The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 403

The city gates opened.

It was, quite literally, a bloodless entry.

As they watched the soldiers from other kingdoms march in, the Chronos soldiers looked nervous.

For them, opening the gates was a risk.

Herman had made a surprising choice, and they followed him, but they were afraid.

What if Roman Dimitri, known for showing no mercy, was angry?

Their hands were sweaty, and they avoided eye contact.

These soldiers were used to being powerful, so being helpless and careful felt strange and bad.

But the allied kingdoms were different.

They felt sure and strong.

Even if Chronos was tricking them, they completely trusted the man walking in front.

Roman Dimitri.

They knew he would find a way, no matter what.

If any problem came up, Roman Dimitri would fix it.

Suddenly, he stopped walking.

Roman Dimitri moved to a higher spot so he could see everyone.

He looked at the soldiers from the allied kingdoms and the Chronos Empire standing together, but not as friends.

They had surrendered, but that didn’t mean they trusted each other yet.

So, Roman Dimitri spoke.

“I promised to let those who surrendered live. I will keep my word. Before, you didn’t know the truth about Chronos, and you fought each other. But now you know, and you opened the gates and gave up.”

The Chronos soldiers let out a relieved breath.

Hearing his promise, they felt hope again.

“But,” Roman Dimitri continued, “life with the allied kingdoms will not be easy. The Chronos Empire has done terrible things. Cairo, Dimitri, Umberto – the soldiers from these places have all suffered because of the Empire. Do you think they will welcome you? No. Even if I tell them to, you will face dislike and blame in the allied kingdoms. People will see you as ruined. That is what you are known for.”

This was a harsh truth.

He made them face the reality they wanted to forget.

He wanted them to understand that Chronos falling was not the end of their problems.

“But,” he said, “if you help us in the future, you can change how people see you, and I will reward you. You have been given life. Now, I am giving you a chance to make your lives new.”

The air changed.

The soldiers felt a new tension.

The war was coming, but now Chronos was in a different position.

“So, I ask you,” Roman Dimitri said, his voice clear and strong, “what can you do for me? What can you do for us?”

Silence.

No one answered right away.

Betrayal.

For soldiers who had already turned against their own country, it felt even worse to be asked to hurt their homeland more.

They looked around at each other, unsure.

They didn’t know what to do, and they didn’t feel like doing anything.

But Herman stayed calm.

While the others were quiet and unsure, he was thinking about what he could gain.

“Roman Dimitri’s offer is real,” Herman thought.

“People say he is cruel to enemies, but he can also be kind. He is only truly harsh to those he fights on the battlefield. When he offers mercy, he doesn’t judge those who take it. Look at the Northeast Union and Count Fabius, who are now important in the Dimitri Kingdom. They show what kind of man Roman Dimitri is.”

Herman was just a soldier, but he paid attention to politics in the land.

He had studied Dimitri closely.

That’s why he had made the brave decision to betray Chronos – he knew it was the only way to survive.

And now, seeing examples like Count Fabius made him sure he was right.

“Count Fabius is clever,” Herman thought.

“He is valued even after changing sides because he is talented. But Roman Dimitri is also great for accepting someone like Fabius without question.”

This showed Herman that it was possible.

This example proved it.

A chance to live and succeed was right in front of him.

While everyone else was still unsure, Herman stepped forward and spoke loudly.

“My name is Herman,” he said.

“Can I speak?”

“Speak,” Roman Dimitri replied.

“We have betrayed Chronos,” Herman continued, “so it is very important for us that the allied kingdoms win this war. I will help in the fighting. I will tell the Chronos soldiers they have a choice, and I will show them that it’s possible to change sides. Please accept my help. Give me a good reward for risking my life. If you treat me well, people will see that Dimitri is kind, and it will be easier for you to bring others to your side.”

A surprise.

Herman stood out.

He was just a normal soldier, but his words showed he was valuable.

“That’s an interesting idea,” Roman Dimitri said.

“He is like Count Fabius,” Roman Dimitri thought.

Herman was quick to decide what to do and could even make betrayal sound reasonable.

Of course, asking for a reward showed he was ambitious.

But like with Count Fabius, Roman Dimitri liked people who were honest about what they wanted.

When people need each other, they work harder together.

Herman looked young, maybe in his early twenties, but Roman Dimitri didn’t care about age.

“I promise you,” Roman Dimitri said, smiling slightly.

He spoke clearly so everyone could hear.

“If you help us a lot in the war, you will become powerful in the new Dimitri.”

A few days later.

Marquis Memphis looked grim.

He couldn’t hide his worry about the news of more losses.

“The Eastern Front has fallen apart,” he said.

“After the first base opened its gates and surrendered, many soldiers are giving up too. This is a big problem. Now that everyone knows Alexandre is secretly controlling the Empire, even the proudest soldiers have lost the desire to fight.”

It wasn’t just fear that made the soldiers betray Chronos.

Roman Dmitry was famous, and that scared people. But there was another reason some soldiers stopped fighting: Emperor Alexandr.

