In The Name Of Ingrad! (17)

Riana, who was seeing the Demonic Tribe defeated in person for the first time, shuddered at the power of the beastkin and Behemoths.

However, the damage on this side was not small either.

The power of Bloody Rose, which had made her painfully feel just how powerful one person’s strength could be and what effect it could have on a battlefield, was overwhelmingly beyond anything else.

However, as though one hand could not handle ten, the Demonic Tribe eventually chose to withdraw, but it was not a pleasant situation.

“The damage is enormous.”

The sight of Goddess Artemisia speaking in a calm tone felt unfamiliar.

Even though countless members of the tribes following her had died, Riana had to feel an unfamiliar emotion from the sight of the goddess, who did not appear particularly moved, and suddenly, she turned her head, looked this way, and asked a question.

“Were you satisfied?”

“…I think it is enough if we were able to drive back the Demonic Tribe.”

“You cannot achieve your dream by merely defeating them.”

Feeling how much those simple words, my dream, could tighten around a person, Riana said to Goddess Artemisia,

“If too many lives fall because of my one dream… would he like that?”

“If it were him… I do not know. He is an unpredictable human.”

At Goddess Artemisia’s words, Riana had no choice but to feel something strange. She wondered just what kind of human he was if even a god could not predict him.

Moreover, at first, she had spoken as though everything would go according to her will, but now she had given a somewhat vague answer, so Riana’s head grew complicated.

However, for now, moving took priority over that.

“It seems everyone has gathered themselves. Will the Demon God… come after us again?”

“If it is that one, he will persistently bother us. Before that, it would be best to move as far as we can.”

It was a battle where hundreds of thousands of Demonic Tribe members, beastkin, and Behemoths had died. Yet as Riana looked at Goddess Artemisia, who spoke as though it was simply being bothered, she slightly wondered whether this might not be a normal god, and soon, they were able to begin moving with the Behemoths in the lead.

The end of the East Continent. Remembering that if they moved quickly on foot, it would take roughly a little over two months to reach the gate connected to the Central Continent, Riana thought that she desperately hoped they could safely pierce through the continent and pass.

Meanwhile, the Demon God, who had withdrawn and was reorganizing his army, had no choice but to tremble with rage after receiving the scale of the damage.

“You are saying that as many as four hundred thousand died in that brief battle?”

It had been a battle that had not even lasted half a day. No matter how powerful the True Dragon Tribe and Behemoths were, there had hardly been any recent battle where that many members of the Demonic Tribe had died.

And after receiving the result, the Demon God was so filled with rage that he lost words.

“Why does she interfere with me at every turn… Why!!”

At the Demon God’s rage, the entire area around him trembled as though it were shuddering, and eventually, most of the Demonic Tribe members camped nearby swallowed their fear, collapsed to the ground, and began bowing their heads.

Because his force was so tremendous, it was strange that anyone could endure it at all, and the Demon God’s rage was deep. However, Bloody Rose, who was beside him, spoke to that Demon God without backing down.

“The enemy’s forces were simply excessively powerful. I have separately sent word to the two Demon Kings… so next time, it will not be like this.”

Bloody Rose was an important force to the Demon God, and because this battle had certainly made him recognize her strength, the Demon God also did not ignore her words. He nodded and said,

“Next time, you shall stand at the vanguard. Do you understand?”

“I naturally thought that would be my duty. Just leave it to me.”

“Summon the troops. We must not let those things join up with the humans. Moreover, the ring has left the sealed ground. If not now, it will be difficult to seize it. We must use our full strength. We must never… allow it to flow according to her will.”

It seemed the path of hardship would continue.

They began stacking the blocks in earnest.

Based on the model completed by Linda, Bella, and Ulde after putting their heads together, the fortress that began to be constructed was not very large in size, but it was expected to be tall and sturdy.

Moreover, because it was being made at a speed far faster than expected, the three of them could not hide their surprise.

“I do not know what its defensive power will be like, but… it certainly seems capable of functioning as a ‘fortress.’”

At Ulde’s brief impression, Linda and Bella likewise nodded.

The fortress wall’s height was roughly six meters. They liked the fact that it was quite tall despite stacking only three blocks, and that it looked sturdier than expected.

And it was showing plainly just how usefully the strength of the whale beastkin, who had begun the work in earnest, could be utilized here as well. The majesty of a whale beastkin carrying alone what four beastkin had to lift and move together contained a complex grandeur that could not be fully explained in words.

“How long will it take at this rate?”

At Linda’s question, Bella and Ulde thought it over, and the answers they gave were similar.

“Five days.”

“A week.”

Ulde said five days, and Bella said a week, but it was a fortress.

It was certain that people would be horrified by the fact that the time it would take to complete it was only that much. Moreover, if its defensive capabilities were fully equipped as well, there would be nothing better.

“But there is one thing I am worried about. Is it all right if I say it?”

At Linda’s words, Ulde and Bella turned to look at her with faces asking what it was.

