## Chapter 1188 – #281_All-Out War (3)
#1182
1.
Across the vast desert stretching to the horizon,
Stars and the moon in the unpolluted sky filled the void left by the sun.
A cool, dry wind blew over the endless sand dunes.
In this majestic, rugged landscape that seemed to forbid even the footprints of humans, let alone civilization, a group of legions stood tall at rather generous intervals.
Their appearance was quite mysterious.
The beautiful women, adorned in antique clothing, looked nothing like nomads or nuns on a pilgrimage.
Even on the sand dunes where the rustling grains of sand rolled over their skin, and where every three steps forward meant slipping back two, they exuded their innate nobility and flaunted their elegance.
It was past the scheduled time of midnight.
The appearance of Qliphoth was still nowhere to be seen.
However, the magical field gradually approaching from the distance looked as if a massive sandstorm of disaster was coming.
The Gehenna Academy Allied Forces had newly established their formation for the all-out war.
“First Summoning Unit, prepare.”
As Count Metis Gremory, the central army commander, gave the order, the witches standing at the very front began to prepare their magic.
From the moment war preparations were confirmed, Gehenna had been establishing strategies for each situation and preparing tactical magic accordingly.
There were also measures to compensate for their relatively small numbers.
One of them was to establish the front line of the battlefield through familiars.
The witches of the First Summoning Unit, specialized in summoning magic, stepped forward.
“Arise.”
As the ‘Sowing Witch,’ the leader of the First Summoning Unit, scattered beast fangs widely, the vast sandy field began to move abruptly.
Warriors clad in full armor, with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.
These were the ‘Dragon Tooth Soldiers,’ familiars born from sand and beast teeth.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers could not use magic like high-ranking familiars.
Instead, they possessed strong magic resistance, and even in such harsh battlefields, they had mobility comparable to a decent vehicle.
Moreover, their physical power, capable of reaching subsonic speeds in an instant, was enough to tear a witch to pieces with ease.
-Clank! Clank! Clank!
However, what should be noted was not the combat power of each individual Dragon Tooth Soldier.
The sheer number of them, forming ranks in perfect order as soon as they were born, creating small sandstorms, was what made the Dragon Tooth Soldiers so terrifying.
The First Summoning Unit witches had prepared a total of 320,000 Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
They stood still, waiting for their master’s command, filling 4 square kilometers without a gap.
“Hoo, it’s tough, but reassuring, isn’t it?”
Here, Gehenna’s strength was revealed.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers were originally the ‘Sowing Witch’s’ magnetic magic.
As a 21st-tier witch, she alone could not create such a large army.
However, Gehenna’s ‘Academy’ system had fostered long-term exchanges and joint research.
In other words, witches who had been using similar magnetic magic could create excellent synergy with just a little adjustment.
“Second Summoning Unit, prepare.”
That wasn’t all.
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers, who had quickly formed a battle line, were merely ‘regular infantry’ in terms of troop type.
In between them, protected by the Dragon Tooth Soldiers, were familiars with outstanding individual abilities.
Above, the dragon knights summoned by Sophia, the ‘Beast Witch,’ flapped their heavy wings and roared.
Reinforced soldiers covered in all sorts of enhancements and blessings, and hundreds of war golems and guardian golems, with ‘cores’ provided by the Emerald Tablet, joined the front line.
There was a reason why the expression ‘one-person army’ was not an exaggeration for a witch.
Although it was the result of not sparing expensive sacrifices and materials, this was a great army of familiars created by just over a hundred witches working together.
“Wow, we’re amazing, aren’t we?”
“It seems like we could end the war at the front line?”
-Kugugugugugu
While the summoning unit witches were quietly celebrating, a rumbling sound was heard from beyond.
It was a vibration that could make one mistake it for an earthquake.
“It seems like they had a similar idea.”
The idea of filling the front line with familiars was the first tactic that any witch would think of.
After all, the very existence of familiars was to protect and defend the witch.
The front line of Qliphoth, approaching the Gehenna camp from afar, was also composed of various familiars.
However, they were not an organized army like the Allied Forces.
Puppets, undead raised from rotting corpses, skeletal soldiers with only bones remaining, a cavalry unit made of fluttering paper, a swarm of giant spiders, huge monsters that seemed to be half beast and half demon, and clumsy-looking creatures that seemed to be made of mud.
They had no proper formation or front line.
They simply moved forward, emitting mocking screeches and strange cries.
A legion that seemed to have the sole purpose of burning and destroying everything.
The legion, filling the entire field of vision like an ant colony, was, to use a very cliché expression, like the forces of the demon realm.
