Ch.149Cradle’s Shadow (2)

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

I hadn’t even entered the deep forest yet. I was supposed to travel quite a distance to reach the place where we had viewed the past together, but someone appeared, blocking my path.

“At last, I can see your face.”

Her radiant smile was beautiful, embodying the fresh verdancy of the deep forest. The beauty that the Creator God had sought to express. The World Tree, ruler of the great forest, had revealed herself.

“What is it?”

“Your greeting is rather cold.”

“This is no time for idle conversation.”

Durin greeted her impassively. There was no joy in the reunion.

“Even at this moment, countless lives are being lost at the frontiers.”

“That’s merely human conflict.”

“They are valuable resources when our forces are lacking.”

The World Tree sighed. She had hoped to share the joy of reunion, but he was being completely stone-faced.

To think their first conversation would be about military forces. She had things to tell him, but it seemed there wouldn’t be even a brief moment of respite today. It clearly wasn’t the right day.

“I admire your concern for not wasting them. It’s impressive.”

“We can discuss that later. What I want to know is why you summoned me.”

Though he hadn’t even entered the forest, he went straight to the point.

As the gentle breeze rustled through the path, the World Tree thought this setting for their conversation wasn’t so bad after all, and continued.

“It’s related to what I mentioned earlier. About how to make effective use of humans.”

“Are they superior to the Order’s knights?”

“There’s no comparison. While those knights are essentially pawns to be sacrificed for the gods, the humans I’ll handle could potentially rival the gods themselves.”

Durin showed interest. His red eyes briefly gleamed with curiosity.

“A being superior to the knights. You’re referring to the Hero?”

A figure momentarily forgotten during the war. He had entered the great forest with Durin but never left.

The World Tree had kept him. Durin, recognizing that he wasn’t an immediate asset to their forces, had left him be. That decision from back then was now bearing fruit.

“The flashback has ended.”

“I saw Tantalos’s demise and why the divine fragment flowed into the great forest. What did the Hero see?”

“The reason humans became the garden of angels. He saw how their faith was being used.”

“He must have witnessed a sad truth.”

The god they worshipped was a predator. The truth hidden by the world was cruel.

“How is the Hero now? Has he awakened?”

“He’ll open his eyes soon. I called you partly to inform you of this.”

He couldn’t know what choice the Hero would make after realizing the truth. He would wander somewhere between resignation and vengeance.

If he were to take up his sword again, Durin’s choice was clear.

“When the Hero awakens, I’d like you to guide him to Armin Kerukisi. I’ll have a sorcerer waiting.”

“You don’t plan to use him on the battlefield?”

“Humans are easily captivated by what they see.”

At the opportune moment, the Hero would reappear in the human realm. Until then, he needed to remain a figure of legend.

When the Papal Territory, gripped by unfathomable fear, failed to respond properly and made false moves…

“The Hero’s appearance must be dramatic.”

That moment would mark the day of counterattack.

#

“Is Durin still there?”

Yoannina, who was monitoring the eastern front, asked Verdia. The southern army commander nodded in response.

“We just received a report from the troops stationed in Armin Kerukisi.”

“Good. He must be planning something big with the World Tree.”

Yoannina licked her lips. She wanted to discuss preparations for the upcoming great war. Currently, both sides were gauging each other’s strength and looking for opportunities.

Both sides’ forces consisted entirely of humans.

Instead of massive battles with tens of thousands of troops clashing head-on, small groups of knights were deployed to fight near cities. Casualties were gradually accumulating, but not at a serious level.

Given the shortage of demon realm forces, even these losses were regrettable, but the Regent had reinforced them with new troops, strengthening the front line. This allowed Yoannina to command operations more comfortably.

“At least you should hear me out.”

“Please speak freely.”

As Yoannina gestured, Verdia approached. The two demons examined the tactical map in the center.

“You know that when war breaks out, the eastern front will be the main battlefield, right?”

“Of course. Unlike the south, which is connected by ancient gates, the east requires pure sorcerer power to transport troops, limiting how many we can send. I’m well aware.”

“Right. That’s why only Durin came here to the east. Anyway, for that reason, when the great war breaks out, we need to completely cut off the land we can’t defend.”

Her finger first pointed to the corridor.

“Barcella Fortress. We won’t be able to maintain the road connecting east and south.”

“Naturally, since the maximum garrison can only be a few hundred.”

“Currently, sixty Durahans have volunteered for defense. If war breaks out, they’ll all sacrifice themselves.”

Soul retrieval—the greatest advantage of the undead.

