I Got Fired As an Adventurer, So I’m Starting Anew As an Alchemist! Frontier Exploration? Alright, Leave It to Me!

204. When Your Boss Is Incompetent, It’s Tough, Isn’t It?

Compared to the time of Mizuho’s defense, the monsters had grown stronger.

During the advance, the weaker monsters had been weeded out, leaving only the powerful ones. And with a massive army of hundreds of thousands, there was no chance of winning under normal circumstances.

The monsters led by the Imperial Army were at least Cyclops-level, even at their weakest. The fact that Cyclops, once known as adventurer-killers, were now the lowest level was nothing short of a nightmare.

Yet, they were being torn apart as if they were a horde of goblins. This was a nightmare not for the Maugaria Kingdom, but for the Duvatten Empire.

One of the frontline commanders, a battalion leader, was wide-eyed in disbelief at the scene before him.

“This is insane… insane, insane, insane! It’s impossible! Those monsters are a horde of powerful individuals! And yet… and yet!”

Of course, considering the number of monsters, no matter how abnormally strong Mizuho’s warriors were, a single regiment couldn’t possibly exterminate all of them. Still, the battalion leader couldn’t shake off an inexplicable sense of urgency.

“Those Mizuho soldiers need to be dealt with quickly, or they’ll be dangerous.”

The battalion leader immediately requested the headquarters to deploy the magic corps for an enemy annihilation via magical assault.

◆

Merdula Duras, the head of the Duvatten Emperor’s magic corps, was also participating in this expedition.

He had brought along the majority of the magic corps and was currently the leader of the magic unit.

At the moment, the magic unit was hastily inscribing a magic circle.

“Ugh! What do you mean the magic corps won’t be needed for a while? The battle’s only been going on for half a day!”

Merdula cursed under his breath as he hurriedly drew a massive magic circle, pouring his mana into it. His disciples and subordinates were also frantically inscribing the circle.

“Good thing we started drawing this as soon as we arrived, just in case. Do those muscle-heads think drawing a magic circle is easy or something!?”

The circle they were drawing was for a group ritual magic. It was complex and time-consuming to complete, but the higher-ups in the army kept sending messengers, demanding they unleash a grand magic spell immediately.

“Group ritual magic is supposed to be a trump card, usable maybe once every few days, and we were planning to use it for sieges.”

Merdula continued working without stopping, venting his anger aloud. It was hard to tell if he was speaking to his disciples or just muttering to himself.

Merdula, despite being a mage, had a rugged appearance, and when he was angry, his face became terrifying.

“I’ve drilled the advantages and disadvantages of group ritual magic into those higher-ups countless times, but it’s like their heads are made of sieves… or something! It just leaks right out!”

This magic circle had to be drawn while infusing it with mana, and it was a one-time use, so it couldn’t be prepared in advance on cloth or anything. That’s why they had to do it on-site.

In a proper group ritual magic, it was most efficient to gather individuals of similar strength. However, this time, they were using Merdula and his top disciples as mana batteries, so the less skilled mages would be incapacitated for several days after casting the spell.

These were the two major drawbacks.

One of the top disciples, mustering his courage, spoke up to Merdula.

“But Master, your improved group ritual magic is truly remarkable. With this, no matter how strong the enemy is, defeating them should be easy.”

Merdula, hearing the obvious flattery from his disciple who just wanted to calm him down, regained some composure.

Though it was flattery, it was clear that the disciple genuinely believed it.

“Hmm. Then tell me the advantages of group ritual magic. How is it applied in a war like this?”

To calm himself down, Merdula began lecturing his disciple as usual.

“One advantage is the significant increase in power and range. Since mages vary in strength, if they cast spells individually, there will be inconsistencies. That’s not ideal for tactical operations. But if we use ritual magic to combine them into a single spell, the high firepower and fixed range make it much more effective on a battlefield like this.”

Merdula nodded in satisfaction at the disciple’s explanation.

“Exactly. Some can only blow away a few people, while others can unleash spells that wipe out a hundred. In war, uniform unit strength is crucial, but mages inevitably have disparities. Group ritual magic helps compensate for that.”

“Yes. But I believe the greatest advantage is the extended range of the spell.”

“Oh? Explain.”

“We mages are not only few in number but also unused to close combat. We’d rather avoid melee battles. But with ritual magic, we can cast spells from far behind the front lines, ensuring both our safety and tactical advantage.”

“Well said.”

Merdula didn’t particularly like war or conflict. But as a master of group ritual magic, he couldn’t help but feel a contradictory desire to test its power on a battlefield like this at least once.

“……Bella-sama, I’m sure Jabil, who moved to the Kingdom, would resent me for this.”

He recalled the young alchemist who had once been hailed as a genius.

“Well, she’s probably an old hag by now, just like me.”

Judging from the academic papers she published every few years, she seemed to be doing well, though they were mostly about agriculture.

“As always, she’s only researching things that would bring peace to all humanity.”

And now they were invading the Kingdom where Jabir resided. It was only natural for Merdula to feel a little sentimental.

He shook his head vigorously to refocus.

“Alright, it’s done. Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

While coordinating with the army, they observed the enemy’s movements.

In summary, the Mizuho samurai had charged into the frontlines of the monster horde, and they were requested to annihilate them.

Merdula used [Levitate] and [Far Sight] magic to observe the battlefield. Seeing the scene, he understood why the higher-ups were so anxious.

“I can’t believe they’re ignoring such ferocious monsters. No wonder the small nation of Mizuho has managed to survive.”

Still, the Kingdom had played their strongest card right from the start. If they could crush this, the Empire’s victory would be assured.

Normally, they should have conserved their strength, but it was only natural to deploy the forces that had fled to the Kingdom first.

Merdula instructed his disciples on the location to cast the spell.

The disciples lined up along the magic circle.

“Now, let us perform the group ritual magic!”

Unlike individual spells, they couldn’t construct the magical formula in their minds. Through the magic circle, they used gestures and incantations to build a unified magical formula.

(Who would have thought we’d use this magic on humans instead of monsters? And on the orders of a demi-human advisor who’s indistinguishable from a monster. Life truly is unpredictable.)

After a long, long incantation, the grand magic was finally complete.

The voices of all the mages overlapped.

“””“““May the scorching heat of Gehenna rain down upon all who stand against us. [Inferno Gehenna Storm]!!!””””””

This was the group ritual magic version of [Scorching Eight-Layered Hellfire Storm], a vicious spell that rained down boiling, magma-like heat alongside a raging storm. It was truly a spell worthy of being called demonic.

Ignoring the disciples who collapsed one after another, Merdula used [Levitate] again to check on the enemy.

And then, he was left speechless.