Dictator From Outer Space - Chapter 265:

Before Leobold appeared, the war was a matter of a few top leaders.

The war was all about pure power struggles between Goliaths ridden by knights, and even scouting was not important.

They were so big and slow that they were easily detected in advance, no matter how much they hid.

And there was no weapon developed that could counter Goliaths, so the war situation was almost fixed for 200 years after the Great War.

If both sides had a strong will to fight, they would declare war and then occupy the main axis lines and hold them, and breaking through them meant victory.

Goliaths were weapons that conflicted with the diversity of tactics, so there was no choice.

Leobold brought change to that stale situation.

To be precise, he forced the countries to operate airships by reminding them of the possibility of being attacked by airships carrying Goliaths at any time.

Thanks to that, the countries that had some power had to use airships for scouting reluctantly.

Otherwise, they never knew when an airship carrying Goliaths would fly over and make a mess.

In that respect, Leobold was a very annoying existence.

Why did he introduce such a thing and make them waste money unnecessarily?

—It only increased the cost without any help. The Goliaths are clearly exposed anyway, what is this?

—The supply of ether stones is also tight, and the money that goes into buoyancy stones is no joke. I would like to praise him if he aimed for the economic burden. Really.

—He said he was a hero from another world, but it seems he was wrong. He’s a demon king from the demon world.

Despite many complaints, when Bagran started scouting around with airships, other countries had no choice but to follow suit.

This rigidity of tactics also existed in the Galisto army.

Only King Falx II knew the grand strategy, that is, the purpose of the war, the end point of the offensive, and the final defense line.

The generals under him did not know the overall outline, and they only had command over their own battlefields.

What about the field commanders?

Most of the knights were just beings who went out and fought when they were told to.

They did not consider why they were fighting, what benefits they would get from occupying this area, and how much damage they could afford when they entered the battle.

They only fought with Goliaths for over 200 years, so they lost their flexible tactics.

On the other hand, the sniper squad led by Granden clearly understood their mission.

They did not know the grand strategy, but they understood how this operation would affect and what tasks would be given in the future.

It was the result of rigorous training in the process of selecting 100 people out of thousands.

The sniper squad consisted of strong men in their 20s and 30s who had good ether sensitivity and could be appointed as junior knights right away.

They also learned poison law, basic tactics for each unit, and at least survival skills, so their capabilities as combat troops were much better than those of knights.

In other words, they were elite soldiers that Leobold wanted.

Since even the lowest soldiers had such capabilities, they accurately executed Granden’s orders.

They accurately grasped the terrain around Heston by looking at the map at night, and even found effective ambush points.

The platoon deployed in the rear was also the best of 20 people, so none of them fell behind even though they had to travel a long distance.

The important thing was that all this happened secretly.

Considering that there were dozens of knights and support troops at Heston’s relay station, it was a great achievement.

That achievement soon appeared as a result.

Five Goliaths erected as obstacles exploded one after another, and surprised knights ran out of their tents.

“What’s going on!”

“It’s an attack! It’s an enemy attack!”

“All members alert! Light up the fire with torches and glowing stones!”

It was a measure because it was so dark that nothing could be seen.

However, that non-magical measure soon proved to be a mistake.

As only Goliaths around were brightened by torches and glowing stones, it became very easy for snipers to aim at them.

It seemed like they were asking to be hit.

Granden was stunned for a moment as if he didn’t expect there to be idiots who acted as Leobold said.

“Are there fools who reveal their position at night?”

It seemed that they had forgotten even basic light control by fighting with Goliaths for 200 years.

There was only one gift for those fools.

“Prepare to reload ether bombs.”

“Ready.”

The ingredients for ether bombs were not easy either.

First of all, ether stones are used as raw materials, and adding an ignition circuit costs enough to buy a decent house, even if not a Goliath.

But it was worth it to blow up a Goliath in one shot.

“Fire from the 2nd and 3rd platoons.”

About ten ether bombs flew toward the Goliaths lit by glowing stones.

The moment the explosion sounded, the air around them shook and the fragments of Goliaths flew in all directions.

Boom!

The explosion was so strong that the knights nearby were swept away.

The support troops who were far away were also swept away with their tents, and the relay station collapsed.

“What is this explosion…!”

The commander of Heston’s garrison, Count Embryo, was startled and ran out of his tent.

All he saw were shattered Goliaths and pieces of knights’ corpses.

He was sleeping and half of his power was gone, so he was absurd.

He quickly called his lieutenant.

“What kind of attack is this! Where are the enemies!”

“I, I don’t know, sir!”

“Finding out what you don’t know is your job! You stupid!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Just retreat the remaining Goliaths!”

The knights hurriedly got on the Goliaths and started moving them.

But it was so dark that they couldn’t see well, and their movements were clumsy.

By the time 20 Goliaths left the narrow garrison, it was the point where the 2nd and 3rd platoons of snipers joined the 4th platoon.

