Chapter 198
When the report came in that Ariana, sent as a separate unit, had failed the ambush, Phynox and Sephar could not hide their disappointment.
“It was probably as expected.”
“Yes… it seems so.”
Phynox sighed. Since hearing that Garp, whom he had brought in, failed to even preserve his life, the crease in Phynox’s brow only deepened.
“Perhaps there weren’t enough troops.”
“But that was the limit.”
Even…
“If they had retreated from the 42nd floor right away to conserve their forces, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but they couldn’t even do that.”
Phynox’s gaze was directed at the now empty Sabnack. Sephar from the same faction could not support him. It wasn’t initially planned for Sabnack to face Seere alone on the 42nd floor.
As soon as he heard the news of Garp’s defeat, Phynox had proposed gathering everyone on the 41st floor, and Sephar had agreed to that. However, Sabnack had recklessly decided to engage in a decisive battle on the 42nd floor, and as a result, he lost everything just to save himself.
“Do not go outside under any circumstances, except for the separate unit. Sephar’s floor allows for self-sufficiency, so ultimately, they will be the ones to exhaust themselves and fall.”
This was why defense was advantageous in a siege. When starting a defense in a castle capable of self-sufficiency, the attacking side would likely run out of food and stamina, leading to their defeat.
Of course, the defensive side’s forces must not be depleted first, but there weren’t enough troops to worry about that. In fact, they were overflowing.
“Ariana will lead the separate unit to continue cutting off their supplies. Then they will have to find our separate unit while also attacking the castle, thereby spreading their troops. This will cause disruptions in their siege operation. Moreover…”
Phynox pointed to the 150 concentrated magic cannons he had brought.
“With these, they won’t be able to build their defenses close to the castle.”
“The further they are, the more their attacks will be hindered.”
“That’s right. While I can’t guarantee a complete victory, it is certainly a fight with a high probability of winning.”
Phynox spoke like this and then asked Sephar.
Phynox’s strategy seemed plausible at first glance.
“Is that countermeasure prepared? The one mentioned in the report…”
Phynox was referring to the enormous whale he had seen during Garp’s battle. A monster of staggering size and magic power. If no countermeasures were established against it, everything Phynox had discussed until now would amount to nothing.
“Yes, it’s ready.”
Sephar answered confidently.
“We have gathered the magic of 100,000 soldiers and spread a six-layered protective barrier over the castle walls and gates. No matter how monstrous it is, it shouldn’t be able to break through easily.”
Phynox nodded. This meant he believed that, just as Sephar had said, it would indeed work. Showing trust, Phynox once again strengthened his resolve.
“We must surely overcome this and honor the spirits of the allies who left us first.”
“Yes.”
At that moment, a scout burst in, breathless, reporting the appearance of the enemy to the three demon lords.
“The legion of Seere von Debata has begun to appear in the distance!”
“Did they come without rest? They are quick.”
Phynox pondered and clenched his teeth. He was recalling the face of Nahun, who had treated him with such disrespect. He was determined to win.
“Deploy immediately.”
“Yes!”
As the scout rushed off to relay the orders to the officers, Phynox and Sephar each nodded to each other and headed for their respective positions.
The two demon lords were filled with the will not to lose. The reason they had chosen the 41st floor as their battlefield was that, due to the structure of the castle, it was more robust than the castle on the 40th floor, facilitating their defense.
Upon arriving near the castle, Seere was taken aback.
“It looks solid.”
“It’s indeed a sturdy castle.”
“It would be good to build the next Demon King Castle like this.”
The castle consisted of two outer walls and one inner wall. Therefore, even if they managed to breach one wall, two more would need to be taken down to complete the siege. Considering that it usually takes an immense amount of time to breach a single castle wall, the castle on the 41st floor was nothing less than an impregnable fortress.
“And there are protective barriers spread out too.”
“Still, it won’t be a problem.”
“Yes, that would seem so.”
However, they were unaware. They had no grasp of the true reason why Garp had been so overwhelmed by just one whale, making it impossible to adequately counter.
“Does that mean anything to this child?”
