NOVEL NEXT Chapter 303
The Demon King barely paid attention to the attack from the right. There was no point in engaging head-on with the Eramenia army. The most rational response Violet could muster was to thoroughly trample and crush Alex’s forces, narrowing the direction from which the enemy could attack, thereby overpowering even Eramenia with sheer numbers.
Margaret understood this as well, so she commanded her archers to charge, unleashing a simultaneous rain of thousands of arrows. After a full barrage, she promptly switched all the archers to spearmen and executed Eramenia’s cavalry tactics by launching them straight into the enemy lines.
The Demon King selected the most worthless and weak monsters among his troops and shoved them forward as if to offer them to the Elf Army. Behind the cavalry, the Eramenia cannons roared, and a substantial number of the Demon King’s forces were turned to mush or pierced through.
The Eramenia army charged fiercely. However, the “meat shields” commanded by Moriarty were simply too numerous. This number gave Violet just enough time to disregard Margaret and fully focus on dealing with Alex.
The Royal Knight Order and the Shadow Knight Order clashed head-on, spears aimed at one another.
“Uryaah!”
Alex vaporized a Shadow Knight with an explosive force, slipping through the gap. However, a considerable number of Ironclad Knights fell to the enemy’s attack without displaying any of the martial prowess Alex had just shown.
The knights were exhausted, having fought through days of battles and marches that pushed the limits of human endurance. No matter how indomitable the knights with the finest weapons, facing a formidable enemy meant they couldn’t possibly show their best.
Realizing his charge was going awry, Alex immediately turned his horse back toward the main force. But the Demon King’s counterattack was fierce.
The moment he turned his back, the collapse of the First Army was all but guaranteed.
“This attack cannot be stopped. We need the support of the Eramenia army!”
Alex tossed aside his spear and drew his sword, shouting. From a distance, Margaret spotted the Demon King unfold his wings, raising both hands to deal with Alex. Instead of drawing a weapon, Margaret pulled out her horn one more time and blew with all her might.
With a booming sound that seized everyone’s attention, the Demon King glared at Margaret with wounded pride but chose to ignore her provocation, continuing to flap his wings toward Alex.
Alex Harker gulped as he realized it was time to face a powerful opponent he couldn’t fight against.
“This is bad. This is really bad.”
Alex muttered. At that moment, Margaret urgently retrieved the rifle that had been hanging from the saddle and poured gunpowder into it. After thumping it on the saddle to load the bullet, she lined up her shot and fired precisely at Violet.
“I don’t know what you’re hoping for, but your opponent is right here!”
Margaret shouted as she leaped into the midst of the Demon Lord’s army. Charging into enemy territory with only her two hands on the rifle, relying solely on the impact of her white horse, was incredibly risky, but the Eramenian cavalry around her managed to protect her well enough that she could move into a stable range to aim at the Demon King once more.
Following this, a rain of arrows from the Eramenian archers poured down solely targeting the Demon King, while Violet sneaked between her subordinates to dodge the arrows. Thanks to the time the Eramenian archers had bought him, Alex barely managed to escape as he witnessed the chaos unfolding.
It was truly a life-or-death situation.
The Demon King’s army lacked the strength to shake off the Eramenian forces, yet the Eramenian army lacked the firepower to completely pierce through the Demon King’s army.
It was only a matter of time before Alex was devoured by the enemy, and whether Margaret could rescue him depended solely on luck and fate.
The only hope left in this situation, Jeongjae, was too busy looking out for himself. Should the Demon King succeed and the First Army be decimated or at least incur heavy damage, the likelihood of the expedition failing would increase exponentially.
Someone had to come save him.
Someone.
That someone everyone had been waiting for.
“Raise the Iron Wall formation.”
Emperor Audrich appeared from the north of the Demon King’s army.
A red flag adorned with a gray shield emerged on the battlefield. The white cross fluttered in the northwest. The white crescent laurel fluttered in the northeast.
And between them, the banner of the Audrich family’s Iron Wall Shield proudly fluttered in the wind.
Even the Demon King, who had focused all his attention on Alex, couldn’t help but be distracted by this scene. Clad in solid armor and wearing a helmet, Rose Caprice led a thousand cavalrymen as they faced the Demon King head-on.
“Only a thousand, huh.”
The Demon King muttered, observing the scale of Rose’s forces.
“That’s light cavalry. What? Is there confidence in that number being enough?”
“If it’s to kill you, then it’s insufficient.”
Rose extended her left hand, calling out to Margaret.
“Margaret. Draw your twin swords. We’re going for a single strike this time.”
“Sure thing, sister.”
The Elf Lord placed her rifle back in the saddle, moved her trembling hands, and drew two swords from her waist. This time, Rose stretched her right hand out and pointed at Alex.