Alexandr. His fame had faded because new sword fighting styles became popular. But the history he made was the pride of the Chronos people.

This powerful feeling came from Emperor Alexandr.

People always said Chronos was a strong empire. But now, everyone learned a shocking truth about Chronos.

The empire’s pride.

He chose to live forever in a terrible way.

He gave up his sword and learned black magic, becoming a powerful 9th Circle mage. But it wasn’t something to be proud of.

People watched in horror as Alexandr used magic to raise the dead. The Emperor of Chronos was just a puppet. Alexandr was the one really in charge, telling the Emperor what to do.

This truth was awful and made people feel hopeless.

The soldiers lost their will to fight. They knew their country was led by a villain who used black magic.

They dropped their weapons.

They couldn’t find a reason to risk their lives.

As people in the Chronos Empire felt weaker and weaker, everyone surrendered as Roman Dmitry came closer.

“Marquis, what should we do now?”

His assistant asked seriously.

Marquis Memphis ran a hand roughly through his hair, his face tight with frustration.

He had trusted Alexandr, thinking it was a great chance for him. But Alexandr’s defeat had made everything a mess.

Alexandr was dead.

The Emperor of Chronos had lived as a puppet, so he couldn’t be trusted. Even if Memphis wanted to fight Roman Dmitry, he wasn’t confident he could win. He also didn’t know how to calm the people.

Alexandr had shown himself, sure that he would win.

It would have been better if Alexandr had just died without anyone knowing. But he had done something that could not be undone.

‘Damn it, Alexandr.’

He couldn’t say it out loud.

If people found out he knew about Alexandr, he wouldn’t be able to save himself.

It was a difficult problem.

Now that Alexandr was dead and the Emperor was exposed as a puppet, Marquis Memphis had to solve many problems to keep his power.

He had to worry about Dmitry, the angry people, and the nobles who would turn against him.

He had been stopping the nobles from opposing him by using the Emperor’s power. But it was clear that even his own position would be in danger soon.

He thought for a long time.

Then, Marquis Memphis stood up.

“Get the carriage ready. I’m going to the Imperial Palace right away.”

There was only one solution for him.

Valhalla also had big problems.

They had stopped their attack.

After taking back the soldiers who were attacking Hector, Valhalla’s leaders met and had a heated discussion.

“The people in Valhalla are very unhappy. Now that everyone knows Emperor Alexandr used black magic, they have negative opinions about him. If Valhalla says it will continue to work with Chronos, the people of Valhalla will not accept it.”

“That’s right. The people of Valhalla are not the type to just farm. They have overthrown their leaders before, so they could easily do it again. From now on, we must make wise decisions. We started the war to punish Roman Dmitry, who killed the Emperor of Valhalla. If we focus on that and cut ties with Chronos, we can calm the people’s anger.”

In fact.

Everyone knew that Count Snodin had committed treason, but they didn’t say anything because they were afraid of being blamed.

They had to blame everything on the Chronos Empire.

Continuing to work with them would show their own weaknesses.

That wasn’t the only problem.

“I don’t know how to solve this. If we continue the war, people will think we are working with Chronos. If we give up, we will be leaving Roman Dmitry, who killed the Emperor of Valhalla, alone. We can’t fight separately from Chronos either. The empire is weak because of the continuous wars that started with the rebellion. How can we face the monster who defeated Alexandr, the 9th Circle magician? There is no answer. From now on, if we make even one mistake, we could die.”

They had a difficult choice.

Should they continue the war, or should they give up?

Both choices had problems.

Those who knew the truth knew it would be dangerous to give up, even if the people criticized them.

Roman Dmitry had confirmed the truth.

If he destroyed the Chronos Empire and gained power, the Valhalla Empire would suffer damage that cannot be fixed.

The continent was changing.

The future power would be decided by how this problem was solved.

At that moment, when some people still wanted more power, a man on one side spoke up.

“I don’t understand. If we abandon Chronos and help show the truth that Roman Dmitry is claiming, the Valhalla Empire can survive, even if the continent changes.”

It was Baron Ayrn.

At the last meeting, he had spoken once and been harshly criticized. But he smiled calmly, accepting the way the leaders were looking at him.

“Just in case, is there anyone here who is directly related to the Chronos Empire or Emperor Alexandr?”

“This man!”

“Don’t speak carelessly!”

Everyone got angry.

If they agreed with Baron Ayrn, they could be called traitors.

Seeing the people shouting in protest, Baron Ayrn’s eyes turned cold.

“Why are you so angry? I hope that none of you leading Valhalla are involved in this matter. Only then can I safely send away the guest I have invited.”

“A guest?”

“What is that……”

That’s when it happened.

Creak.

The door to the conference room opened.

At the same time, a Valhalla knight announced.

“Count Fabius of Dmitry is entering.”

Fabius, Kevin, and the soldiers who were with them.

Seeing the group enter, the faces of Valhalla’s leaders turned as white as ghosts.