Chapter 160
“Are you suggesting we starve the soldiers?”
There was a sense of bewilderment in Seere’s expression and voice.
After Nahun negotiated, they brought supplies, and while Seere’s army had acquired quite a bit of food by plundering supplies from the Fiast Kingdom, it was confusing to suggest starving with so much food available. Nahun spoke to the perplexed Seere.
“I did threaten Astharoth to get those supplies, but officially, we still haven’t received any supplies.”
“…You mentioned the main force was diverting supplies? Then there should be release records, so they should indicate we’ve received them.”
“It’s okay. It isn’t recorded in our receiving logs. There are witnesses who can prove we didn’t receive any supplies.”
Seere lightly touched her chin at Nahun’s words.
“So, you mean… to use that point to inform them that we are in a situation where we can’t fight, and use it as an excuse to return to the Demon World?”
“That’s right. You’re quick to understand.”
“But, Teacher, even if we just sit and starve from now on… my soldiers aren’t that weak, you know?”
There were no soldiers so fragile that they would whine about not eating for a few days. Such soldiers would either not have joined the legion in the first place or would have dropped out during training.
“Unless we end up in a battle for days like last time….”
“Then we can just train them harder.”
“…Huh?”
Since they had already completed the conquest of the Fiast Kingdom, they couldn’t engage in battle, so they would just ensure intense training while withholding food.
“Teacher… that’ll cause a rebellion.”
Although the loyalty of the legion to Seere was deep, one could not predict what might happen if they committed such inhumane acts. Training without food… in such conditions, they might go crazy.
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“It won’t take long for a support request to come in. The First Army is in quite a hurry.”
“…You handled the Spirit Kings, didn’t you? But they’re still in a hurry?”
“Not all of them. There’s still quite a powerful Spirit King putting pressure on the First Army.”
The strongest land Spirit King prior to Eia’s emergence, Noah, and then the second strongest, the Wind Spirit King Minerva. Given the circumstances with the remarkable forces Jepar and Amon lost, it wouldn’t be easy for the First Army to manage the situation.
So….
“Let’s just starve a little. Think of it as a diet.”
“…You’re joking about my weight, right?”
At Seere’s words, Nahun was slightly taken aback. It seemed she still had the previous comments from their image game in mind.
“I told you it was a joke….”
“Hmph! I don’t believe you. You weren’t lying back then.”
“…I’ve lost weight again. Perhaps it’s because of the toll the war has taken, but I’m even thinner than before….”
Nahun lightly patted Seere’s shoulder.
“You’ve become quite gaunt. We’ll have to make sure you eat after the war ends.”
A tone of concern seeped into Nahun’s voice. Seere looked at Nahun for a moment, sighed lightly, and said.
“So, you’re saying we just need to endure a few more days?”
“Yeah. Talk well with the legion.”
“To be honest, I don’t like the expression ‘to flee.’ I doubt the legion commanders would like it either.”
“Hmm, that…”
As Nahun smiled, looking a bit troubled, Seere mischievously grinned and said.
“A strategic retreat, is that how you’ll phrase it?”
“…Ahem.”
“We should do as you say. If we hold out here, there’s no doubt we’ll be defeated and the Heavens will get what they want.”
“Right, that’s true.”
Seere nodded, got up from her seat, and wrapped herself in the cloak Nahun had given her.
“Rest assured, I’ll demand a price for making such unreasonable requests.”
“Huh?”
“A reward. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Right, I haven’t forgotten.”
Nahun said with a smile.
“We’ll have to treat you to something delicious.”
Nahun was thinking of something like cake or pudding, which Seere liked. Or he could even make it himself, which Seere would surely appreciate, so he was keeping that in mind.
However, the moment she heard the phrase “something delicious,” Seere thought of something slightly different. She smiled brightly and said to Nahun.
“Really? I remember that clearly!”
“Of course. Would I lie about something like this?”
Seere stepped out of the tent with a smile. Watching her back, Nahun let out a sigh, feeling an unexplained sense of relief.
“What if she charges at me again like last time….”
Today she seemed quite calm. Feeling oddly emotional about being worried about this, Nahun scratched his head slightly.
“…What’s wrong with me?”
After scratching his head for a moment, Nahun sighed again. Then, to get back to his work, he moved his steps.
“Let’s send a letter in advance.”
#
Days later, Basago’s request for support arrived successively at the Third Army Commander Morax and General Agreas.
