Ch.55Heavenly Demon War (3)

“General. The demons’ offensive is too fierce. The fortresses blocking the center will all collapse at this rate.”

“It’s already too late. News just came in that they’ve poured out all their demonic energy and swept away what remained of our defense line. Essentially, all we have left is the wall.”

“If this place falls, the path to our garrison will be wide open! We must hold at all costs!”

Day after day, the angels received bad news.

The battlefield situation had deteriorated. Their sluggish movements in search of optimal battle positions had resulted in complete defeat against the wave attacks.

Of course, their main force—the Holy Knights—remained intact and ready for deployment. If they could engage, they would be able to defeat all the demons that had been gathering.

However, there was one problem.

“We need to clearly identify the battlefield where Durin will take the front. As long as they have complete initiative, we can only respond.”

“If only we had struck first, this wouldn’t have happened…”

“We only have 60,000 troops. We would need to pour out holy power just as they pour out demonic energy. Breaking through the center was realistically the best option.”

“It’s so frustrating that we couldn’t strike before reinforcements arrived.”

“It’s a chronic problem of the heavens. What’s done is done. We must move forward with it.”

Sighs poured from the mouths of the staff officers.

There had clearly been an opportunity. They should have exploited the gap when the Demon King was absent.

They should have struck first when the Demon King had fled to the human realm and the demons were in disarray.

But it had been impossible. The decisive reason why the rulers of heaven had failed to conquer this wasteland-filled demon realm:

Arrogance.

For over a thousand years, the same history had repeated itself. They had descended to the demon realm to prove their faith, but failed to properly respond to the demons who threw themselves into battle with their lives at stake, and were devoured.

If there had been defeats written in blood, changes should have been made, but for those occupying the heavens, such pain was merely a small wound.

For them, only one thing mattered:

Harvesting faith from the human realm. Having perfectly occupied the heavens, they were steeped in complacency. The angels lacked desperation.

That was ultimately manifesting in today’s results.

When the Demon King disappeared, they were too busy tending to the human realm to conquer the demon realm.

The situation was temporarily settled with small forces from the garrison engaging in local battles.

Even when Durin gathered warlords to build a new force, they remained like statues.

They were only scheming to devour new faith using the Crusades in the human realm. Even then, all they could do was send messengers from the garrison to intimidate.

Later, when the Demon King newly emerged and the hero’s disappearance came to light, they hurriedly sent troops. But even that was too late—they were caught by demons who had already prepared their response.

They had few choices left.

While loudly proclaiming a holy war and speaking of finding a glorious battlefield, their inner thoughts were similar. Going outside the walls meant death. They would be annihilated by Durin.

That hesitation had sealed their fate.

They had lost even the central region they had temporarily occupied with the numerical advantage gained through the expeditionary force. In this situation where the difficult northern and southern territories had become essentially useless, they had handed over the corridor through which large forces could move to the demons.

“General Azakiel. You must choose now.”

The staff officers looked in one direction.

Angel General Azakiel was staring blankly at the situation board.

The commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force who held the lives of 60,000 troops in his hands.

“Yes. It’s time to step forward.”

Despite the overwhelmingly unfavorable situation, he was still smiling.

Unlike his worried staff, Azakiel was still looking at the battlefield.

“Have you regrouped the retreating defense forces?”

“We can deploy 5,000 troops immediately.”

“They were quite thinned out during the last bombardment.”

“But they can still fight. They are warriors who follow the God of Light.”

“Indeed, their faith is strong. I believe in the power of the angels serving in the demon realm.”

Azakiel never viewed this situation as disadvantageous.

For him, war was an opportunity. A stage to prove his faith to the God of Light. He would become a great general written in scripture and proclaim the name of God over the necks of demons.

“Order the Holy Knights to deploy. Now that the demons have conveniently leveled the ground, we can finally utilize them.”

“We’ll mobilize all remaining holy power. We’ll pour everything we were saving for leveling operations onto the demons.”

