T/N It took me hours before I finally figured out what the English equivalent of that StarCraft term was. Researching about this also made me realize that I’m really bad at strategy games. Like, this is too much for my brain to handle.
Terms used in this chapter:
Fait accompli – French phrase commonly used to describe an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it.
One-punch fight – aka Han-bang timing/attack; StarCraft terminology
A Han-bang attack refers to a move when a player stops improving their own economy in order to mass an army to attack and finish the game, sometimes at a specific timing window. It shouldn’t be confused with an all-in move as a player performing a han-bang style attack will prepare for it from at least equal footing with their opponent and as such it isn’t a move made out of desperation from a disadvantaged position.
The term han-bang translates from Korean as “one punch” referring to its nature.
The invasion of the northern barbarians, a major event that took place in the early part of the game, was more of a background setting than an event that the players actually took part in.
Regardless of which PC (Playable Character) one chose, the difference in levels between the PC and the enemies were too large that it was impossible for the PC to actually go to the front line and fight.
Therefore, their actual participation came after the Thunderdoom Fortress guarded by the Jackdaws fell to the barbarians and demon followers, wherein the PC escaped or entered the devastated northern part of the Sälen Kingdom.
‘Each playable character faced a different enemy.’
There were the fallen wild gods that Jude did not know were the wild gods back then because there was no information about them in the game.
Likewise, there were the corrupted barbarian warriors who became the puppets of the demons.
If one chose the Jude route, they would face Violent Avalanche and Sun Song. And if one chose the Cordelia route, they would face the fallen Gentle Snow Breeze, and the Fine Snow and Clear Snow brothers.
‘And the enemies you’d face regardless of which character you chose.’
The ones who led the northern barbarian invasion and conquered the north had caused confusion and fear.
‘The great warriors.’
They were special barbarian warriors, including Seven Horns, the chieftain of the Angry Bull tribe, and were in fact, equivalent to mid-bosses in the northern barbarian part of the game.
‘And Haraken.’
A high-ranking demonic human of the Devil’s Eye one would meet in the beginning and the end of the northern barbarian invasion.
He was the first high-ranking demonic human one would encounter if they normally proceeded and was like a kind of wall that clearly informed the players of the difference between a high-ranking and a mid-ranking demonic human.
‘The last one.’
The final boss of the northern barbarian part.
One of Overlord Belial’s henchmen, the Great Demon Kriemler.
The demon of the magic sword who killed Count Bayer and Gaël Bayer, as well as Count Chase.
He was the strongest enemy in the north that Jude and Cordelia must stop.
***
The eastern and western forces who were steadily moving towards Snow Breeze Plain stopped marching at a certain point, as if the two sides had an agreement with each other.
They were at the point where both sides had the Snow Breeze Plain in their sight.
They built their strongpoints, and there was no communication between the two sides, but the eastern and western forces knew.
Tomorrow morning, the wheel of fate of the wild lands would begin turning.
“We will win.”
At the words of Sun Song, Red Wind awkwardly smiled as he looked at the Snow Breeze Plain with a nervous face.
She wanted to brightly smile like Cordelia, but it was impossible for her.
This was her first war. This was her first time in the front lines with so many people.
So she was scared.
Frankly, she was afraid.
Thus, she had a very frightened expression on her face.
“It’s natural to be scared. It was the same when I first went to the front lines. No, it was more than you. I’m only saying this to you here, but I wanted to run away at that time.”
Red Wind’s eyes widely opened when she heard Sun Song speaking quietly.
Although she had won with the help of Jude and Cordelia, she would clearly be defeated nine out of ten times if she fought Sun Song now again.
He was a strong and seasoned warrior.
He seemed to have been courageous since birth, so she couldn’t imagine him being young and weak.
But there was a time when he was a baby, and there was a time when he was a novice.
“But you have to overcome it. If you don’t overcome it on your first time, you won’t be able to go on any further.”
It wasn’t just in battles.
All of the things one faced in life had a beginning. And only by overcoming that first time would one be able to move forward.
“Aren’t you the one who beat me? You’re already a great warrior.”
Sun Song was friendly on his own way – but no matter how one looked at him, he had a hideous smile.
But Red Wind also smiled.
“Thank you, Sun Song.”
“Yes, and I’ll say it again… Don’t be afraid. I will protect you.”
His voice faltered at the end of his words, which was unlike of a powerful warrior. He also avoided looking at her in the eye.
Red Wind widely opened her eyes again, and she brightly smiled this time.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Um, yes. Look forward to it.”
His words were a bit of a mess at the end, but his feelings came through to her.
Sun Song cleared his throat several times and stared at the distance where the western forces were.
The chilly wind of the battlefield brushed past the neck of Sun Song.
***
Gaël and Adelia finally arrived at Thunderdoom Fortress, but the atmosphere wasn’t very good.
Even if they were the eldest son and eldest daughter of a family from the 12 northern families, the two had appeared beyond the border and in the barbarian lands, and not anywhere else.
‘As expected of the Jackdaws.’
