The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

53. Defend the Supply Lines! (3)

Hypotheticals can be painful, but for a ruler, it’s a necessary burden.

If this supply line defense operation fails, the Empire will suffer a tremendous blow.

1. Supplies will be temporarily cut off.

2. The troops assigned to defense will be depleted.

3. The main forces will have to divert their attention to the rear.

All three consequences are grievous, but the greatest tragedy would be the annihilation of the Shadows.

The collapse of the Shadows could mean Ignit might have to reestablish their information network, signaling a severe crisis.

Thus, victory was essential.

Conversely, from Román’s perspective, this operation had to succeed.

Cutting off supplies, even for a brief moment, would drag the war out long enough to buy time.

Román couldn’t afford even a slight falter, lest they deplete the future strength prepared for the Great Plan.

“Is this the fourth time now?”

The Leader of the Black Moon looked at Talion with a face full of surprise.

Although he was a master at the sixth stage, he believed there was still a difference between them.

However, seeing Talion persist until now made him think otherwise.

Despite facing two masters alongside him, Talion was still holding on.

It had already been four days and nights of combat.

Throughout this time, Talion had been managing to hold his ground against the Leader of the Black Moon.

“I never thought it would be this frustrating not to become a Master.”

The Leader of the Black Moon chuckled lightly.

Indeed, even without achieving mastery, he was a formidable opponent.

A huge Mountain Maw that he could summon, covered in a grotesque shape of all-consuming maws, along with his sword imbued with mana.

Each of these powers was formidable, yet all were wielded by one person.

Of course, this was not entirely unusual.

There were rare individuals who could master both the Mana Cultivation Method and the Refinement Technique.

It was just that there hadn’t been anyone strong enough to stand at the threshold of mastery for both. In the history of the continent, they could probably be counted on one hand.

Thanks to this, Talion cast aside his pride and engaged the Leader of the Black Moon alongside his subordinates. They leveraged the greater number of Shadows to their advantage.

Additionally, thanks to the magical tools Kariel had provided out of concern for Talion, they managed to buy time against the Mountain Maw.

‘But even so, is it just buying time?’

Talion muttered internally as he raised his two swords.

The magical tools Kariel had given him were nearly shattered. He now had to hold the monster at bay with just himself and the Shadows.

‘I’ll stake my life to hold it off.’

As he thought this, black waves of mana began to expand around him.

‘If I delay any further, things could get dangerous.’

The Leader of the Black Moon thought as he drew more strength.

By now, during their fourth encounter, the Leader of the Shadows had become increasingly adept at using his unique techniques. In battles that danced on the edge of life and death, he unconsciously began to break through his own walls from fighting against a similar caliber martial artist.

Above all, having directly faced the unique techniques of the well-trained Leader of the Black Moon was significant experience.

‘Is it possible to use it this way?’

‘Can such manipulation of mana be done?’

‘Can I move like this?’

All of this became invaluable experience for Talion.

Thanks to this, the tightly shut door began to open slightly, as he sought to breach the sturdy walls of mastery.

However, this wasn’t the case for him.

He could have reached mastery long ago, yet he still found the walls steadfast.

Despite holding an advantage over Talion in every aspect, the walls of the Leader of the Black Moon didn’t budge an inch.

“I’m not pleased.”

The Leader of the Black Moon murmured as he raised his sword.

Just because Talion had improved a bit didn’t mean he could break the walls of mastery. If one could surpass them with such a stroke of fortune, he would have done so long ago.

Nevertheless, it was impossible not to feel displeased.

The Maw, having read the Leader’s thoughts, moved to take on the two Shadows.

‘I’ll finish this myself.’

As the giant Maw moved to prevent the Shadows from destroying the fortress, Talion and the Leader of the Black Moon faced off in silence.

It was the Leader of the Black Moon who moved first.

Eclipse.

The unique technique of the Leader of the Black Moon is a powerful thrust amidst the scattered black slashes that only someone at the sixth stage can possess.