“Alex. Well done. Now, raise your spear again.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Violet Moriarty. Even combining the strength of everyone gathered here, it won’t be enough to kill you. But all it takes to dismantle your army is merely three horses.”
On her sleek black horse, Rose glowed with an aura as if she had just been groomed. Unlike Margaret, who was known for riding a white horse, Rose was famous for consistently riding her beautiful, pitch-black steeds.
That horse was darker than the Demon King’s black aura, and the emperor on it was fiercer than the Demon King beneath that black energy.
Raising her sword high, the Emperor shouted.
“Heroes, forward!”
Only Margaret and Alex responded to this command. While other armies stood still in silence, the three cavalrymen, each charging from the left, right, and center, surged toward the Demon King. The Demon King blinked in surprise, like a child facing a wild beast, and instead of countering with magic, he flapped his wings and retreated.
The Demon King dodged.
Violet Moriarty, unable to overcome her instinctual fear, fled.
This was a signal. Immediately, all three armies charged into the fray, heading straight into forces that were five to six times larger than their own.
The Demon King realized that if he didn’t retreat here, a massive catastrophe was truly imminent. Violet gestured with her dark aura, ordering,
“Retreat! All forces, retreat to the Demon King’s Castle!”
“The enemy is trying to fall back, sister. What should we do?”
“Open a way for them.”
Rose commanded simply. Margaret nodded.
“Our forces aren’t numerous enough to trap and annihilate the enemy. But with about 100,000 troops to the south, we could potentially surround and capture them all.”
“What? There are an additional 100,000 enemy troops tied up over there? This is a complete windfall!”
Rose exclaimed cheerfully. The Demon King wasn’t unaware of this fact, but with his own 400,000 main forces in a precarious situation, it wasn’t the time to hold back on 100,000 troops. As the Emperor’s command spread, the Imperial Army intentionally opened a path for the fleeing black troops and slowly moved southward.
The Eramenia army shot arrows or fired cannons at the fleeing enemies, but there were no significant hits.
Once the Demon King completely fled to the north, the battle settled into a brief lull. Seeing the situation stabilize, Rose dismounted and approached Margaret.
“Sister, how was the fight?”
“It was hell. I heard your subordinates caused some trouble again.”
Margaret shook her head. Rose frowned in confusion.
“What subordinates? What trouble?”
“Two nobles. They fought each other and got taken out by the Demon King’s army…”
“What? What kind of idiot put those two in the same unit?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Oh. Right, of course.”
Rose slightly faltered in her response. It was something that should have been obvious all along, yet it caught her off guard.
“Why didn’t you intervene, sister?”
“I didn’t think it would get that bad. No matter how much hostility builds up between them… well, it’s a bit more complicated than simple animosity, but I figured it would be fine just this once.”
“Sister, you have an unexpectedly optimistic eye for people.”
“I think of it as a strength, but it’s not always a good thing.”
After briefly hugging Margaret, Rose then went to Alex. She was the first to pull Alex into a silent embrace.
“You did well.”
The Emperor patted her younger brother’s back as she spoke.
“Lady, my achievements in this campaign…”
“Alex.”
Rose pulled Alex away from her as she called his name.
“Yes, sister.”
“Sometimes, when someone knows just how hard you’ve worked more than anyone else, you don’t need to explain everything you did. Just accept any praise given to you as it comes. I’ve heard what you did, and I saw how you fought. Yes. You’ve grown a lot. You’ve found your place. Now, I can entrust you with much more without worry.”
After almost a week of battle, they had finally taken control of most of the Audrich region.
The Demon King scattered his entire force in front of the castle and then retreated inside to take cover. Jeongjae, seeing the black aura fading to the north, knew the Demon King’s pursuit had stopped and began counterattacking the pursuers.
Alex, Rose, and Margaret, who had driven the Demon King into the castle, succeeded in crushing 100,000 of the demon forces and even lured the Hero to the north.
After hearing the detailed events of the incident from the Second Army, Rose, with a dumbfounded expression, sought permission to command the remaining two remnants herself. With no one better suited to command than Rose, Jeongjae had no reason to refuse such a gracious offer and happily granted the Emperor’s request.
Alex’s First Army, Rose’s Second Army, Jeongjae’s Third Army, Margaret’s Fourth Army, and Phineas’s Fifth Army.
The five armies had merged so seamlessly that further distinction held little meaning, and together they now numbered about 140,000, standing right before the Demon King’s Castle.
They had reached a distance where the external walls of the castle were clearly visible. It was now within range to launch a siege, crossing the moat and breaking down the castle walls.
Jeongjae finally gave the command he had long wanted but had kept in reserve for this moment.
“Soldiers.”
The Hero drew the Holy Sword and commanded.
“Surround the Demon King’s Castle!”