Chapter 411
Chapter 411
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 411
Chapter Title: Dark Nest (1)
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A battlefield strewn with the corpses of grotesque demons everywhere.
Whoosh—
A chill gust of wind brushed past them, then soared high into the sky, passing by the vicious-looking demons who were panting heavily after just ending the war.
"...Tch. I had a feeling."
In the center of the high sky where that wind headed.
A beauty floating at a spot overlooking the entire battlefield, with winds from all directions gathered in her grasp, furrowed her brows in dissatisfaction.
"He really got away. I guess it was too much to hope to finish him off here."
Her yellow-tinted reverse eyes returned to normal, and the winds swirling around her gradually died down.
She had swept the entire area using the Elemental Dominion of her Seven-Colored Demon Eyes, just in case, but as expected, no unusual traces turned up no matter how thoroughly she searched.
'Well, he's known as the strongest in the demon world, so it's only natural.'
Hella smacked her lips in regret and lightly cracked her neck.
In this one battle, her opponent, the Mad Dragon Duke, had proven to be a powerhouse not to be underestimated if she wanted to end the war here.
Above all, she hadn't been able to fight properly because she was busy preventing him from retreating to his base whenever he found an opening, instead of clashing head-on.
'Still, this exceeds my initial expectations.'
She had bought more than enough time—more than sufficient for her original goal.
And that was all thanks to the Seven-Colored Demon Eyes she had acquired thanks to the Mad Dragon Duke.
Whenever he tried to pull some trick, the Foresight Demon Eye allowed her to respond swiftly.
'Of course, he had the same demon eyes, so he slipped away in the end. But even if I go back now, there's nothing I can do anyway.'
It was already far too late to do anything about it.
As Hella recalled what she had gained from this successful mission, she let out a smirk.
[Lady Hella! Primary inspection complete. We're currently assessing detailed casualties by unit and classifying the surrendered enemies!] At that moment, a massive balrog flapped its wings and flew up to deliver its report.
It was tedious, but as the supreme commander of the current forces, Hella had to go through this necessary process.
"...Is it because the Mad Dragon Duke came out personally? The battle wasn't that long, but these are the heaviest losses so far."
[This is actually quite good. It's all thanks to you paying extra attention even in the midst of battle, Lady Hella. And after the Mad Dragon Duke retreated, a significant number of enemy troops surrendered, so we can quickly make up for our losses this time.]
The marquis-level demon Tobares, who had been in charge of the overall army led by Hella ever since switching from Dark Nest to Helheim, began giving various follow-up reports as if he had already grasped everything, despite the battle having just ended.
She simply nodded to his report.
[From the moment we swallowed up the entire territory of Otorel, Dark Nest's central gateway, control has completely shifted to us. Now, depending on where we go next, their defensive strategy will waver, so they'll be racking their brains for a while.] This was why Hella, who only knew how to fight and nothing about strategy or tactics in war, had entrusted him with commanding the troops.
As one of the enemy high-ranking commanders until recently, he had an intimate grasp of their current situation and response structure.
He was also a talented individual with experience leading armies at the forefront even when Dark Nest merged with Duke Touma's Burning Inferno.
"Hmm, so from now on, we can unilaterally dictate the flow of the war as we please?"
[Yes. This place is a key strategic point worth it. Even the Mad Dragon Duke coming here himself only to retreat so easily proves it.] 'He had no choice. That side must have been more important to him than holding this one battlefield.'
Hella glanced at Tobares with a smirk at his words.
A good portion of her smooth advance here was thanks to him moving her subordinates like his own limbs.
She didn't know or care why a balrog like him sided with the Mad Dragon Duke against his fellow balrog Duke Touma...
In the end, since she had resolved to swallow the entire demon world, all she needed from those under her was ability, nothing else.
'Well, not all in the same clan get along. Especially in this demon world where struggle and betrayal are everyday occurrences.'
The factions that dominated the demon world's power structure were mere warlord alliances formed based on the leaders' abilities and inclinations for personal gain.
In that sense, the Dream Walkers—united succubi demons—were a special case.
That was probably influenced by the 14th Demon King's ascension, Lereia's reign, and the oppression following her death.
'Lilliana leading the Dream Walkers on defense won't crumble easily either. So next...'
Helheim's frontlines weren't limited to this one place.
As a faction firmly ranking among the top three in the demon world, the territories it had to protect had naturally expanded accordingly.
And it had to remain vigilant against the temporary ally, Demoniac, as well.
In this demon world, complaining about getting stabbed in the back only earned you mockery.
'Of course, no need to worry about that side for the time being. I hope they like my gift.'
A meaningful smile played on Hella's lips as she quietly looked up at the sky.
The ever-purple sky, the massive sword-shaped rift crossing its center, and the galaxy shining through it.
As she blankly admired the beautiful scenery, her mind calmed.
"...Alright, time to move to the next phase. Now that our ally is actively helping, this is the perfect opportunity."
With morale skyrocketing after even driving off the enemy leader, the Mad Dragon Duke, Hella—the lord of Helheim—led her army onward once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Dark Nest's home base.
"Your Grace! Are you alright?"
"To return so suddenly like this..."
Subordinates rushed in, flustered by the Mad Dragon Duke's abrupt return from the battlefield.
It was only natural, seeing their supposedly strongest ruler return in near-defeat.
"Get lost! You idiots!"
But that only poured oil on his rage.
Even if the underground ritual hall's existence was hidden, preventing outsiders from noticing anything amiss, if these fools had properly guarded the base, none of this would have happened!
With a ferocious aura belying his human form, he shoved away those crowding him and hurried to the underground secret ritual hall.
In the process, he tore apart the viscount-level ox-headed demon gatekeeper with his bare hands. The sight that greeted him there was even worse than he had feared.
