Chapter 63: The Curtain Rises on the Information War
“All forces—CHAAARGE!!”
At General Gustav’s roar, the 15,000 soldiers of the Kingdom of Berstein surged toward the Imperial Army’s camp like a flood breaking through a dam.
There was no longer fear or hesitation in their eyes.
Only burning fury at the trampling of their people—and the righteous indignation of knights sworn to protect the innocent—remained.
Their morale had reached its peak.
“…So they’ve come. Fools.”
Watching the scene from the Imperial camp, General Vargas twisted his lips into an ugly grin.
The pillaging had been disgraceful—but it had succeeded in luring out the enemy who had been hiding like turtles.
They had superior numbers.
They held the terrain advantage.
In a straightforward clash, defeat was unthinkable.
“Prepare to intercept! Let those antiquated knights witness the true terror of the Imperial Army!”
Imperial soldiers leveled their spears and roared.
The Silva Plains were moments away from becoming a battlefield where tens of thousands would clash in a war bathed in blood.
But in that instant— something occurred that no one on the battlefield had foreseen.
Waiting silently in the forest, Zenon lifted his right hand toward the sky.
In it, a small magic device glowed red. This was the signal.
The next moment—
From the rear of the Kingdom’s formation, the covers were pulled off a row of massive cargo wagons belonging to the Arkwright Army.
Beneath the thick canvas tarps lay enormous iron-and-wood tubes.
The trump card developed by the kingdom’s magicians.
Long-range offensive weapons known as Magic Cannons.
There were twenty of them.
Arkwright artillerymen moved with calm precision— charging the mana cores, loading the iron shells, adjusting their aim.
Their every motion followed the manual Zenon had written.
No waste. No hesitation.
Then, through the small communication devices fitted to their ears, Zenon’s cold, absolute command rang out:
“Target: enemy central formation.Ammunition: cluster shot.Fire.”
At that signal—
Twenty magic cannons roared as one.
A thunderous boom split the air— a sound of destruction never before heard in this world.
Twenty iron shells screamed across the sky.
They exploded above the Imperial Army— releasing countless steel fragments that rained death upon them.
“G—gaaah!?”
“What—what is happening!?”
The Imperial camp became hell within seconds.
Invisible blades fell from the heavens, piercing armor, shields, flesh alike.
A soldier standing one moment was reduced to a mangled heap the next.
The slaughter was so one-sided that the Imperial soldiers could not even comprehend the cause—only panic.
“Im–Impossible! From where!? Where is the attack coming from!?”
General Vargas screamed in disbelief.
The attacks were coming from far beyond the range of any known weapon.
Not arrows, not magic.
Something unknown—something that shattered every rule of war they understood.
A second volley, then a third.
The concentrated Imperial formation was nothing but a perfect target.
Command collapsed.
The soldiers scattered in terror.
And the Kingdom’s front-line troops—who had halted mid-charge—could only stare in stunned silence.
“…What is that…?”
“…A god’s wrath…?”
Even they could not grasp what they were witnessing.
But soon their commander’s voice spoke directly into their minds through the telepathic devices Zenon had distributed in secret days earlier.
“To all Kingdom forces. The enemy is in chaos. This is our moment.
But do not charge. Scatter and advance slowly. Encircle them. Apply pressure.
Any who resist—eliminate them with muskets. Repeat: this is not a battle.…This is a cleanup.’
A divine voice.
One that saw all.
One that pointed the way to victory with absolute certainty.
Fear and confusion vanished from the soldiers’ hearts.
In their place arose—absolute trust, and awe, for their commander.
They were no longer a mob driven by rage.
They had become a single, unified mind— a cold, calculating pack of hunters.
The information war had begun.
A flawless communication network using telepathic devices.
An overwhelming technological advantage through magic artillery.
A complete grasp of both enemy and ally psychology.
Everything moved according to Zenon’s script.
This was no longer a war.
It was one-sided domination.
The beginning of a brilliant—and merciless—information war
crafted by the rational strategist, Zenon von Arkwright.