“Just let them do as they please.”
It didn’t take long for the message to reach the main force, but the distance between the Holy Kingdom and the Fiast Kingdom was considerable, so it took a while for the messenger to arrive.
Agreas easily granted Basago’s request, and all that remained was for the Third Army Commander Morax to decide.
“What shall we do? It’s a request from Basago.”
“……”
However, Morax had been thoroughly scolded by Nahun before, so he had to proceed very cautiously regarding the request to send Seere von Debata.
And just before that, a letter had also arrived from Nahun, even before Basago’s support request. It contained the instruction that if another army sent a request for support, a messenger should be sent here.
Morax pondered what the implications of that letter could be for a while, but no answer came to him. Thus, he did as Nahun had hoped.
“…First, check if Seere von Debata can send support. Have the messenger go directly.”
“Ah, yes!”
The aide quickly left the tent to relay the order to the messenger, sending him to Heidelbear.
The messenger swiftly headed to Heidelbear on Bicon. Upon arriving at the Debata army encampment, he looked around with a puzzled expression.
“What’s going on?”
Despite the messenger’s arrival, no one came out to greet him. In fact, there were no soldiers guarding the front of the encampment, which was quite odd.
“Is anyone there? I bring a message from His Majesty Basago of the First Army!!”
When the messenger shouted loudly, a soldier crawled out of the nearest tent. It wasn’t a metaphorical expression; he literally crawled out, as if he had no strength to walk.
“…Uh, are you the messenger?”
“Why… why do you look like that? You don’t seem well.”
The messenger couldn’t even respond to the soldier who had crawled out to greet him. Dark circles hung below his eyes, and his face was pale. He looked quite gaunt, as if he hadn’t eaten in a long time.
Crawling out of the tent, he barely managed to lift his body to speak.
“Ah, it’s nothing… it’s just that I haven’t eaten…”
“Excuse me? How many days have you been starving to look like this…?”
“More importantly… if His Majesty Basago sent you, does that mean you came from the First Army…?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct. Where is Seere von Debata? I need to deliver the message personally.”
“Her Majesty… over there…”
The soldier spoke in a dying voice, extending a trembling finger. Just raising his arm made him shake, letting the messenger know how weak he truly was.
“Thank you. But why have you been starving…?”
“Ha ha… Why, isn’t it obvious? We haven’t received supplies…”
“Excuse me?”
“We haven’t received any supplies. The request was clearly sent, and… it was said that it was sent from the supply responsible party as well…”
The messenger blinked. Did he mishear that? But the soldier’s helpless state added credibility to the claim.
“Wait, you mean you’ve been fighting all this time without food? Until now?”
“Y-yeah… Luckily, the humans couldn’t hold out as long as we could, so they bolted out, otherwise, we almost collapsed first…”
The messenger, dumbfounded, continued past the soldier to the command tent. There were also no sentries guarding this place, as there should have been at an entrance.
Shocked, the messenger spoke at the tent’s entrance.
“Bringing a word from His Majesty Basago! To Her Majesty Seere von Debata!”
“……Come in.”
The messenger entered the tent, feeling a bit tense. And he was even more shocked than when he had seen the soldier a moment ago.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um, no, it’s nothing!”
It was only natural he felt panicked. That was because the Demon King Seere’s state was equally terrible.
Her hair was frazzled from malnutrition, dark circles around her eyes, a weak voice and breathing, and her eyes devoid of vigor.
Everything showed that she was also in a difficult situation. After all, she wasn’t a soldier but the ruler. While it was possible for soldiers to starve, it was abnormal for the one leading and governing them to starve…
“So, what is His Majesty Basago’s message?”
Seeing her in that state, the messenger unable to bring up the words ‘requesting for support.’ But he was just a soldier of Basago, and there was no power to decide anything on his own.
“W-well… our First Army’s situation isn’t good…”
“Ah, I see. That’s truly unfortunate.”
“…I-I’ve come to request support.”
“……”
The messenger flinched in surprise. Seere glared at him when he mentioned the support request. It was as if her eyes were saying, “What are you saying?”
“Can’t you see my condition?”
“…I-I can see it.”
“We haven’t received any supplies and have come to this state fulfilling our duty… and yet you ask for support? You might as well kill us instead.”
“How could I dare! I’m merely delivering His Majesty Basago’s command….”
“As I see, we have absolutely no room to ask for support.”
