Chapter 440
Chapter 440. The Call of the Battlefield
“Bishop Lexar! Why are you here?”
Arthur seemed taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Vampire Hunters.
With a slightly shadowed expression, Bishop Lexar replied,
“Actually, we’ve been summoned as well. We’re on our way to the northern front.”
“Summoned…?”
Arthur echoed in disbelief.
“Indeed. It appears things are getting quite desperate.”
Bishop Lexar’s face was serious.
No way… the Vampire Hunters are heading to the front lines?
It goes without saying that they are elite warriors specialized in hunting vampires. While Bishop Lexar is a top-class magic warrior among humans and is certainly more reliable than a novice hero, he’s not exactly suited for direct combat on the battlefield.
The true strength of a Vampire Hunter lies in their tracking abilities, and when it comes to combat, they’re primarily specialized against vampires—lightly armored and not much for using shields, they’re not great against the sniping skills of night elves.
Due to the depletion of personnel from the Holy Church, the number of Vampire Hunters has been decreasing year by year, making room for the training of ordinary heroes and priests. That’s why the few Vampire Hunters chosen are focusing solely on hunting vampires from the rear…
“Well, we’ve been comfortably hunting vampires from the safety of the rear this whole time. It did bring a sense of guilt thinking about the suffering of our comrades at the front. If I can make up for that, it’s not so bad.”
As he changed his expression and stroked his beard, Bishop Lexar maintained a nonchalant attitude. I could feel a tightness in my chest. It wasn’t that he was putting on a brave front… but I sensed his determination to do his best.
Sure, the rear is safer compared to the front lines, but vampire hunting isn’t exactly an easy job…
Still, the fact that Vampire Hunters are being called in means the northern front is in serious trouble. When I left, the coalition army of the scattered clans was making slow progress, but has the situation changed? Which clan is attacking now…?
“Since you’re on your way to the front lines, does that mean you’ll be pausing in Kaemuran for a bit?”
I asked, hopeful that Lexar and the others would quickly move on from here, putting the situation with the Demon Lord Kingdom aside for the moment.
“No, we weren’t planning to stay; we intended to pass through… but this is troublesome.”
Bishop Lexar, rarely seen flustered, rubbed the back of his head.
“We were going to head north from Kaemuran via the highway and then take the empire route to the northern front. But the empire’s military has the highway secured, and I hear the border is on high alert… Plus, with those Light Blade Church folks stirring up trouble, I’m not sure if we can pass through without a hitch.”
It turns out there’s a tense atmosphere since the incident at the Sokfol branch.
“That’s why we’ve been racking our brains. We’re in a bit of a bind… rather than waiting for the highway to clear, we might need to take a bit of a detour. It could be better to head to the west end of Aulitos Lake by boat, then move overland from there. Until we find a boat heading west, we’ll likely need to stay in Kaemuran.”
Or we could run alongside the lake to the west, he shrugged.
“A boat heading west…”
Arthur glanced at me. Yes. The SS Third Alun was supposed to head west from Kaemuran.
However, we were planning to stay here for about two more days… two days.
As I pondered, loud footsteps could be heard from outside.
“Big trouble, big trouble!”
“It seems the imperial army is advancing from the south! There’s a high chance Kaemuran will be surrounded by tomorrow morning!”
A blind wolf beastman and a forest elf holding onto him rushed into the Holy Church.
Gah! Rujiakka, the “Sniffer,” and Yesera, the Vampire Hunter forest elf sniper! If Bishop Lexar is here, it’s only natural those two would be around…!
Wait, the imperial army is advancing already!? Isn’t that too fast!?
This is bad… Duke Graham had been showing signs of making a move. There might not be much time left before the tides of war begin to shift…
And what’s more concerning is—
“Sniff sniff… Oh, this scent! It’s Alex and Arthur! Long time no see!”
Rujiakka sniffed the air and waved his hands and tail happily.
This guy… Rujiakka, is dangerous! Born without sight, his sense of smell is alert to an alarming degree!
Even if I were to cause a ruckus against the imperial army and escape with Leila’s wings, if this guy comes out to investigate… he could sniff out our body odors at the scene, revealing us!
I absolutely must avoid that at all costs…!!
“Fufufufufu… how about we just kill him? This one as well…”
The illusion of Antendeixis caressed my cheek, and I instinctively tried to swat the hand away, but it slipped through. It’s just a phantom. Before I draw suspicion, I pretended to scratch my head.
“Y-yeah, Rujiakka, what a coincidence…”
“Glad to see you’re well. I just wished we could meet in a more peaceful place.”
“Haha, absolutely!”
As I awkwardly greeted him, Arthur shrugged. Rujiakka casually replied, letting out a sigh.