Granden lowered his telescope after seeing the glowing stones flickering in the distance.

“They’re still not giving up on lighting. All platoons except the 1st platoon, prepare to fire at once.”

If 15 people fired ether bombs at once, the power would be no joke.

The knights were relying on glowing stones to move Goliaths, but they were lined up in one line, making it very easy to aim.

It was as if they were giving them to hit.

Granden finally understood what Leobold had taught him.

‘If you move in a line like that in this terrain, you are vulnerable to attacks from both sides.’

What would he do if he was in that situation?

The answer did not come easily.

The best thing to do was to use magicians to attack where snipers might be, but it seemed unlikely that they could find them properly in this dark night.

‘It’s very difficult for soldiers who are civilians to find traces of ether… The answer is to deploy alarm troops and search for them.’

They had to counter infantry with infantry.

It could be said that they were going back to the past, but he wondered what Leobold thought about it.

Finally, reports came in from each platoon.

“The firing preparation for the third squad is done.”

“The second squad reports. The enemy’s vanguard has reached the target point.”

“Good. Fire.”

Fifteen ether bombs were launched toward the Goliaths.

A huge explosion occurred, and the Goliaths that were retreating in a line were brutally disintegrated and scattered.

Even Count Embryo, who was retreating with the Goliaths, had fallen silent, as if he had already died.

A few knights who barely survived jumped off the Goliaths and suffered serious injuries.

“Aaah! My leg!”

“Retreat! Withdraw from the front line!”

Granden silently watched the scene.

This was not a battle.

‘It was more like a one-sided violence. The enemy was annihilated without even seeing us…’

The Goliaths were destroyed without using a single one of their own.

He felt that this battle would bring a great change to Astera.

Even if the existing forces insisted on using the Goliaths, they would not be able to withstand such results.

‘Did they say that the ether bombs came from Elvrande? They will soon spread to other countries.’

If he was the only one who knew about it, it would be fine, but since Bagran had succeeded in replicating it, there was no value in keeping that secret.

From Elvrande’s point of view, they would want other kingdoms to check Bagran, so they were likely to release the manufacturing method.

Leobold also mentioned that point.

‘We have to train ourselves to deal with those bombs from now on.’

Well, maybe some units in his homeland were already training hard by now.

He knew Leobold as a scary person who had a countermeasure for every situation.

So it was best not to be his enemy.

***

That night, Bagran mobilized five airships and about a hundred paratroopers.

Granden, Elwin, and Catina, along with former royal guards, commanded four squads of paratroopers and attacked five major axes connecting Galisto and Bagran.

As a result, they destroyed more than a hundred Goliaths and killed many commanders.

It was practically the collapse of Galisto’s front line.

The knights who were dispatched to the scene could not believe the amazing results.

—They destroyed 100 Goliaths with a single attack? And we didn’t even use one of our own Goliaths?

—They took advantage of the dark night and used new weapons, but even considering that, it was an astonishing achievement.

—His Majesty said that this was not a war but their training. That’s why he said that…

The Bagran’s high command knew the situation accurately, but Galisto was different.

The attack took place at night, and most of the commanders died, so communication was not done properly.

The five garrisons were abandoned, and the situation assessment was delayed for several hours even after the day passed.

Thus, King Falx II received a report that more than a hundred Goliaths had been destroyed in the afternoon.

The collapse of the front line defense was secondary.

Bang!

The king’s fist slammed on the conference table as he lost his patience.

“100! 100, you say! Do you think this is a joke? What did you generals do until those damn Bagrans attacked?”

The experienced generals knew that it was best to keep silent and wait for the storm to pass at times like this.

But this time it was different.

Galisto suffered an irrecoverable blow with a single night raid.

Yet he was angry that they did not even identify the enemy’s size or identity.

“Do you know what kind of reports those commanders sent from the field? They didn’t know, they didn’t know, they didn’t know! What else do you know besides losing 100 Goliaths? Are you going to tell me the same thing?”

The eyes of those around him turned to General Ernst Duke, who was in charge of commanding.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, didn’t His Highness Pangral warn us about their new weapon? I mean, the one that uses ether stones.”

What are you talking about? He was about to snap, but King Falx II closed his mouth.

He remembered the weapon that His Highness warned him about.

‘An ether bomb launcher made with ether stones? How is that different from magic?’

His imagination was so narrow that he did not take the ether bomb launcher seriously.

Even if he did, there was no way to deal with it without knowing what it was.

“I heard rumors that Imir Republic made some strange weapons. And that they passed them on to Bagran.”

“Then it seems logical to ask His Highness to obtain those weapons for us.”

Ernst Duke made a reasonable argument, but King Falx II fumed with rage.

“You want me to ask His Highness for such a favor? How much do you want to lower my dignity?”

“…”

Unfortunately, it seemed that the king’s dignity was more important than losing 100 Goliaths.

The meeting continued with complaints about Bagran’s cowardly actions and Leobold’s arrogance.

Of course, such complaints did not produce any results.

The generals knew that, but they could not stop King Falx II, so they just listened quietly.

“We lost 25% of our power in a single day! There is no guarantee that this will not happen again! In the worst case, we may have to ask His Highness to activate the Meteor Strike.”

“Where do you want to use that magic?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Bagran’s capital, Rozelon. Even the dragon or that bastard Leobold won’t be able to stop that magic. There was such a record in the Great War.”

The faces of the nobles around him turned pale.

“If we fail, the dragon will come to our capital!”

It was well known that Zigarion had devastated Bagran’s western territory.

Galisto considered Bagran, except for Leobold, as a backwater, but the western territory was somewhat decent.

If they were destroyed without resistance, Galisto would have to prepare for the worst, except for the capital.

“We can defend against the dragon with ether cannons, can’t we? We have magicians too. We are different from those Bagran bastards. We have to show them that.”

“Yo, Your Majesty!”

It seemed that King Falx II had gone mad because of losing the Goliaths.

The generals stood up and stopped him, and the meeting barely calmed down.

But that did not mean that a sharp countermeasure came out.

There was no way to recover the 25% of power lost last night, and they had to lead the war with the remaining 300 units.

Then they received a contact from His Highness Pangral.

King Falx II’s face brightened after talking with him in a separate room.

“The Holy Kingdom offers us a divine artifact! With that, they won’t be able to mess with us anymore.”

“May I ask what kind of divine artifact it is?”

“It’s an artifact of Tera Hawk, the god of time and space. It’s an amazing thing that slows down enemies who enter a certain range!”

“Oh!”

Most of the generals exclaimed, but Ernst Duke blinked his eyes.

He wondered what that meant in this situation.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, Bagran attacked five axes at the same time. Where do you want to use the artifact?”

The atmosphere in the meeting room became chilly.

The artifact of Tera Hawk was also effective only for large-scale Goliath battles.”

Bagran did not use Goliaths, and the airships were so high that it was doubtful whether they would be affected by the artifact.

King Falx II, frustrated, shouted.

“How can this be called a war? I don’t understand why Leobold suddenly appeared and disrupted Astera’s tradition!”

The meeting returned to the starting point, and the time of agony deepened.

***

Dresden Featherwood, who became the president of Elvrande, was not discouraged by the news that Bagran had won a great victory.

“It’s not surprising that they didn’t achieve more than that even with the ether bombs. The problem is how they replicated them in such a short time.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

“Because you have to take care of this matter for me.”

The person in front of Dresden was Delphina, a shadow elf who barely survived the Tirendell incident.

The divinity she received was Nocturne, the divinity of night and shadow.

She was not very strong in combat, but she had the ability to hide all traces and infiltrate.

In other words, she was perfect for an assassin or a thief, and Dresden hated that.

Even though he was the one who decided to give her Nocturne’s divinity.

“What do you want from me?”

“You have to do two things for me. They are not easy, but you have the divinity, so you should be able to do it.”

“It sounds like you’re asking me to do something impossible.”

“If you fail, then our promise will be null and void.”

In fact, even if she succeeded and came back, there was no land for the shadow elves in Elvrande.

No one would tolerate bringing the shadow elves into the land blessed by the holy Eldgrasil.

Delphina vaguely realized that, but she had to cling to the faint hope in her situation.

She urged him silently, and Dresden took out a piece of paper.

“There are two things, easy and hard. Which one do you want to hear first?”

“Let’s hear the easy one first.”

“Go to Bagran and kill Margareta Rustel.”

Delphina’s mouth dropped open.

Kill Elvrande’s princess?

Of course, he wanted to kill her because she was a traitor, but he wondered if it was worth risking it.

Her existence alone would unite Elvrande, and his position would be more solid.

But Dresden’s determination was firm.

“I can’t tell you why. Just kill the princess. There’s a high chance that Tirendell will be there too, so you should avoid him as much as possible.”

“How do you know that?”

Dresden ignored her question and said.

“The hard task is to infiltrate the Holy Kingdom and steal an artifact.”

“…That doesn’t seem so hard?”

“Let’s see if you can say that after hearing the whole story. The owner of that artifact is Tera Hawk. The god of time and space.”

He didn’t care how he knew that.

Probably some sinister politicians had exchanged information, and this old man had found something useful from there.

The problem was that he told her about it.

“What are you going to make me do?”

“You’re pretty smart. That’s right. It’s not an ordinary artifact. It’s an amazing thing that can send the caster’s soul back to the past. Do you know what your role is now?”

“…You want me to send my soul to Leobold Vandus’ past and assassinate him?”

“You got it right.”

“Oh Eilidh…”

Dresden just listened to the shadow elf invoking the name of the great Eilidh.

If his plan succeeded, Leobold Vandus, a thorn in his side, would disappear without a trace.

But he didn’t know.

There was a limit to Tera Hawk’s divinity, and Arma knew that.

And Leobold was strong enough even decades ago.