And Talion defended against it.

From the black mana waves swirling around, thousands of slashes broke apart.

At the same time, Talion’s new form scattered like an illusion.

Shadow Realm.

Talion had upgraded his original unique technique while battling against the Leader of the Black Moon.

At least within his domain, it was a power akin to invincibility.

‘Is he slightly above me now?’

The Talion who was once weaker now found himself slightly superior in swordsmanship. At that moment, the Leader of the Black Moon unleashed his mana violently.

As the Maw’s form appeared, it began to devour Talion’s realm.

Bang! Bang!

With every swing of the sword, Talion’s black mana erupted, and dozens of black slashes filled the air.

An overwhelming show of force.

Even a master couldn’t afford to underestimate such might, yet Talion managed to endure.

Dodging the slashes with extraordinary speed as if dancing between Shadows, he even created illusions to deceive the Leader of the Black Moon’s eyes.

“……”

He could no longer deny it.

If things continued on like this, the Leader of the Shadows would breakthrough the wall of mastery.

The moment the opponent surpasses the wall, the danger would shift to him.

To be overwhelmed by one he had previously dominated?

There could be no greater humiliation.

“That absolutely cannot happen!”

The Leader of the Black Moon shouted as he gathered all his strength. Throwing aside the moves he had employed until now, he acted with brutality.

However, as he swung his sword towards Talion, who might have been injured or could possibly lose his life, Talion’s eyes did not show panic but rather transformed into calmness.

‘I see it.’

Despite becoming faster and more ferocious, he could see clearly how the attacks were coming.

In this moment, it felt as though he could face any opponent, and with perfect posture that he had cultivated, he began to shatter the assaults created by the Leader of the Black Moon.

At long last, the moment Talion’s sword, which had shattered everything, flew toward the Leader of the Black Moon, his thoughts accelerated, causing everything to seem slow.

‘……Am I losing?’

In that fleeting thought, Talion instinctively deflected his sword.

The Leader of the Black Moon was not accustomed to this unfamiliar sensation.

Having developed his genius uniqueness growing up, he had always achieved rapid growth, yet the wall of mastery remained daunting.

Unable to wield a sword, he took up the path of martial arts, and had reached its extremes.

Even so, he ultimately failed to breach that wall.

Everything unfolded as he calculated it, and according to those calculations, his skills had improved. Yet even he, who had firmly withstood the barriers, found them slowly cracking due to purely instinctual movements.

‘I admit it. My judgment was wrong…’

He thought, relinquishing his reasoning and surrendering to his instincts. Instantly, the movements he created were transcendent.

Two powerful forces pressed down on Talion like never before, yet they could not shatter his Shadow Realm.

In fact, it became even stronger, applying further pressure on the Leader of the Black Moon.

It was the fierce onslaught from the Leader of the Black Moon that began to break down the walls, yet why was it entirely thwarted?

The reason was simple.

“Ora…”

The two swords manifested into a perfect black form.

No matter how mighty the Leader of the Black Moon was, he couldn’t compare to a Master who had perfectly breached the walls.

“Cough!”

“……I was fortunate.”

Talion observed the Leader of the Black Moon who was spitting blood and looked at his own sword.

If he had been just a moment later to become a Master, it would have been him facing death.

In those final seconds, the Leader of the Black Moon had also come close to mastery.

“It was a good fight.”

As Talion spoke and prepared to swing his sword, suddenly, a massive number of Undead emerged around the Leader of the Black Moon.

“Undead? No… this energy is…”

“……Was it not a place for death?”

The Leader of the Black Moon gazed at the fiery skeletal warriors that had appeared around him.

Unlike the Undead, who exuded despair with lifelessness, the blazing skeletal warriors stood poised like skilled fighters, each gripping their weapons.

After a moment of astonishment, Talion unleashed all his strength, charging towards the Leader of the Black Moon.

“Too late.”

