Ch.93The Hundred-Day Battle (7)

While Berdia and the hero were occupying the Dark Order’s headquarters, the battle between demons reached its final stage.

“Haaah.”

Lucretia exhaled deeply. For nearly two weeks, she had fought non-stop, day and night. There had been no rest. Only sword strikes aimed at taking the opponent’s life.

Clang!!

Her strikes were less powerful and slower than before. The beauty of dual-wielding was to pressure opponents with unexpected rhythms, but it was no longer effective.

“Tch!”

Lucretia finally retreated. Despite continuing her attacks, she was filled with frustration at her lack of progress.

“Too damn solid.”

Durin hadn’t fallen. Despite her confidence that she had nearly restored the Demon King’s power, she couldn’t overwhelm him.

If she had possessed Durin’s original strength, she should have subdued him by now. That’s what a king was.

Had she weakened from staying in the human realm too long?

The thought crossed her mind as her opponent endured and endured. No, now he was even looking for counterattacks.

Kwang!! Kung!! Kwajik!

A massive sword struck vertically, splitting the world in half. All the thought fragments Lucretia had scattered were shattered.

She had dispersed them to sustain the battle, but now they became delicious prey. Previously, she would have immediately absorbed them with her power to fight back, but after so much time had passed, fatigue had accumulated.

When Durin took the initiative, she couldn’t keep up. She barely reacted to attacks aimed at her main body. Even then, there were many feints that only drained her strength unnecessarily.

“Grrrr.”

She was furious. Consumed by rage, she wanted to behead him immediately. She wondered if it might be possible if she mobilized all the troops surrounding the area.

Clang!!

“What’s wrong, traitor? Getting nervous?”

The occasional taunts stopped Lucretia’s judgment. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She might consider sacrificing an arm for victory, but she didn’t want to give credit to a creature that needed to be controlled to extract power. They were vermin.

“Shut up!”

Durin was acting composed. In her agitation, every sword strike she made was blocked. Her patterns were becoming predictable.

She had inflicted deep wounds on several parts of that cursed armor but hadn’t killed him. There was a sliver of possibility for victory, but her childish desire for the battle to continue had given him opportunities.

One horn was half-cut, and his helmet was partially destroyed, revealing his chin. He was in tatters. But he remained steadfast. There was no opening to break through. The more she pushed him to the edge, the more firmly he dug in his heels and endured.

Kwang!!

It became increasingly difficult. Lucretia was pushed back significantly. She couldn’t find the timing for a counterattack. It was purely a matter of strength against strength, and she was losing. Now it was Durin’s turn. His thick greatsword erased all the space and timing Lucretia had to move.

Red battle aura, more intense than before, spread across the battlefield. Flames rose into the sky that had been as dark as night.

Fierce.

Lucretia’s hands became busy. Durin was more relentless than demonic energy. His sword, intent on taking life, penetrated sharply. Despite the sparks flying from numerous clashes, he endlessly aimed for her life.

“Damn it!”

Lucretia cursed under her breath. The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable. As thoughts other than pure joy grew stronger, her hands became erratic. The duel that had split the earth in an instant and exchanged dozens of blows changed to one-sided offense and defense.

Lucretia contemplated. It seemed like the time to swallow her pride and draw her shield again.

A moment of hesitation. A split second.

That changed the tide.

“How amusing.”

Durin taunted as usual. But he didn’t continue his attack. He retreated significantly, as if abandoning the duel. The distance between the two demons widened. Lucretia was bewildered.

“What are you doing?! Stop playing games and come at me!”

“Before you get angry, look around you.”

Saying this, Durin lowered his sword. He summoned a demonic warhorse as if intending to leave.

If he fled now, Lucretia, drained of strength, wouldn’t have the energy to pursue him. All she could do was scream hysterically.

“Duriiiiin! Where are you going?! We need to finish this!”

“Foolish one. Our war is just beginning. Did you think we would determine victory or defeat after just one encounter?”

Durin mocked Lucretia. He appeared to have no lingering attachment.

“You’re still so young.”

After giving her one contemptuous look, he pulled the reins and left the battlefield.

“……”

Only Lucretia remained, dumbfounded. Looking down at her hands, she was holding a shield instead of her dual swords. A defensive mechanism she had deployed to protect herself, afraid of Durin.

At that moment, her anger exploded.

“Aaaaargh!! That damn bastard! He ruined all my pleasure!!”

She couldn’t determine victory or defeat. The joy of the duel was gone. Above all, evidence remained that she had feared her opponent. Lucretia couldn’t contain herself and pounded the ground violently. She wanted to expel all her frustration.

“Damn you, Duriiiiin!!”

Even at that moment, she still failed to see.

The black smoke rising in the distance and the panicking troops.

The collapse of the Order, the future where her power would soon be neutralized.

Despite the consequences of abandoning her duty approaching, Lucretia still prioritized only her emotions.

Bang!! Bang!!

The innocent ground became the target of her rage.

#

“The, the battle has ended. The energy waves have disappeared.”

“Has the Saint achieved victory? She must have beheaded the great demon. That must be it!”

The cardinal at the encirclement pressed the mage. He prayed for news of the great victory that must be happening on the other side. Only that could turn around the deteriorating situation.

“Tell me quickly!”

Flames rose from the Order’s headquarters, and soldiers fell into confusion. Demon knights appeared around them, circling as if to harvest their lives.

There needed to be one last hope. That would give them strength to overcome the ordeal.

“I’m sorry.”

But the response was a gloomy voice. The mage closed his eyes tightly and reported.

“The great demon has fled. The outcome wasn’t decided, and the Saint is furious about it.”

“Fled? Then isn’t that a victory? We should move quickly…”

The cardinal, unable to contain his excitement, soon trailed off.

