Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Siege of Aurelinople (1)
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“Today, we will cover the siege of Aurelinople, famously known as the greatest turning point in the history of the ‘Red Summer’ War.”
Aurelinople.
One of the Seven Great Cities that governed the divided territories of the old republic.
Geographically, the city was firmly situated at the watershed where the Red Mountains ended and the great Belisor River split in two.
“As you can see from the map, Aurelinople’s strategic value was immense to both humanity and the Abyss.”
The Belisor River diverged at Aurelinople, flowing through and connecting the southern part of the continent.
With land and sea linked by the waterway at Aurelinople, the city had been responsible for the history of human prosperity.
It was this very city, Aurelinople, that had once been the center of the old Inferno Line.
“To the demons, Aurelinople was a foothold for their northern advance. Conversely, for humanity, it was a foothold for a southern campaign.”
Since it was a staging ground for both factions, any battle fought here was bound to become a total war.
“In February 1698, humanity began to lay the groundwork for the siege of Aurelinople in order to connect the front lines with the Ain.”
The most crucial part of this groundwork was clearing a path for the main army.
To put it simply, to descend upon Aurelinople, they had to clear the volcanic ash that blanketed the skies above it.
Cheongseong decided to form an elite reconnaissance detachment and send them south of the mountain range.
“Kaisen Alter Aradamanthel was assigned to this reconnaissance team as an asymmetric warfare asset. Thus, in February 1698, the preliminary battle for the siege of Aurelinople began.”
Total War,
The Siege of Aurelinople (1)
From the very start, the reconnaissance mission was unsettling, my heart pounding in my chest.
[This is Alidona. Recon team, I’ve confirmed you’re outside the mountain barrier.]
Once we left the slopes of the Red Mountains, everything turned into hazy silhouettes in the darkness.
[You’re outside the mountains now, right? The volcanic ash should be starting to obscure your vision.]
The volcanic ash was the manifestation of an old king’s power.
It wasn't just a visual disturbance; the king's power, which disrupted all perception, also blocked Cheongseong's insight.
For this reason, the Floating Fortress High Command had been unable to gather any information on the lands south of the mountains.
“This is Merne. It’s not just the ash, the sandstorm is making it hard to keep my eyes open.”
Until now, this information hadn't been necessary as they had been on the defensive, but with a southern campaign on the horizon, the situation had changed.
[A sandstorm, you say? The power of the Lizard Lord Neigalas must be awakening.]
“I feel like a sandcastle is being built on my tongue as I report. I’ll have to put on my helmet.”
[Report when you spot a demonic fortress. You might have to deal with it yourselves.]
Merne was the legitimate successor of the Drunken Shot, a renowned archery house whose lineage was fading.
It was an undeniable fact that bows had many limitations compared to firearms.
However, the sensory amplification, concealment abilities, and long-range assassination skills possessed by first-rate archers were qualities that marksmen could never hope to attain.
[Oh, and don’t forget to plant the barrier stones.]
High Command had formed a reconnaissance team of fifteen elite archers led by Merne, with Kaisen Alter Aradamanthel assigned as an asymmetric asset.
“Yes, I know.”
Merne handed Kaisen a leather pouch that glowed faintly from within.
“First time seeing a barrier stone? Here, take it. It’s a wedge-shaped one.”
Draconic words writhed on the wedge’s surface, looking less like engraved letters and more like letters that had coalesced into the shape of a wedge.
“It can clear all the volcanic ash in a thirty-li radius. Lord Cheongseong designed it, and Lady Alidona mass-produced it.”
“This is an incredible piece of equipment.”
“If you know that, then handle it with care. Plant one every time we move. Unlike you, if we get attacked while planting one, it’s game over for us. Let’s go.”
Under Merne’s command, the archers descended the mountainside in perfect unison.
Silence, silence, silence…
A chilling silence, so fragile it felt like it could shatter at any moment, blanketed the land shrouded in volcanic ash and black mist.
Then, starlight flickered through the gaps in the ash like hazy ghosts.
It felt like I was being watched… a chilling gaze tracing my spine.
“This looks like the spot. Plant one here.”
I drove the wedge into the ground.
A halo of light shot up into the sky, burning away the volcanic ash.
As the ash vanished with a silent scream and the night sky cleared, the starlight paradoxically seemed to grow dimmer.
