Ch.107Armin Kerukishi (1)

“A great calamity has come.”

Misfortune has befallen the peaceful races seeking stability. The demonic army is advancing, burning the forests cherished by the World Tree. They show no mercy, destroying everything in their path.

“Surrender or resistance. We stand at a crossroads of fate.”

A meeting was in progress at Arminkerkishi, a place called “The Great Forest” in Elvish.

Including the Grand Chief and various minor tribal leaders, there were twenty in total. This represented the entirety of the elven leadership, maintained not as a single nation but as a confederation.

“Is the damage still confined to the outer forests?”

“Yes. The casualties are limited to about a hundred border guards. However, these demons are exceptionally cruel, making it impossible to estimate casualties in the next battle. Morale has been severely damaged, and few are volunteering to fight.”

“Hmm.”

Asha, the elven leader, was disheartened by the continuing bad news.

The enemy had not yet advanced significantly. If they prepared now, they could still amass enough strength to resist, but victory seemed unlikely. The enemy was demonic. Rashly declaring war could result in the entire continent being consumed by flames.

“The retreat line has been drawn at the entrance to the deep forest, so that will be our final watershed.”

“Correct. Even if the enemy crosses quickly, it will take them a week to reach our main defensive line. We must decide before then.”

The elves knew the forest paths well, allowing them to identify the enemy’s infiltration routes and respond quickly. Time wasn’t the issue. Fighting spirit was key. Asha surveyed those around him.

“Ahem.”

“Hmm.”

The meeting room was filled with the sound of clearing throats. Whenever he turned his gaze, the minor tribal leaders were quick to avoid eye contact. They silently expressed their unwillingness to send their children and friends to the battlefield. A sense of defeat permeated the room from the start.

“Everyone seems to have already made up their minds before coming here.”

“With age, we’ve become intoxicated by the peace and stability the forest provides. I don’t feel the vigor of our youth anymore.”

“Are you suggesting we bow our heads to demons to preserve ourselves?”

“Grand Chief, we cannot send our many tribespeople who trust and follow us to their deaths. You know well what happened to the border guards.”

Asha couldn’t respond to that. It had been a devastating defeat. Of the hundreds of troops guarding the border forest, barely a dozen survived. And those were only the cowards who had fled in fear at the first sign of trouble. The rest, who had tried to hold their positions, had all vanished in the flames.

With just one battle, they had lost all hope of survival. The terror inspired by demons was on another level entirely.

“But we cannot simply sit there and proclaim submission. We must defeat them without spilling elven blood.”

Yet they couldn’t simply hand over everything to an enemy that had come with weapons. The leaders discussed new approaches.

“Have you heard the news that the Archangel is leading a crusade from the central lands to purify the heretics?”

“I have indeed. It’s perhaps our only remaining hope.”

“Exactly, Grand Chief. We should immediately send swift messengers to the central lands to seek angelic support.”

“…I just hope the demon’s blade doesn’t reach Mother World Tree before then.”

Asha sighed deeply. Unable to resist fate with their own strength, they would have to beg someone else for help. Preferably a deity, but in reality, it would be a third power. The demons’ flames might consume the forest before their prayers could be answered.

“You must steel your resolve. An opportunity will come eventually.”

“Yes. We’ll send messengers to the central lands while also looking for someone who can make contact with the demons.”

Surrender or resistance.

The elves looked somewhere in between.

Fate was not a force that compelled. One could pursue thousands or tens of thousands of paths before finding an answer.

They could only hope that there would be no deaths in the difficult process ahead.

#

“The resistance has subsided.”

Eliya, child of the forest, sensed it instinctively. There was no gloominess among the dense trees.

She could tell with her pointed ears. The sticky hostility that always clung to the leaves before battle was absent today.

“Have they given up?”

It was a choice those who enjoyed peace and stability in the great forest might make. However, having lived in such an isolated region had made them quite passive, so the possibility of war could never be completely dismissed.

“The feeling is definitely different.”

The hero accompanying her seemed to have detected the same atmosphere.

“Earlier, it felt like they might shoot arrows at any moment.”

“Huh?”

“There were those watching us. If we had so much as cut a tree with a knife, a battle would have broken out immediately.”

Though delivered like a joke, his expression was serious. Eliya, who had been trying to laugh it off, caught her breath.

“Even with me here?”

“Coming with undead, would they care about that? Besides, you’re technically dead from the demon realm. It’s not strange they wouldn’t recognize you right away.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Eliya nod in understanding. She realized her assumption that a scouting party would immediately recognize her was mistaken. She was one of the missing members of the hero’s party.

Unless she had come with other missing party members, it made sense they would see her as either recruited by the demon army or a prisoner to be used in negotiations. Moreover, after so much time had passed, she was wearing demon realm exploration gear rather than her human protector attire, making her appearance quite different.

Thinking of these various reasons, she convinced herself.

“I guess they wouldn’t recognize me.”

“Even if they did, they’d think of you as either a collaborator or just another undead. From the human realm’s perspective, the only possibility for a dead person walking around is that.”

Eliya felt a heaviness in her chest. The more she listened to the hero, the more hopeless things seemed. She had rushed to prevent the extinction of the elves, but before reaching the lush vegetation, despair had grown too large. If they were calling for all-out resistance, her efforts might be in vain.

