Chapter 410

*Boom! Bang!*

Flames soared into the sky on the other side, where the Castle of Illusions was located.

It was the promised signal that the retreat had been successfully completed.

Everyone’s faces brightened.

“Alright! We’ll retreat quickly too!” Alfred shouted, his voice revitalized.

“Everyone, run!” Camian also shouted.

The 4th years, as if there was nothing to think about, immediately turned around and started sprinting with all their might.

It was truly a narrow escape. If confusion hadn’t suddenly erupted in the enemy ranks, they wouldn’t have been able to complete their mission and retreat safely like this.

“Someone helped us, right?” Ethan blinked his eyes while running.

“Well, of course, brother,” Emily spat out, her expression saying, “What an obvious thing to say.”

“Hehe, it’s definitely Senior Max,” Empress Oscar said, having appeared beside them at some point.

“Pardon? That per… No, isn’t that senior in the Odinel Duchy?” Emily’s face showed that she couldn’t understand the Empress’s words.

It was understandable. Because the fact that Max was secretly hiding in the underground of the Holy City was a secret known only to a very few individuals. And the Empress was one of those few individuals. In the first place, her secretly infiltrating the Holy City alone across the border was accomplished because of her close communication with Max. But now, there was no need to keep it a secret.

“Senior Max can be anywhere if he sets his mind to it. Of course, that includes the Holy City right now. Leading an elite unit to strike the enemy’s rear is not a difficult task for him,” the Empress winked.

Emily immediately understood the Empress’s words. “Huh? W-When on earth?” Emily’s surprised eyes widened.

“W-What? What are you talking about?” Ethan still looked bewildered.

“That per… Ah, no, Senior Max is hitting their rear with an elite unit right now.”

“Ooh? Senior Max appeared at a time like this?” Ethan’s excited voice. That excitement quickly spread to the other 4th years.

“W-What?”

“It’s news that Senior Max has come to join us with reinforcements!”

“Senior Max?!”

“As expected of our senior! I believed in him!”

“Alright, we can do it! We can do it!” They were in an uproar.

It was a scene that showed how significant Max was to the 4th years. Because everyone knew very well how big a role the senior named Max had played in countless moments of crisis until now. The 4th years’ morale definitely rose. Their retreating footsteps also became lighter without them realizing it. It was the power of the feeling of hope.

However, crisis struck them again.

“Ugh?”

“Demons!”

Demons loitering on the mountain path leading to the Castle of Illusions. Tension filled the expressions of those who knew very well how threatening demons were.

However, they soon discovered. Those who were blocking the demons.

“Hurry and run, everyone!” Sister Marianna’s urgent voice echoed.

“Hurry!” Sigmund’s shout was also heard.

“Being late means demerits.” Even Regina, making a joke in a situation like this.

Those who were holding back the demons on the ground. But demons have wings. It meant they could fly into the air at any time. And what was blocking that air space was none other than Elaine and Professor Karen. They were deploying an iron-tight defense using ice wall magic and shield magic, preventing the demons from flying.

The 4th years, momentarily flustered by the unexpected situation. However, they soon came to their senses and realized what they had to do now.

“Ignore those bastards and run!”

“Break through!” The shouts of Alfred and Leon, who were at the forefront. And they took the lead and began to ascend the mountain path with all their might. The other 4th years followed them.

-Kik?

The demons, perhaps flustered by the momentum of the humans suddenly rushing from behind, tilted their heads and hesitated. Not missing that moment, the 4th years broke through the demons.

“Keep going to the castle!”

“Just a little more effort!” The 4th years ran, encouraging each other with relentless shouts. They gradually moved further away towards the castle safely.

Only then did those who had been putting up a defensive wall for the students exchange glances with a sense of relief.

“Let’s get out of here too!” Professor Karen’s shout.

“Alright!” Sigmund nodded.

“Then, on the count of three, we’ll all pull out at the same time! Now, one! Two! Three!” With Sigmund’s shout, they all turned around in unison and headed towards the castle.

The demons reacted a step too late, but the distance had already widened to some extent. And that distance was one that they, being superhumans, could absolutely not be caught from.

* * *

“There are more students coming!”

The urgent report from the Holy Soldier stationed in the watchtower.

Guardian Knight Esron, on the city wall, surveyed the situation with a sharp gaze. A late joining of students who hadn’t managed to evacuate properly earlier? No. They were the suicide squad. The 4th years who had volunteered as a suicide squad. They were safely returning to the Castle of Illusions.

“Any pursuing enemies?”

“Fortunately, none are visible!”

“Open the gate.” At Esron’s command, the firmly closed castle gate opened with a roar.

And the students also spotted their seniors returning safely.

“It’s the seniors! The seniors are coming back!”

“S-Seniors, you’re safe!”

“Hurry! Welcome back, Seniors!” An atmosphere filled with joy for the first time in a while.

The 4th years, as if responding to the enthusiastic cheers of their juniors, did not slow down and ran through the castle gate.

