The Holy Army was shattered. Utterly, with the appearance of the Seven Dragon Lords.
After the shroud of Lamerics was lifted, everyone, except for a few suffering from the aftereffects, quickly began to tidy up. The war with the demons had only been four years ago, and everyone in this era had become so accustomed to facing demons and monstrous beasts that it was almost second nature.
“Ha, what a mess….”
Diego chuckled softly as he looked down at the military camp. Soldiers were dismantling their tents and gathering their gear.
Now the crusade was over. What remained was….
“How will we handle this?”
A colossal backlash. All the allied nations that had participated in the crusade danced to the tune of the Seven Dragon Lords, and some countries had even committed serious war crimes willingly.
If they had been mere puppets from the beginning, perhaps it could be understood….
“Hang the pope’s… the corpse of that degenerate on a pole. Until our return.”
At his command, the pope’s corpse was hung on the military standard. How many had marched to their deaths at the command of that old man?He grimaced as he splashed cold water on his face.
“I must achieve merit….”
Military achievements were necessary. He had dutifully trampled the territories of Albina and Elros under the will of the Seven Dragon Lords, so the diplomatic standing of Bellacria would undoubtedly shrink to extreme levels.
The only advantage they had was that they contained the Papal Enclave. But if the Papal Enclave was a puppet of the Seven Dragon Lords, this was no different from a parasite inside a lion’s heart.
It needed to be eradicated quickly. He had to prove his innocence faster than anyone else.
His gaze fell on a man.
A pale-faced man, sweating profusely, unconscious in a woman’s embrace.
He soon looked around the man and chuckled emptily.
“Is that the hero of this age? Truly, a monster.”
They had forged a path through the butchered corpses. They had plowed through the legion, paving the way with blood and flesh, and it was evident that they had directly attacked the Seven Dragon Lords.
The soldiers were retching as they struggled to gather the bodies. Most of the evidence had been erased, but it was hard to believe that such a tragedy had unfolded with just two people.
A monster. Yes, to catch a monster, another monster must step forward.
This must have been the reason why the saint had so easily slipped away after the council.
Truly, who could stand against that man?
The crusaders of Bellacria turned their forces towards their homeland, Equitania officially declared the crusade over, and Albina and Elros disbanded their military camps and ratified a peace treaty.
In just a moment of battle, a conflict that had lasted for months came to a close. Now, only one thing remains.
Revenge.
It was a reckoning against the darkness that had toyed with human civilization.
A week later, the allied forces deployed on the borders of the Papal Enclave, Ovidis.
“Are you in pain? Are you okay? Just lie down a little more!”
“It’s fine.”
Shoving the fussing Isabelle away, Ivan got up. He could definitely feel that his condition had dropped. But now, it was only natural; Ivan was a sensible person.
With the sacred power gone, the medical standards of this world were stuck in a pre-modern state. Unless it was a special medication made through alchemy, their methods of treatment were generally like this.
They would attempt to extract teeth, claiming it was because one had teeth.
Or try to perform an enema with water burned from treated wood, claiming it would expel bad energies from the body. (Sadly, this is still attempted in 21st century Earth.)
People of this era executed various dubious acts that were somewhere between shamanism and folk remedies under the pretense of treatment. Perhaps the reason the plague did not break out was that there was no central Asia.
Anyway, at this moment, Ivan was the most knowledgeable person about medicine in this world. He was going to perform a simple check after handing over his nursing duties to Isabelle.
The toxins had been neutralized and eliminated. This was why he had taken the antagonists simultaneously. The toxicity far exceeded the liver’s threshold, and while the organs were utterly shattered in the process of detoxification, at least it had happened.
During the time he was unconscious, his body temperature rose, and his metabolic rate plummeted. The mobility of his muscles had dropped drastically from usual.
“You’re still sweating quite a bit. You haven’t eaten anything for a while, have you?”
“Nutritional….”
“If you keep talking nonsense, you’re going to die for real. You need to eat something good for your health!”
Isabelle was bustling around, trying to get Ivan to lie back down. Avoiding her, he looked around the room.
They were in a tent. The military standard of Bellacria was visible through the open flap. The last instruction given had been to push the army towards the Papal Enclave, and since Bellacria was the country that housed the Papal Enclave, that made sense.
After assessing the situation, he moved his fingers. There was no issue with his movements. He stood up and spoke.
“I’m going to the command center.”
“Rest a little longer! It’s not like we’re—”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
The officer staring at Ivan, swallowing hard, spoke cautiously. The officers at the command center sat with downcast expressions.
It had been a full fifteen days since he had been unconscious. During that time, the Bellacrian forces besieging Ovidis had attempted to march five times—
“We’ve lost five divisions.”
The officer said bitterly.
“As soon as they entered a certain range from Ovidis, those forces immediately lost their sanity. That area is nothing less than the Demon Realm. Do you want to see?”
Ivan followed the officer’s lead to the observation post beyond the command center. From the hills overlooking the approach to Ovidis, Ivan could see the force deploying across the plains.
