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“I’m not sure about this portal; it feels off no matter how I think about it.”

“What do you mean, Jenis?”

The Grand Sage’s sudden question caught the Hero off guard. The Grand Sage slammed his staff down onto the ground as he spoke.

“Quiet down. It’s just too quiet. At the very least, if we’ve started digging into the ground, there should be some kind of counter-movement reacting to us. I’ll go take a look.”

“How far do you plan to go?”

“Well, I mean I’m going to smash the portal!”

“Wait, what?”

Before Walter could intervene, Jenis spread her wings and bolted ahead. The Hero, taken aback by the Grand Sage’s erratic behavior, took off his glasses and shouted.

“Hey! Come back! If a gargoyle shows up, you might not handle it alone…”

It was pointless. Jenis reached the portal and began wildly smashing it with all the powerful magic she could muster. Immediately, the orcs inside the fortress started shooting arrows at Jenis in resistance, but no high-ranking officers from the Demon King’s Army, like the Gargoyle Queen, emerged to counter her.

While easily knocking one lich, which had been directing the orcs against her, down under the portal, Jenis shook her head.

“Is that all it took to deal with this? Just one lich? Damn, we’ve been had. Hero!”

“Let’s move!”

Walter realized what Jenis was thinking and halted the underground work, leading his entire army toward the portal.

Up until now, Walter hesitated to attack directly, believing that if the Gargoyle Queen was defending such a sturdy fortress, it would be impossible for the Empire’s military forces to break through.

However, no matter how sturdy a fortress is, if there are no commanding officers or soldiers to defend it, it’s worthless. Ultimately, breaking through would just take time—it is merely a dumb obstacle. The Gargoyle Queen’s presence was enormous. If a gargoyle were waiting in front of an indestructible portal, not even Rose could break through both obstacles at once. If he rashly ordered a advance in such a situation, the Empire would suffer serious losses, especially with only one path of entry where the terrain was unfavorable.

But what if Walter was merely disguising the presence of the Gargoyle Queen to keep him from advancing rashly while the Gargoyle Queen was deploying a deceptive operation on another front?

There was no need to think deeply about it. There was only one front where the Gargoyle Queen could possibly be.

“That guy is really dedicating himself to blocking Eramenia. Well, it should be fine. Eramenia is a strong country with a powerful army. Even if we stall for a moment, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Walter made an overly optimistic prediction that was utterly disconnected from reality. Even he, Walter, couldn’t accurately predict a future that didn’t conform to his glasses.

Noticing that the Gateway was nearly empty alongside the Empire’s military, the Eramenia Corps began to take the lead in breaking the portal. The building that was hit head-on by Jenis’s Star Flash was still standing strong. Naturally, it wouldn’t easily crumble after just a few attacks, but with thousands of fairies smashing it, there was no way it could remain intact without any proper commanding officers.

The Empire’s army quickly broke in with only a brief moment of effort. Walter, Jenis, and the Eramenian forces slaughtered the remaining orcs inside the fortress and simultaneously planted the Hero’s flag and the laurel crown symbol of Eramenia atop the gate. Walter let out a hollow laugh at how unexpectedly straightforward this operation had been.

“If I’d known it would be this easy… No, it’s fine. Jenis, if you hadn’t seen through this, I might have wasted weeks digging around again. You’re much better than I am.”

“No, this isn’t just that… The Demon King has acted too boldly. He’s always had a penchant for gambling or being a risk-taker, but this crosses the line. To expend this perfectly crafted portal on such a trivial goal? It is a truly unfathomable move… Even I’m flabbergasted by how absurd this is. Just what is the objective behind expending it like this…”

“Perhaps he thought we wouldn’t be able to uncover the secrets of this place and would delay things a bit longer.”

“So what benefit does delaying provide the Demon King? Ultimately, the Eramenian army is bound to advance; when that happens, it’s advantageous for us. Looking at what he’s done so far, the Demon King isn’t a complete fool—he’s definitely considered something more…”

“Emergency report!”

At that moment, an elf messenger with news that could send Walter into a panic knelt before the Hero. The Hero raised an eyebrow upon realizing that the elf messenger did not belong to his Northern Expeditionary Force.

“Eramenia Kingdom’s army? What’s going on? Has the Northern Expeditionary Force finally begun advancing beyond the canyon? Is there a request for a joint attack or reinforcements?”

“I apologize, but it pains me to say…”

The moment those words reached Walter’s ears, his expression began to harden. Hearing “apologetic and painful” news from Eramenia’s homeland was at the top of his list of things he least wanted to hear at that moment.

“Please, tell me.”

“Princess Margaret… did not make it across the canyon. The five armies engaged in an advance through the canyon were ambushed by three monster clans and were besieged… They were wiped out. Out of fifteen thousand soldiers, more than fourteen thousand were killed, and only about a thousand managed to escape while escorting the princess. The main forces of Eramenia… have been crushed. The Elf Corps will not be able to respond for the time being.”

The messenger, having likely been one of the surviving thousand escorting Margaret, struggled to keep his tone calm while unable to hide his trembling emotions. Walter, with a blank expression, took off his glasses and asked.

