The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 85

Stephen brought a soldier forward.

“This soldier is from this area,” Stephen said. “He knows the land very well, so he can guide us.”

“I’m Coby,” the soldier said.

He was a soldier with a tanned face.

Roman nodded to Coby and went into the command room. The room was empty now. He unfolded a map on the table.

Whirr!

“This is a map of the southern front. What’s the fastest way to the rear base?”

“The rear base?” Coby asked, surprised. His eyes opened wide.

Stephen had told Coby that Roman needed help for the defense lines.

So, Coby expected they were going to a defense line. That’s why he looked confused when Roman suddenly mentioned the rear base.

Roman didn’t have to explain.

But to get Coby to help, Roman explained his plan.

“I don’t think the defense lines here will last long. Even if we hurry, one will probably fall. If that happens, we could get trapped inside. That’s why I want to go to the rear base first. We can join up with the soldiers there, then see how bad the defense lines are and decide what to do.”

“Ah!” Coby exclaimed softly.

It made sense.

Just like Roman said, they were too few to stop all the dangers on the southern front.

Coby looked at the map.

Searching for the fastest way to the rear base, he pointed to one path and said.

“Going this way would be best, I think. If you follow this road, you can arrive in about three hours.”

There were many roads to the rear base.

This one was the safest.

But Roman shook his head.

“No. We can’t take the safe road. We need to save time. We have to go faster, even if it means going through rough paths with hills and problems.”

“Hmm, then how about this path?”

It was a path that went around the mountain.

This path was much rougher than the first one. Instead of going uphill all the time, this path went around the mountain, which would be faster.

If the first route took three hours, this one would take two and a half.

Coby thought Roman would like this idea, but Roman still looked unhappy.

“I know this path takes about two and a half hours for normal people,” Roman said. “That’s too slow. My soldiers are fast, no matter the land. So, we need a faster way, a shortcut that gets us to the rear base in less than two hours.”

Then, Coby felt something was odd.

‘Huh?’ He thought about the two paths he suggested and Roman’s two responses.

The first path.

Anyone could see, even without knowing the area, that the first path was flat on the map.

So, it made sense for Roman to ask for a faster way.

But the second path was different.

‘How does he know it takes two and a half hours to go around the mountain? That’s not just guessing. He sounds sure of it. It means he knows this area well. Then why did he ask *me* to be his guide?’

Questions arose.

The man before his eyes.

He wondered what Roman Dmitry was thinking.

“…I didn’t know you knew the roads so well.” He asked indirectly.

What was the reason for calling him, even though he knew the roads well?

At the slightly probing remark, Roman said nonchalantly without taking his eyes off the map.

“When I came to the southern front, I learned about this place. I wanted to know how the battlefield was set up, and what the land was like. I studied a lot to be ready for anything. I don’t know everything, but I know the basics, like anyone else here.”

After hearing Valhalla’s information.

Roman ordered Lucas to find out about the southern front.

That wasn’t just to confirm the signals of war.

In preparation for a possible war, he grasped the current situation of the southern front and checked the various paths leading to each defense line.

When the 5th defense line was attacked.

Roman arrived at the battlefield in a little over an hour.

People thought he had arrived quickly by running at full speed on a road that would take two hours, but the truth was that he used the shortcuts in his head.

And.

Recently, he received information from McBurney.

It was similar to Lucas, but with slightly more detailed information, and thanks to that, he knew the roads of the southern front as well as a local.

At Roman’s answer.

Coby couldn’t understand even more.

If he was so knowledgeable, it still didn’t seem like he needed his help.

“When you received my call from Stephen, you probably thought I was ignorant of the southern front.”

“Ah, no.”

“Don’t worry about it. It makes sense you’d think that. I told Stephen I needed someone who knows this area because maps aren’t always right. My maps say the second path takes two and a half hours. But what if the weather is bad, or the road is damaged? You know things you can’t learn from maps. That’s why I asked for your help. I wanted to know if my information is right, and if you locals know any secret paths that outsiders wouldn’t.” He paused. “Does that make sense?”

“Yes?! I, I understand fully,” Coby stammered.

It felt like Roman could read his mind.

Roman understood why Coby was asking and wanted to answer all his questions to get the best help.

Roman looked different again.

Many nobles had been assigned to the southern front, but Roman was definitely the first of his kind.

‘He’s not like the other nobles who come here just to relax. This man is really ready for war. Even if others aren’t, if I help him, maybe there’s hope for the southern front.’ He became certain.

Coby examined the map.

Then, pointing to one place, he said.

