Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The True Shadow Lord
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There were four fortresses.
Just as the border between the Duchy of Sachsen and the Demon King's domain had once been defended by a few strategic points and river crossings, there were only a limited number of routes a large army could take to move from the Demon Realm into the Demon King's domain.
“Assuming a high-ranking demon is commanding the demons within the Demon King's domain, there will be at least one high-ranking demon stationed in one of these four fortresses, or perhaps one in each.”
That was why Dale pointed to the four strategic points—and the fortresses built upon them—that allowed for 'large-scale movement' between the Demon King's domain and the Demon Realm. They were old fortresses built by the Imperial Army after the Hero defeated the Demon King. Now that the Imperial Army had withdrawn and abandoned them, they had surely become strongholds for the demons within the domain.
Aside from these fortresses and the paths they guarded, there were no other roads for moving from the 'Demon Realm' into the Demon King's domain.
Back then, it was a living hell where entire units were wiped out almost daily, falling into crevasses with a single misstep in the frozen wastes.
“That's a reasonable thought.”
In the gathering of the Second Crusade's leaders, Princess Kiara nodded at Dale's words.
“During the subjugation of the Demon King, the Imperial Army identified the strategic points where a massive force, on the scale of a great demon migration, could maneuver and established these fortresses.”
“To think that the very fortresses symbolizing the victory of our glorious Empire and the Hero over the Demon King and his ilk have now fallen into demon hands. It is truly a lamentable state of affairs.”
At the princess's words, one of the Master Templars muttered under his breath.
“Garrisoning those fortresses and developing the Demon King's domain was solely Sachsen's duty.”
“And are we not fulfilling that duty now?”
Dale replied calmly, facing the man's unconcealed hostility.
“At least in my father's time, defending all four fortresses with Sachsen's forces alone was nigh impossible.”
“Hah, so the great house of Sachsen, which prides itself on its fearsome reputation, doesn't hesitate to play the coward when it suits them!”
Another Master Templar sneered openly.
“Besides large-scale troop movements, there were endless small demon guerilla bands that bypassed the fortresses. Monitoring the entire Demon King's domain, on top of our already vast duchy, was too heavy a burden for Sachsen to bear alone.”
Dale answered matter-of-factly. It was a territory that Sachsen, with its self-imposed isolationism, could not manage—at least not before adopting an open-door policy and bringing in outside forces.
“Please, try not to get too worked up.”
After finishing his calm explanation, Dale continued coldly.
“Lest you forget the 'martyrdom' that befell your Brother Lusignan.”
“You...!”
“Please, that's enough.”
Just then, Princess Kiara spoke to the Master Templars, who couldn't hide their rage.
“P-Princess!”
“As I said, we are all gathered here to carry out a single holy war. Can you not set aside personal feelings and blame, and unite for a common goal?”
“...”
“In any case, if we desire a swift conclusion, what we must do is simple.”
A silence fell at the princess's words, and in that silence, Dale spoke again.
“We will take the four fortresses sequentially and establish the 'Barrier of Light,' the holy relic the White Magic Tower prides itself on.”
“How dare you apostates of Sachsen speak the name of the Goddess's holy relic so carelessly...!”
“Would you please shut your mouth? Stop nitpicking at the end of every sentence like a seven-year-old.”
Just as the Master Templar was about to raise his voice again, Lady Scarlet interjected.
“Lady Scarlet, do you think the Goddess will forget the cursed evil you perpetrated against our Brother Lusignan?”
The Master Templar retorted, refusing to back down, and Lady Scarlet sneered coldly.
“You should be grateful you weren't hung alive on a meat hook and turned into a slab of butcher's meat.”
She bared her fangs in a blatant display.
It was then.
“As I have said repeatedly, that is enough.”
Jet-black tentacles coiled around Dale, and the 'Avatar of the Shadow Lord,' clad in armor of dark blood, materialized.
With a power that overwhelmed the assembly by its mere presence, the Shadow Lord submerged the area in a flood of darkness.
An eerie chill and darkness seized the area, and silence fell like a feather.
Upon seeing this, the reactions of the crusade's leaders split into two main groups.
“H-how can he summon an avatar...!”
The majority of lords and knights, unable to hide their shock at the transcendent ability displayed by Dale, who was supposed to be a mage.
The Church and some of the more belligerent representatives, equally bewildered, but simultaneously preparing for battle.
At the same time, Dale dismissed his avatar and continued to speak calmly.
“Since we don't know what threats lie dormant within the Demon King's domain, we will unite as one main force and attack the fortresses in sequence.”
With all eyes on him, he began to explain the details of the operation.
“We will concentrate our forces and capture the first through fourth fortresses in order. After that, we will erect the 'Barrier of Light' connecting the four fortresses. Once the path between the Demon Realm and the Demon King's domain is blocked, we will mop up the remnants within the domain, and only then will this territory truly become 'Imperial land'.”
“Concentrate our forces?”
But the one who burst out laughing at those words was the 7th Prince, Modred.
“You've gathered this massive army just to crawl like a slug through this godforsaken land that doesn't even have a Demon King?”