“Heaven will interfere.”

To Verdia’s objection, Yoannina immediately replied.

“Sixty is an acceptable loss. Better than grinding down thousands trying to maintain it.”

The key was the eastern front, as the Demon King’s Castle had determined.

“The Papal Territory considers the World Tree a traitor. They were once close enough to send elves to cooperate with the Hero’s party, but she turned away as soon as war broke out.”

“It’s understandable they don’t comprehend, given how quickly His Excellency the Regent conquered with his great abilities.”

The World Tree had no intention of siding with Heaven since a thousand years ago.

That explanation would be too lengthy, so Yoannina didn’t elaborate. She continued her point.

“Along with their previous defeat, they’ll try to behead the World Tree. It’s the only way to restore the fallen prestige of the Papal Territory.”

“The Warrior Archangel alone won’t be enough. Then…”

Verdia trailed off. Yoannina nodded, confirming his suspicion.

“A Great Archangel will descend. After the Secretary brought all the priests and was defeated, would humans place their faith in just one Warrior Archangel?”

“It seems the day for His Majesty to enter the battlefield is not far off.”

Though there was a clear difference in power, they could match the rank.

The Domination Magic that the Regent had been focusing on would prevent the demons from retreating in the face of the Great Archangel’s divine power.

With the added belief that the Goddess of Night awaited in death, warriors would charge forward shouting glory.

“The issue is timing. We shouldn’t match their descent exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“In a situation with such a clear power difference, we need a variable to shock the heavenly beings.”

It was something Durin, who had always fought from a disadvantaged position, constantly emphasized. They needed to create a scenario that would completely shock the enemy while boosting their own troops’ morale.

“I’m still considering when that time should be. I thought Durin would definitely rush to the front line, so it’s good for at least you to understand.”

“The Regent must certainly have plans.”

“I’m sure he does. But sometimes Durin might hide information from us for the sake of creating variables, to guard against potential leaks.”

With humans involved, it was unavoidable. When angels and demons fought separately, there was no possibility without magic, but now there was a true uncontrolled variable beneath them.

“General!”

As Yoannina and Verdia were deep in thought, someone burst into the command room. It was a messenger who should have been at the front line.

“What is it?”

“The heavenly beings are showing new movements.”

“The Warrior Archangel went to the Papal Territory. Are they bringing a large crusader army?”

“It’s an even bigger issue.”

After catching his breath, the messenger reported the situation in a calmer voice.

“It’s the Hero.”

“What?”

“The Papal Territory has announced the appearance of a new Hero.”

The ultimate weapon of the human realm to face the Demon King. The previous Hero had been defeated by Durin, leaving the position vacant for some time. There had been no news of selecting a new one, so it seemed they would continue with the crusader system, but suddenly they announced this news.

“It must be to change the situation.”

It was one of the ways to definitively quell the chaos in the human realm. However, it raised many doubts.

“I understand that to select a Hero, a Great Archangel must descend in person to choose a human and grant them power. Their power clearly doesn’t come from divine power but from the Creator God’s power.”

The term “chosen one” wasn’t used lightly. Even angels couldn’t handle it; only the highest beings could create one.

To suddenly put forward such a figure without any precursors?

There was only one answer.

“It’s fake.”

Yoannina quickly concluded. She looked at Verdia.

“Quickly inform Durin. Tell him a fake Hero has appeared.”

“So it was Heaven’s deception after all. I’ll inform the Regent.”

Verdia bowed and left. The messenger, reading the atmosphere, also withdrew.

Yoannina remained alone in the command tent.

She was deep in thought.

It was a variable. Heaven had made the move that the demon realm should have shown.

This wasn’t unpredicted. It could have happened anytime. The problem wasn’t the appearance of the Hero.

“To be acknowledged as the Hero, they’d have to defeat even holy knights blessed by Heaven.”

The chosen humans were different. They possessed power that made divine power look like a joke. The one who had to fight the Demon King was rightfully called the strongest in the human realm.

“No matter how much Heaven puts forward a fake, they wouldn’t carelessly create such a figure.”

They needed to possess true strength. Only then would everyone follow.

Would Heaven be crazy enough to put a clown at the forefront? Even an angel disguised as a human wouldn’t be enough.

The Creator God’s power was of a different nature.

“This means there’s a powerful being using a completely different power from Heaven.”

An ominous prediction suddenly entered her mind.

Try as she might to dismiss it, there was only one answer. This was why she had urgently called for Durin.

“I hope I’m wrong…”

Unfortunately, her instinct strongly insisted that her reasoning was correct.