“You said the demon fled.”

“Yes.”

“Then that means he’s coming toward our encirclement.”

“……”

“Do we have any knight forces left?”

None. Those called elites had all been driven from the encirclement and slaughtered by demons. The Order couldn’t provide support either. The enormous flames told the sad reality.

They were just believers who had barely gathered, looking only to the Saint. They were little more than a disorganized rabble.

“Qu-quickly, at least a blessing.”

They needed to prepare. They had been too complacent, only praying. To survive the demon’s clutches…

“Demon!! A demon is coming this way!!”

Screams came from the front. The cardinal hurriedly went outside the tent. All troops were fleeing. Without horses, they ran on two feet, stumbling and falling. They were gripped by fear, not even thinking to take up weapons.

The cardinal’s job was simple: to unite the believers so the Saint could capture the demon again.

“Aaaaah!!”

“I don’t want to die!”

But the fear that had spread earlier was fatal. When the demon, who had dominated through rumors, suddenly charged at them, the army collapsed. There were only humans fleeing. Judging by their screaming and running, the battle was already lost.

“Damn it. I at least need to survive…”

The cardinal hurriedly gathered a horse. He needed to get as far away as possible. Only then could he either bow to the demon or rejoin the escaped Saint. He was in a position where he needed to draw even a sliver of hope.

“Aaaaaaah!!”

“It’s wrong!”

Even this was a butterfly’s dream. Soldiers were running from the direction he was trying to escape. They were fleeing from something. Among them, a knight with a familiar face approached.

“Your Eminence.”

“You’re alive!”

It was one of the few remaining knights of the Order. Though his body was in tatters, the cardinal was glad to see him still breathing. As the cardinal’s face brightened, the knight delivered devastating news.

“The demons have begun their attack. They’re all Durahans, so it won’t take long for them to break through.”

“Wh-what!”

“They seem to have all burst out from that fortified stronghold. It looks like they’re trying to join that great demon, and we can’t stop them.”

“Survival must take priority over fighting for the Saint. Can we survive?”

The cardinal asked with a desperate expression. The confusion of soldiers entangling as they fled intensified. Amidst the chaos, the knight sighed softly.

“We’ll have to leave it to fate.”

The Order’s final moment.

That unimaginable moment had arrived.

Not by the Pope’s hand, but by demons’.

#

“Everyone, rendezvous with His Excellency! Charge!”

The undead legion guarding the stronghold all rushed out. Though they had carefully fortified it, they were willing to abandon it for the operation. Durin’s moment of victory that they had been watching was approaching, and it seemed to bring vigor to their lifeless bodies.

They faithfully followed Rudmila’s instructions.

-We’ll move when Durin draws the Saint’s attention and gathers the Dark Order’s forces.

While buying time against the traitor Demon King, Berdia’s main force shattered the battlefield. With the elite forces who could use divine power being defeated one by one, the path to the Order was wide open.

-The signal will come with flames. We must not miss that opportunity and use it.

Black smoke filling the horizon covered the sky. It was majestic, as if announcing the end to the heavens.

-Don’t be attached to the stronghold. This place is just to buy time. Once we occupy the Order’s headquarters, I’ll go and change the coordinates of the warp gate myself.

-Then what should we do?

-Go and bring Durin back. Shouldn’t we bring him back intact before the Demon King arrives?

The thought of serving the commander of the hundred thousand legions waiting in the demon realm made their non-existent hearts pound. Their absent heads stared at the front. The opponents were scattered human groups. With charging warhorses, they could break through without resistance.

“Let’s go! For His Excellency!”

The path opened naturally. The disintegrating forces trying to survive were no match. The five hundred Durahan cavalry executed a deep penetration. They didn’t bother killing the Order members who had lost their will to fight.

They had one goal: the demon realm’s regent approaching from afar.

“Your Excellency!”

Amidst the terrified screams echoing everywhere, a single warhorse was visible in the distance.

There wasn’t a single intact part of his body.

One horn was half-cut, and all his armor, including pauldrons and helmet, was in tatters.

It was a shabby appearance for a regent, but that only fueled their fighting spirit.

The being who should oversee the legion from the highest position had personally led the war. He carried out his mission regardless of what happened to his body. The Durahans approached the regent, hiding their swelling chests.

“Are you alright?”

“Greetings later. The Saint is following. We must leave the battlefield quickly.”

He allowed no idle talk. The commander immediately took control of the troops upon meeting them.

The cavalry, with him at the lead, set their direction again. They looked at the burning Dark Order headquarters, sending occupation signals, and set their course.

“Let’s go. We must finish the war.”

“As you command, Your Excellency!”

Leaving the collapsing Order behind, they rushed toward a new destiny.

#

“It seems they’ve successfully joined up.”

“The Durahan cavalry has begun returning.”

At the same time. The Order’s walls.

The southern army, who had herded all prisoners into the prayer room, anxiously awaited their commander. They worried that something might have happened to Durin during the battle. Despite their faith and trust, they couldn’t help but worry since his opponent was the former Demon King who had obtained divine power.

“His Excellency the Regent is with them.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

Berdia stroked his chest. His anxious heart seemed to calm only now. The final puzzle piece of the operation had been placed, and knowing that the master he had served for so long was safe, he finally regained his composure.

“Then, Lady Sorceress. You must reset the coordinates now.”

“Yes. I need to send a signal to the demon realm.”

Rudmila, with the burning world as her backdrop.

The sorceress smiled faintly and looked up at the sky. Though it was daytime, the underside of the heavens was dark due to the war’s ashes.

Looking at it, she shot demonic energy.

“Your Majesty. The time has come.”

A deep, dark power formed a pillar. The sorceress murmured with a bright expression.

“Please descend.”

The moment approached to show the traitor who the true king was.