The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 358

At that time, Marquis Belphir was in the central square of Marin.

Thwack!

He threw a man down.

The man’s face was a mess. He lay on the ground, too weak to get up.

“People of Valhalla, watch! This man dared to rebel against Emperor of Valhalla. In this country, treason is a serious crime punishable by death. As a servant of His Majesty the Emperor of Valhalla, I cannot ignore this.”

He glanced and gave a signal.

Two knights stepped forward.

Wham!

One knight grabbed the man’s hair and slammed his head into the ground. The other held up a sharp dagger.

The dagger’s blade shone in the sunlight.

The knight plunged the dagger into the man’s body, causing pain.

Twitch.

“…Ugh.”

The man groaned and struggled, but he was too weak to escape.

It was a gruesome scene.

Some people looked away. Parents quickly led their children away.

Marquis Belphir’s face was cold and hard, as expected of a noble carrying out the Emperor’s will. But inside, his heart pounded with unease. He hated this. He hated what he was doing, but he felt he had no choice.

‘It is the right thing to do for me, for Valhalla.’

The Emperor of Valhalla had ordered the massacre of ordinary people and made an example of the survivors to control people through fear.

Marquis Belphir knew this method was cruel, but he didn’t refuse the order.

He felt trapped. He knew he was doing wrong, but he felt he couldn’t stop now.

Politics was like this. Marquis Belphir had also made morally questionable choices, so he watched the torture.

Trickle.

Blood flowed, soaking the square. The man’s body stopped trembling.

Marquis Belphir said, “Next.”

Behind him, there were more prisoners waiting.

Those identified as rebels were dragged out and tortured. The people gathered in the square were forced to watch. Even parents who tried to leave with their children were stopped.

About 30 minutes passed. Just as corpses were piling up, an imperial knight rushed in, panting.

“Marquis Belphir! Return to the Imperial Palace immediately!”

“Return? But I’m not finished here! What’s happening?” he asked, puzzled.

He was following the Emperor’s orders, so why was he being called back so urgently?

The knight said, with a pale face, “Roman Dmitry is using tricks to launch simultaneous terrorist attacks throughout Valhalla!”

But Marin was not the only place in Valhalla where chaos was brewing. Far away, in the eastern city of Cairn, another event was about to unfold.

Cairn was quiet in the afternoon sun. People walked slowly, chatting and laughing. Children played in the streets. The air was warm and still. Then, everything changed.

“Team 1, take the right! Team 2, take the left!”

“Yes!”

Eight people, looking like ordinary citizens, split up as they saw their target: the armory.

The armory stored weapons and supplies. Several soldiers guarded it.

Thwack!

“Cough.”

They quickly subdued the guards, attacking their blind spots. Before the guards could react, they were stabbed or their necks were twisted.

Some of the men changed into the soldiers’ uniforms. Others went inside to install magic bombs.

With preparations complete, they activated the magic bombs from a distance.

Boom!

Boom boom boom boom!

Rumble!

The armory exploded, and flames engulfed the warehouse. The peaceful afternoon in Cairn was shattered.

The emergency bell rang, and soldiers rushed to the scene. They saw the armory burning.

Then, some of the terrorists shouted to the crowd, “You Valhalla bastards! Even if you kill innocent people, we will not collapse!”

“We must not forget Valhalla’s cruelty! The citizens of Marin spoke out for Valhalla, separate from Duke Vieto, but the Valhalla Imperial Family ordered them to be massacred. My sister died in Marin! We will not forget! We are doing this for those who died! For Marin! For all of us who are afraid!”

The citizens of Cairn were confused as they saw the burning armory, the posters about Valhalla’s actions, and the terrorists shouting.

The massacre in Marin was not yet widely known.

Just before the Cairn soldiers could stop the terrorists, the disguised soldiers shouted, “Chase them!”

“Stop right there!”

It was a well-organized plan.

The Cairn soldiers chased after them, but the terrorists escaped in the chaos.

All of them were members of Hao Mun.

They were special operatives trained in martial arts. They carried out Roman Dmitry’s orders throughout Valhalla.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment plan. They had prepared and trained for countless scenarios.

Explosions rocked Valhalla. Fires broke out in the streets.

At first, there were only a few attacks. But quickly, they grew to dozens. Chaos spread across Valhalla.

Chris arrived at his destination, preparing for the upcoming operation, he remembered his conversation with Roman Dmitry.

“The plan starts now,” Roman Dmitry said, his voice sharp. “The warp gate is gone. Time for plan B.”

Contingency plan. Chris knew what that meant. It was a plan made for this exact situation, for when Valhalla acted.

Chris thought this plan was very dangerous.

Chris thought the terror attacks were very risky. They were the main part of the plan. He worried they might make the people of Valhalla angry enough to find out Roman Dmitry was behind it all.

So, he asked.

“The Valhalla Emperor has lost the people’s trust. If it becomes known that we are causing trouble in this situation, the enemy might try to control the internal chaos by presenting Dmitry as an external enemy.”

“No. That will not happen.”

He was certain.

The truth didn’t matter to him.

Whatever the Valhalla Emperor did, he had crossed the point of no return from the moment he ordered the massacre.

