Ch.118Chapter 118 – Assault (4)

The machine gun mounted on the wall spewed heat rays, mowing down the imps running at the front. The 60mm mortar bombarded the center of the enemy lines, blasting holes everywhere. There was no need to carefully aim for angle or direction. Wherever you fired, demons would be there.

Under the hail of bullets, the Demon King’s army stubbornly advanced. Following the logic of survival of the fittest, they pushed forward the weak as bullet shields and trampled over their corpses. They had no concept of comradeship. There were only individuals who hated humans, existing under the primordial system of the strong devouring the weak.

Ahead of their advance stood the final fortress of humans, called the Empire. The solid walls that the Demon King’s army had failed to breach for hundreds of years. If they could just conquer this place, they could exterminate the disgusting human species from this world. The hatred engraved in their genes overshadowed even the fear of death, transforming demons into berserkers. They would not stop their advance until death.

“Charge! Stop their advance!”

The demons had already broken through the first line of defense and were trampling the fields and homes in the village with their muddy feet. There were no civilian casualties as the evacuation had been completed, but livestock scattered in all directions as stables collapsed.

“Ride swiftly!”

“Go in as deep as possible, throw grenades, and pull out!”

Knights on horseback were employing guerrilla tactics to hold back the Demon King’s army. Hit-and-run tactics—charging with lances at the perimeter and retreating. A strategy to overcome numerical disadvantage. A classic tactic whose effectiveness had been proven throughout history.

Though it might seem reckless, it was much easier than before. A hybrid lance charge combining imported goods and tactics from the past three months. The knights no longer needed to personally cut through enemy lines; gunpowder, the problem-solver, did the job for them.

“Full retreat! Turn your horses at an angle!”

“But, Captain! Maicol has been captured by them—”

“Silence! Don’t look back! Focus on riding!”

However, human tactics were typically designed to counter human armies, not demon armies. Even the most brilliant military strategy couldn’t produce the dramatic effects found in isekai light novels.

Despite the knights inflicting damage by throwing bombs, firing guns, and piercing with lances, it was a drop in the ocean against the overwhelming numbers. Guerrilla tactics only work when the force disparity isn’t too great—a single knight order versus the armies of hell? It was like a worm fighting a dragon.

“Ugh, Captain! We’ve already lost five men. Meanwhile, their losses are minimal! At this rate…”

“Don’t give up! We must hold back their advance at least until the citizens complete their evacuation and the gates close!”

“But they’re not even firing the magic cannons from the walls! Something unexpected must have happened! They need our help!”

“Enough! Stop making hasty assumptions. The magic cannons may not be firing, but the artillery and machine gun support is still intact, isn’t it? The guard captain must have a plan. Forget your worries and prepare for the next charge!”

As the knights regrouped before charging again, Shin Jaehyuk approached them. A knight warned upon seeing the approaching civilian.

“What? Someone who hasn’t evacuated yet? You there! It’s dangerous here! Please take shelter inside the fortress! We’ll cover you!”

“Oh… who are you?”

The knight captain stopped his subordinate. Being more informed than his men, the captain knew about the foreigner who hunted demons outside the fortress every day, reclaiming the Empire’s territory. And how many achievements this foreigner had accumulated.

“Wait. This is Mr. Shin Jaehyuk. A foreign adventurer.”

“…! I’ve heard rumors about you. You’re famous at the Adventurer’s Guild recently, aren’t you?”

Shin Jaehyuk nodded in affirmation and summoned holy power in his palm.

“Yes. I’ve come to help.”

“Ah… so you’re a Paladin.”

The knight had apparently expected a Sword Master. He couldn’t hide his disappointment that only a single Paladin had come to help. Due to the collapse of the Order, Paladins were few in number, and powerful ones even fewer. Thus, within the Imperial army, Paladins were seen as ambiguous troops—weaker at healing than priests and with weaker barriers than mages.

But the knight captain, who was well aware of Shin Jaehyuk’s prowess, politely reprimanded the knight.

“Yes, a Paladin. Much stronger than you think. And now that I meet him, I can see at a glance that he’s stronger than me. He might even be a match for Lord Frederick…”

“A match for Lord Frederick…?! I apologize for my rudeness.”

The reputation of the Empire’s only Sword Master was indeed formidable. The knight’s attitude became respectful after hearing the captain’s assessment. Lord Frederick’s name was not to be taken lightly. To be compared to him implied that the person was close to being one of humanity’s strongest.

After the hierarchy was established, Shin Jaehyuk informed the knight captain about the situation at the wall.

“There’s a problem with the magic collector, so we can’t use the cannons. We need to buy time until it’s fixed.”

“I was wondering about that… Given that you’ve rushed here, I assume you have some plan?”

