Chapter 270: New Enemies Emerge

“What was that guy’s name again?”

Ah, right, I never bothered to learn the names of demon commanders.

……Well, no point dwelling on that now.

“Hey, you there. Yes, you.”

“Ah, yes! What is it you need?”

“Don’t engage in combat.”

“Huh…?”

The demon commander’s face went blank at the bewildering and sudden order.

“Instead of fighting, pull out some troops… yeah, take about a dozen or so of the demons over there. And have them scour the city.”

“Scour the city, you say…”

“Destroy anything that looks like it’s a core component of the array. Your mission is to disrupt the magic suppression array. It’s not complicated, just go around breaking anything that looks important.”

Magic is unusable within the city, all thanks to the magic suppression array. If we can find and destroy its core, things should become much easier.

‘Finding it is the problem, though.’

It’s been maintained for a long time, so it’s unlikely to be something flimsy like a pebble on the roadside.

Actually, my guess is that it might be the ‘city walls’…

‘If it really is the city walls, we’re probably out of luck, but who knows… it’s better than not trying at all.’

That’s why I ordered only a small detachment. To avoid weakening our main force too much.

‘If they really find and destroy the core, great, if not, it’s a shame but nothing can be done.’

As if understanding the order, an exclamation mark appeared above the guy’s head. He immediately bowed and started picking out some demon soldiers to move out.

Deon turned to look at another commander nearby.

“All remaining forces besides the Lofty Knights will handle the Imperial army in the rear.”

“Understood.”

“And…”

He turned his gaze to the mad dogs who were obediently awaiting orders.

“You will breach the front lines with me.”

Retreating now would waste the troops and time we’ve spent getting this far. Besides, pushing through here after cornering them like this is faster and more effective.

Ideally, I’d just push all the demons to the front and break through quickly without having to bother myself, but we can’t leave the intact enemy at our backs unguarded. Judging by a rough look, the Empire’s forces seem larger and stronger than Sanguo’s, so we can’t just leave a small detachment to deal with them.

‘Especially since it’s the ‘Empire’, of all places.’

He clicked his tongue in disappointment and looked back at the Sanguo forces.

He noticed the mad dogs already engaged in a fierce fight, having charged in at some point. Deon chuckled, picked up a spear, and felt Dan’s gaze beside him, but ignored it and drew his arm back fully.

Whoosh! The spear flew sharply, passing Milan, whose movements were stiff from his wounds, and pierced a Sanguo soldier. Milan, startled, turned around.

“Captain! Were you trying to kill me?!”

“Of course not.”

His crimson pupils curved into a slight smile.

Feels lighter now, more comfortable. Spears really aren’t my style, too cumbersome to carry around.

Having discarded even the last spear without regret, Deon looked around. He could feel the tension from the Sanguo soldiers who met his gaze, some swallowing nervously, others flinching. He smirked, as if to say, ‘See that?’

‘Yeah, the reason they even held out until reinforcements arrived was because I hadn’t gotten serious yet.’

It’s only natural they’re nervous.

‘Bad choice of opponent.’

He took a step forward, grabbed the weapon of a guy rushing at him like a moth to a flame, and thought.

The King of Sanguo’s choice wasn’t bad, but he chose the wrong opponent.

He snapped the neck of the guy he’d effortlessly pulled closer. The gruesome snap echoed, and the enemies who heard it froze, visibly shaken. Dan, who had been about to intervene before the guy reached Deon, wore a look of defeat.

Deon shook his hand as if to get rid of the unpleasant feeling from grabbing the neck, and said,

“Shall we wrap this up quickly then?”

Dan, who had been standing nearby as a guard, quickly jumped into the battlefield, sensing the moment.

Deon also drew a dagger and leisurely stepped into the chaos.

The rest was self-explanatory.

What more is there to say when the Sanguo soldiers fell like leaves in the autumn wind, utterly powerless? Detailed descriptions of the situation would only be possible if someone could withstand even one move from Deon Hart, but they were just dying as soon as he moved, leaving only the impression of being ‘overwhelming’.

Dan, who had stopped fighting at some point, let out a hollow laugh.

‘If it was going to be like this, why did we even bother coming…’

Ah, weren’t we originally not supposed to come? That makes sense. The mad dogs who followed were being useless.

The situation had progressed to the point where the King of Sanguo was now visible. Even though the wall of soldiers had disappeared, exposing him to enemy view, his expression was strangely calm.

‘…His eyes are unsettling…’

Eyes narrowed, as if he was crouching and waiting for an opportunity. From the start, it was very suspicious that the king hadn’t evacuated first and was out in the open like this. There must be some hidden card. Dan’s eyes narrowed.

Moreover, looking closely, the woman next to him also had an unusual look in her eyes. Judging by appearances, she seemed to be some kind of advisor, and her eyes directed at Deon Hart were filled with a thick, dark killing intent and a base exhilaration. Like the eyes of someone about to win money by cheating at gambling…

“…Master!”

Reaching that conclusion, Dan urgently called out to his superior who had gone far ahead. This didn’t seem like a situation where they could just watch carelessly because he was a Heroic Spirit. Those eyes, despite seeing the Heroic Spirit’s power, meant they had that much confidence. In this situation, he’d gone too far ahead alone!

