somehow returned with a whole body as if he had recovered from his fatal injury, was there.

“Tower Head and Great Teacher.”

The Witch of the North clicked her tongue at such mages and repeated the same words.

“The opponent was too overwhelming. It was an enemy too burdensome for children who still don’t know the ways of the world to face.”

The witch’s words were closer to resignation, saying it couldn’t be helped since an unreasonable task was given in the first place, rather than rebuke, but to those who had lived as elites all their lives, this was more humiliating than hasty condemnation.

While the command center mages were all blushing with humiliation and shame.

The gray old man approached Teur.

And…

Pat.

He patted Teur’s shoulder.

“You’ve worked hard. You struggled while I was gone.”

Teur, who had expected stern scolding, answered with a trembling voice to the old man’s unexpectedly gentle comfort, “No, despite being entrusted with the role of acting in place of the Tower Head, I’ve committed such a great mistake, there’s no way to atone for my sin…!”

“How could that be your fault? It’s all my oversight.”

“Tower Head!”

Confusion filled Teur’s eyes.

He felt anxious, wondering if the gray old man had given up on everything, given his attitude as if he had let go of everything.

But that was only for a moment.

Meeting eyes with the gray old man, Teur soon discovered the boiling heat sleeping deep inside and trembled.

“Teacher. May I ask you for a task?”

“Your words are polite but the content isn’t, there’s no other mentee who sucks their teacher’s marrow like you.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t intend to run away like this, do you?”

At the gray old man’s words, the corners of Mombi’s mouth curled up.

“That’s right, that’s right. That magic doll. I can’t run away until I’ve paid him back for what he did to me.”

The evil witch asked the greedy old man, “So, what do you want me to do?”

The greedy old man told the evil witch, “Please ravage. The goal you desire, in the way you desire, as much as you desire.”

“The Magic State will become a mess, you know?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

At the gray old man’s answer, all the mages present were startled.

“Due to unexpected difficulties, our forces have been greatly reduced. At this rate, even if things flow as originally planned, it would be impossible to control the entire Magic State as we wish,” he added. “Rather, please overturn it. Rather, please trample it. Rather, please thoroughly break it. Only then will we be able to devour it all.”

This was not giving up in a “come what may” manner.

Rather, the old man was extremely rational.

Just like when he betrayed his teacher.

Mombi saw no greater madness than this.

“—Alright. Don’t regret it.”

And the evil witch found this very much to her liking.

Mombi casually approached the window and jumped out.

Leaving behind the shocked mages including Teur, just before Mombi’s bottom touched the ground.

Wings sprouted from her back and Mombi flew up into the sky again.

Exactly one hour later.

News that the Tower of Protection had been half-destroyed echoed throughout the Magic State.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken