## Chapter 1191 – #281_Total War (6)
#1185
1.
A downpour.
Rainfall that would take years to accumulate in the desert, where even a drizzle is a rare sight, pours down in a matter of seconds.
If someone were to witness this deluge from afar, they would likely feel awe for nature, imagining a silver curtain sweeping across a vast area rather than mere raindrops.
However, from a witch’s perspective, Amelia’s downpour is not a product of nature.
It is a bombardment of highly refined magical particles, something far greater.
-Swaaaaaaaash!!!!
Amelia, like Luelle, wields wide-area magic, but their styles are completely different.
If Luelle is about raw power, Amelia is about technique. Amelia meticulously controls every particle within the hundreds of millions of raindrops.
This entire area is under Amelia’s control.
If a bombardment were to be initiated here, where all the prominent archmages have gathered, it is only natural to prepare countermeasures to prevent projectiles from being hijacked.
However, the particles that blanketed the surroundings ignored the defenses against ballistic missiles, infiltrating as if they were seeping in.
“Initiate interception.”
At the same time, the Scribe Corps, composed of the librarians of Valentinus’s Secret Archives, simultaneously drew their bows towards the sky.
Arrows that defied gravity and rained down towards the sky scattered like a cluster of needles, seeking their targets.
Sometimes in straight lines, sometimes in graceful curves, they pierced through every target.
-Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
If it were a typical missile, it would have ended there, but this target was the worst weapon of humanity, capable of evaporating a wide radius with just an airburst.
The ‘Black Fruit,’ an artifact of the Green Witch, would interfere with any magical response to this attack.
This is where Amelia’s magic played its role.
-Tap
The moment Amelia’s fingertip flicked with a clear sound.
The black flames, which had been trying to scatter immediately after being intercepted, all subsided at once.
The ballistic missile, which should have produced only terrible radiant heat, a massive fireball, destruction, and death…
-Puh-uh-uh-ung!
Scattered beautiful wildflower petals and embers in the air, fulfilling its role as a magnificent firework display.
Thanks to this, decorations like those at a wedding venue were added to the desolate battlefield.
A black flame greedily spread from one of the ballistic missiles that had failed to explode properly and crashed into the ground, but it was soon extinguished by the downpour.
“She, she really blocked all of that by herself…”
“Blocked by herself? We assisted with ‘suppression’ spells.”
“This might sound out of place, but… it’s really beautiful. It’s beautiful magic.”
The Scribe Corps, who had been watching with bated breath, let out a sigh of relief.
They had blocked the enemy’s trump card without suffering any damage.
However, this is only from the perspective of the individual witches on the front lines.
The overall war situation is interpreted differently.
“The Green Witch forced an exchange with an artifact she had prepared along with modern weapons.”
“I understand. It means the Witch of Nostalgia is buying enough time to be wary.”
Eloa was more aware of the reality than anyone else.
Count Gremory also agreed.
Amelia, who had been floating in the air and casting magic, landed softly.
“Amelia, you’ve done well. It’s been a while since you’ve worn your conquest attire.”
“I haven’t had the chance to wear it lately because I’ve been taking care of Malika.”
After a brief exchange, the two got straight to the point.
“How much was consumed?”
“Quite a bit. The composition of the black flames was more difficult than the sample I received beforehand. I can probably block it once more, but you’ll need to prepare for anything beyond that.”
“Could you stand by in case there’s a follow-up bombardment?”
“Yes.”
Eloa summarized the situation.
The war situation was reminiscent of a turn-based card game or chess.
Both sides were taking turns making moves and exchanging pieces.
Both sides advanced their familiar legions.
Hexennacht, sensing their disadvantage, played the card of nuclear weapons + the Green Witch’s artifact.
In response, Gehenna used the card of Amelia.
From Gehenna’s perspective, it wasn’t a very pleasant exchange.
Amelia’s wide-area magic, which is at the 23rd rank, negates the foundation of tactical doctrine, which is one-on-one confrontation between witches.
If used appropriately, she is a joker who can face dozens of times her number of enemies alone, like Luelle.
Amelia was forced to be used as the only way to deal with the bombardment at the lowest cost.
Even though it wasn’t the Green Witch herself who stepped forward, a major piece was exchanged.
Hexennacht is probably feeling that it was a satisfactory exchange ratio right now.
“Sharon, can you hear me clearly?”
[This is Sharon Evergreen of the 1st Artillery Corps. Signal is good! Amelia was really amazing, wasn’t she?]
“Let’s enjoy that conversation leisurely with a banquet after we win the war. Are you ready?”
[Ready to go. My condition is really great today. We can’t lose either. Shall we give them a taste of our own medicine?]