Dan’s shout reaching Deon Hart, ‘Heroes’ popping out from around the King of Sanguo and launching an attack, and booming shouts echoing from the city walls surrounding them all happened almost simultaneously.

“Children of Rweche! There are offerings suitable for meritorious deeds over there! Go forth! Great rewards will be bestowed upon those who achieve merit!”

“For a chance at a better life!!”

Why Rweche of all places…?! No, wait, these attackers showing unusual movements… their faces look familiar, aren’t they the ‘Killer Knights’? They’re still around?

Too much was happening at once, and he couldn’t decide what to prioritize. Dan, briefly thrown into confusion, quickly regained his composure and rushed to his superior first.

Deon Hart was already surrounded by the quick-witted mad dogs.

“Mas…”

“Captain!! Are you alright?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Thanks to sensing the abnormality as soon as he heard Dan’s shout and pulling back, he only got minor scratches on his neck and cheek.

Deon calmly spoke, wiping the bloodstains from his cheek with the back of his hand, as even those minor scratches had already healed.

“More importantly, fall back. Those guys are ‘Heroes’.”

The Empire’s official Heroes stopped being recognized after Cruel Hart’s name was the last one added, so accurately, they’d be ‘Hero candidates’. But with the official Heroes all in disarray, what difference does such a distinction make now?

Rweche soldiers pouring down from the city walls and ‘Heroes’ launching a surprise attack from hiding. Deon remembered a faint, mocking voice saying ‘I thought they weren’t going to come’ when Rweche appeared and laughed coldly.

“Using themselves as bait, the King of Sanguo is certainly bold.”

And to think they’d prepare a second trick like this on top of that.

The city walls had already been swept through once when we first broke in. Neither the Demon Realm nor Sanguo had any reason to defend the city walls anymore. So, naturally, they were left unguarded.

They wouldn’t have done that if they knew another Sanguo reinforcement force would cross the city walls.

Rweche soldiers poured down from the city walls. The sight was enough to boost the morale of the human side and dampen the already faltering spirits of the demons. Deon glanced at the hesitant demons, recalled the name of the opposing kingdom, and frowned.

‘Rweche… so they’re backstabbing us like this in the end…’

Ha. He let out a dry laugh.

“These bastards.”

The reason the Demon Realm hadn’t touched Rweche until now was because they hadn’t resisted the Demon King’s army. To break that unspoken agreement at this perfect timing…

‘Yeah, so they want to die that badly.’

His head was heating up. The complicated situation was enough to make his vision spin, but unlike his burning eyes, his voice was excessively calm.

“Dan, just asking to be sure… you don’t happen to have a spare communication stone, do you?”

“No, didn’t Master already have one…? Ah, it’s broken.”

“My aide doesn’t carry a spare communication stone? I’ll have to mention this to Ed later.”

“Ah… that’s a bit…”

Ignoring the reluctant response, he returned to the initial topic.

“Then go to Ben. As the physician, he’s sure to have a spare communication stone or two. As for his location… go to where the most chaotic demon is raging, excluding this place, you shouldn’t have trouble finding him. Oh, and there’ll be a berserker there, that’s Ben, so don’t mistake him for someone else and pass him by.”

“…”

Dan, who kept opening and closing his mouth as if wanting to object, eventually chose to just ignore it and rolled his eyes.

“…So, I just need to go borrow a communication stone? Considering the time to get there and back, plus the time to find him…”

“No, contact Ed right there and then. Order him to immediately lead the 0th Legion and attack Rweche using the border of the Taehon Kingdom.”

Considering the number and quality of troops here, Rweche is probably close to being an empty fortress right now. Perhaps the first country to fall might not be Sanguo, but Rweche.

The Taehon Kingdom, known as a vassal state of Rweche, had cautiously contacted us before, saying they’d side with us, so they’ll readily allow us to use their border. And the 0th Legion is under my direct command, so I can use them as I please without complicated procedures or backlash. It’s a sudden order, but there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Understood.”

Dan nodded lightly at the clear order and walked away.

He was slightly worried Dan might get hit by a stray weapon on the way, but he wasn’t ordered to fight anyone, just find one demon, surely he could manage that much. Deon coldly averted his gaze and spun the dagger in his hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Everything for survival.”

Even without adding any further orders or explanations, the same unwavering response came back, as if they’d read his mind.

Though their subsequent actions were a little different.

—Grab!—

“! ?”

The Killer Knights suddenly grabbed Deon and started moving away from the spot. A flustered Deon struggled.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing, you bastards?!”

“For survival, isn’t it!”

“Fighting here has a high chance of death!”

“We understand you’re angry and not thinking straight, but at least let’s move to a safer place!”

“Captain, please just this once!”

“Please just this once! Please just this once!”

Fighting here, where enemies are swarming in, is suicidal.

Though he seemed calm on the surface, making situation judgments and giving orders, the Lofty Knights who had been with him for a long time knew. He was seriously pissed.

As expected, having taken minimal action with his seemingly calm orders and dealt with the interlopers, he now shone with eyes that looked like he was about to go on a rampage. At that moment, the knight order members exchanged glances. Despite their usual constant bickering, at this moment, they were all of one mind.

‘Grab him and run!’