Chapter 61

After completing their reorganization, the knights of Hareth led by Cordelia mounted their horses and rushed out to the plains to deal with the monsters once again. Simultaneously with their departure, the huge gate leading to the border zone of the Elder Millie Peninsula opened wide.

In front of the gate, a procession of members from the Central Branch of the Council was waiting, having finished their preparations to enter the peninsula.

Leonardo was sitting on the roof of a supply wagon, enjoying his freedom for a change, away from Hugo. As he was out in the open without even wearing handcuffs, the members were increasingly wary of him and didn't approach within a certain radius.

Leonardo didn't pay any attention to those gazes. He just looked at the battalion commanders of the Council, who seemed to be standing in the center of the gate in the distance, talking as if they were hastily devising a strategy, and muttered to himself as if waiting was boring.

"What are they doing over there instead of departing?"

Meanwhile, Hugo, who was standing at the very front, Meterion Clinder, the 3rd Battalion Commander, and Bruno Amos, the Deputy Commander of the Southern Branch, were having a conversation while looking at the small peaks located just ahead beyond the plains past the gate.

Although they were called small, they were only lower compared to other peaks and were made of high rock walls, making them appear dizzying when looking up from right in front.

And the path that the Central Branch led by Hugo had to take was a head-on breakthrough route that passed through those peaks and crossed the center of the peninsula. Although there was a narrow and winding valley path in the middle of the peaks, there was a concern that it would take a considerable amount of time for a large-scale procession to pass through there.

Hugo alternately looked at the map depicting the terrain of the peninsula and the peaks beyond the plains of the border zone and said,

"If there are peaks in front, won't it take a long time to enter and return from the headquarters?"

"Yes, that's true, but it's necessary for the role of a defensive line to block the monsters converging from both sides."

As Hugo pondered at Bruno's answer, Meterion continued,

"The defensive line only needs to be on the east and west sides, so it would be advantageous for the advance to partially break through the straight direction heading south. We should minimize unnecessary energy consumption in the early stages."

Hugo nodded at Meterion's words.

"I agree as well."

Then Bruno scratched the back of his head and said,

"Then we'll have to install explosives... That will also take a considerable amount of time. It's also difficult to control the scale of the explosion."

Bruno's words also made sense. Even if they went there and installed explosives, it would still require labor and time.

On the other hand, blowing it away with mana wasn't ideal either. Hugo's mana, which had that level of scale, wasn't suitable for explosions, and if ice covered the valley, it would quickly melt and turn into a sea of water due to the hot and humid temperature of Elder Millie. Then, the already blurry vision could be covered with steam, leading to dangerous situations.

After rubbing his chin for a moment, Hugo seemed to have thought of a strategy and said to Bruno,

"Although controlling the scale is just as difficult, we have a powerful bomb that can definitely shorten the time, don't we?"

"Pardon? Do we have something like that?"

Bruno asked back with a puzzled face. Not only that, but Meterion, who was from the same branch as Hugo, also looked at Hugo with a face that said it was the first time he had heard of it. Then, Hugo's gaze turned towards Leonardo, who was watching them from afar. Meterion and Bruno also turned their heads in that direction and simultaneously exclaimed "Ah" as soon as they saw Leonardo.

"Should we try using that bomb? Any objections?"

Meterion asked with doubtful eyes,

"Can that guy really blow up the peaks in front?"

In response, Hugo nodded and answered,

"Actually, I'm worried he might blow up other things too... Well, it doesn't matter."

At Hugo's calm yet terrifying answer, Bruno intervened with a startled look,

"Commander, that won't do. From the third peak onwards in the central direction, there is a sheer cliff between the third and fourth peaks, and the scale of the peaks increases exponentially. If we're not careful, a landslide could occur."

"Then let's just blow up the three small peaks in front of that."

"Well... Can it be controlled?"

At Bruno's worried question, Hugo pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth as if he had made a decision,

"I'll try to control it."

Eventually, Hugo gestured towards Leonardo, who was watching them from afar, as if telling him to come over.

