Ch.312Chapter 312 – Palace Assault Operation (1)

Under the crimson sky, Sirius stood quietly, opening her fan as she gazed outside.

When someone appeared behind her, she smiled softly.

“Lady Sirius, I have something to report.”

“Speak.”

The one who called her was a subordinate vampire she had brought here some time ago.

Soon, the vampire bowed respectfully and said:

“We’ve discovered the resistance’s location. They’ve set up camp in an abandoned fortress.”

“My, I thought it would take longer.”

“The troops are already on standby. Shall we attack?”

Sirius quietly gazed at the sky in response to her subordinate’s words.

After muttering something to herself for a while, she nodded and said:

“Proceed.”

“Yes.”

“However, don’t try to engage everyone at once. Target the leadership first. Once they’re gone, the resistance will naturally collapse.”

“I’ll relay that. Any other instructions?”

Sirius grinned and replied:

“According to our infiltrator, Princess Gabriella has taken refuge with the resistance.”

“…That human, you mean.”

The vampire muttered with apparent distaste.

Then he looked at Sirius and asked:

“Should we prioritize taking the princess’s head?”

“On the contrary. Make sure the princess is captured alive. As you target the leadership, an opportunity to capture her will present itself.”

“Is there really a need for that?”

At the vampire’s question, Sirius smiled slyly and said:

“Regardless, that king made a deal with our Demon Lord and served us well. He begged to have her brought before him by any means necessary, so we should oblige.”

“…Why would he want that?”

“How would I know? I’m not particularly interested in human romance. Anyway…”

Sirius’s red eyes suddenly began to glow.

“…Who do you think you are, questioning my words as you please?”

“I apologize—!”

The vampire couldn’t finish his sentence.

His body had already slammed against the wall, and he soon collapsed to the floor, coughing blood.

Looking down at her subordinate, Sirius spoke coldly:

“Let me make this clear. You are my limbs. I decide what happens to your lives. You should be following my orders without question, yet you dare to talk back to me?”

“F-forgive me…”

“Do you think I’ll overlook your insolence just because you ask for forgiveness?”

Sirius’s fan was suddenly at the vampire’s throat.

Desperate to survive, the subordinate cried out:

“I-I won’t question your words again! Please forgive me!”

“…Do you think I’ll let this go just because you promise not to question my words?”

“That’s…!”

The subordinate desperately racked his brain.

He needed to find some way to escape this situation.

And perhaps by miracle, he remembered one particular phrase:

“L-Lady Sirius, I will carry out any order without question! I am your limb! I will never displease you again! Please show mercy, mercy!”

“…Hmm, so you’ll do anything I say?”

Sirius smiled wickedly.

Seeing this, the subordinate briefly thought he had made a mistake.

Soon, Sirius smiled and said:

“Very well. I’ll forgive you this time. Remember, there won’t be a second chance.”

“Thank you…!”

“Now, I’ll give you an order right away.”

Sirius looked down at her subordinate and said:

“Nesti, Row, Mean.”

“…What?”

“Kill them.”

The vampire’s eyes widened momentarily.

Soon, he spoke with a trembling voice:

“T-those people…!”

“Are they stronger than you? That’s not my concern. Go and kill them.”

“Wait, please. Why do you want them killed…!”

“Because they tried to disobey my orders.”

Sirius spoke in a cold voice:

“I clearly ordered all demons here not to touch the humans captured from the capital, as they would be sacrificed next week. I didn’t expect them to indulge their appetites while I looked away for a moment.”

“B-but…!”

“If I hadn’t stationed my butler there, the humans meant for sacrifice would have been harmed. Shouldn’t disobedience be punished by death?”

The subordinate vampire made his already pale skin even paler as he exclaimed:

“But they’re just a couple of children! Surely that’s…”

“Just?”

The subordinate vampire felt cold sweat at Sirius’s icy voice.

Ignoring him, Sirius continued quietly:

“There is no hierarchy among human lives meant for sacrifice. Children are no exception. ‘Just children,’ you say. Do you think I would make exceptions?”

Sirius’s eyes glowed red again.

The subordinate vampire quickly bowed and cried out:

“B-but they are stronger than me…! Even so…!”

