The Bloody Hammer for Cassiod
For the past three days, the enemy had been throwing up fortresses at every choke point just to make our lives miserable. We were running into one roughly every three hours. Ignoring them wasn't an option. Detouring around each fortress burned far too much time, and it gutted the men's morale — dodging a fortress meant dodging a fight.
Even Archmage Sharnell was wearing down fast, forced to unleash large-scale magic every three hours. Without her magic, cracking each fortress would pin us down for hours at minimum. And even after taking one, there was precious little to show for it.
"At this rate, it'll take forever to reach the Cobalt Kingdom. We need a plan."
"There isn't a clean solution, my lord. We'd have to kill the demon contractor building these fortresses… but that contractor is at least two days ahead of us."
Starlight reported. Honestly, a straight-up pitched battle would have been easier than this.
"Then we negotiate. The Sun of Solfmed… I'll send a letter to Marquess Leona Daycurd. We captured five knights yesterday, didn't we? Bring them."
Starlight had the soldiers fetch two of the captive knights.
"…Weren't there five?"
"One was executed as an example. Two more were killed for excessive resistance."
"…Well, delivering a letter isn't exactly difficult work. Doesn't matter."
I handed the captive knights a horse and the letter. No rations.
"You have exactly one week. Bring me Marquess Daycurd's reply within seven days. If there's no answer… we march on the Daycurd Marquessate."
"…Count Pruker. You will pay for your crimes!"
One of the knights spat the words at me before leaving, chewing each syllable like gristle. That insolent posture made my blood boil. I summoned Hwaryeonbido. A blue Aura Blade coated the dagger's crimson blade. In a single stroke, I carved through both knight and horse.
"You got something to say to me too?"
I looked at the remaining knight, who was staring at me in pure horror. He clenched his jaw and turned away.
"…I will deliver the letter to Marquess Daycurd."
He mounted up in a hurry, as if trying to hide his fear, and vanished into the distance.
I flicked the blood from my blade into the empty air.
"Starlight."
"Yes, my lord."
"Change course. We head for Viscount Cassiod's city. After toying with us like this… I can't just let it slide."
"Shouldn't we reach the Cobalt Kingdom as quickly as possible?"
I grinned and crooked a finger at her. Starlight stepped close. I leaned in and whispered quietly into her ear.
"Just between us… time doesn't really matter. We've got a secret weapon of our own on this side."
Yuria.
Yuria's existence alone meant we would win this war. And if it came down to it, I wouldn't hesitate to bring weapons from other worlds into play.
"Understood. Then, as my lord wills… we shall bring the bloody hammer down on Viscount Cassiod."
The army wheeled about and set course for Viscount Cassiod's city. Roughly two days' march. If I ran, I could make it in half a day — but we had to move with a host of a hundred and twenty thousand.
"My lord, what exactly did you write in the letter to Marquess Daycurd? Did you propose a deal?"
"I told her to shut the hell up and sit still if she didn't want to die."
"…Did you write it exactly like that?"
"Why bother dressing it up?"
"…Then we should prepare for war with Marquess Daycurd."
I took Starlight with me into the carriage. I'd originally planned to take Sharnell's virginity… but talking with Starlight had gotten me hard for her instead.
The moment we were inside, I stripped her clothes off. She was tall and slender. Her breasts were a C-cup, fitting perfectly into my hands.
"Mmm…"
She accepted my touch without resistance. And before long, calm, measured moans began to slip from her lips.
"Aahng."
Two days later.
We arrived at Viscount Cassiod's city. The gates were sealed tight, and soldiers lined the walls above, looking down on us with arrows nocked.
"Sharnell. Can you handle it?"
"Dealing real damage with magic alone is going to be tough. See those mages up there? At least fifty of them. The second I cast Hellfire, they'll counter it."
"So for you to properly cut loose, those mages have to go first."
Archmages had existed since ancient times. And with that long history came at least a few basic countermeasures. The most common was exactly this — massing large numbers of mages and focusing them entirely on defense. Matching an Archmage's raw firepower was nearly impossible, but defense was a different story.
I looked up at the sky. The sun was sinking behind the mountains. Our own troops had only just arrived and were exhausted.
"We rest today. Siege begins tomorrow morning. Have the siege engines ready before you sleep. Sharnell — take care of your condition."
"Hmph. Just leave me alone and I'll be fine."
"…I was hoping to watch that vulgar breast-dance of yours again tonight… but I suppose it can't be helped."
"You are seriously… haah…"
Sharnell shook her head in exasperation and disappeared into her carriage.
