Surviving Restructuring

“Battalion Commander.”

The scouting unit that had gone ahead returned and landed on the ground, bowing their heads respectfully.

“What’s the status of the troops?” the battalion commander asked.

“The entire team, excluding the union leader, has been deployed to the Operations Bureau defense,” the scout reported. “All contract troops accompanying them are also moving in that direction.”

The battalion commander frowned. “Are you saying there are no reinforcements besides the team members?”

Abandoning one’s base right before a battle made no sense.

“We scanned the forest with detection skills,” the scout replied. “No remaining forces were found.”

“The enemy has stealth users,” the commander said sharply. “Could hidden troops still be present?”

“I believe that’s unlikely,” the scout answered. “A single stealth user would need the group to stay close together to conceal multiple people. We searched every clearing large enough for that and found no traces.”

Of course, the scouts hadn’t combed every inch of the forest. However, even so, the conclusion remained the same. Even if a handful of soldiers had somehow hidden themselves, the number wouldn’t be significant.

“So the place is practically empty,” the commander muttered.

Ten thousand soldiers against one man was the sort of absurd situation that would make even a passing dog laugh.

“They must have grown careless,” the scouting captain said. “Wouldn’t it be best to take the castle quickly?”

There was a saying in warfare that overwhelming numbers made strategy unnecessary. If one had ten times the troops, simply surrounding the enemy was enough to win. In this case, the difference wasn’t tenfold, but ten thousand to one.

Even so, the battalion commander hesitated, saying quietly, “They must be planning something.”

“Even if they are—”

“That’s enough. Remember, this is the man the chairman himself declared an enemy.” The commander cut him off, then shot the scouting captain a sharp look. “Do you think the chairman would send an entire battalion if he believed one man could easily defeat us all?”

“No, sir.”

The chairman had dispatched a full battalion for this task. That alone proved how seriously he regarded the man. Judging him by ordinary standards would be foolish.

“I understand,” the scouting captain said.

The order had been clear-cut: either capture Lee Eun-Ho or bring his head back if that proved impossible.

“Still, there’s no need to worry too much,” said the battalion commander. “We’ll use every advantage that comes with superior numbers.”

No matter how powerful someone was, fighting ten thousand opponents at once was impossible. Whatever tricks the enemy attempted, they would advance even if it required some sacrifices. The victory was theirs from the beginning.

“He’ll likely try to defeat us in detail,” the commander said.

“Defeat us in detail?”

That was how a smaller force would confront a larger one. Relying on speed and mobility, they’d strike here and vanish there, breaking formations and eroding the enemy’s advantage in numbers.

He activated the communication line. “Company commanders, are you listening?”

「Yes, sir!」

“Surround the entire forest and close in slowly.”

「Understood!」

Lee Eun-Ho had sent his troops to the Operations Bureau and remained alone in the castle. He obviously intended to defend it by himself.

However, to the battalion commander, that decision reeked of arrogance. And against such a smug enemy, there was only one proper response, a decisive victory that left no room for opportunity.

“First, destroy the defensive barrier around the Wailing Castle!” the commander ordered. “First Company, fire the Mangun! Second Company, guided bombs! Third Company, concentrated aura strike!”

「First Company! Understood!」

「Second Company! Understood!」

「Third Company! Understood!」

The three company commanders on the screen bowed quickly before disappearing. Moments later, a red beam slammed into the dome surrounding the castle.

Fwoosh!

[99.99%]

Despite the overwhelming force, the beam simply bounced off. However, that was only the beginning.

Puf! Puf! Fwoooosh!

They fired again and again. Red streaks spread across the sky like blood-soaked spiderwebs.

[94.12%]

The dome trembled.

[Target locked]

[Firing]

Guided bombs slammed into the massive dome and exploded. The ground itself seemed to shake.

[90.05%]

Cracks began to spread across the barrier.

“Charge!” the battalion commander roared.

The moment the explosions subsided, dozens of figures burst forward. Dark blade auras rippled like living shadows as they rushed toward the castle.

[The Forest Guardians have awakened.]

The forest trembled with life.

“By the master’s will!”

The once-silent woodland erupted with an overwhelming presence that pressed down on the very soul.

“By the master’s will!”

Ancient trees swelled in size. Massive trunks creaked as they straightened, like giants rising after a long slumber.

“By the master’s will!”

Branches stretched upward like arms reaching for the clouds. Leaves spread wide like enormous palms, hardening as if turning to armor. Then, the towering trees extended those leafy palms forward, swatting away the bombardment.

“They’ve appeared!” someone shouted.

The battalion commander had expected this. The Guardians of the Forest were already famous around here. There was a reason the chairman had taken them from the forest and summoned them to guard his office.

“Third Company, fall back!” the commander ordered. “First and Second Companies, keep advancing!”

「Yes, sir!」

「Understood!」

“Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Companies, prepare!”