“I think you humans shouldn’t be this busy with wars…”
…The silence fell. For the Vampire Hunters, summoned under unprecedented circumstances, the sense of despair must be palpable.
Damn it… what to do!?
Truth be told, I was already worried that if I directly attacked the imperial army, it could lead to an all-out war with Bishop Lexar and the Holy Church in Kaemuran…
Now with the addition of Bishop Lexar and even Rujiakka, the “Sniffer”…
“Simple enough. We could betray those guys, kill them all, and eliminate any future concerns before confronting the imperial army. Or we could abandon the duchy and let the empire trample it…”
The floating illusion of Antendeixis peered down at me upside-down.
“So? What will you do? I’m fine with either option… both sound delicious…♡”
～～～～～!
…Sigh. Let’s calm down.
Antendeixis. Please don’t provoke me, I genuinely want to think this through.
“Hmm, very well.”
Setting aside difficulty and feasibility, let’s analyze the actions I can take.
– Abandon the duchy
…Emotionally, that’s really hard to accept. Even if the duchy fell, it wouldn’t impact the alliance too much. But seeing an army rampaging across the land for no reason feels like the same scenario with the Demon Lord army, and I can’t stand for that.
I realize I’ve emotionally invested in the duchy, which isn’t unrelated to my acquaintance with the old man.
This is merely my personal sentiment, so I’ll set it aside for now.
If I chose to abandon the duchy and didn’t intervene, there’s the benefit of not having to fight Arthur and Bishop Lexar… which means less worry about my true identity being revealed…
The downside would be not achieving the goal of “making them understand the horror of demon races.”
– Attack the imperial army
There are several benefits. “Stop the duchy from being trampled,” “assist the old man,” and the previously mentioned goal of “making them realize the horror of demon races.”
Since arriving in the alliance’s rear, I’ve noticed the issue. Because of the night elves’ schemes, the dire situations and crises at the front aren’t accurately conveyed, and people are completely underestimating the demon lord army while overlooking the alliance and the Holy Church’s desperate efforts, leading to the outbreak of war.
—Humanity can’t afford to feud among themselves.
To ensure everyone recognizes that properly, what should I do?
I’ve been thinking about it all along.
The imperial army’s invasion is, for lack of a better term, the perfect opportunity. If I rampage wildly as Zilbagias, drenching the land in blood and maybe even taking the emperor’s head, the entire continent would be shaken.
Conversely, if I let this opportunity slip… I might have no choice left but to resort to massacres in peaceful towns. While I wish for no more wars, this scenario of an unfairly one-sided conflict is rare. I want to avoid being someone’s “greenhorn”…
In that sense, the imperial army is a target I can fight without hesitation.
Of course, charging in alone against an army over ten thousand strong is pretty daunting, but humans lacking the support of the Holy Church become pitifully weak. With my current standing as a duke, I should be able to wreak enough havoc to make it worthwhile. If I couldn’t use the Teleportation Spell, this wouldn’t have been the case.
The uncertain factors are the imperial nobles and the Light Blade Cultists. Especially, the power level of the Light Blade magic warriors could dramatically change the difficulty.
One of the reasons for attacking the imperial army is to gauge their strength.
If the empire has organized a military force powerful enough to give me a tough time… that’d be infuriating, but this may eventually lead to a plan of pitting the empire against the demon lord army.
In that case, I’d obviously have to abandon the duchy. If the empire comes into contact with the demon lord army, it inherently means the elven forests to the west of the empire would have been burned, which I prefer not to think about.
Conversely, if the imperial army and the Light Blade Cultists turn out to be ridiculously weak…
—They could serve as a sacrificial pawn to instill a sense of crisis within the alliance.
I’ll show them no mercy. I’ll kill the emperor so they can never pull off such a foolish act again. Well, it’ll be impossible to kill every one of them, so I’ll leave the common soldiers alive.
However, the flaw in this scenario is—
“Arthur and the others might come to kill you!”
Stop huffing so hard.
…When thinking calmly, the options in that scenario would be either to engage Arthur and the others or flee when they arrive.
“If the Holy Church comes barging in and you run away with your tail between your legs, wouldn’t that tarnish the reputation of the demon races? I mean, in terms of the alliance.”
Ugh… that’s true. While the Holy Church’s credibility might rise, if I flee without fighting, the demons would likely be looked down upon more.
I don’t really care if Zilbagias’s reputation suffers, since the night elf intelligence network is in tatters and there are hardly any who could bring information back to the demon lord kingdom. But having people perceive demon races as “not that scary after all” would be a troubling outcome.
