Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Siege

Chapter 228. Siege Battle

Those who had been gazing toward the training ground walked back down the corridor.

They headed toward the mage’s laboratory.

In that place where six court mages had conducted research and meetings, a woman had taken her post.

— Have you arrived?

A peculiar woman with pointed ears and dark skin, whose beautiful appearance nonetheless remained unchanged.

She belonged to a race once known as Dark Elves, and was now the Last Dark Elf.

Her name was Linne.

She was a woman formerly called the Director of the Research Institute.

— You crafted Trauma precisely as I wished, and for that I express my gratitude.

When Gokma praised her, she wore an expression as though she did not understand what he was referring to.

— Trauma… you say?

— Those masses with eyes.

— Those are already going by the name of Mental Inhibitor, however…

— Intuitive names lack amusement, do they not? A name is something enjoyable when others pronounce it. Trauma—does it not sound fitting?

— It seems so.

Whatever the name was, it did not matter.

Linne brushed it aside and continued her report.

— Using the materials you provided, we mass-produced 525 Night-Class Demons, and they are currently awaiting orders.

— 525, is it…?

A smile spread across Gokma’s face.

That number was by no means a large figure.

Even if such an army existed, if forces equivalent to 100,000 soldiers swarmed, they would collapse helplessly.

Yet would they be merely ordinary Night-Class Demons?

The count is 525, but they are not the same 525.

They are demons who received the grace of Legion—the land under the premise that all lives are equal.

Possessing dozens of hearts and dozens of heads, they revive regardless of how many times they are slain and throw themselves onto the battlefield.

If one simply strikes the weak point of the 100,000-strong army, annihilating them poses no issue.

— And there is a peculiar detail, but…

Linne glanced sideways at the King of Heinkel and spoke.

— One individual persistently resists the blood.

— If it is that person…

— Heinkel, the one referred to as this person’s close friend.

Peri Urey.

He led a vast army of over 10,000, yet naturally suffered a miserable defeat.

Contrary to his ambition of fighting to total annihilation, he rapidly lost his will to fight due to the overwhelming disparity in military power.

The casualties numbered 2,000, and the time it took for that count to vanish was two minutes.

The remaining 8,000 became subjects of the Kingdom of Heinkel.

Except for exactly one individual, of course.

Gokma rubbed his chin and asked.

— How peculiar. When such a thing occurs, what do you normally do?

— It is a strange matter, but there is no need to obsess over a single one. As a living creature, he is no different from second-rate knights, making him merely a Night-Class Demon. It would be better to expose him to Trauma and break him, or simply kill him—.

— That will not do.

The King of Heinkel reacted immediately.

— Peri… must see what I am seeing. For that, he must remain alive.

— How insolent. For a mere human.

Linne frowned and looked down on him with disdain.

— I am already overwhelmed with my tasks; must I also indulge your stubbornness?

— It must be done. Urey is my close friend.

— Obsession. Because you did not walk the path of a demon, you developed such an attachment.

— Are you yourself any different from demons?

His hollow eyes pierced through Linne.

— Do not take me for a fool. I know you differ from the demons being created here. You are neither demon nor elf. You are merely an existence struggling hideously to survive.

— Are you saying you wish to test that? You became an Archmage and grew arrogant.

— Let us stop here.

Gokma stepped forward with a slight smile.

Organizing his thoughts, he addressed Linne.

— Linne.

— Yes.

— I shall tell you one thing. Keep that man named Urey alive unconditionally. And continue the process of turning him into a demon.

— That… is far too inefficient. Rather than doing that, there is no choice but to borrow the power of the Mental Inhibitor—no, Trauma—to subjugate him…

— It is an order.

Gokma brought his index finger to his lips, signaling that he would say no more.

— Understood.

— Then, please work a bit harder. After all, they will attack very soon.

— Gokma-nim.

The doubt that surfaced while looking at the back of Gokma’s neck.

Yet she ultimately posed the question she ought to have let go.

— Am I still… useful?

Linne’s clenched fist trembled faintly.

Gokma gave no reply.

Instead, without offering a single hint, he left that place, and ultimately that question only echoed and faded into the void.

Everyone watched as the President of the Magic Society, Erdes, was led away by the hand of the Blue-Eyed Tower Master.

Since she had unleashed magic of tremendous destructive power, the Allied Forces and the Imperial Army had gathered at the Imperial Army’s advance base, awaiting her disposition.

