CHAPTER 34: SILVER ARMOR

As Allen was walking through the battlefield, he realized something strange had happened.

He had been walking for quite a while now and should have reached at least somewhere away from the frontlines, it seemed like he hadn’t moved at all.

He could still see the Luminarian knights fending off against the enemy forces around him.

Now now, this isn’t one of those mass illusions, is it? Allen thought to himself, stopping in his place and looking around.

System, what’s the charge on the drone? he asked.

[It’s currently 55%]

I see. That would be enough, I guess. Deploy it.

With Allen’s command, the tiny drone appeared on the palm of his hands and took off just like it had before, climbing to the height of one thousand meters within a minute.

He soon received the feed in front of his eyes on the translucent screen. It showed the entire battlefield from a bird’s-eye view.

Hmmm, Allen wondered to himself, lost in thought as he studied the video footage in front of him.

Can you overlay the previous footage of the battlefield we took on top of this one?

[That is possible. Commencing data processing...]

[Successful!]

Along with that notification, a new screen appeared before Allen’s eyes that showed two photos of the battlefield taken at different times, overlapped onto each other.

I see, it’s as I thought, Allen nodded to himself.

From the overlay of the two images, it was clear that the frontlines had moved backward toward the outpost of the Luminarian knights.

I guess it is maybe because of that retreat order. That seems to be the only possible explanation.

In fact, there are only a few soldiers remaining and the rest have already gone back, so I guess this is what you would call a strategic retreat?

Interesting. I wonder what caused them to choose retreat instead of pushing forward. The zombie knights shouldn’t have been that much of a problem once they circulated the instruction on how to kill them properly.

Then what could it be?... Allen’s mind raced, trying to think up a possible situation.

After all, not knowing what was going on in a battlefield and acting rashly could very well lead to his death.

Having the latest information about the battle was his prime goal, that was the entire reason he had wanted recon capabilities so badly.

He then looked up, at the floating island that cast its shadow on the ground.

Could it be because of what this is? I faintly remember all the soldiers from both sides stopped fighting and had their eyes fixed on this thing for a brief moment.

As he was trying to come up with a solution he glanced at the screen showing the live feed of the battlefield. There his eyes caught sight of something he had missed until now.

Right at the very front of the Luminarian knights, someone was moving very quickly among the half-dead knights. Whoever it was they only appeared as a flashy blur on the screen.

Zoom on it, also descend to get a better resolution.

Following his commands the lens in the drone’s camera turned, zooming all the way while the drone itself descended to a height of five hundred meters.

Soon enough Allen had a crystal-clear view of everything happening on that patch of battlefield. He had traded visual clarity in turn for greater coverage.

Looking at the screen, it didn’t take him long to recognize the person.

It was Eunice who was killing the half-dead and normal knights left and right while moving at insane speeds.

I see, so that’s the way they fight in this world huh. Not going to lie at my current level I might have some trouble going against her.

As Allen looked at the feed, new thoughts began to form in his mind.

Should I go join her? I mean, it would certainly be closer than going all the way to the outpost. It doesn’t seem like she’s that far from me. I’d say like 600-700 meters at best.

[Correction: You are at a distance of 1200 meters from her.]

Still closer than the outpost so my point still remains.

Yes, it’s decided then!

Nodding to himself and bathing in his own self-satisfaction, Allen decided to change his route and head toward Eunice.

"Hey, you. We’re going this way," Allen said, looking back at Heath who walked quietly behind him.

"Alright," Heath replied. His voice was empty like usual.

A cold breeze swept over them. The shadow from the floating island made it feel like a dark, cloudy day.

Suddenly, the whole world turned white.

A blinding light erupted from where Eunice had been fighting. It was so bright it burned.

On the screen in Allen’s vision, a warning flashed for a split second before the system shut the drone feed off completely to protect Allen’s eyes.

But it didn’t matter. The light wasn’t on a screen. It was real.

A second later the heat hit them. It was like a furnace door had been thrown open right in their faces, a wave of scorching air that stole the breath from their lungs.

Then came the explosion.

A wall of force slammed into Allen and Heath, throwing them off their feet like they were nothing.

They were like ragdolls being tossed backward through the air in a storm of dirt and heat.

The blast tore out in a huge circle, wiping everything away.

Soldiers from both sides, the half-dead, the ground itself.

Those who didn’t have strong resistance against magic were simply gone and removed from existence.

Allen’s world was a blur of heat and pain before everything went black. He hit the ground hard and didn’t move, his body covered in third-degree burns.

After the explosion settled and the blinding light faded, the drone feed in Allen’s mind turned back on. But he wasn’t awake to see it.

On the screen, it showed a man with long blond hair in shining silver armor.

He stood in the middle of a massive, glassy crater. Or maybe floating was the better word. His feet were a few inches off the ground, hanging in the air without a single speck of dust on him.