As the Leader of the Black Moon muttered this, giants of flaming skeletons appeared from all directions.

Eons ago, the bones of giants that had been said to be no larger than small hills ignited in flame and approached, ready to demolish Ignit’s temporary base.

“What on earth is this…?”

“Did you think you were the only ones waiting for reinforcements?”

As the Leader of the Black Moon spoke, Talion gritted his teeth, channeling all his aura into his sword.

Though it was unstable due to recently obtaining mastery, its destructive power was immense.

Determined to protect the Leader of the Black Moon, Talion swept away all the skeletons and shattered the massive axes and swords attacking him.

However, there were simply too many of the skeleton giants summoned by Román.

No matter how much of a Master Talion had become, he couldn’t fend off every single one.

There was a limit to how many skeletons he could face alone, and all he could do was watch as the remaining Undead destroyed the temporary base.

“……This war is ours.”

Confident of victory, the Leader of the Black Moon laughed as he summoned the Black Moons.

Though he may have lost the battle of the leaders, he had triumphed in the war.

Satisfied with this thought, just as he attempted to withdraw, a subordinate approached, whispering something, causing his expression to harden.

And in that instant.

A colossal sword swung from the heavens, splitting the skeleton giants attacking the temporary base in half.

Realizing their operation had failed, the Black Moons hurriedly retreated.

Of course, Talion wouldn’t just let them go.

Diving after them, he aimed to take down at least one more enemy, and eventually confront the red-turbaned figure who had created this situation by obliterating the flaming skeletons.

Yet ultimately, he lost sight of the Leader of the Black Moon.

“Achelio.”

Once all the fighting had ceased, Talion recalled the enormous aura blade and frowned as he called for him.

From a distance, Achelio emerged.

What was the Commander of the Imperial Palace Knights doing here, you’d ask?

“Why, you…”

Achelio’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Talion.

But that wasn’t of concern to Talion.

“What are you doing here?!”

“It was the Majesties’ command.”

“Ha… One Duke Welch alone cannot…”

“He has also arrived.”

Sighing at Talion’s words, Achelio replied.

“He is on his way here to stop the other places that are being demolished.”

“Then what about the capital…”

At Talion’s question, Achelio shook his head slightly.

All the Masters had been deployed to the battlefield.

This indicated that a surprise attack on the capital could be perilous as it used to be.

“Lord!”

“There was a reason. For now… let’s assess the situation.”

At Achelio’s words, Talion sighed while looking around.

This operation had resulted in the death of a staggering number of Shadows.

Yet the Black Moon also suffered substantial losses.

Both sides fought with everything they had, resulting in heavy casualties.

So, what would the outcome be?

“A half-hearted victory?”

Talion murmured as he furrowed his brow.

This war was a victory for Ignit.

However, due to numerous temporary bases being destroyed, it would take some time to return to normal supply lines.

From the perspective of the hastily regrouped main forces, it was a significant setback.

“It will be difficult to defend against the next attack like this.”

At Talion’s statement, Achelio shook his head.

“Reinforcements will arrive soon. The fastest airships will gather, and small units will reach us first, so we should be able to douse the urgent flames.”

Hearing Achelio’s words, Talion felt relief as he looked at the battered base.

Though it had been reduced to a tragic state, the supply lines were intact.

With the reinforcements from Kariel, the supply lines would become even more fortified. Thus, the war in the North would likely proceed more steadily.

As the sun began to rise, the aftermath of the fierce battle began to settle around the temporary base.

Numbered Shadows and many others lay cold as corpses. Likewise, numerous defensive troops and knights had also perished.

Seeing this scene, Talion felt a mix of emotions. Nonetheless, as commander of this place, he repressed his feelings and stood tall, speaking firmly to the survivors.

“Today, we achieved our objective through the sacrifice of our comrades. So take pride.”

As he spoke, Talion turned to the surviving soldiers and Shadows.

“It is our victory.”