A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

"Although the Patriots are currently holding the fifth pass, our troops will not be under the same pressure as before. Once it turns into a direct confrontation, the combined force of the warriors, sorcerers, and artillery battalions will be enough to raze them to the ground! Even with the addition of those two warriors wielding fire and black ice, it will be too late to turn the tide," said Pavel, the commander in charge of the southwestern battlefield.

"Now, taking advantage of the Patriots' weakness, we must quickly push back the lines we just lost! We must eliminate as many of the bandits' forces as possible, and when the 10,000 troops arrive tomorrow, we can launch a general offensive and annihilate these bandits in one fell swoop. In this way, we can complete the task His Majesty has entrusted to us in less than 10 days."

After hearing Pavel's explanation, everyone nodded in agreement.

“Pavel is right, that band of bandits is at its weakest point. However, we can’t be hasty in everything. We can’t assume that these cunning people might still have some trump cards up their sleeves. In that case, sending half of the warlocks and one war warlock from the first and second regiments to push the lane should be enough.”

Despite seeing the favorable situation, Ulrich remained composed and chose the safest approach to attack. The others had few objections and followed Ulrich's plan.

"How is the progress in the southwest direction?" Ulrich asked Pavel again.

"We've started demolishing those automatic crossbows according to plan. Also, our special forces had discovered a secret passage and planned to break through the rocks to enter, but unfortunately, there were people hiding inside. They blew up a large section of the passage, so we can't use that passage to get around them," Pavel said.

"Hmph, in this way, both battlefields have pushed the enemy to their limits. Gentlemen, victory will surely belong to the Ursus Fourth Group. Until victory arrives, I urge you all to remain at your posts, carefully manage the situation on the battlefield, and not slacken your efforts in the slightest."

Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Pavel's good news. Now he was truly in control of the situation, where he could win with superior numbers, proceed cautiously, and counter each move as it came.

Once the reinforcements arrive by tomorrow daytime—a legion of 10,000 men, plus 4 war sorcerers and the mercenary group that will follow—the annihilation of the Reunion Movement will be just around the corner.

However, Ulrich could never have imagined that he would not see the sunrise tomorrow.

Chapter 197 Reverse Slope Artillery Position

Night fell once more, and the two battlefields remained in turmoil, filled with the sounds of bombing and clashing metal. The battle was unfolding as Ulrich had predicted: Patriot was now merely directing the fighting, no longer actively wielding his greatsword to deflect magical attacks or engage in direct combat. He had indeed fallen into a weakened state, his ailing body no longer capable of wreaking havoc as before.

It was precisely because of this that, relying solely on the strength of two mixed regiments, they directly captured the ninth pass, which they had not yet taken, from the fifth pass. The entire second phase of the mountain road had now fallen into the control of the Ursus Legion. The Reunion Movement had now been forced to the final section of the mountain front. If they succeeded in taking it, they would completely wipe out this bandit scourge.

Meanwhile, good news also came from the southwestern battlefield. All the crossbows hidden in the mountain paths had been dismantled. Although the process resulted in 300 deaths, the southwestern battlefield now still had over 1500 combat-ready men. The Reunification Movement forces in the southwest had already lost almost half their strength; for these 1500 men to wear down these 50-odd men would be an easy task.

"We'll attack from both sides at once, then we'll see how they resist, hahaha." Pavel already felt victory was in sight, and perhaps his side would make progress even faster, allowing him to take the hilltop first without waiting for reinforcements tomorrow.

Even Ulrich was slightly surprised by the unexpectedly smooth afternoon. Had these bandits run out of tricks?

"To be honest, General, you're overthinking it. We still have over 20,000 men. How many survivors does the Reunion Movement have left? If they dare to confront us head-on, they'll be wiped out sooner or later," an adjutant said, somewhat smugly.

"Could it be that I overestimated them? But are those warriors who wield fire and frost also too weak to fight?" Ulrich finally accepted the reason that those people were affected by Oripathy and could no longer resist them.

"Oripathy...Oripathy...grants incredibly powerful Originium Arts, but the corresponding price is also enormous. Perhaps this is what is meant by equivalent exchange. All the power that seems to be obtained easily actually comes with a hefty price tag on it." Ulrich sighed, then ordered the entire caster team to be deployed to capture the last section of the hillside position as soon as possible.

