Ch.268Civil War (4)

The battle situation around the city of Colland, which had been infested by demons, could be summarized in one word: completely stagnant.

The demon forces were hampered by their weakness—they couldn’t move beyond a certain distance from the castle after the death of a mid-level demon that served as their anchor. They simply had no way to attack the domain forces protected by the temple barrier.

Meanwhile, the domain forces faced a similar predicament. While they could defend against attacks, they were forced into a situation where they couldn’t launch a siege.

The demon forces, who would return to reality after some time passed, defended with all their might. Additionally, the durability of the castle, corrupted and damaged by various evil spells, couldn’t be ignored.

To put it bluntly, even if they somehow managed to gather enough troops to launch one offensive, the resulting casualties would be unbearable, leaving them with no viable options.

And so, after establishing their positions, the domain forces were stuck in a drawn-out delaying action, but this situation was by no means advantageous to them.

Frankly speaking, the demon side, regardless of what method they had used, had established a foothold in reality and only needed magical power to maintain their physical existence, without requiring any additional supplies.

In contrast, the domain forces had over 10,000 soldiers and laborers (workers participating in war for non-combat purposes) consuming all kinds of resources. The longer this dragged on, the more massive the losses would be.

Therefore, the domain side was working tirelessly to find a way to resolve this situation, and one such effort was the daily meeting held in the lord’s tent.

This meeting brought together the leaders of each military group and the talents they recommended. Since it was primarily attended by those with actual battlefield experience, it had the clear advantage of avoiding armchair theories.

However, despite this, no solutions were forthcoming.

Unless they were willing to deliberately sacrifice human lives for one big push, there was no clear method available. No one in this gathering was prepared to bear the dishonor and shame of proposing a strategy that would result in the deaths of thousands.

The rational desire to avoid self-destruction in what was essentially a civil war was suppressing the very method that could resolve this battlefield most quickly.

So, as meaningless meetings continued day after day in this deadlocked state, the people arriving at what was becoming a daily routine encountered someone who had not previously shown their face in the meeting room.

“…Huh?”

“Lord Camille?”

“Lord Alzar… here?”

It was Lord Camille de Alzar, who had been too busy flying around on his pegasus and making his mark on the battlefield to attend the meetings. In just these few days, he had elevated his reputation among the domain forces, establishing himself as a hero and the domain’s heir apparent.

Of course, the reason he had been absent from the meeting room despite being the heir apparent was precisely because he had been directly active on the battlefield, building his standing.

He was the first to identify the initial attack and sent knights to prevent a catastrophe. He himself rode a pegasus, soaring through the skies to suppress thousands of demons and shoot down hundreds in short order.

Additionally, Lord Camille de Alzar hunted down mid-level demons—which anyone could see were not ordinary specimens—with a single strike, and continued to build impressive achievements by constantly being active on the front lines.

In just under a week, he had conservatively eliminated thousands of demons, with some boastful individuals claiming the number exceeded ten thousand.

Moreover, he had taken down more than 10 mid-level demons during this time, not counting multiple appearances of the same entity.

Despite continuing this extermination campaign, he never once complained about the difficulty. His reputation only grew as time passed, as he always volunteered for the most dangerous positions.

And now, the faces of those looking toward Lord Camille de Alzar, who had appeared in this place, were generally filled with respect.

In an Earth-based group, there might have been people trying to check a brilliant newcomer and heir apparent, but the people in this gathering could never have reached mid-level with such a mindset.

Those who awakened auras due to their mental uniqueness might prioritize competitive desires, but ultimately, they genuinely respected their future lord who had demonstrated such heroic achievements.

The pegasus knight, freely manipulating twelve steel feathers while flying through the sky, had cut down countless enemies and saved even more allies.

And now, this hero, attending the meeting for the first time—

“…I have a plan.”

With a remarkably calm voice, he quietly declared to those gathered that he had a solution.

※ ※ ※

The moment Lord Alzar, Camille de Alzar, announced that he had a plan, the senior members naturally assumed that Camille was boldly volunteering to make a sacrifice in front of everyone.

This was because they had been hesitating, knowing the only solution but unable to bear its cost.

Bluntly put, given the overwhelming number of mid-level demons, they could certainly capture the castle with a full-scale offensive instead of a drawn-out delaying action, but the problem was the countless casualties that could result.

Even with the most conservative estimates, there would be at least 1,000 casualties among the infantry, possibly more than half. In the worst case, they couldn’t deny the possibility of numerous casualties among the precious knights as well.

The total population of Alzar Barony, excluding transients, was 200,000, with at least several thousand already dead inside the castle. If thousands more died here, the total casualties would reach around 10,000—5% of the total population.

In an era where population equaled national power, no one could easily bear a 5% loss, and the pressure of suggesting such a thing as a vassal was enormous.

In this situation, when Lord Camille de Alzar stepped forward with an opinion, the senior members naturally assumed he was taking on the burden, regardless of his reasons.

However, the reality was completely different.

“Everyone, please listen. We have one opportunity left.”

Just from his words, something seemed odd for someone supposedly shouldering a high-risk choice. He appeared genuinely confident, which began to spark some hope.

Especially since Lord Alzar had repeatedly demonstrated heroic feats that set him apart, the trust and expectations created by these actions made it seem like he truly had a solution…

“I will form a special attack unit with my subordinates and infiltrate the city.”

In the end, the method that came from Lord Camille de Alzar’s mouth was somewhat unconventional but definitive.

Currently, Lord Camille had various splendidly armed subordinates and numerous mid-level followers. His plan was to fly with them and attack the lord’s castle where the enemy leadership must be located.

While the domain forces created the impression of an external attack, this plan, when examined piece by piece, was surprisingly feasible.

The main reason was that the forces commanded by Camille and his subordinates were far from insignificant. Additionally, from a mystical perspective, the enemy leadership would have to remain in the fortress at the highest point of the city.

In short, looking at each aspect of the situation, there was sufficient possibility—enough to warrant taking a chance.

Especially since Lord Camille’s subordinates had demonstrated excellent performance across the front lines. Most of them were rare mid-level aerial forces, precious assets indeed.

However, for all these possibilities to come together, one prerequisite was necessary:

Whether Lord Alzar could actually defeat the enemy leader if he attacked. With the success or failure of this operation essentially hinging on this one factor, Baron Alzar looked at his son very seriously and asked…

“Son, I have just one question. …Are you confident?”

“—Of course, Father.”

Camille’s response was a victory declaration filled with confidence.