Despite the six layers of protective barriers created from the magic of 100,000 soldiers, it would naturally be insufficient. What stood before them was the most powerful massu from hell, an end-being feared even by the archdemons.
The gargantuan whale, exceeding hundreds of meters, bolted forward at a terrifying speed. Generally, such mass and speed would create a force that also rebounded back on itself.
However, the head was designed to withstand powerful impacts well, similar to a boxing glove, and its already concentrated magic could lessen that impact further.
Thus, when this enormous massu charged forward at that speed, the only thing to absorb the impact was…
BOOOOOOM!!
Only the castle wall.
With a single charge, the first outer wall crumbled. The magic of the protective barrier was neutralized by the massive magic of the massu, and no matter how solid the outer wall was, it was impossible to withstand the charge of this colossal mass weapon.
Naturally, the Phynox coalition, which was about to start its defense on the first outer wall, found themselves in a state of confusion.
“W-What…?!”
“D-Don’t panic!! Fall back to the second outer wall!! Retreat and engage in combat!!”
“Leave the cannons behind immediately and withdraw! Cannons are also ready on the second outer wall!”
Nevertheless, Phynox and Sephar issued commands without panicking in the face of the sudden situation. They had already witnessed the entire process of their coalition falling apart.
Yet, despite the calm commands, losses were inevitable due to the unexpected crisis. As soon as the wall collapsed, the Debata forces began their intrusion.
“Chase them down and kill them!”
“Leave no survivors!!”
Even the legion commanders rushed in, pursuing the forces of Phynox and Sephar as they retreated to the second outer wall. Sephar shouted at them.
“Those are the core forces of the Debata army! The commanders, lead your soldiers to surround and suppress them, while the rest continue to retreat!”
“Yes!”
Following that order, several key officers of Sephar’s forces began to lead their soldiers to encircle the commanders of the Debata army. However, Sabnack, watching this, shouted that it couldn’t be done.
“No, Sephar!!”
“What do you mean!? They forced their way in! We must not miss this opportunity!!”
“That’s a trap too!! We must not underestimate the power she possesses!”
“Y-Yes!?”
Ignoring Sabnack’s cries, a woman’s blade swiftly cut down the generals surrounding Sephar’s troops. As her wave-colored hair flew, their heads fell to the ground. Seeing the cat ears perked up above her head, Sephar realized he had forgotten her presence.
“Seir’s cursed blade…!”
Seir’s cursed blade, the power of Lin El Lazine, was beyond what even the officials of the 41st floor could contend with. The strength of an upper echelon demon lord was at such a level.
Realizing why Sabnack had warned against it, Sephar thought that he must avoid facing her head-on and turned his head away.
Just then, Sephar couldn’t help but turn to see the overwhelming magic he sensed behind him.
“What is this…?”
“Sephar! It’s her! Seere von Debata!!”
Having heard that she had even defeated Garp, he had anticipated somewhat. Seere von Debata’s power was certainly not that of a demon lord within the top 40. However, thinking about it and seeing it with his own eyes felt completely different.
“Did she truly end the Great War of Angels by her own hand…?”
Sephar noticed Seere coming after him. He could feel an immense magic radiating from the sword she held. The magic coalescing in the sword transformed into ominous, glowing red power.
“Blood Moon.”
『Sanguis Lūna』
The vast amount of magic began to spin rapidly. The magic, swirling like a vortex, started to obliterate everything around.
CRAACK!!!
“What in the world…!?”
“Sephar, you need to get out of there!”
At Sabnack’s shout, Sephar snapped back and urged his horse forward. However, the speed with which the magic reached them was too fast, and neither Sabnack nor Sephar could escape comfortably.
“Damn it, we have to face it!”
“Ugh…!”
Having already been shattered by Seere, Sabnack showed obvious reluctance, but it was a fact that he would die before reaching the second outer wall, so he had no choice but to raise his sword.
BAM!!!
The magic of the two demon lords embedded itself into the sword, blocking the advancing magic. However, even if some of the swirling magic was stopped, the aftermath did not cease. As soon as the first strike was deflected, waves of second and third struck.
