Showdown (1)
The Great Plains of Daro, which divides the border between Saintea and Olterore. It was at the same time that the rangers who were watching the plain from the highest hill nearby suddenly felt an ominous current and shuddered.
Dark waves rising slowly over the horizon.
The rangers stared at the sight for a while, stunned. Someone said with a hard face.
“Quickly send a messenger.”
The time has come.
The invasion of demons has begun.
***
It was a week after the hero left that the news of the advance of the demons was delivered.
After the declaration of the hero and the formation of the alliance, a reconnaissance force was stationed at all times in the Great Plains of Daro between Saintea and Olterore.
In the center of the plain is Sainte’a, in the north is Calderic, and in the south is Adessa.
Even though the alliance was formed, there was no reason to mix the reconnaissance troops, so each force has been scouting the movements of the demons by dividing the border like that.
A report came quickly from them.
“Okay then, since everyone is here, let’s go!”
With all the lords fully armed and gathered in the meeting room of the overlord’s castle, the overlord rose from his seat.
The overlord will head to the capital of Saintea from now on.
It was to attend the alliance meeting requested by the emperor as a representative of Calderic.
All forces of the Overlord, the Nine Lords, and Calderic are ready to march to the plains even now.
Of course, the same goes for other forces.
However, this was the final discussion.
After agreeing with Saintea and Adessa and notifying the monarchs who are waiting for the conclusion, the war will begin immediately.
It was decided to do so from the formation of the alliance.
“Take it easy, High Overlord. Did you get the wrong news? Or did you receive an additional report that the demons are suddenly returning?”
As if the overlord’s attitude, from optimistic to cheerful, was quite absurd, the 4th monarch, the king of the dead, spat out a word.
Of course there is no such thing.
The demons coming across the Great Plains will reach the border of Saintea within at least a month.
said the overlord with a grin.
“Why should I be unnecessarily serious? Everyone is waiting leisurely while drinking tea.”
I was a little curious about the overlord’s reaction once the war started in earnest, but it didn’t change at all.
Could it be that the overlord was convinced of victory in the war, or did he think that the outcome would be good?
There is no basis for this war to end with the defeat of the demons.
Rather, it was close to the opposite.
And since the overlord was not an idiot, he couldn’t help but look closer to the latter than the former.
I opened my mouth thinking to myself that she was always an erratic woman.
“I will accompany you to the meeting.”
The gazes of the monarchs focused on me. The overlord asked with a puzzled expression.
“Why? Why?”
“I just want to see the warriors of Saintea with my own eyes. There is no particular reason.”
There is no reason why other monarchs cannot attend the meeting.
However, since there is no reason to move in a cumbersome way, only the overlord is trying to move.
“Okay? Then do whatever you like.”
The overlord readily accepted, as expected.
I left the conference hall with her and got on the wyvern.
“You seem to be interested in the hero, 7 lords. Is there a relationship that I don’t know about?”
I shook my head at the overlord’s question.
“It’s just curiosity.”
“Huh, right? War is right around the corner, so it’s worth it.”
The overlord let out a laugh.
The smile, as always, was a strange feeling.
I flew up into the sky without saying anything more.
‘Is it Ka’n…’
The hero you will soon meet in the capital must be Kaan, not Aindel.
It’s been 3 years.
To be honest, seeing Kaan’s face in person was still uncomfortable.
But I couldn’t help it.
Because there was a story that must be told before the war begins.
***
January 3, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
After the advance of the demons became certain, representatives of each faction quickly gathered at the Imperial Palace of Saintea.
Seated around the round table were the Emperor, the Kings of Saintea’s sphere of influence and neutral countries, the Overlord and 7 Lords of Calderic, the Elven Warchief of Adessa, and the Hero and Nineberg.
“At the current pace of advance, the front of the Demon Army will reach the eastern border within a month.”
The meeting began with the emperor’s calm remarks.
A few salivated.