“You remember our current directive, don’t you? The weak must obey the strong.”

Sirius smiled and said:

“Is there any demon here stronger than me?”

“That’s…”

“Ah, Brigade Commander Minos might be a match for me. But you’re not him, so you should follow my orders, shouldn’t you?”

Sirius looked down at him with cold eyes and said:

“I think I’ve already devoted too much time to you. You claimed to be my limb, but you seem too slow to act on my words…”

“I-I’ll kill them immediately! Right away…!”

At the vampire’s desperate cry, Sirius nodded coldly with a smile.

As he quickly got up, she quietly added:

“Oh, and just to be clear, the humans in the palace belong to the alliance. If you try to disobey the order not to touch the alliance again.”

“I will absolutely obey!!”

Thinking he had barely survived, the vampire fled outside like an arrow.

Watching him, Sirius let out a light sigh.

Then she spoke to the air:

“Trust, are you there?”

“Yes.”

Immediately, a vampire appeared behind her.

Sirius quietly asked the middle-aged looking vampire:

“Are the troops deployed as instructed?”

“Yes.”

Trust spoke quietly:

“As you directed, human soldiers are positioned near the western wall, and we vampires are stationed at the remaining locations.”

“What about Brigade Commander Minos’s forces?”

“They’re all positioned in the towers equipped with soul-draining formations.”

Sirius nodded at Trust’s words.

Then she said to Trust:

“Thank you for your hard work, Trust.”

“Lady Sirius. There’s something I must report.”

“If it’s about that lazy duke, I won’t hear it now.”

Sirius said quietly.

Trust maintained silence for a moment.

“…But Lady Sirius, I have a question.”

“I permit it.”

“Do you believe they will come?”

“Are you referring to the White Dragon?”

Trust quietly nodded.

Soon, Sirius smiled and said:

“He will come.”

“What I wish to know is when…”

“He will come. I told you before, if not today, then tomorrow? …I’ve also taken precautions, so don’t worry…”

Sirius suddenly stopped speaking.

Then, as if she had discovered something, her eyes widened slightly.

“Lady Sirius?”

“Trust. Come and look toward the west gate.”

Trust immediately approached Sirius.

And he quietly murmured:

“They really came.”

“Yes, they did.”

Trust, who briefly shared the surveillance network Sirius had set up with special magic, nodded.

Soon Trust quietly asked:

“Shall I announce an emergency?”

“No. Since no one but you knows about this surveillance network, there’s no need to announce anything.”

Sirius smiled and said:

“Then, Trust. Prepare.”

“Yes.”

The middle-aged vampire immediately disappeared as if melting into the scenery.

After briefly looking at where he had vanished, Sirius looked out the window again and smiled.

“I wish you luck, White Dragon.”

+

Two days after the alliance with the Princess faction was formed.

I was with our group near the west gate of the capital.

“…There really are only humans here.”

“I heard other walls are guarded by demons, this is unexpected.”

Sera spoke with curiosity.

And as if answering her, a figure spoke in a tearful voice:

“Why would I lie… I went through so much trouble to find out today’s military deployment…”

“Honestly, how can we trust what you say?”

Vanilla admonished Cusia.

When I looked at Vanilla, she stared back at me strangely.

“What’s wrong, White Dragon?”

“…Nothing. I just find it odd that you, a demon, don’t trust another demon.”

Vanilla seemed about to shout something in anger for a moment.

But she quickly stopped, thought for a bit, and then quietly said:

“…Now that I hear it, you’re right. I have no rebuttal.”

“See?”

“Let’s stop this pointless talk, Kay.”

Eve quieted us down and looked at the sky.

Soon she checked the time and nodded.

“The operation begins now.”

“Go ahead, Cusia.”

At Sia’s words, Cusia nodded.

Then she walked toward the city gate.

“Hello there! Remember me! I passed through here before…”

“Who is that maid?”

“Why is there a maid here?!”

“Damn, stop her! Don’t let her in!”

The soldiers immediately began to “welcome” Cusia enthusiastically.

Soldiers suddenly emerged and started surrounding her, and Cusia shouted in confusion:

“Wait, what? What did I do wrong…”

“Don’t play dumb! All maids are forbidden from leaving the palace, isn’t that suspicious?!”

