Chapter 71 : Imperial Borders (4)
by fnovelpia
The Vincent incident was quickly resolved.
Hubert took care of Vincent and the nine corpses, then instructed everyone to gather in the dining hall.
He was worried that there might be another spy among us.
The soldiers found it difficult to accept that one of their long-time officers had been a demon.
Whether Vincent had always been a demon or had been recently replaced, the shock was the same either way.
However, despite the seriousness of the situation, I had something even more important on my mind.
“Kalian, explain what happened.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. Tell me what you did with Victoria last night. Every single detail.”
When Hubert had interrogated him earlier, Kalian had clearly stated,
“I was with Victoria all night.”
A man with gynophobia spent the entire night in a room with a woman?
This is a historic event.
It’s more important than demons hiding among us or even if the inner walls were blown away.
“We didn’t do anything special. We just spent time together and then left in the morning.”
“In what way was it normal?”
“We just talked about various things. Mostly about my childhood and happy memories. Victoria seemed to enjoy it.”
“That’s it?”
Kalian nodded.
I turned to Victoria.
She met my gaze and spoke.
“It’s true. I especially enjoyed hearing about how you threw young Kalian into the jungle and made him find his way back, or how you trained him to swim in shark-infested waters.”
“So, you really just talked.”
“What else would we do?”
What else could a man and woman do alone at night?
There are plenty of things, but I guess it’s too soon for you to understand.
Judging by their reactions, it seems true that they only talked.
Well, it wouldn’t make sense for him to suddenly take things that far.
Even getting this far is already a huge achievement.
I’ve tried everything to cure Kalian’s gynophobia, but was Victoria the answer all along?
“Reporting in!”
A soldier rushed in urgently.
He shouted loud enough for not just Hubert, but everyone in the dining hall to hear.
“The demon army is approaching the outer wall! The scale is at least legion-level, and we’ve also spotted figures resembling the Four Heavenly Kings!”
“The Four Heavenly Kings…? Are they declaring an all-out war?”
“The Blade Empress, the Death Knight, and the Priest of Despair are confirmed to be heading this way!”
“We won’t be able to stop them with just the outer wall forces.”
The Four Heavenly Kings.
Commonly referred to as the Blade Empress, the Death Knight, the Priest of Despair, and the Commander,
they are the Demon King’s most trusted subordinates and the strongest among his army.
They are known as living nightmares in human society.
Any ordinary army that faces them will be wiped out with a single gesture.
Hubert issued his command.
“Request reinforcements from the imperial capital and the surrounding territories.
All personnel inside the inner wall, except for the minimum required guards, should prepare for full-scale battle immediately!”
“Understood!”
“Don’t be afraid just because we’re facing the Four Heavenly Kings. We have also called upon skilled warriors in preparation for this. Move out now!”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers swiftly prepared for deployment.
Hubert then approached me and Kalian.
It seemed like he was trying to take Kalian with him.
I wanted to stop him, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.
Kalian acted first.
“I’m coming too.”
Before I could object, before Hubert could even give the order,
Kalian stepped forward.
At this point, there was no other choice.
With a battle of this scale, there was no benefit in holding him back.
Now, the remaining problem was Victoria.
Kalian checked her complexion and spoke.
“Victoria, you should stay here.”
“Why?”
“You haven’t been feeling well since we arrived. So, don’t push yourself unnecessarily.”
“Do you not trust me?”
“It’s not that. I just mean that if killing demons is difficult for you, there’s no need for you to force yourself. There will be other ways for you to contribute.”
Kalian followed Hubert.
Hubert didn’t even bother asking Victoria to come along, as if he hadn’t expected anything from her in the first place.
Left behind, Victoria clenched her fists tightly and lowered her head.
This might be for the best. Who knows what she might do on the battlefield?
And at least this way, she won’t have to witness Kalian’s massacre of the demons.
“Wait. I’m… I’m going too.”
But to my surprise, she made an unexpected decision.
Kalian tried to stop her, telling her it wasn’t necessary, but she was determined to join the battle against the demons.
The army formed ranks outside the outer wall.
Sixty percent of the soldiers remained to defend the walls against flanking attacks and ambushes, but even with only forty percent deployed, it was still an enormous force.
“Charge!”
At Hubert’s command, the entire army surged toward the demon forces.
Currently, the nearby outer wall forces were holding the demons in place, but if they delayed too long, they wouldn’t last.
That’s why the imperial army moved to merge their frontlines with the already-engaged forces.
The distance between us and the demons closed in an instant.
The demons, who had been overwhelming our advance forces, entered a deadlock as we clashed.
It seemed Hubert hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he had gathered exceptional talent—powerful knights and mages stood out across the battlefield, boosting morale with their prowess.
Slash!
And Kalian, of course, was on another level.
His mana-infused sword cut down demons without end.
Even in the midst of bloodshed, even in the chaos and darkness, the pure white glow of his mana remained unstained.
Flesh, bone, and armor—his sword cut through them as effortlessly as slicing tofu.
Even massive siege golems and fortress walls, once thought impenetrable, were cleaved in half with ease.
The limitations of the human body, the reach of a sword—none of it mattered.