[This is Mirngadia of the Blue Star. I’ve confirmed the barrier stone’s installation by the disappearance of the ash’s interference signal.]
“We will continue to advance.”
[A Tuaki has been detected within the ash. Be careful. The coordinates are not precise.]
Tuaki. A hazy fear flickered in the archers’ eyes.
Once again, we entered the volcanic ash.
Though we were in an open space, it felt like being trapped in a sealed room.
“Enemies ahead. I’ll take care of them. Twelve goblins. They always post these little devils on night watch.”
My breathing hitched.
A suffocating heatwave seared through my temperature-regulating magic.
Beads of sweat formed all over my body, trickling down the contours of my skin and leaving behind an unpleasant dampness.
“I wonder how we can see the starlight through all this thick volcanic ash.”
“Those are the eyes of kings. Evil stars. Lady Alidona said the kings came from other stars.”
“Is that true?”
“Would a priestess lie? She might be a chain-smoker, but she doesn't lie.”
Villages had once sprouted in the gaps where the mountains grew gentle or along the bends of rivers, but now they were all desolate, parched, and abandoned.
*Creak, creak, creak…*
In the ruins of the villages, the hinges of the abandoned houses whispered eerily.
*I wonder what my hometown is like now…*
For a moment, I thought about the state of my hometown, but my memories of it were filled with nothing but darkness.
My father, mother, and sister were dead, and the me of my childhood was gone. Could I still call that place my home?
After pushing through the mist that writhed as if alive, Merne suddenly crouched down.
“Lady Alidona, this is the recon team. We've spotted a fortress just as we were about to exit the foothills.”
[What’s its size?]
“It’s four stories high and looks like it could easily hold three hundred. What are your orders?”
[That’s a size that could get annoying if they’re reinforced. You haven’t reached the deep ash yet, so you’re cleared to engage. If you have enough firepower.]
“More than enough.”
[Hmm, sounds like you want to show off for our darling rookie whose ego is soaring after killing that demon.]
“Just smoke your cigarettes.”
On the limb of the White Spear Bow Serwebon, a radiant light of mana intertwined, weaving into a single arrow.
It was too massive to be called an arrow; it looked more like a pillar from a holy temple.
The process took less than thirty seconds, and it took less than three for the arrow to pierce the fortress’s watchtower.
Drunken Shot Ultimate Technique, Thousand Nightingale Kill.
A streak of blue light tore through the volcanic ash, accompanied by a noise like the screeching of a thousand birds.
This technique, developed by the legendary Bow Saint Kies who had pacified the turbulent 12th century, didn't just end with piercing the target.
Upon impact, countless tendrils sprouted from the arrow, tearing apart and collapsing the structure from within.
*Incredible…*
As the Thousand Nightingale Kill diagonally pierced the second and third floors, it shredded the structure and any enemies within into bloody chunks.
The arrow created a circular hole about five hands-spans wide at the point of impact and left a crack more than twice that size where it exited.
As the fortress tilted and collapsed, debris rained down on the beings that must have been on the first floor.
“!”
Just then, gray figures burst through the collapsing wreckage.
“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
One of the six major demonic races, a force responsible for the demons’ armored power.
Trolls.
Their intelligence was exceptionally low, but humans believed that what they lacked in intellect was converted into physical strength.
How else could they trample humanity with their impossibly powerful and massive bodies?
Even now.
Weren’t they charging forward, effortlessly deflecting the arrows the archers fired haphazardly?
With backs hunched like hunchbacks, these trolls, who even enjoyed eating human flesh, propelled themselves forward by pushing off the ground with their massive arms.
“Two trolls. This must have been an important fortress.”
Perhaps it was the recoil from using his ultimate technique.
Merne, continuously shaking off the mist of mana rising hotly from his palm, turned to look at Kaisen.
“Looks like those guys are pretty pissed off. You take care of them. Leave the small fry to us.”
I drew my sword as I dashed into the swirling volcanic ash.
The blade was crying out ferociously.
The moment the mana inside the scabbard flared with intense heat, I leaped high towards the target that was letting out an eardrum-shattering scream.
One Flash Thunderclap.
As a red thunderbolt embroidered its straight pattern of light across the sky.
Upon that pattern, the spattering blood of torn flesh and severed vertebrae added a pattern of death.