“If it goes on like this…!”
“Damn it, it’s going to break…!”
Sephar understood upon colliding directly. He realized why Garp had been powerless against her. Pushing his magic to the limit, Sephar shouted.
“I will not succumb like this!!!”
CHING!!!
Perhaps due to having raised his magic to the limit, as Sephar swung his sword, a momentary gap was created. Taking advantage of the opening, Sephar shouted to Sabnack.
“Now!”
“!!”
Seemingly understanding immediately, Sabnack dashed toward the gap in the magic that had faltered. He judged that it would take time for Seere von Debata to gather her magic again due to the temporary disruption.
It was the right judgment. In fact, upon seeing her magic disrupted, Seere seemed somewhat surprised. Due to her delicately concentrated magic faltering, it would indeed take time to refocus it on her sword.
However, what Sabnack misjudged and what Sephar failed to consider was that Seere was not merely outstanding in magic.
The moment of panic was brief. Without even descending from Bicon, she simply swung down at Sabnack’s charging sword.
THWACK!!
As a result, the blade’s angle was thrown off. Consequently, Sabnack’s sword sliced through the empty air, and as Seere effortlessly deflected Sabnack’s sword, she swung her own blade once more.
“Th-this is….”
Witnessing the blade swirling right in front of him, Sabnack felt a premonition of his doom. And just as his intuition suggested, Seere’s blade did not stop and cleaved off the upper half of Sabnack’s body.
Seere looked straight ahead. Seeing Sabnack’s awful state, it appeared that Sephar had already fled, deeming it hopeless.
“Shall we pursue?”
In response to Lin’s question, Seere shook her head.
“Chase lightly and prepare for a second siege. After all…”
Seere spoke simply.
“They are nothing but a rabble. It doesn’t matter if we deal with them slowly.”
“Yes.”
Less than an hour after the arrival of the legion of Seere von Debata, the first outer wall had completely fallen into the hands of the Debata army.
#
Meanwhile, the Leviathan continued to rampage, slaughtering the allied soldiers who remained on the outer wall, having lost their will to fight. The completely overwhelmed Sephar and the fallen Sabnack.
None of the circumstances smiled upon Phynox. Gathering the remaining troops from the second outer wall to prepare for battle, Phynox unknowingly clenched his jaw.
“… This is not a power that should be here.”
It was Sephar’s voice. He had returned alone, unable to bring back Sabnack after colliding with her.
“That is a disaster. Truly the reappearance of the nameless one… it is a power that makes such words spring to mind. Perhaps it would be more rational to surrender now and hope that she rises in rank and moves away from us at the next council.”
At Sephar’s powerless words, Phynox abruptly stood and shouted.
“Sephar! Do you have any idea what it will do to the morale of the soldiers if you say such things?”
“That’s exactly how hopeless it is! What do you plan to do when that enormous massu charges once again?”
“Are you passing the responsibility onto me now that you’ve taken on the task of figuring out that countermeasure, and it has turned out like this?”
The two demon lords raised their voices at each other, but they soon realized that this would lead nowhere and sighed.
“For now… we continue to fire the magic cannons to block their approach. In the meantime, we need to find a way out of this.”
“I still see surrender as the most rational option.”
“Then why did you start fighting in the first place? You could have surrendered and opened the way long ago!”
“I didn’t expect it to be this severe!”
“Damn it! If you speak again to lower the soldiers’ morale, I will personally take your head! I am the total commander of the coalition, and you have an obligation to follow that!”
“…….”
Sephar closed his mouth, but to Phynox, it seemed that Sephar had lost all willingness to fight. Phynox was deeply troubled, contemplating how to resolve this situation.
Just then, a messenger arrived from Ariana, who was in charge of the separate unit at the rear gate of the second outer wall.
“There is someone who wants to help us?”
“Yes, indeed. General Ariana is in contact right now and will send them here shortly to speak.”
“Where are they from?”
“Well….”
Phynox thought that perhaps a demon lord from the Nobilis faction had decided to offer support. However, the place that came out of the messenger’s mouth was entirely unexpected for Phynox.
“It’s a demon…”
