The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 352

Count Gomes stood up quickly, his chair scraping against the stone floor.

The shock of Cesar’s defeat still hit Count Gomes like a physical blow.

He could still see Cesar’s head falling, a terrible image burned into his mind. For a moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, the air thick and heavy around him.

‘Ares defeated Cesar?’

It was shocking.

It wasn’t that Count Gomes doubted Ares’s skill. He knew Ares was talented. But…

Cesar had been the strongest in Valhalla for ten years.

He was the most powerful warrior in Valhalla, the nation of warriors, and everyone agreed.

Ares, on the other hand, was still young.

People said Ares was the most talented person in Valhalla’s history. He was third in the Valhalla rankings, which was amazing for his age.

The people said, ‘The sword of Valhalla has been broken.’ They meant that Cesar, their strongest warrior, was defeated.

Count Gomes looked at the faces in the crowd.

He looked at the faces in the crowd. Their eyes showed confusion, shock, and even a little fear as they tried to understand Ares’s last words.

‘If things keep going like this, it’s really dangerous. We’ve lost Cesar and Alvarez. If the northern border falls and the people of Valhalla blame His Majesty the Emperor, the rebels might attack us directly. I must stay calm. The war hasn’t even started yet.’

The events so far were just a small part.

Not yet.

The Valhalla Empire hadn’t fully shown its power.

He was in the capital, but the battles in other places made him worried.

‘First, the northern front.’

Beep.

He opened the communication line.

He asked the messenger from the north for an update.

[The Dimitri army’s magic is too powerful. Our best wizards tried to stop them, but their magic to break defenses was too strong. They broke through the castle gates very quickly. Commander, we cannot stop Roman Dimitri from entering the castle. What he did in the war against the Chronos Empire was real, not exaggerated.]

Count Gomes felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

Roman Dimitri.

His entry into the castle meant a bad future.

The north wouldn’t last long.

Count Gomes was confident they could hold out for half a month because he trusted the strong castle walls, not because he thought 100,000 troops could stop Roman Dimitri.

The 300,000 soldiers of Chronos were destroyed by Roman Dimitri on the plains.

Even the powerful mage Shefir couldn’t stop Roman Dimitri. The northern forces alone couldn’t stop him.

In the end.

The north would fall.

The Emperor’s army hadn’t left the capital yet, but Roman Dimitri had already caused chaos with his bold moves.

Count Gomes’s thoughts were confused and worried.

If things kept going this way, they had to get a clear advantage, even if it meant losing the north.

“Fight to the death. Use any means to kill even one more enemy. It’s okay if you can’t kill Roman Dimitri. Show the enemies what it means to invade Valhalla. If any soldiers return unharmed, Valhalla will punish them as cowards, and their families will be held responsible.”

[…Understood.]

Beyond the communicator.

A voice, thin and trembling with despair, came from the communicator.

Count Gomes’s order was cruel.

But it was the best thing for the Empire.

Empire and Kingdom.

What’s the difference between the two?

An Empire is stronger than a Kingdom in many ways. One strength is simply having more people.

100,000 troops from the Empire were not the same as 100,000 troops from a Kingdom.

Dimitri and Hector would have to struggle to gather 100,000 troops, but the Valhalla Empire wouldn’t even notice losing that many.

That’s why he ordered them to fight to the death.

If the north was going to fall anyway, it was better to weaken the enemy than to save the defeated soldiers.

He walked faster.

He didn’t know how long the north would last.

He needed to decide how to respond before the north fell completely.

Should he deal with the rebels?

Or respond to the Dimitri army?

He couldn’t do both at the same time.

Back in front of the temple, the crowd was still stunned.

“……When did Valhalla become like this?”

Ares’s words.

Everyone’s heart ached.

Valhalla, which they were so proud of, was never a shameful country that deserved such criticism.

A man raised his head.

His face showed anger beyond sadness.

“Damn it, where did it all go wrong? Valhalla is not like this. We were proud to be the nation of warriors, and the ranking system started here. But Cesar, who represents Valhalla, is a symbol of being outdated? Is that even possible!”

He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular.

It was just an empty cry.

Seeing him express his anger, another man spoke up.

“Everyone, what did we say when Ares was born? We said Cesar always lost to Castro from Chronos, so we should put our hopes on Ares, the most talented person in Valhalla’s history. Ares was the pride of Valhalla. He wasn’t very loyal to the Imperial Family, but we cheered every time he moved up in the rankings, even though the Imperial Family didn’t like it. And now, he has abandoned Valhalla. He broke away from Valhalla’s old ways, defeated Cesar, and proved he was right.”

Ares’s victory.

It wasn’t simple.

He showed them the truth about Valhalla, and they were shocked because they had such high hopes for him.

People were angry.

People started to feel the same emotions.

The shock and denial turned into anger towards the Imperial Family.

“At the Valhalla Festival, Roman Dimitri accepted Valhalla’s invitation even though he knew they might try to kill him. He confidently went on stage and defeated Barbosa as a warrior. Who really deserves the name of Valhalla? Is it right that people who can’t even use a sword properly are in power and showing off in Valhalla? Is this the Valhalla we believed in? Valhalla’s true power is not affected by sneaky politics!”

He spoke with strength.

He finally said what everyone was thinking.