Upon receiving Ulrich's order to intensify the offensive, the Ursus troops were invigorated. They shared a common feeling that the war was nearing its end, should they succeed in capturing the third section of the position.

The elite vanguard of the Empire charged forward, eager to be the first to capture the position. However, for some reason, the Reunion crossbowmen stationed in the lines did not fire their bolts immediately. Instead, they watched the charging soldiers with cold indifference, as if they were watching a pile of corpses rushing towards them.

"Bang bang bang bang-"

Just then, a series of cannon shots rang out from the front, followed by streaks of fire shooting out from the ridgeline, drawing perfect arcs in the sky before accurately striking the elite Imperial vanguard charging forward.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions rang out continuously, and blood blossomed on the battlefield. The elite vanguard of the Empire, charging forward, was blasted to pieces under the relentless artillery fire. In less than a minute, the entire road was covered in blood, which eventually spread to the edge of the cliff and flowed down from there, a truly gruesome sight.

The entire vanguard of the First Mixed Regiment perished on the path of their charge. The remaining combatants were horrified and halted in their tracks. But while the vanguard had stopped, those behind, unaware of the situation ahead, continued their charge with momentum. The entire front was thrown about, falling precariously into the artillery barrage once more, and instantly, like the vanguard, were blown to pieces.

Only then did the crossbowmen begin to fire, relentlessly reaping the lives of Ursus soldiers and forcing them to retreat to the ninth pass, where they held their ground against the enemy's charge.

"What did you say? The vanguard of the First Regiment suffered a setback and was wiped out by artillery fire?" Ulrich looked incredulous upon seeing the battle report from the front lines and asked in a deep voice, "Didn't you scout and probe the area, and find that the third line of defense only had crossbowmen, shield bearers, and sorcerers? Where did such a massive amount of artillery fire come from? Where are the enemy's firing positions?"

"Enemy firing positions... firing positions..." However, the intelligence officer seemed somewhat hesitant and did not reply immediately.

"Just say what I tell you, report the facts truthfully!" Ulrich snapped.

“Yes! According to reports from the front lines, they say… they don’t know,” the intelligence officer said.

"Don't know? Why don't we know? Did those cannons fall from the sky?" Ulrich said. "What are the commanders at the front doing! Such heavy losses, and they don't even know where the enemy's firing positions are... Let them launch another attack. We must find out where the enemy launched such large-scale fire suppression from! Send out all the combat-ready personnel from the artillery battalion, and then have the mage regiment cooperate with the artillery battalion to concentrate their fire on those firing positions!"

"Yes, sir!" The intelligence officer immediately went to relay the order. Ulrich tapped the table with his hand and muttered, "Judging from the range and destructive power of the explosion, those guys from the Reunion Movement clearly have more than just mortars. They obviously also have heavy artillery... But where did they get these weapons? Nikolai? But Nikolai's own artillery company was wiped out long ago, there aren't many left."

"Is this your last resort? Trying to use your artillery advantage to hold this last line of defense. Heh, just a desperate last stand." In Ulrich's view, the fact that the other side had revealed another trump card was not entirely unexpected. On the contrary, this revelation made Ulrich completely certain that the powerful warriors of the Reunion Movement, who were capable of taking on a thousand men each, had fallen into a period of exhaustion due to the battle that morning.

They all need to rely on external objects like artillery to defend themselves. It seems that the Reunion Movement has really used up all its last reserves. The Reunion Movement is like a gambler about to go bankrupt, betting everything, which makes them look ugly and weak.

But is that really the case?

……

"Boom! Boom!"

"Damn it! Why are those artillery shells being fired from behind the ridge? How are we going to figure out where they are?"

After another round of casualties, the frontline commander began to curse. Clearly, while he had roughly determined the location of the artillery, simply knowing they were behind the ridgeline was far from sufficient for precise strikes.

Even more critically, neither magic nor ordinary howitzers and heavy artillery could bypass such a high ridgeline to strike the artillery behind it. Only high-launch artillery like mortars could bypass the ridgeline and strike the area behind it. However, the blast radius of a mortar is too small and extremely dependent on precise targeting. Therefore, for mortars with an effective firing range, eliminating enemy strongpoints is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Commander, the general has dispatched the artillery battalion and the remaining sorcerers. He ordered us to eliminate the enemy's strongpoints before launching an attack." At this moment, the intelligence officer responsible for liaising with the command post approached the frontline commander and said.

