Forced march (2)

"Huhu, I still wish they'd come further. Right, Yuna? I'm dying to see what expression that kid will have when he sees me."

"Help me. Please, send me home."

Yuna knelt down and pleaded with Marsha. She could tell by the attitude of her subordinates that Marsha held the top position in the organization.

"It's okay, don't be afraid."

"Then, will you send me home?"

"Of course. There's a lot of commotion outside right now, so I'll send you when everything calms down. Speaking of which, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Yes, what do you want?"

Approaching Yuna, Marsha gently stroked her hair. Gradually, Yuna's eyes began to lose focus and then closed.

"Huh, what?"

Yuna didn't even realize she had closed her eyes. She heard a buzzing in her ears and lost consciousness without realizing it.

Catching Yuna as she started to fall forward, Marsha looked at her tenderly, then turned her head and directed a cold smile.

"Huhu, now the fun game begins."

***

Falkoa's men were wild and violent. As if fear did not exist at all, they brandished their swords while dealing with mediocre attacks with their naked bodies.

"Attack with the strength of the wall! Charge!"

Their main attack strategy was guerrilla warfare. They took turns attacking in zigzags, controlling their endurance. For Shirone and his group, who had never experienced a war, it was terrifying.

But the essence of guerrilla warfare was not in ambushes, but in retreat. It seemed like the enemies had no intention of fighting head-on.

"Detach the strength of the wall! Retreat for now!"

"Where do you think you're running to!"

Amy quickly shot a series of Flame Strikes. At that moment, the bodies of the enemies shone and turned into flashes of light, soaring into the sky. A sharp voice that shook the air pierced through the sky.

"Ugh, how annoying! We lost them again."

When Amy kicked her feet in frustration, Rian comforted her by patting her shoulder.

"But the enemies are also giving it their all. Their number is increasing, so for now, Yuna should be safe. That's good news for us."

Shirone looked at his friends and said, "Let's assess our situation. Is anyone injured?"

Injuries must be visually checked. If it's a fight in the neighborhood, one will notice it only through nosebleeds, but in a life-threatening battle, you might not feel pain because too much endorphin is secreted against adrenaline.

The four of them felt relieved to realize there was no problem after checking each other's physical condition.

However, the enemies also suffered no injuries. Even if they did their best to scare them off, they vanished like a ghost at the decisive moment.

"We haven't been able to take down a single person so far. This could negatively impact future battles."

Amy shared what she had analyzed so far.

"I've observed it, and I think the secret lies in the bracelets they're wearing. It's definitely a magical device that triggers spatial movement."

Shirone asked with a skeptical expression, "Is that possible? It's different from a magical bullet. Spatial movement is a magic that moves a wizard. Without Spirit Zone, you can't establish a destination, and it's impossible to activate it."

Amy also had doubts about that. But strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely impossible.

"Maybe... There's a possibility it's linked to the Magic Circle."

Magic Circle is a scheme that records a specific image in space and emits magic by itself. Therefore, by borrowing the power of the Magic Circle, it was possible for non-mages to use magic.

"Of course, you can't cast Spatial Movement with a Magic Circle. But in theory, if you link it to a Magic Circle registered in a specific location, it's possible."

Understanding the concept of magic, Shirone nodded. However, Tess was concerned about something else.

"Is that possible for a group of fallen mercenaries? As far as I know, drawing the Magic Circle requires not only manpower but a lot of money. Besides, Spatial Movement is high-level magic, isn't it?"

"That's right. It's probably an intermediate-level Magic Circle. Even if you want to draw just one Magic Circle, you need at least 5 mages working all day. But for them, it's possible. Falkoa has the Loop monopoly. The mercenaries we met in the ruins were like that too. Loop's profit margin is huge. After all, they strengthened the base by selling drugs. They sold drugs and strengthened their base. It all makes sense then."

"How much money did those bastards make selling drugs? Isn't this a level that can't be reached with just one Magic Circle?"

There was some truth in Tess's words. Based on her question, Shirone began to review the battles they had fought.

In the valley where the first battle took place, the enemies first withdrew. They also retreated to the forest and, once again, used spatial movement here.

"From my perspective, if we calculate the distance we have to cover, there are probably hundreds of magic circles drawn."

"H-Hundreds?"

Tess's mouth opened in shock. An intermediate magic circle that requires 5 wizards to adhere to it all day. If there are hundreds of them, how much gold have they scattered on this land?

"Do you really think they would spend that much? If you just look at the distance, a few dozen would be enough. If there really are hundreds of magic circles, we couldn't catch them in any situation."

At that moment, Tess realized something from her own words and slapped her palm.

"Ah, I see now!"

"Good. Do you understand now? They set it up so they couldn't be caught in any situation. They've interconnected the entire northern forest. If we keep fighting like this, we, being numerically inferior, will tire out first. We'll collapse before reaching the top."

Their resentment towards those who strengthened their base by selling drugs intensified. But now was the time to think of a solution rather than being emotional.

"So, what do we do now? What if we erase the Magic Circles? No matter where we fight, if the enemies escape, it's not something we can do by simply chasing them."

