Ch.217216. Starting Point (2)

# 216. Starting Point (2)

Black shadows advancing toward the Empire, their numbers so dense they were uncountable.

From simple demons to beastmen and insectoids, allied forces and the monsters under their control had gathered to form a massive army.

The army was divided into three large divisions, with the foremost heading toward the nearest wall where the enemy had likely stationed their largest force.

Within that enormous division was someone who radiated an aura incomparably stronger than the others.

He was carefully stroking his reliable subordinate, which he had obtained with great difficulty.

“I look forward to your performance. I have quite high expectations for you.”

“…”

The dragon-shaped subordinate gave no response to his words.

Instead, a rather brutish-looking individual spoke up.

“Your Majesty… Is it really okay to have just this many troops for the main force?”

“Of course it’s fine. Don’t I count for something?”

That was true.

Besides, Solomon was here too, along with other reinforcements, so the situation wasn’t that bad.

Still, Amon thought it wasn’t enough.

‘The enemy won’t be pushovers either… We should at least have Lilith…’

As Amon thought this, the other spoke as if reading his mind.

“Don’t worry too much. All divisions will eventually converge in one place. And didn’t I tell you that woman isn’t to be trusted?”

Though he had been taking good care of his subordinates lately, he made an exception for Lilith.

This time too, Bael had casually assigned Lilith the impossibly difficult mission of assassinating the Empress.

Amon was thinking about her, who had left their homeland much earlier than they had.

‘Where is she now? What is she doing? She must still be alive though, knowing her…’

Amon had always considered Lilith a comrade and maintained a good relationship with her.

Because of that, he didn’t think for a moment that she might have been defeated.

Rather, Amon thought:

‘With some luck, she might actually succeed in the assassination.’

Lilith was capable enough to make such thoughts plausible, which made him question Bael’s judgment even more.

Unfortunately, Amon wasn’t in a position to voice these thoughts.

Of course, no one except perhaps Agareus would be in such a position.

‘That old man should be here at times like this…’

***

The person Amon referred to as “that old man.”

Among the powerful figures of the Babylon Kingdom, he ranked at least in the top three. Now, far from his lord, he was preparing for the imminent war.

“Our forces are numerically disadvantaged, so don’t let your guard down, especially you.”

As he spoke, he was looking at a boy who appeared at least 100 years younger than himself.

The boy, quite boldly, showed no particular reaction to his words.

He simply stood with his arms crossed, wearing a disgruntled expression.

“Fix your face. I’m asking nicely.”

“Why am I even here?”

“Don’t complain. It’s His Majesty’s will.”

“His Majesty this, His Majesty that. You’ll wear yourself out.”

The moment those words left the boy’s mouth, the man’s sharp hand shot toward the boy’s neck.

-Swish!!-

His face was tense as he threatened the boy’s neck.

Those words had made him furious.

“Watch your mouth. Even if His Majesty favors you, if you keep talking like that, I’ll have to take measures.”

“Geez… so sensitive… Fine, I’m sorry.”

When the boy apologized, he withdrew his hand.

Then he began to explain what the boy had wanted to know.

Looking at the massive magic circle in front of him and the mages constructing it, he said:

“Unlike the main force, our division will head directly to the capital, Lucerne. That’s why we’re preparing this magic circle.”

“You should have said so earlier. I would have kept my mouth shut.”

Though the boy spoke like this, the fault clearly lay with him.

This wasn’t the first time the man had explained this.

Still, it was fortunate that the boy understood now.

The boy’s face brightened considerably.

“So we can go find her right away?”

“Do you even know where she is?”

“Of course not, but according to His oh-so-great Majesty, she should be in prison.”

“So do you know where that prison is?”

“Of course not.”

What a cheerfully clueless boy.

The man looked at him and put his hand to his forehead.

Then he poured cold water on the excited boy’s enthusiasm.

“Regardless of whether you know or not, independent action is forbidden. Until the order to search for her comes down, focus on the mission His Majesty has given us.”

“Tch… those damn orders… do they feed me or something?”

The boy found those words extremely distasteful.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

At best, he could only follow their orders and sacrifice himself for his homeland; his personal goals would inevitably have to be set aside for now.

Yet paradoxically, temporarily setting aside his personal goals was the fastest way to achieve them.

Of course, the boy failed to realize this.

“Don’t be too hasty. If the war ends well, you’ll eventually achieve your goal.”

“I know, I know.”

He spoke to the boy who still hadn’t stepped onto the magic circle.

“If you know, then hurry up and get in. It’s almost complete.”

“But isn’t this too reckless from the start? With this much magical power, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to just blast our way through?”

It was a somewhat persuasive argument.

However, that would only be reasonable if they were confident they could do it and actually capable of doing so.

“That would be reasonable if it were possible. We don’t know how the enemy will move.”

“They don’t know about us either.”

He found the boy’s quick retorts annoying, but he still managed to continue the conversation while suppressing his anger.

In exchange, his tone became completely devoid of sincerity.

“That’s what gambling is. Our Majesty doesn’t like such things.”

Agareus raised his head to look in the direction of the main force.

In his field of vision, he could barely make out a tiny point of light.

At that moment, Agareus knelt down and placed his hand on the magic circle.

“And be careful. It’s starting.”

As he spoke, an enormous amount of magical power erupted from the ground beneath them, and the dull magic circle began to emit a red light.

-Tzzzzz!! Wheeeeeng!!-

In that brief instant.

They leaped across that vast distance in an instant, arriving in Lucerne, tens of kilometers away from their original location in that short time.

But such miraculous feats always came with a price.

In an abandoned cathedral in Lucerne, large enough to easily accommodate thousands of soldiers, the physical condition of those who had been transported was not good.

“Urrrgh…”

“Blegh!!”

Everyone was holding their heads, trying to maintain balance.

Everyone except Agareus.

“Why make such a fuss over something this trivial?”

“It’s always amazing… how can you be so fine?”

“You and I are cut from the same cloth. Don’t make such a fuss.”

As he said, both Fenex and he appeared to be in similar condition on the surface.

However, Fenex wasn’t quite at the level of being ‘completely unaffected.’

Still, he didn’t show unseemly behavior like staggering or vomiting like the other soldiers.

He just stood there with a grimace.

“But isn’t that a bit… aren’t they overreacting?”

While Fenex was shaking his head at the sight of his comrades, Agareus, the commander of this division, spoke in a resonant voice.

“Men, we don’t have time to waste like this.”

But those words weren’t enough.

So he thought:

‘I should issue an order.’

The order was surprisingly simple.

A small command that even a five-year-old child could follow.

But the weight of that order was unimaginably heavy.

He spoke in a voice quite different from usual, filled with killing intent.

“Get up right now.”

At his single command, which made even the surrounding air tense, those who had been disoriented regained their balance and stood up.

Looking at the scene, he said:

“This place is teeming with the humans you so despise. Once we leave this abandoned cathedral, there will be many humans. You have only one task.”

In his eyes, as he uttered these words, there was intense determination and faith—faith in himself, in his subordinates, and in his lord who would have begun battle by now.

With that look in his eyes, he gave them their second order.

“And that is… to slaughter those humans.”