"Go and truthfully relay the situation here to the general! No matter how many sorcerers and artillery battalions are sent, this is impossible! We either have to withstand those artillery pieces and take the positions on the front, or we need to find a way to bypass this hillside and go directly to the rear to take down these firing heavy artillery pieces!" the front-line commander said truthfully.

When the news reached Ulrich again, he fell silent.

"I never imagined these bandits could survive in such a way... Using the hillside as cover, they effectively avoided our firepower. At the same time, they could rely on those on the front lines to launch precise attacks on our attacking soldiers. Even I have to admire the person who came up with this defensive method," Ulrich said.

"General, are we just going to stare blankly at that last stretch of slope?" the adjutant beside him asked.

Ulrich pondered for a moment and said, "Go, have them bring all the Imperial Artillery Forecaster drones. To pinpoint the location of those artillery pieces, we can only rely on the drones' flight capabilities to sneak around the battlefield and locate them from behind. Remember, have their warlocks equip the drones with more magical shields to ensure their survivability if discovered by the enemy. We must bombard them with mortars as quickly as possible."

"Yes!" The messenger immediately relayed the order.

Chapter 198 Devastating News from the Southwest Battlefield

Northwest Front

"As expected of the General, he came up with a solution so quickly." Upon seeing the orders and plan brought by the messenger, the frontline commander was overjoyed. He immediately took control of the prepared drones, not flying directly towards the front lines, but instead heading down the right-hand cliff, intending to stealthily bypass the battlefield and reach the artillery positions behind the hillside to pinpoint their locations.

Meanwhile, the frontline commander arranged for a new wave of cannon fodder to charge towards the front lines. Once the drones were in position, these cannon fodder would draw fire and thus locate the artillery.

The drone flew from below the cliff, bypassing the mountain path leading to the attack, and around the hillside. Only after arriving at the location behind the hillside did it begin to slowly ascend, preparing to get a full view of the artillery positions.

However, just as it rose from the edge, a surge of electricity shot out, piercing through the magical shield covering the drone and sending it crashing off the cliff.

This startled the drone operator, who had no idea what had happened before being attacked and losing one drone. Undeterred, the operator maneuvered another drone to a different location and slowly ascended. However, less than a centimeter off the ground, another electric current struck, completely destroying the drone.

"What exactly happened? Did they discover our drone so quickly from behind?" To ensure that his drone wouldn't be lost in vain, he maneuvered it to fly forward a short distance before climbing higher.

This time, before the drones could fly far, several bolts of lightning struck, shooting them all down.

"(Ursus profanity)! What on earth happened?!" The operator cursed. The artillery hadn't detected anything, and the drone was already half destroyed. Who could give him an explanation?

On the other side, on the reverse slope, a logistics personnel responsible for transporting Originium Crystal explosives wiped the sweat from his brow after putting down a box of explosives intended to be used as shells. Suddenly, he turned around and saw a tower behind him emitting electric light, constantly shooting electricity in all directions.

"Speaking of which, what was the tower that Mr. Wang Chong placed there for? Why is it flashing like crazy now?" the logistics personnel asked the artillery team members who were loading explosives.

"Oh, that thing? It's used to detect enemy air units. Once an enemy air unit gets close, it will crackle and spark like this. Then, once the enemy is at a suitable angle to attack, it will immediately shoot out a current, pulverizing all those air units." The artillery member glanced at it, then continued loading ammunition and explained.

"Go and tell our team leader this message: the enemy has sent reconnaissance drones to locate us. The leader will then notify us to redeploy the artillery." After the artilleryman finished speaking, he began to fire according to the instructions.

The logistics personnel nodded and gave the order. Under the command of the artillery team, they changed positions one by one without affecting the rhythm of the fire.

From the moment the position was established, Wang Chong had anticipated that the enemy would use drones to locate the Reunification Movement's firepower deployment. Therefore, he had already taken out the Thunder Tower he had drawn earlier and placed it here.

Thunder Towers don't just target air units; they'll attack any enemy unit that's entered into the tower. Therefore, with Thunder Towers active, not only can drones scout the location, but even someone sneaking up a cliff can be electrocuted, eliminating any fear of being attacked from both sides.

