Chapter 323: Shifting Alliances

Belitan flinched, immediately putting distance between them.

Of course, he’s an enemy, so it’s only natural. Now that it’s been declared publicly in front of everyone, there’s no turning back. From the start, I promised to be firmly on Sir Deon’s side, so backtracking is impossible anyway.

Trober cursed under his breath.

‘Damn it, Dan, you son of a bitch.’

Was he planning this from the beginning?

If he were alive, I would have grabbed his neck and shaken him. That dead bastard… I need to find a way to kill him again, Trober thought, grinding his teeth.

‘Wait, aside from Lirinel, does Deon Hart even have anyone on his side?’

It seems like we’re screwed.

Trober quietly clenched his fist. Develania, sensing his tense yet strangely subdued atmosphere, smirked as if she understood the situation.

‘See? That’s why you shouldn’t make promises recklessly.’

Changing his words when he initially tried to say he was on the Demon King’s side, and the reluctant look on his face… it seems something is forcing him. It’s obvious what that is without even needing to ask.

‘Idelia seems to have noticed too.’

Judging by her dumbfounded expression.

She remembered Trober losing to Dan in a bet involving a wish ticket. Dan also avoided using wish tickets in publicly disclosed situations.

For a guy so loyal that he’d take on Deon Hart’s sins and die, it was easy to guess what wish Trober might have asked for.

‘So, the Demon King’s faction now consists of the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th Corps, huh?’

Originally, the 1st Corps Commander would have been included, but considering his recent frequent spars with Deon Hart, he’s also a potential target of suspicion. Instead of rashly deciding, Idelia eyed Jaykar warily.

The demon, with his consistently unreadable expression, was quietly observing the situation.

“What in the world?”

And a voice, sounding somewhat shocked, joined the fray.

The sudden new voice made all the demons, who had been intensely wary of each other, turn in unison. Derniban, the 5th Corps Commander, who seemed to have arrived late, stood there with bewildered eyes.

Which side is he on? Considering Trober, who killed Oel, is in Deon Hart’s faction, it doesn’t seem like he’s on the Demon King’s side. Wary gazes scrutinized his every move.

“Just now…”

Derniban opened his mouth, oblivious to the tense atmosphere. He had no time to care about his surroundings. The statement he’d just heard upon arrival was too shocking.

“Did you say the 9th Corps Commander… is on Sir Deon’s side?”

***

He barely dodged it, but his forehead was grazed by an arrow. The unique arrowhead caused a rather large tear. Or rather, in this case, should I say skin was ripped off?

The pain was momentary, and the wound healed in an instant, but the blood that had flowed down obscured his vision. Deon wiped his face, now unsightly with blood and rainwater. His looks, regaining their prominence, startled the Heroes watching him.

Sensing an inexplicable lull, Deon glanced around and then lowered his gaze. His hand, stained red against the backdrop of fiercely rippling blood, caught his eye.

‘…’

His hand trembled slightly, as if his mental fatigue had reached its peak. His body seemed perfectly fine, but he felt inexplicably drained. He reflexively frowned at this incomprehensible state.

“…Thinking about it.”

A slightly hoarse voice emerged.

“I’ve been fighting too gently.”

No matter how hard he tried to be mindful, the composure ingrained in his body as a Hero didn’t disappear easily. He hadn’t truly felt the threat to his life, that was why.

Even now, he was fighting alone against so many Heroes, yet he felt no sense of crisis. It must be because most injuries healed instantly right on the spot.

“Those who would have been intimidated before are now finding openings and scheming.”

Hence, leniency crept into his attacks.

Enemies desperate to survive used to be overwhelmed by his ferocious aura, unable to even meet his eyes. Now, they were meeting his eyes, trying to read his intentions, or averting their gaze, cowering and praying they wouldn’t be the next target.

My leniency gave the enemies leeway too. Deon belatedly realized this fact.

“I’ve become complacent.”

Right now, he couldn’t even properly unleash his Heroic powers because of the array, yet he was being lenient.

Honestly, the current Heroes were of lower quality, which made him careless. The ‘official Heroes’ from the Empire under the previous Emperor, especially those appointed during the Eight Years’ War, had a spirit that was on a different level.

‘Plus, seeing Senior, Stigma Primiero, raised my standards a bit…’

In any case, the current situation was somewhat degraded due to simply gathering anyone who possessed a fragment of the Hero’s power. They were bound to look ridiculous compared to the Heroes of the past.

He needed to discard his complacency. Relying solely on the Hero’s body and overusing techniques that exceeded the limits of his physical body had damaged his body, which was repeatedly being repaired, consuming a lot of mental energy. No matter how quickly he recovered, pain was inevitable, so stress inevitably accumulated.

His concentration was faltering; it was no wonder his forehead got grazed.

“…But you know,”

Then suddenly, a question flashed through his mind, and Deon lifted his head.

Here, Deon Hart only used honorifics for one person. Aletea met his gaze directly.

“How does Your Highness notice and evade ‘that technique’?”

He had just said he was relying solely on his Hero’s body and overusing techniques that exceeded his physical limits.

Even against the former Emperor, Eudoardo Deserte, before he became a Hero, even he couldn’t evade or block that technique, yet Aletea Deserte was still alive. It was because she subtly slipped behind other Heroes at a crucial moment.

Aletea, realizing what he was referring to, smiled brightly.

“Why, it’s my intuition.”

Aletea Deserte had good intuition. She herself was well aware of her good intuition.