「Awaiting orders!」

The key to their strategy was the Fourth Company, more precisely, their commander known as the Flame Emperor of Slaughter.

“Now!” the battalion commander barked.

「Wall of Cataclysmic Flame!」

Blazing fire surged outward, upward and sideways. What first looked like a straight wall of flame quickly curved outward, encircling the forest guardians in a massive ring.

“Fifth Company! Wind pressure!”

「Yes, sir!」

Powerful gusts blasted into the inferno, feeding it oxygen like a bellows. At the same time, the wind pushed the expanding wall of flame forward toward the forest.

The approaching fire bore down on the guardians. Leaves began to char and curl as the towering trees roared in defiance.

Though that pressure could’ve been enough, the battalion commander showed no intention of letting up. “Sixth Company! Sweep!”

An invisible force scraped across the ground. The earth ahead of the advancing flames was shaved smooth, polished into something as slick as ice.

Freed from friction, the blazing wall accelerated.

“Grooooaar!”

The forest guardians roared.

“Incinerate!”

Leaves and branches burned, while massive trunks ignited. Thick black smoke climbed toward the sky, turning daylight into something closer to night.

“We will protect... the forest!”

The guardians tore up the earth, throwing themselves into the flames to stop them. However, the fire only grew stronger, as it was no ordinary firepower. It would not go out until every living thing within the wall had been reduced to ash. Once the Forest Guardians were completely consumed, the waiting assault force would tear apart that stubborn defensive dome.

“It’s working, Battalion Commander!”

The strategy had cleverly turned the forest itself against the enemy. If the forest blocked their way, they would burn it. If traps appeared, they would smash through them relentlessly.

“Entire army, prepare to advance.”

「Yes, sir!」

「Understood!」

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned. As the battalion commander smiled in satisfaction, something happened. Rows of turrets that were hidden between the castle walls lifted their heads.

Vrrrrrr—clack!

“Artillery!”

“Battalion Commander!”

The commander remained calm as this was still within expected parameters.

His smile widened. “Seventh Company!”

「Yes, sir!」

“Now!”

「Seventh Company! Form a line!」

The entire company moved as one. They formed a perfectly straight horizontal line.

「Fragments of the Ancient One!」

He extended his hand toward them.

「In the name of your master, I command you to defend!」

His pupils burned with black fire. Thick smoke poured from him, and ash spilled down around his feet. At the end of his outstretched hand, dragon scales appeared.

Click.

Ash-gray scales rose one after another, forming a wall. Hundreds of soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder as the scales layered across them, covering them like shields.

Claaaack—!

Row upon row stacked together and layer upon layer climbed upward. This wasn’t merely each soldier protecting those beside him. In an instant, they had built an impregnable fortress.

They’re coming!

Boooom—!

The thunder of artillery ripped through the air. More than a dozen shells, each several meters in diameter, arched through the sky.

Swoosh—!

The shells streaked forward and passed straight over the wall of flame. One by one, more than ten shells fell toward the ash-gray barrier.

“Seventh Company! Hold the line!” the commander shouted.

「Defend whatever it takes.」

The soldiers braced themselves with grim determination. They endured the incoming barrage, but what struck them wasn’t an explosion.

Fwoooosh—!

It poured like a barrage of water bombs. Every single shell contained not explosive powder but water.

「Gah!」

「W-water bombs?!」

The dragon scales became drenched. Water seeped through the gaps between the scales, leaving the soldiers of the Seventh Company soaked like drowned rats.

Nearby troops from other companies were splashed as well, their trousers quickly becoming soaked.

「Battalion Commander! There’s no damage!」

「There’s no poison either! It’s literally just water!」

The attack had caused no damage, showing no obvious purpose.

“Are they trying to extinguish the flames?” someone asked cautiously.

“Then why aim at the defensive line instead of the fire wall?” the commander snapped.

The subordinate fell silent.

The battalion commander clenched his fist.

What are you planning, Lee Eun-Ho?

***

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

Fwoooosh—!

The flames devoured everything within the forest like a demon of fire. The inferno raged with such ferocity that even a torrential downpour could not weaken it.

“Fall back,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

[The Forest Guardians cry out in grief at their defeat.]

No matter how sturdy and powerful they were, they were still trees. Of course the enemy had prepared fire-based attacks.

Thanks to the information Mirabo had provided, Eun-Ho already knew about the officer who specialized in large-scale flame attacks. They called him the Flame Emperor, or something along those lines.

“Do you really have to cry about it?” Eun-Ho muttered. “Go back and get some rest.”

However, it didn’t matter. Eun-Ho had never been targeting the fire itself. His target was the people creating and maintaining the fire.

“It’s your turn now.”

“Yeppy!”

“Finally!”

The twins shot into the air.

“Kyaaa!” one shrieked gleefully.

“Let’s go!” the other cried.

They spiraled through the sky like birds, their bowl-cut white hair fluttering like feathers.

“That side?” one asked.

