Legion of Darkness (14)

Information is an important milestone when making judgments.

But conversely, it can also lead people in a distorted direction.

The commander, with a pale face, began to retrace this operation from the beginning. Why did everyone think they had to rush in to stop this monster? It was when Greta annihilated the advance party, and information about Greta came from above.

The title of demon realm commander and a very aggressive and cruel personality. And the insane speed of advance had paralyzed everyone’s reason.

There’s no way the commander could be bait.

If we don’t push in the army to stop the commander this time, everyone will die.

The commander thought of the moment when Greta didn’t finish off the hero when he was in a critical state and turned back. The reason Greta didn’t break through then was one: to create a sense of crisis with the fact that the hero had fallen critically and gather as many troops as possible here.

The commander hurried to reinforce troops, not knowing when Greta would attack with the hero down, and surprisingly, Greta didn’t attack until he confirmed that troops were being replenished.

The dust that the watchtower had confirmed, saying Greta’s reinforcements seemed to be coming, seemed to imply the existence of a large army and hastened the commander’s panic, and the forces here now had become a large army gathered by weakening the front line as much as possible.

But Greta’s reinforcements didn’t come. As if to say come anytime, the camps that should have supported behind Greta only maintained a thorough defense posture and placed archers at watchposts.

Greta said with an expressionless face:

“My mistake… is only one. Overconfident in the power of my armor, I made the arrogant judgment that I could kill the hero anytime. Other than that, everything was perfect. Commander. I’ll ask again. How many troops have gathered now to capture me? How many soldiers are there on the way to the capital?”

The commander grabbed his head. Those numerous troops that came as reinforcements. Greta, whom they tried to stop with those troops, was a meticulous bait.

A structure where if Greta wins, he becomes a wedge to pierce straight to the capital, and if Greta’s advance is blocked, he becomes bait for a feint operation.

Even if Greta is blocked, the Demon King’s army hasn’t lost.

Greta sneered and said:

“Now, commander. What will you do? Will you scatter this unit again? Do you think of spreading them back to the empty front line below? Would it be faster to reach the capital from that vast Empire land, or would it be faster to reach the kingdom’s capital from the border?”

The commander’s face turned white. Can we trust Kerberos, who has now emptied the border? How much can we trust her who suddenly created a gap at this time?

Will she, of demon origin, really fight against other demons?

Could it be that everything she’s shown so far was just another deception by the demons?

---

“Here they come.”

Kerberos said.

Unlike her indifferent and plain expression, the movement of the demon soldiers was devastating. They were rushing in at an insane speed, spewing dust so much that the ridge couldn’t be seen. The demon at the forefront, wearing a golden mask and flashing blue eyes, shouted:

“Run! Break their gates and kill everything in sight!”

Kerberos knew his name. And she knew what military exploits he had achieved in the demon realm. But such things had no meaning now. Kerberos looked around at the soldiers while putting on her armor.

The soldiers who moved reluctantly, not trusting the command of her, a demon, only when presented with orders from above, Kerberos raised her hand towards the air. A soldier on the fortress tower who saw her hand signal lit the beacon fire. Seeing the smoke rising in billows, the demon commander laughed loudly.

“It’s too late to request reinforcements now! If you open the gates and surrender immediately! We’ll at least spare your lives!”

Kerberos saw the commander approaching from afar. The area where a river used to flow on the map was now welcoming the demon soldiers with only slight wet marks remaining.

---

“Hahaha! Worry all you want…!”

Greta’s voice was cut off. The neck of the demon who had commanded the battlefield fell off and rolled on the ground. In a situation where the commander was frozen and the soldiers’ morale had hit rock bottom, the hero had jumped in. The hero, whose body wasn’t fully healed yet, looked around at the soldiers while taking deep breaths. They too had faces full of anxiety.

Soldiers who wanted to protect their hometowns that might be ravaged rather than fighting here like this.

Black blood oozed stickily, and the ground where Greta’s blood touched was burning. The hero stuck his sword into the ground and thought about Kerberos.

[Fight to the end. Don’t doubt anything and endure to the end.]

Don’t doubt.

What did those words mean?

Did she know that suspicion would turn to her like this?

Was there some operation that only she and the higher-ups knew about?

The hero said:

“Kerberos achieved great merit in the last operation and is a commander who agreed to fight alongside us before the sword.”

Even if she wasn’t here, she was a comrade. The heart she showed was sincere, and she wasn’t someone who would easily betray.

“Doubting our allies leads to division, and that’s what the enemy wants most. Everyone. Kerberos is moving according to orders from above. Now we must believe in Kerberos, believe in our allies, and move forward. Right now, the enemy is on the defensive, and we have more troops gathered here than ever before.”

The hero’s gaze turned to the commander. All decision-making power was with him, and the hero decided to respect his judgment.

The commander looked at the soldiers. The demon camps that had taken a firm defensive stance seemed rather afraid. The commander opened his mouth:

“Everyone, we’ll charge at the enemy like this. We’ll wipe out all nearby demon camps and advance.”

Clack. Greta’s mouth closed with an incomprehensible sound.

---

The soldiers on the hill who confirmed the beacon fire moved busily. The huge dam, prepared by searching the border area where no demons had approached since Greta’s initial incursion, was swaying while expanded right before their eyes. The stakes fixing the ropes were shaking, and water was leaking out, wetting the ground.

A soldier shouted:

“Break the dam!”

Instead of an answer, sword strikes flew towards the stakes. Dozens of soldiers cut the ropes simultaneously, and the river water, which had been blocked and didn’t know where to go, began to pour down with ferocious momentum, overturning the downstream like a beast in breeding season.

“Charge! Charge!”

The commander thought something was strange. Something other than the sound of hooves or soldiers’ shouts was moving at a faster pace than their advance speed.

If you stepped out of the excitement of battle for a moment and thought about it, a bizarre and terrifying resonance that couldn’t be heard was coming from the ground.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Water! Water is pouring!”

Along with vibrations as if hundreds of giants were running, rough streams of water were rushing in. Murky torrents that roughly scraped the ground like living creatures, sweeping away collapsed ruins and rotten tree trunks, engulfed the commander’s cavalry.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaah!”

A soldier who knew how to swim got entangled with wood fragments, struggled, but couldn’t overcome the current and had his head smashed against a rock. A cavalryman trying to escape on horseback was devoured, unable to overcome the muddy water rushing from behind.

The commander, panicking, tried to move forward but disappeared, swept away by the water with only his hand stretched out.

Numerous soldiers who had come to trample the kingdom were being swept away cleanly, unable to overcome that huge flow.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Die all of you! Die!”

Kerberos leaned against the castle wall and put on her helmet with a satisfied face. Then she shouted to the soldiers who looked pleased:

“What are you doing! Everyone grab your weapons! Kill any demon soldiers you see escaping from that flow!”

“Yes! Understood!”

The soldiers who hadn’t trusted her until now answered with excited voices. They opened the gates at Kerberos’s gesture and fired arrows and spears at the soldiers who had barely escaped to the riverbank and were catching their breath. The soldiers, who had fallen from barbaric invaders to a miserable state, were being literally slaughtered.

Even in the muddy water, clear bloodstains were visible in the river, and Kerberos, stepping out of the gate, sent another brief apology to the hero.

“I’m sorry, hero. For giving you too difficult a task. If we meet later, I’ll forgive you even if you hit me once.”

And Kerberos smiled.

Recalling the face of a certain man she loved.

“I hope you understand too.”