When the three of them, including Hugo, were whispering while looking at him from a distance and suddenly told him to come over, Leonardo showed a slightly unpleasant expression and grumbled to himself while looking at them,

"Am I their pet dog or something?"

However, even while grumbling like that, he used teleportation to instantly move in front of them. And he asked Hugo, who had gestured for him to come,

"Why did you call me?"

"Leonardo, look over there."

Hugo pointed to the small peaks located in the center in the distance and said,

"Those peaks and the one right behind them are the 1st and 2nd peaks. Can you blow up those two?"

"Is that what you've been wasting time talking about?"

Leonardo looked at him as if he was frustrated, then immediately stretched out his arm towards the front and concentrated powerful mana in his hand.

As the extraordinary flow of energy gathered in his hand, the surrounding air became startlingly hot and swayed. That powerful mana and the suddenly changed air flow mixed together, creating a fierce wind in the area. Bruno and Meterion were startled by the energy emanating from Leonardo and took a few steps back.

However, Hugo not only didn't back away from Leonardo's side but even grabbed his right arm and stopped him.

"You need to blow up exactly two. Don't touch anything else."

"Got it. I just need to blow up the one in front and the one right behind it, right?"

At the words that he needed to blow up exactly two, Bruno looked at Hugo with a puzzled face.

It was because just a moment ago, while discussing, they had agreed to blow up three peaks, including the 3rd peak, so he couldn't understand why Hugo was saying two. However, Bruno thought, 'He must have a reason...' and watched what the two of them were doing.

As Leonardo amplified the fierce mana concentrated in his right hand and aimed at the peaks, Hugo said with a slightly exaggerated nuance,

"I think it would be better to reduce the mana a bit."

The swaying flow of energy from Leonardo seemed to reflect Hugo's opinion and decreased very slightly. Hugo didn't seem satisfied and spoke to him once more,

"Reduce it further."

As Leonardo reduced the size of the mana a bit more, the wind blowing around them became relatively calmer compared to before. However, Hugo still didn't seem satisfied.

"It's still strong. Reduce it more."

"Ah, you told me to blow it up! At this rate, I won't even be able to blow up a neighborhood hill!"

Leonardo snapped at Hugo, who kept telling him to reduce it further, as if arguing with him. As a result, Leonardo's seething mana momentarily dispersed, and Hugo nodded as if he had found the right amount.

"Yes, that's enough."

Leonardo, who had greatly furrowed his eyebrows, asked with a half-doubtful look at the size of the mana that had decreased more than he expected,

"Isn't it too weak? I'm doing it because you told me to, but if it doesn't blow up properly, I don't know."

"It's fine. Just throw it like that."

Although Leonardo felt a bit uneasy, he grasped the compressed air and flames, where explosive energy was condensed, in his right hand as if holding a ball.

Even with the naked eye, the inside of the mana sphere he was holding seemed to be filled with intense mana that was screaming to burst out. In Bruno's eyes, it looked like an extremely dangerous nuclear bomb that could explode at any moment.

Eventually, Leonardo placed his left foot on the ground, adjusted the angle of his right arm, and threw the mana sphere with all his might towards the small peak in front. It instantly cut through the wind and flew towards the 1st peak that unfolded before their eyes.

Everyone held their breath and watched the afterimage of the mana sphere extending at a speed too fast for the eyes to follow, creating a trajectory in the air. Leonardo stood still with his right arm outstretched in the throwing posture, not taking his eyes off it.

About 1 or 2 minutes passed. It was a time when the sound of the explosion should have been heard long ago, but the peak didn't budge, and Meterion, who had been holding his breath just like the others, snorted and spoke sarcastically,

"Agrizendro, is this what you call control? You controlled it too much that it can't even make a scratch."

As Leonardo frowned and turned his head to glare at Meterion, Hugo spoke while still keeping his gaze fixed on the front,

"Leonardo, not yet. Concentrate."

At Hugo's words, Leonardo's gaze turned back to the front. A few seconds passed, and Hugo suddenly created a large barrier in front of the gate where they were standing and said,

"Now."

