Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The Second Crusade
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“You said that the ‘Immortal Duke’ and the ancient Sachsen clan reside in the Demon Realm, the land of darkness beyond the Demon Lord’s territory?”
Dale asked, and Lord Black nodded.
“But that was already an immeasurably distant past…”
Dale trailed off, suppressing an involuntary, bitter laugh.
Beings that ruled the Empire, yet could not be called human. Their kind had been part of the Empire’s history, changing their forms in various ways. The vampires who stood at the pinnacle of the Red Magic Tower, sustaining their immortal lives by drinking the blood of others, were a prime example.
How would Sachsen be any different?
“The beings known as high-ranking demons are successors to the ideology of the ‘Shadow Magic Tower,’ which was established in the Demon Realm by the Immortal Duke and ancient Sachsen.”
“Are they human as well?”
“Some are human, and some cannot be called human. In any case, to survive in that land of darkness, everyone with magical power becomes a shadow sorcerer of the Shadow Magic Tower… They are the true identity of what we call high-ranking demons.”
“Then the ‘ancient demons’ that gossips speak of… surely you don’t mean.”
Dale continued.
“Another Sachsen? Maintaining immortal life as liches?”
“They are beings who have reached a state beyond that.”
Lord Black shook his head.
“—They are Eldritch.”
“What is that?”
“The ultimate form of immortality pursued by the Black Magic Tower, incomparable to mere liches.”
Dale couldn't comprehend his words. After all, he didn't know everything in the world.
“A lich is merely one who flees from death. Hiding its life vessel, it does nothing more than run to a place death cannot reach. But an ‘Eldritch’ is different.”
“Then what are they?”
“They are those who deceive death.”
“…”
Dale couldn't immediately grasp the meaning of that either. But one thing was certain: these beings were ‘true monsters of truth,’ beside whom the hardliners of the Black Magic Tower could not even compare.
“So when you say that the Demon Lord Balor fled the Demon Realm with the high-ranking demons, in other words—”
“He fled from another Sachsen.”
The great demon migration was nothing more than a struggle for survival, an escape from the darkness of their homeland, the ‘Demon Realm.’ And it wasn't difficult to guess who the rulers of that Demon Realm were.
“They fled from the ancient demons at the pinnacle of the Shadow Magic Tower, from the Immortal Duke Frederick and the Eldritch.”
Lord Black said. At his words, Dale couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The Golden Empire was undoubtedly Dale's enemy. But even the shadows, which the Shadow Church so fervently believed in, were not entirely his allies.
No, he was certain.
As long as Dale called himself the ‘Shadow Lord,’ the Shadow Magic Tower and its masters… the ancient Sachsen who ruled the Demon Realm would never meekly kneel before him.
On the contrary, they would bare their fangs, desperately trying to seize the ‘Throne of Shadows’ where Dale sat.
From the very beginning, Dale’s place was neither with the gold nor the shadows.
Fortunately, however, the battlefield Dale would face now was not the Demon Realm. It was merely the ‘Demon Lord’s territory,’ where the remnants of the Demon Lord who had fled the Demon Realm were desperately trying to survive.
Nevertheless, if Dale and the Imperial Crusade reached the land of darkness at the edge of the Demon Lord’s territory, would the other Sachsen, who remained silent beyond it, continue to maintain that silence?
For now, at least, it was impossible to know.
“…At your request, Father, I have begun Lije’s magical education.”
Dale deliberately changed the subject after saying that much.
“What do you think of her?”
“She is a child with the blood and talent of Sachsen.”
Dale said, and Lord Black remained gravely silent.
“But Lije wants her magic to be just that—‘magic’ that amazes the people of this world.”
“…”
“That is why I wish to respect the path of magic she wants to walk.”
Lord Black smiled bitterly.
“For her to become a mage who can bring mystery and wonder to the people of this world, rather than inheriting the darkness of our Sachsen.”
“Then in the future, when that child says she will inherit the ‘darkness of Sachsen’ of her own free will.”
Lord Black asked in return.
“When she is reborn as a black mage who carries on our will, what will you think?”
Dale fell silent for a moment at his father’s question.
“Now I think I understand why you and Mother were so hesitant.”
It is inevitable that a child cannot understand their parents’ hearts.
At the same time, it is likely inevitable that parents cannot understand their child’s heart.
“Nevertheless, I simply want to respect Lije’s decision.”
Dale said.
“Until then, it is a family’s duty to help Lije find her own path.”
“Yes, I’m glad you said that.”
Hearing Dale’s words, Lord Black smiled quietly. It was undoubtedly the smile of a father thinking of his child, but it was also tinged with an unknowable complexity.
* * *
Some time later, at the lord’s castle in the Demon Lord’s territory, ruled by Viscount Sachsen.
“Lord Yones.”
In a room there, Dale summoned the vice-commander of the Black Armor Company, and Yones was present as requested.
“You called for me, Captain.”
“Have a seat.”
Dale said.
“You must have heard that the Church has declared a holy war and the Second Crusade is gathering.”
“Yes, accordingly, we are focused on reorganizing our Black Armor Company and strengthening its structure.”