“I’ll signal you.”
However, it would be a miscalculation to assume that only Hexennacht had prepared for war.
Gehenna had also prepared a ‘project’ with various academic societies putting their heads together.
The ‘Reverse Netherlands’ project, which would create a sea in the desert through alchemy, creating Luelle’s home ground.
And the ‘Big Acorn’ project, which is currently being led by Sharon, the 1st Artillery Corps of the Central Army.
“1st Artillery Corps! To your designated positions!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Check the prepared scrolls! Check the power source!”
“All confirmed!”
On the flat, compacted sand, battle mats with geometric patterns were spread out.
A magical formula so densely and intricately crafted that even a Persian carpet artisan would shake their head and say, ‘I can’t do this.’
This is a massive magical formula that borrows the symbolism of sacrifice to transform it into fire elemental magic.
About ten witches were attached to each of the five magic circles, and there was enough magic power to activate the ‘gate.’
This war is not just about Gehenna’s fate.
It is a crucial battle for humanity as well, where Gehenna must win.
Various countries had naturally handed over their decisive weapons to Gehenna, disguised as accidents or mistakes.
The mechanical device placed awkwardly in the middle of the magic circle was one of them.
“Ms. Evergreen. We’re ready!”
“Please begin.”
Sharon, who had once welded Hexennacht’s gate using a nuclear warhead as a sacrifice, used her experience to lead and execute this project.
The output of the borrowed ‘gate’ was replaced with a large amount of magic power and the magic power of several witches, and the calculations that Siwoo had helped with were replaced with a systematically written magic circle, recalling her memories.
The witches of the artillery corps simultaneously drew up their magic power.
Like a computer processing processes in parallel, the information processed by each person gathered to Sharon.
“Balance.”
The large rubies that Sharon had scattered irregularly at her feet lost their red color and turned into transparent crystals.
-Hwa-rurururuk
What formed at the tip of Sharon’s wand was a small, white fireball the size of a child’s fist.
‘Pure fire’ that returns everything born from ashes to ashes.
As Sharon waved her arm like a conductor reaching the climax of an orchestra.
-Kwa-rurururururu!!!
It became as bright as midday.
A pure white ray of light, originating from the small fireball at the tip of the wand, burned through everything in its path, creating a temporary day.
A straight path, as if scorched by a torch, was created in one corner of the Hexennacht’s familiar legion, which had been swarming like a spider web.
The sand, hundreds of meters deep, melted into a lava canyon where the flames had directly swept through, and even in places where the flames did not directly touch, a terrible heatwave burned the engulfed monsters.
-Kwa-gwa-gwa-kwang!
And the secondary explosion that followed the path of the light, reaching high into the sky, delivered the final blow to the monsters that were barely clinging to life.
This alone annihilated 5% of Hexennacht’s familiar legion.
“Haa… haa…”
Sharon caught her breath.
Cold sweat was beading on her forehead.
Sharon had to take on all the calculations and magic power of this great magic alone.
Even with so many people helping, it was by no means an easy task.
It made her realize how crazy Siwoo’s actions had been back then.
Just now, the aim had been off, and some of their own familiars had been caught in the blast.
However, the prepared bombardment, which could not be rehearsed, was only two shots.
There would be no next chance.
This time, she would draw the fire of her mind more accurately, in a clear and refined form.
“Balance.”
-Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!!!
This time, instead of a laser, a ‘pure fire’ in the form of a round sphere was fired towards the Hexennacht camp.
Some of the enemies tried to block or intercept it belatedly, but the pure fire burned and melted through all resistance.
This was different from how Hexennacht had used nuclear weapons.
Unlike Hexennacht, who relied on the power of the nuclear explosion itself by adding the Black Fruit, which only hindered magical defenses, the result of the ‘Big Acorn’ project was magic that used nuclear warheads as sacrifices.
It was common knowledge among witches that magic with properly controlled power was more destructive than a nuclear explosion.
It was nearly impossible for a single, uncoordinated force to block this attack, which was akin to creating a sun for a moment.
The moment the artillery corps’ magic was about to create the largest mushroom cloud in history in the desert.
-Woo-woo-woo-woong!!!
Space opened up.
There could be no more fitting expression.
Behind the gaping void, like the shape of a giant ‘eye,’ an unfathomable emptiness unfolded.
The void, which was created to block the path of the pure fire, swallowed the fire and soon closed.
Someone recognized the nature of the magic and let out a groan.
“Space magic…”
“Good heavens… to use it like that…”
“You mean they knew how to use dimensional magic as well?”
The only person who could send pure fire with that much power into an unobserved dimensional gap.
It was Blanche Erelim.
