Chapter 154

There were four fortresses.

Just as the border between the Duchy of Saxony and the Demon King’s Realm was once defended by a few key strongholds and river crossing points, there are not many places where large armies can move from the Demon Realm into the Demon King’s Realm.

“Assuming high-ranking demons command the demon forces within the Demon King’s Realm, one or more high-ranking demons would likely be stationed within each of these four castles or fortresses.”

Therefore, Dale pointed to the four strategic strongholds enabling ‘mass movement’ between the Demon Realm and the Demon Kingdom, and further to the castles built atop them. These were ancient fortresses once constructed by the Imperial Army after the Demon King was vanquished by a hero. Now that the Imperial Army has retreated and abandoned them, they have surely become strongholds for the demonic forces within the Demon Kingdom.

Excluding these fortresses and the passes they guard, there is no road allowing passage from the Demon Realm into the Demon King’s Domain.

In that frozen hell, it was a daily occurrence for an entire unit to be wiped out by falling into a crevasse with a single misstep.

“That makes sense.”

At the gathering of the Second Crusade’s commanders, Princess Chiara nodded in agreement with Dale’s words.

“These are the fortresses the Imperial Army established by identifying strategic points where massive forces, comparable to a demonic migration, could mobilize simultaneously during the past campaign to subdue the Demon King.”

“Despite our glorious empire and its heroes having vanquished the Demon King and his cohorts, now the very castle that symbolized that victory has fallen into the hands of the demonic forces. Truly, it is a matter for weeping.”

At the princess’s words, one Master Templar murmured softly.

“It was Saxony’s sole responsibility to garrison troops in that fortress and establish the Demon King’s domain.”

“And that is precisely what they are doing now.”

Dale answered calmly, undeterred by the open hostility directed at him.

“At least in my father’s generation, it was nearly impossible for Saxony’s forces alone to defend all four castles.”

“Ha! Saxony, renowned for its fearsome reputation, doesn’t hesitate to play the coward when necessary!”

Another Master Templar made no effort to hide his scorn.

“Beyond the large-scale troop movements, small bands of demonic guerrillas constantly appeared, bypassing the fortresses. Monitoring the entire Demon King’s domain, added to the already vast duchy, was a burden far too heavy for Saxony alone to bear.”

Dale answered flatly. At least until it pursued an open policy and drew in external forces, it was a territory Saxony, which prided itself on isolationism, could not afford.

“I sincerely hope you won’t get too worked up.”

After finishing his matter-of-fact explanation, Dale coldly continued.

“After all, you must be aware of the ‘martyrdom’ that befell Brother Ruzhiyang.”

“You bastard…!”

“Please stop there.”

At that very moment, Princess Kiara spoke to the Master Templars, who could not conceal their anger.

“Your Highness!”

“As I said, we are all gathered here to perform a single sacred ritual. Please set aside personal feelings and blame, and join forces for our common goal, won’t you?”

“…….”

“In any case, if we wish for a swift resolution, what we must do is clear.”

A silence fell over the princess’s words, and within that silence, Dale spoke again.

“We must sequentially seize the four fortresses and construct the sacred relic the White Mage Tower boasts—the ‘Wall of Light’.”

“You Saxon apostates—how dare you speak of the goddess’s sacred relics so carelessly…!”

“Would you kindly shut your mouth? Stop nitpicking every word like a seven-year-old child.”

Just as the Master Templar was about to raise his voice again, Lady Scarlet interjected.

“Lady Scarlet, do you truly believe the Goddess would forget the cursed atrocities you committed against our brother Ruzhnyan?”

The Master Templar retorted as if he couldn’t be bested, and Lady Scarlet sneered coldly.

“Consider yourself fortunate not to be hanging alive from an iron hook, reduced to a piece of meat in a butcher shop.”

She bared her fangs, as if to flaunt it.

It was right then.

“As I’ve repeatedly told you, I said to stop there.”

Jet-black tentacles coiled around Dale, and suddenly, the ‘Avatar of the Shadow Lord’—clad in the armor of the Dark Cavern—appeared there.

Merely existing, it displayed power that overwhelmed the assembly, as the Shadow Lord submerged the area in a flood of darkness.

An utterly desolate cold and darkness seized the area, and silence settled like feathers.

The moment they saw it, the Crusader leaders’ reactions split sharply into two camps.

“What? How did he summon an avatar…!”

Most lords and knights couldn’t hide their shock at the portrait’s power, displayed by Dale, who should have been a mage.

Similarly unable to hide their bewilderment, the Church and some belligerent representatives simultaneously prepared to confront him in combat stance.

At the same time, Dale deactivated his avatar and calmly continued.

“As long as we don’t know what threats lie dormant within the Demon King’s domain, we will unite as a single main force and proceed to assault the fortress one by one.”

With all eyes on him, he began explaining the details of the operation.

We will concentrate our forces to capture the first through fourth strongholds in sequence, then establish a ‘Wall of Light’ linking the four fortresses. After blocking the passage between the Demon Realm and the Demon King’s Domain, we will finally subjugate the remnants within the domain, making this territory truly ‘Imperial Land’.

“Concentrate our full force?”

But it was the Seventh Prince, Mordred, who burst out laughing upon hearing those words.

“You’re gathering a massive army like this, only to crawl around like a snail in this godforsaken land where the Demon King isn’t even present?”

“As I said, we still cannot gauge the danger posed by the high-ranking demon lords.”

