After the meeting ended, they returned to Calderic, and the march towards the Great Plain proceeded at an astonishing pace.
As commander-in-chief, the Overlord was in charge of all the Lords’ armies
In this war, the Lords did not have the authority to directly command each of their own forces. This was true except for the forces of the Fourth Lord, the King of the Dead, and the Eighth Lord, the Black Sea Empress.
“Fight with all your might. We will achieve victory.”
Woahhhh...!
Standing before the numerous troops of the Seventh Lord, I delivered a speech that was far from heartfelt, despite my brave words.
Honestly, I hardly felt the sense of being the leader of these cheering masses before me.
Well, how different could it be with the other Lords?
Truth be told, I had no idea what even the Overlord was really thinking, and I suspected that the only who had genuine nationalistic feelings for Calderic was the First Lord.
My mind was filled only with thoughts of how to slay the Demon King and about Kaen.
Calderic’s responsibility was the demon forces to the north of the plain.
To the northeast of Calderic lay a massive mountain range.
From the east of Calderic, the combined forces of all the Lords gathered and started their march, advancing along the northern borders of Santea.
“Hey, Seventh Lord. In your opinion, which direction do you think the Demon King is in?”
Three days into our march, the Beast King came up beside me and asked.
I answered vaguely.
“In the center.”
“Why?”
“Just a feeling.”
North, center, south. When you thought about it casually, there was no choice but to have a feeling that the Demon King’s location would be in the center.
Well, because it’s the center.
However, I hoped that the Demon King would be in the northern direction where Calderic’s forces would be.
Only then would Kaen avoid facing the Demon King alone, without me.
Moreover, on this side, we had the Overlord, the mightiest force, apart from the hero.
Hence, having the Demon King appear in the northern army was the optimal strategic move.
Given the situation where the exact strength of the Demon King’s forces couldn’t be determined, the key question remained whether the army going to the north could hold on until Kaen’s arrival.
Naturally, regardless, if the Demon King was indeed in the northern sector, Calderic would suffer significant losses.
But that wasn’t my concern.
Whether it’s Santea, Calderic, or Adessa, whichever side confronted the Demon King was bound to incur substantial losses.
It’s merely a matter of which one of the three it would be.
And, for me, the utmost priority wasn’t about preserving Calderic’s strength.
It’s about commencing the battle with the Demon King under the most favorable conditions.
Even if I held the title of Calderic’s Lord, whether the greatest casualty of this war became Calderic or not was a trivial matter, if it is for that cause.
I fleetingly glanced beyond the numerous soldiers to catch a glimpse of the Overlord’s figure on the opposite side.
While her true intent remained elusive, nonetheless, in this war, she would undoubtedly exert her utmost effort as an ally.
Defeat equated to Calderic’s demise.
'If, by chance, the Demon King is in the troops going to the central or south...'
At that juncture, I must swiftly conclude matters here and relocate – even alone, if necessary.
If Kaen had accepted my proposition, I wouldn’t find myself amidst Calderic’s faction; I would remain at her side.
Since it aligned with the hero’s wish, neither the Overlord nor Santea could intercede, regardless of whether I stood with the hero or not.
However, Kaen rejected the proposal as firmly as a sword. So, there was nothing else to be done.
Therefore, my options were limited.
“By the way, the Demon King is undoubtedly stronger than someone like Fogwigg, isn’t he?”
The Beast King muttered, then said in a nonchalant tone.
“Seventh Lord, if there’s ever a life-threatening situation for you in this war, I will save you at least once. I’d wager my life for it, even.”
“...What are you talking about?”
“I still haven’t paid my debt for what happened at the Great Forest. That’s what I mean.”
I hadn’t really labeled it as a debt, but it was a good deal, so I didn’t argue.
“More importantly, isn’t this war an opportunity for you too, White Moon Tribe? The position of a Lord might become vacant.”
The Beast King grinned and tapped the back of Asher, who was beside me.
She was referring to the scenario where any of the Lords died, leaving a vacant seat.
With Asher’s abilities, she could have easily become a Lord.
“I’ve never thought about it that way.”
“Heh, set aside the boring talk and tell me once. Among the Lords, who would you want to see bite the dust? Me?”
Asher gave the Beast King a sidelong glance, as if she was annoyed, then answered.
“If I had to choose, I’d pick the Eighth Lord.”
“...Oh?”
The Beast King seemed surprised by the unexpected answer and asked again.
“Why the bug bitch, do you have a grudge against her that I don’t know about?”
“Because she’s the most antagonistic Lord towards Sir Ron. There’s no other reason.”
...Was she talking about what happened back at Gadfalk?
Since the Beast King wasn’t ignorant of the incident either, she nodded in understanding, then alternated her gaze between Asher and me before chuckling.
“You’re always so polite, and now you’re so openly bitchy. Are you saying that you have nothing to fear in this situation, or has something else happened?”
“Why don’t you go back and lead your troops instead?”
“Tsk, look at you. Got it. I’ll go.”
The Beast King said to me for the last time.
“Now that you mention it, watch out for the Eighth Lord during the battle. She’s a demon bitch by birth. Who knows what kind of trick she might pull during this chaos?”
Even without a warning, I would still have been careful. After the Beast King left, I asked Asher.
“Asher, were you concerned about that?”
“Yes. She’s a dangerous woman, isn’t she?”
“That’s true.”
Asher said firmly.
“I will do my best to assist you. Please, don’t push yourself too hard in the war.”
“I have no intention of risking my life to fight. Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself instead.”