I stood watching the walls, striking a pose. In this battle, I would lead from the front myself. That way my exploits would spread far and wide, and the army's morale would climb with them.
I was still holding that pose when Floy called out to me.
"My lord. The gates are opening. A knight is riding this way. It appears to be Viscount Cassiod's envoy."
"I can't wait to hear what nonsense he spouts."
I received Cassiod's envoy with my soldiers at my back. The man approached with tense, careful steps. I sat in my chair with an arrogant sprawl and waited for him.
"Count Pruker. It is an honor to meet you. I am Palest, come bearing Viscount Cassiod's will."
"Well then, Sir Palest. What message did that ill-mannered Cassiod send you to deliver?"
"……"
Palest bristled for a moment, then steadied his breathing and drew a letter from his coat. Floy took it and handed it to me.
I read it. Stripped of the flowery language, the summary was this:
What you seek is not here. Take your army and leave. Do you not have more important matters to attend to?
I grinned.
"Very insolent. I like it. Floy. Kill Sir Palest. His head will serve as my reply."
"Yes, my lord."
Shrrring. Floy drew her sword from her hip.
Palest stumbled backward in panic.
"Count Pruker! Treat me properly as an envoy! If you kill me, everyone will condemn you!"
"Cassiod insulted me first. He should have shown me more respect. And I don't give a damn about the condemnation of swine."
As if refusing to die like this, Palest drew the sword at his waist.
Every female knight around him drew their blades as one and charged. Dozens of swords punched through Palest's body.
"Floy. Take his head and throw it to Cassiod yourself."
"Yes, my lord."
Seeing Palest's severed head, Cassiod flew into a rage and ordered his men to loose arrows at Floy. A rain of shafts fell toward her.
Floy casually swept her sword and knocked every single arrow aside. She was an Aura Master — and a veteran of countless wars. This was nothing to her. Even if she slipped, the dwarven armor she wore would keep the arrows off her skin.
Floy returned to the army without a scratch.
"KRAAAAAAGH!"
A scream tore through the night. And it wasn't just one person. Something had clearly gone wrong. I'd been enjoying myself with Yuria inside the carriage, and my brow furrowed hard. I tried to ignore whatever was happening outside… but the screaming went on for more than five minutes straight.
"Yuria. I'll be right back."
I pulled my cock out of Yuria's pussy. The shaft, slick with her juices, twitched with reluctance.
"Yes, Master. I'll keep fingering myself so my pussy doesn't go cold."
"You don't have to. I'll be back before it cools."
I kissed her on the mouth, got down from the bed, and pulled on my clothes. Swallowing a rising surge of irritation, I stepped out of the carriage.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
"KRAAAAAH!"
"S-stop it!!"
The screams were coming from inside the tents.
Soldiers were moving in a frantic bustle. Female knights prowled the perimeter with swords drawn, ready for anything.
I found Starlight.
"Starlight. What's going on? Some kind of plague?"
"No, my lord. Soldiers are suddenly screaming in their sleep and dying on the spot. The cause of death is heart failure — but sudden death in the middle of sleep makes no sense. The officers and I suspect a nightmare demon."
"A nightmare demon…"
Our enemy was the demon faction Panteum. Active demonic intervention wouldn't be strange at all.
"Casualties?"
"One hundred eighty-one dead. The ones who start screaming don't last three minutes."
"Can't you just wake them?"
"Slapping their faces, dousing them in cold water — nothing works. The mages are helpless as well."
"Any other options?"
"We've been leaning hard on the mages… but they know next to nothing about demons."
Should I ask Yuria?
I knew we had over five hundred mages with the army. I hadn't expected them to be this useless.
"That said, we believe finding and killing the nightmare demon will end it."
"That's not exactly a brilliant deduction. If a nightmare demon is doing this, killing it will stop it. The real question is where the damn thing is."
"That's where the mages' opinions split. Either the nightmare demon is hiding inside someone's dream… or it's lurking somewhere in the camp, manipulating the soldiers' dreams from there."
"……"
Something occurred to me.
Heavenly Eye.
Heavenly Eye had a number of effects. One of them was the ability to see mana. If I could see mana, I might be able to pinpoint the nightmare demon's location.
I stepped outside and activated Heavenly Eye at once.
Heavenly Eye
I found pitch-black auras seeping from tents all across the camp. Not mana. Those auras rose into the sky and gathered toward a single point.
"Heheheh."
There, a three-head-tall demon was clutching its belly and laughing.