Third-person perspective [Darsalow Fortress] At Darsalow Fortress, a fierce magical bombardment was underway.
The human race commander overseeing the fortress was Elder Ronant — the most powerful mage among the humans, save for the elves.
And the forces deployed under him were none other than his own disciples.
It was no exaggeration to say that the human race's most elite magical combat unit had been concentrated at this fortress.
Opposing them was the Demon race's Sixth Army, led by Hyui.
Hyui was likewise one of the most accomplished mages among the Demon race's forces.
Naturally, the army he commanded excelled in magical warfare as well.
The battle was deadlocked.
Against the Demon race, who were inherently superior as a species, the humans leveraged the terrain advantage of the fortress.
In raw ability, the Demon race held the edge; in positional advantage, the humans did. Each side had its own superiority.
But the flashy exchange of spells was merely a facade.
Behind the scenes, both sides were measuring the timing to unleash the grand magic that would serve as their trump card.
In large-scale warfare where entire armies clashed head-on, grand magic designed for anti-army use carried tremendous significance.
Among the higher-tier magical Skills, these spells were so demanding that only the most exceptional casters could activate them solo.
For that reason, several support roles bearing the Spellcast Assistance Skill would accompany the caster, using their Mana Transfer Skill to channel mana into the caster, making execution possible.
Moreover, with a ritual circle of that scale, any first-rate mage with Spell Detection could see through it.
If you could tell what kind of magic the opponent was preparing, you could intercept it or set up defenses.
Being able to do so was precisely why assembling mages of various elemental affinities was essential for deploying an army.
Because of this, grand magic — no matter how devastating its power — was often deflected if used too casually.
Grand magic consumed enormous amounts of mana, so it could not be fired repeatedly.
To make grand magic effective, one had to either exceed the opponent's expected power output and breach their defenses, complete the spell construction so fast they couldn't set up countermeasures, or outmaneuver them somehow. At least one of these conditions had to be met.
But power output was not something that could be raised easily.
Spell construction speed, once you reached the level of a first-rate mage, tended to plateau at roughly the same level for everyone.
Unless the opponent was substantially inferior, neither approach had much chance of succeeding through brute force alone.
That left outmaneuvering the other side.
The application of magic in anti-army warfare all came down to one thing: how to land your grand magic on the enemy.
And to land that grand magic, you had to read the opponent's grand magic while preventing them from reading yours.
This hidden battle of reading each other's hands — that was the true battlefield for armies that fought primarily through magic.
Or so it should have been.
By the time Hyui realized what was happening, the situation had already tilted significantly.
Hyui, who himself possessed considerable ability as a mage, had focused too much on reading the opponent's grand magic rather than on commanding his forces.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been the right call.
But his opponent was a veteran mage considered the most powerful among the human race.
Though Elder Ronant looked youthful with his childlike face, Hyui — a member of the Demon race, who lived far longer than humans — had been alive long enough to know better.
Even so, this time he had picked the wrong opponent.
Elder Ronant had done the opposite of conventional strategy: he used grand magic as a decoy while gradually whittling down the Demon race army's combat power with lower-tier magical sniping.
Elder Ronant and his disciples had spent years honing techniques to amplify the power of lower-tier spells.
Normally, lower-tier magic could not produce that level of output.
The spell structure simply couldn't withstand that kind of power.
And with spells of low power, you could never fully overwhelm a Demon race warrior's natural resistance.
At best, you'd inflict a minor wound.
Elder Ronant had shattered that common wisdom.
He had focused his training on reinforcing spell structures.
Enhanced spell structures enabled the casting of far more powerful spells, making it possible to dramatically boost the output of lower-tier magic — something that had never been achievable before.
The result: despite being lower-tier spells, they now carried enough destructive force to inflict lethal injuries even on the highly resistant Demon race.
Elder Ronant had used this method to train his disciples, and they too could extract devastating power from lower-tier magic.
What the Demon race had assumed was merely suppressive fire actually carried lethal force.
And Elder Ronant had been careful to let them realize this as late as possible, using the grand magic as a decoy to divert Hyui's attention.
By the time Hyui noticed, his army had already begun suffering casualties that could not be ignored.
"Damn it!"
"Lord Hyui, we must retreat!"
Hyui thought.
If he retreated here, would that Demon King forgive him?
No.
That Demon King, of all beings, would never forgive that.
Compared to the enemy's losses, their own damage was severe. It would be hard to claim he had met his quota.
Which meant the Demon King would absolutely come demanding compensation.
That Demon King was exactly that kind of being.
"I can't retreat."
"Why not?! The losses will only keep mounting at this rate!"
"I said I can't!"
The adjutant didn't know the full picture.
Because he didn't know, he could casually suggest retreating.
Hyui's irritation toward his ignorant adjutant mounted.
"I'm going to cast a grand magic spell. Support me."
"Casting a grand magic spell now would be pointless! Please retreat!"
"Support me."
Hyui's words, brooking no argument, silenced everyone around him.
"Hurry up and assist me!"
He was furious, stomping his feet in rage.
That was Hyui's final action.
A long-range sniping spell pierced through his forehead.
A high-powered, precision strike targeted solely at the general.
It was Elder Ronant's attack — one he had launched after recognizing that the enemy lines were in disarray and riddled with openings.
In terms of power, mana expenditure, spell construction difficulty, and all other comprehensive metrics, it was a long-range sniping spell that rivaled even a grand magic spell.
And so, Hyui's life was brought to its end by Elder Ronant's secret art.