Chapter 909
Episode 228: The Fierce Battle at Grosh Castle (5)

The three of them returned to the Golden Ship as soon as they finished reviewing Lagal’s records.

Though the battle had been decisively won six hours earlier and had since quieted down, the allied forces aboard the ship remained on high alert, busy repairing their equipment.

“So you confirmed the connection between Lagal and Keliak? Good work! Our Valeria never disappoints!”

“Doctor, you worked hard too. What about the Red Owl?”

“Fortunately, thanks to the protective shield, the power source and critical circuits weren’t seriously damaged. Everything’s been fixed! And while repairing it, I found some tweaks that could be applied to the mass-produced Red Owls. Ironically, the rough treatment the commander gave the Red Owl actually helped.”

“Oh, that kid’s got a knack for bouncing back—even a broken nose heals itself.”

Jin picked up the ship’s communicator.

“Manager, are the Visceps available?”

{Only Tilius is here. I’ll put you through right away.}

Since the sudden full-scale assault on Inse had begun, Sakiel had summoned nearly all the active Demon Lords to Grosh Castle.

But Tilius and Misol were exceptions—still resting under Jito’s orders.

No one, not even Sakiel or the Visceps granted freedom, could guess Jito’s true intentions.

{Jin, what’s the status?}

“We got the records on Lagal. As expected, Keliak was in Hell and seems to be commanding Lagal, which suggests Lagal is acting as his subordinate.”

{So it’s confirmed that Keliak Zipple is receiving help from the Witch. But as far as I know, even the Witch can’t fully undo Jito’s brainwashing… Could it be that Shinu, the Fire God, has powers beyond the Witch’s?}

“That’s uncertain, but probably not. Shinu is indeed classified as a top-tier deity in Inse.”

{A top-tier immortal… I remember you mentioning the Fire Seal, something that makes anyone absolutely loyal. It must be the Fire Seal or a similar method that’s influencing the brainwashing.}

“I agree, Tilius. And since Kanesto is also cooperating with Keliak, they might have gained some additional unknown abilities.”

{Hmm, Jin. Lagal is Jito’s most loyal follower. If Keliak has turned someone like Lagal into his pawn, that means… he could do the same to all the other Demon Lords.}

“So Keliak is pulling Demon Lords loyal to Jito out from under him and making them his own subordinates… Jito wouldn’t just stand by and watch that happen, would he?”

{That madman’s thoughts are impossible to read. He might be completely unaware that Keliak is poaching his pawns, or he might know and be letting it happen. Lately, it’s been especially hard to tell. He even let Misol and me go free, and now, even though Grosh Castle is under attack, he’s still on leave.}

Jin felt the same confusion. Jito’s intentions were a mystery.

Why, with such a large force, was the invasion of Inse being conducted so half-heartedly?

After learning the rough scale and strength of the Demon Realm army thanks to the Visceps, Jin had been questioning Jito’s troop deployments.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to reduce the frequency of dimensional rifts and send out the top Demon Lords all at once? Or if that wasn’t feasible, quietly gather all the superhuman fighters and troops at Grosh Castle before launching a full assault?

If it were Jin, that’s how he would have prepared the invasion.

‘So far, the Demon Realm has been recklessly scattering its forces…’

At the war’s start, Jin hadn’t thought so.

The sporadic dimensional rifts kept the alliance on edge, and without the returnees from the Black Sea, they would have struggled.

But the alliance had managed to block all those rifts without major losses. They lost a few cities, but all residents were safely relocated.

Even before the full assault, Luna led preemptive strikes, and the initial attack on Grosh Castle was a decisive victory.

Yet Jito remained unresponsive, and Sakiel was frantically trying to seal off Grosh Castle. Jin couldn’t understand what the enemy was aiming for.

‘It doesn’t look like they want to win the war. It almost seems like they’re deliberately wasting their forces. Or maybe Jito thinks it’s meaningless unless he alone can move freely.’

Given what transcendent beings like Ayulana, Tess, and Ameris had said about ‘Jito’s full power,’ it was plausible. Though it still didn’t make sense.

“Something’s definitely off. For now, we have no choice but to keep advancing until his true intentions become clear. We can’t hesitate just because we don’t understand what he’s up to.”

{You’re right. The Visceps have also decided this might be our first and last chance.}

A flicker of determination lit Jin’s eyes.

“First and last chance? Does that mean the Visceps are finally going to mobilize their forces in earnest?”

