The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 362

The Imperial Army was gone.

The rebels cheered, their voices exploding with joy.

They were amazed they were still alive. Relief washed over them, and many thanked God. They were happy to be alive, but they were not untouched by death.

But the joy didn’t last long. Then, they saw the bodies of their friends lying all around. So many were dead. They knew if the enemy had retreated for a reason, this terrible fight could happen again tomorrow.

Duke Vieto spoke, his voice serious.

“Sanchez.”

“Yes, Duke?” Sanchez replied quickly.

“Get in touch with our spies in the capital. Find out why the enemy ran away. Count Gomez doesn’t give up easily. Something must have made them pull back.”

“Right away, Duke,” Sanchez said.

There was no time to rest. Sanchez didn’t even smooth down his messy hair. He hurried away, full of energy.

Thirty minutes passed. The rebels were just finishing cleaning the walls when Sanchez ran back, his face red with excitement.

“Duke Vieto! You were right! The capital of Valhalla is in chaos!”

“Calm down, Sanchez. Tell me what happened,” Duke Vieto said.

“Right, right,” Sanchez gasped, trying to catch his breath. “It started a few days ago. Remember when the Valhalla Emperor destroyed the warp gate at Javier? We thought Roman Dmitry was done for. But we were wrong! Roman Dmitry sent soldiers to the north, to their food storage places. He burned them down! The Valhalla Emperor couldn’t ignore that!”

“Burning food stores is bad, but it doesn’t explain why Gomez ran away,” Duke Vieto pointed out.

“Exactly! The Emperor was even going to send more soldiers to fight back. But then, Roman Dmitry went to the capital, Valhalla. Alone! And he attacked everyone there!”

“…What?!”

Duke Vieto was stunned. His eyes widened in surprise. He was amazed that one person, not a clever plan, had caused such chaos.

“But that was just the start! If Roman Dmitry had only attacked Marin, Count Gomez would have stayed to finish us off here, even if it was risky.”

“Duke Vieto, listen to this! After Roman Dmitry killed hundreds of soldiers by himself, he went to the Emperor’s Palace! He tried to kill the Emperor and all the important leaders! The capital is in complete chaos! The Emperor’s family realized they were in real danger. So, they quickly ordered Count Gomez to come back. The war isn’t over, but Roman Dmitry has changed everything!”

Sanchez’s voice was shaking with excitement. They had been so close to losing everything, so this news was incredible. But then, a shadow crossed Duke Vieto’s face.

“…The reports also say Roman Dmitry has announced he will leave the rebels and only care about his own kingdom, Dmitry. We need to check if this is true. We can’t just end our alliance with him based on rumors.”

Duke Vieto laughed out loud. Roman Dmitry’s attack was amazing, but this last part was truly brilliant.

“Roman Dmitry,” he chuckled. “He is incredible.”

“Do you know something we don’t, Duke?” Sanchez asked.

“Not much more,” Vieto replied. “But Roman Dmitry saying he’ll abandon us rebels… it’s not simple. The Valhalla Emperor is very stubborn. He showed that by destroying the warp gate. He wouldn’t do what Roman Dmitry wanted him to do. So, Roman Dmitry did something even more extreme. By saying he’d leave us, he made sure he would win no matter what, whether the Emperor wins or loses.”

“So, it was a trick?” Sanchez asked.

“No, not exactly a trick.” Vieto laughed again, feeling chills run down his spine as he understood Roman Dmitry’s plan. “Roman Dmitry probably expected us rebels to fail. Knowing that, he made it clear he was separating himself from us. This forced the Emperor into two bad choices. First, keep fighting us and get badly hurt. Second, panic because of Roman Dmitry’s attack and pull back their troops. By going to one extreme – saying he’d abandon us – Roman Dmitry trapped the Emperor!”

“…Ah! I see!”