“Who is that woman! Is she the Domestica from the resistance?!”

“No, I’ve seen her before! She’s not!”

“What are you doing here at a time like this…!”

The soldiers shouted various things as they began to surround Cusia.

And soon some soldiers called out:

“What should we do with her?”

“I’ve been saying! Send her back! It’s dangerous!”

“Ah, that’s a problem! I can’t go back!”

As Cusia shouted urgently, the soldiers yelled:

“Whoever you are, take care of yourself! If you go in, you might die!”

“Damn it, send her away quickly! If the demons find out…”

“That’s why it’s difficult. I need to get inside.”

Cusia said with a smile.

And her eyes began to glow.

“So please listen to me obediently?”

That was the decisive blow.

The soldiers looked at her with dazed expressions upon seeing her glowing eyes.

Watching this, Chris murmured:

“So that’s what charm is.”

“It’s a succubus specialty. The effect is obvious, isn’t it?”

As Vanilla said, the effect was obvious.

The men around her were visibly moving according to Cusia’s words with dazed expressions.

“So that’s what I almost fell victim to.”

The effect seemed quite powerful.

The men weren’t showing any resistance at all.

“But there can’t be only men there.”

“The ratio of female knights assigned to gate defense is low. Well, even if there are some…”

Eve was in the middle of speaking.

As if sensing something was wrong, two female knights suddenly appeared in front of the gate.

But.

“I just need to capture them, that’s all.”

As if hearing Eve’s words, Cusia immediately gave orders to the men, and soon the female knights were quickly captured and subdued by men who had been their allies.

As Cusia beckoned to us, we emerged from our hiding place and approached.

“Ugh, kill them!”

“Do female knights get trained to say that line first when captured?”

“If they’re not trained to say it, that’s even scarier.”

I made that comment because the bound female knight shouted that at me, which was quite absurd.

Soon, Cusia saluted us from beside the captured female knights and said:

“I, Cusia! Have captured the gate as instructed!”

“Good work, Cusia.”

“I’ll secure the gate and establish a foothold!”

With those words, Cusia began to move with the soldiers she had made her prisoners.

And soon we heard the sound of the gate opening.

“Listen carefully, everyone.”

Eve spoke quietly.

“That succubus will throw the gate into confusion, and in the meantime, the resistance fighters will establish a foothold near the gate and begin their siege.”

“Then most of the soldiers and demons will start gathering around here.”

With the gate suddenly opening and intruders trying to enter, the enemy would naturally try to recapture this area.

“So the Princess faction will hold them off while we strike at the convergence point.”

“That’s the basic outline. Besides, it was difficult to come up with a more elaborate plan.”

The Princess faction’s forces were too weak to hold out for long.

But they promised to take on that role in this operation.

“…Princess Gabriella appealed to everyone, saying this fight was for the people, and asked them to risk their lives.”

“And she didn’t stop there—she said she would go to the front lines herself.”

The princess who said she wouldn’t stay in a safe place during this dangerous battle but would come herself.

They were determined to hold off the majority of the enemy forces until we could destroy the convergence point.

However, this caused some changes for us as well.

“So Beatrice staying behind couldn’t be helped.”

“…The princess said she could go, but Beatrice was adamant.”

Naturally, she must have been worried about her sister.

In the end, Beatrice was removed from the infiltration team.

But everyone thought it was to protect their homeland’s princess, so they didn’t press the issue or try to stop her.

“Because I’m here!”

“Yes, yes.”

When Vanilla confidently declared herself as Beatrice’s replacement, Gigas quietly responded.

And looking at them, Eve spoke again:

“Obviously, the role of the Princess faction’s soldiers is to draw attention, hold off the enemy, and endure. Unless the situation unfolds exceptionally well, considering the difference in forces, I think it would be difficult for the Princess faction to provide more support than this.”

“Even that much is a great help.”

It’s better than us facing all the forces in the castle by ourselves.

Eve looked at me.

“Kay.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

I could see Florence and the palace, both emanating an ominous aura.

“Let’s go.”

At that signal, we ran toward the palace.