The army of invading demons is immeasurably huge.
In the first place, the important thing is not the size of the army, but the existence of the demon king.
No one cared about that part.
Everyone expected that this war would turn into an all-out war from the beginning.
The demons would trample and trample the land outside of Olterore with all their might.
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As it was during the Great War.
However, if there was one unexpected part in the movements of the demons…
“Also, they are advancing by dividing the army into three groups. We need to discuss this.”
From the beginning, the alliance expected the all-out offensive of the demons, and planned to deploy its forces in that direction as much as possible.
However, that expectation was slightly off.
The demons did not unite the entire army, but divided it into three groups.
From the center, north, and south of the plain, armies of equal size are advancing side by side.
It naturally reminded everyone of the same idea.
It felt as if he had an explicit intention to deal honestly with the three powers of Saintea, Calderic, and Adessa.
Of course, it wasn’t that the demons hadn’t considered dividing the army.
The problem was the location of the Demon King.
There was no way to know which of the three was the main force where the Demon King was.
“Has anyone, by any chance, figured out the location information of the Demon King?”
The overlord shrugged at the elven warchief’s question.
“There’s no way there’s going to be unless he doesn’t reveal himself openly.”
For what purpose did the demons share their strength?
Is it simply psychological warfare to wreak havoc on the coalition? Or do you have other plans?
At the round table, each other’s information and opinions came and went, but nothing in particular came out. said the emperor.
“The options are probably two of them. Divide this side into three, or conversely, focus on one thing.”
This was not a complicated war.
The topography of the plains, and the purpose of exterminating each other is also simple.
The only thing that could be considered was the distribution of forces in a head-to-head battle that was only met with pure force.
“Is there any reason to match the rhythm of the demons?
To put it a little extreme, no, without adding or subtracting an inch, this was a battle between the hero and the demon king.
If either side is knocked down, the win or loss at that moment is almost the same as leaning.
From that point of view, it was true that concentrating all efforts was a better choice.
Because you can empower the hero as much as possible, and even if there is no demon king in the opposing army, you just have to defeat it and then move on to the next army.
But everyone was thinking this way.
Even if the power is concentrated, will the power be combined efficiently?
It has been a few years, but compared to the history of confrontation that has passed, it is actually just an improvised alliance.
Fighting with different forces meant that there were many variables in the battle.
In addition, the emperor was thinking until after the war ended in victory.
In the end, it is the warrior who fights the demon king.
What if the hero wins against the demon king but is mortally wounded?
What if the hero isn’t in a normal state at the moment when the tide is clearly in the direction of the coalition?
At that moment, the change of mind of the other two forces is fatal.
Calderic was a force that had always been at odds with it from the beginning, and Adessa also had something done by the previous emperor.
It is possible for them to act aiming at the plan of both the demon king and the hero from the beginning.
There was no way to predict how the actual battle would unfold.
Fighting together was also complicated by assuming such worst-case scenarios.
At that time, the hero who had been silent until now opened his mouth.
“It would be better to share power.”
It was a resolute tone, as if he would not accept disagreement.
the overlord asked.
“Why, hero?”
“If we concentrate our forces on one point, the rest of the army can cross the borders of Saintea.”
It was for a simple reason.
And for the demons to set foot on the land of Saintea, it meant the slaughter of all life in their eyes.
Countless innocent civilians will die.
There was only silence for a moment because no one dared to say such a thing as the sacrifice of a cow for the sake of the great in front of her.
Of course, if you face the Demon King’s main force without a hero on the side of Calderic or Adessa, that’s a really huge crisis.
Even if you send a messenger immediately, you don’t know how much damage the hero will take before they arrive.
But I couldn’t complain about him.
It was because it was no different from not wanting to take any risk and asking the hero to take on everything.
In the end, the person who will deal with the demon king is the warrior, and the force that will bear the greatest burden in this war is Saintea.
“I will definitely kill the Demon King. Decide the conclusion.”