Leonardo, who received the signal, clenched his outstretched right hand into a tight fist. At that moment, as if that gesture had become the trigger for the explosion, a destructive shockwave erupted from afar, accompanied by a sound that seemed to split the earth and sky.

Everyone's attention was drawn to that place by the ear-splitting roar, and the strong gust of wind and dust that blew in as an aftereffect made them directly feel the power of the explosion.

The huge gust of wind that rushed towards the front collided with Hugo's barrier and immediately spread in all directions, creating a thick yellow dust. The tremendous energy of mana mixed in it scratched the skin, penetrated the bones, and sent shivers throughout the body.

It was more than enough to imprint Leonardo's strength on those around him.

Meterion's dark eyes, which had been sarcastic, stared directly at the epicenter of the spreading shockwave. His pupils, feeling the eerie energy, slowly expanded as if in disbelief.

Not only Meterion but also Bruno and the members waiting behind them looked at the place where the peaks had been, now completely blown away by the explosion, with their mouths wide open.

Behind the settling dust, Meterion's sight was filled with a huge gorge that had been cleanly opened, precisely sparing the peaks on both sides and only blowing away the back.

Feeling goosebumps on his skin at the vast and gruesome sight blown away by a single human, he couldn't continue speaking with a deeply furrowed expression.

After staring at it for a moment, Meterion very slowly shifted his gaze to Leonardo beside him. Sensing that gaze, Leonardo also turned his head and responded with a relaxed smile filled with amusement, as if Meterion's surprised expression was quite a sight to behold.

"For a scratch, isn't it a bit big?"

Bruno also admired the gorge that stretched out in a straight line, then came to his senses and counted the number of peaks that had been blown away.

"One, two, three. It blew away exactly up to the 3rd peak."

At the words that it had blown away up to the third peak, Leonardo, who had been giving Meterion a leisurely smile, flinched and looked at that place again. He narrowed his eyes and counted the number of peaks that had been blown away, then slowly lowered his arm and looked up at Hugo as if gauging his reaction. Then he muttered with an awkward expression,

"...Because you kept putting handcuffs on me, I lost my sense of control."

Although it seemed like he was shifting the responsibility to Hugo, Hugo smiled faintly at Leonardo, who was clearly embarrassed, and calmly replied,

"Well done, Leonardo. You blew away exactly the target amount."

At those words, Leonardo asked back with a questioning face,

"Wasn't the target up to the 2nd peak?"

"The target was up to the 3rd peak."

"You told me it was up to the 2nd peak..."

Leonardo suddenly stopped speaking, and after a brief silence, he frowned as if he had understood Hugo's intention and quickly changed his gaze to glare fiercely at Hugo.

It was clear that Agrizendro had thought from the beginning that Leonardo wouldn't be able to properly control the scale of the explosion and deliberately told him it was up to the 2nd peak.

Although it turned out fortunate in the end, Leonardo filled his eyes with curses and shot them at Hugo for his actions of not trusting him at all despite saying he would try to trust him.

Hugo patted Leonardo's back a couple of times as if he was proud and smiled.

"Good work. You can go back to the rear now."

Now that he had finished his business, he told Leonardo to go back, and Leonardo looked at his face as if he was dumbfounded. Then he brushed off Hugo's arm and silently walked towards the back.

It seemed like he was unexpectedly obediently returning, but his face was quite murderous when he turned around, causing the members who saw it to step back in unison.

Leonardo couldn't bring himself to take action, but he gritted his teeth and thought,

'I want to punch him just once.'

Bruno stared blankly at Leonardo quietly walking away, then shifted his gaze back to Hugo and couldn't help but be startled. Even though Leonardo had committed the disrespectful act of brushing off the Commander's arm, a faint smile lingered on the lips of the usually cold Commander.

'Is he... enjoying it? What on earth?'

However, as soon as Hugo took his eyes off Leonardo's back, he returned to his usual cold face as if nothing had happened. After confirming the target point ahead, he said to Bruno and Meterion,

"Now that the path has been created, let's depart."