In the distance, soldiers appeared to be painting on the fields, marking out ever-expanding lines like rings in a tree.
It felt like looking at tree rings. Increasingly wider circles surrounding the white outer fortress of Ovidis.
“When we first arrived, that was the boundary we drew. It was a safe zone up to 2 km from the outer fortress. That boundary is widening day by day.”
“So it’s a king’s retreat.”
“Yes, you could indeed consider it the king’s retreat of the Seven Dragon Lords. Inside that.”
The afternoon sun shone brightly under a cloudless sky. The summer sunlight was scorching the plains.
Beyond the boundary.
Inside that, the colors fragmented as if a prism were shone upon them. The colorless natural light warped as it crossed the boundary, scattering into all kinds of hues.
Upon reaching the outer fortress of Ovidis, only black shadows could be seen. The sun could not penetrate that place.
The faintly visible towers and buildings within the castle walls swayed like a forest buried in shadows, and in between, silhouettes of spiders could be faintly seen moving about.
A giant spider moved between the towers, and with a flick of its appendage, the previously faintly quivering silhouette of the tower grew even darker.
That place had already become a forest of deep shadows, surpassing the Demon Realm itself. The once-great city-state of Ovidis was now completely doomed, and no one could live on that land.
“What about the people inside the Papal Enclave?”
“There are occasional signs of life….”
The officer bit his lip and spoke with great difficulty.
“They sometimes wave their hands towards us, or it seems as though they’re trying to communicate with gestures. Some soldiers who tried to rescue them have disappeared. And….”
The missing soldiers suddenly appeared on the walls of the Papal Enclave, waving their hands.
“What about firing artillery?”
“We’ve made attempts, but… with the current artillery we have, it’s impossible.”
Naturally, there was an artillery division within the military camp. They had attacked the outer fortress of Ovidis nearly with concentrated fire.
That was the result.
Following the officer’s gesture, Ivan turned to find traces of the impacts left on the castle walls.
Between the crumbled walls, spiders were quickly weaving their webs.
“If it were a regular forest nest, we could handle it with artillery, but… the foundational structure is the castle walls, making things difficult.”
Their nests made even the most ordinary trees of a normal forest resistant to artillery strikes. The trees wrapped in webs could not be easily flattened without a battalion-level bombardment.
Those very webs were now draped over human architecture.
A sufficiently fortified city’s outer fortress would naturally resist artillery fire. Initially, artillery was not a universal weapon that could instantly demolish a castle.
Heavily constructed walls do not easily crumble under ordinary artillery fire in short-term battles. Concentrated fire is focused on certain weak points in the gates or walls during a siege for this very reason.
So, now that they were enveloping the entire city in nests, it implied that Bellacria’s artillery division could not eliminate the nests.
“We are producing artillery at the military depot in the homeland. Once fully deployed, it could take about two months.”
“That won’t do.”
“…What? But they are already besieged, aren’t they? If prepared under the assumption of a siege, that much time should….”
Originally, a siege is a long-term engagement. It progresses under a state of tight encirclement of the city. Direct engagements such as artillery strikes or wall assaults are extremely rare occurrences.
Most sieges consist of degradation of the besieged side’s resources. In other words, the command staff currently understands this situation as a siege against a city occupied by demons.
“Would they not know that?”
“What?”
“The Papal Enclave is merely one city within Bellacria, and Bellacria sits at the heart of the Southern Six Nations. Did they truly think that by nesting there, they could isolate themselves amid civilized society?”
The Seven Dragon Lords are the gods of monsters and demons. The reason many fear the Seven Dragon Lords is largely due to their might.
They could wipe out a nation all on their own.
However, there are clearly limits even to them. An overwhelming powerhouse capable of toppling several nations, no matter how alive and dynamic, has its own limitations.
They cannot face the entire world alone. This means that even such a powerful being cannot go against an entire species single-handedly. In fact, Abiditas met his demise not at the hands of the Hero Party, but at the hands of a Cleanup Unit, namely human forces.
This proves that even a god can die at the hands of mortals. Those beings desire life far more than humanity can imagine. In other words, if there is even a slight threat of death, they are not the types to take risks.
Indeed, Lamerics is a god of a lineage that cannot wield its power outside its nests. This means that the safest place for him is beyond the Demon Realm in the forest of shadows. The fact that he did not retreat immediately to that place but chose to nest in Ovidis—
“Means he intends to buy time.”
“…But what advantage would he gain by stalling…?”
-Why would the gods known as the Seven Dragon Lords have any reason to fear you any longer?
-None.
-They are watching for their opportunity and are moving even now.
“In this world, the Seven Dragon Lords do not stand alone.”
“You believe other Seven Dragon Lords will join?”
“With high probability.”
“Then….”
In response to the frightened officer’s question, Ivan answered succinctly.
“We must kill him as quickly as possible. Before other nations bordering the Demon Realm are ravaged in earnest.”