When the result was announced, Ferda sat at the table alongside those confronting that outcome.

— Are you in your right mind, Regent?!

Ureas bellowed at the top of his lungs.

It felt as though he had experienced something similar just hours ago.

The difference was that Ureas was not the only one incensed.

— It could not be helped.

Ferda explained his situation calmly.

— Tower Master Iorga learned of this matter and arrived, requesting to take custody.

— So you simply handed her over willingly?!

— Because the President of the Magic Society pulled such a move, the damage to our base is no joke!

Other kings also seized the moment, attempting to pressure Ferda.

They were people seeking to gain something from this incident by any means.

— How about setting diplomatic matters aside for later and focusing on the task at hand? Capturing the demons and sorting out right and wrong is the best course for now.

— Do you truly believe that?

Ureas’s brain—namely, Olivia—posed a question.

It was an unexpected development.

— What possible national interest could the Empire have in releasing a criminal who nearly halved the army with her arbitrary actions?

She looked at Ferda with scorn, pressing him alongside the others.

Just why was she acting like this?

Ferda looked at Olivia with a slightly nervous expression, and she spoke.

— You could not possibly be ignorant of the fact that the President of the Magic Society is in collusion with the Crown Prince. Are you certain there is no scheme to walk a tightrope between Alexander and us?

Ferda recalled a hypothesis.

This woman is pointing out suspicions that ought to exist beforehand, pretending to test Ferda.

If there is a reason, it is undoubtedly tied to Ureas.

Look at those pleased eyes.

He is delighted that his sister took his side.

Yet Ferda knows.

Even if Olivia were to betray, there is no way she would side with Ureas.

Ferda decided to play along appropriately.

— That will not happen. The Crown Prince intends to exert pressure on the Far East, so why would I pledge loyalty to him and expect any glory?

— That is why I say do not do pointless things. I know not what grand cause you dream of, but, Regent Ferda: if you present yourself like this, our Empire will have no choice but to raise questions regarding support and autonomy as well.

Olivia’s eyes were fierce.

The way she firmly suppressed even the emerging rebellious spirit was out of the ordinary.

It is truly a blessing that she is not an enemy.

Ferda continued his explanation on the matter.

— The President of the Magic Society will not be able to evade this issue. And since she intervened abruptly, used abusive language, and cast magic not included in the plan—causing harm even to allies—I obtained the promise that she will not intervene until the matter is resolved. Disciplinary action may also go through the Grand Council if necessary.

— That is not what I mean.

Olivia hurled it directly at Ferda as if frustrated.

— Demons participated this time, and demonic magic was involved. Even so, the method of taking responsibility is for the President of the Magic Society to step down?

Olivia shouted in apparent dismay.

— That cannot be! Make her apologize for her arbitrary actions, and is it not proper to make her participate in this war and contribute her strength?

— That is true, but…

The faces of the kings who heard those words took on an anxious look.

— There will be no need for that, little sister.

The one who refuted those words was Ureas.

The satisfaction that had settled on his face now flickered with bewilderment.

— In the first place, the Society President’s intervention was an arbitrary act, and I judged that we could handle it sufficiently even without her involvement.

— But if there is such massive military strength, would it not be proper to summon them through the Grand Council, even if not the President of the Magic Society?

Olivia signaled Ferda with her eyes.

It meant to play along, but discerning which side she wanted him on was difficult.

With the sense of merely tossing it out once, he speaks.

— No.

Then she showed a faint smile, barely noticeable, just enough for Ferda alone to recognize.

It seemed to be the correct answer.

Ferda continued speaking.

— I believe it is better to proceed as we have so far rather than having the arrogant Magic Society participate and cause confusion in strategy.

— That is right!

— The Regent’s words are correct this time.

— How one arrives at such a judgment in a place where demons run rampant…

Olivia muttered while expressing regret.

The voices criticizing Ferda lost momentum, and King Hudret naturally shifted the topic.

— Are the emotional matters finished?

He had not uttered a single word amidst the loud voices flying back and forth.

— Let us speak of releasing the Society President later, and concentrate on the immediate task.

His fingers pressed firmly onto the table.

— The President of the Magic Society also decided not to intervene further, but was there any news regarding what the dragons will do?

Since the enemy’s deployable force was far too vast compared to expectations, dragon intervention was also a possibility.

Ferda answered.

— I also asked Tower Master-nim. She believed that humans could resolve this matter, and her intention was not to intervene unless necessary.

— There are no dragons either, meaning we simply proceed with the shared operation as planned.

— That is correct.

— Then what else is there to say? We can simply return.

As he stood up from his seat, the other kings moved to stand as well.

It was a ferocity that felt like that of a proper alpha among a pack of wolves.

— There is still one matter left to tell.

— What is it?

— Blue-Eyed Tower Master-nim granted me insight before departing.

Ferda recounted the conversation the three of them—Erica, Erdes, and himself—had shared.

How Gokma alone blocked Erdes’s attack and even counterattacked.

What kind of explosion was caused by King Heinkel’s infiltrator.

And that countless Red Circle wielders could be mass-produced endlessly inside.

— Stimulating emotions to mass-produce Red Circle mages, using them as mana supply sources…

— So that fellow, Gokma, was able to block that attack alone.

— I thought the magic called Legion would be troublesome, but combined with demonic schemes, it is beyond imagination.

They held in awe the cunning of the demon who could block the supreme magic created by the greatest mage on the continent.

Ferda seized upon that atmosphere and posed a question to them.

— Since new information has been acquired, I feel a review of the strategy is also necessary.

— We shall indeed have to review.

King Hudret added his words.

— We will need to press forward with even greater boldness.

— What do you mean by boldness?

— Think simply. What we face is not an ordinary castle, but a colossal giant. A magic-wielding giant named Heinkel. Consider us germs entering the belly of that giant. How would we bring the giant down?

— Not by clustering together, but by dispersing as much as possible.

Gamigin’s Legion draws out the loyalty of everyone within its domain, yielding absolute power.

That means the established theory is that if those who swear loyalty are killed, the king’s power weakens as well.

Based on such hypotheses, the most effective approach is to leave no survivors.

The original operation followed that flow as well.

— King Heinkel will drive his kingdom’s people to death to save himself, and we have realized that we must no longer grant leeway. Without intending to leave survivors, disperse swiftly and widely, and mercilessly sever the supply lines.

— If you say disperse further and attack… would that not be dangerous?

King Hudret, who had grown heated with anticipation, clicked his tongue in disdain.

— Did you come thinking war is child’s play? What kind of remark is that?

The speaker had talked in vain and only ended up embarrassed.

— Let us build upon the operation a bit more.

Regardless, there was not much to the operation.

All they had done was draw close enough to knock on the Outer Castle’s gates, remaining entirely unaware of what tactics the enemy would deploy or how many troops resided in the Inner Fortress.

Establishing a broad framework, the adaptability of each force had to shine through.

— Total war in three days. Until then, let us continue hurling gifts with siege weapons and exhaust the enemy’s strength. How does that sound, Second Prince?

— A fine idea.

— Then let us conclude without objections.

The commander of the Allied Forces, King Hudret, rose from his seat, and all the kings stood up in unison.

They exchanged polite courtesies and exited the Operations Command Post.

Nor did they forget to greet Olivia.

— It was an honor to meet you.

— Who would have thought we would encounter a princess on a battlefield such as this?

— Next time, I would like to meet you not as a flower of the battlefield, but as the flower of the banquet in the Banquet Hall.

As warmth settled into the rigid atmosphere, the kings broke into laughter as if they had reclaimed their youth.

Olivia also smiled gently, greeting them one by one, until King Hudret finally stood before her.

— May Your Majesty Hudret also return safely.

— There is no need to try so hard.

— Pardon?

— Unfortunately, this body has an owner. Though you exude such allure, I will not be easily bewitched.

— Oh my, whatever do you mean?

Olivia made a face as if hurt, and King Hudret smiled softly as though even that were charming, then turned away.

Watching his retreating back, the thought arose that it was absurd.

“A sense of being true to instinct, yet without seeming so.”

A wild yet rational man.

It was Ferda who thought him a truly strange man.

Two days before the total war,

— Reporting.

A woman with tan skin, Garnet, arrived at Ferda’s tent and spoke.

She was the Merchant Guild President and simultaneously a high-class citizen, holding the post of Supply Commander in this expedition.

Naturally, that was also merely a pretext.

Her real mission was to serve as a bridge conveying the status of the Allied Forces and the Imperial Army alongside her subordinates.

The twenty trebuchets prepared by the Allied Forces and the Imperial Army have begun their stone-hurling bombardment today.

The siege battle of the Kingdom of Heinkel began in earnest.