“As I said, we have yet to gauge the threat of high-ranking demons.”
“Can't you see the number of troops gathered here, 'greatest genius of the Empire'?”
Modred continued.
“We will divide our forces into four units and attack all four fortresses in the Demon King's domain simultaneously. Anyone got a problem with that?”
As if determined not to let the operation proceed under Dale's leadership.
“His Highness the Prince is right!”
“They called the 'Black Prince' a military genius, but it turns out he's just a coward hiding behind the Sachsen name!”
“Indeed!”
The moment Modred spoke, the lords hostile to Sachsen erupted in jeers. Amidst the mockery, Dale remained impassively silent.
*'These hopeless bastards.'*
Swallowing the words that were about to burst from his throat, Dale replied.
“Well then, please, do as you wish.”
As if it were someone else's problem entirely.
***
The war began, and four large forces set out, each toward a different fortress.
The four forces were led by the 7th Prince Modred, the Red Magic Tower, the Church, and House Sachsen, respectively.
The capture of the First Fortress, considered the most glorious prize, fell to Modred. The fortress assigned to Dale was the Fourth, believed to be the most vulnerable of the lot.
***
At that moment, at the First Fortress where Modred and the Empire's prominent lords were advancing.
Standing on the fortress watchtower was a man in a black robe. Beneath the robe, shadows writhed—a high-ranking demon.
A sorcerer from the Demon Realm, a shadowmancer who had once inherited the ideology of 'another Sachsen' from the Shadow Magic Tower.
And when the Demon King Balor and a large number of demons fled, unable to endure the cruelty and evil of their own kind, the Eldritch, that man had followed the Demon King.
To escape the 'demons of shadow,' to break free from their madness, and to desperately find a new home to survive.
This Demon King's domain was their ground for survival. A land where their race, blocked by the Empire's wall, could live without ever returning to that hellish place.
It was then.
From the shadow cast at the man's feet, a black tentacle shot up.
The tentacle that rose from below coiled around the high-ranking demon, the shadowmancer, constricting his body.
“...!”
In his bewilderment, he tried to move his shadows, but a voice reached him first.
—Do you think you can escape the shadows?
“Ah, ahh...!”
It was an unforgettable voice. The man struggled desperately to turn within the tentacle's grasp.
—A young boy was there.
A boy whose eyes were wrapped tightly in black bandages.
Upon seeing him, the color drained from the high-ranking demon's face.
“H-how...!”
“Cowards who flee from my empire are of no concern to me.”
The young boy continued.
“But as it happens, my 'daughter,' whom I must reclaim, is coming here of her own accord.”
Seeing the boy, the man fell to his knees in terror.
“P-please forgive me...! 'Shadow Lord'...!”
Shadow Lord. At those words, the young boy smiled gently.
“It is far too late for forgiveness, my child.”
Simultaneously, the shadows in the area opened their 'eyes.' Countless eyeballs within the shadows began to dart left and right, watching everything.
“Still, I suppose I can give you a chance.”
“Speak, I-I will obey the Shadow Lord's command!”
“Bring me the 'false bloodline of Sachsen'.”
The Shadow Lord said.
“The fearless usurper who dared to steal my daughter and impersonate the 'Shadow Lord' despite being a fake.”
At those words, the hooded man bowed his head so low it was as if he were driving it into the floor. The moment the tentacles coiling around him retreated back into the shadows, the man fled as if his life depended on it.
The young boy with his eyes covered by black bandages remained where he was.
Honing his cold hatred for the golden bloodline approaching this place, the lineage of his unforgettable nemesis.
***
The advance of the crusade, split into four forces, proceeded surprisingly smoothly.
No, it was so smooth it was strange.
Nothing stood in their way. All they did was march through the biting, freezing cold.
Days and nights passed, but no demon guerillas appeared to block Dale's force. The news from the messengers communicating with the other units was the same.
And so, when Dale's force safely reached their target, the Fourth Fortress.
The fortress was empty. As if there had never been anything there to begin with.
'...'
The chances of demon remnants occupying all four fortresses were slim from the start. And among them, this place undoubtedly had the highest probability of being a dud.
A short time later, a messenger from the force attacking the First Fortress rushed to find Dale's unit.
And the messenger's condition was extremely strange.
He would burst into mad cackles of laughter, then begin to wail like a child. Dale calmed the messenger and asked him what had happened, and the messenger replied.
“What happened there?”
“God...!”
The messenger muttered.
“Th-there was a god! A god! An omniscient, omnipotent, great celestial watcher! Hehehe!”
“A god? Are you talking about the Sister Goddesses of Sistina?”
“S-Sister Goddesses? Ha, haha!”
The messenger burst out laughing as if the idea was absurd.
“There are no such things as Sister Goddesses! But ah, ahh, there is. A god! A god truly existed!”
Along with a truly crazed laugh.
“—But that god does not love us at all!”
As he finished speaking, black blood gushed from the messenger's eyes, nose, and mouth.
It was the same dark blood that Shub's tentacles had once scattered.
After hearing those words, Dale and his forces did not hesitate.
Never imagining the ambush that was about to block their path.