Overgeared

‘Was he called Duke Lucilliv? The commander of this army is pretentious.’

The procession of 100,000 Eternal soldiers. The golden armor of the soldiers in the lead flashed in the sun. Tung! The relentless sound of drums shook the sky. This was the momentum of a great army. Anyone would be overwhelmed by the greatness. But it was just their appearance.

Most of the soldiers, apart from the ones in the lead, were wearing old leather armor, and their uneven marching was masked by the sound of the drums. The reason was simple. Half of the 100,000 soldiers weren’t professionals. More than half of them were rabble who hadn’t even completed basic training.

“How rotten... Why are we supposed to be involved in a battle between nobles?”

“What type of noble would attack the king? Shouldn’t the people unconditionally listen to the king?”

"What does it matter if the king is betrayed if we starve to death?”

The lowest class. They were always poor and hungry. They weren’t educated and didn’t have a lot of patriotism. Their purpose in life was just surviving.

“Hah... Who will take care of my family without me? My pregnant wife is caring for our kids alone...”

"Geez, wearing armor and carrying a spear is really difficult at this age...”

The ordinary people. They labored all their lives for their family.

“Sob sob... I want to see my mum. I’m scared.”

“My legs hurt too much... I can’t endure it anymore.”

Young boys who hadn’t reached adulthood yet made up more than half of the 100,000 troops. The role of all these tired and struggling people was to die.The vanguard. Once they arrived in Bairan two days later, they were destined to swap places with the golden armored soldiers and stand at the forefront.

‘But at this rate, they can’t be used.’

Ars was in the same ranks as the vanguard. He had unusually bright blond hair and was cynical.

'The golden armor flashing in the sun was a burden on the eyes and the drumming sound was just a noise that increased fear. Their mental state will reach the limit before they arrive in Bairan.’

But Duke Lucilliv didn’t know this.

The position of soldiers wasn’t something that could be understood by nobles. A noble wouldn’t think that such a marvelous march could put pressure on the soldiers. In the first place, they believed that people would give thanks just by receiving food.

It was hard to call them incompetent. It was a very aristocratic way of thinking.

'Was I the same in the past?’

Ars thought as he barely managed to chew the hard barley bread.

‘Well, there will be a massive desertion at the next campsite.’

Then the first chance would come.

***

The giants of the Eternal Kingdom referred to Marquis Steim and Duke Lucilliv.

Marquis Steim was a pioneer who revived the barren north, while Duke Lucilliv knew how to  use his natural lineage. It was due to the power of Duke Lucilliv that he managed to gather the powerful armies of Baron Duka, Earl Red, Earl Carrion, and Marquis Bera in one place.

Who were they? As the masters of great territories in Eternal, they were great swordsmen and led large armies. Prince Aslan, who was on the throne in place of the dead Prince Ren, couldn’t move them.

“Indeed, the duke himself is commanding the army.”

Duke Lucilliv’s barrack. Earl Red admired the 2,000 golden armored soldiers and 5,000 cavalry that were brought. It was admiration, not flattery. He thought the procession of troops following the golden soldiers was wonderful. On the other hand, Marquis Bera showed a little concern.

“You must’ve spent a considerable amount of money plating the soldiers’ armor... And isn’t it a waste?  We can easily take Bairan and Patrian even if we advance normally.”

Duke Lucilliv sipped his wine and his shoulders shook as he shrugged.

“Marquis Bera, your way of thinking is too small. Plating? My soldiers are wearing pure gold armor. The army led by Duke Lucilliv can’t be ordinary. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes...?”

All the nobles in this place, including Marquis Bera, were amazed. The golden soldiers at the head of the procession. In other words, Duke Lucilliv had at least 10,000 soldiers. They were all wearing pure gold armor? How much money was spent? Lucilliv shrugged at all the eyes on him.

"Well, the armor is just decoration and their defense is lousy. The armor is thin because I lack gold.”

"...Duke, will your soldiers be safe from enemy attacks?”

Lucilliv lectured the careful Marquis Bera. “Why would my soldiers be in danger? Isn’t it possible for the thousands of other soldiers to finish the war in an instant? Will my soldiers even need to go out?”

That’s right. The other nobles nodded at Duke Lucilliv’s call. Their goal was to establish great merits in this war. It was shameful if they didn’t participate in the war. They planned to occupy the rebel bases in an instant by directing the troops.

"Right, right. We can trample on and slaughter the rebels with our troops. The soldiers of Duke Lucilliv will increase the morale of our soldiers.”

“Haha! That is my exact intention! I’m trying to make the war more advantageous by raising the morale of our allies! Right?”

"Indeed, the duke is great.”

From their point of view, Duke Lucilliv’s intentions were very good. More than half of the 100,000 soldiers were rabble, but that didn’t decrease their value. They could be used as sacrifices in the vanguard. It would be enough to exhaust Earl Ashur’s magic, which was considered the biggest problem. It was important to raise the morale of the soldiers who would be attacked by a large number of arrows.

But they overlooked one thing. Duke Lucilliv was able to pay for the gold armor of 10,000 soldiers because he took the money from the supplies area. That’s why the 100,000 soldiers only had enough food for 14 days. Most of it was three month old food sold by Duke Lucilliv.

This was crucial to inducing a state of insecurity. The soldiers who had a tough march all day. Their physical strength was exhausted beyond the limit and their complaints soared to the sky after receiving their ridiculous meals. They were forcibly conscripted and couldn’t even eat proper meals?

“Duke! Troops have deserted!”

A knight shouted after entering the barrack and Duke Lucilliv couldn’t understand.