“If the front line is being pressured by a foe like this, can the Holy Church really be taking it seriously?” If it swings that way, it’d be unbearable.
On the flip side, if I engage in battle… then there’s Arthur.
Will I be able to break the barrier of [Avalon]?
I feel like I could if I put my all into it, but if Arthur were to put forth his full strength, it might not be as easy to break through.
And in situations like these, heroes often…
Display terrifying power.
If that happens, I’ll have to consider using the double declaration of my identity and releasing the true form of Adamas. When I rampage as Zilbagias, I planned to use Adamas in its sealed state, but if I release its true form, Arthur would surely recognize it just from seeing the sword.
This would inevitably expose my true identity.
Then, in the end, I would be forced to kill Arthur…
Damn it.
“…On the other hand, there’s another option.”
Antendeixis pointed out with an incredibly displeased look.
“Rather than attacking the imperial army head-on, you could use Leila to move to the rear and strike at the supply lines. Destroy the amassed supplies, and if you want to keep Leila hidden, eliminate any witnesses and swiftly fly away. Repeat this.”
…I see. That would be quite a strategic blow.
If an army of over ten thousand loses its supply lines, they’d collapse in no time. Additionally, if I penetrated deep into the empire and burned supplies being transported here, the imperial army would have to retreat from the duchy…
But this doesn’t achieve the goal of “making them realize the terror of demon races.” If they happen to witness it, it might instead be seen as the “horror of the White Dragon.”
If I try to minimize casualties, it might turn the legend of the savior White Dragon into reality.
No, wait, if the imperial army comes out unscathed, the starving troops might start looting…
The surrounding villages could suffer horribly, and instead, the duchy may end up in ruins…?
“Kuhehe.”
…You bastard, is that your aim!?
Stop messing with me! Don’t plant a slow-acting poison like that!!
“Well, I mean… if you’re suffering…”
…Antendeixis, you’d better manifest later. That made me angry; I want you to suffer a bit.
“Ohoho♡ Are you going to put me through a horrible experience!? And make me face humiliations I can’t even speak about? Just like Leila did!”
Shut up, don’t get excited! Are you invincible or something!? And I did nothing like that to Leila—!!
…Sigh.
“Alex… is something wrong?”
“Oh, no… I was just thinking about various things and suddenly feel worn out.”
“…That’s understandable. Don’t overthink it too much.”
Arthur patted my shoulder encouragingly. Ugh…
“Fufufu. While it’s not an apology, allow me to offer one serious suggestion. –Why not part ways with Arthur and the others here, make it seem like you’re heading to the Holy Kingdom or somewhere, and then attack the imperial army after they’ve left Kaemuran?”
Oh, right! I hadn’t thought of that!
…Wait, but wouldn’t that be too soon, like two days later? Wouldn’t Kaemuran fall before that…?
“I suppose so, most likely.”
Antendeixis grinned.
“Duke Graham isn’t going anywhere in that state. To save Arthur and the others, you would abandon the old man and Kaemuran.”
…!!
“Now, what will you do? It’s a realistic compromise, I think…?”
…
I closed my eyes.
“—It was a short journey, but I truly enjoyed traveling with you. Thank you for everything.”
A gentle, kind old man-like smile resurfaced behind my eyelids.
Arthur and Duke Graham.
—No need to think further.
It’s Arthur.
He’s a hero of humanity. On the other hand, Duke Graham, albeit a wise ruler, is the king of a small nation. And his successor Johannes is escaping to the capital to call for aid. There’s still hope left…
Kaemuran will likely be occupied. I remember the crumbling merchant association that arranged for Martin’s will to arrive.
His wife and small children are still here. I don’t know how gentlemanly the imperial army will be… but, even if they’re somewhat overbearing, they shouldn’t resort to massacring civilians like the demon lord army. The cat-like beastmen citizens will probably escape before the day ends…
For me and the alliance, the damages will be minimized.
What must be abandoned—is Duke Graham and this town.
As I arrived at this conclusion, footsteps approached from outside again.
Clap, clap, clap—the doors of the Holy Church swung open, and a sweating man rushed in.
“Ah! Arthur! Alex! I’m so glad you’re here!”
—It was the captain of the SS Third Alun. He recognized us and let out a sigh of relief.
“Captain. What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“What’s wrong?! Everything! I hear the imperial army is closing in!”
The captain wiped his forehead of sweat at Arthur’s inquiry, hesitating a bit before finally saying,
“Well, I can’t really say this too loudly, but if the imperial army occupies this town, they might confiscate the cargo on the ship, and I really can’t have that on my mind. So, I’d like to consult with you two—would it be alright if we set sail early?”
He flashed a grin.
“If possible—how about this evening?”
……!!