A quick-draw that decisively, certainly, took the lives of two enemies by severing their necks.
*Click.*
The sound of the sword being calmly sheathed as I landed softly on the ground, that clear, crisp sound.
Like thunder in a storm, it was sharp enough to chill the ears, even amidst the roar of the massive bodies collapsing.
Beyond that clarity, a thick cloud of dust rose as the headless corpses crashed into the half-demolished fortress, completing its destruction.
“Whoa, two trolls in one shot.”
“Poor bastards. They had no idea they were charging a monster who minces demons.”
After Merne reported the fortress’s destruction, we resumed our advance.
From time to time, Merne would suddenly draw his bowstring into the darkness. A scream would always follow, and a few goblins would be lying dead.
It was when we were planting the seventeenth barrier stone that Merne, in the middle of drawing his bow again, suddenly paused.
“An explosion… sounds like low-level magic. Lady Alidona, are there any other recon teams besides us?”
[No, there aren’t. Why?]
“We’ve found a second fortress. There are unidentified personnel, looks like adventurers. They’re engaged with the fortress’s enemies. What should we do?”
[Adventurers… Better than letting them die. Help them out. If you can afford to, of course. Don’t push yourselves.]
Only after moving quite a bit farther did we begin to hear the explosions Merne had mentioned.
Screams like wails echoed from all directions.
Facing that wave of screams, I saw figures fighting with large shields and others chanting spells.
“You bastards, get out of our homeland!”
Merne and his archers rained down arrows to support them.
The head of a goblin decanus, who had leaped towards a woman intending to sink its blade into her neck, was torn apart by Aradamanthel’s blade.
After the battle ended in a similar fashion to the last, a group of twelve people swarmed over. They were adventurers.
“Well, with the Empire’s great Bow Saint and a FakeWarrior here, these demons are no big deal.”
Adventurers were a militia force that had emerged during the first turmoil of the 12th century.
They were challengers who operated their own guilds, hunted monsters, and conquered labyrinths, often handling matters the state couldn't intervene in.
Though their power had waned significantly since the introduction of firearms and the dawn of the age of science.
“I’m not a Bow Saint right now. But what’s this? The heatwave warning should have strictly forbidden civilians from entering the mountains.”
“You expect me to leave retaking my homeland in someone else’s hands?”
“And where did you hear about that?”
“The rumor’s already spread everywhere. That the southern campaign is about to begin.”
“You do know this is illegal, right?”
“Illegal? You know better than to say that. There’s only one law that applies to adventurers: romance. As long as you fulfill that, anything’s legal.”
“I can’t reason with you at all.”
Merne shook his head with a sigh, and Kaisen joined the conversation.
“We are under orders from Cheongseong to find a path to Aurelinople. Can you guide us?”
“Of course. The flatlands are dangerous, so let’s stick to the mountain ridges. But… are you by any chance that famous Demon Slayer?”
“…”
“Holy shit, it’s really you? The directions can wait. Can I get your autograph?”
“This is a battlefield.”
“Don’t be so stiff. You can just say you’ll do it later.”
The adventurers, who had clearly lived their lives without a care for hierarchy, were ill-mannered but their guidance was reliable.
They led us through paths unknown to the enemy and explained the various geographical features we encountered along the way.
“What is this enormous crater?”
“It’s not a crater. This used to be a lake. Lake Alkeive.”
“This is Lake Alkeive?”
“Yeah. Hard to believe I used to fish here with my father when I was a kid, right?”
Overhearing the conversation between the archers and adventurers, I inadvertently recalled the days I spent with my father.
Memories of a world already dead…
What was the point of reminiscing about such memories? I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the illusion away.
“I can’t believe Lake Alkeive has dried up. This is worse than I imagined.”
“Well, it’s been almost a year since Aurelinople fell, and this scorching weather has been going on for just as long.”
Just then, Merne, who was at the head of the column with an arrow nocked on his White Spear Bow, halted the group and looked back.
“I see a wasteland ahead that I’ve never seen before. What path is this?”
“Everyone from this area knows this path. The air used to be really clear thanks to the Jeokchongmok trees. But they’ve all withered and died, so it’s understandable you don’t recognize it—”
“—Wait, it’s a Tuaki! Take cover!”
Like something out of a madman’s nightmare, a lizard with pale skin and a mouth that split into six parts shrieked as it flapped its wings above the volcanic ash.
