Chapter 920
Episode 230: Invasion and Assault (Part 1)
“At this rate, Sakiel’s legacy will be completely gone within three days.”
Jin referred to it as a legacy, meaning the grand magic field of loss that Sakiel had unleashed.
Around the ruined Groshie Castle, a swarm of pale white magical energy hovered. Though it wasn’t as fully formed as before, the remnants of the field of loss still posed a significant threat.
“That seems likely. Even now, it was an incredible spell. If it weren’t for you, the damage would have been catastrophic.”
“Your refusal to stop attacking despite sensing the field was a big factor too, Dante. Without you, it would have been much harder to secretly prepare the Reverse Heaven.”
“Thanks for saying that. By the way, I’m worried about Lady Valeria. She hasn’t rested at all, busy reviewing the battle records.”
“She says it’s like training in record magic, so she’s actually fine. Don’t worry too much—she’s the strongest, most iron-willed person I know.”
“Oh… I never thought I’d see you act like a proud parent.”
Dante poked Jin’s side and laughed, but then suddenly turned around, sensing a chill.
Sandra Ziphl was watching Dante with a mischievous smile.
“Veil, I think the Sword Emperor must have taken something wrong. Go poke him—anywhere. The tongue would be best.”
[What are you talking about, Sandra Ziphl?]
“You have to obey my orders, remember? You swore an oath and placed a taboo on it.”
[Ugh, if I did that, I’d be kicked out of the alliance.]
“Haha, I know, I’m just joking. Right, Sir Dante?”
“Ha ha…”
“The mood’s getting tense. Hey, Veil, just do it.”
[What is ‘it’?]
“You know, the one where I’m invincible and immortal… it’s a catchphrase among the alliance members.”
[You already did that earlier.]
“Come on, hurry up.”
Veil blushed and resisted briefly but eventually had no choice but to follow Sandra’s order.
[…I am invincible and immortal, and you are weak and mortal.]
“Pfft.”
“Pfft.”
Other comrades nearby burst out laughing, unable to hold it in.
[I am Veil Runcandel, one of the ten knights of Runcandel, the scourge of my family’s enemies. The nemesis of mortals… yes, I am Veil Runcandel…]
“Ha ha ha!” As Veil continued, the others doubled over with laughter. Even Dante was chuckling, pointing at Veil with his finger.
Sandra fixed her gaze on Jin’s laughing face, a satisfied smile spreading across her lips.
“It’s nice to see you laugh, Jin. Since you’re busy, Sandra Ziphl will take her leave now. Let’s go, invincible and immortal one. You have plenty to do. And Sir Dante, no more silly jokes, understood?”
Sandra left the conference room.
The group naturally turned their attention to the newsletters spread out on the table.
(“Victory for the Bamel Alliance! Alliance leader Jin Runcandel and the Sword Emperor bring down Groshie Castle.”)
(All major forces of Inse participated in the siege, but the Bamel Alliance was the first to break through the defenses and topple the castle.)
(Reports confirm that the Lutero Magic Federation and Kinzel suffered heavy fleet losses during the Groshie Castle siege, while the Bamel Alliance sustained almost no damage…)
News outlets worldwide were flooding with articles about the Groshie Castle siege.
Bamel Alliance reporters, led by Dino Jaglun, emphasized “Victory for the Bamel Alliance,” while others highlighted “Inse’s triumph.”
Yet even citizens of the Lutero Federation trusted the alliance’s newsletters more.
That was because Valeria’s records were included in the alliance’s reports. Lutero and Kinzel tried to block distribution of the alliance’s newsletters, but they couldn’t stop the Seven-Colored Bird operatives already infiltrated across their territories.
Since the Demon God War, Valeria’s record magic had become a symbol of absolute trust among the public. The best the Federation and Kinzel could do was attack the alliance under the pretext of the dangers of “politicizing record magic.”
Though a valid criticism, it had little effect. In times of peace, maybe, but now the whole world was at war.
“One of our objectives has been achieved. To the public, it looks like we’re the ones saving Inse from the Demon Realm.”
[Ha ha, it’s true that we’re the ones holding the line. Honestly, even without Ziphl and Kinzel, Groshie Castle would have fallen to the leader’s hand. Right, Ameris?]
“That’s probably true, Feitel.”
“Now the Federation and Kinzel want to hide the fact that they looked weaker than us on the same battlefield. They’ll probably push too hard or unleash hidden forces. They’ll try to build up a bigger army quickly and redeploy to Groshie Castle. After all, we have to enter the Demon Realm next.”
Until then, the alliance had no urgent reason to enter the Demon Realm first.
Though Groshie Castle fell more easily than expected, the Demon Realm’s forces hadn’t even lost 10% of their strength.
“Even the remaining troops number at least five billion… and over a hundred Demon Lords remain. New Demon Lords have surely risen to fill the gaps left by the dead.”
