Episode 154
There were four fortresses.
Just as the Duchy of Saxony and the Demon King’s realm were once separated by a few strategic points and river crossings, there are not many places where a large army can move from the demon world into the Demon King’s territory.
“If we assume that a high-ranking demon is leading the demons within the Demon King’s realm, then it’s likely that at least one high-ranking demon is stationed at each of these four fortresses.”
Dale pointed to the four strategic locations where large-scale movement between the demon world and the Demon King’s realm was possible. These were once fortresses built by the imperial army after the hero defeated the Demon King. Now abandoned, they likely served as strongholds for the demons within the Demon King’s realm.
Apart from the paths monitored by these fortresses, there were no roads from the demon world into the Demon King’s realm.
In those frozen lands, a single misstep could lead to an entire unit being swallowed by a crevasse, a common occurrence in that hellish landscape.
“That’s a reasonable assumption.”
Princess Chiara nodded in agreement with Dale’s assessment during the Second Crusade’s strategy meeting.
“These fortresses were established by the imperial army to identify key points where large-scale demon movements could occur during the previous campaign against the Demon King.”
“Despite our proud empire and the hero vanquishing the Demon King and his minions, it’s lamentable that these fortresses, symbols of our victory, have fallen into the hands of demons.”
A master templar murmured in response to the princess’s words.
“It was Saxony’s duty to garrison those fortresses and reclaim the Demon King’s realm.”
“And isn’t that duty being fulfilled now?”
Dale replied calmly, unfazed by the open hostility directed at him.
“During my father’s time, it was nearly impossible for Saxony’s forces alone to defend all four fortresses.”
“Hah, the mighty Saxony, known for its fearsome reputation, turns cowardly when it suits them!”
Another master templar sneered.
“Besides large-scale troop movements, there were endless guerrilla attacks by small groups of demons bypassing the fortresses. Monitoring the vast duchy and the entire Demon King’s realm was too heavy a burden for Saxony alone.”
Dale answered matter-of-factly. Until they adopted an open policy and invited external forces, Saxony, with its isolationist stance, couldn’t handle such a vast territory.
“Please, let’s not get too heated.”
After finishing his explanation, Dale continued coldly.
“Surely you’re aware of the ‘martyrdom’ that befell the Rüginian brothers.”
“You…!”
“Let’s leave it at that.”
At that moment, Princess Chiara intervened, addressing the master templars who couldn’t hide their anger.
“Your Highness!”
“As I said, we’re all here to carry out a holy mission. Let’s set aside personal grievances and work together towards our common goal, shall we?”
”…”
“If we wish for a swift resolution, our course of action is clear.”
Silence fell after the princess’s words, and Dale spoke again.
“We must capture the four fortresses in succession and establish the ‘Barrier of Light’ with the sacred relics of the White Tower.”
“How dare a Saxon heretic speak of the goddess’s relics so casually…!”
“Could you please shut up? Stop nitpicking like a child.”
As a master templar was about to raise his voice again, Lady Scarlet interjected.
“Lady Scarlet, do you think the goddess will forget the cursed deeds you inflicted on our Rüginian brothers?”
The master templar retorted, and Lady Scarlet smirked coldly.
“Consider yourself lucky you’re not hanging from a meat hook like a piece of butchered meat.”
She bared her fangs in a show of defiance.
At that moment, a shadowy tendril wrapped around Dale, and the ‘Avatar of the Shadow Lord’ clad in dark armor appeared.
The presence alone was enough to overwhelm the room, as the Shadow Lord engulfed the area in a flood of darkness.
A chilling cold and darkness took hold, and silence descended like a feather.
The leaders of the crusade reacted in two distinct ways.
“How… how can he summon an avatar…!”
Most of the lords and knights were shocked by the extraordinary power displayed by Dale, who was supposed to be a mage.
Meanwhile, the church and some militant representatives, equally taken aback, prepared for battle.
Dale dismissed his avatar and continued speaking calmly.
“Given the unknown threats lurking in the Demon King’s realm, we will unite as a single main force and systematically capture the fortresses.”
With all eyes on him, he began to outline the plan.
“We will concentrate our forces to capture Fortresses 1 through 4 in order, then establish the ‘Barrier of Light’ connecting them. Once we block the paths between the demon world and the Demon King’s realm, we will eliminate the remaining demons, and this land will finally become ‘Imperial territory.’”
“Concentrate our forces?”
But it was the Seventh Prince, Mordred, who laughed at this.
“With such a large army gathered, are you planning to crawl through this godforsaken land without a Demon King like a bunch of slugs?”
“As I said, we haven’t yet assessed the threat of high-ranking demons.”
“Can’t you see the number of troops gathered here, oh great genius of the empire?”