“Wonderful news. I’ll head to the battlefield trusting in all of you.”

Azakiel finally rose.

The waiting was over. The demons were calling him.

They had drawn in over 100,000 troops. There could be no better sacrifice to glorify the God of Light.

“Let’s go! God is watching over us!”

A dueling ground built on sacrifice.

Azakiel advanced toward it.

He would prove his faith.

Or so he thought.

#

“Fire! Fire!”

“We’re out of stones. We can’t fire anymore!”

“You worm! There are plenty of stone fragments from the destroyed fortress! Bring them all up!”

BOOM!

CRASH!

The war between the two forces facing each other across the wall had evolved into a bombardment battle.

Trebuchets and spell battalions ceaselessly pounded the white wall. They were knocking to draw out the angels who were cowering inside.

-If we continue like this, we’ll be surrounded by the main force from the Demon King’s castle?

They kept asking.

Die trapped or face them gloriously in battle?

They continued to present options that the angels could only accept one of.

The sight of hiding behind walls, cowering before demons.

Could those be called holy knights full of faith?

The answer came after three days.

“Holy power!”

A soldier’s cry changed the tide of battle.

Streams of white light shot up from the previously quiet wall. It was a sight similar to when demonic energy was fired.

“Spell battalion, respond!”

“Form ranks! They’re finally crawling out!”

“Defensive spells!”

CRASH!

“Pull back the trebuchets! They’ll all be destroyed!”

“They’re already wrecked!”

“Then at least save the soldiers! Everyone retreat!”

“Run!”

The warlords shouted desperately.

Orders to save their soldiers came one after another.

But the holy power was faster than their movements.

BOOM!!

“AAAAGH!”

“Throw away anyone who’s on fire!”

“Hey! Don’t look back, we’ll die too!”

Demons engulfed in white flames turned to ashes in an instant.

The soldiers operating the siege engines had only received basic training and had no chance to react. In this strange battlefield where screams and battle cries coexisted, the demons struggled to survive.

“When will we respond?!”

“Firing now!”

SCREECH!

An arrow whistled through the sky. Black streams followed, drawing lines behind it. The bright day became stained.

Black masses and white masses collided, causing massive explosions.

BOOM!!

CRASH!!

The sky shook. The hastily constructed trebuchets couldn’t withstand it and collapsed. Soldiers were crushed to death.

The curtain rose on a large-scale battlefield.

Ashes swirled and death was rampant.

Moment-by-moment decisions separating life and death continued.

This was no place for low-ranking soldiers to intervene.

They retreated to the main force, avoiding the flying demonic energy and holy power.

BOOM… BOOM…

On the field left with only corpses, change began under the violent scene.

The white wall opened its gates. Those who wished to paint a mythical scene finally thrust out their spears.

Knights in pure white armor led their warhorses onto the battlefield. They weren’t fast at first. They advanced through the scattering ashes.

Thud-thud-thud-thud….

The rumbling began. The holy knights grabbed their reins.

They gradually increased their speed.

Eventually, they began charging relentlessly toward the demons.

BWOOOOO-

While the spell battalion fought and the infantry formed defensive positions, a horn sounded from the demon side.

The first line of defense, led by magical beasts, sluggishly emerged.

Behind them, a cavalry mounted on warhorses appeared majestically.

The Demon King’s spearhead, rebuilt using magical beasts trained after the northern conquest, had finally appeared on the battlefield.

Durin looked down at them.

In his hand was a flag. A blue horn, the symbol of Serphin, was drawn on it.

The regent walked slowly with his warhorse. Verdia was with him. Elites selected from the southern army stood at the vanguard of the cavalry to share in the glorious charge.

“I declare the end of the previous era.”

The once-divided demon realm would now advance as one.

“Charge.”

“Forward!!!”

Verdia echoed his words with a shout. Simultaneously, the demons’ battle cries erupted.

BWOOOOO-

The horn sounded once more.