Then she pointed to the fortress wall and said,

“I understand that the fortress itself is very hard. But it is light, isn’t it? If it receives an impact and falls backward, then wouldn’t it be unable to function as a fortress?”

The three of them imagined the entire castle wall falling backward. Then, after realizing what the problem was, the three looked at the fortress model completed on the ground.

“As it is… this will not do.”

“Right…?”

“It seems we have to make it again.”

They thought it was not as though they could not overturn it and redo it, but the three felt quite sorry about making the others work multiple times. However, fighting a battle while trusting an unstable fortress as it was did not seem right, and Ulde immediately ordered the work to stop, sat down in front of the model, and said to the two of them,

“Let us try again from the beginning.”

This time, the three put their heads together once more for a sturdy and perfect fortress model in a slightly more varied form.

Meanwhile, the Terakan Punitive Army, which had led itself to victory by opening the castle wall through an underground waterway in an operation that could be called a decisive blow, was finally able to advance right before the heart of the Terakan Empire.

Their number was close to as many as two million, and they came to face the capital as though surrounding it, overwhelming the hundreds of thousands of troops defending it.

At this, Archduke Pearl and Rex were feeling deeply moved.

“We have finally come this far.”

It had been a war paid for with enormous sacrifices. It was the result of having adhered to tactics through a war of numbers rather than operations in order to settle things in a short period, but in the end, they had set foot here and had only one step left before reaching the position of victor.

“At first, it will be difficult to call it an empire. It will fall into something like a kingdom. But since the rule of that kingdom will clearly belong to our house… it will be able to rise into an empire in the future.”

“It is only regrettable about the east and the north.”

“Is it not something that cannot be helped?”

Archduke Pearl was thinking the same thing. However, it had been a concession he chose because they could not find an answer by blindly increasing the number of enemies, and as a result, they had accelerated preparations to carve out the heart of the empire.

“How are the Imperial Family’s movements?”

“It seems they intend to hold out. The walls surrounding the capital are somewhat for show, but depending on how they are used, they can become excellent strategic weapons.”

“That sounds as though I should not think of crossing them easily.”

“Would they not make a final struggle?”

At Rex’s words, Archduke Pearl also nodded and looked down at the sword hanging at his waist.

It was the sword that proved the archducal title he had received as the “Sword of the Empire.”

It was a sword he had used for a long time, but he could not say he had used it with affection. Rex looked puzzled at the sight of Archduke Pearl drawing it.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Is it not the seal of the archducal house?”

“If you consider it, that is true, but… it could be called a shackle.”

Rex, sensing that he was speaking with complex meaning, fell silent, and Archduke Pearl was pleased by that action from his son and continued speaking.

“When I first made an achievement, do you know what Royal Father said to me when he bestowed this upon me?”

“I do not know. I dare not… guess.”

“He told me to become a sword that protects. Not a sword that takes…”

There must have been many meanings included, but in the end, it might have meant that he should just protect the country. And two years after his father rose to the archducal house, the Retired Emperor passed away, and Luminas de Terakan, the current Empress, ascended the throne.

It had changed as though the administration were being rapidly replaced. Moreover, while Archduke Pearl was subjugating bandits in the south, not a single person had informed him that the Retired Emperor had passed away, and later, when he became a hero and made his name known throughout the country, one dishonor also followed.

‘A son blinded by desire for fame, even stepping over his father’s death.’ It was a rather humiliating rumor, but Archduke Pearl did not dwell on it.

That was because he had fulfilled the greater cause by bringing the achievements he had built up to his father’s grave. However, it must have been from then.

The gradual crack that formed between Archduke Pearl and the Terakan Imperial Family… and today, the end was waiting intact before his eyes.

‘There is a beginning after the end.’

“This sword too… has become quite worn.”

“It is time you needed a new sword.”

“It was stubbornness. If I broke before the position of archduke, I thought it meant I had lost to this sword. But now that I see it, this was merely a tool. I set aside my resentment. And I step forward over it. Prepare.”

At Archduke Pearl’s order, Rex bowed his head in answer and immediately gave orders to the adjutants and others.

“Have the Southern Army concentrate fire on the nearby wall with catapults. Place the knight order at the front and prepare to deploy the cavalry in succession.”

At Rex’s incomprehensible order, the adjutant was about to ask back, but after realizing that there was something to it, he received the order and quickly disappeared toward the knight order.

And Rex gave an additional order to another adjutant.

“Send the signal to the mercenaries. If a problem occurs in the south, open the castle gate…”

“Is it enough to simply convey it that way?”

“Yes. After all… we cannot make the one who will become the sovereign of a great nation climb over the wall, can we?”

“I understand.”

After giving the order like that, Rex turned back to look at his father.

He saw a broad back. Thinking that it was still all right to rely on that back, the two mounted the horses the knights had prepared in time with the sound of the marching trumpets that had begun to ring out.

And as the siege weapons began launching enormous boulders in earnest and the offense and defense unfolded, Rex said,

“Father. No, Your Majesty. It is time to fulfill the great cause.”

“Let us go.”

Terakan was tilting.