Chapter 3

Ironwood Keep.

Charlo stared at the imperial conscription order in his hand. It had been exactly one week since the news of the fall of the Western Fortress.

He couldn't even bring himself to complain about medieval communication speeds anymore. In fact, receiving a draft order within a week was practically lightspeed for this era.

"It says here that after the Demon Army captured the Western Fortress, they rapidly pushed east, seizing two earldoms before finally being halted at Krieg Fort by the Archduke of the West," Charlo said, waving the parchment at Lawrence. "Now, His Imperial Majesty orders a general assembly of forces to drive the Demon Army back."

"Well... that sounds normal. Is there a problem, My Lord?" Lawrence asked, puzzled.

"The order isn't the problem. The problem is the Demon Army itself."

"The Demon Army?" Lawrence paused, re-reading the contents of the scroll. "What is wrong with them?"

"Let me ask you this: How many Ninth-Rank powerhouses does the Archduke of the West have? And how many were stationed at the Western Fortress?"

Lawrence hesitated, then frowned as he did the math. "The Western Fortress had three Ninth-Rank guardians. Krieg Fort, including the Archduke himself, has only three... But surely the Emperor wouldn't include a lie that could be easily exposed in a royal decree! Perhaps the Demon Army suffered such heavy losses taking the Western Fortress that they haven't recovered?"

"Not necessarily." Charlo tossed the scroll onto his desk and turned his gaze to the large map of the Rodinia Continent spread out before him. "It is also possible that they have shifted their axis of attack."

On the map, the Morris Empire dominated the North, while the Balan Empire lay to the East. To the Central West lay the Empire of Thebes, and to the East of that, the Theocracy of Holy Light. The center of the continent was held by the Rodinia Magic Association. Far to the West were the tribal lands of the Dwarves, and to the South lay the Silver Moon Empire of the Elves.

In the northwest corner, bordering the Empire of Thebes, was a cordoned-off zone: The Abyss. Legend held that the demons had entered the world through there, though it was now sealed off by the Wall of Holy Light.

Currently, the demons were cornered in the northwest of the continent, holding a territory less than a third the size of the Morris Empire. Their only options for expansion were South or East.

To the South lay humanity's strongest nation—the Empire of Thebes. They had constructed the Magdeburg Line, a defense network spanning a thousand kilometers, permanently garrisoned by seven to nine Ninth-Rank champions.

To the East lay the towering mountain ranges, where the only gap was plugged by the Western Fortress. That massive city, built between two peaks, linked the mountains themselves into an impassable barrier.

It had three layers of walls: nine meters, fifteen meters, and twenty-one meters high, respectively. Each wall was reinforced by a Ninth-Rank defensive array. Not even a charge by the Empire’s elite Rose Knights could shake it. For five thousand years, the Western Fortress had stood tall. Until this week.

"Shifted their axis?" Lawrence looked at the map. "Where could they go? Krieg Fort is the gateway to the Capital. They can't bypass it."

"No but what if their target isn't the Morris Empire at all? What if they are aiming for the Empire of Thebes to the south?"

"Hahaha!" Lawrence laughed outright. "Then the Demon Lord must have brain damage! Even the dimmest dwarf in the western tribes knows that Thebes is currently the mightiest empire on the continent. No one dares offend them. If the demons actually went there to die, I’d be laughing for a year!"

Charlo fell into deep thought. Considering the power gap, even a surprise attack on Thebes shouldn't cause catastrophic damage.

True, the Morris Empire lost the Western Fortress and three Ninth-Rankers, but they still had thirteen Ninth-Rankers left. Three were at Krieg Fort, and six more were en route. Even if the demons were individually stronger, at least three or four of their Grand Dukes would be tied down on the eastern front.

If the Demon Lord took five or six Grand Dukes south, what could she achieve? Even ignoring the Magdeburg Line, the northern border of Thebes had four Ninth-Rankers. Its defenses wouldn't be much weaker than the Western Fortress. They couldn't defeat the Demon Lord, but they could certainly stall her. The Western Fortress had held out for three days against the (presumed) full might of the demons.

With one extra Ninth-Ranker, the defensive power increased exponentially. As long as Thebes held for a week, reinforcements from the rear and the Magdeburg Line would arrive, crushing the demons in a pincer movement.