“If you’re really confident in moving quickly regardless of the terrain, I can say with certainty that this path is the best choice. It’s a path that I used secretly with my village friends since I was young, and if you break through the dense bushes, it’s possible to reach the rear base in two hours. However, you really have to be careful. If you misstep even a little, an unfortunate incident could occur where you fall down a steep cliff.”

That was the answer Roman wanted.

It meant the meeting was over.

Exactly 10 minutes.

The meeting didn’t take long.

When Roman came out of the command room, Roman’s soldiers had already finished their preparations and were lined up.

“Chris and 30 others. All preparations are complete.”

“Yes, sir!” Chris replied quickly and sharply.

But next to the soldiers, who were ready to go, stood someone Roman didn’t want to see.

Fifty soldiers stood ready, and Henry Albert stepped forward. ‘All preparations are complete,’ he announced.

It was indeed Henry.

Henry looked at Chris, one of Roman’s soldiers, and tried to copy how Chris stood tall and straight. Henry tried hard to look serious, but he didn’t have the same strong look as Chris.

Roman turned to Henry and asked directly, “Why are you here?”

Henry’s being there was not good. Roman needed to be quick, and Henry’s group would only slow them down. Also, Roman remembered Henry from their first meeting, which had not gone well.

Henry knew Roman wouldn’t want him there, but he couldn’t say his real reason.

‘If I say I want to be friends with the person who really controls Dimitri, Roman will kick me out right away,’ Henry thought.

That was Henry’s secret plan.

He made his face look serious. He needed to pretend to be brave and helpful.

“First, I am sorry for what I did before,” Henry said loudly. “I am following you, Roman, because I am also from Cairo. The Hector Kingdom is at war with us. People are dying, and I think I should help as someone from Cairo. Tell me what to do. I will try my hardest, even if it’s dangerous.”

He spoke very loudly. He stuck out his chest like he was very proud.

But it was all an act. He looked like he was trying too hard to be brave.

Roman knew Henry always had a reason for everything he did.

Roman said, “You can follow me if you want. But I won’t tell you what to do. If you can keep up, that’s your problem. Listen to me carefully. If you get in my way, even a little bit, I will get rid of anything that is stopping me and move on.”

Roman’s voice was cold and hard. It was a warning that made you shiver.

With those words, Roman turned quickly and walked away.

“Chris.”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldiers followed Roman.

They had to go now.

Even though Roman had warned him, Henry still tried to follow.

But he quickly fell behind. Henry was soon out of sight. He was already tired just walking on flat ground, so there was no way he could keep up on this path. It was a steep and rough path going uphill.

No one spoke as they moved.

Roman and Coby walked fast in front, Coby leading the way.

Scritch, scritch! They pushed through thick bushes and branches.

This was not a normal road. It was a hidden path, used by no one. Without Coby, they would never have found it.

They had been walking for some time.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound.

“Ugh…”

It was a groan, like someone in pain.

Roman stopped his soldiers.

The sound came from a little way off the path. Roman thought they should check it, just in case.

“What was that?” someone whispered.

“Wait,” another soldier said. “Is that… a soldier from the Southern Training Camp?”

Roman’s soldiers knew him right away. They all remembered the hard training at the camp. This soldier was one of those who helped run the training.

But he looked terrible.

His clothes were ripped and covered in blood. His face was white, like he was about to die.

Roman rushed to him.

He checked the soldier and quickly poured medicine on the worst wounds.

But it was too late.

Roman saw the soldier was dying. “What happened?” Roman asked urgently.

The soldier looked up at Roman, his eyes cloudy.

Then, for a moment, his eyes became clear. He saw it was Roman. In a weak, desperate voice, he said, “The Southern Training Camp… it was attacked! P-Please help us! Please…”

He stopped speaking.

His body went limp. He had said his last words and died.

‘The Southern Training Camp attacked?’ Roman thought in shock.

This was very strange.

The Training Camp was not at the front lines of the war. It was further back, a safer place. Why would they attack it?

Roman knew that even when he left the fighting at the 5th Defense Line, everything was still holding. No news of other areas being broken through.

‘If a soldier from the Training Camp ran all the way here, the attack must have happened at least half an hour ago,’ Roman realized.

‘This means it’s not just about breaking through the front lines. The Hector Kingdom must have attacked all the fighting areas at once, and also sent a fast group of soldiers to attack the Training Camp.’

But why? It didn’t make sense. What were they trying to do? It was a mystery.

Then, a scary thought came to Roman.

‘If I’m right… then the Southern Front is in even more danger than I thought.’

The Hector Kingdom was not attacking without a plan.

They must have planned this attack very carefully.

Roman stood up quickly.

“We go to the Southern Training Camp now,” he said.

“Understood,” Chris replied.

Right now, helping the Training Camp was the most important thing.