"No, why?"

This was a glorious chance for them to fight for their kingdom. Why would they desert? Marquis Bera ordered the knight on behalf of Duke Lucilliv.

“Catch and execute all of them! Show the soldiers how terrible it is to desert!”

“Yes!”

The knights received the order and immediately left. A total of 1,831 soldiers were captured while trying to escape and then executed. They were lower class citizens forcibly conscripted. They tried to beg for help, but ended up dying. The senior soldiers of Partu approached one soldier who was watching quietly.

"Don’t think about trying to escape. At least our Partu is treating the soldiers reasonably. You must always be grateful."

"I’m afraid that if you run away, you’ll end up dying like that. If you want to live, stay until the end.”

"Aren’t you much happier now that you can chew on dry bread rather than living on the cold streets?”

“Private Ars. I understand."

Ars’ gaze was fixed on Duke Lucilliv’s barrack.

‘The duke didn’t move, so there’s no gap in his guards.’

Duke Lucilliv’s guards were a few levels below the empire’s Black Knights, but there were too many of them. Above all, the biggest problem was the other nobles around the duke. They could exercise considerable power and Ars couldn’t jump in blindly.

‘I will wait for the next time.’

The incident that occurred today was enough to firmly plant fear and insecurity in the hearts of the soldiers. The morale of the soldiers was greatly diminished. Ars expected there would be more people trying to desert tomorrow.

*** 

Bairan was in a great crisis.

The advance of the enemy forces could be seen from all the gates. The arrows fired by the Overgeared members were no longer as quick and strong as they were in the beginning. 

"Your parents are suffering from poor circulation! Go home and blow on your parent’s hands and feet!”

Huroi’s cries were no longer effective in disturbing the enemy. As the number of enemies decreased to 10,000, Eternal no longer had any place to retreat and managed to damage the gates and walls of Bairan.

“This is serious.”

Kuuong! Kung!

As the enemy’s siege weapons kept striking the gate, the durability was rapidly falling. Yura became anxious as soon as the connection time limit was over and she entered the game.

"It’s the end the moment that we allow the enemy to enter.”

Yura and the Overgeared members had to deal with thousands of enemies at once? They would slaughter the Overgeared soldiers and trample everything in Bairan.

“Shit... I want to go outside and kill the enemy’s momentum. However, the enemies will just enter if I open the gates now.”

Pon gritted his teeth. His stamina was already on the verge of being depleted. He wouldn’t be able to use any skills if he left the castle. In this desperate situation, Yura and Pon received Lauel’s whisper.

-Lead the remaining troops and retreat to Patrian.

It caused a backlash with Pon.

-What about the people?

-In the end, Bairan’s people are still Eternal’s people. Why would the army bother killing people who didn’t cause any destruction? Retreat with confidence.

-They’re people who serve the rebel Grid. Are you sure they really won’t be killed?

-They will be busy with looting and assaults due to the excitement of victory. But what can we do? We can’t lose the soldiers that we worked so hard to nurture.

-You...! Can you so easily abandon the people who believed in and served Grid?

Bairan was originally the territory of the Tzedakah Guild. Pon and the Tzedakah Guild had been with the people of Bairan for a long time. It wasn’t easy to throw them away. Lauel recognized this but they were currently at war. It wasn’t possible for him to look at it with an individual’s position.

-Is it possible to lost the tens of thousands of people in Reidan just because you want to protect thousands of people? Shouldn’t you be calmer?

-Kuack!

Pon gritted his teeth. He understood Lauel’s words with his mind but it was still unpleasant. In the end, he spat out words that he shouldn’t have said.

-In the first place, it’s because you are incompetent! What? We’ll be able to endure the enemy’s offensive to the end? They won’t be able to organize an army of 100,000 for a long time? Stop talking nonsense! Everything you said was wrong! You incompetent...!

Pon’s agitated voice became smaller. He belatedly realized his mistake. Who was Lauel?

He was someone who worked harder than anyone else for Overgeared. He took on the heavy responsibility alone. This was the burden they placed on him. They didn’t help him enough. Now Pon was trying to put the responsibility on Lauel when the situation wasn’t good?

-...I’m sorry.

Pon sincerely apologized to Lauel. He felt really sorry because it was Lauel.

-No, I’m the one who should be sorry. In fact, I’ve deceived you.

-...?

-I have to fool my allies to fool my enemies. I secretly kept a plan from you in the hope that you would fight fiercely.

What was Lauel saying? Pon didn’t understand the words and Lauel explained.

-Right now, I’m heading to Reinhardt.

-What...!

The capital of the Eternal Kingdom, Reinhardt. Now that most of the troops were gone, Lauel was leading his army there.

-The war will end soon.

At the same time, in a mysterious place. Sticks was coughing up blood with a pale expression while Grid looked at him with concern. 

‘He just had to have a heart attack at this timing.’

Dozens of minutes ago. Mass Teleport was activated at Patrian. The curse of the gourmet dragon Raiders engulfed Sticks and he failed to manage his mana. Thanks to this, Mass Teleport was affected and Grid and Sticks landed in an unknown place.

‘It’s a place where whispers are impossible.’

They fell into a strange place. It was an instant dungeon where nothing was visible. What was happening at Bairan? To Yura and his colleagues? Grid was nervous and uneasy, but couldn’t express his displeasure to Sticks. Grid waited quietly while Sticks took his medicine and recovered.

'Is this the bad luck that came from making a myth rated bow?’

The gourmet dragon, Grid wanted to strike it hard in the stomach.