Meanwhile, Wang Chong himself was standing with a group of people on the platform where he and Talulah had been before, looking down at the battle situation below.

"Come on, when can we get down? We've been up here in this cold wind for ages, it's so boring." Arcueid yawned and stretched.

"Don't rush, Arcueid, it'll be soon. We'll make our move in the middle of the night." After saying that, Wang Chong looked at Specter, Skadi, Surtr, and Honeysuckle and said, "The same goes for you. All your training these past few days is counting on today."

"These past few days, I've been having you all patiently observe from the sidelines, so the enemy wouldn't know you were there. All of this is so you can play a crucial role at the most critical moment. Next, Honeysuckle, once we enter the forest, you'll be in charge of planning the invasion and escape routes. The rest of you will proceed with the plan, launching a surprise attack. Understand?"

"Yes!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

……

Inside the camp.

"The drones failed? It seems the enemy takes their artillery positions very seriously... This might be their last resort." After hearing news of another failure from the front lines, Ulrich fell into deep thought. He was now hesitant about whether to continue escalating the attack and wipe out the Reunion Movement in one fell swoop, or wait for reinforcements to arrive and then find a way to deal with the Reunion Movement.

"General, now we have no choice but to push them to the brink. If we miss this opportunity, once Patriot recovers and combines with that impregnable artillery position, we may exhaust our forces and still not be able to take down that defensive line!" Several commanders advised.

“No.” But after careful consideration, Ulrich did not take their advice. “The pressure from the artillery is too great. We cannot choose to fight head-on unless absolutely necessary. Don’t forget, we have more than one battlefield. If we can take the southwestern battlefield tonight, we will be able to form a pincer movement. Even their proud artillery lines will face the onslaught of our Ursus troops.”

After hearing Ulrich's analysis, no one dared to say anything more. Indeed, there was still the southwestern front as an alternative; there was no need to take such a great risk and pay such a high price.

"What?! What did you say?! Impossible! How could this be?!" At that moment, Pavel roared fiercely while maintaining communication.

“Pavel? What’s going on?” Ulrich looked at Pavel and said with some dissatisfaction.

“…General.” Pavel hung up the phone, his face deathly pale, and said, “The Southwest…the Southwest battlefield…the entire army has been wiped out.”

"What did you say?!" Upon hearing this news, even the usually composed Ulrich couldn't help but stand up. This sudden and devastating news caused all the commanders present to panic.

"Explain what exactly happened," Ulrich clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and looked at Pavel, asking.

“General…the detailed battle report is being sent over, and the survivors are also describing the situation. It will probably take some time before the report arrives,” Pavel said.

"How could things have turned out like this... Immediately transfer 2000 men from the army and march southwest. We absolutely cannot let those bandits take this opportunity to escape from the southwest! We must hold that position!" Ulrich immediately issued the order. "Pavel, you take this army and head to the southwest battlefield immediately. You must defend that area without fail. Do not attack the bandits in the southwest corner without my orders."

"Yes!" Pavel replied and immediately left the tent to muster the troops. At this moment, the adjutant looked at Ulrich and asked, "Sir... now another 2000 men have been transferred away, and after deducting the two mixed regiments fighting on the front lines, plus the artillery battalion and the sorcerer group, totaling 7500 men, there are only about 20,000 men left in the camp, including nearly 8000 wounded soldiers who are unable to fight. Fortunately, the Patriots are also severely weakened at the moment, otherwise we would be in a completely passive situation now."

“Now that the southwest has fallen, we are left with only the option of a direct assault. Even if 1 troops arrive as reinforcements tomorrow, we will have lost our best opportunity to attack. At that time, I’m afraid it will be difficult to take down these bandits within 10 days,” the adjutant advised.

"You mean you intend to completely take down these bandits tonight?" Ulrich asked.

"General, we've suffered too many casualties. The only option now is to act decisively," the adjutant said. "Why don't we send out war mages as well? We have to try to see if we can break through the enemy's firepower."

“…” Ulrich weighed the pros and cons for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and saying, “Now we have no choice but to give it a try. Let the war sorcerer test the waters.”

"Yes, sir!" Upon receiving the order, the adjutant immediately ran out of the camp to find the three war sorcerers who were still resting.