“By massacring the common people, the Valhalla Emperor has given us someone to blame. If we terrorize each territory of Valhalla as planned and reveal the truth of what happened in the capital to the people of Valhalla, what reaction do you think they will have? They will not question who started this. Clearly, an organized movement will be seen as intentional when viewed from a few steps back, but what matters to the people now is the Valhalla Emperor’s actions. We will use their feelings. The moment the people’s discontent is expressed externally and even slightly acted upon, the rebellion in Marin will spread throughout Valhalla, not just be confined to that area.”

He planned to make the people even angrier.

It was different from the incident in Marin.

In the capital, the Valhalla Emperor’s soldiers quickly controlled the situation, but the flames of rebellion spreading throughout Valhalla’s vast lands were another matter.

Currently, the troops dispatched to suppress the rebels in Hernad were not solely composed of the Emperor’s forces.

Among them were Valhalla’s nobles who had joined with their own troops, and they would be thrown into chaos by the attack on their own territories.

Chris added.

“…An operation that uses public sentiment is good. However, many people will die for our benefit.”

Chris felt guilty. He was a human being, after all.

Dmitry would stir up Valhalla for Dmitry’s benefit, and the people of Valhalla, caught up in political issues, would cry out for patriotism and die like that.

It was a truly cruel reality. In fact, the common people of Valhalla were not at fault.

Simply because Dmitry and Valhalla were in a hostile relationship, they were driven into a harsh reality.

If the operation proceeded as planned, without a doubt, given the Valhalla Emperor’s nature, many people would not survive.

At that moment.

Roman Dmitry said.

“Chris. Do not forget that Valhalla is another country. We will use any means necessary for our victory. And there is no need to feel guilty in the process. Just as we cut down soldiers on the opposite side of the battlefield for no reason other than being on the opposite side, those with Valhalla nationality are not unrelated to this situation. What matters to us is only the future for Dmitry.”

In that instant.

He felt a chill.

He realized once again.

Although Roman Dmitry was bestowing favors on people and receiving their praise, his core was always chillingly cruel.

Apart from the fact that he had made some sort of deal with the rebels in Hernad. Dmitry chose the maximum benefit he could pursue.

Roman Dmitry chose a risky thing that some people could understand in their heads but dare not put into practice, simply because it was the most profitable.

Such an existence was the lord he served.

While his heart grew cold at the cruelty, Chris felt a sense of relief at serving such a person.

‘At least, if an entity that puts its own people first leads the country, we have no reason not to give our lives.’

It was a simple matter.

The Valhalla Emperor killed his own people.

On the other hand, Roman Dmitry pushed another country into the depths of despair for his own people.

There was nothing to hesitate about.

Chris was tested every time he stayed by Roman Dmitry’s side, but the reason he stayed until the end was because he knew that the future with Roman Dmitry would be happy, even if it was selfish.

This time was no different.

The operation to be carried out was fraught with danger, but Dmitry had no intention of backing down from the game that had already begun.

Clang.

He drew his sword.

Behind him, the soldiers of the Allied Forces lined up.

“We will begin the operation now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Far away, Valhalla’s largest granary, a giant wooden beast, burned fiercely, grabbing everyone’s terrified gaze.

Events occurred in rapid succession.

The high-ranking officials summoned to the Valhalla Imperial Palace were unable to come to their senses due to the reports coming from all over Valhalla.

“Terrorist attacks are occurring throughout Valhalla! It seems Roman Dmitry is up to something. He is selectively detonating magical bombs in armories, and he is stirring up the anger of the Valhalla people by bringing the massacre in Marin to the forefront. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before the flames of rebellion spread.”

“We must recall the troops. Only then can we mobilize soldiers to suppress the people’s anger.”

That was not all.

Another news.

The Valhalla leaders wrung their hands at the report that Dmitry’s army was setting fire to the granary.

“Shouldn’t we stop this?”

“If the granary is completely burned down, Valhalla’s damage will be enormous.”

Valhalla. Since the empire’s foundation was in the southern jungle, Valhalla’s territory, unlike other countries, did not have much land for farming.

Therefore, the northern granary was the core of Valhalla.

The food produced there fed a significant portion of the population, and Dmitry’s army changed direction to attack the granary.

It was within the realm of expectation.

However, since the granary was far from other warp points, it was a choice to completely abandon the Hernad rebels, so the Valhalla Empire thought that Dmitry would withdraw these troops.

But, contrary to expectations, they went deeper and attacked the granary.

If the granary was engulfed in flames as it was, the damage would not be limited to a month or two, but Valhalla might have to bear it for a long time.

It was a dangerous game of who would give in first. Their pride stopped them from acting.

If they had concentrated their forces in the north, they would have protected the granary, but with the small number of troops, there was no way to stop the Dmitry Allied Forces’ intentions.

They weren’t sure if they should recall the troops.

If they brought in the troops now, they would likely lose both the rebels in the north and Hernad, both birds with one stone.

Marquis Belphegor, his face red with anger, slammed his fist on the table.

“We can no longer stand idly by Dmitry’s actions! We need to recall some of the troops that went to Hernad. Since Hernad is already on the verge of being occupied, leaving only half of the troops should be enough to sort out the situation,” he shouted.

He raised his voice.

At the head of the table, the Valhalla Emperor was there. In a series of situations, the Valhalla Emperor’s face was a mask of fury, his eyes wide with disbelief.

It was then.

A knight of the Imperial Family conveyed one fact.

“…A magical communication request has come from Roman Dmitry.”

Just a few days ago, unlike when he unilaterally cut off communication, the name Roman Dmitry brought a moment of silence to the conference room.