The messenger didn’t argue. It made sense to him. This wasn’t an act. Just like the soldier moments ago, Seere was obviously suffering from hunger.
“I would like to ask you. Can’t the First Army Commander perhaps send us supplies?”
“Th-that…”
Seere let out a deep sigh.
“I’m sorry, but that’s a request I simply cannot comply with given our situation. It might be better to ask Commander Morax to send another Demon King instead.”
“Ah, I understand. Understood.”
“Right.”
The messenger bowed and exited the tent. He still had doubts, thinking perhaps he had been deceived, and he briefly searched around the encampment.
‘No, this is real….’
Every soldier he had seen inside the tent looked similar. They were all sprawled on the ground, struggling to breathe. Even those who seemed to be the commandants appeared pale.
“…I must return.”
The messenger realized they were in no condition to fight. He mounted Bicon and hurried back to the Holy Kingdom, where the First Army’s headquarters was.
“…Has he left?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Nahun peeked his head out, waiting for the messenger’s departure. Although he had also starved alongside them, his own demonic body remained intact even after days without food.
Because of that, he had intentionally been hiding as his complexion seemed too normal. When Nahun came out, Seere looked at him with tired eyes.
“Teacher….”
“Yeah, you’re hungry. It’s fine to stop training for now.”
The fact that Seere also looked like this was because she had gone through special training with Nahun, just like the soldiers. With Seere looking like this alongside the soldiers, it added credibility to the situation.
“Instead, let’s starve just a little longer.”
“…Huh?”
“Just in case. Let’s hold out for another three days, if possible.”
Nahun smiled as he said this. Seere looked at his expression for a moment, then mumbled as if in disbelief.
“You really are like a demon….”
“It’s not wrong, though.”
“Now that you’ve said that, what will you do now?”
“What do you think?”
Nahun chuckled.
“We’ll have to run away. I’ve already contacted Morax. You should reach out to Her Majesty Citri and Her Majesty Gremony as well.”
#
Days later, Basago received two shocking pieces of news simultaneously.
One was that Seere von Debata had refused the request for support. Morax also expressed his intention to respect Seere’s wishes.
Although Basago was dumbfounded by the reason of “hunger,” he fell silent at the messenger’s testimony upon his return.
And the second piece of news. With their hunger getting the better of them, Seere von Debata and her forces were…
“…Retreating!?”
It was the news of their retreat. While this was obviously absurd, the problem was that the reasons presented by the Debata side were all of considerable justification.
First, they claimed that they had completed all the missions they were tasked with as the vanguard. Second, despite that, they no longer could continue fighting due to the lack of sufficient supplies.
Third, they stated that they had lost faith in the demonic alliance forces for not sending adequate supplies to those fighting in the front lines.
If Seere’s forces wanted to retreat with the justification of all these when the Heavenly Demon War hadn’t even concluded, there would not be many demon kings who would look at it favorably, yet it wasn’t an unreasonable reason. They had completed their mission, and due to the alliance forces’ error they had been put into a state of combat incapacity, giving them enough grounds to retreat.
Moreover, they added that they would return once their conditions improved. Essentially, it wasn’t an utter withdrawal from the war but an indication they would take a brief rest and come back.
Of course, it was clear they wouldn’t return.
“Agreas, you foolish fool…”
Perhaps Agreas had not been able to think of a justification to hold back the Debata side acting like this. He was not a demon king with a mind for such matters.
“Morax is in on it too, I see….”
After all, the approval of that request to the main force was initially granted because the Commander of the Third Army, Morax, accepted the request. If it was Agreas, it’s understandable, but Morax couldn’t have failed to grasp the real intent behind it, so the fact that he did meant….
“Haah.”
Basago sighed. He had to entirely revise his plans once more. Rather than Seere von Debata, he had to rely on Phynox, who was in charge of supplies, to maintain the front line.
“Using Phynox’s legion alongside mine… we can maintain the front. With the Third Army attacking the Empire from the side, the Second Army should be relieved a bit as well….”
However, as Basago was formulating such a plan, he received another piece of distressing news.
“Your Majesty.”
“Can’t you see I’m busy? If it’s not urgent, then later….”
“…The Second Army was defeated. Samygina couldn’t hold out and has issued a retreat order.”
“……What?”
At that moment, Basago recalled who had faced the Second Army. And he looked up at the sky.
“Oh no….”
The sun was positioned high in the center of the sky.
