Land of the Blood Demons (7)
It was a clear night. Beneath the celestial sphere, where the Milky Way stretched across the sky, the bluish moonlight mingled with the crimson glow of torches, creating a dizzying dance of light.
Dalen followed Everon to the edge of the camp. Outside, a group already prepared for departure awaited him.
“Azra is launching a surprise attack on the Imperial forces, causing chaos. We shouldn’t have any pursuers for a while.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m just doing what needs to be done. This isn’t just your fight.”
Everon handed over the reins with a respectful nod, his gesture naturally exuding the grace of nobility.
”…”
It was a moment that filled Dalen with a renewed sense of purpose.
Everon Lactal, known as the “Face of a Thousand Changes,” was a transcendent being. He was the ruler of the labyrinth city, one of the twenty-six halls, and a born noble raised in the Golden Palace.
For someone like him to bow so courteously was a testament to the path Dalen had walked.
When they first met, Everon likely saw him as nothing more than a warrior who had defeated a lesser demon. It felt like just yesterday when Everon, in the guise of an old man, had approached him with a chuckle as he gazed over the central plaza of the Silver District.
Now, Everon treated him as if he were the continent’s last hope, bowing with respect.
“Is something wrong…?”
“No.”
He had experienced this kind of thing many times beyond the monitor, but it was nothing compared to a world that breathed and lived.
Unaware of Dalen’s thoughts, Everon scratched his head awkwardly and added with concern, “Be careful. The Blood Lord is nothing like the avatar of Sume you faced in the north.”
“I know.”
Not all avatars of evil gods are the same. Dalen, who had developed many dark sorcerer characters, understood what Everon was getting at.
Sume had descended forcibly, ignoring the lack of sacrifices and conditions, diminishing his own stature in the process. It was a reckless choice, typical of a battle-crazed evil god.
“Since the last Blood Demon War, Temomron has acted with extreme caution, avoiding unnecessary conflicts and focusing on establishing his influence across the continent.”
Despite the Empire’s immense power, the Vampire Count’s territory had remained intact for 400 years, a testament to this strategy.
The power accumulated over centuries, through the blood and screams of humans, was more than enough to summon an avatar of an evil god in its full form.
“If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I’m fine. You’ve done more than enough.”
The power amassed by the Empire over a millennium was formidable. Even the transcendent beings of the Golden Palace, who surpassed human limits, found war with such an empire no easy task.
Moreover, as the end drew near, the power of the labyrinth, suppressed by the barrier towers, grew stronger. The transcendent beings of the Golden Palace had already fulfilled their roles abundantly.
“Good luck, then.”
With a final short farewell, Everon returned to the camp. Dalen watched him go before leading his horse to join his companions.
Everon wasn’t the only one he needed to say goodbye to.
Among those ready to depart, two were headed in a different direction.
”…Dalen.”
“Lucia.”
While Dalen was heading east, Lucia and Farn were bound for the west.
They were headed to the headquarters of the Holy Knights, which was under attack by the Dragon Legion. Lucia had no choice but to go.
“Please wait for me, Dalen. I’ll come to you as soon as the dragon hunt is over.”
Lucia’s voice trembled slightly, her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“So don’t worry. I’m no longer the clumsy novice knight lost in the labyrinth.”
Despite her words, she forced a confident smile, trying to appear unfazed.
”…”
Having faced both evil gods beyond the monitor, Dalen knew the dragon god was the more formidable foe.
The Dragon Legion, led by hundreds of lesser dragons and dozens of true dragons, was a force to be reckoned with.
Reports of the Holy Knights’ fortresses falling to the dragons were frequent, with casualties in the thousands.
While the headquarters, guarded by the commander, might not fall easily, the future was uncertain.
Despite her casual mention of dragon hunting, it would be a battle rivaling the full-scale war in the north.
There had been many instances where the Holy Knights fell to the dragons, and Lucia Castachild had perished in several of them.
Even so…
“I’ll capture the Blood Lord and then head to the headquarters.”
For now, letting her go was the right choice.
Holding on out of fear of loss would only hasten their downfall.
Lucia Castachild, having grown into a transcendent being, was one of the Holy Knights’ most formidable assets. The fall of the Holy Knights at this point would be disastrous.
The labyrinth was a place where demons could easily come and go, and the rift guarded by the Holy Knights was one of the pathways leading to it.
The dragon god’s attack on the headquarters was for the same reason.
Breaking the seal of the Holy Knights guarding the rift would make it easier to project the power of hell onto the continent.
Dalen looked at her slightly disheveled blonde hair from weeks of camping and handed her a thin suit of armor from his subspace.
“This is…”
“Armor made from the scales of an earth dragon. The best blacksmith I know crafted it. Wear it under your Holy Knight armor.”
“Thank you.”
