Chapter 284: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (6)
0% A pillar of fire soared up into the eastern sky.
The Demon Army who witnessed the sight let out sounds of exclamation in one voice.
“It’s burning well, very well indeed.”
The Demon King kept praising Aether with a satisfied smile as well.
“How much damage has been done?”
“Thirty thousand should have died.”
“As expected of Winter’s technique.”
The price of 30 000 trained soldiers, not even civilians, was only a single bomb.
It was a magic that they couldn’t even have imagined a thousand years ago.
Seeing that the morale of the troops had increased, the Demon King began his speech.
“Behold, men. We are the only race that can wield such magic. We are different from other savages.”
Knowledge of Elec magic was essential to actually understand the atomic bomb.
But that didn’t mean that the bomb could be built by just anyone, either. The one who made it was Winter Heaven Aether, not the entire Golden-Eyed race.
Yet the Demon King cleverly mixed lies into his words.
“That pillar of fire is the karmic of our race’s anger. It is the achievement of all those who have gold eyes.”
He turned the efforts of one into the efforts of all.
Although there may be some who questioned this, the Demon King had an excuse prepared for this as well.
“The whole is one, one is the whole. Winter’s achievement is the achievement of us all, and Winter’s fault, too, is all of our faults. How unfortunate is it that the machine-bodied Winter grew a human heart.”
Just as he credited the whole for Winter’s work, he also misrepresented her fault as the fault of the whole.
This way, the subjects would obey on their own.
“How is it that we are all accountable for Winter’s fault?”
“It is all because of my lack of virtue.”
“It isn’t so, Your Majesty.”
If they agreed, they’d also become traitors.
The executives of the Demon Army couldn’t help but break out into a sweat.
Finding the opportune moment, the Demon King feigned sorrow and asked.
“How shall her sins be forgiven?”
“Your Majesty, the traitor must be punished as soon as possible. Only then will there be discipline within the army and race.”
The Golden-Eyed all looked like they were wondering ‘is that so?’.
But one thing was for certain.
The army’s morale had been boosted by the Demon King’s speech.
“Indeed, Spring is absolutely right. What obstacle can stop us when we have Dark Day? Anyone who rebels shall experience this same thing dozens and hundreds of times.”
“Did you hear the King? He has ordered the march. Kill all those who get in the way!”
- Yaaaaaaaaah!!
Vwooooom.
So began the twelfth attack.
The army in formation colored the fields black. They were supplied with oil instead of food, guns instead of staffs.
“Attack!”
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The Beasts stormed the destroyed eastern front in formation.
The sentries who were watching this sight from a short distance off were busy running away.
Soon, an urgent siren sounded from the opposing camp. The mages in the trenches began to emerge.
And each time, the Beasts in the front rows fired bullets and artillery, blowing holes in each their heads.
The power of the air force was nothing to be taken lightly either.
The dragons entrusted to the Demon King shot bolts of lightning from their mouths, burning the Imperial army to a crisp or making them foam at the mouth.
A few aerial mages fought desperately, but as humans they were powerless against the dragons. They had already lost control of the skies.
“It will be our victory.”
And so the Demon King predicted the victory of this war.
At this rate, they’d be able to completely bring down the Empire within a week. The capital was destroyed, so once they crossed this northern front, everything would go as planned.
In addition.
Summer’s troops were going to pressure the elf country from the south. It had been a feint operation from the start.
Soon, the elf country would also be completely defeated, and the Elemental Realm would fall.
As he was thinking that–
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
A messenger came rushing to the command.
“A traitor has appeared on the battlefield!”
“...Explain in detail.”
A traitor. For a moment, the Demon King had his hopes up.
Because if Aether had appeared on the scene right now, he’d be able to take her right away.
“It’s Quartus of the Great Mechas, Rosemary!”
But what he was told was a completely different person.
“Quartus is helping the humans.”
“Did you see clearly? Tell me the features.”
“Yes. Her hair was like that of grapes, and she was dressed even darker than an ebony tree. She had a wide forehead with prosthetics for both arms, and was about 150 cm tall.”
It didn’t seem like they were lying.
“She’s playing the violin with her little hands and bewitching our troops!”
“What an annoying bitch.”
He had once heard from Spring and Summer Heaven.
That Rosemary was a loyal servant of Aether, and all of Aether’s subordinates were highly skilled and intelligent.
“She must have felt threatened because her superior has fallen. She isn’t stupid so she would have betrayed us in order to live.”
“...Then what will you do?”
“She helped the humans and hampered the progress of our forces. It seems there is no room for leniency.”
The Demon King slowly raised his hand.
“Bring that one in front of me. Dead or alive.”
Yes, look at those silly faces. This was why humans were funny.
Unable to contain her laughter, Rosemary cackled. It was a mocking laugh that made the already cold snowy mountains even colder.
“Hmm, and what’s that. They’re coming again.”
This time, there were more Beasts that were storming in.
Iron-clad spiders and centipedes on the ground.
Wyverns and three-legged crows in the sky.
And on top of that, dragons and Gigantopias that could be seen here and there.
It was indeed a total chaos-fest.
“They’re still just small fry.”
Rosemary played Requiem this time as well.
The clear sound of the violin completely took away the will of the Beasts. The wyverns attacked the centipedes, and the spiders attacked the three-legged crows, all tangling together.
Having taken care of two waves in the blink of an eye, Rosemary slipped down to where the Hasfeldt sisters were.
“Blueberry, you.......”
“Don’t act friendly, human. I’m helping you for big sis’s sake.”
Rosemary had never intended to help the humans.
No, how could she. Humans, especially people of the Empire, had been the ones who destroyed her country.
Although she still couldn’t forgive them for that, things were urgent right now.
