Chapter 271: Advent of the Heavenly Demon (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 271: Advent of the Heavenly Demon (3)
For now, the Kronos Empire established its base in the Old Castle.
Since the fortress couldn't accommodate the entire 300,000-strong army, only the main forces garrisoned inside while the rest set up camp beyond the walls. The leadership was immediately summoned for a war council. Although their primary concern of securing a food supply had been resolved, the fact that the situation was progressing so perfectly actually gave rise to new anxieties.
Duke Bamford looked around the room. "Tell me your thoughts on our current situation."
When a single mind couldn't reach a conclusion, it was necessary to borrow the power of collective intelligence. Duke Bamford’s flexible decision-making stemmed from his willingness to accept the opinions of others. His long-serving subordinates were well accustomed to this dynamic and took turns sharing their insights.
"Could it be that they failed to execute their Scorched Earth Tactics?" one commander suggested. "The Cairo-Dmitry Alliance tried to lure the Imperial Army into a trap, even at the cost of abandoning the Western Front. But thanks to the Commander predicting their tactics, we seized the Western Front without taking any damage. It's highly likely the enemy was caught off guard by our rapid advance and didn't even have time to destroy the supplies in the Old Castle."
"I share that opinion," another added. "We've inspected the food and found no traces of poison. They must have believed we would never discover the existence of the Old Castle, so they neglected to secure it properly."
The consensus was unanimous.
In truth, the situation made no sense otherwise.
The disparity in military strength in this war was simply overwhelming.
With the powerhouses of Kronos and a 300,000-strong army leading the charge, there was zero chance of defeat in a total war against the Kingdom Alliance. Therefore, the enemy's options were severely limited. They had to avoid an all-out war at all costs, but they also lacked the luxury of time. Even though they had captured Kortas, the Kronos Empire's army would eventually march west, and from that point on, the Alliance would have no path to victory.
It was a fatal dilemma.
Roman Dmitry's only path to victory was to use Scorched Earth Tactics, waiting for a single fleeting opportunity when the Empire's strength waned. But now that Kronos had secured the Old Castle's food reserves, even that sliver of hope had evaporated. By all bounds of common sense, this was a flawless victory for the Kronos Empire. Even the veteran commanders who had traversed countless battlefields alongside Duke Bamford couldn't deny their overwhelming advantage.
Perhaps that was exactly why Duke Bamford couldn't shake his lingering doubts.
While his officers praised the capture of the Old Castle as a masterstroke, he couldn't understand why Dmitry had waged such a reckless war in the first place. Based on all the intelligence gathered on Roman Dmitry, he was absolutely not the kind of man to gamble on an unwinnable war.
Duke Bamford spoke up again. "What if... what Dmitry truly wants is to tie us down in the Old Castle and lure us into a direct confrontation?"
"...That makes no sense."
"It's realistically impossible. Are they crazy enough to invite a total war with Kronos?"
Objections erupted immediately.
The idea that Dmitry was using the Old Castle as bait to tie down the Kronos Empire was dismissed as a massive leap in logic.
It was a perfectly rational reaction.
But once the seed of doubt took root in Bamford's mind, it refused to die.
Roman Dmitry. What on earth are you planning?
Why had he declared war using only the Dmitry Duchy's forces?
As long as the root of this mystery remained unresolved, Bamford couldn't fully accept their apparent victory. Even after the war council ended, Duke Bamford's stiff expression remained. He simply couldn't find any conviction in their success.
* * *
At that same time, in another location, a different conversation about Roman Dmitry was taking place.
Edwin Hector, the King of Redford, and the King of Frank sat together. In this gathering of the pro-Dmitry faction, the King of Frank voiced his anxieties.
"...The Kronos Empire has already broken through the Western Front. Although Lord Roman Dmitry achieved incredible results by capturing Rascal and Kortas, shouldn't we quickly send reinforcements to prevent him from being pushed back? It's obvious that Umberto and Odelia will side with the Kronos Empire. If we maintain this ambiguous attitude, it could lead to our ruin."
Roman Dmitry's actions had been truly astonishing.