“Please. I hope we can resolve this through dialogue.”

Having witnessed Durin’s cruelty firsthand, Eliya prayed desperately. She didn’t want to witness the great forest being erased from the map.

Perhaps her wish was heard.

“The situation won’t deteriorate that much.”

The hero’s gaze was fixed ahead. The same indifferent look as always. But his eyes were tracking something. Startled, Eliya quickly looked in the same direction.

Movement was detected on the forest path ahead. A subtle ripple that couldn’t be observed by ordinary human eyes. This confirmed it. Elves had come this far.

“Th-thank goodness.”

Eliya found herself relieved without realizing it. She couldn’t tell if this was a declaration of resistance or surrender, but she was happy that at least an opportunity for dialogue had been given.

“It seems the elves didn’t want to go to war after all. They’re carrying a white flag.”

Above all, the hero gave her confidence. Though not visible to Eliya, his body, blessed by the Creator God, had properly identified the approaching elven group. Her kin had made a wise decision. For the sake of survival…

“……”

The momentary calm quickly subsided within Eliya. What was there to be thankful for? From a distance, it looked like submitting to demons and giving up their land. It would be recorded in history books as a great humiliation. It wasn’t something to be dismissed as mere joy of survival.

“Go and negotiate well. Everyone needs to survive first.”

“Y-yeah.”

She nodded heavily. She wanted to rationalize this again, but her returning reason planted discomfort.

‘Is what I’m doing truly right?’

The question lingered.

#

“It seems General Verdia and Grand Warrior Chaphir are defending the southern front admirably.”

The war map was busy again today. The pieces moved differently each day.

The crusaders who had come south had finally sent troops to the border and begun local skirmishes. The celestial knights, led by holy knights, were beings of a different dimension compared to enemies they had faced before.

“They are reportedly using beast cavalry to buy time while carrying out operations with the support of the High Sorcerer.”

The entire expeditionary force was mobilized to stop the angels. Unlike the demon realm, this human realm was land touched by celestial light. They were barely maintaining balance against infinite divine power by deploying sorcery. Though Ludmila was said to be the highest-ranking sorcerer among demons handling demonic energy, there were limits.

Within that time, Durin had to complete his mission.

“We need to create a stalemate on the front line while our expeditionary force resolves things quickly.”

“Won’t you wait for a response from the elves we sent ahead?”

“We’ll receive it as we advance. Begin the march with the army. If they choose surrender and don’t resist, we’ll head straight for the World Tree.”

After saying this, he looked at Yoannina.

“If war breaks out, your role will be most important.”

“Yes. Give me your orders quickly.”

“Lead the charge with the monster infantry at the front. We don’t need time-consuming scorched earth tactics. You’re already familiar with jungle combat from the western regions of the demon realm.”

“There’s a difference between these forests and the swampy jungles of the demon realm, but we do excel in places that smell of grass like this.”

“I’ll give you the vanguard. Advance as soon as I give the signal.”

A thousand monster infantry were a reliable resource. Their solid bodies, against which all elven tactics would be ineffective, would dominate the battle one-sidedly. This had already been proven in several battles, so troop morale was very high.

Next were the human knights.

“You will handle the rear. You must guard the retreat route to prevent surviving elves from acting recklessly.”

“Your Excellency, unlike those infantry, we are vulnerable to elven arrows. I’m deeply concerned about our ability to complete this mission.”

“I’m not telling you to enter the forest. I mean raid the nearby human villages to contribute human resources to the southern front.”

Ah.

The human knights had been imagining fighting the elves. Though full of enthusiasm for their first battle in this war, their spirits were quickly dampened. Seeing their visible disappointment, Durin encouraged them.

“Don’t think about sacrificing your lives on a worthless battlefield. You will eventually be used in a war that will be recorded in mythology.”

A small hope. The demon who served the goddess of death boosted their morale.

Honestly, it didn’t sound very promising, but having resolved to fulfill their duty, the humans bowed their heads.

“We will await that day.”

“The battle I’ve planned for you comes after this one anyway.”

At that moment of resignation, Durin’s voice made their eyes widen.

A war other than the one in the forest?

They quickly raised their heads, but the commander had already left the tent. Confused, they cautiously looked at Yoannina who remained, and she answered with a slight smile.

“We just received a voice of friendship from the elves.”

A voice of friendship? Could it be.

“It seems there won’t be a major battle in the great forest after all. What a shame.”

With those words, Yoannina also left the tent.

Wind entered through the flapping canvas. The knights stood still, pondering.

-If it’s friendship, it means the elves have officially declared submission to the demons.

-Seeing the overwhelming difference in combat power, they’re opening the way to Mother World Tree.

-But it’s strange. Would they so easily give up the object of their faith?

Clearly, they must be hiding something. And the target to crush that scheme…

-“The battle I’ve planned for you comes after this one.”

“It’s us.”

The knights raised their hopes again. Yes, a greater battle than the elves awaits us.

“Could it be the crusaders?”

“Yes. Since battle isn’t feasible against the demon army, they’ll draw in the celestial forces.”

“We are the protagonists of that battlefield.”

Though Durin hadn’t elaborated further, they were writing a new human myth.