"I hope I am overthinking it." Charlo shook his head, dismissing the thought. He turned to Lawrence. "Assemble the troops. Leave two hundred infantry and fifty cavalry to guard the territory. Everyone else rides with me!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

The Eastern Front. Outside Krieg Fort.

Will, the Grand Duke of Blood, wheezed heavily as he watched the human soldiers retreat for the night. "Dragged it out for another day."

From the shadow of a nearby rock, the Grand Duke of Shadows emerged. His body was now just a flickering silhouette, as if a stiff breeze could blow him into nothingness.

"You're still alive." Will looked at Allen. "Your armor is completely shattered You cheated death again, huh? As expected of a Shadow Demon."

"Aye, cheated death again. But you aren't doing much better. How much blood essence do you have left?" Allen sighed, looking at Will, whose armor hung on his frame in tatters, leaving him exposed.

"I don't know." Will turned his gaze to the distant, towering Krieg Fort. Above it, the Golden Twin-Sword Rose flag was rising—the Royal Standard of the Morris Empire. It meant a direct member of the royal family had arrived. For Will and Allen, it meant yet another wave of reinforcements had come to kill them.

"Maybe tomorrow. I'll finally burn out." Will murmured.

"Hey, none of that!" Allen struggled to solidify his form. "It's only been a month. Her Majesty has just set out. This is where the real battle begins!"

"Do you think.Her Majesty will succeed?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm?" Will looked at him in surprise.

"No one can be certain, right?" Allen spread his shadowy hands. "I don't know if Her Majesty can do it. But we don't have a choice, do we?"

"Heh." Will let out a relieved chuckle. "True. Either we die fighting, or we live like rats only for our descendants to be crushed by humans. I'd rather die fighting."

"There is one other path now!" Allen looked toward Krieg Fort, his tone filled with a tragic heroism.

"We hold them here with our lives. We buy time for Her Majesty to shatter the Wall of Despair! We trade our lives. for a future!"

Northern Border of the Empire of Thebes.

Seven Demon Grand Dukes gathered. Nearly a hundred High-Rank demons (7th and 8th Rank) and thousands of elite Mid-Rank demons (5th and 6th Rank) stood in formation.

The congregation of so much dark power turned the sky a bruised purple and grey. At the very front of the formation was the Demon Lord, Clyris.

Mounted on a skeletal warhorse wreathed in pale fire, she turned back to look at them. Not a single demon spoke. Their silence was heavy, but their eyes burned with unwavering resolve.

Seeing this, she turned back, raising a hand toward the colossal fortress in the distance.

Belaire Keep. The Northern Fortress of Thebes. The greatest obstacle.

But if they could punch through here, nothing would stand between them and the Wall of Despair.

Clyris waved her hand forward. The skeletal horse began to trot. Behind her, thousands of demons moved in perfect unison, the ground trembling under their advance.

Black banners snapped in the wind as the Demon Legion began its charge toward Belaire Keep.

Ten kilometers... Five kilometers... Three kilometers!

She saw the humans on the walls frantically activating the defensive arrays. She did not slow down. She simply pointed a finger at the sky.

"Meteor Swarm."

A massive, burning rock was ripped from the heavens. Before it could even land, its shadow engulfed a third of the fortress below.

"Seventy-Two Fold Slash!"

A human knight launched himself from the city into the sky. Wielding a greatsword as wide as a man, he unleashed a flurry of strikes, reducing the meteor to gravel in the blink of an eye. The debris rained harmlessly onto the defensive barrier like a gentle shower.

"Meteor Swarm: Chain."

Clyris did not hesitate. Dozens of equally massive meteors were dragged down from the void, trailing fire as they screamed toward the earth.

"Multi-Arcane Missiles!"

"Mountain Splitting Slash!"

A mage and another knight soared out from the keep, joining the first knight to intercept the rain of fire.

By now, the Legion was only one thousand meters away.

Looking at the shimmering, multi-layered magical barriers ahead, Clyris finally unleashed her killing move.

"Gravity Severance."

She slashed her sword downward. The space in front of her twisted violently. As the sword wave traveled forward, the gravity in its path increased exponentially. The earth collapsed meters deep, flattened by an invisible, divine steamroller.

The slash struck the fortress walls. Space warped, causing the intricate patterns of the defensive array to stutter for a fraction of a second. Before the array could stabilize, the terrifying gravity slammed down.

BOOM!