Once again, it must be stated that Bellacria is situated right at the center of the Southern Six Nations. This means that if the Seven Dragon Lords are located here, every nation of the Southern Six will be grounded.
In the meantime, other nations that are directly touching the Demon Realm—Kalion, Drovian, Krasilov, Tylesse. If the Seven Dragon Lords were to lead their main forces to pillage from this direction, it means they could not expect rear support.
At that time, well.
You could call it the dawn of the Second Great War. A war that ends everything. Could any nation left in this world withstand facing a Seven Dragon Lord leading demons and survive?
All the strengths of the alliance must be combined. To do that, we must cut off that bastard’s throat as quickly as possible.
Perhaps he desires a negotiation. His desire for humanity’s annihilation is genuine.
He must be thinking of raising humanity forever in his fish tank as puppets.
Amid the gathering of the Seven Dragon Lords, he would act to protect humans. He would not want to lose both his prey and his toys.
Therefore, he is waiting now. For the humans pushed into a corner to beg for mercy. To plead for his mercy.
To worship him, as a god.
Thus he devoured the Papal Enclave. Instead of other cities more fitting for fortification, he claimed the heart of the god humans worshiped. He nested atop that symbol so that all humanity would willingly sing his praises.
“Ivan.”
“Yes, Uncle?”
Isabelle let out a deep sigh after observing Ivan’s complexion. It was obvious what she was about to say. She wanted to dissuade him, she truly wanted to talk him out of it…
In this situation, Ivan’s judgments have never been wrong.
Isabelle stood before Ivan with a face that looked like she was ready to cry.
“Are you scared?”
“A little, yes.”
Of you dying.
Isabelle swallowed her last word and lowered her head. As Ivan’s hand brushed over her hair, he gently stroked Isabelle’s head.
“They may need a hero.”
“…What?”
“Stay. Prepare for the future.”
“What about you, Uncle?”
“I must do what I have to.”
When Ivan withdrew his hand, Isabelle gazed at him with a stiffened expression.
“That’s even scarier.”
It’s frightening to survive alone and witness your coffin.
At Isabelle’s words, Ivan chuckled softly.
“Maximilian raised his daughter well.”
And then—
The two gathered their gear, refusing military support. Now that the king’s retreat was completed, increasing their numbers would only bolster the enemy forces.
The best way to deal with the bastards was a single point strike. Yes, a strategy involving a small but elite force.
Just like the Hero Party.
Having gathered all supplies, Ivan and Isabelle directed their horses toward the borders of Ovidis. The two walked silently, gazing solemnly at Ovidis.
Ahead of them lay a world where all colors faded.
A trap that the entity known as a god had prepared, most insidious.
As Isabelle swallowed hard and looked at Ivan, about to speak—
Rumble…
The ground trembled.
“An earthquake?!”
The soldiers scattered in all directions. The earth shook, trees fell, and rivers burst apart.
Both the vast plains upon which Ovidis stood and the massive mountain ranges surrounding it like a crown.
From the peaks of the distant mountains, startled birds simultaneously took flight. Beasts went wild, and frightened horses bolted from the camp.
Rumble…!!
The mountains cried out.
The mountains and plains wailed. Soldiers fleeing stumbled, and the tents of the military camp collapsed. The sounds of destruction echoed from warehouses filled with military equipment and war supplies.
The tower leaned, and the guard clinging to it screamed.
Rumble…!!
Ivan tumbled off his horse and turned to his feet. Even after executing a somersault, he could not move for quite a while. An earthquake enveloped the entirety of the Ovidis plains.
He scanned the hills. Looking down at the plains again, he shifted his gaze back.
He spied the mountains far away shaking the ground, causing landslides.
“Ah, Uncle!!”
Isabelle, who had fallen off her horse, screamed and clung to the ground.
“What in the world is happening?! What is it?!”
Even under Isabelle’s cries, Ivan continued to gaze at the distant mountain peaks.
“The Earthmover.”
“Wh-what?”
The last relic from the Great War that had been destroyed, leaving only this one behind.
Gaarz…!!
At first, the echo could be heard.
Gaarz!!!
Next came the vibrations shaking the ground.
Gaarz!!!!
Soil collapsed, and the mountains crumbled.
The last artifact of the ancestors, who could never be restored again. Proof of a great lineage in its own right.
As the landslide occurred, it burst forth from the mountainside.
Amidst that roaring sound, the cries of those bearing weapons echoed like a war trumpet, enveloping the land.
Gaarz, an garia—!!!
The king below the mountains, his descendants had arrived upon this land.
The mountains surrounding Ovidis, like a crown, began to break through every peak.
Beyond every mountain, every field, every river before their eyes. With the tremor of the earth.
…
-We’ll fire the artillery. Open fire.
If the approach is underground, the Dwarves can provide the most powerful route for advance, supplies, and transport in this civilized world.
-Hooh.
Elizaveta smiled joyfully as she pondered those words.
EP34. Universal Council (5)
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