Chapter 199 The Victory Created by Golden Fertilizer

Half an hour ago

“Faust, they’ve already crossed the crossbow path we set up. Only this last stretch of the mountain path remains to reach the summit,” the Phantom Crossbowman, still bandaging his wounds, said, keeping an eye on the figures rushing up below.

“What should we do, Faust? This last stretch of mountain road is steep, but it offers no natural defenses. Unlike the previous mountain paths, where we could dig out a battle line using the slopes,” the Phantom Crossbowman asked.

"Did you bury all those things that Teacher Wang Chong prepared in the soil beneath our feet?" Faust asked.

"You mean those bamboo shoots? They're all buried. But what's the point? We can't expect them to trip over them and fall down, can we?" the Phantom Crossbowman asked, puzzled.

“It’s not impossible.” After saying that, Faust pulled a yellow package from his collar.

"What is this?" the Phantom Crossbowman asked, puzzled, after Faust pulled something out.

"An item capable of creating miracles." Faust grabbed the contents and scattered them into the soil beneath his feet.

“Let’s go, let’s retreat all the way back and scatter this stuff all over the road, then we’ll see,” Faust said.

"Are we just going to retreat like this? If we retreat any further, we'll completely lose control of the mountain road to the southwest," the Phantom Crossbowman said.

“Since there’s no way to defend this place, we might as well retreat to the last pass and hold it to the death. Otherwise, staying here will only lead to our quicker demise. On my command, everyone retreat!” After Faust finished speaking, he continued to sprinkle different doses of white powder on the ground while estimating the time.

Soon, Faust led the remaining Phantom Crossbowmen and Shield Guards to the final pass to hold it, abandoning the entire stretch of road. The Shield Guard leader, looking at the road ahead, patted Faust, who was still on high alert, and said, "You made the right decision. Rather than fighting them on that road, it's better to preserve our strength and fight them here."

"Sasha! I want to fight alongside you too!" Mephisto took off his medical kit and pulled out the Originium staff that someone had given him to save his life, and said.

“Ino, you promised…” Faust started to say something more, but Mephistopheles interrupted him, “I… I know what you’re worried about. But I’m not doing this out of revenge; I want to protect you, Sasha! Can’t I even fight like this?”

“Ino… alright, just this once. But you must listen to me. If I notice anything unusual about you, you must stop immediately. Understand?” Faust looked at Mephistopheles’s determined eyes, finally sighed, and then earnestly instructed him.

"Yes!" Mephistopheles nodded, listened carefully to Faust's advice, and prepared for battle.

Time passed slowly, and soon the Ursus soldiers, having scouted ahead and found no enemies, began to tread the mountain path, heading towards this final pass. Not long after, Faust fired the first shot, and war instantly erupted between the two sides.

"Jump down!" Mephisto used Originium Arts to control the spores to invade the wounds of the injured Ursus soldiers, and then controlled their bodies to jump directly off the other side of the cliff.

"Watch out for the enemy sorcerer! Firepower!" The Ursus army wasn't going to be fools and let Mephisto control them with Originium Arts. They quickly aimed at Mephisto, who was sticking his head out to use Originium Arts, and in an instant, several crossbow bolts shot towards his head.

"Deng deng deng-"

However, after the crossbow bolts struck the figure in the head, the figure did not fall down due to the arrows.

"Oh no! It's fake!"

The Ursus people who fired their crossbow bolts reacted immediately, but what awaited them was the Phantom Crossbowmen's bolts, each one fatal.

"Heh heh, I told you I wouldn't cause Sasha any trouble." Mephisto held up a stone, which served as his protrusion to draw enemy fire.

However, such cleverness was insufficient given the significant numerical disparity. The Ursus soldiers would soon reach the pass and engage them in close combat. Once in melee, even with shield guards, they would be unable to utilize the crossbowmen's advantages and would inevitably meet their end once the shield guards were all dead.

“Teacher… shouldn’t be lying to me, it’s almost time.” Faust silently estimated the time. Now, most of the Ursus soldiers were standing on the mountain path, waiting for the “things” he had just sprinkled to take effect.

"Pfft—Pfft—"

Some strange noises rang out, followed by a tremor in the mountain road.

"W-what's going on! Is it an earthquake!?" The Ursus people quickly grabbed the mountain wall, took a step back, and tried to steady themselves. Some of the unlucky ones slid off the edge of the mountain path, letting out a series of terrified screams.