The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 281

A ceasefire order.

The situation had changed.

Upon hearing Emperor Chronos’s command to end the war, Marquis Memphis excused himself and immediately summoned his subordinate.

“What’s the situation?”

“We are continuing the operation as planned. The commanders have warped into the capitals of the Humberto and Odelia Kingdoms. Odelia is finishing off the last soldiers in the castle. It will only be a few days, at most, before both kingdoms surrender.”

“…It’s too late to turn back.”

This operation… was happening on two fronts.

Duke Bamford’s 300,000 troops were to defeat Dimitri in a direct battle, while Humberto and Odelia were to be taken over without fighting, under the idea of a union.

The Chronos Empire wanted to conquer the continent and be the only nation. They tempted Humberto and Odelia with promises they never intended to keep.

The world followed the logic of power.

Even if the defeated kingdoms later asked for fairness, they were too weak to do anything.

‘The problem is that His Imperial Majesty wants a ceasefire. If Odelia and Humberto fall, we could completely take over the Kingdom Alliance, starting with those areas. It is not hard to defeat the weak group called the Kingdom Alliance, but if we stop fighting with Dimitri, we must not destroy the Kingdom Alliance.’

It was a confusing situation.

Marquis Memphis felt annoyed.

Emperor Chronos’s sudden change had messed everything up. But Marquis Memphis couldn’t just pull back the Empire’s soldiers after ordering them to attack.

The sword had already been drawn.

If they didn’t win something, if they didn’t get real gains, the Chronos Empire would be laughed at.

The defeat on the Western Front… made it seem like the Chronos Empire was retreating because it was scared.

“…What should we do?” His subordinate asked carefully.

With Odelia about to fall, Marquis Memphis’s choice would decide the future of a kingdom.

He thought for a long time. Finally, Marquis Memphis made his decision.

“The operation will continue. We will capture the Humberto and Odelia Kingdoms first. Then, we will use them as ‘hostages’ to get better terms in the ceasefire talks with Dimitri. I will tell His Imperial Majesty about this separately. Tell the commanders that they have three days to completely control Humberto and Odelia.”

“Understood.” The subordinate quickly left.

The war had already begun.

No matter what… “Roman Dimitri, things will not go as you want.”

He could not let the Chronos Empire’s reputation be damaged.

Hopelessness filled the King of Odelia.

He blinked, and his eyes struggled to adjust to the flickering orange light. Odelia’s capital was burning. Smoke filled the air, stinging his nose and making it hard to breathe. The smell of burning wood was heavy and bitter. The sounds of distant screams and cracking flames echoed through the castle walls.

A soldier rushed in, his face pale and streaked with soot. “Your Majesty!” he gasped, “Two Odelia battalions are gone! Destroyed by the enemy. They control the warp gate. More and more Chronos soldiers are coming through – we can’t stop them!”

Another messenger stumbled in, his voice frantic. “It’s the Chronos Fourth Knights, Your Majesty! They are unstoppable! Our Royal Knights fought bravely, but their leader… he defeated them all. The inner castle will fall soon! You must escape! Now!”

“Escape?” A third voice, choked with despair, joined the others. “There is no escape! The enemy has blocked all the roads out of the city!”

Panic spread like wildfire. More reports, each more terrible than the last, crashed over the King.

The King of Odelia was confused, watching his subordinates scream in despair. Their faces were filled with fear.

His head was spinning.

Even when he was planning the future with Chronos, he thought it was the best choice for his kingdom, no matter how bad it seemed. But now, the situation was unbelievably desperate.

It was over.

Beyond the inner castle… a massacre was happening.

The King of Odelia locked the gates of the inner castle to save himself, leaving the people begging for help outside.

He could hear knocking on the door from outside.

At first, the voices were mean and cruel, then angry. Finally, the voices cursing the king turned into painful screams.

He was trapped.

The King of Odelia spoke, his face pale. “Never open the gates! We will fight to the death here.”

He knew that the Chronos Empire would not spare him. The moment the inner castle fell, he would die.

The King of Odelia did not want to die.

He held onto different groups like a bat because he was desperate to live.

The inner castle was strong.

It would take days to fall, so he had to find a way to solve the problem in that time.

Then… the King of Odelia heard unbelievable news.

“Dimitri has won the war against Chronos. Chronos used an 8th circle mage and Hannibal, ranked 2nd in Chronos, but Roman Dimitri killed them all. We underestimated Dimitri’s power. Dimitri really defeated the Chronos Empire without help from the Kingdom Alliance!”

His subordinate’s words… were shocking.

Even when Rascal acted strangely, he still thought they would lose against the main Chronos Empire army.

That seemed obvious.

They chose to fight in secret because they were too weak to fight openly. The Chronos Empire was clearly much stronger.

But… they had won the war.

The King of Odelia’s legs gave way, and he slumped into his seat with a blank look on his face.

“…Dimitri won?”

He felt like he was going crazy.

Dimitri… their victory was a miracle.

It was unbelievable.

He thought it was impossible to win, so he had clung to the Chronos Empire to survive.

Where did he go wrong?