There was the promise she had made with that elf Vermel Horde, so she had decided that it was best to help them for Aether’s sake.
“Did you save our father?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know.”
“Thank you, Blueberry.”
Klara grinned and bowed her head.
Sensing some kind of discomfort, Rosemary carelessly waved her hand.
Her insides were twisting from having played Requiem twice in a row, a typical sign of mana-deficiency. Her body felt like it was on fire.
Still, she couldn’t stumble in front of humans. With a bitter, decoction-like smile, Rosemary urged them to get back to their tents.
Before they knew it, time had passed and the battle between the two armies was slowing down.
“Thank you, Golden-Eyed child. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have been able to see my daughters again.”
“Hmhm, as long as you know.”
The commander-in-chief himself, Renawill, bowed his head. Some of his more radical officers tried to stop him, but Renawill didn’t listen.
Because he felt that in order to preserve his dignity, the least he could do was show his gratitude in this way.
Even the Hasfeldt sisters were shocked by seeing their father like this.
“I’ve never heard Father say thank you before.”
“Blueberry is a lifesaver.”
Klara kept singing Blueberry, Blueberry over again. Rosemary’s eyes glanced her way.
That one.... Now she’s looking completely down on me.
Klara was calling Rosemary by her nickname to be friendly, but Rosemary found her uncomfortable.
She had never been called by that except by her two sisters to begin with.
That wasn’t what was important right now.
“I have experience planning grand strategies in the Demon Army. I know exactly what they’re going to do.”
Point.
Rosemary tapped the map with the rod.
“The Demon Army military organization is different from humans. Even the dead ones can always be recycled if their parts are retrieved.”
So even if one mage takes down ten Beasts, they’d eventually be overwhelmed.
Having told them this grim reality, Rosemary also told them how to overcome this situation.
“Withdraw your army completely from the northern front.”
“What....”
“Since the capital has ceased functioning, you guys will be doomed at this rate. You all learned military tactics so you know as much, no?”
The capital having fallen meant that they had no more rear defense.
And the rear being gone basically meant no supply.
Highly disciplined elite soldiers could hold out here all they wanted, but in the end, they would lose to the onslaught from the Demon Army and a few atomic bombs.
“But where are our troops to go if we withdraw?”
“Didn’t you say earlier? To wait until the elves come with reinforcement. How about you just go to elf country instead?”
“You want us to leave the civilians behind?”
“Oh my god.”
Rosemary slapped her forehead.
Could they be anymore frustrating?
“What civilians are there in a war?”
“It isn’t just the civilians. If we withdraw now, the troops will lose morale and the army could be destroyed if we’re attacked before then. Most of all, if we entrust our army to elf country, then won’t we have problems rebuilding the Empire after everything is over?”
“That’s not my problem. Isn’t surviving first?”
“We nobles have a duty to protect the country and its people.”
That damn duty and honor.
It was a value that she had turned off after abandoning her royal identity.
Even so.
Consistency isn’t a bad thing.
Rosemary had been born in a time when chivalry was prevalent.
People who tried to defend something until the end. People who could give their lives for what they believed in.
People with that kind of chivalry were far better than those who changed their minds dozens of times a day.
“I hate to ask, but is there anything we can do?”
“.......”
If it weren’t for Aether, she wouldn’t have taken on something this troublesome.
She even thought that she might have flown to the north here for no reason.
But it was too late for regrets
Rosemary pointed to the west side of the map and started speaking.
“...Currently, the Demon Army’s main forces have taken up position on the northern front. You guys won’t be able to win no matter how much you try. And the same goes for here, the west, where I’m pointing.”
“The west.... Where the beastkin live?”
“That’s right, where Pitchblende Mountain is. This is where the First Brigade is located.”
“What is the First Brigade?”
“A dragon army led by Autumn Heaven Jǫrmungandr. Small in numbers, around 800,000, but every single one of them is a Calamity or higher.”
Although they had White Night, there were 800,000 Calamites.
The odds of the western forces winning were close to zero.
“The dragons are damn good at reproducing. I’ve heard that Autumn Heaven’s immediate kin alone number 3000.”
Well, not that Jǫrmungandr ever got married.
Having added that useless information, Rosemary pointed out the unexplored parts of Ahrens continent.
“Here, here, and here. You might not know, but these are all where the hatchlings come from.”
“Nonsense.”
“Even if they’re dragons, how can there be that many of them? 800 000....”
“Don’t you know we’re machines? We’re not like you humans. If we have the materials, we can make not just 800 000 but even 80 million.”
“.......”
“So, the bottom line is this: even if you guys hold out for a few days, if the west collapses first, you’re going to be surrounded on either side.”
Zzzzp–Rosemary drew a line.
A siege network was drawn starting from the end of Pitchblende Mountain, passing through the already destroyed capital, and ending at the Hasfeldt estate.
The line Rosemary had drawn was the advance route of the First Brigade.
“The Demon Army outnumbers you stupid humans, so of course they’re going to surround you. Besides, your capital has already been destroyed, so it’s weird for you to not surrender now.”
At this point, she sounded like a messenger from the enemy who had come to recommend they surrender.
But Rosemary’s words led to a solution.
“So I suggest you defeat the northern army and retreat south by way of the east. Make it to the front of the Thyrims River and join up with the western armies. Set up a government-in-exile there, with the aid of Kaurelia.”
“Then the western front would be....”
“The ones in the west can just run south. Right now, the priority is for you guys to retreat.”
It wasn’t a bad idea.
No, it was a realistic one.
Their supplies were cut off and the Demon Army kept coming. The only thing they could count on was a plan from another Beast.
Renawill asked.
“You say you are a trusted servant of a girl called Aether?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Good.”
Renawil Hasfeldt made his decision.
Footnotes
1. Concentrated herbal medicine