That’s why she never ignored the intuition that sent signals from time to time. During battles, there were times when that intuition warned her with all its might.

A sense of foreboding momentarily swept through her entire body. At such times, Deon Hart would move at a speed invisible to the naked eye, as if unaffected by the array’s pressure, and launch an attack.

“…I see. Then let’s end the games here.”

Having heard about the Princess’s intuition, Deon quickly lost interest and returned to the main topic.

His crimson eyes scanned the surroundings, as if gauging the number of remaining Heroes, and then fixed back on Aletea.

“Now that I know I’ve been going easy, shall we fight properly now?”

If he lacked the mental focus to maintain concentration, he could just let it go entirely. He already knew how to overwhelm a majority with a minority.

In other words.

‘It’s time to return to my roots.’

Deon Hart drew out the young Deon from the Eight Years’ War.

The detached atmosphere he had been maintaining vanished, and an eerie aura pressed down on the surroundings. Madness filled his empty red eyes, rippling like blood, and finally overflowing.

The Heroes faltered, stepping back from the ominous atmosphere.

“This is…”

“…Close combat should be avoided as much as possible, and focus on ranged attacks. Melee Heroes, instead of forcing attacks, should focus on restraining him to facilitate ranged attacks. And,”

Her intuition was screaming. Aletea swallowed dryly and tightened her grip on her sword.

“Survival is the priority, of course. No matter how long it takes, we need to survive first to try anything.”

Amidst the tense gazes, Deon Hart wordlessly twirled his dagger. His eyes gleamed with murderous intent, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk.

‘Reason only needs to be enough to distinguish friend from foe.’

A boyish voice whispered.

‘Terrorize the enemies.’

Become obsessed with the enemy, driven mad by blood.

That will be the only way for me to survive.

Rest time is over. Deon kicked off the ground as if to say he was going first.

Clang! The sound of blades clashing filled the space once more.

***

For Derniban, the 9th Corps Commander Trober was an enemy to be killed. Deon Hart had also permitted it.

Surely, that was the case…

‘He’s on Deon Hart’s side?’

Doesn’t that mean he’s an ally?

“Please answer me. Did you say the 9th Corps Commander is on Sir Deon’s side?”

“That’s what I heard? Derniban, whose side are you on?”

“I am…”

The situation didn’t allow him time to be confused. Just as he was about to answer the wary question, a commotion erupted from one side.

The ground rumbled, causing Derniban and everyone else to turn their gaze toward one spot. A bunch of guys were riding horses like madmen, galloping this way.

Judging by the Demon Realm horses, they must be our guys, but were there supposed to be more reinforcements coming here?

The brief question was soon answered.

“According to the map, it should be around here… where is it?”

“Captain! Where are you?!”

“Captaaaain!!”

“Ah.”

At the unmistakable shouts, everyone exclaimed in unison, as if they had promised to do so.

Crazy… No, the Lofty Knights. How did those guys Deon Hart was coddling get to this dangerous place? Could they have deserted or something?

‘…Those guys are definitely capable of that.’

Inwardly convinced, he nodded to himself, but the guys seemed to have spotted them too, as even louder voices followed.

“Legion Commanders!”

“They’re all gathered here? Is something going on?”

“Isn’t it because the Captain is here? Looks like we found the right place.”

The already noisy voices grew even louder and clearer as the distance closed. Eventually, when they were close enough to clearly see each other’s faces, Milan, who was riding at the very front, widened his eyes and shouted.

“The Captain! Where is the Captain?!”

“Uh, um? Maybe in that direction…”

“Thank you!”

“No, wait a minute…!”

Thud thud thud thud! In an instant, the group dashed through the ranks of demons and charged in one direction without hesitation.

Trober, who reflexively answered the energetic question, belatedly called out to them, realizing his mistake… but would they stop now? Ignoring him, who wore a bewildered expression at their undiminished speed, Idelia and Develania, who had woken up late, shouted simultaneously.

“What are you spacing out for? Kill those bastards!”

“What are you blankly staring at? Kill those bastards first!”

“…5th Corps!”

The next to regain his senses was the 5th Corps Commander, Derniban.

Regardless of whose side the 9th Corps Commander was on, Deon Hart had permitted killing him. Meaning, what came next was up to his capabilities.

Right now, dealing with this bewildering situation was the priority. Quickly regaining his composure, he shouted to the 5th Corps.

“Protect the Lofty Knights!”

This statement meant the 5th Corps was on Deon Hart’s side.

Derniban is on the same side as me? We’re screwed. Trober ruffled his hair in frustration.

“Damn it, 9th Corps! Protect those crazy wild horses running around without a clue!”

“11th Corps, you know what to do, right? Protect the Lofty Knights! And keep the 0th Legion alive too!”

“1st Corps, protect the Lofty Knights.”

In an instant, it became clear who was on whose side.

The appearance of those Deon Hart cherished most broke the strange stalemate. The Demon King’s faction and the third force moved to kill them, while Deon’s faction took measures to stop them.

Thanks to this, it became easier to distinguish enemies from allies.

‘The 1st, 5th, 9th, and 11th Corps are on Deon Hart’s side.’

The Demon King’s faction was the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th Corps, so the third force must be the 2nd, 8th, 10th, and 12th Corps, just as Idelia said.

Those who had perfectly grasped the enemies and allies based on the information obtained earlier began to move without hesitation.

And the Lofty Knights, who were moving forward without paying attention to whatever situation was unfolding around them…

“We can’t go any further.”

“Get out of the way!”

Confronted the 0th Legion members.