Although they passed the city gate, Gaël and Adelia were treated as potential enemies of uncertain identities, and not as guests.
Therefore, instead of being guided inside, the two had to stand in the middle of the training ground while surrounded, and Gaël was able to see Adelia’s real self after a long time.
An unparalleled sharp and vicious expression, and an unmatched tumultuous force.
Her nickname as the demon of the Royal Guard Magic Corps was not a false reputation.
She was surrounded by more than ten Jackdaws, but far from being dispirited, she glared at each of them as if to kill them.
‘Um…what should I say?’
I think I can hear her growling.
If Jude had been here, perhaps he would admire and say that she was indeed Cordelia’s older sister.
If Cordelia was clearly a small dog, Adelia was a real leopard or tiger-like beast.
In any case, nothing good would come out of her tumultuous force.
To begin with, they didn’t come here to fight.
“Adelia.”
Gaël wondered what to say but ended up only calling her name. However, the effect was great.
The tumultuous force emanating from Adelia’s entire body disappeared at once.
It wasn’t only that. At Gaël’s call, Adelia was startled and surprised for a moment, and then blushed and made a somewhat shy expression.
‘Uwaaa, what should I do?’
I was so angry that I forgot that Gaël was here.
What if he thinks of me as a scary woman?
Adelia hunched her shoulders and was at a loss, and the already love-blind Gaël unwittingly smiled in delight.
Of course, the Jackdaws had lukewarm expressions at the dramatic change and the cause of the change.
A few seconds passed by again.
A man who could put an end to this situation finally appeared, as if to save both Adelia and the Jackdaws.
“It’s been a long time, Gaël.”
He was Count Hræsvelgr, one of the ten great swordmasters of the Sälen Kingdom and also the head of the Jackdaws.
Gaël was naturally impressed by his appearance as he wore a white cloak and an armor with a golden eagle crest.
It was their first meeting in years, but far from declining, Count Hræsvelgr seemed to be more robust.
“Gaël Bayer greets Count Hræsvelgr. Let me also introduce Lady Adelia Chase from the Chase family.”
“Adelia Chase greets Count Hræsvelgr.”
When Gaël politely greeted first, Adelia followed him and gave her greetings by placing her hand on her chest according to the etiquette of the Royal Guard.
“It’s nice to see you both. I am Count Hræsvelgr. This is my son, Lucas.”
“Lucas Hræsvelgr greets the two of you.”
Standing next to Count Hræsvelgr was Lucas who gave his greetings by thumping his chest with his fist like how knights do.
He had met Gaël once at Langesthei, but this was his first time in meeting Adelia.
“Let’s talk in detail inside.”
Count Hræsvelgr already had many things to talk about with Count Bayer and Count Chase regarding Jude and Cordelia.
However, Gaël and Adelia’s problem was added to it. Because the two had crossed the border from the barbaric lands side and not anywhere else.
“I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Yes, you will have to.”
Count Hræsvelgr quietly answered and turned around, and Lucas, who had a face full of questions, also hurriedly turned around.
And Gaël and Adelia looked at each other.
‘I’ll do the talking.’
‘Yes, I will protect Lord Gaël too.’
Their conversation with the eyes failed again, but the two did not know about that fact and just smiled at the same time before they began walking with satisfied faces.
***
The eastern and western forces faced each other with the Snow Breeze Plain in between them.
Red Wind and Sun Song comforted each other, and Gaël told Count Hræsvelgr about the circumstances.
A day before.
At a time when the prelude to the great battle that would determine the fate of the wild lands would begin.
“Oooh, it’s a real star!”
“If you say so, it must be like that then.”
“No, it’s a real star, okay? You saw how the light spread when it exploded with a ‘bang!’.”
“If my princess says so, it must be like that then.”
“No, it’s true, okay?”
“Dobby believes in what the master says.”
“I hate it, stop annoying me.”
Cordelia was annoyed even though he believed in her, so she stomped her feet and grumbled, and Jude saw Cordelia’s actions as cute before he turned to the scene of the explosion.
‘As expected.’
The rear of the western forces, which was located beyond the Sky Roof mountain range, did not have much defenses.
All of the already corrupted wild gods had been mobilized for the battle, and each village or city only had a few troops left to maintain security, so it was virtually empty.
‘Because they would never have imagined that we would cross the Sky Roof mountain range.’
There was a reason why Melissa waited for almost 40 years.
The Sky Roof mountain range was like a roof in the sky, so no one could cross it.
‘Anyway, we should focus on this now.’
The dragon veins in the west numbered twenty-one in total.
It was natural that the Golden Dragon King couldn’t open his eyes and was weak because all of the dragon veins were contaminated.
‘If we blow up the rear, the front will be shaken.’
Therefore, Jude chose to hit the rear instead of directly going to the front line.
They wouldn’t be able to properly fight if they were anxious of their back.
‘The longer the battle, the more it would become advantageous for us.’
Jude and Cordelia were not just operatives.
They were powerful combatants who could fight against a mid-ranking demonic human alone.