“Yes. I will do that. After all, I need to hear Sir Ron’s real name.”
A promise made in the heat of the moment, swept away by the atmosphere. It was an awkward statement, so I let out a small laugh.
The massive army, numbering in the millions, continued to advance.
Across the plains, towards the approaching enemies on the other side.
And about a week after the march began, we finally reached the end.
'I could see them.'
It was felt from afar.
A disturbing sense of foreboding that covered the entire other side of the plain.
I confirmed the vanguard of the demon army revealed on the horizon, and our march came to a halt.
It was approximately a distance of 10 km.
Since they didn’t stop on their end, the battle seemed to start immediately.
Shoooosh.
At that time, the Overlord suddenly soared high into the sky.
Amid the gaze of the soldiers, a massive flame rose around the Overlord.
It was not merely a simple fire magic, even though the amount of magic power was immense.
The crimson flames converged into dozens of spheres, forming a long tail, and flew towards the demon camp like meteors.
Roar......!
Huge pillars of flame rising one after another from the enemy’s lines.
The power was so overwhelming that even though the distance was significant, the frontline soldiers staggered slightly from the delayed shockwave.
“Now, it’s the beginning of battle! If we lose, we’ll face total annihilation, and if we win, we’ll survive! Fight!”
The Overlord’s amplified magical voice resounded throughout the entire army.
There were no words, but the tearing roar revealed how high the morale of the army was. The Overlord’s preemptive strike had worked.
There was no immediate counterattack from the demon camp. They continued to advance.
The sky was hazy, as if rain could pour down at any moment. The rumbling of millions of soldiers’ footsteps on the ground, accompanied by shouts.
Monstrous creatures of all kinds, leading the demon forces, collided with the Calderic army.
In that instant, thousands of lives seemed to be on the brink of death, but the war had only just begun.
The center formation of Calderic consisted of regular soldiers.
Soldiers armed with spear-swords stood at the front, and mages supported from the rear with their magic.
Knights swung their swords, surpassing the demons, and magic bombarded from all directions.
On both sides of the formation, the Undead Legion of the King of the Dead and the Insect Legion of the Black Sea Empress fought separately from the regular army.
Given their monstrous strength, they fought like how monsters naturally would.
The Undead Legion continued to fight tirelessly, even rising up repeatedly with bodies torn to shreds until they could no longer move.
From the sky, the King of the Dead, riding an undead wyvern made of bones, observed the battlefield as he waited for the moment he would no longer move.
I was commanding the army.
The legion of bugs near the Black Sea Empress looked the same as before. Bugs poured out incessantly from the tower stationed at the rear, killing demons and replenishing their forces as they died.
The number of towers was just under twenty. After our confrontation before, it seemed she managed to replenish them quite a bit.
War. It was a massive battle on a scale incomparable to what I had seen at Gadfalk.
I flew on the back of Ti-Yong, observing the battlefield at a glance.
The Lords didn’t engage in combat immediately. It was the order of the Overlord.
There were archdemons on the other side too.
And the presence of the Demon King was still uncertain.
'And for sure...'
Even at a glance, Calderic’s overall forces were overwhelmingly greater.
Of course, it was natural.
The demons divided their forces into three, while this side remained as a whole.
No matter how powerful Altelore was, a third of their force couldn’t compare to Calderic’s entire might.
So, it was the demons who were falling behind. Until the archdemons intervened, there was no reason for the Lords on this side to engage first.
Especially noteworthy were the battle golems seen in the First Lord’s command.
The golems began to be deployed onto the battlefield after a certain amount of time, and their power was substantial.
They advanced steadfastly against most attacks, sweeping and trampling the demons with their massive forms.
They also fired magical shots from the magical cannons mounted on their central bodies.
Several mages were on top of the golems, consistently replenishing its mana source. The soldiers nearby naturally cleared the path and fought while escorting the golems.
Of course, the demons weren’t just passively succumbing either.
The most annoying ability of the demons was their power.
Whether it’s spraying armor-melting poison or summoning spirit-like creatures, more advanced demons can unleash their powers to shake up the battlefield.
Quaaang!
Attacks were even launched towards me as I flew into the sky.
It was a serrated, spinning sphere of magic.
Before I could do anything to stop it, Asher unleashed a sword strike. The pure white sword energy cut through the serrations and exploded on the ground in the direction the attack had come from.
“I’ll leave the defense to you, Asher.”
“Yes.”
I heightened my senses and focused solely on detection.
No matter how heightened my senses were, in a battlefield where millions of soldiers fought, the dispersion of those senses was significant.
The target of my detection, of course, was the Demon King. Or perhaps the first one in the hierarchy of archdemons.
I couldn’t find anything particularly foreign or powerful that felt like the Demon King’s presence.
Of course, it was possible for the Demon King to conceal his presence, so I couldn’t be certain.
'Found it.'
And soon, although it wasn’t the Demon King, I was able to find a significant presence.
Some of the demons fighting against the battle golems were engulfed in a red light. Like madmen, they charged towards the golems and exploded upon impact.
Those suicidal attacks instantly destroyed three golems. It wasn’t a normal level of destruction.
I looked at a spot far behind the scene.
A demon with a conspicuously elongated neck came into view.
Ninth in the archdemon hierarchy, Farkkuli.
The self-destruction attack just now was his ability.
“Let’s go down, Ti-Yong.”
I lightly tapped Ti-Yong’s neck.
If the Demon King wasn’t here, I needed to swiftly end the war and join the others on the other side.
Since this archdemon had revealed himself, it was now time for us to step up from this side.
