Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Sea of Blood and Mountains of Corpses (6)
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It wasn't until the end of summer that the Empire resumed its advance. This time, they didn't repeat the same mistake.
In the past, Princess Morgana had split her forces for a swift resolution, and the strategy had nearly succeeded.
Though they failed due to the improbable variable named Cain Blackguard, things would be different this time.
Even if it took a little longer, they would securely occupy each area, dismantle the resistance forces, and then press on.
Of course, time wasn't unlimited. But was the situation desperate enough to advance recklessly, heedless of flanks?
No. On the contrary, it was faith in the Empire's might that allowed them to afford this measured approach, even with some delay.
"We must firmly occupy the kingdom. It's true we have little time to spare, but failure is utterly unacceptable."
A kingdom that couldn't match the Empire's knights—let alone its mages—had no chance of victory.
Without that absurd power of immortality, the Empire's army would have swept to the capital in moments and severed the king's head.
Fortunately, with time having passed, they now had ways to counter the kingdom army's immortality.
The one barrier impeding the Empire's march had crumbled. Their advance now faced no obstacles.
"I never dreamed I'd return to this place."
"......Me neither."
"Looking back, I never even reached the capital's gates."
Cain and Anna both wore bitter expressions as they gazed at the vast city sprawled before them—no need to say who reacted first.
The walls erected to defend the city, the gates firmly shut tight. At the sight, Cain clicked his tongue.
Back when Cain had fulfilled his duties as a knight of the kingdom, he had marched toward the capital to protect all who followed him.
Yet before he could arrive, they were met by the kingdom's cavalry, who branded him a traitor.
The kingdom's cavalry, their finest said to rival the Empire's elites. And they had targeted the civilians.
Cain still remembered that horrific scene all too vividly. How could he forget what he had lived through?
"Come now, I get that painful memories are resurfacing for everyone, but... don't we have pressing business first?"
"Your Highness the Princess."
"S-Sorry. Coming back to the capital, I got caught up in the moment..."
"It's fine. I can understand your complicated feelings, Anna."
Anna hailed from royalty, and even Cain had once served that king with unwavering loyalty.
Even if they had been the ones to cast him out first, mixed emotions were inevitable for a former loyal vassal.
But public duty and private sentiment must be strictly separated—especially now, on a campaign of conquest.
"Unfortunately, we've long passed the point where old ties warrant mercy. Of course, I know you two understand that..."
"We'll keep it in mind, Your Highness."
Cain nodded at Princess Morgana's stern words. Bitter as it was, there was no hesitation.
No matter how it started, the kingdom was now unequivocally the enemy. And they had crossed lines no human should.
Ironically, Anna—Andre's own sister—thought the same. How had things come to this?
The Andre before her no longer resembled the brother she knew. What had twisted him so?
"If we conduct the siege by the book, taking the capital should be straightforward..."
"Urk?!"
But before they could properly launch the siege, Cain clutched his chest as a stabbing pain pierced it like an iron spike.
In that split second of confusion from the inexplicable agony—not just Cain, but everyone gathered—disaster struck.
The Empire's soldiers were the first to spot the harbinger. The sky was beginning to darken with pitch blackness.
Rushing out at the ominous shift, Cain scowled. The sun was being engulfed in darkness.
'It might look like a mere solar eclipse, but for it to happen right now, at this exact moment? No coincidence.'
His grim premonitions never missed. From beyond the sealed walls came a roar like a scream echoing across the land.
All eyes naturally turned toward the walls. Everyone present witnessed it.
A colossal mass of bone shards and flesh chunks, massive enough to crush the battlements—a legend from the annals of history.
A dragon. If one had to specify, a cursed dragon. Yet Morgana spoke without a trace of excitement.
"So that's their final desperate gambit. I didn't expect a dragon... but it's not far from my predictions."
Any other army might have fallen into panic. But these were Cain's troops.
Elites among elites, survivors of wyverns and the Seven Kings in the Demon Realm—even its core.
The soldiers gripped their weapons. If anything, they took reassurance from the blood trickling from its scant flesh.
After all, if it bleeds, they could kill it somehow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Empire's mage battalion reacted first. They were siege magic specialists, experts at shattering walls.
But they weren't inept at defense. Their barriers rivaled their offensive spells.
The barrier they deployed soon collided with the corpse dragon's green breath, shattering it into fragments.
Though it crumbled after a single blow, it had fulfilled its role as a shield.
"Was that just now...?!"
"If the histories aren't wrong, it's Dragon Breath for sure. The kind said to raze nations with a mere exhale..."
But that clash revealed the truth. It wasn't the real thing. If it were, no barrier could have withstood it.
So what now? Morgana's mind whirled. Enemy advantages first...
The kingdom troops would have regeneration as standard, plus diluted versions of draconic power.
But if those half-twisted wings flapped and it took to the skies, it'd be more trouble than any wyvern.
"Mages, forward! Soldiers, ready the ballistae—target that dragon's wings! We can't let it fly, no matter what!"
Having learned from their wyvern ordeal, Morgana swiftly focused fire on the corpse dragon's wings.
Lightning-laced spells, catapult stones, and massive heavy bolts soon hurtled forth with full force.
Even the arrows were no ordinary shafts. Siege weapons were all enchanted masterpieces, unlike standard gear.
Against a true mythical dragon from legend, they might have failed...
'You think that half-baked kingdom king... even this grotesque corpse dragon forged by twisted arts... has impenetrable wings!!'
The princess's hunch proved right. Catapults did nothing, but spells and enchanted bolts struck true.
The wounds began regenerating almost immediately, but the momentary halt was more than enough.
One of the Empire's premier forces was already in motion. Before departing, he glanced at Morgana.
"Then I'll be off."
"Yes... please come back safely."
Like a husband stepping out and his wife bidding him farewell. The tender moment passed.
Cain's body rocketed toward the corpse dragon, faster than any ballista bolt.
In command alone, Morgana still held the edge. But he harbored no resentment.
'Everyone excels in their domain. I'll just give my all to mine.'
The deadly aura rippling over Cain like heat haze was tougher than any armor or wall.
BOOM!!!
At cannonball speeds, the corpse dragon absorbed Cain's charge with its body.
It plummeted—the beast that had nearly healed and launched skyward on those skeletal, grotesque wings.
And it wasn't just a fall. The backlash hurled it beyond the capital into the open plains.
The plan was straightforward: While Cain pinned the enemy's ace, the army would seize the capital by brute force.
"Her Highness will handle the rest just fine... but to be safe, I'll wrap this up quick and head back."
As if answering Cain's words, the skeletal behemoth parted its bony jaws.