He had launched a preemptive strike against the Kronos Empire, proving his declaration of war wasn't just empty words by bringing down Rascal and Kortas in rapid succession. It was unprecedented in the history of the Salamander Continent. With the flames of war spreading so rapidly, the King of Frank wanted to contribute his strength in any way possible.
If Dmitry fell, it would be the end of them all.
Simply for choosing to side with Dmitry, the Frank Kingdom would be forced to pay a cruel price.
Edwin Hector shook his head. "No, not yet. Lord Roman Dmitry said he would prove that he can face the Kronos Empire with only Dmitry's strength. Perhaps he made that decision to show the world that winning this war isn't entirely impossible. So, why don't we wait and watch? If Lord Roman Dmitry truly backs up his words with results, we will have no reason to fear the Kronos Empire ever again."
"Still, I am worried. Duke Bamford of Kronos is not an easy opponent," the King of Redford chimed in.
Seeing that the others were struggling to ease their worries, Edwin Hector spoke his mind.
"Actually, when I heard the report that Lord Roman Dmitry had seized the Warp Gate of Kortas, I felt genuine fear. But it wasn't because it was some extraordinary strategy. On the day of the Dmitry Duchy's declaration ceremony, when I visited Dmitry, I heard something quite special."
He recalled his conversation with Chris.
Since they were now in the same boat, Chris had shared a detail that Edwin Hector found deeply intriguing.
"My lord has acknowledged Prince Edwin Hector a few times. He said that while anyone can think up the bold idea of targeting a Warp Gate, actually putting it into action is a difficult matter. Since then, my lord has been studying Warp Gates. I didn't ask for his reasons, but it likely means Prince Edwin Hector's strategy left a deep impression on him."
It was a simple compliment.
A statement that anyone else might have happily accepted, but to Edwin Hector, it came as a profound shock.
Edwin Hector continued, "The war on the Southern Front was Hector's complete defeat. In my confrontation with Lord Roman Dmitry, not a single one of my strategies worked. It was the first time in my life I felt so utterly miserable. Yet, even after an 'overwhelming victory,' Lord Roman Dmitry still found elements to improve upon and studied them. That is what terrifies me. An existence who was already untouchable back then is still constantly driving himself forward."
Standing at the crossroads between Kronos and Dmitry, Edwin Hector had chosen Dmitry.
Setting aside his nation's bad blood with Kronos, his own personal experience made him wish to never, ever antagonize Roman Dmitry again.
"I want to avoid antagonizing Dmitry even more than the Kronos Empire. Experiencing that once in a lifetime is more than enough. So, let us believe and wait. Just as I was defeated on the Southern Front when I thought I had won perfectly, he surely has a plan to turn the tables here."
He believed in him.
He believed in the devil of the Southern Front—the Roman Dmitry he had faced that day.
* * *
Roman Dmitry's progress was incredibly smooth.
Since Duke Bamford had led the bulk of his forces to the Western Front, the remaining troops in eastern Kronos couldn't stop Dmitry's onslaught. In an instant, eastern Kronos fell into Roman Dmitry's hands. Now, as they prepared for the decisive battle against the Kronos Empire—which would take place on Cairo's territory—Roman Dmitry ordered his men to get sufficient rest.
But that night, there was one man who could not sleep.
Under the pale moonlight, Kevin swung his sword alone.
Rumble!
Ruuuumble!
In his mind's eye, Aura exploded.
Beyond the fiercely swirling storm of energy, he saw Sven rushing toward him.
Crash!
Kevin's face contorted in agony.
Clashing head-on, Kevin's Aura shattered into pieces, and he vividly imagined the phantom pain of Sven's sword slicing through his flesh. It was a horrifying scenario to even visualize. With just a single blow, Kevin's body completely lost control. There was no way for his crippled form to face a monster like Sven.
It was over.
His head was severed.
Though he had analyzed his duel with Sven countless times, the ending was always the same: his own death.
If I meet a powerhouse like Sven on the battlefield again... what on earth can I do for my lord?
Nothing.
It was already a miraculous feat for a former slum boy to reach his current level. Aiming for the realm of a 6-Star Aura Swordsman felt like excessive greed. He knew this fact all too well. Losing to Sven was only natural, and the fact that they had managed to defeat him through a coordinated attack was worthy of immense praise in itself.