“You don’t seem to see the number of troops gathered here now, do you? The Empire’s greatest genius.”

Modred continued.

“We’ll divide our forces into four units and simultaneously assault the four strongholds of the Demon King’s domain. Any objections, you little bastard?”

As if he would never allow the operation to proceed under Dale’s leadership.

“Your Highness is absolutely correct!”

“They say the ‘Black Prince’ is a genius of military strategy, but in the end, he’s just a coward hiding behind the name of Saxon!”

“I tell you so!”

No sooner had Mordred spoken than the lords, caught between Saxons and enemies, burst into mocking laughter all at once. Amidst the jeers, Dale remained stoically silent.

‘These hopeless, worthless bastards.’

Restraining the words that threatened to burst from his throat, Dale replied.

“Well then, by all means, do as you wish.”

As if it were none of his business.

The war began, and four major forces set out toward their respective strongholds.

The four units were led by the Seventh Prince Mordred, the Red Mage Tower, the Church, and House Saxon, respectively.

Among these, the assault on the First Fortress—arguably the most prestigious objective—fell to Mordred. Dale was assigned the Fourth Fortress, considered the weakest link in the chain.

At that moment, the First Fortress, where Mordred and the empire’s leading lords were advancing.

Standing atop the fortress’s watchtower was a man clad in a black robe. Beneath the robe, shadows writhed—a high-ranking demon.

The Demon Realm’s sorcerer, a shadow mage who inherited the ideology of ‘Another Saxon’ from the Shadow Tower long ago.

And when the Demon King Valor and the great demonic hordes could no longer endure the cruelty and evil of their Eldritch and fled, that man too followed the Demon King.

To escape the ‘Shadow Demons’, to flee their madness, desperately seeking a new home to survive.

This Demon King’s Domain was their ground for survival. A land where they could live, never returning to that hellish realm, yet simultaneously blocked by the empire’s walls.

It was right then.

From the shadow cast beneath the man’s feet, a black tentacle surged upward.

The tentacle that had risen from beneath his feet coiled around the body of the high demon, the Shadow Sorcerer, constricting it.

“…!”

In his bewilderment, he tried to move the shadow swiftly, but before he could, a voice spoke.

─ Do you think you can escape from the shadows?

“Ah, ahh…!”

It was an unforgettable voice. The man desperately twisted his body within the tentacles’ grasp.

──A young boy stood there.

A boy with his eyes tightly bound by black bandages.

After seeing that, the high-ranking demon’s face drained of color.

“Wh-what…!”

“I couldn’t care less about cowards fleeing my empire.”

The young boy continued.

“As it happens, my ‘daughter’—whom I absolutely must reclaim—has come here of her own accord.”

Seeing the boy’s form, the man knelt in horror.

“P-Please forgive me…! O ‘Shadow Lord’…!”

Shadow Lord. At those words, the boy smiled gently.

“It’s far too late for forgiveness now, child.”

Simultaneously, shadows across the area opened their ‘eyes’. Countless pupils within the shadows began darting their gaze left and right, surveying the surroundings.

“Still, I see no reason not to give you a chance.”

“Speak, my lord! I shall obey the Shadow Lord’s command!”

“Bring the ‘false Saxon bloodline’ before me.”

The Shadow Lord spoke.

“That audacious usurper who dared steal my daughter and, being a mere imposter, has the nerve to claim the title ‘Shadow Lord’.”

At those words, the hooded man bowed his head as if slamming it into the floor. Then, as soon as the tentacles coiled around him retreated back into the shadows, the man fled the scene.

The young boy, his eyes concealed by black bandages, remained where he stood.

He sharpened his cold hatred toward the golden bloodline approaching this place, the bloodline of an unforgettable sworn enemy.

The advance of the Crusaders, divided into four divisions, proceeded surprisingly smoothly.

No, it was progressing so smoothly it was downright strange.

Nothing stood in their way. All they had to do was push through the bitter cold that felt like it could freeze them solid.

Even after days and nights of relentless travel, demonic guerrillas never blocked Dale’s unit’s path. The news from the messengers, who maintained regular contact with other units, was no different.

It was then, when Dale safely reached the Fourth Fortress they had been targeting.

The fortress was completely empty. As if nothing had ever been there from the start.

‘…….’

The possibility that the demon remnants had seized all four forts was slim to begin with. And among them, the place with the highest probability of being the jackpot was undoubtedly this one.

Shortly thereafter, a messenger from the unit attacking the First Fortress hurriedly arrived at Dale’s unit.

And the messenger’s state was extremely strange.

He burst into maniacal, cackling laughter, then suddenly began sobbing like a child. Dale calmed the messenger and asked why. The messenger replied.

“What happened there?”

“God…!”

The messenger muttered.

“Poetry, there was a god! A god! Omniscient and omnipotent, the great heavenly watcher! Hee hee hee!”

“God? Are you referring to the Sistine Sisters?”

“Sis, Sister Goddess? Ha, ha ha!”

The messenger burst out laughing in disbelief.

“There is no such thing as a sister goddess! But ah, ahh, yes. God! God truly existed!”

Accompanied by a laugh that was nothing short of madness.

“──But that god never loved us!”

With those words, black blood gushed forth from the messenger’s eyes and mouth.

It was like the dark blood once sprayed by Shub-Niggurath’s tentacles.

Upon hearing those words, Dale and his unit did not hesitate.

They did not even imagine the ambush that would block their path.