Sanchez understood. “Wow!” he breathed. It was a complicated situation, but in the middle of chaos, Roman Dmitry had found the perfect way for his kingdom to win. Vieto shook his head, still laughing in amazement. ‘If Dmitry is going to win no matter what happens, this is the best way,’ he thought. Duke Vieto had always known Roman Dmitry was special. But now, after seeing all this, he felt more than respect – he felt real awe. He knew one thing for sure: this was a perfect chance. Whatever Roman Dmitry’s plan, they had to use this opportunity, especially since they had a day to prepare.

“Get all the leaders here, now!” Duke Vieto ordered. The war wasn’t finished. Not yet.

* * *

In the last few days, everything about the civil war had changed. The Valhalla Emperor’s family called back 500,000 soldiers and sent even more north. At first, the fight was between the rebels in Hernard and the Emperor. But now, the Emperor’s family was angriest at Roman Dmitry.

The attack on Marin was a shock. As soon as people heard the Emperor’s family had been hurt, they started to doubt the Emperor’s power, the power that kept everyone afraid. Because of this, the Emperor’s family needed to show everyone they were still strong. They couldn’t let Roman Dmitry, who was causing chaos in Valhalla, get away with it.

“That little rat!” Count Gomez cursed. He was at the northern food storage place. He was in charge of the army sent to defeat Dmitry. He looked around at the black, burned land, and he was angry and worried. The last few days had been crazy busy. He hadn’t had a single moment to rest.

He had planned to catch up to Dmitry’s army quickly. But when he got there, they were gone. It was clear what they were doing: attack and run away. Even though Dmitry’s army wasn’t as big as his own, it was still a big problem because it was Roman Dmitry leading them.

And even worse, ‘The situation in Valhalla is bad,’ Gomez thought. The Emperor’s power was weakening. The attacks in Valhalla gave people a reason to fight back, and anger spread quickly. The rebels weren’t just in Hernard anymore. People all over Valhalla were taking up weapons and fighting in the streets. The Emperor’s family was too busy to control everything. If they had defeated the Hernard rebels like they planned, it might have been okay. But they made a mistake by pulling back their troops just before winning. Duke Vieto had turned things around by convincing more lords to join the rebels. Count Gomez had already left Hernard because of the recall order. Now, all he could do was be furious about the rebel victory from far away.

Everything was going wrong. This was a serious problem. Count Gomez called his assistant and gave an order.

“We’re out of time! We need to find out where Dmitry’s army is going and push them back towards the border. If we let Dmitry keep moving around inside Valhalla, Roman Dmitry will keep causing problems we can’t control.”

“Understood. I will contact those around me to seek cooperation.”

The adjutant retreated.

He felt suffocated.

Count Gomes could not shake off a strange sense of unease.

And the next day.

His worries became reality.

They had not caught Dimitri’s army. Now, there was another problem. Armies from the Kingdom Alliance were gathering on Valhalla’s western border.

Western Valhalla.

The air was thick with the scent of war.

The problem arose as the three kingdoms of Redford, Umberto, and Frank, belonging to the Kingdom Alliance, concentrated their forces on the western front.

The Valhalla Imperial Court immediately sent a messenger.

If the Kingdom Alliance planned to start a full war like Dimitri, then keeping the nation safe was more important than stopping Hernand’s rebels.

The Valhalla messenger, a man with an unremarkable face, raised his voice, speaking to the leaders of the Kingdom Alliance.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Valhalla, wants to know why you are gathering your forces on the western front. If you are trying to make Valhalla angry, we will not ignore it.”

His voice was full of anger.

Inside, they were pretty sure what was happening, but they still needed to hear it officially.

The Kingdom Alliance and Dimitri shared a common goal.

If they went too far like Dimitri, Valhalla would use that as a chance to attack.

However, Calderon Drake, speaking for the Kingdom Alliance, said something unexpected.

“It seems you don’t understand. We don’t want to make Valhalla angry at all. Just because we formed the Kingdom Alliance doesn’t mean we help each other with everything. Dimitri attacked with Hector on their own, and that has nothing to do with us.”