The emperor stepped in and cleaned up the messy atmosphere.
“The warrior’s will is the will of Saintea.”
Even if it wasn’t so, the emperor, who had difficulty making up his mind, came to a conclusion.
If the hero came out this hard, there was no reason to go against it.
“If that’s the case, I can’t do anything, Calderic should follow. Dealing with the Demon Lord is a hero.”
The overlord also accepted it meekly.
Finally, the elven warchief thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Adessa will also follow the warrior’s opinion.”
Thus, the will of the three powers converged.
***
After the meeting, I approached Kaan.
“Hero, can we talk alone for a moment?”
Kaan, who was leaving the conference room with Nainberg, looked at me.
Neinberg and Kaan knew that Aindel and I had a cooperative relationship.
And Nainberg knows that I know that she is Kaan, not Aindel.
Maybe that’s why he winked at Kaan and obediently moved away.
“What are you talking about?”
After moving to a secluded location and deploying a sound-blocking curtain, Kaan asked me in a stiff voice.
I let out a small sigh and said.
“Carn.”
“······!”
“I know you’re Kaan, not Aindel. There’s no need to act.”
Kaan was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.
“Have you heard from Nainberg?”
“no.”
“······Then did you hear directly from Aindel?”
“Yes. You came to see me before heading to Olterore.”
Kaan murmured, laughing.
“In the end, only for me…”
I didn’t want to have a long talk.
It is Kaan who even gained the ability to determine the truth with the power of the holy sword.
There was a sense of pressure, as if something would be discovered that should not be discovered any time soon.
So, I immediately brought out the main topic.
“Act with me from the beginning, Kaan.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s literally. I have the ability to instantly kill the demon king. If you create an opening, I will definitely end the demon king’s life.”
Because the two of them would be much better than trusting and entrusting the demon king’s opponent to Kaan alone.
It’s the last anyway.
If the situation doesn’t go well, even if it’s a single action, it’s enough.
This time, I wanted to tie everything without regret.
But what came back from Caan was an immediate answer.
“I will refuse.”
“······what?”
“I refuse. You are the Lord of Calderic, so I care about that.”
Then he immediately turned around.
Embarrassed, I grabbed Kaan’s shoulder.
But he coldly shook my hand.
“If you have such great abilities, shouldn’t you have fought alongside Aindel?”
“That was… Aindel’s will.”
“That’s right. That’s why I hate Aindel. You and Nineberg, too.”
I’m at a loss for words.
“I will defeat the demon king by myself. I have nothing more to say.”
I just stared blankly at the back of the guy walking away.
without holding on any longer.
***
January 4, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
Emperor Saintea formally declares war.
More than 30,000 knights, including the imperial family and noble families, religious orders, more than 20,000 wizards, including the Mage Tower, more than 1 million soldiers, a total of more than 50,000 knights, more than 30,000 wizards, and more than 2 million soldiers, including countries belonging to Saintea and neutral countries.
Excluding the qualitative difference, the total force Calderic mobilized was approximately 0.7 times that.
Adessa also mobilized all available tribal forces, totaling over 3 million warriors and spiritists.
January 15, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
Adessa forces are fully assembled in the eastern outskirts of the Great Forest.
March begins on the Great Plains of Daro.
January 17, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
The Allied Forces of Saintea are fully assembled on the eastern border of the Empire. The march to the Great Plains of Daro begins.
January 18, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
The Calderic army is fully assembled on the eastern border of Calderic.
Start marching through the mountains to the Great Plains.
.
.
.
January 23, 765 of the Lachyronia Continental Calendar.
A point beyond a quarter of the Great Plain from the west, the first encounter between the Saintea allied forces and the demon army in the central direction.
“I see enemies.”
The soldiers on the front line stared at the black waves rushing over the horizon with stiff faces.
Demon King and Warrior.
A coalition of all races excluding demons and him.
The second great war that staked the fate of the continent.
open war.