Of course, no matter how many troops or superhuman Demon Lords there were, all were weakened by brainwashing. As previous battles showed, most of those Demon Lords couldn’t stand against Inse’s top-tier superhumans.
“We’re already getting continuous reports from the Seven-Colored Bird and the Nameless, Jin. Both Kinzel and Ziphl are gathering new fleets.”
Quikantel spoke.
“How large?”
“More than twice the size of the fleet deployed at Groshie Castle. No matter how impressive their production is, that speed is unbelievable. So they must be mixing in fleets hidden in underground shipyards like the Sota Desert. The new ships look different from the old ones—probably equipped with more advanced technology.”
Jin nodded.
“Are the crews mostly masters and bio-golems called spirit soldiers again?”
“That’s what we hear. And the production speed of those is estimated to be even faster than building ships.”
“In my opinion, no matter how advanced the technology, producing masters and spirit soldiers at that speed is impossible by human effort alone.”
Ameris concluded that Ziphl and Kinzel were likely receiving help from a “divine being” to produce their bio-weapons.
“That’s probably the power of the Sun God. Orgal met Veil through a deal with you and regained some of the Sun God’s power. Ziphl has a priestess of the Sun God’s faith, so she’s likely using that power.”
Since they were at war with the Demon Realm, it was hard to investigate further for now. But one thing was certain.
“In the upcoming war on the Demon Realm’s home turf, we must absolutely prevent them from gaining any more of the Sun God’s power.”
“You understand quickly. Currently, the Demon Realm is ruled by Jito, but Hell is fundamentally underground—the place where the Sun God died. It wouldn’t be surprising if they discover something more there. Even the relatively quiet Red-Eyed Tribe is probably preparing. They know the underground world’s geography best.”
As Ameris predicted, the Red-Eyed Tribe and the Imperial family were planning to join the chaos in Hell to claim rewards.
“That makes sense. Especially since the Red-Eyed Tribe is the best at harnessing the Sun God’s power, there’s no better time for a turnaround.”
“As I said before, the original losers of the ancient underground world weren’t the demons but the ancient Ming Lords. Even if they’re currently losing to Ziphl, if they gain the Sun God’s power, anything could happen. Especially since they haven’t found the Fighting God yet.”
They had to be cautious about everything—entering the Demon Realm and what came after.
“Though we took Groshie Castle, the war still holds many uncertain dangers. Fortunately, thanks to Valeria, we can track whatever the enemy is plotting. From the moment we enter, we’ll comb through the underground records and fight accordingly.”
“It’s a shame that Chief Steward Luet can’t move with us. Her fairy powers rival Valeria’s. Though she’s also been reviewing records related to Ziphl and Kinzel.”
Jin stepped onto the bridge and gazed at Groshie Castle, shrouded in white magical energy. In the center, Valeria was protected by Murakan, studying the battle records.
“Most likely. No, definitely. Before entering the Demon Realm, we’ll have to fight the demons one more time in Inse.”
Throughout the Groshie Castle battle, Jin had felt a strange unease.
Despite Inse’s largest garrison being so overwhelmingly outmatched, Jito never sent a single top-tier reinforcement like Paelito.
Jin even felt as if Jito was enjoying watching his subordinates die meaningless deaths, indifferent to the waste of his own flesh and blood.
“It must be because of Jito’s Eye.”
“That’s right, Lord Quikantel. According to information from Biceps, the Demon Realm’s strongest is Paelito, presumed to be the Changsung, though fully brainwashed… followed by Ridolos and Bidelluce. Jito will surely order them to retrieve his Eye.”
“The War of the Holy Kingdom will be reenacted.”
“Of course, those three alone won’t be enough to break through the Empire. Ayura-sama’s protective barrier covers the entire Empire, and the top superhumans of the Inse are surely on standby. But I doubt Zito would just send only those three into the Empire without a plan.”
Jin was aware of the dimensional rifts.
The reason Zito hadn’t sent reinforcements to Grosh Castle was because he intended to strike at the Empire.
“Before sending the strongest warriors of the Jinma Realm into the Empire, they’ll try to scatter our forces. They’ll spread dimensional rifts all over the world. The best timing for that would be now, while all the Inse troops are still gathered at Grosh Castle.”
“Even so, it won’t affect us much. It’s quick to send the Red Owls and Motro superhumans back to their respective territories. But because of that, there’s a high chance we’ll have to face the Jinma Realm’s strongest warriors alone. Other factions will be scattered, struggling just to defend their own lands. The Orgal side will be somewhat better off, though.”
Jin nodded at Quikantel’s words.
“Yes. The strongest demons of the Jinma Realm attacking the Empire will be our main opponents. So everyone, steel yourselves. The battle in the Empire won’t be as easy as the fight at Grosh Castle.”