Shin Jaehyuk nodded.

“Yes. I plan to defend the bridge crossing the moat. Alone.”

The moat surrounding the fortress was as wide as a river and filled with holy water that received regular blessings from priests. Holy water so powerful that lower demons would dissolve just by falling into it.

And in front of the east gate was a large stone bridge crossing this moat, the only path from outside to the east gate. That bridge where the line of refugees was now stretched out. Shin Jaehyuk was saying he would defend that bridge alone, like Changbanpo guarding Changban Bridge.

The knight captain gulped. It was an impossible task by common sense. But just as higher realms bring clearer vision, the knight captain saw something in Shin Jaehyuk that his subordinates couldn’t see. Something massive that even his eyes, at the level just below Sword Master, couldn’t fully comprehend.

“…Can you do it?”

“It’s not a question of whether I can, but that I must.”

The knight captain sensed firm resolve in Shin Jaehyuk’s resolute tone. Truly knight-like. Placing his hand over his heart in respect, the knight captain asked:

“Then what should we do?”

“Please drive the army toward the center so that not a single demon escapes from the sides. I’ll handle the rest.”

Demons with strong regenerative abilities might cross the moat even while dissolving in holy water. To block that possibility, the knight order needed to act like sheepdogs, pressing the Demon King’s army from the sides to prevent them from breaking formation.

It was a difficult task but not impossible, and compared to Shin Jaehyuk’s mission, it was nothing. The knight captain nodded resolutely.

“…I trust you. You have our faith; repay it with the glory of victory.”

“May the Light be with you.”

The knight order rode forward to complete their final mission. Shin Jaehyuk stood in the middle of the bridge, wide enough for a dozen carriages to pass side by side, and thought:

‘The weak ones have already been eliminated by the machine guns. The remaining demons are strong enough to survive a hail of bullets…’

To penetrate defenses that could block bullets, he needed a sufficiently powerful spell. A spell powerful enough to kill many at once.

Shin Jaehyuk knew one spell that met all the conditions. As soon as he realized it, his lips began to move.

“The time of judgment has come. Heaven declares justice to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, and the Lord places the scepter of law in the hands of His anointed one.”

The most powerful holy spell, Divine Punishment. The spell that once felled Belial with a single strike. Its effect: a bombardment of light with a diameter of 1km. Even the Four Heavenly Kings couldn’t survive such a baptism of light.

From his previous experience, Shin Jaehyuk could confidently say that none of the demons lurking there could survive this spell.

“He comes to judge sinners. He judges the world with righteousness and the people with truth, rebuking the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.”

Shin Jaehyuk gazed at the demons advancing in the distance, raising clouds of dust. Neither mines, nor palisades, nor walls could stop their advance. With appendages that were hard to distinguish as mammalian feet, tentacles, webbed feet, or insect legs, they flattened the land and reduced civilization to dust.

On either side of these horrifying creatures, knights were acting as bait to guide the Demon King’s army’s movement. Like donkeys chasing carrots, the demons followed the knights, concentrating in the center.

Horses that fell behind were dragged away by demon arms and became meals. The terrifying sound of tearing from behind stimulated fear. Yet the knights did not stop. Despite the deaths of their comrades, the knights did not abandon their positions and steadfastly maintained formation. They were humanity’s last knights, who had dedicated their hearts to the Empire.

“Finally, the final verdict is pronounced, and thunder rolls to the ends of the earth. The fearful sinners dare not enter the assembly of the righteous.”

Light shot up from the spear, rising high into the sky. It was a kind of signal. A key to open the celestial gates.

A spiritual ripple spread over the heads of the advancing Demon King’s army. A golden gate, responding to the believer’s prayer, opened above the demon army. Though invisible to ordinary eyes, Shin Jaehyuk, whose sensitivity to holy power had increased, could feel its presence.

‘The celestial gate…’

A massive form of light fell, scattering the clouds. The flying demons died first. Winged demons were caught in the falling light mass and perished without knowing what happened. No amount of desperate wing-flapping could avoid it. This was inevitable death raining down over a 1km range.

“Let those who oppose be shattered. Let those who flee be entangled in their own deeds. The Lord is a righteous judge and a justice who is angry every day.”

Finally, the horde of demons crawling on the ground noticed the Paladin’s presence. Demons hate humans, and they hate humans bearing light even more. This is why the survival rate of clergy on the battlefield is extremely low. And why the Order had declined to the brink of collapse.

And the Paladin before them was emitting a light so intense that even demons hundreds or thousands of years old had never seen its like. The light was connected to the sky. Flakes of light scattered at the Paladin’s command. It looked powerful enough that no one could guarantee survival if hit.

They had to stop it. How? The human on the bridge. The Paladin completing the spell.

