331 Chapter
The expedition force’s vanguard was quickly depleting their resources.
Though there had been no casualties yet, they had used up most of the ‘cases’ they had prepared in a short amount of time. As they ventured deeper into the Demonic Realm, the aura of malevolent spirits grew stronger, accelerating the consumption of sacred artifacts.
However, as they consumed supplies, the vanguard was nearing its target destination.
Compared to when they first entered the Demonic Realm, the distance to the target location was now less than twenty percent of what it originally was.
Moreover, the vanguard instinctively knew that they would soon clash with the enemy’s true main force.
“Stop. We’ll rearm.”
For the first time in a situation other than an ambush, Alexander halted the advance of the vanguard and ordered the final preparations.
Everyone stopped and consciously regulated their breathing.
Even though most of the enemies they had faced so far in the Demonic Realm were weaklings, the fatigue on mind and body from continuous combat in a hostile environment could not be ignored.
Among the members of the vanguard, Ray was the one who had managed his stamina the best.
Ray had been very passive in combat until they reached this point.
Most of the vanguard understood that Ray’s passivity in battle was a kind of strategy.
During the last reorganization.
Ray stood alone, bent over with a vacant stare.
Just as Luna noticed something was wrong and rushed to help, Anthonyus grabbed Ray’s shoulder first.
“…”
Anthonyus quietly channeled holy power into Ray’s body while holding his shoulder.
After directly channeling holy power into Ray’s body like this, Anthonyus could clearly perceive the truth.
“…There isn’t much time left.”
As Anthonyus muttered while gazing at the approaching heart of the Demonic Realm, Ray also responded.
“Yeah, there isn’t much time left.”
“…We need your help to win this expedition.”
Ray’s Spatial Blade, which could dismantle any bizarre trick, was the most crucial key to conquering the Demonic Realm.
While continuing to channel holy power into Ray, Anthonyus lowered his voice even further.
“…And if you push yourself too hard, you might not survive.”
“…”
“Are you already prepared?”
“No, I will return alive. I will… definitely do that.”
Even if he has to grab his stopped heart with his own hands and squeeze it forcefully, he must accomplish this.
A vague but intense will filled Ray’s dimming eyes once again.
Still looking toward the Demonic Realm, Anthonyus asked.
“Do you have anything left to do?”
“…”
There was indeed much left to do.
He still needed to resolve Lea’s Dragonheart issue, meet his children-to-be, confess the truth, and apologize.
And…
And Ray…
“I want to… win back Luna’s heart.”
Ray knew that this was late regret and selfish desire.
Still, Ray couldn’t just give up on Luna without doing anything.
Anthonyus nodded after hearing Ray’s heartfelt wish.
“If I can help, I will assist you.”
Upon hearing Anthonyus’ words, Ray smirked.
“You’re being unusually social for someone like you.”
“Yes, that seems right.”
Anthonyus agreed.
Looking back, Anthonyus had met many people who tried to package themselves as purer than Ray.
Nevertheless, Anthonyus felt something emotional in Ray that he hadn’t sensed in them.
He wasn’t quite sure where this difference came from.
“…However.”
Anthonyus, who had urgently channeled holy power into Ray’s body, tilted his head slightly and looked at the sky.
“Something is coming.”
It wasn’t a major event.
The vanguard, who were completing their reorganization, didn’t wait for whatever was descending from the sky to make its move.
KUUNG!!!
When Ramenta moved her hand, something flying in the sky crashed right in front of Alexander.
The giant eagle-like creature that fell from the sky spewed flames desperately towards Alexander.
WHOOSH!!
“…Is it a spirit?”
Alexander split the incoming flames with a single slash.
Then he grabbed the head of what seemed to be a fire spirit and twisted it off before stabbing his sword into its empty neck.
CRUNCH!
“…?”
It looked like a spirit, but the sword pierced it quite honestly.
Still, even the Sword Energy manifested by a mighty Swordmaster couldn’t easily penetrate this mysterious thing’s neck.
Alexander pushed his sword deeper while looking at Ramenta.