Hector, Redford, and Frank believed in Roman Dimitri. Was the problem that he didn’t see what they saw?

No. No. They were crazy. Any sensible person would have done what he did.

The news was clear: Dmitry had beaten the Chronos Empire. But now, the Chronos Empire had broken its word and attacked Odelia. Maybe this was a chance. Dmitry had the strength to defeat Chronos. If they took Odelia’s side, they could solve this crisis.

The King’s eyes widened. He suddenly understood.

Odelia wasn’t finished yet.

He had made the wrong choice, but maybe he could still fix things. Maybe it wasn’t too late.

“Connect me to Dmitry via magic communication immediately! Now!”

The last lifeline.

The King shouted, his face red with desperation. He was a man in deep trouble.

Beyond the screen was Roman Dmitry.

As soon as he saw him, the King of Odelia spoke, looking like he might cry at any moment.

“The Chronos Empire has attacked Odelia! We are trapped inside the castle, and it’s only a matter of time before we fall. Roman Dmitry, please help us! Save Odelia from the empire!”

It was a heartfelt request.

He threw away his pride and begged.

“Why should Dmitry help you?”

“…Pardon?”

The answer was cold.

Roman Dmitry didn’t feel sorry for Odelia’s situation at all.

“The Chronos Empire attacked Odelia because you let them use Warp. I don’t blame you for not choosing Dmitry. But you must take responsibility. If you helped the Chronos Empire with some plan, you should fix it yourselves, even if they betrayed you.”

The King’s face turned pale.

Roman Dmitry knew they had betrayed him, but he didn’t stop Odelia from joining the Chronos Empire.

If they were going to be weak and change their minds easily, they would just get in the way. He let them choose, and now they had to take responsibility for that choice.

The King of Odelia said:

“We were wrong a thousand times. But does that mean we should just watch Odelia be destroyed? Southern Chronos and the four-kingdom alliance are the last defense that keeps the continent balanced. If Odelia and Umberto fall to the empire, do you think Dmitry can stop Chronos from taking over the alliance? It’s over. Odelia’s destruction is not a small thing!”

Even as he begged, he made threats.

He pointed out that their fate was tied to Dmitry’s.

“You’re wrong about something,” Roman Dmitry said, his voice changing.

He lost all politeness and his eyes turned cold.

“When Odelia joined the Chronos Empire, you made a choice you can’t undo. Why should we help you? Besides, your idea is wrong. Dmitry defeated the Chronos Empire without help from the kingdom alliance. We proved that Dmitry alone can stand against the empire. Why would we accept you, who are just traitors? If you wanted to live, you should have begged from the start. Hector, Redford, Frank, Umberto—the four kingdoms except Odelia chose Dmitry and are now under my protection.”

He was shocked.

Not only was Roman Dmitry’s reaction a surprise, but so was the fact that Umberto was one of the four kingdoms.

“There is no place for Odelia in the new kingdom alliance.”

“Wait a moment!”

Click.

The communication ended.

He quickly tried to kneel and beg for forgiveness, but Roman Dmitry didn’t give him a chance.

It felt like the world was collapsing.

From the moment Dmitry defeated the Chronos Empire, they should have realized they were equal to Chronos.

The names didn’t matter.

Odelia made the same mistake as siding with Chronos by going against Dmitry, who had proven himself in battle.

But Roman Dmitry had clearly said that Umberto was under their protection.

His body shook in despair, but he contacted Umberto to confirm the truth.

Drip, drip.

Blood dripped.

A man with long, gray hair answered the magic communication.

“…What is this?”

The King of Odelia’s face, filled with shock, appeared on the screen.

A terrible scene was unfolding.

The Umberto Royal Palace was covered in blood, and the man was surrounded by dead bodies. He looked at the King of Odelia and swept back his hair. The King didn’t recognize him at first, but then he remembered who it was.

“…Calderon Drake?!”

The eldest son of the Drake family.

It was Calderon Drake.

Calderon Drake smirked when the King of Odelia recognized him.

“You look surprised. So, you did agree to help the Chronos Empire. Why would you do that? The kingdom alliance is the result of our ancestors’ anger at Chronos’ oppression. You shouldn’t have done that. If you don’t want to end up like the King of Umberto, who was saying foolish things about joining the Chronos Empire…”

Odelia and Umberto’s futures had split.

While Odelia had agreed to work with Chronos, the Drake family in Umberto had rebelled against the king and started a rebellion.

The Drake family was a symbol of the military.

Calderon Drake, under his father’s orders, had stormed into the royal palace and beheaded the king in front of everyone.

That was the result.

The blood-covered royal family had stopped the Chronos Empire from using the warp gate.

“…When did you abandon us and follow Dmitry?”

“Let me explain something clearly.”

How foolish.

Odelia didn’t understand what was happening, and they were slow to learn.

“It’s not ‘we,’ but Odelia alone that was abandoned. Even if the old king was on your side, the loyal people of Umberto, led by the Drake family, never wanted to follow the Chronos Empire. To be exact, we promised to follow Roman Dmitry the day he declared war.”

He remembered.

When Roman Dmitry went to Redford, the Drake family welcomed an unexpected guest.