Ch.193193. Fairy (2)

# ‘The Annihilation of the Great Forest Border Fortress’

The incident, named by the investigation team dispatched to confirm the situation, quickly spread information related to the event throughout the territory of the Dawn Empire.

Although there were limitations to government control, media outlets did exist, and this information spread through newspapers printed with special magical printing presses.

“What is the government doing?!!”

“Revenge!! Merciless and perfect revenge!!”

“Find the culprits and kill them!! No mercy is needed!!”

Naturally, befitting a nation founded on the ‘Revenge’ cult, the Dawn Empire was ablaze with calls for vengeance against the perpetrators.

In an instant, a volunteer army was formed under the cult’s leadership, gathering more than several thousand militia members. The imperial government even attempted to bring in Lunifer Paicentrius himself to find the culprits.

However, ultimately, this attempt to mobilize Lunifer became meaningless afterward—

“—A, a divine oracle! A divine oracle has descended!!”

Through Lisa Raeldotir, the noble saint of the Revenge Cult.

A divine oracle directly from the great Bleeding God of Revenge was delivered to them.

The content could be divided into three main points:

That the culprit was the Fairy Kingdom residing in the western part of the Great Forest.

That their forces included high-ranking fairies, despite being classified as Tier 3.

And finally, an order to annihilate them for revenge.

The already inflamed public opinion exploded like oil poured on fire the moment they heard this oracle.

The Supreme Council, which determined policy, unanimously decided to dispatch troops, and the Emperor, who normally maintained an invisible presence, issued a direct order.

The content was a subjugation order against the Fairy Kingdom in the western Great Forest.

It was essentially a declaration of war, authorizing the mobilization of all forces, similar to the subjugation of the main forces of the Rom Empire—now commonly called the False Empire.

The deliberate use of the term “subjugation” rather than “declaration of war” reflected the Emperor’s determination to never recognize that fairy group as a nation.

Anyway, although the mobilization of all forces was ordered by the highest authority… it was impossible to commit all resources as before.

Partly because it would be excessive firepower for attacking a mere fairy kingdom, but more importantly, the power vacuum created by such extensive mobilization would be a bigger problem.

Now that the Age of Dark had begun, recklessly withdrawing troops amid localized conflicts from all directions would lead directly to territorial losses.

Of course, deploying Strategic Bjorn would solve most problems, but Bjorn needed to firmly hold his position in the rear in case of emergencies.

Therefore, the final expedition force was determined with a definite high-low mix.

Two hundred-man units (200 soldiers) from the Avenger Legion stationed in the capital, one thousand-man commander from the Avenger Legion, plus about 4,000 volunteers organized under the cult’s leadership.

Though easily underestimated for being composed mainly of militia, these volunteers actually exceeded the level of regular troops.

In this era, the vast majority of militia were veterans who had served in the military, all equipped with magical muskets that could reasonably compensate for their aging bodies.

Crucially, among the forces the cult added to the volunteers were 100 formal priests, two mid-level priests, and one holy knight.

No joke, this army of about 4,200 men, potentially superior to the forces of neighboring small nations, was led by—the vampire Vlad von Dracula.

A Tier 3 true-blood vampire, he was an all-rounder excelling in both magic and physical combat, though as a commander… his skills were objectively below average.

Of course, the actual command would fall to his subordinate officers, so there was no problem. The reason he became the subjugation force commander was because of his high-tier combat ability.

Considering that the enemy had a high-ranking fairy, albeit Tier 3, having a high-tier force to counter a high-tier enemy was absolutely essential.

Additionally, the fact that Vlad von Dracula was a half-elf called Selim Felburg before becoming a vampire through divine curse was also a significant factor.

Beyond his past experience living in the Great Forest, he might be able to turn the situation to their advantage in case of conflict.

Thus, as soon as this expedition force of 4,200 completed preparations, they easily moved to the former fortress site using the Blood Sanctuary’s mobile warp gate.

At this site, where bodies had been recovered but bloodstains still remained on scattered wooden debris, the expedition force began establishing a base.

Temporary structures and palisades rose using hastily airlifted timber, while soldiers grumbled as they diligently dug the ground with tools.

Meanwhile, Vlad von Dracula, who had gone out on reconnaissance, released undead into the forest to locate the fairies’ stronghold.

Flying creatures like Wraiths and Vampire Bats, along with reconnaissance teams of Feral Ghouls and Vampire Wolves.

These hundreds of undead quickly spread throughout the forest, and predictably, more than half quickly met their end at the hands of the Great Forest’s magical beasts.

Armored Bears, Demonic Centipedes, Electro Spiders, Forest Wurms, Emperor Eagles, and even Forest Drake Lords.

This magical forest, teeming with apex predators from other forests, was far too treacherous and dangerous for mere corpse fragments to withstand.

Moreover, since undead stimulate the instincts of living beings to provoke hostility, the magical beasts, being more instinct-driven, slaughtered any undead they saw.

But even as they were killed one by one, the undead fulfilled their duty, finally locating the giggling fairies beyond—

All that remained now was to meticulously plan the subjugation and annihilate them.

※ ※ ※

Several days later, on the day of the operation.

This army, now totaling 5,000 with the addition of 500 reinforcements, was advancing toward the fairy kingdom with reconnaissance teams at the vanguard.

Of course, even the outskirts of this Great Forest were dangerous, which is why the expedition force was advancing with all manner of preparations.

First, they released 50 Hounds of Vengeance summoned by the combined power of the priests as scouts, and 200 wolf cavalry from among the 500 reinforcements also joined the reconnaissance.

Additionally, mages among the reinforcements cast concealment spells, and Vlad transformed into a swarm of bats to maintain vigilance in all directions.

…In truth, even without going this far, most magical beasts would not approach them.

The magical beasts that make up the Great Forest ecosystem have clear territorial concepts, but beyond that, they have excellent survival instincts and higher intelligence than normal animals.

Obviously, even mid-tier beasts would know that attacking a large group of 5,000 could potentially result in serious injuries.

Of course, magical beasts have high intelligence and superior resilience compared to other animals, allowing them to regenerate severed limbs if properly nourished.

But that level of regeneration and recovery is only possible to a certain extent; serious injuries in the harsh Great Forest almost always lead to death.

Thus, as the magical beasts valued their lives too much to challenge the group of 5,000, the soldiers advanced with eyes burning with hatred.

And after advancing for some time.

“…Found it.”

In the middle of the densely wooded Great Forest, a clearing without trees.

A flower garden blooming with various flowers that served as both home and table for fairies, and a fairy-tale-like fairy kingdom where they played together with giggles.

However, to the soldiers who knew their true nature, they appeared as nothing but a group of demons. Surrounding the flower garden from all directions, the soldiers aimed their specially modified magical muskets and—

“—Fire!!”

FWOOOOOSH!!!

The moment the commander’s order fell, they spewed flames from their muskets modified to fire special ammunition, the so-called Dragon Breath-Muskets, burning everything.

These single-shot improvised flamethrowers with a range of about 20 meters instantly began incinerating the unsuspecting low-tier fairies and reducing the flower garden to ashes.

Although the intense mana consumption limited them to firing only 2-3 shots, this was sufficient to burn the miscellaneous fairies and the flower garden.

And as the fairy kingdom was turning into a pile of ashes—

“Y-You bastards!!!”

A fairy queen, a high-ranking fairy standing 80cm tall in a soot-covered dress, charged at them with hysterical screams.

“That’s far enough, bitch.”

Dual-wielding—not at all, Vlad von Dracula blocked her path.