“Is this… a demon?”
“…”
Ramenta couldn’t answer immediately and began tearing at the skin of the creature held by Alexander.
Soon, the members of the vanguard took turns stabbing weapons into the creature’s body as if torturing it.
But they couldn’t figure out what kind of entity this thing was.
Ray raised his sword, generated a faint Sword Aura, and swung it at the creature’s wing.
SWISH!
It was cut surprisingly easily.
Yet they still couldn’t tell whether it was a demon or something else entirely.
At that moment, a bewildered spirit’s voice suddenly echoed from above.
[Impossible…!]
It was Karga.
[This is impossible.]
“…?”
Confused, Ray turned around and asked curiously.
“…Do you know something about it?”
[This is impossible…!!!]]
“Karga!!”
When Ray shouted loudly, Karga finally stepped back and turned to look at Ray.
Ray asked again with a stern expression.
“Do you know what this is?”
[…]
“Karga, if you know anything, answer me.”
[…Human, this is one of my kind.]
“What? A spirit? It doesn’t look like one?”
[That’s why it’s impossible!! How could we ever step foot in your dimension in our true forms!!]
“…!”
Spirits were beings from a different dimension than the one humans lived in.
And between dimensions, there existed boundaries that restricted their interactions.
These dimensional boundaries were almost one-way.
They rendered lower-dimensional beings powerless and simultaneously restricted upper-dimensional beings from exerting force indiscriminately in lower dimensions.
The Spatial Blade inherited by Ray possessed the power to transcend these boundaries and cleave upper-dimensional beings.
Anyway, spirits could project their power into the human world across dimensional boundaries, but they could not cross over in their true forms.
For a spirit to enter the human dimension in its true form would be akin to cramming a three-dimensional being into a two-dimensional plane.
Even in the special environment of the Demonic Realm, it made no sense for a spirit to step into this dimension in its true form.
At that moment, the flame spirit that had finally breathed its last inflated like a balloon before bursting with a POP!
The essence-filled body distorted space momentarily before disappearing shortly thereafter.
[This… this shouldn’t… happen…]
Karga seemed to have panicked and lost composure.
The members of the vanguard, having grasped the situation somewhat, all stiffened their expressions.
Something very strange was happening in the Demonic Realm right now.
*
An enemy raid occurred near the Imperial Capital.
Since it was wartime, the report of the raid was promptly delivered to the imperial command.
Upon receiving the report, the imperial command was understandably flustered.
The raider appeared near the Imperial Capital through a nearly imperceptible small-scale warp and began penetrating the empire’s defensive forces alone.
Reports indicated that the raider was using some sort of doubles technique, but it was unclear whether these were genuine duplicates or concealed reinforcements.
At this point, it was certain that the raider’s prowess was at least at the level of a Junior Lord.
What’s more, the raider seemed to have studied the empire’s defense system thoroughly, striking at its weaknesses.
Because of this, several barriers deployed for defense were breached before they could function properly, ultimately allowing the raider to infiltrate the large city.
With many civilians present in the large city, the defensive options were limited.
The raider was exploiting this fact to weaken the defenses and continued moving towards somewhere.
Judging by the direction of movement, it was speculated that the raider’s destination was the Imperial Capital.
And along the route leading to the Imperial Capital lay the Helm Viscountdom.
The Helm Viscountdom was currently where acquaintances of Ray, who was away on the front lines, were staying.
“Enemy raid… just one person? But a Junior Lord level? The number of casualties among the defense troops has already exceeded a hundred…”
In anticipation of possible contingencies, high-ranking officers stationed on standby in the capital immediately began discussions to deal with the raid.
“Has the identity of the raider been confirmed?”
“There are records of a high-level Dark Wizard using doubles being sighted near Alimo, but… there’s currently no way to confirm if it’s the same individual.”
“Alimo? Then perhaps this raid is related to the Forbidden Forest incident… Hmm, it could be an attack targeting those close to that person.”
“The probability of a diversion cannot be ruled out. I believe the raider has another motive.”