Amy shook her head. Tess's idea made sense, but there was another problem.

"It's not easy. A Magic Circle is a record engraved in space. So, to remove it, you can't just erase the drawing; you have to erase that space. Doing that for hundreds could take days."

Tess finally understood the situation and bit her lip. When a minority deals with a group, it's important to reduce the number in some way. But they were blocking that method beforehand.

Shirone unexpectedly agreed with Tess.

"No, it might be worth a try. Let's erase one."

"Just one? Out of hundreds, erasing one won't make a difference."

"From our point of view, yes, but maybe they think differently. If they put in so much effort to build the network, wouldn't they value even one magic circle? They might swarm in to defend it."

"Ah, I see! Psychological warfare!"

Tess quickly recognized Shirone's plan. War is often said to be a game of power played with money, but the side with better funds isn't always the winner. This is because human psychology works complexly in war.

The more you have to protect, the weaker you become psychologically. For instance, if you raised an elite soldier with 100 gold coins but couldn't deploy them, it's a waste.

This kind of situation really occurs in war.

Even though they invested money to start a war, they couldn't field elite soldiers because it was a loss of money, and ultimately, their castle was taken by cheap soldiers.

Amy analyzed Shirone's strategy. She was saying that if she couldn't pursue their enemies, she'd prefer to lure them. Indeed, it was the most viable strategy in this situation. But that didn't necessarily solve the original problem.

"This time, we have to weigh the efficiency. I didn't say it because I thought destroying the Magic Circle wasn't an option, but neutralizing the effect of the Magic Circle is much more difficult than you think."

Rian grabbed his straight sword upside down and slammed it into the ground with all his might.

"Wouldn't it be okay if I plowed the ground with my sword? Until the magic circle completely disappears."

"That's not incidental. The magic circle we see with our eyes is nothing more than a symbol that embodies a concept."

Shirone understood what Amy was trying to say and gave a clear definition.

"So, unless the space itself is destroyed to the point of erasing it, does the concept of the Magic Circle not disappear?"

"That's right. So, there are two main ways to destroy the Magic Circle. Either neutralize the concept itself with clear magic, or destroy the Magic Circle until the concept disintegrates. The former is impossible for us, and the latter requires time."

Tess realized why Amy was skeptical about this approach.

"So that's how it is. Are you saying that the manpower needed to destroy a single Magic Circle is less efficient than recklessly advancing?"

"That's right. If we can't destroy it in at least 10 minutes, I think it's better to proceed to our destination in this state. Of course, the basic intention itself of using the enemy's psychology is a good idea."

As soon as all the necessary information for the strategy was shared, the amount of conversation decreased. In such situations, it was best to follow one person's opinion. Rian looked at Shirone, asking for a decision.

"What will we do, Shirone?"

Shirone was also destined to be conflicted. As long as the hostage was being held, it would be better to move as quickly as possible, but being too greedy could jeopardize the rescue mission.

"Let's destroy the Magic Circle. I'll give it a try."

When Shirone, who had finally made a decision, voiced his thoughts, Amy looked at him in surprise.

Shirone, whose strength lies in insight, was not the type to be bound by odds, but he also didn't completely ignore the chances of success. In his estimation, the probability of destroying the magic circle in 10 minutes was less than 10 percent.

"Are you sure it's okay? You don't have magic that can achieve that in time, right?"

Of all the magic Shirone could use, the most powerful was definitely the Photon Cannon. However, massing light was not enough to counter the weight of the earth.

Of course, if it were shot at high speed, it would be possible to destroy one of them in 10 minutes. However, the mental energy exhausted in the process would undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage in the battles to come.

Another possibility was the Laser, but Amy was also skeptical about it.

The magic that focuses energy locally to cause molecular vibrations has the advantage of destroying matter regardless of its durability. However, its range was inherently limited.

"I'll try. I have an idea."

Amy couldn't imagine how Shirone intended to destroy the magic circle, but for now, it was best to trust in his words. This was because Shirone's intuition, calculating multiple variables at once, rarely missed the mark.

To get a more accurate conclusion, there might have been someone like Eruki, but as he wasn't present, if Shirone's predictions went astray, it would be seen as an unforeseen circumstance.

Concluding her thoughts, Amy nodded and said, "Alright then. Tess and I will move in one group, and Shirone and Rian will move in another group. Maintain a distance of 50 meters between each pair. Let's scan the surroundings using Teleportation. We need to find the magic circle."

"Understood. But be careful. If we focus only on keeping the distance, we might collide with other obstacles. Teleporting in a forest is risky."

Even Shirone, a specialist in teleportation, needed a high degree of concentration to navigate through a forest. However, Amy replied, seeming a bit irritated by Shirone's caution.

"Who are you worried about now? You don't think of me the same way as those supernatural beings, right?"

It was a statement to allay Shirone's concerns, but it wasn't necessarily wrong either. She was also Amy. She was also a senior student who had mastered the uncrossable bridge, and even had red eyes, which meant the possibility of an accidental collision was almost nil.