“What? I didn’t catch that. Can you repeat it?”

“So…”

“You heard me correctly, Hero.”

Jenis interrupted the messenger, who was about to explain again with a pale and trembling face. The messenger nodded, understanding her intent. Walter cautiously tucked his glasses back into his pocket, seemingly struggling to digest the news he just heard.

“The Eramenian army… wiped out… wiped out, yes, wiped out…”

At that moment, color returned to Walter’s previously pale face. Seeing the Hero’s face suddenly become a swirling mix of reds and blues, Jenis urgently signaled for the surrounding soldiers to help the Hero.

The Hero, dismissing the soldiers rushing to him, screamed out.

“I’ve made it this far! Somehow! I’ve done my best to get here! A-aah…”

But as Walter started to lose focus, he couldn’t even finish his scream. Suddenly, he felt an intense pain in the back of his neck and collapsed backward, clutching his throat, losing consciousness like a stone.

The surrounding soldiers quickly rushed to catch the Hero as he fainted, his blood pressure skyrocketing in a fit of rage and emotion. Jenis directed the soldiers to take the Hero to the rear before turning to the messenger.

“There should have been a wizard there. Did you not get any news about him?”

“The Grand Mage fought heroically on that day. In fact, we owe the survival of our thousand men solely to his efforts. He was facing off against the three lords simultaneously, sustaining injuries, but… did not receive any fatal wounds while rejoining us. He is now returning to Eramenia to tend to his injuries.”

“Good to hear. That’s… a small consolation.”

“Indeed, it is. Just the fact that those two managed to survive is truly a stroke of luck…”

Phineas Marbelius, who had been standing quietly nearby, remained silent. The only thing that changed was the elf general’s complexion. As soon as he heard the news of defeat, his face went pale, but it regained a slight hint of color upon hearing about Margaret’s survival. However, the general’s face still reflected unease, and he resembled a person afflicted with aphasia, not moving his lips at all.

Jenis cautiously approached Phineas and spoke.

“We need to prepare for withdrawal. There are no more holes for the enemy’s forces to scatter into, and our army’s ability to advance has run dry. There’s nothing left but destruction if we press northward in this situation. To build a stable defensive line against the enemy’s counterattack, we’ll need to fall back at least several hundred kilometers. We need to move right away.”

“Ugh… Yeah…”

Phineas finally managed to voice a response. Jenis asked.

“Do you want to go back?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll suggest it to the Hero.”

“But how can we do that? We have our duties. It’s painful that our homeland is burning and even the large army we deployed has been trampled upon. It’s heartbreaking that our lord, whom we have followed fiercely, has suffered such a significant defeat, but he’s still alive, isn’t he? We understand our circumstances. We also know that the Hero desperately needs us. But how can we abandon that… and simply go back? Let’s move. We will help fortify the defensive line.”

“Your sentiment is appreciated, General, but I sincerely insist you return to your country.”

At Jenis’s words, Phineas made a slightly puzzled expression.

“Do you mean we are no longer needed? Because the Eramenian army is showing weakness?”

“That’s not it. But it might be a fact that we are unnecessary. With this counteroffensive, we’ve made it difficult to advance northward for the time being. Even though the Elf Corps remains, the only tasks we can assign are the construction of defenses and ensuring they stick. The Demon King’s Army won’t attack recklessly. A standoff could continue. I don’t want to test your patience. Holding the fairies who want revenge in that standoff could lead to discord between the Empire’s forces and the Kingdom’s forces.”

“I can keep that in check. Your concerns are valid, but the elves are not that rowdy of a race.”

“And one more thing. With this defeat, there might be a surge of sentiment among the people to pull out of Eramenia. The princess can no longer take the lead on a grand propaganda effort. While it is politically sensitive, she might not have the will to rally the troops. Therefore, I hope that several thousand valiant soldiers will return home to resolve political issues and enable Eramenia to re-enter the war effort. That would be a much more significant task than merely holding the line for a few days against the enemy.”

There was some sense in Jenis’s words, so Phineas could somewhat accept the Grand Sage’s reasoning.

“Then we will prepare our belongings. Please speak on our behalf to the Hero.”

“Leave it to me. Walter Hellhound and I share similar thoughts on this matter. It’s just… he might find it harder to accept this situation than I do. All the responsibility rests upon his shoulders. He’s bound to realize that a large-scale retreat must commence and collapse under the weight of it all. I would, too.”

Jenis took down the Hero’s flag she had just raised on the fortress. Leaving it there for retreat would mean the enemy taking it back and using it as a tool of humiliation.

“It took so much effort to step forward even just a bit, and now it’ll all be over in an instant. It’s insane. We might have to fight in both the north and south.”

At that moment, Jenis closed her eyes tightly, seemingly recalling something she had almost forgotten. Phineas, watching her face turn deep red, felt worried she might also faint from high blood pressure.

Fortunately, Jenis calmed herself down quickly and did not faint or scream. She struck the ground hard with her staff and murmured.

“It’s finally time to wrap up the Jeffrey incident. Yes, in that sense, this is rather an opportunity.”

 

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