In the end, this fight wouldn’t end by merely holding the line.
Soon, they would have to invade hell itself and overturn the strongholds of the five evil gods.
Defeating the Blood Lord and weakening Temomron’s power was just the groundwork for that final battle.
After handing over the armor, Dalen mounted his horse. As always, farewells were best kept short.
“Take care, Dalen.”
He nodded in response and nudged his horse forward.
Six figures rode into the darkness of the night, heading east.
After parting ways with the two Holy Knights, Dalen and his companions continued eastward.
The group consisted of Dalen, Priest Valentino, Bjorn, Akasha, and Sienna—six in total.
With fewer numbers, they could travel faster, but the journey through uninhabited forests and mountains was challenging.
They had to avoid detection while crossing nearly half of the Empire’s territory.
It was unavoidable. Under the guise of a holy war, the Pantheon had deeply entrenched itself in the Empire’s power.
Rumors circulated that even the Emperor was a puppet of the Pantheon, making the Empire little more than a tool of Enaxagus.
“Every city and inn has wanted posters with our faces. The bounty is five chests of gold, they say.”
In a world where lives were traded for a few silver coins, chests of gold would make even a tavern maid eager to turn them in.
In any town or city, everyone was a potential enemy. Unless they planned to kill everyone they met, staying out of sight was the best strategy.
Thanks to Sienna’s birds, which scouted the area in real-time, they approached the Empire’s eastern border without major issues.
The birds served as both scouts and informants.
Crows that blended into nearby towns and cities skillfully gathered rumors and information from inns and taverns.
“The war between the City Alliance and the Empire is shifting to smaller skirmishes. A truce might be on the horizon.”
Sienna spoke by the campfire, and Dalen nodded as he chewed on a sausage.
Hmm, it’s a bit burnt. I miss Lucia’s cooking.
“Ugh, this isn’t cooked properly. Who’s on cooking duty today?”
“That would be me.”
”…Weren’t you on duty tomorrow, Dalen? Today was Sienna’s turn.”
“She seemed busy gathering information with her birds, so we switched.”
The dwarf made a face as if he’d bitten into something unpleasant and began rummaging through his rations. Meanwhile, Sienna continued sharing the information her birds had gathered.
“The owner of the Dragon Carriage hasn’t been seen on the front lines for a while. That’s probably why there haven’t been any large-scale battles.”
“The barrier’s effectiveness is returning, right?”
“Exactly. The City Alliance’s main strength lies in its transcendent beings. Once they return to the Golden Palace, the army can’t continue the war without its main force.”
Sienna nodded as she stirred her stew. Dalen tilted his head slightly. She’d been stirring it for a while without serving any, or was he imagining things?
“Hmm, I don’t quite understand. Wouldn’t this be an opportunity for the Empire to counterattack?”
“Well… the timing worked out well. They lost territory in the north to the City Alliance, but they gained all the lands near the southern great forest. It’s not only more fertile but also twice the size of the territory they lost in the north.”
“It seems they’re more interested in stabilizing the territories they’ve conquered than picking another big fight with the City Alliance.”
“Looks that way.”
As Dalen and his companions traversed half of the Empire’s lands, the shadow of war loomed ever larger.
The small nations near the Great Forest had all fallen into the Empire’s grasp, and several large-scale battles had erupted in the Empire’s north.
In the process, the Empire’s supreme commander had been killed and replaced twice, and one of the transcendent beings from the Golden Palace had lost their life.
“What’s the mood in the city?”
“Bleak. Gloomy. People seem to have lost their spirit.”
The fiercer the front lines, the more somber the atmosphere in the rear tends to become.
However, the oppressive air in the nearby towns and villages wasn’t solely due to the war’s aftermath.
It was more akin to the peculiar atmosphere of a vampire borderland.
More precisely, it was likely because a blood spirit had descended somewhere in the vampire’s territory, draining the vitality from the water and air across a wide area.
“Given the circumstances, the blood spirit has already descended.”
Dalen tossed the half-eaten sausage into the fire as he spoke.
Ignoring Sienna, who was pouring stew into the flames, he swept the ground and picked up a handful of soil.
The black earth trickled through his fingers.
Despite its apparent moisture, the soil was strangely devoid of life.
“And that means it’s planning to gather an army. However, there’s no news yet of it moving troops to invade the nearby kingdoms.”
Having allied with Enaxagus, it wouldn’t invade the Empire, so its next move would likely be toward the northern Tri-Kingdoms.
“So, the army hasn’t gathered yet. Are they planning to exploit the chaos of unification?”
“Exactly. As Sienna said, the timing is perfect.”
The wind scattered the soil into the campfire, where it vanished. Dalen dusted off his hands and spoke.
“Tomorrow, we’ll cross the border and strike at the blood spirit’s altar in its stronghold.”