Mordred continued.
“We’ll divide into four units and simultaneously attack the four fortresses of the Demon King’s realm. Anyone have a problem with that?”
He seemed determined not to let Dale lead the operation.
“The prince is right!”
“The so-called ‘Black Prince,’ a genius in military strategy, turns out to be just a coward hiding behind Saxony’s name!”
“Indeed!”
As soon as Mordred spoke, the lords hostile to Saxony erupted in mockery. Amidst the jeers, Dale remained silently composed.
‘These hopeless fools.’
Suppressing the words that almost escaped his throat, Dale replied.
“Well, by all means, go ahead.”
As if it were none of his concern.
The war began, and four large units set out for their respective fortresses.
The units were led by the Seventh Prince Mordred, the Red Tower, the church, and the House of Saxony.
The most prestigious task, the assault on the first fortress, fell to Mordred, while Dale was assigned the relatively weakest fourth fortress.
At that moment, at the first fortress where Mordred and the empire’s prominent lords were advancing.
A man in a black robe stood on the fortress’s watchtower. Beneath the robe, shadows writhed—a high-ranking demon.
A sorcerer from the demon world, inheriting the ideology of ‘another Saxony’ from the Shadow Tower.
When the Demon King Balor and other demons fled, unable to withstand the cruelty and evil of the Eldritch, this man also followed the Demon King.
To escape the ‘demons of shadow,’ to survive by desperately seeking a new home away from their madness.
The Demon King’s realm was their sanctuary. A land for their race to live, blocked by the empire’s walls, never to return to that hellish place.
At that moment, a black tendril rose from the shadow at the man’s feet.
The tendril coiled around the high-ranking demon, the shadow sorcerer, binding him tightly.
”…!”
In his shock, he tried to manipulate the shadows, but a voice spoke first.
─ Do you think you can escape the shadows?
“A-ah…!”
It was a voice he could never forget. The man turned desperately within the tendril’s grip.
──A young boy stood there.
A boy with his eyes wrapped in black bandages.
Seeing him, the color drained from the high-ranking demon’s face.
“H-how…!”
“I don’t care about cowards fleeing my empire.”
The boy continued.
“But it seems my ‘daughter,’ whom I must reclaim, is coming here of her own accord.”
The man knelt in shock at the boy’s words.
“P-please forgive me…! O Shadow Lord…!”
The Shadow Lord. At those words, the boy smiled gently.
“It’s far too late for forgiveness, child.”
Simultaneously, the shadows around them opened their ‘eyes.’ Countless eyes within the shadows began to move, observing everything around them.
“Still, I can offer you a chance.”
“Speak, I will obey the Shadow Lord’s command!”
“Bring me the ‘false Saxon bloodline.’”
The Shadow Lord commanded.
“How dare you steal my daughter and impersonate the ‘Shadow Lord’ with such audacity, you fearless usurper.”
At those words, the hooded man bowed his head so low it seemed to bury itself in the ground. As if fleeing, he left the moment the tendrils wrapped around him retreated into the shadows.
The young boy, his eyes covered with black bandages, remained there, unmoving.
He harbored a cold, sharpened hatred for the golden lineage approaching—a lineage of an unforgettable nemesis.
The advance of the four divisions of the Crusaders was proceeding more smoothly than expected.
In fact, it was so smooth it felt almost suspicious.
Nothing stood in their way. They merely trudged through the biting cold that seemed to freeze the very air.
Even after days and nights of marching, no demonic guerrillas blocked Dale’s division. The messengers, who maintained regular communication with the other divisions, reported the same.
It was when Dale finally reached the fourth fortress, their target, that they found it.
The fortress was empty. As if it had been deserted from the start.
’…’
The likelihood that the remnants of the demons had occupied all four fortresses was slim. And if any were to be a dud, it was undoubtedly this one.
Shortly after, a messenger from the division attacking the first fortress arrived urgently at Dale’s camp.
The messenger’s condition was bizarre.
He burst into hysterical laughter, then began to cry like a child. Dale calmed him and asked what had happened.
“What happened there?”
“A god…!”
The messenger muttered.
“There was a god! An all-knowing, all-powerful, great celestial overseer! Hehehe!”
“A god? Are you talking about the Sistine Sister Goddesses?”
“Sister Goddesses? Ha, haha!”
The messenger laughed as if the idea was absurd.
“There are no Sister Goddesses! But oh, oh yes, there is a god! A god truly exists!”
His laughter was tinged with madness.
“—But that god does not love us!”
With those words, black blood gushed from the messenger’s features.
It was the same dark ichor that had once been scattered by Shub’s tendrils.
Upon hearing this, Dale and his division did not hesitate.
They had no inkling of the ambush that lay ahead.