A Tuaki…
A fiend known as one of the old ones…
Feeling cold sweat drench my back, everyone dropped to the ground, playing dead.
“Alright, it’s gone. Now… hmm?”
Merne narrowed his eyes, peering through the volcanic ash, then put a hand to his ear.
“Lady Alidona, we’ve spotted a massive, unidentified monstrous plant. Uruks are guarding it heavily.”
[A monstrous plant? Briefly describe its appearance.]
“It exhales a breath so dry it’s suffocating. Its branches are thick, and its leaves are like thorn bushes. It emits a smell of rotten eggs, like sulfur. It seems to be a vine-type plant at its core.”
[Could it be… If my knowledge and your description match, that’s a primeval plant.]
“A primeval plant?”
[Its official name is Rukun’gadon. It’s a creature that drains all the moisture from an area, turning it into a desert. And that’s in Aurelinople?]
“Sounds dangerous. We’ll go around it.”
[No, that thing moves and even eats people. It’s highly likely to interfere with a large-scale troop advance. You have to take it out.]
At Merne’s command, the archers and adventurers took their positions.
There was only one path, and as Kaisen stepped onto it alone, the Uruk warriors erupted in a war cry.
Once again, the festival had begun…
Amidst the endlessly carved red flashes, the sound of gushing blood and the whimpers of the dying mingled…
“Goblin firing squad. There’s a ton of them. You guys support Kaisen. I’ll handle this one myself.”
“You damn bastards, get off our land!”
“Lady Alidona, we are engaging a large force of Uruks and goblins. Reinforcements are still coming!”
Just then, the primeval plant, struck by an arrow from the White Spear Bow, went into a frenzy, sweeping the ground with its vines.
Everything caught in them…
Uruks and goblins alike were wrung out like rags, and the plant drank their blood, using it to regenerate its wounds.
“So, you want to regenerate, do you? This is interesting! Shall I have some fun from afar while you kill all the Uruks for me?”
By the time two, then four, then nearly seven rows of the Uruk formation had been wiped out, everything was settled.
The primeval plant hung limp, strange fluids dripping from the half-dozen holes pierced by the White Spear Bow’s arrows.
And scattered around it were heaps of enemies that Kaisen hadn’t killed.
*This looks just like…*
It looks more like the corpse of a giant reptile than a plant…
That suffocating heat again…
Is this viscous liquid the plant spewed out as it died some kind of lava? Heat hazes are shimmering everywhere.
“Lady Alidona, we’ve destroyed the primeval plant.”
[What’s the enemy’s response?]
“About three hundred Uruks and five trolls showed up, but Kaisen took care of them. No other significant enemies. It was quite a sight, watching them get eaten by the very thing they were protecting so preciously.”
[Then move to the deep ash zone. Make sure to plant the barrier stones on the way. We’ll lose communication from here on out. We need to get a complete lay of the land.]
“The adventurers say they know a path where we can see Aurelinople without going into the deep ash. What should we do?”
“If we go straight this way, you’ll see it right away. We don’t have to go far.”
[That sounds good. Alright. As I’ve said repeatedly, don’t forget to install the barrier stones.]
“Understood. We are now entering the deep ash zone.”
It didn’t take long for Merne’s voice, buoyed by the excitement of a successful mission, to contort in dismay.
“What in the… what the hell is that?”
[Communication just reestablished with the barrier stone installation. What’s your status?]
“We’re looking down at Aurelinople right now, but I’m not sure you’ll believe me when I tell you what we see.”
[Tell me.]
“The primeval plant is covering the city. Because of it, the entire area around the city has turned into a desert. The Belisor River has dried up so much it looks like a long ditch. It looks like the desert is still expanding even now.”
An uneasy silence flowed from the other end of the communication.
It was a silence that shared a certain quality with the one shared by the adventurers, who had returned to their homeland only to exchange desperate glances.
Alidona spoke again, not to Merne, but to Cheongseong.
[Lord Cheongseong, this is Alidona. I will report on the situation in Aurelinople as confirmed by the recon team.]
Cheongseong’s silence was not as long as Alidona’s.
The decision was made instantly.
Alidona immediately relayed that decision as an order.
[Finish installing the barrier stone at that location, then return. High Command has decided to significantly move up the expedition. You won’t have much time to rest.]