Chapter 136 - Empty House Raid

“Whoa...”

“Whoa...”

Zed and Penelope were looking at the wound on Ferda’s chest.

The two of them let out the exact same exclamation.

“How are you alive?”

“I’m alive simply because it wasn’t a fatal wound.”

“At least it missed your heart, so that’s a relief.”

“There wasn’t much bleeding either, so it’s nothing to make a fuss over.”

What had pierced him had gone rather deep, but there was little damage or bleeding, so in the end it remained a light injury.

Ironically, it had only ended lightly because it had happened to someone as physically weak as Ferda.

“So.”

Penelope peered into the holes and smiled insolently.

“You hugged her, and during that hug, she didn’t realize she had horns on her head?”

“Yeah...”

“By any chance, is that Grand Duchess person stupid?”

“...”

Ferda could not bring himself to answer no.

So he merely glared at Penelope as if he wanted to kill her.

Penelope did not even think of looking at him, and only stared fixedly at Ferda’s chest as she muttered.

“Wow, all I can do is be impressed. You almost literally went through the chest, didn’t you? Off to that faraway place?”

“...”

“You left a hole in my heart and went away. You are my companion~. Ooooh~. My eternal compa-puheheup!”

Before Ferda could even move his hand, Zed struck Penelope on the back of the head first and knocked her out.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he changed the subject.

“Do you still intend to go on the campaign as planned?”

“There’s no particular problem, so I should go. And at this point, wouldn’t you say I’ve suffered enough bad luck in advance?”

“Well, that is true. And we really can just stay still?”

The knights other than William had been given the main order of defending the main base.

In truth, it was no different from telling them to take it easy.

“There is no place for you to distinguish yourself in this operation itself. It would be better for you to guard the castle and report on anything that happens. And...”

“And?”

“As long as Garnet is in this castle, we cannot let our guard down.”

Both Luri and Ferda were leaving for this campaign.

With all the key personnel gone, the thought that Garnet might do something in this empty house if she remained behind weighed heavily on him.

“Keep an eye on Garnet. Can I trust you?”

“Do not worry. Even if she is an old friend, I am a knight of this castle now.”

“Good. I’ll trust you.”

“Then I will take my leave.”

Zed dragged the unconscious Penelope away like a piece of luggage.

Then, when he reached the threshold, he hesitated in his steps and turned his head.

“Um...”

Zed spoke as if the words had been itching at him.

“Congratulations on your first... great deed.”

“...?”

Zed raised his thumb and vanished just like that.

Ferda did not understand what he meant, but he sensed that it had come from a line of thought similar to Penelope’s.

I forgot those two were the same kind of bastards.

With no energy left to get angry, Ferda closed his eyes and looked toward tomorrow.

... Or at least, he tried to.

Every time he was about to fall asleep, the melody Penelope had sung kept circling in his ears.

As soon as Ferda woke up, he decided he would beat the hell out of that demon bitch.

Morning dawned.

The soldiers who had finished preparing the previous night were moving busily to begin their march.

The forces were divided into three groups in total.

One was the 1st Regiment, with Olivia as its commander-in-chief.

One was the 2nd Regiment, commanded by the young lord of Duke Lutenia’s family, who served as the operations staff officer.

The other was the main force, which would remain at the castle and protect the citizens and young noble ladies.

Their strategy was to lure out the demonic creatures from two places at once, dispose of them, and then secure two of the creatures.

The temporary alliance had to handle four in total.

The far eastern alliance gathered at Count Concillus’s domain would also move, but since they did not have magical engineering, they had decided to deal with only one colossal demonic creature.

Erica, who was carrying out a special operation, would select twelve adventurers and, under the name Eri’s Adventurer Party, attack one colossal demonic creature, removing six in all.

Their primary objective was to completely destroy the line within three days, including travel time.

No one’s expression was good.

Even though the entire force of demonic creatures was headed for the Empire, and they were essentially raiding an empty house, that was still the case.

Because the fact that they were walking into the jaws of death had not changed.

No matter what anyone said, this was war.

The word war alone was enough to wear people down.

“The imperial capital will become the shield, and we will become the sword, removing the root. For your homeland and your honor...”

The Princess’s practiced speech inspired everyone.

It did raise morale, but even so, it seemed difficult to sway them completely.

Olivia herself had said she did not expect a great effect from it.

She had a separate plan.

“We will conduct a forced march and approach the demonic creatures as quickly as possible.”

“What effect are you hoping to gain by doing that?”

“We will use the magical engineering riflemen, the ones called tactical infantry, to boost morale.”

The effectiveness of the tactical infantry had already been proven several times.

If they could take care of the charging demonic creatures without major sacrifices, she judged that morale would surely soar to the heavens.