“The incompetent 14th son, who couldn’t do anything, should not have taken over Valhalla just because he was protected by powerful people. That’s when Valhalla went down the wrong path. We must rise up! We can’t ignore the truth about Valhalla any longer. Duke Vieto has spoken out, and we must be ready to die and fight!”

That was a dangerous thing to say.

The truth that everyone knew but didn’t dare to mention.

The emperors of Valhalla were all great swordsmen.

The power of Valhalla was given to those who proved they were worthy warriors, no matter their family.

For that reason.

Princess Elara felt a wave of shame wash over her.

The Emperor of Chronos was famous for being a strong fighter. But the Emperor of Valhalla was weak and looked like he could be blown away by the wind. Valhalla was known as a land of strong warriors. Having a weak Emperor was a great shame for them.

Everything started to go wrong from that moment. When Valhalla chose a weak Emperor, things began to fall apart, slowly at first, then faster.

“That’s right! He’s a disgrace!” someone shouted.

“We must fight together!” another voice yelled.

“For Valhalla! We will risk everything!” cried a third.

The crowd roared, jumping to their feet. They were burning with anger. Ares’s words had set Valhalla on fire.

The world seemed to spin faster. Marquis Belphir and Count Gomez, who had just left each other, were now back together, their faces etched with worry.

“What should we do now?”

The news was bad. The northern border was about to fall. Worse, Cesarma, a key general, had been defeated. Gomez asked, “What do we do now?”

Belphir answered, “Roman Dmitry… He is dangerous, just as I thought. Ever since he came back from Valhalla lands alive, I knew he would cause trouble. Gomez, we have to fight with everything we have. We can’t turn back now. If we hesitate, we are lost.”

Gomez frowned. “Are you saying we should give up the north?”

Belphir replied, “Not exactly give up. We will leave the north, but we will make it impossible for them to come further.”

The truth was, this was a war within our own nation. Unless we defeat Hernard’s rebels, this fighting will never stop.

Belphir continued, “Roman Dmitry is smart. He is attacking our best fighters with Ares, and he is attacking the north. This stops us from dealing with the rebels. That’s his weakness. It looks like Dmitry wants to destroy Valhalla right now, but that’s not really what’s happening.”

Belphir was a leader for a new time. He was known for his clever plans, not just for being strong.

Belphir explained his plan. “Dmitry and Hector only have 100,000 soldiers. If they really wanted to take Valhalla, they would have brought more. The fighting in the north is just to scare us. They don’t want to go further. They want us to focus on them, not the rebels. I know Dmitry is strong, but Hernard’s rebels are the real problem. We can’t forget about them by worrying too much about the north.”

Gomez asked, “But what if they do come through the north?”

Belphir said, “Then we use the other countries. We send some soldiers north, just in case. But you must destroy Hernard’s rebels now. Don’t worry about Dmitry. I already asked Chronos for help. They don’t want to fight because of the peace talks, but they said they can send soldiers to the border with Cairo to ‘train.'”

Belphir smiled. Chronos and Dmitry hated each other. Chronos said they were ‘training,’ but everyone knew it was a threat. With Chronos at their back, could Dmitry really attack? No. The north was as far as they would go.

Belphir thought he had found the perfect plan for Valhalla’s problems. The Emperor was weak and unpredictable. It was Belphir’s job to fix things.

Gomez nodded. “That’s a great plan.”

He respected Belphir, even though they used to be rivals. If nothing else happened, they would have left feeling good.

Creak. The door opened, and a messenger rushed in. His face was pale. He held out a small, glowing stone. “A message from the north. You need to see this now.”

The good mood vanished instantly, like ice in hot water. Belphir took the glowing stone. A voice, weak and familiar, came from it.

“[I’m, I’m sorry. Roman Dmitry is a monster…] Ack!”

Crack!

Belphir’s voice was shaking with anger. “Are you really going to destroy everything?” His eyes flashed. The voice from the device… it was Killian. Gomez had told Killian to fight to the death in the north. But Dmitry had won so fast. Too fast. Belphir clenched his fists, trying to stay calm.

“[I don’t want to destroy Valhalla completely. Just bring me your Emperor. Make him kneel before me and apologize. Then I will stop the war. I want Valhalla to be honest about what you did wrong.]”

Belphir understood. Dmitry was making fun of him. Belphir exploded. “Stop talking rubbish! We will fight to the end! Chronos soldiers are already gathering at the Cairo border! What do you think will happen? If you attack us now, you will suffer! I don’t care what you are planning. I will crush Hernard’s rebels right now. And I will never forget this day. After the rebels are gone, I will destroy Dmitry!”

Belphir was shouting now. There was no going back.

“Roman Dmitry, you are wrong! We wanted to talk because we didn’t want people to die for nothing. But you want war? Fine! You will regret this. Chronos and Valhalla against you? Do you know what that means in this world?”

He was threatening Dmitry. It was like a dangerous game. Who would back down first? Belphir decided to be the one who wouldn’t. He would push harder. He would act like a crazy man, willing to risk everything.

But then, Dmitry’s voice came back, calm as ice.

“[I understand what Valhalla wants. Now, listen to me.]”

He didn’t care about Chronos or Belphir’s threats.

“[I will keep fighting until this war is over. I want Valhalla to apologize for what you did. So, keep being stubborn. Keep thinking this will all just go away. Because in the end…]”

Dmitry chuckled, a cold, chilling sound.

“[You will face me yourself.]”