A section of the wall imploded, crushed under the weight of the distorted gravity. A temporary gap appeared in the magical defense.

The physical breach was only a few meters wide, but it had disrupted the flow of mana. And in this world, the only thing that can stop the charge of a supernatural legion... is supernatural power.

Five hundred meters from the wall.

Every demon drew their weapon. They channeled their mana forward, converging it onto the Demon Lord. The energy took shape—a spinning, pitch-black drill of pure magical destruction that enveloped Clyris completely. The speed of the charge hit its zenith.

"Rumble!"

Like a heated knife through butter, the black drill pierced through the breach in the wall. In the blink of an eye, the entire legion was inside.

Clyris did not stop. She urged the charge forward. Her skeletal horse trampled the fabric of space itself, and the black drill pulverized every building in its path.

They tore through the city until they reached the Southern District. Just as they were about to pierce through the other side of the fortress, a white-clad Knight Order appeared before them.

The enemy had assembled. There was no time for a counter-charge, so the human commander had abandoned his mount.

The front row of knights planted tower shields three meters high, forming a wall of steel. The second and third rows braced long lances, creating a forest of steel tips. Behind them, archers drew longbows taller than a man, and mages raised their staves, layering buff after buff upon the soldiers.

Finally, a Ninth-Rank Knight in white robes and golden armor stood at the fore, holding a shield and a cruciform sword.

"LOOSE!!!"

At the Golden Knight's roar, a cloud of arrows tore through the sky. The mages linked their mana, turning themselves into a living artillery battery. Arcane missiles streaked through the air like lasers.

"Shields!" Clyris commanded.

Every demon raised a shield inscribed with identical defensive runes. As they poured their mana into the artifacts, a colossal energy barrier materialized over the charging legion.

Arrows capable of piercing stone and arcane missiles that could level houses smashed into the barrier—and vanished without a ripple. The legion did not slow down by a single step.

"CRASH!!!"

The unstoppable spear met the immovable shield.

Torrential mana exploded outward, transforming into a chaotic storm that tore the earth and sky asunder. Paving stones were ripped up and ground to dust in mid-air. Tower shields were sent flying, embedding themselves halfway into distant walls. Armor shattered, scattering blood and metal like confetti.

In a heartbeat, the black drill punched through the Knight Order. The formation was shaved down at the edges, slightly smaller than before, but unbroken.

Clyris emerged from the carnage holding the severed head of the Ninth-Rank Golden Knight.

Because the Charge Formation was still active, she couldn't cast a separate spell without disrupting the collective mana flow. So, she improvised.

She poured a catastrophic amount of raw, pure mana into the severed head, turning the soul and flesh of the Ninth-Rank knight into an unstable bomb. She hurled it at the southern gate.

BOOM!

The detonation of a Ninth-Rank soul combined with the Demon Lord’s mana blew the city gate into oblivion. The hastily repaired defensive arrays stood no chance.

"CHARGE!!!"

The black drill shot through the ruins of the gate, maintaining its momentum until it disappeared over the horizon, leaving only dust in its wake.

The Ruins of Belaire Keep.

The three defenders who had been intercepting the meteors finally landed amidst the devastation. The mage looked at the two surviving knights, his face pale.

"Walker is gone," one of the knights hissed through gritted teeth. "He couldn't even slow that damned Demon Lord down!"

"We must report to His Majesty immediately. The Demon Lord has broken through!" The first knight who had flown to stop the meteors spoke calmly, though his hands trembled. He turned to the mage. "Sean, go to the Mage Tower instantly. I saw it—the Demon Lord has seven Grand Dukes with her! Tell the Emperor... they are likely heading for the Wall of Holy Light!"

"What?! The Wall? Alright! I'm on it!" The mage, Sean, looked shocked, then immediately took flight toward the communications tower.

"Their Charge Formation cannot last forever," the calm knight said, turning to comfort his enraged companion. "We will reorganize Belaire Keep, then gather the soldiers to coordinate with the inland reinforcements. We will pursue them!"

"It's okay, Ryan! We will get revenge! I promise you, they won't escape!"

"Thank you, Julius! You're right!" Ryan gripped his knight's sword until his knuckles turned white, his gaze fixed on the direction the Demon Army had vanished. His fury was almost palpable.

"Yes... they won't escape! They dared to invade Thebes. They will pay for this in blood!"