“Then I will contact you once we arrive at the first point.”

“I will pray for your fortune.”

She looked at Ferda and fiddled with the amulet of the Order of Altes.

It meant that she would pray for him.

The carriages carrying more than three thousand soldiers and supplies moved along the road.

The two forces in full readiness split apart and advanced.

The 1st Regiment was led by Olivia, the Princess, and her imperial army.

The 2nd Regiment placed the young lord of Duke Lutenia’s family, the operations staff officer, and his army at the front.

Ferda moved alongside the 2nd Regiment, where the young lord of Lutenia was.

Ferda’s force was moving with fifty tactical infantrymen, Isabella, who was both their commander and core combat asset, and Luri.

As they moved along the road, a dense forest greeted them.

“I find myself needlessly worried. It feels as if we are entering the belly of Leviathan.”

Lutenia, the operations staff officer, said that as he looked into the dark depths.

He was likely not the only man who felt that way.

Everyone would set foot here while carrying the thought that they might die.

Ferda thought so as well.

It was then.

A sudden gust of wind blew in, and for an instant, a massive shadow covered the sun.

“W-What is that?”

“A demonic creature?! Already?”

At the strange occurrence, everyone raised their heads and looked up at the sky.

It seemed as if a battle might break out the moment the march began, but that was not it.

“Ah...!”

“That’s...!”

The instant they confirmed its identity, everyone let out a cry of awe.

Even Ferda himself did so when he saw it.

Scales lower than the sun, yet burning even redder than it.

Two pairs of horns and wings so vast they seemed to cover heaven and earth.

“A Red Dragon!”

“I-It’s Lady Valdrova!”

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess has shown herself!”

Valdrova circled broadly once in the sky, then stood atop the peak of Lonely Mountain.

Her figure looked as if she ruled over the entire mountain.

The Red Dragon, who had not shown herself for a long time, had revealed herself proudly.

‘Why has she come outside?’

She should be able to sense signs of demonic creatures well enough even inside her lair.

The fact that she had deliberately revealed herself like this meant there was something to it.

As Ferda quietly looked up at that place, his eyes met Valdrova’s.

Though she was far away, Ferda could tell.

She was staring clearly at him.

As if to say something, she gave a small nod.

“I will try doing what I can.”

It seemed to sound that way to Ferda.

Then she cast her gaze eastward.

As the saying went, interpretation mattered more than the dream itself, and upon seeing that, he shouted loudly.

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess is watching over us!”

“Long live Hestia! Long live Her Highness Grand Duchess Valdrova!”

No one had ordered them to do so, yet they poured out thunderous cheers and raised their morale.

This was something she could do.

The figure of the Evil Dragon, infamous for killing people like insects, was nowhere to be found there.

If that were an Evil Dragon, could they have cried out her name so fervently and shouted like this?

Overwhelmed by emotion, Ferda unconsciously placed a hand on his chest.

‘My heart...’

Ferda smiled as he watched her.

‘I will engrave your courage upon my chest.’

The cold of the chilly morning could no longer make them tremble.

The march of the soldiers, who had engraved victory in their hearts, began once more.

The borderlands of the Grand Duchy’s territory were an undeveloped plain.

There were too many small stones, so plows were often broken, making it unusable as farmland.

The only traces of humans were a few hideouts made by hunters to catch animals that occasionally came to nibble on young leaves.

Even those traces of humans were no longer there.

Colossal demonic creatures surrounded the vicinity of the Grand Duchy’s territory.

They resembled caterpillars, but they could not move, only repeatedly contracting in place as they sat there.

They sucked the vitality from the land and formed eggs, and from those eggs they endlessly produced demonic creatures.

After being left alone for a month, every piece of land within a two-kilometer radius was now stained black.

As if following its usual routine, it repeatedly bred and gathered an army.

But today, something was different.

A beast-type demonic creature that sensed that current twitched, then raised its head.

What it saw was the sun rising in the east.

And with that sun at their backs, countless banners and the ridgeline of humans appeared.

SCREEEEEECH!!!

It screamed as a signal of danger.

Then all the demonic creatures turned their heads toward that sound.

The reason they lived and breathed was right before their eyes.

SCREEECH!

SCREEEEEEEECH!

The demonic creatures moved, taking the sharp shrieks of the animal-types as their war cries.

With no set formation, they charged at them according to instinct.

The blond-haired commander at the front raised her sword high.

“All forces, prepare for battle!”

Olivia’s voice rang out thunderously through amplification magic.

It was so full of charisma that one could believe it was the command of a war hero, not a delicate Princess of the Empire.

“Tactical infantry, form wing formation! Mages will focus on the aerial types, and tactical infantry will focus on the ground!”