“Pant, pant…”

“Phew, phew…” Exhausted, ragged breaths. Nevertheless, their faces were filled with relief and joy at having completed their mission and returned alive. It was understandable. Because they had returned after successfully completing a grave mission in a deadly situation.

However. Even so, they did not forget. That there were still others outside who had helped them retreat safely.

“Don’t close the gate yet! There are still people who haven’t arrived!”

“The professors, seniors, and Church members are still outside!” The 4th years’ shouts, telling them not to close the gate yet.

And just in time, the last group appeared in the distance. Anyone could see that they were being chased by demons.

“Quickly! Quickly!”

“Just a little more effort!” The students gestured and shouted as if to encourage them.

“S-Shouldn’t we help?” The adjutant asked Esron.

But Esron shook his head. “No, they won’t be caught. Rather, prepare to close the gate immediately when our allies arrive.”

“Understood!” As Esron predicted, they reached the inside of the castle gate safely without being caught by the demons.

“Close the gate!”

*Clatter! Clunk!* Holy Soldiers operating the machinery to close the heavy castle gate.

*CRRRRAAAAAASH!*

Finally, the castle gate was firmly closed again. Right in front of the demons’ noses.

-Kiiik!

-Kiik!

The demons’ expressions turned enraged. They soon spread their wings and flew up above the city wall. It seemed they intended to fly straight in. However.

*Thwack! Thump!*

-Kiuk?

-Kieuu?

The demons were blocked as if they had collided with a solid wall and couldn’t advance. It clearly looked like empty space. But it wasn’t empty space. The iron-tight defensive magic circle installed in the Castle of Illusions was operating flawlessly even in the empty space above the city wall.

“I-It worked!”

“They can’t get in either!” Cheers erupted from the castle. A crisis that had pushed them to the very end. But now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. And so, the battle for the fate of the world was moving towards a new situation.

* * *

“T-The task you went for…?”

The messenger asked cautiously, somehow sensing that the Heavenly Lord’s mood was not good.

-Hmph, I have once again confirmed after a long time that insignificant rats are bastards who tuck their tails and flee at the slightest provocation.

In the end, it meant that those bastards had fled, and **he** had made a wasted trip.

The messenger realized the displeasure in the Heavenly Lord’s voice.

“Umm, they truly are damn bastards.”

The messenger chimed in.

Even the messenger didn’t look very pleased.

Because they had ultimately allowed the enemy to escape from the front as well.

“Sorry, but we lost the rats on this side too.”

Natasha said nonchalantly.

It was an attitude possible because she had thought things had gone wrong from the moment the main force was shaken by the rear attack.

-It doesn’t matter. Anyway, there’s only one place for rats to go.

The Heavenly Lord’s ominous aura surged.

-Whether they are chased and killed, or cornered and killed, the fate of destruction does not change.

“That’s right, Heavenly Lord!”

The messenger chimed in again enthusiastically.

It was an attitude as if welcoming a savior who would save the world.

In fact, to the messenger, the Heavenly Lord was a savior who would purify the rotten world and create a new one, so it wasn’t wrong.

“Insignificant rats can never stop Your Heavenly Lordship’s judgment!”

-Stating the obvious.

The place presumed to be the Heavenly Lord’s eyes glinted with black light.

-Advance. We will destroy the castle and purify the world.

Red Rain’s army began to advance again.

* * *

“Why all of a sudden?”

Hiresia asked.

Even with her transcendent senses, she didn’t seem to have caught the same feeling as the intuition I had felt.

I survived because of my hero’s intuition.

“Phew.”

I first caught my breath and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

And explained.

“It was an unbelievably ominous aura.”

“I-It was?”

Hiresia’s eyes widened.

If it hadn’t been me saying this, she probably wouldn’t have believed it easily.

“Hmm, the aura Max felt must have been the Heavenly Lord’s aura.”

Riviera spat out, resting her chin on the back of her hand.

“You felt it too?”

“No, but I can guess.”

“I see.”

I nodded.

“Your guess is probably right. There can’t be another enemy with such an aura, can there?”

The situation was settled for now.

The problem was from now on.

“Then what will you do? Position-wise, it should still be an opportunity to attack from now on.”

Elf Senior asked.

As she said, the enemy was advancing, and we were positioned at their rear.

A formation where we could attack as much as we wanted if we set our minds to it.

However.

My judgment this time was different.

“That’s true. But let’s stop this time. Because I clearly felt that it’s too dangerous to clash with just us.”

I gave up the attack.

Because I was convinced that it was the right thing to do.

“Yes, I see. I will respect and follow your opinion. You must have made the right choice.”

“Me too.”

Elf Senior and Riviera’s words gave me strength.

Because they were here, even when separated from the main camp, I had a reliable support I could trust and depend on.

“Thank you both. Then, for now, let’s prioritize following them at a distance. Anyway, since the enemies will be heading towards the Castle of Illusions, a formation where we can face the enemy from both front and rear is bound to be created. Let’s aim for that time.”

The final battlefield, in front of the Castle of Illusions.

We moved forward again.