The demons’ thoughts aligned. They had to kill that human.

The attention and killing intent of the army focused on one person. There was no need for the knights to try to drive the Demon King’s army to the center. The demons ignored the annoying knights at their sides and ran with all their might toward the human Paladin.

They attacked while running. They extended hook-tipped tentacles to tear his vocal cords to shreds, shot sharp spines to block the throat that uttered foul words, and spat acidic bodily fluids to melt the tongue that whispered disgusting praises.

But it was all too late. The completion of the spell came first.

“Light, sing your wrath.”

A golden storm descended upon the earth. The attacks aimed at Shin Jaehyuk never reached their target, dissolving in the torrent of light.

The light also struck the demon army that had been running toward Shin Jaehyuk. It was a very dense and destructive light. Evil beings cannot escape the judgment that falls from heaven. Truly a divine net woven by angels with rays of light.

Thanks to the knights’ efforts, the advancing Demon King’s army was concentrated in the center and all within the spell’s range. The light falling like carpet bombing melted demon skin and burned organs. Every cell of every demon touched by the light was annihilated. Whether strong or weak, all were treated equally.

After a while, when the blinding light disappeared, nothing remained but a massive crater.

***

Beelzebub was contentedly spying on the human realm, to gleefully watch the downfall of the Empire, which had been a thorn in his side for hundreds of years.

[Yes, according to plan! Those stubborn walls that didn’t know their place will finally crumble like a sand castle!]

Through neural parasites implanted in the Death Worm’s brain, Beelzebub could control it. It was Beelzebub’s will that made the Death Worm dig tunnels under the mantle over several years without being detected by humans, and specifically target the Imperial Library where the magic collector was located.

Visual sharing was part of this function. Beelzebub licked his lips as he surveyed the battle situation.

Unfortunately, due to fierce human resistance, they had only managed to destroy one of the two magic collectors. According to information, the remaining one was kept in the Emperor’s bedroom, but the Death Worm was being restrained by mages and couldn’t cause more havoc.

Though only half successful, Beelzebub was satisfied. The magic cannons at the west and south gates seemed intact, but those at the north and east gates were disabled. The only means of defense against the Demon King’s army was gone.

This was enough to push the Empire into the abyss. After all, it’s not a large hole but a tiny pinprick that brings down a dam.

[I am most pleased with the achievements of my underlings. We can successfully thwart that arrogant crow’s plans…]

This was why Beelzebub had been attacking the Empire for years despite massive troop losses. He knew that Lucifer was using the Empire for some suspicious plan.

Though he didn’t know the details, it was certain that destroying the Empire entirely would foil Lucifer’s plans. That fact gave Beelzebub immediate joy. What did it matter if more than half his troops were gone? His underlings could quickly replenish by hatching eggs. Human corpses were abundant everywhere.

Beelzebub watched with satisfaction as his subordinates advanced. The forces heading toward the west and south gates were blocked by the blue beams of the magic cannons and couldn’t advance further, but the forces at the east and north gates were steadily progressing…

The moment when the insects would break down the gates and swarm into the fortress was not far off. Then the futile resistance at the west and south gates would all be for nothing.

Beelzebub shifted his visual sharing to a demon at the east gate. The view changed. He could see a single human standing on the bridge ahead.

[A human? And alone?]

Was he insane with a death wish? Just as he was mocking the sight of a human standing alone against an army, an intense light filled his vision. A golden light that burned the retina. The visual sharing was forcibly cut off. The commander sharing the vision had died.

Beelzebub froze in shock.

[…That light!]

Reflecting Beelzebub’s excitement, the frequency of his wing-beats rose to a piercing pitch. He was so excited that each wing-beat created ultrasonic waves. The annihilation of the east gate unit was no longer his concern.

Beelzebub recognized the spell at a glance. It was the light that had killed Belial, the light that had blown away half his body four hundred years ago. He roared with rage and ecstasy.

[Longinus-! He’s in the Empire!]

A human with divine blood. The human Beelzebub had been searching for as if it were the purpose of his life. To capture him and take his divine blood, and thereby become greater than God.

[The opportunity for ascension is so close!]

Now Beelzebub didn’t care what happened to humanity, the Empire, or troop losses. The moment he became aware of Shin Jaehyuk’s existence, all other objectives lost meaning in Beelzebub’s mind. His thoughts were fixated on one thing: I must capture him.

The mental wave pulsating with intense greed was transmitted to all his forces.

[Capture the Paladin at the east gate and bring him to your master! To those who prove their loyalty, your king will reward with the heads of sixty thousand, the wombs of sixty thousand, and the intestines of sixty thousand. So all armies, advance to the east gate and prove your loyalty, RIGHT-NOW-!!!!]