“Good. And since our goal is to drive out the demons in the Demon Lord’s territory… it’s quite possible that battles will break out on more simultaneous fronts than we can imagine.”
“I am well aware of that point.”
As the de facto commander of the Black Armor Company, Lord Yones’s learning was endless. It extended beyond physical training to the strategy of moving organizations, units, and armies.
“Then it’s about time to evaluate the results of your learning.”
Dale smiled at the sight.
“You can trust in my performance in the crusade.”
“No, who said we’re going to war right now?”
Lord Yones declared confidently, and Dale tilted his head.
Dale then pulled something out from under the table. There were wooden pieces symbolizing various troop types, several maps, and a rulebook as thick as an encyclopedia.
“Let’s have a round of this.”
It was a wargame, played with models of each troop type and unit, following rules even stricter than actual warfare.
It wasn't long before the words “You play this game like a real bastard” escaped Yones’s lips.
* * *
The Empire’s powerful figures began to gather one after another to clear the darkness of the Demon Lord’s territory, and the construction projects within the territory, including the expansion of barracks to accommodate the soldiers, were endless.
And as people gathered, the gold in their pockets began to move, and the area around the Duchy of Sachsen, including the Demon Lord’s territory, was no longer a remote northern backwater.
Countless people were flocking to the region, undeterred by the barren and harsh frozen lands characteristic of the north. They breathed life into the domain, and this not only increased trade within the Demon Lord’s territory but also brought a golden wind to the entire northern region.
The Duchy of Sachsen was no longer a black bear huddled in the north. The seeds Dale had sown on the foundation his father, Duke Sachsen, had built had sprouted and borne fruit. The duchy had been reborn as a land of opportunity where wealth, rivaling any in the Empire, was in motion.
The results of the domain development projects Dale had built up, using information others didn't have, which he obtained ahead of time based on the ledgers of Guild City, were finally beginning to pay off.
Endless wealth accumulated throughout the north. Most of it went to Duke Sachsen’s name, but that was not the case for the assets within the Demon Lord’s territory, which could be considered the core.
It was entirely the property of Viscount Sachsen, Dale.
And what Dale had obtained by pouring in the majority of that wealth was an indescribably extravagant shopping spree.
He had selected the most elite heavy infantry from the Black Armor Company and armed every single one of them with armor that was an ‘artifact.’
As the personal guard directly under the ‘Black Prince.’
The absurd idea of arming each and every infantryman with priceless treasures. And it would not be long before that idea shone.
* * *
Some time later.
The war did not begin overnight. A year passed, then several more months, and now ‘the war’ was just around the corner.
Countless nobles from all over the Empire and their forces had gathered in the Demon Lord’s territory, a crusade to carry out a holy war.
The highest command of that very crusade was gathered in a room in the Sachsen lord’s castle.
A pioneering project to drive out the remnants of the demons in the Demon Lord’s territory, draw a border with the Demon Realm beyond, and turn it into ‘Sachsen’s territory.’
The fact that the ‘other Sachsen’ in the Demon Realm had remained silent until now was likely proof that they paid no mind to the demons in the Demon Lord’s territory or the movements of the Empire.
In other words, if they drove out the demons from the Demon Lord’s territory and halted their advance at the entrance to the Demon Realm, the chances of clashing with the other Sachsen were low.
“I am deeply grateful for the passion and faith of all the lords gathered here.”
After organizing the information up to that point, Dale, as one of the representatives of the crusade, began to speak.
He looked over the faces of the Empire’s powerful figures gathered there, one by one.
There were nobles from all corners of the Empire seeking to make a name for themselves, and powerful individuals who, despite having already proven their renown, had joined the great cause of the ‘holy war.’
“And through the care of the Sister Goddesses and your profound passion, we have finally gathered here and regained the opportunity to drive out the ‘darkness of the Demon Lord’s territory.’”
“The Goddess wills it.”
Just then, a sword of the Church, gathered to carry out the holy war, raised his voice.
It was another Master Templar. And he was not the only ‘Master Templar’ present.
Along with numerous White Elders, including the 7th-circle white mage Borenus.
They were not all.
“Lord Dale’s words are indeed true.”
The Witch of York, ‘Catherine of York,’ who was once supposed to be Phillip’s fiancée, spoke on behalf of her House York. As the lady of York, now single after annulling her engagement with House Brandenburg following the Second War of the Roses. She agreed with the purpose of the holy war, leading the countless knights of the Order of the Blue Rose, the pride of House York.
The Imperial Family, the Red Magic Tower, and other prominent grand lords of the Empire… Lancaster and York, as well as other great lords of the continent on their level, and their representatives, were all gathered there.
This was no longer a mere alliance.
What those gathered here sought to carry out was a holy war, to uproot the demons within the Demon Lord’s territory, including the high-ranking ones.
All without knowing a thing about the depth of the ancient darkness that existed in the Demon Realm, beyond the Demon Lord’s territory.
“The time has finally come.”
In that very place, where a grand army of the Empire had gathered, one that could not even be compared to the time of the first grand demon alliance… the First Crusade.
The war the Goddess desired had finally begun.