The crime scene remained pristine, abandoned due to tight security.
The Mad Dragon Duke's face hardened as he slowly approached the center.
"Sodian..."
In the completely demolished underground workshop reduced to rubble, the only traces of her were a few scraps of wood.
But that alone was enough to infer what had happened here.
The culprit who killed Sodian had cleanly looted not just her remains but everything inside the workshop.
His face twisted in fury as he headed deeper.
To where he had carefully captured Duke Touma's Karakul, bound in restraints.
All that remained there was blood splattered on the floor.
Likewise, the restraints, massive torture frame, and ritual equipment had all been meticulously stripped away whole.
Grind—
Gnashing his teeth savagely, he strode forward.
Toward the door embedded in the rear pillar.
He already had a good idea of the situation, but he needed to confirm it with his own eyes.
'Ken, that bastard...!'
His insides boiled with rage.
How much blood and sweat had he poured into securing this place?
Yet it had come to this—his mind went white with fury.
'This isn't something one person could do alone. There must be accomplices.'
Taking down the first gateway, Sodian, was proof of that.
She was a marquis-level demon right below him.
In his fully prepared workshop, no one at her rank could touch her!
His suspicions solidified the moment he entered the temple interior.
💥 ROAR OF FURY! 💥 [KRAAAAAH—!]
The Mad Dragon's rage-filled roar echoed thunderously through the massive temple corridors.
The space itself grew unstable; the interior, which would normally withstand anything, shook as if in an earthquake. But the Mad Dragon Duke had no spare thought for it.
💥 ROAR OF FURY! 💥 [How dare you! How dare you HOW DARE YOU! I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you—!]
He simply unleashed his scorching fury, as if ready to tear the culprit apart right then.
At this point, narrowing down the suspects behind it wasn't hard.
Even granting Ken's help to enter the ritual hall, few in the demon world could pull off something like this!
Just in case, he scoured every corner of the temple, and a crucial piece of evidence fell into his hands.
A small scrap of fabric torn from somewhere.
But with his acutely sensitive senses, he could clearly identify whose energy clung to it.
"Kuhuhu... So it was you after all, just as I suspected."
A sinister laugh escaped at the evidence turning 99% certainty into 100%.
Normally, he might have doubted even this, but with only one suspect, it was different.
The one who could slaughter marquis-level Sodian in his fully prepared workshop, dismantle the temple rituals to steal the sacrifices, and cleanly loot even the 15th Demon King's aggregate imprisoned underground...
💥 ROAR OF FURY! 💥 [Pietaaa—! You dare—!]
Who else but Black Rock Duke Pieta?
This wasn't something a few marquises conspiring could achieve.
And Helheim's leader Hella, another suspect, had been fiercely battling him at the time, leaving only Pieta.
'I don't know how he sneaked in here...!'
That walking corpse using forbidden arts unlike ordinary black magic could have pulled some trick he didn't know about.
And hadn't he left such blatant evidence?
"So, you want to try it, huh? No wonder you've been so quiet lately—you were plotting this behind my back. Looks like you're in cahoots with that mongrel too..."
Black flames erupted in an instant, reducing the fabric scrap in his hand to ashes scattering in the wind.
At the same time, his last thread of patience shattered.
💥 ROAR OF FURY! 💥 [KRAAAAAH—! I'll rip you apart!]
The temple shook again with his bellow of indignation.
But he didn't notice.
——!
That from the moment he entered, the temple had been continuously sending signals, as if trying to convey something to him.
He stormed out of the temple with heavy steps, oblivious to the signals until the end.
Ready to reignite the war immediately.
———!
The temple fired another strong signal irritably in response, but it was inevitable.
The Mad Dragon Duke here was merely a resident.
And none of the apostles who could heed those signals remained.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Demoniac's home base.
Blue ghostly flames rose from the eye sockets of the being draped in long black robes trailing on the floor, wearing an inverted goat skull on its head—Black Rock Duke Pieta.
"Impressive indeed. Who would've thought a newborn faction could pull this off."
Seated on his throne, he murmured lowly while eyeing the real-time battlefield map with his subordinates' movements.
His gaze lingered on Helheim's emblem sweeping through the battlefield like a juggernaut.
"Good thing I prepared in advance."
A chuckle emanated from the goat skull.
Demoniac had already completed all preparations and was just waiting for the chance to stab Helheim in the back.
Though Dark Nest might be larger now, it was obvious Helheim would soon surpass it as a greater threat, so checking it was only natural.
The current situation proved it fully.
'They might have already surpassed Dark Nest.'
That was why Demoniac had been responding as passively as possible on recent battlefields.
While the aggressive Helheim clashed repeatedly with Dark Nest, who had no choice but to focus on them, Demoniac conserved strength to strike both exhausted foes at once.
To that end, schemes to worsen relations between the two and whittle them down were proceeding steadily.
"Huhu, war isn't won by brute force alone."
The Black Rock Duke, who preferred intrigue over open battle, mocked his rivals' folly.
The more they fought, the greater his advantage.
"Your Grace! Your Grace!"
As he savored his satisfaction alone.
One of his adjutants burst into the command room, pale-faced.
His demeanor screamed something dire had happened.
Sensing an ominous premonition, Pieta twisted the glow from his eye sockets and turned to him.
Vowing to punish him if it was a fuss over nothing.
And fortunately for the adjutant.
He avoided the Black Rock Duke's wrath.
The situation was several times graver than he had imagined.
"It's all-out war! Dark Nest's entire army is assembling on our frontline! And the Mad Dragon Duke too...!"
"...What?"
It was the moment the opportunistic Demoniac was forcibly dragged to the surface, collared like a thug.