The mana extending from his blade stretched out, butchering demons before they could even get close.
To the enemy, he was a nightmare incarnate.
To our troops, every swing of his sword sent morale soaring.
To everyone, except Victoria.
“Are you okay?”
She stood pale, frozen in place.
No matter how much she tried to look away, Kalian’s slaughter of the demons was impossible to ignore.
Every time, she flinched.
“You should’ve just stayed back. There’s nothing enjoyable about this.”
“But I have a responsibility. I can’t just stand back and watch.”
“They’re killing each other. What responsibility do you have in that? Stop saying weird things. If it’s too much, step back.”
I said this while cutting down a demon.
This is difficult.
Since she came all this way, there’s no way to hide the reality of demons dying.
But if I try to send her back, she’ll just dig her heels in and refuse to leave.
War isn’t a game.
It’s probably the ugliest thing humans are capable of, and I don’t like seeing her caught up in it.
If this changes her mind and she decides to betray humanity…
Boom!
As I fought, I witnessed something unexpected.
A high-ranking demon, seizing an opening while Kalian was distracted, attempted to strike him from behind—
But then, it suddenly exploded.
The cause?
Victoria’s hand.
Realizing he had been saved, Kalian gave her a silent nod of gratitude.
This was surprising.
“I thought you didn’t want to get involved?”
“I didn’t. But I can’t just stand here and do nothing. They were the ones who started this war.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
That moment marked Victoria’s entry into battle.
Though she didn’t unleash her full power to wipe out the demons instantly, she moved with precision, killing them one by one—without making them suffer.
I don’t know what changed her mind,
but at least I now understood which side she had chosen, which eased my worries.
The battle raged on.
And then, suddenly, our frontline collapsed.
Up until now, thanks to Kalian and me, our troops had been fighting with confidence.
But now, the soldiers at the front lines were trembling in fear, barely able to stand.
“Fall back! The Four Heavenly Kings are here!”
While Kalian and I had been tearing through the demon ranks,
the demons had their own answer—
I turned to face one of the Four Heavenly Kings, who had just finished dismantling the imperial army’s formation.
A demon in a black robe hovered effortlessly in the air, looking down on us.
“So, you two are the reason the human army made it this far.”
Floating in the middle of a battlefield was as good as asking to be shot down,
but no magic or attack could pierce his barrier.
It was exactly as I had read in the original story.
Aside from Kalian, Victoria, and me, everyone else was frozen in place.
The sheer, overwhelming power emanating from him left the weak unable to even stand.
“My name is Bellad. A loyal servant of the Demon King and a researcher of magic for the Demon King’s army. What are your names?”
“My name is Kalian. Bellad, are you the Priest of Despair?”
“Priest of Despair… I’ve heard that title before, but it’s a misnomer. While it’s true that I hold absolute faith in the Demon King, which could be seen as priest-like, I am, at my core, a magician. My true calling is researching various forms of magic.”
The Four Heavenly King Bellad leisurely spread his arms wide.
At his command, grotesque creatures twisted and distorted in midair, revealing their gaping maws.
These beasts, showing no distinction between humans and demons, bared their teeth as if ready to devour everything in sight—even the allied demons seemed to fear their presence.
Slash!
But the massive creatures were cut down in an instant, vanishing into the air.
Bellad raised an eyebrow.
“Oh…? For a mere knight, you have quite the talent. This research is going to be anything but boring.”
“Priest of Despair, Bellad, your head will be mine today.”
Kalian stepped forward.
Then, he turned to me and said:
“Wade, I’ll take care of things here.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Other frontlines are collapsing too. You handle the other Heavenly King.”
“Got it.”
It would be more efficient for Kalian and me to focus on one of the Four Heavenly Kings together, but for
Kalian’s growth, this was the best path.
Besides, there was something about these Heavenly Kings—how closely they were connected to the
Demon King—that made me uneasy.
Even if we do kill them… it’s better for me to do it than for Kalian to be the one to land the finishing blow.
I took Victoria and pushed through the battlefield. Before long, we encountered another of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Hmm… so you’re the ones my subordinates are so afraid of?”
This time, it was a demon clad in blades, both on their body and floating around them.
Even without an introduction, I immediately knew—this was the Blade Empress.
What was her name again…? Ah, right.
“Lucrezia.”
“Hmm? You dare call my name so casually? Quite bold of you.”
“Cut the pointless chatter and come at me. I’ll make you realize just how pathetic your swordplay really is.”
“You dare speak of swordsmanship before me? What an amusing little one. Fine… tearing you apart should at least serve as mild entertainment.”
I stepped forward, deliberately provoking her.
Victoria had finally chosen to fight on the human side—if she wavered because of the Heavenly Kings, things could take a turn for the worse.
I needed to kill this one before Victoria had the chance to change her mind.
BOOM!
But suddenly, something came crashing down between me and Lucrezia from the sky.
A knight, clad in dark blue armor.
“No, that won’t do. That one is mine—Death Knight Darkan’s prey.”
“Surprised, are you, trash? You’ll pay the price for killing our subordinates. Don’t even dream of leaving this battlefield alive.”
The newly arrived knight drew his sword.
What the hell? Another one of the Heavenly Kings?
This is bad.
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