Olivia had devoted herself to military deployment plans solely for this moment.

The infantrymen holding magical engineering rifles moved in perfect order and stood in a single line at the front.

All fifty of them spread out in a line and aimed their muzzles forward.

“Begin startup!”

When they pressed the buttons, a humming sound began to come from within the rifles.

Pure bullets made of mana emitted light from inside the pipes.

The beast-type demonic creatures charged on all fours.

The moment they were struck by that body slam, they would disappear without even realizing their own deaths.

When the distance had grown close enough, her sword cut through the air.

“Fire!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Thunder roared across the ground.

Even the soldiers standing behind them flinched in surprise.

The sound was not the only astonishing thing.

Before they could even grasp what had happened, the beast-type demonic creatures in the front ranks toppled one after another.

They had not died instantly.

However, it proved just how exceptional the stopping power of that attack had been.

The front ranks fell like leaves in an autumn gale, but demonic creatures did not possess anything like momentum.

The demonic creatures running behind them still charged forward.

The tactical infantry had to prepare for the next attack.

“Rotate the front line!”

As if they had been waiting, the tactical infantry withdrew backward.

At the same time, knights in heavy armor surged forward with vigor and formed a square formation.

All of them had come for the purpose of escorting, and they bore the reputation of their domains on their backs.

The demonic creatures that destroyed everything and those who sought to protect clashed head-on.

The knights endured splendidly.

When the clash ended and they entered a standoff, a knight shouted.

“Spearmen!! Attack!”

“Hold the line!”

“Stab the eyes! If you can’t get the eyes, the mouth! If that doesn’t work, stab the crotch! If it feels dirty, stab every damn place you can think of!!”

The knights held firm, and the spearmen thrust through the gaps and over their heads, preventing them from approaching.

Their purpose was to buy time.

“The second attack is ready!”

William, the adjutant, said so.

Olivia, who had been commanding frantically, raised her sword again.

“Tactical infantry, close formation! Square knights, form a firing lane!”

BWOOOOOO!

Since voice alone was not enough, a horn was blown to relay the order to the knights.

The knights at the center, hearing the commander’s order, calmly stepped back.

As if that wall of men had become a gate, they opened a path leading to the center.

The demonic creatures poured through the opened path.

They did not realize it until the path opened.

That it was a passage leading to death.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Fifty mana bullets flew toward the clustered demonic creatures.

Without even needing to aim for the heart, they fell one after another.

The corpses of demonic creatures became a threshold, and they became stumbling stones that obstructed the path forward.

The demonic creatures were isolated in the firing lane.

“Die! Die!”

“Be purified by the light of Altes, you evil things!!”

The beast-type demonic creatures, which had been the greatest threat, were trapped in the firing lane and unable to do anything one way or another.

The knights’ swords, carrying aura, hacked their bodies apart.

YELP!

SCREECH!

The demonic creatures even mimicked the sounds of dying beasts as they screamed their death cries.

The beast-type demonic creatures, which had numbered over a hundred, were reduced to a small handful in an instant.

“We have finished wiping out the remnants!”

“Commander, your orders!”

There was a light in the adjutant’s expression.

The same was true for Olivia.

She raised her command sword toward the sky and shouted.

“We will divide into two battalions and advance! Do not relax until the very end!!”

The sturdy wall of humans moved quickly.

The Meltids that had been following behind the beast-type demonic creatures were subdued in an instant, and they succeeded in pressing all the way to the vicinity of the colossal demonic creature.

“1st Battalion has secured the colossal demonic creature!”

“2nd Battalion has also finished securing it! The operation is a success!”

They prepared to immediately deal with any new demonic creatures that might be created.

Unless it possessed some ability other than egg-laying, it had effectively been neutralized.

“We won!!”

“Long live Count Kali!”

“Altes watches over us!”

Each person shouted the name of their own lord or cried out the name of their god, working to raise morale.

Olivia, standing behind them, listened to their cheers.

‘With this, I’ve taken one step into my plan.’

Rapture welled up inside her.

That rapture kept tugging at her face, making it hard to control her expression.

‘If only the 2nd Regiment succeeds, the plan will be utterly perfect.’

Olivia did not doubt their victory.

Because Ferda was there.

Was that why?

In the end, she could not hold back her laughter, and it burst out.

She raised her sword high and celebrated the victory of the first battle.

The 1st Regiment’s occupation was effectively the same as a victory for the 2nd Regiment.

Except for their location, they were facing the same monsters, and the forces had been dispatched with even the balance of strength taken fully into account.

In that situation, the young lord of Lutenia, the operations staff officer and supreme commander of the 2nd Regiment, thought.

‘Is this really the war I knew?’