{Yes. Because Inse has advanced, most Demon Lords are being rushed to Grosh Castle. That means the Demon Realm’s main base is growing weaker. In all my years as a fugitive, I’ve never seen this happen.}

“That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear, Tilius. Are you confident you can strike the main base effectively?”

{If Jito remains restrained and Paelito goes to the surface, it’s definitely possible.}

Even with reinforcements flowing into Grosh Castle and Paelito absent, the Demon Realm still vastly outmatched the Visceps.

But the Visceps had a trump card. Among their spies were individuals positioned to influence the entire Demon Realm. They planned to sow massive chaos at the main base through these agents.

And they didn’t hide this from Jin.

{One of our spies manages the Artificial Sun. We suspect the Artificial Sun acts as a kind of maintenance device that Jito is subconsciously linked to.}

—Now it’s time to explain what’s in it for you. What benefits do you gain by allying with us?

—{You gain a means to kill Jito.}

Jin recalled his first conversation with Tilius.

“So the way to kill Jito is connected to the Artificial Sun.”

{Yes. But that’s not all. I’ll share the rest after you break through Grosh Castle and enter the Demon Realm’s main base.}

“That sounds like you still don’t fully trust us.”

{…Not exactly. We just want to keep safeguards until the very end.}

“Fair enough, Tilius. I understand the Visceps’ position. Do as you see fit. After all, neither of us can move forward without ending Jito.”

{Thank you for understanding. Once our main force starts moving, we’ll be able to investigate Keliak Zipple more thoroughly. We’ll confirm if he’s really recruiting other Demon Lords. And there’s one more important piece of news.}

“What is it?”

{The Vankela Kingdom. We have intelligence that Paelito will soon attack there.}

It was expected.

Jito would want to recover his eye kept by the kingdom to strengthen his power. If Jito himself wasn’t leading the attack, it made sense for the Demon Realm’s top swordsman to do so.

“When exactly?”

[We don’t know yet. But if Inse keeps pressuring Grosh Castle like this, Paelito will likely deploy before the castle falls. Sakiel wants to buy more time at any cost.]

“No, I think differently. Sakiel wants to buy time, but does Jito? If he did, he wouldn’t be wasting his army like this.”

[Then?]

“If I were Jito, I’d wait until Inse’s main forces finish taking Grosh Castle and enter the Demon Realm’s main base, then send Paelito to the kingdom.”

If that happened, Inse’s number of superhumans capable of stopping Paelito would drop sharply.

A brief silence followed. Neither Tilius nor the Visceps had considered that.

{…That makes sense!}

“Of course, even if we start entering the Demon Realm, we’ll leave enough defense forces in Inse. But who knows what variables await us at the main base? Now that we’ve set foot there, we can’t just pull back.”

{So if variables arise, Inse will have to send even more troops to deal with them. If Inse’s forces thin out, Paelito will take the kingdom’s eye… and if Jito regains his power, the battle at the Demon Realm’s main base could suddenly tip in his favor.}

The worst-case scenario. The Visceps believed that the moment Jito recovered his eye, all hope would be lost.

“Therefore, we must eliminate Paelito before entering the Demon Realm. You need to use your spies to find out exactly when Paelito will deploy to Inse. We want him to come up before we push our main force into Hell.”

{Understood. We’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.}

Tilius answered calmly, but Jin sensed the heavy resolve behind his voice. Sending Paelito forward would come at a great cost.

To catch such a big fish, you need the right bait.

‘Bassett or Silkia will have to play that role. No, not Silkia… only Bassett can do it.’

Jin read the weight of that unspoken determination in Tilius’s voice.

“If you need our help with that matter, just say the word. We’ll provide all the support we can.”

{I will, Jin. Then let’s stay in touch. I need to report this back to headquarters.}

“Take care, Tillius.”

{You too. Always wishing you good fortune.}

Jin then opened communications with the Sword Garden and Tikan.

“Butler, Lord Kashimir. What’s the status of the rifts? Since the first line of defense fell, have any new rifts appeared within our territory?”

{None, Your Highness.}

{Same here with the Huepester Alliance, Young Lord. In fact, the frequency of rift occurrences seems to be decreasing compared to usual. We’ll keep monitoring, but unless the enemy is masking something, it looks like all the rifts and forces that would normally be deployed to our main base are being gathered at Grosh Castle.}

Jin nodded.

“Understood. Then we need to press the attack and keep the pressure on them. If you notice even the slightest sign of rifts increasing near the main base, contact me immediately.”

He lowered the comm device and gazed beyond the bridge. The swirling mists of Lagal had thinned considerably since earlier.

It was time to begin the second advance.