“I’ll take this side!” the other replied.

“At the same time?”

“At the same time!”

They shot forward like arrows fired from a divine bow.

Eun-Ho already knew how dangerous the little creatures were. With their extraordinary mobility, their ambushes were swift and brutal. Moreover, as long as their feet touched the ground, their sFrostbite was almost impossible to stop. If the enemy remained packed together like that, they’d be even more vulnerable.

Two of them would probably be enough...

However, adding their friend to the mix wouldn’t hurt.

“Summon Ice Golem.”

[The King of Snowfield Realm has appeared.]

The enemy army suddenly appeared blurry. Not because the soldiers themselves had changed, but because the space in front of them distorted, as if an invisible wall had formed.

Thuuuuud—!

A massive golem the size of a building emerged.

[Special effect Frost Veil has been activated!]

[Frost Spikes have been activated!]

[Hundred Winters Immortal Resolve has been activated!]

The scorching air around the wall of flames cooled instantly. Even Eun-Ho could feel the bite of the freezing temperature.

“Kyaaa!” one twin squealed.

“So nice!” the other laughed.

“I like it!”

“Let’s go!”

The twin Ghosts used that extreme cold like rocket fuel. They shot upward, looped once through the air, then dove back toward the ground.

Craaaack—!

Ice spread across the earth like lightning.

“They used water bombs for this?!”

All the water scattered by the earlier bombardment froze instantly.

“M-my legs!” a soldier cried. “I can’t move!”

“Hold the line!” an officer shouted. “If we retreat, the formation collapses!”

“Maintain formation! I repeat! Maintain formation!”

The enemy troops began to panic.

“It’s Frostbite!”

“Those with ice resistance, move to the front!”

However, the formation didn’t collapse. Apparently the so-called ability-less commander Mirabo had mentioned was proving surprisingly competent.

“Not bad,” Eun-Ho said quietly.

Still, do you really think this is all?

“Take this!” said one of the twin Ghosts.

“Take this!” said another.

“Frostbite!”

[Blizzard of Eternal Frost has been activated!]

The twins’ Frostbite collided with the Ice Golem’s storm.

Fwooosh—!

A massive blizzard of frost and snow erupted. The twins kicked off from the swirling storm itself instead of the ground, their scales gleaming as they rode the frozen wind.

“Hahahahaha!”

“So fast!”

“It’s shaking!”

“This is fun!”

The wind and even the raging wall of flame froze. What remained after the storm faded was a towering mass of ice.

Craaaack—!

Towering glaciers filled with spear-like icicles loomed over the invading soldiers. The very wall of fire they had created became their prison.

“What the...”

The enemy troops fell silent.

Swoosh—!

Then, Eun-Ho spread his wings and rose into the air. He appeared atop a tall spire overlooking the frozen battlefield.

“Look over there!” someone shouted.

“It’s Lee Eun-Ho! Lee Eun-Ho has appeared!”

Nearby soldiers looked stunned.

“He’s holding something in his hand!”

“Identify it!”

Eun-Ho sighed lightly. “Honestly, I’m far too busy to run around fighting each of you one by one.”

Therefore, today, he didn’t use a sword.

[Restored Parvatastra]

- A staff said to have been wielded by an ancient god.

- Originally meant to be fueled by the caster’s vitality, but due to the extreme risk, it has been modified to draw upon natural energy instead.

- When activated, it drops an iron rock at a designated location.

It was a divine weapon that he got from the intruders of the Personnel Bureau, capable of calling down an iron boulder large enough to crush an entire desert fortress.

“Seventh Company! Dragon sca—”

“Fall!”

Rumble—! Thuuuud!

The sky darkened, and an iron boulder larger than the clouds plummeted downward. The formation of ash-gray dragon scales shattered like paper.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Hold the line!”

“W-we can’t!”

“If the formation collapses, it’s over! Ninth Company, come on!”

The dead made no sound, but those who were only half alive screamed loudly enough to heat the frozen forest like boiling water.

Even then, the commanders struggled to maintain control. “Get a grip! There’s only one enemy!”

“Oh, right. This thing isn’t single-use,” Eun-Ho muttered.

- Maximum Charges: 10 uses.

Well, there’s no rule saying each enemy should only get attacked once, Eun-Ho thought.

“Fall.”

Rumble—thuuuuud!

The sky darkened again and shadows spread across the faces of the enemy soldiers.

Ruuumble—thuuuuuud!

By then, the Golem and the twins had already returned. The glaciers shattered apart as the surviving soldiers tried desperately to hold their ground beneath them.

Ruuumble—thuuuuuud!

One by one, soldiers began fleeing in panic. Eventually, the battlefield grew quiet, filled with nothing but scattered survivors running for their lives.

Swoosh—!

Eun-Ho hovered above the defeated troops, looking down at them.

“Deliver a message to your chairman,” he said coldly. “If he doesn’t want to watch everything get crushed, tell him to come here himself.”