The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 130

Cassandra was helplessly forced to return to the Imperial Capital because of the Emperor’s decree.

Immediately after that, Aias, who had just been appointed as the new Supreme Commander of Delphi, was filled with excitement as he began preparations to continue the war.

“Get ready to strengthen our defenses. With our arrival, the strength of our allies and enemies has now leveled out. If we focus on defense instead of acting rashly, there’s nothing they can do.”

“Yes, General.”

“Understood.”

Although Aias had slightly forcefully taken over as Supreme Commander after driving Cassandra away, he was by no means an incompetent individual.

In terms of pure combat power, he was slightly above Cassandra, who had a hybrid style, and he was certainly not just a brute without any brains.

He knew how to strategize to some extent and was able to discern what was important and what was foolish.

Thus, he judged that a clumsy attack in the current situation would be counterproductive and decided to focus on defense and look for openings in the enemy.

“I’m not going to engage in a fight I can’t win like that Cassandra. I only fight when I’m thoroughly prepared; that’s my formula for victory.”

Thinking that he was different from that incompetent woman, Aias concentrated on defense while also plotting how to deal with those Magic Kingdom folks gathered outside the castle.

*

“So? The enemy’s commander has changed?”

“Yes, that’s correct, York.”

As York slowly nodded while listening to her subordinate’s report, inwardly, she felt…

“Heh, well, that’s quite fortunate.”

She was genuinely pleased about the current situation.

To others, it seemed as if Cassandra was stuck in a rut, repeatedly facing defeats.

However, for York, who could see the overall shift as the Supreme Commander of the expedition, Cassandra was more troublesome than any enemy she had faced.

Even with her overwhelmingly disadvantaged forces, Cassandra had efficiently kept their advances at bay.

At the same time, Cassandra and her troops had shown an infuriating ability to slip away unscathed, almost like an eel, never suffering a decisive blow.

Attacking from all directions, she managed to slow their march as much as possible.

Moreover, her retreats were so infuriatingly executed that capturing them became a difficult task.

For those dealing with her, Cassandra was an incredibly annoying presence that caused serious frustration and irritation, and thanks to her, York wasted a whopping ten days making a journey that should have only taken two days to reach Delphi.

Considering that wasting days in military operations incurred massive losses on its own, the damage incurred by York and the Magic Kingdom forces from this was substantial.

And the fact that she had left made York feel a sense of relief, as if a painful tooth had finally come out.

“That Cassandra, she may seem like a weakling who doesn’t know how to fight, but that’s far from the truth. If she had stayed here, it would surely have taken ages to break through Delphi…”

On the other hand, York was very familiar with Aias, who had come this time, as they had fought together in the Racial War.

He had considerable combat strength and was also quite a cautious person.

However, at the same time,

That was why York also knew very well how to handle him.

“It’ll be much easier dealing with him than with that Cassandra. Unlike her, once he gets worked up, he tends to be rather straightforward…”

*

Focusing entirely on defense, Aias did not engage with the enemy gathered outside the castle.

As they camped in the so-called impregnable Castle Delphi, it seemed unlikely they’d make any hasty attacks even if the Magic Kingdom’s forces were strong.

Especially now that reinforcements had arrived and both sides had roughly equal strength.

“No matter how formidable they are, they can’t break through here. Instead of wasting energy like Cassandra, the best course of action is to stay put inside the castle. And if a gap shows in their formation, we strike…”

Thus, relying solely on the defensive capabilities of Castle Delphi while constantly monitoring the enemy movements, Aias was prepared.

Then one day, his subordinates brought in a prisoner.

The prisoner appeared to have been subjected to severe torture, his body battered and bruised.

Various contusions and wounds adorned him, and one arm was twisted in a strange angle as if it were broken. His face was so swollen that it was difficult to recognize.

Seeing the wretched state of this man, Aias asked his subordinate with curiosity and a glimmer of hope.

“Who is this person?”

“He is a spy from the Magic Kingdom. We captured him while he was snooping around our military facilities, and upon interrogation, we uncovered this information. He wasn’t on the resident roster, and crucially, he had a tattoo on one side of his body indicating he hails from the Magic Kingdom.”

“Really? Did he have anything useful to say?”

The prisoner looked pitiable, seemingly unable to provide any decent information due to the severe torture he had endured.

Yet, Aias believed there was a high chance they could extract something valuable from him, and his subordinates confidently nodded in response.

“Yes, indeed. Here are the details we compiled regarding that.”

“Hmm…”

With that, Aias began examining the documents handed over by his subordinate.

Soon after, a deep smile began to spread across his face.

“This information contained in here is true, right?”

“Yes, it is. Given that we tortured him without him knowing anything, it must surely be factual.”

“Indeed, has the time finally come?”

With his subordinate’s confirmation, Aias rose from his seat with a broad smile.

At that moment, he felt the burning desire for battle and achievement emerge in his heart, which he had been holding back for so long.

“Since reinforcements from the Magic Kingdom have arrived… if we use this well, we can finish them off in one fell swoop.”

With the Magic Kingdom troops wasting time in front of Castle Delphi, it was certain that as this situation continued in the enemy’s territory, they would begin feeling pressure regarding food supplies.

To end this stalemate as quickly as possible, additional support would be essential, even to push through by force.

And regarding this fact, Aias began to devise a plan.

“Since they, too, are of the human race like us, disguising ourselves shouldn’t be too hard. Pretending to be reinforcements from the Magic Kingdom won’t be a difficult task either, so we can approach and launch a surprise attack.”

Since their main forces comprised mages, their close-combat capabilities were relatively weaker than the Empire Army.

Thus, if they could incite chaos among them before the reinforcements arrived, the chances of victory for the Imperial forces would be significantly increased.

After making that judgment, Aias called his subordinates to begin discussing this operation.

*

“Hmm…”

The officers observed the movements of the Magic Kingdom’s troops before them.

It was apparent at a glance that their defenses looked rather lax, as if they weren’t preparing for an ambush.

“The reinforcements are arriving, and that doesn’t seem too far from the truth. Yet, something about this still feels… off.”

Having served under Cassandra, he honestly didn’t feel very good about this operation.

Certainly, as Aias had said, if the enemy’s reinforcements arrived, the situation would become even worse, and he had no choice but to agree that they needed to strike the enemies as soon as possible.

However, he felt it was reckless to leave the castle like this and attack them head-on.

“If it were General Cassandra, she wouldn’t have devised a plan like this from the get-go. She would have sent only a small detachment to catch them off guard or executed a strategy to ambush the approaching reinforcements from behind. She would never resort to such a gamble that risks leaving our back unguarded.”

Feeling uneasy about the numerous dangers in this situation, the officer finished his reconnaissance mission and returned to the main camp.

“What’s the status?”

“Yes… as the general predicted, they seem quite poorly defended.”

“It’s clear they have no plans for battle until the reinforcements arrive.”

“Heh, that makes sense. Since we’ve only focused on defense, they have no choice but to feel at ease.”

With a gloomy smile, Aias expressed his excitement.

He then looked at his troops, who were disguised to resemble the Magic Kingdom’s forces, and spoke with a hopeful voice.

“Then let’s commence the operation immediately! Tonight, we will slaughter every last one of those Magic Kingdom scum!”