Ch.132Death Squad (2)

“Hurry! The tide of victory depends on us!”

The remaining thousand troops led by Grand Chief Asha rushed forward urgently. Time was of the essence. If they were delayed even slightly, the entire plan would fall apart. Remembering the resolve of those who had pledged to willingly face death, they increased their marching speed.

“Have all the elves been positioned in the nearby forest?”

“They’re all hiding in the dense thickets nearby. Including the unit that attacked last night, a total of two hundred are waiting for the signal.”

“Good. Tell them to begin sniping immediately upon receiving the signal. I will personally designate the targets.”

“Yes, Grand Chief!”

The preparations were complete. If they could win just this one battle for victory, fate would smile upon them. Asha finally stood on the high ground they had reached. In the distance, a fierce battle was raging. Though not great in number, it was the most desperate fight in the world.

Soldiers fighting under the fluttering banner of the Demon King’s Castle. Most of the demons had already fallen, but humans and elves followed Durin for their lands and beliefs. It was an uprising of those who chose sacrifice for the future. Asha could not contain the boiling blood within.

The same was true for the rest of the soldiers.

“My brothers! Save our comrades!”

Without hesitation, the legion plunged into the battlefield where thousands of troops were entangled. With thundering hoofbeats that shook heaven and earth, the second army began their charge over the hill.

The Holy Knights, who had been complacently watching the battle thinking victory was assured, were thrown into confusion. The forces that appeared with the harsh sound of horns were targeting their perfectly exposed rear. Unlike the suicide squad’s attack, this offensive included many elves, and arrows flew alongside the charge.

Whirrrrr!

As a strange sound cut through the sky, arrows showered down in droves. It was like rainfall. The Holy Army was dumbfounded as arrow rain poured down not from the charging forces but from the dark clouds above.

“Kuk!”

“Aaagh!”

Despite their solid armor that should have protected them, the elven arrows targeted the gaps in their plate mail. Screams erupted as knights fell from their horses throughout the battlefield. Knights who moved to intercept couldn’t act rashly, raising their shields or protecting the gaps with their gauntlets.

That moment of hesitation determined victory or defeat.

BANG! BOOM!! CRACK!!!

The legion’s spears, honed at the vanguard of the charging force, rammed head-on into the Holy Knights who couldn’t move in time. Knights flailed atop their horses before being impaled on spears and sent flying into the ranks. The impact of the downhill charge struck the Holy Knights who had gathered to form an encirclement.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Formation! We must maintain formation!”

Senior knight commanders shouted hoarsely, attempting to direct their forces, but the knights whose battle lines had been completely shattered couldn’t regain their composure. They were mercilessly slaughtered on the battlefield where dust and blood mingled.

“Avenge them! Avenge the fallen!”

“Kill our enemies! Kill the deceivers who took lives for their false god!”

Demons riding the wave of momentum were unstoppable. They had charged in so suddenly that even the priest corps couldn’t respond before the next barrage. As great confusion spread through thousands of troops, a major opportunity presented itself to the demons.

“Legion! Break the defensive formation and prepare to break through! Everyone mount up!”

Durin, who had been forming a final defensive line with the legion banner and horses at the center, shouted. Simultaneously, an aura of death dispersed around him. A single wave instantly pushed back the Holy Knights who had been tightening their encirclement.

Opportunities continued to arise in these fleeting moments. The thirty troops quickly mounted their horses and prepared to charge. Beyond those groaning with severe internal injuries, they could see the fearful faces of the Holy Knights.

With the Demon Realm’s Regent in front and a demonic charging force with terrifying momentum behind, the Holy Knights couldn’t respond properly despite their numerical advantage as they were attacked from both sides.

“We will join with the legion! Everyone charge!”

KAAAAANG-

As Durin split a knight in half with a single swing of his greatsword, the suicide squad’s escape began. Despite the prolonged fierce battle, the Regent showed no signs of fatigue.

He crushed the armor of every Holy Knight blocking their path and sent helmets flying. A shower of arrows continued to rain down on the reserve forces rushing to fill the gaps. Ambushes came from where demonic energy spread and obscured vision.

Saaaaaaah-

Belatedly, holy power sent by Rupiel poured down to protect the knights. He had changed his strategy from bombardment to support. But this proved to be an even worse move. When the light’s blessing met not demonic energy but death itself, it reacted violently and exploded.

BOOM! KWAGAGAK!

The power sent to strengthen them instead delivered the finishing blow to their formation collapse. Holy Knights fell in all directions. They seemed pathetically weak for supposedly being the elite forces of Heaven and the human realm.

They might have demonstrated tremendous power in a well-prepared battlefield with head-on collisions, but before Durin, who sought to create variables, they were tossed about. The archangel’s authority, which had oppressed the knights to operate as a single unit, hindered their mobility and led to disastrous results.

“Your Excellency!”

“Turn around immediately! We must leave this place quickly without giving them any opening.”

Durin, who had made contact with Asha, didn’t exchange pleasantries. He immediately raised the banner and gave orders.

“Take the main road and escape quickly!”

“This battle is our victory! Hahaha!”

The demons mockingly laughed at the angels as they withdrew from the battlefield. As a cavalry unit with good mobility, it wasn’t difficult to escape from an army thrown into confusion.