“I agree with your opinion. The intention to draw attention is obvious. Therefore, we must suppress it quickly before confusion grows.”
“Eliminating with artillery… would be difficult.”
Using the artillery of the capital, they could vaporize even a Junior Lord-level raider. That was certain.
However, even if the raider was strong, they couldn’t destroy half of a densely populated large city just to capture a single raider.
“We must send reinforcements anyway. Immediately.”
Due to the investment of manpower and resources in the Demonic Realm expedition, the current defensive forces of the empire were much weaker compared to a few months ago.
It was impractical to gather all the dispersed defensive forces performing guard duties into one place, so reinforcements were necessary to stop the raid.
“Should the important figures in the Helm Viscountdom be evacuated into the capital?”
“It could be even more dangerous if we don’t send additional substantial protective forces.”
The exact purpose of the raider and the presence of additional forces were still unknown.
The only certainty was that to reliably and safely counter the current raid, they needed to dispatch numerous high-level fighters centered around someone of Royal Guard caliber.
“…”
The characters in the command indirectly presented their opinions sufficiently and started observing the emperor seated on the throne.
Currently, the only quick solution to this situation was to mobilize the forces in the Imperial Capital, and mobilizing the numerous high-level fighters guarding the Imperial Capital was impossible without the emperor’s decree.
However, mobilizing the high-level fighters protecting the Imperial Capital could be quite uncomfortable for the emperor.
Especially since this raid clearly seemed to serve as a diversion.
Breaking through boldly from the front and drawing attention conspicuously, unless the goal was diversion or suicide, it was hard to explain otherwise.
Thus, sending reinforcements while withholding the deployment of core high-level fighters was a sufficiently reasonable judgment.
Either way, a swift decision was needed.
However, despite the urgency, the emperor maintained silence while the characters in the command were openly watching him.
Given the urgency, Ernsts, who was guarding the emperor closely, finally spoke up.
“…Your Majesty.”
Ernst was considering sending his own subordinates on standby to support the Helm Viscountdom if the emperor remained passive regarding reinforcements.
Although Ernst usually prioritized the emperor’s intentions, this time he intended to firmly express his own opinion.
However, before Ernst could voice his opinion, the emperor broke the silence first.
“Duke Prizzran.”
“Your orders?”
“Go there personally.”
“…!!!!!”
Not only the characters in the command but even the Royal Guards standing like statues beside the emperor turned to look at the throne in bewilderment.
Dispatching the empire’s Swordmaster, who should be guarding the emperor, outside the Imperial Capital during wartime, even if it was a short distance, was against common sense.
Rather, it would have been more logical to deploy numerous Royal Guards waiting inside the capital.
Ernst also showed bewilderment at the emperor’s decision and initially stepped back.
“Your Majesty, however…”
“Duke Prizzran, leaving your post briefly won’t endanger my safety to such an extent that the loyal subjects of the empire are weak.”
“…”
“This is an imperial order. Eliminate the threat swiftly. Before the Helm Viscountdom is harmed.”
“…I shall follow the imperial order.”
After respectfully bowing to the emperor, Ernst turned around.
Walking steadily out of the palace, as soon as the gates closed behind him, Ernst immediately accelerated with a thunderous sound, moving like a streak of light.
Meanwhile, Resina, who had been heading towards the Helm Viscountdom while avoiding the defensive army’s attacks by using the city as a shield, stopped her steps for the first time and burst into laughter.
“Goodness, who would have thought the emperor would move that person?”
Resina had anticipated various variables, but she had never expected this current situation.
Who could have predicted that the emperor, who should prioritize his own safety, would take the risk and mobilize the empire’s Swordmaster?
If the Swordmaster moves without regard for stamina conservation, the distance from the capital to the Helm Viscountdom can be covered in one breath.
If Resina doesn’t reach the Helm Viscountdom faster than Ernst, all her efforts to steal the body would go to waste.
With her leisure gone, Resina began collapsing the circle in her already overdriven heart.
(End of Reproduction)