“Duke Tiferet, give the order.”
Just as this was the first time in history that so many witches had gathered, it was also the first time that such a thoroughly prepared familiar legion had faced each other.
Then, there was no choice but to engage.
“Front line, advance. I will observe the situation after the clash.”
Eloa’s command was transmitted to each unit through the established communication magic, and soon the Dragon Tooth Soldier legion, in formation, charged towards the enemies swarming like a tsunami.
2.
The battlefield of witches was very wide and very long compared to the number of people.
This was natural.
The power of an individual witch was enormous, and if they were too tightly packed together, it could hinder their ability to exert their power.
Just looking at the fierce clash of the familiar legions, which was only a preliminary battle, was enough to understand.
“The scale is quite large.”
Soldiers of completely different natures were clashing all at once.
In fact, Siwoo had only thought of the Dragon Tooth Soldiers as a degraded version of the White Knights.
Compared to the White Knights, who wielded rather elegant spear techniques and held replicas of the Red Branch, they seemed somewhat ambiguous.
However, seeing the actual results, the power coming from their numbers and pure output was terrifying.
-Kwaang! Kwaaang!
-Kieeeek!
They faced the Qliphoth familiars, swarming like a tsunami, without a moment’s hesitation.
They did not value or fear losing their lives.
There was also the activity of the war golems using high-output magic cannons.
The dragon knights, who rained down hellfire on the enemies attacking from the sky.
The reinforced soldiers, with their unusually large physiques, were wielding heavy weapons and playing a major role.
“……”
It was truly a clash of monsters against monsters.
The terrain changed, the sand melted from the high heat and instantly froze, and the collision of magical power shook the heavens and the earth.
In the past, he might have even felt awe at the sight itself.
But now, his heart was as calm as could be.
That was probably because he knew that this was just the opening.
The war wouldn’t end with just a Pokémon battle of whose familiar was stronger.
Except for the central army, which had started the preliminary battle, the left and right wing armies had not yet engaged the enemy.
They were sizing each other up.
If the familiar battle showed signs of leaning towards one side, the witches on the disadvantaged side would start to join the fray.
Then, to balance things out, the other side would also deploy witches to the battlefield.
The real war would begin then.
Among them, the Great Witches were the major pieces that would determine the course of the war.
That was why Gehenna had established formations that would allow each Great Witch to be most active, and Hexennacht would have done the same.
No matter how powerful a Great Witch was, their opponent was also a Great Witch.
If major pieces clashed, victory could not be guaranteed.
When a large gap appeared in the front line, it was the role of the support unit led by Siwoo to fill it.
They were, so to speak, the firefighters of the battlefield.
It seemed somewhat haphazard, but this was unavoidable.
Originally, strategy and tactics were refined through countless experiences, but a large-scale witch war was unprecedented.
So, what was Siwoo’s role?
It was to prevent the betrayed Erelim from single-handedly destroying all of Gehenna’s major pieces.
While it was estimated that at least two 23rd-tier witches were needed just to stop Erelim, Gehenna currently did not have the leeway to spare that much power.
In other words, until she moved, he was in a waiting position.
Siwoo certainly possessed enough power at the 23rd-tier level.
However, stopping Erelim, who had reached the 25th tier alone, could only be considered a reckless suicide mission.
Since reckless suicide attacks were not an option, Siwoo had also made preparations by fully utilizing his abilities.
“It feels a bit cumbersome…”
Siwoo’s usual attire was a sleek black armor inspired by a game he used to enjoy.
The smooth plate armor, which could not exist in reality, now boasted twice the usual volume.
White metal ornaments, like feathers or dragon scales, sprouted on the surface of the armor, and seven colorful spears protruded from his back.
These were just the noticeable things on the outside; various other items were also additionally attached to the armor.
These were all ‘Attire’-level artifacts prepared for Shin Siwoo, the head of the Hesed Academy, the greatest power of the academy.
It was a special armament made with the generous investment of wealth and manpower from numerous departments.
A luxurious method of using Attires, which could be considered a type of magnetic magic, as ‘consumables.’
His body was pumped up with various reagents, enhancement magic, and blessings.
The surging power could be felt even now, while the tuning process was still underway.
“It feels like I’ve spent a lot of real money.”
This was a cheat that was possible because Siwoo had been in charge of the ‘standardization’ of various Hesed departments, and because Siwoo himself was an irregular who skillfully utilized various magnetic magic.
Could he really stop Duke Erelim with this?
Siwoo closed his eyes and waited for the moment, repeating image training.