Rupiel, consumed by anger, tried to order bombardment, but arrows flying from the distance interfered with the priest corps. When shield bearers moved to protect them, their formation crumbled, preventing them from exerting their full power.

In the end, after pounding the ground a few times, they had no choice but to let the demons go.

#

“What a devastating defeat.”

Rupiel was more furious than he had been in recent memory. He trembled with rage, expressing his intense emotions without filter.

“We exchanged a hundred demons for a thousand knights.”

“……”

“If we add those who can’t move due to severe injuries, the number will increase significantly. The priest corps has been deployed for treatment, so we can’t even mobilize now.”

There weren’t even enough knights to protect the priest corps. If Durin had continued guerrilla warfare solely with cavalry, they might have managed to hold out somehow, but the problem was the rain of arrows pouring from the sky.

“So he went east and secured the elves.”

“It seems the World Tree, which didn’t follow the Pope’s decree, has finally decided to join hands with the demons.”

Rupiel, who as the archangel’s secretary already knew the truth, fell into momentary silence. It suddenly occurred to him that he had misjudged from the beginning and ruined everything.

“If only we had broken through the southern front quickly…”

He had chosen the safest path to minimize casualties. Rupiel, who had received support from the Holy Army thinking he could safely protect his homeland, had become a failed general who protected nothing.

“I didn’t come for wealth and glory. I only wanted to protect humans.”

“Secretary.”

“Was I foolish for not being able to stand by and watch Heaven crumble?”

Rupiel finally succumbed to despair.

If he had turned a blind eye, they would have fallen into ruin according to fate’s arrangement. At least he wouldn’t have had time to feel miserable. Now he was about to lose even the archangel’s authority that had led the Holy Army all this time—it couldn’t get worse.

Now he had only one possibility left.

In this situation where his control over the army as an archangel was gradually slipping away, there was only one option left.

“I must face Durin myself.”

A duel between commanders.

Rather than bearing the disgrace of defeat, he would alert Heaven with his death.

“At least then I would end as a martyr.”

That was his final wish.

#

The deaths of the veteran soldiers were not in vain.

The battle where Durin personally drew the attention of the Holy Knights ultimately stranded the Holy Army on the main road. Having lost over three thousand knights out of seven thousand troops, they couldn’t move forward or backward.

The priest corps was Heaven’s core force. They had to protect them to plan their next move, but with elves constantly targeting them from the forest, they couldn’t move freely.

“Your Excellency. I’ve ordered the soldiers to keep watching as commanded.”

“Well done, Grand Chief. Your help has been invaluable in this campaign.”

“It is rather our honor to work with the children of the goddess. Please continue to open the future for the elves until the end.”

“I will surely repay your dedication. When the Demon King returns to this land, he will bestow great rewards.”

“Thank you.”

Asha bowed deeply. Next was Durahan Gorgon.

“So you’ve become the only surviving member of the royal guard.”

“My comrades welcomed their end with joy. I regret that I could not do the same.”

“You still have duties to fulfill.”

Durin rose from his seat. He stood before the kneeling Durahan.

“As the Demon King’s representative and commander-in-chief of the legion, I appoint you as my direct adjutant, Gorgon.”

“Your Excellency.”

“Will you serve? I grant you the opportunity to ride the battlefield with me.”

“I dedicate my soul to the Castle, my lord. Please lead me to glory.”

Durin patted the shoulder of Gorgon, who had accepted his duty with a calm voice. It was a sign that Durin trusted him. Durahan bowed even deeper, overwhelmed with emotion.

“I will separately reward those who dedicated themselves to battle. However, since the battle is not yet over, I will limit it to those of commander rank.”

“As you wish, Regent. The legion will follow you.”

“Good. Report on the next matter.”

Durin sat back in the seat of honor. A sorcerer who had been watching the battlefield from Barcella Fortress scurried forward.

“Your Excellency. A report has come in regarding the eastern front.”

“Come to think of it, there’s still the eastern Holy Army. How far have they advanced?”

“They’re still held back by the Church and unable to move properly. Their forces remain intact, but with confusion spreading from all directions, they seem to have engaged in suppression on their own.”

The strategy employed by the demons in the east was simple. They declared cities along Durin’s path as demon-controlled territories. Not limited to simply claiming land, they instilled fear of heresy in the Holy Army, making it impossible to pass without going through those territories.

“With the Holy Army’s mobility restricted, some forces that were engaged in missionary work across the eastern region are coming here for support.”

“How many?”

“According to reports, approximately five thousand.”

Five thousand. A number that satisfied Durin. While not impressive compared to the total size of the Holy Army, it was a tremendous achievement that they had gathered those who had been operating in the shadows and sent them as reinforcements, demonstrating their growing influence.

“This comes at a good time, as our forces have also accumulated quite a few casualties.”

Durin, tapping the table with the strategy board, expressed joy—an uncommon emotional display for him. He fingered the sword at his waist before gripping it firmly with his gauntlet.

“We will fight the decisive battle as soon as the reinforcements arrive. In the last battle, we couldn’t execute the decapitation strategy, but this time we will surely cut off the head.”

“I will follow your orders, Your Excellency.”

The decisive battle was approaching.

Durin intended to determine the fate of the human realm with this battle.