Chapter 54: Warfare is a Battle of Intelligence

“Wow, Robin is taking the upper hand!”

“Shh, keep your voice down, don’t let the soldiers hear…”

“Come on, Robin!”

“You’ve got to win!”

“So even the marquis’s son can get hurt? I thought he was invincible.”

“Damn it, what the hell is Vincent doing? That’s my money!”

The area visible from the battlefield was limited; even with the full contingent, the numbers weren’t overwhelmingly large.

Surprisingly, many people were actually rooting for Robin.

Especially the townsfolk—they couldn’t afford to watch the fight in person, but that didn’t stop them from praying for Robin’s victory, or more precisely, hoping that Duke Benito would take the city.

Everyone knew the duke’s side treated people well, so naturally, they longed to be freed from their hellish suffering.

Another point was that Robin was a commoner, a soldier, while Vincent was the marquis’s son—two individuals from inherently different classes.

Class struggle had never ceased.

Rather than seeing a noble’s son triumph, the crowd hoped to witness Robin, a commoner, pull off an upset.

“He’s gaining the advantage,” Jennifer exclaimed, overjoyed.

“Don’t celebrate too soon; a wounded beast is even more dangerous.” Unlike Jennifer, Wade’s expression grew serious. “Vincent was careless before, which is why Robin’s explosive and incendiary rounds managed to wound him. You can tell he didn’t expect Robin to wield extraordinary weapons—otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.”

“Now he’s become cautious, and the damage Robin inflicted isn’t as severe as we imagined.”

Jennifer’s smile faded at Wade’s words.

Robin stood like a vigilant sentry, gun in hand, eyes scanning left and right.

Vincent, now more cautious, was using the trenches and blind spots to inch closer to Robin’s position.

Robin had swapped out the extraordinary rifle for his steam-powered rifle.

With a scope to aid his aim, it helped conserve some of his mental energy.

Soon, Vincent appeared, flipping out of the trench and sprinting toward the next one.

Spotting Vincent’s movement, Robin fired instinctively.

Bang! Bang! Bang…

Flames burst from the muzzle as bullets, propelled by gunpowder and steam, raced toward Vincent.

Unfortunately, the bullets weren’t fast enough, and Robin needed time to adjust his aim. Though these six shots restricted Vincent’s movements while firing, they only grazed his shoulder.

Crack.

Vincent reached the next trench, wincing in pain from his left shoulder.

This was the current weakness of the extraordinary fighters.

Even if clad in extraordinary gear, bullets might not pierce through, but they still caused pain.

When the force accumulated to a certain extent, even if Vincent’s exterior seemed fine, his internal organs were being shaken to pieces.

“Robin…” Vincent gritted his teeth, “Does his gun have no recoil?”

He had just noticed that Robin’s gun seemed to have no recoil at all—rapid fire without needing to control the gun, each shot going exactly where he aimed.

Vincent could only conclude that both of Robin’s guns were extraordinary weapons.

***

Vincent thought there were about eight hundred meters left. He couldn’t pinpoint which direction Robin would come from; his vision covered one hundred and eighty degrees, and this was his chance.

If he could reach the next blind spot, his marksmanship could at least reach Robin’s area!

Shooting wasn’t that simple, especially at long range.

At such a distance, a normal person could barely see a small black dot.

Even with a scope, hitting the target wasn’t easy.

Just aiming at the area was difficult enough.

Therefore, Vincent needed to close the distance before using his gun effectively.

He waited in the trench for a full minute before darting out, intending to rush behind a dirt mound.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As soon as Vincent stepped out, three freezing rounds shot toward him!

Hearing the shots, Vincent knew the situation was dire and decisively pressed forward.

His dynamic vision allowed him to see that those three bullets were blocking his forward path.

At this moment, he couldn’t retreat—that would mean losing the opportunity.

Besides, the inertia from his speed meant he couldn’t just stop or turn back abruptly.

He dared not slow down either, or else other bullets from Robin would strike, leaving him a sitting duck.

Clenching his pain, Vincent pushed off with his left leg.

Bang!

The bullets hit the ground, releasing an icy chill that froze the earth beneath.

Not only the ground but also Vincent’s right leg was invaded by the cold.

Because of the injured left leg, his exertion was limited, causing more cold to affect his right leg.

Boom, boom…

Robin fired two explosive rounds near Vincent.

With such explosive damage, Vincent could only barely avoid being heavily affected but couldn’t escape entirely.

Whoosh!

Vincent successfully lunged behind the dirt mound, gasping for breath.

His body bore many burn marks, and his right leg was stiff from the cold.

Vincent was now battered and bruised.

What about Robin?

His clothes were just slightly dirty.

“Damn it, this bastard’s luck is unbelievable,” Vincent muttered under his breath.

***

Vincent thought Robin’s quick location tracking was luck, but it was intelligence.

War was a battle of information.

Robin knew Vincent’s endurance was lacking; he wouldn’t take a long detour to come from the other side, so his defensive range was limited.

That intelligence system even updated Vincent’s data in real time!

[Vincent Ravendale]

[Agility: C-]

Robin silently aimed his gun at that dirt mound.

He could no longer use the extraordinary rifle.

After firing so many rounds, Robin felt his magical energy depleting rapidly, nearing exhaustion!

Previously, the steam rifle had warned him that the extraordinary rifle consumed a lot of mana, and now Robin truly understood.

It was like a hellcat—its fuel ran out quickly.

Fortunately, Robin’s guns had been effective, at least reducing Vincent’s agility and inflicting significant damage.

Robin’s mental focus was intense, which was also exhausting, especially with his mana running low.

But Robin knew Vincent’s personality—he wouldn’t rest long because he cared about his pride.

His father was watching from behind, so Vincent had to end the fight quickly, not drag it out.

If Vincent rested for hours, it would be pure torment for Robin.

Swish!

As expected, Vincent soon emerged from behind the dirt mound, aiming for the next trench.

The distance between them shrank, and both saw hope.

The closer they got, the faster the bullets would reach Vincent!

This time, Vincent didn’t run as before; holding an automatic rifle, he fired toward Robin the moment he appeared.

Rat-a-tat-tat…

Bullets flew wildly, forcing Robin to duck temporarily.

Robin knew Vincent’s aim was poor, but firing like this meant Vincent didn’t even know where his bullets would land…

It was like a novice firing missiles, forcing the world’s air defenses to go full alert.

Boom, boom, boom!

These were clearly no ordinary bullets but the same explosive rounds Robin used!

Each bullet exploded like a shell near Robin, sending up clouds of smoke and dust.

Two even detonated behind him, vibrating his body numb.

“Hah!”

Vincent seized the opportunity to charge wildly ahead.

Closer now, only two hundred meters remained. “I’m going to finish you!”

Robin lowered his head, his vision obscured, body numb, hands trembling.

Yet, he still had the strength to shift his aim and squeeze the trigger.

“Hey, buddy, I told you it’s unreliable. You have to rely on me! Let that old man see the pinnacle of human craftsmanship!”