But he still couldn't sleep.
Whenever he recalled the image of Henderson lying in the sickbed next to him, uncontrollable emotions boiled up inside him, driving him mad.
I don't want to repeat what happened then. If I collapse helplessly... as always, it will be my lord's job to clean up the mess I couldn't handle. People say that my lord's retainers deserve credit for Dmitry's progress, but the truth is, everything we do is built on the crutch that my lord will solve everything in the end.
He swung his sword again.
Summoning the imaginary Sven, he rushed forward in sheer desperation.
The result was miserable.
He fell, rolling across the dirt.
At an hour when the rest of the camp was fast asleep, Kevin had reduced himself to a complete mess.
The memory of that day flashed in his mind.
Anger surged.
His uncontrolled emotions, clashing against an insurmountable wall, gave rise to a Heart Demon.
"Grrr..."
His eyes bled a vicious red.
Just as he was about to be completely consumed by the demon in his heart, a voice pierced through the chaos.
"Kevin."
It was unmistakable.
The voice of Roman Dmitry.
At the call of the existence he revered above all else, his eyes—which had been gleaming with feral, murderous intent—slowly regained their original light.
* * *
No explanation was needed.
Roman had been quietly watching Kevin's inner turmoil.
He had already heard that since they joined up in Kortas, Kevin hadn't slept for a single moment. The boy's face was gaunt. Seeing the Heart Demon rapidly growing and physically manifesting in Kevin's complexion, Roman Dmitry spoke calmly.
"There is something I must tell you."
It was a topic seemingly detached from Kevin's immediate problem, making it difficult for him to process at first.
"While analyzing what the people of this world call 'Aura,' I realized their methods have developed in the completely wrong direction. At one point, I thought that drawing out extreme destructive power through reckless emission might just be a different path. But after facing the powerhouses of this continent, including Barbosa, I became certain that is not the case."
On the day he first learned about Aura from Chris, Roman Dmitry had flatly declared it a garbage method.
As time passed, he had tried to accept it as a new branch of martial arts, but he felt a glaring sense of incongruity during his duel with Barbosa. In that fight, he had clashed head-on simply to test his own strength—to see exactly how strong an existence titled as one of the Twelve Swords of the Continent truly was, and how many strikes it would take to bring him down.
However, Barbosa's swordsmanship completely lacked a foundation.
As the saying goes, 'All Streams Flow to the Origin.' Swordsmanship must ultimately reach a single destination, regardless of the method used to get there. Yet, the way Barbosa utilized Aura was strictly limited to the crude destructive power defined by the 6-Star realm.
It raised serious doubts.
If raw destructive power through energy emission was their only foundation, then the division of Stars was actually meaningless.
In the Central Plains Murim, victory or defeat was never determined by destructive power alone. Softness could overcome strength, and countless unique sword arts had bloomed to create the vibrant martial world of the Murim. Yet, the way this world utilized Aura was utterly incomprehensible. While their magical civilization had achieved admirable heights, the history and development of Aura Swordsmen was so poor that 'pathetic' was the only accurate word for it.
At that moment, Roman gained absolute certainty.
His swordsmanship was the absolute best on this continent.
From the moment he defeated Barbosa, a man hailed as one of the Twelve Swords of the Continent, he knew there was no one in this world qualified to discuss swordsmanship with him.
Therefore...
"In a battle of life and death, the sheer power of Aura does not guarantee victory," Roman said. "You may feel you faced an insurmountable wall in your duel with a 6-Star Aura Swordsman, but in truth, you built that wall yourself. If you can accurately grasp the true essence of Aura and develop the martial strength to match it, then even as a mere 3-Star Aura Swordsman, defeating a 6-Star Aura Swordsman is not impossible."
Ripples formed in Kevin's trembling eyes.
Roman Dmitry's words had just shattered his reality, opening the doors to a whole new world.
If he could truly acquire the martial power to defeat Sven just as his lord described, Kevin was prepared to offer up his very life.
Looking down at Kevin, Roman Dmitry spoke.
"The name of the martial art I am about to teach you... is the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique."