Chapter 153
The soldier of Morax was slightly flustered. He didn’t know the identity of Nahun, but he had heard that he was the master and aide of Seere von Debata, who was presently excelling at the forefront of the Third Army.
As a subordinate of Morax, who was keeping an eye on Seere von Debata’s forces, he was conflicted about whether or not to fulfill this request.
His troubled expression revealed his internal conflict, prompting Nahun to momentarily close and then open his eyes as he spoke.
“It would be best if you complied while I’m asking nicely.”
“……!!”
In that moment, the soldier felt a premonition of death. Although he couldn’t understand why, a primal instinct told him that he couldn’t ignore the words of this man.
The golden eyes that were watching him felt like the gaze of a predator pondering how to prepare its prey. The soldier gulped and hurriedly responded.
“P-Please wait a moment.”
The soldier rushed into the headquarters tent. After some voices conversed inside, he reemerged shortly.
“The, they say you can enter.”
He thought they would refuse once more, but surprisingly, permission was granted easily. Nahun nodded and pushed aside the tent flap of the barracks.
Inside the main tent were not only Morax but also his adjutant, the noble devil, Buné, ranked 25th, and Porneus, ranked 29th.
It was essentially a place where three demon lords within the top 30 gathered. However, Nahun didn’t show any special reaction and greeted them first.
“I am Nahun, aide to the 46th-ranked demon lord, Seere von Debata.”
“Hmm, what brings you here?”
“I’ve come because of a troublesome issue.”
Nahun regarded the three demon lords with a somewhat icy gaze. He then slightly lowered his head and said,
“I’ve sent multiple supply requests, but it seems they have not been accepted. Since the assault on Heidelbear Castle began, we have not received supplies even once.”
“Oh dear.”
Buné feigned a dramatic gesture, expressing dismay.
“Could it be that the supply officer has not received my messages properly?”
“I’d like to inquire about that. We’ve sent requests to Your Majesty Astharoth, the supply officer, and to the headquarters.”
Nahun directed his question towards Morax.
“You haven’t received any requests at your headquarters either?”
This was Nahun’s final inquiry. If they answered correctly now, he had no intention of escalating the situation. However, Morax, who was reluctant to acknowledge a new rising star, made a foolish decision.
“…It seems something went wrong in the middle. The supply requests have never arrived at the headquarters. Whether the message reached Astharoth or not, I will need to confirm that separately.”
“…….”
Nahun raised his head, which he had been bowing politely. He then looked at the three demon lords with an icy gaze, revealing his emotions openly.
Morax, Buné, and Porneus were momentarily taken aback. Normally, someone who dared to display such disrespectful eyes towards a demon lord would be severely reprimanded. Yet, for some unknown reason, they felt overwhelmed by the man’s gaze.
Buné swallowed hard and pointed out his line of sight.
“W-What is with that disrespectful gaze?”
“I want to ask something.”
His tone shifted from respectful to dismissive. It was a problematic attitude in many ways, but no one among the three demon lords had the courage to address it.
Behind Nahun, a black mist began to swirl, and it seemed that a massive land monster was about to reveal itself. It exuded a more intense presence than the combined essence of the three demon lords present.
With its huge and elongated fangs, it appeared capable of piercing through the bodies of the demon lords in an instant.
“What does alliance mean to you?”
Nahun took a step forward. Ordinarily, there should be a distance maintained when meeting a demon lord, but he audaciously breached that boundary, advancing towards them.
“While you are comfortably resting in the back, taking warmth, you cannot even encourage the front lines, instead indulging in pathetic antics.”
Before they knew it, Nahun had approached Buné. Buné was at a loss for words. He felt a sense of powerlessness, being looked down upon by an aide ranked 46th, unable to muster any objections.
“I will ask again.”
Nahun reached out his hand, striking down the armrest of Buné’s chair as he asked.
“Have you truly not received the requests?”
“T-That is….”
“You’d best answer correctly.”
As Nahun said this, he revealed his magic power. In that moment, Morax and Porneus were overwhelmed by his magical aura, unable to utter a word even as Buné faced humiliation.
Nahun, showcasing his magical power, extended his hand to crush the air’s fabric. He then conjured a fiery spike in his hand.
“Unless you wish to end up like its owner.”
“W-What…!?”
Morax, who had experienced the Great Angel War before, was taken aback. What rested in Nahun’s hand was the famous weapon of Uriel.
“How do you possess Uriel’s weapon…?”
“Did you not see?”
Nahun simply replied.
“The explosion that occurred on the royal side. It should have been visible from here as well.”
“!!!”
“T-That’s what you… you did!?”
The speech of the demon lords had somewhat changed to a more courteous tone. Recognizing Uriel’s weapon, Morax looked at Nahun with a mixture of awe and fear.
“If you respond honestly, I will guarantee your life.”
Feeling Nahun’s gaze, he asked one last time.
“Did you truly not receive the supply requests?”
—
“Your Majesty, the remnants have been taken care of.”
“Yes.”
Seere nodded at Veronica’s report and glanced up at the sky. Night was already falling.
On the third day of the supply base invasion, Seere captured all seven supply points he had discovered. Although the entire legion was riding Bicon, the advance speed was still remarkably fast.
Seere fidgeted with her hair. Each time she invaded a supply base, she had used a considerable amount of the stored external magic due to summoning heavy rain.
‘I shouldn’t be using it too often…’
While external magic is typically saved for times like these, Seere’s purpose for saving it was different.
As she gathered even the little external magic dispersed in the atmosphere of the human realm, she asked Veronica,
“What about Captain Rexion’s side?”
“They’ve reportedly captured four points as well.”
“That means there are eleven supply points. They’ve created quite a few. There might be more, too….”
Seere’s concerns were valid. Heidelbear Castle had five temporary supply points in addition to the ten regular ones. One of those had been captured by Rexion’s Sixth Legion.
However, Seere saw no need to capture more supply points. The reason so many supply points could be utilized was that they had a central location, but with the royal capital destroyed by Nahun, the temporary supply points could no longer function properly.
Veronica deduced this fact and reported to Seere.
“According to Captain Rexion, the last supply point had almost no food left.”
“…Huh?”
Seere pondered for a moment, eventually realizing something and nodding. She understood that Nahun’s earlier fight had played a role.
“I see.”
Seere smiled wryly. Once again, she had inadvertently received Nahun’s help.
‘There’s no way I can claim I did this all by myself….’
Seere squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. She then commanded Veronica.
“Move all the food as we discussed. It’s time to starve Heidelbear Castle to death.”
“Yes.”
“Since the center has collapsed, it’s highly likely that there have been issues with food supplies even before we can launch our attack. Heidelbear Castle won’t last much longer.”
“We just need to hunt them as they emerge.”
“Exactly.”
Seere mounted Bicon after adjusting her cloak and stated.
“Let them pay for the hardships they have caused.”
—
Nahun obtained confirmation from Morax about the supplies and headed towards the camp of the supply officer, Astharoth. After threatening Morax for verification, it turned out that it was Buné who had proposed the initial containment measures.
He claimed they needed to rein in the growing Debata forces, and in that context, he had involved Astharoth. As it happened, Astharoth, who had been discontent with Agreas’s actions, seemed to have gone along with it.
‘To an outsider, it might appear as if we had some sort of connection with Agreas.’
The 46th-ranked demon lord suddenly took the forefront and began to achieve outstanding feats. From the perspective of other demon lords, it could look as if Agreas had intentionally positioned someone at the forefront to assist the Debata forces, placing them in relatively easier locations to conquer.
Of course, even considering the misunderstandings that might arise…
“Cutting off supplies crossed the line.”
Nahun glanced at the barracks unfolding before him. It was the camp of the 28th-ranked demon lord, Astharoth von Hoda. He took out Morax’s letter from his pocket.
Approaching Astharoth’s camp, he walked up to the soldier standing at the entrance. The soldier recognized Nahun and flinched in surprise.
“What brings you here?”
“I am Nahun, aide to Her Majesty Seere von Debata. However, this time I am not here to deliver a message from Her Majesty Seere but to convey a message from His Majesty Morax.”
“Y-Your Majesty Morax?”
The soldier asked back, his face puzzled. In front of the soldier, Nahun directly thrust Morax’s letter.
“You’ll understand once you see.”
“Uhm….”
Having seen the seal of Morax on the letter, the soldier nodded. Nahun immediately withdrew the letter and spoke.
“Where is Astharoth von Hoda?”
“Please, address her properly.”
“Address her properly? What do you mean?”
Nahun pointed to the letter from Morax that he had just shown. He then reiterated for the soldier to hear.
“I have come in the name of His Majesty Morax to question the crimes of Astharoth von Hoda. Who addresses a sinner with honorifics?”
“…Excuse me?”
Nahun simply explained to the stunned soldier.
“I have come to question the crime of intentionally ignoring the supply requests from the front lines. So I ask again.”
“The crime? That can’t be…?”
“Where is Astharoth von Hoda?”
“…Over there.”
Nahun walked towards the barracks indicated by the soldier.
“Halt!”
“This is the barrack of the supply officer, Her Majesty Astharoth….”
“I don’t have the patience to explain twice. Get the details from that soldier.”
Nahun waved away the guards trying to obstruct him from approaching. He had only nudged them slightly, but the soldier was forcefully pushed back and fell to the ground.
“Cough…!”
“W-What is this…!”
“I have no luxury to treat the soldiers of a criminal.”
Nahun pushed the door of the barracks open. Inside was a rather calm-looking female demon lord. Her gem-like silver hair and the singular horn protruding from her forehead provided immediate recognition of her identity.
Astharoth von Hoda. The 28th-ranked demon lord gazed at Nahun with unsettlingly bright blue eyes.
“…Are messengers this reckless nowadays?”
“I am not a messenger, I have come to question you.”
“Ha… what do you mean by that?”
“Astharoth von Hoda, are you unaware of the crimes you have committed?”
Astharoth narrowed her eyes. Her gaze fell on the decree that Nahun held.
“You seem to have some confidence.”
“Is this what you refer to?”
Nahun held the decree up, smirking.
“How ridiculous. You think I would charge into enemy territory on the basis of such a flimsy excuse? This is merely a pretense.”
“Enemy territory? Aren’t we currently in an allied force?”
“I cannot call someone who intentionally cuts off supplies an ally.”
Nahun closed the distance to Astharoth. Despite his advance, she remained completely composed, simply watching him.
As Nahun approached the desk where Astharoth was seated, he presented the letter before her.
“This is a message from Commander Morax. It demands an explanation for the refusal of supply requests directed to the supply officer, Astharoth von Hoda… although what I truly desire is not an explanation.”
Nahun looked down at Astharoth with narrowed eyes. He felt perplexed by her unusually calm demeanor.
It was as if she believed she was innocent… a blameless person. Though something felt off, Nahun did not ease his pressure.
“What I want is a clear apology. And proper supplies.”
“…Ha, you.”
Astharoth remained confident and calm. There was a significant difference between her behavior and the brazen demeanor implied. Just as Nahun was contemplating her conduct, Astharoth spoke.
“You only know half the truth.”
“Do not spout nonsense. I am fully aware that you accepted Buné’s proposal and cut off supplies to the front.”
“That’s what I mean by saying you only know half. While I did initially accept Buné’s proposal, it was under the assumption that the Debata forces appeared to have ties with Agreas.”
It seemed that Astharoth had thought things over as Nahun had expected. However, the word “initially” did not sit well with him. He decided to listen further.
Seeing Nahun’s willingness to hear her out, Astharoth continued.
“But after some investigation, I discovered that this was not true. I realized you have no connections with Agreas.”
“…Then why did you keep cutting off supplies?”
“I will admit to having ignored the initial supply requests. However, after that, no.”
“What?”
Astharoth’s blue eyes glimmered sharply. She then revealed a rather shocking fact to Nahun.
“After realizing that you had no ties with Agreas, we resumed sending supplies. There are records in our logs too. As you can see from the supply warehouses, the food allocated to you has been continuously transported and reduced. Yet for some reason, the supply requests kept coming.”
Nahun’s eyes widened in shock. Astharoth, surprised at his reaction, added,
“And the soldiers we dispatched to deliver the supplies have also lost contact.”
“…Is that true?”
“I’ve already said so. If you’re in doubt, you are more than welcome to investigate everything. Thanks to this, I’ve been forced to keep cooperating with Morax and Buné, so I’m not exactly pleased either.”
While Nahun still held some suspicion, if he were to verify Astharoth’s words, it would inevitably reveal the lies. There was no reason to fabricate a story that would be caught so quickly.
“Then….”
Nahun started to trust Astharoth partially and opened his mouth. Astharoth swiftly interrupted him.
“Yes, it seems someone has been siphoning off the supplies heading your way.”