“Then why have you gathered your forces on the western front?”

“For training, of course.”

He smirked.

It was an answer meant to trap Valhalla in a difficult situation.

If Valhalla argued with the Kingdom Alliance, they would fall into a trap.

“As you know, the three southern kingdoms of the Kingdom Alliance are very close. We train together regularly, so it’s not unusual. Recently, the Chronos Empire also gathered forces on the Cairo border, saying they were training, right? Please think of this the same way. We will never cross the Valhalla border.”

Valhalla had asked Chronos for help, but now they couldn’t easily criticize the Kingdom Alliance.

Calderon Drake smiled at the messenger. He knew what Valhalla was trying to do.

By getting the Kingdom Alliance’s official position, they wanted to calm the people by pointing to an enemy.

So, they didn’t go too far.

They only wanted to annoy Valhalla, staying in the position of observers.

‘Valhalla probably doesn’t trust the Kingdom Alliance. Just like we don’t trust the ceasefire talks with the Chronos Empire, Valhalla will likely send more troops to the western front, afraid of an attack. It’s a real problem. They know what’s happening but can’t fix it.’

This plan came from Roman Dimitri.

He started guerrilla warfare inside Valhalla, helping Hernand’s rebels survive and causing more rebellions. Now, he had the Kingdom Alliance tightening the pressure on Valhalla, which had already spread out its forces.

The situation could change.

He wanted to stay at the border if he could, but he was ready to cross it if things got really bad.

So, it was a smart move.

The chance of war was a problem Valhalla couldn’t ignore.

“But still, this is……”

“Let me say it again.”

He interrupted.

Calderon Drake smiled and said,

“The three southern kingdoms of the Kingdom Alliance have nothing to do with this. Please tell the Valhalla Imperial Court that we hope this is resolved peacefully.”

The other leaders laughed.

The messenger left, his face red.

Feeling mocked, he couldn’t talk anymore.

In Marquis Belphegor’s office, he paced back and forth, unable to stop worrying.

“This is not good, not good at all.”

At the start of the rebellion, he wasn’t worried.

Duke Vieto’s 200,000 troops weren’t enough to defeat Valhalla, and he was sure Roman Dimitri couldn’t change that.

But now it was different.

Problems were spreading everywhere, and Marquis Belphegor started to think about something he hadn’t expected.

Maybe, just maybe, the Valhalla Emperor could lose.

The biggest problem was the growing distrust between him and the Valhalla Emperor.

‘The Valhalla Emperor knew Roman Dimitri was going to attack the Imperial Palace, but he ran away instead of protecting us. That must be how he really feels about us. We’re just chess pieces to be thrown away. He doesn’t even care if we’re angry about it. I was wrong. The time I spent helping the Valhalla Emperor was wasted.’

Valhalla had no future for him.

The Valhalla Emperor was still hopeful.

Even with problems everywhere, he wasn’t using all his power, only responding with what he had to.

He didn’t like that.

The Emperor was acting like usual, not even using the special forces. Belphegor was losing his reason to risk his life for him.

If they lost, his people would be blamed.

Marquis Belphegor had seen that happen before, and he couldn’t risk his life for the future anymore.

‘The Imperial Family isn’t all-powerful. If they could stop Roman Dimitri, they wouldn’t have run away during the attack on the Imperial Palace. So, what should I do? Even if we win, will I get any credit? The more I achieve, the more Roman Dimitri will try to kill me. If the Imperial Palace can be attacked, I can’t stop him alone.’

He felt anxious and distrustful.

He was confused.

He knew what Roman Dimitri wanted.

He had been spared to cause division, and he shouldn’t help Valhalla win.

However, he couldn’t control his feelings.

After thinking for a long time, he picked up the magic communication device.

He hesitated.

‘Who should I call?’

He thought for a moment.

As soon as the call connected, Marquis Belphegor spoke carefully.

Beep.

“This is Marquis Belphegor of Valhalla. Please tell Roman Dimitri that I want to talk to him.”