Therefore, sending a small number of troops would only help a little and even aggravate the situation in the long-term for the enemies.
However, the enemies couldn’t just watch their rear being destroyed, so they would have to mobilize a lot of troops in the end.
‘Then we can pick and hit them.’
There were as many as twenty points to defend, and the enemies had no way of knowing which of those points Jude and Cordelia would attack.
‘There’s also our mobility.’
Jude wasn’t talking about running with Cordelia on his back.
He was talking about the benefits of getting Melissa.
‘We’re able to use the central tunnel.’
The research facilities built by Magellan’s high elves.
Most of the sites overlapped with the sanctuaries of the wild gods, probably because they were research facilities that utilized the dragon vein.
In other words, if they could use the underground tunnels between the research facilities, they would be able to quickly go back and forth along the dragon vein stream without being noticed.
‘Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, they’ll be in touch with the front.’
When the news that the rear was being exploded would reach the front, it would be difficult for Haraken to fight properly.
In short, the battle between the eastern and western forces would not become a one-punch fight, so it would be possible to conquer the western forces with a strategy.
‘It will probably be tomorrow when they will move.’
If they focused on defense, the two would be able earn enough time.
‘Then the only problem left is Kriemler.’
The great demon of Belial who destroyed the northern part of the Sälen Kingdom.
Numerous northern powers were killed by that powerful magic swordsman.
‘Father and brother.’
It wasn’t just Count Bayer and Gaël.
Count Chase was also killed by him, and Count Hræsvelgr, the head of the Jackdaws, also died from his sword.
‘We can’t win with our usual methods.’
Jude and Cordelia had become stronger than when they first entered the wild lands, but it was still impossible for them to fight against Great Demon Kriemler.
However, not stopping him would make their dream of a perfect happy ending to be unachievable.
‘The time when he was summoned.’
It had yet to occur.
Haraken had conquered the barbarian lands first before summoning Kriemler to this world.
A great demon like Kriemler wasn’t summoned the usual way.
‘Our best course of action is to stop the summoning itself.’
If he had not yet been summoned, they would have to prevent him from being ever summoned.
‘Our second-best option is the Golden Dragon King.’
They could quickly wake up the Golden Dragon King, even for just a moment, to stop the summoning or completely kill Kriemler.
It might only be a short moment, but the power of the Golden Dragon King they had personally met was tremendous. They would become able to defeat Kriemler with that power.
‘We can do it.’
His original plan was to stop Kriemler with Lena’s power, but things had changed.
They would stop Kriemler with their own power or use the power of the Golden Dragon King to defeat Kriemler.
If they couldn’t do any of the two, they would then get Landius and Kamael involved regardless of the means and methods.
It would obviously take a considerable amount of time to mobilize the two people who were in the central and southern parts of the Sälen Kingdom, so the method was almost a lesser evil, but it was better than nothing at all.
‘Okay, let’s do it.’
Jude himself had already greatly disrupted Haraken’s plans with their activities in the east.
Unlike the original, Haraken failed to take control of the east nor could he kill Red Gale.
The Eastern Alliance was formed, and the Devil’s Eye had lost several mid-ranking demonic humans. Jude didn’t know yet, but they also lost as many as ten mid-ranking demonic humans because of Count Chase and Gaël, so the Devil’s Eye had suffered a devastating blow.
Therefore, Haraken himself had to join the big battle between the east and west which he didn’t have to do in the game.
Jude was slowly driving Haraken into a corner.
Just a little more now, and they would be able to completely defeat him.
It was a grand strategy to gradually tighten the noose on the enemy’s neck.
It was Jude’s own specialty and favorite method.
“Your eyes look evil. You must be thinking of something bad.”
Cordelia said as she narrowed her eyes and looked up at him.
As their difference in height widened by more than 10 cm, it became difficult for them to see each other at eye level unless she jumped, or Jude lowered his posture.
Because of this, Jude saw the fluffy rabbit headband first in front of him. He saw Cordelia’s face afterwards.
Naturally, it was Jude himself who thought of the grand strategy he was pursuing with a long-term plan.
‘It’s a fait accompli.’
He would first establish the environment.
He would then make the people around that environment believe it to be so.
If his former colleagues had seen him, they would say, ‘what’s this crazy guy doing?’ and be unable to avoid clicking their tongues. Because this was Jude’s own way of fighting.
Gradually, little by little.
Drive the enemy into the corner step by step.
“What, what is it… What are you seriously thinking?”
“Good thoughts, righteous thoughts, beautiful thoughts.”
“Are you sick? Do you have a fever?”
Cordelia touched Jude’s forehead, and he smiled.
“Let’s go to the next area. Let’s pop it in a star shape this time.”
“No, it was a real star, okay?”
“Yes, if you insist.”
Jude intentionally replied mischievously, and after hearing the grumpy Cordelia’s grumbling, he moved forward.
And the next morning.
When the eastern and western forces clashed, and a second dragon vein exploded.
An unexpected variable shook the wild lands.
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