The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 43

Screeeech! The heavy castle gate groaned open.

Thud. It slammed against the ground.

Yelling and screaming, Lawrence’s soldiers ran out through the thick cloud of dust. Their feet pounded the ground as they charged forward with desperate speed.

“Charge!” someone yelled.

“Kraaah!” others roared back.

Hundreds of soldiers poured out. Their faces were pale with fear, some were even crying, but they ran because they had to.

High above, the Flare’s flames burned brightly on the castle walls. Just ahead, they could see a huge number of enemies rushing towards the gate.

These Lawrence soldiers were not well-trained. They were more like a messy crowd than a real army.

But they knew one thing: if they ran back now, Lawrence would be destroyed. So, they gritted their teeth, held their weapons tight, and charged headfirst into the enemy.

“For Lawrence! Die!”

Thwack!

“Gack.”

The two armies collided.

The soldiers at the very front were entangled, and a Varco soldier shuddered, spitting blood as he was stabbed by a Lawrence soldier.

The joy of victory didn’t last long.

As the Lawrence soldier tried to retrieve his weapon and attack another enemy, his head was lopped off by an attack from the side.

Shwick!

Thud.

Roll.

The battle had begun.

It was a messy fight. Soldiers died quickly, some even before they knew what happened.

Early in the battle, Lawrence had the upper hand at the start.

Supported by arrows fired from the castle walls, they pushed back Varco’s soldiers fiercely.

Thwack!

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Varco’s soldiers fell under the hail of arrows.

The Lawrence knight, stepping over their corpses, boasted his shining silver armor in the sunlight and slaughtered the enemy before him.

Blood spurted like a fountain.

In an instant, dead bodies lay everywhere, in twisted shapes, like broken dolls. Lawrence’s soldiers followed the knight, digging into the enemy lines.

At that moment, they believed they had a chance of winning.

Seeing the enemy fall to their weapons, they thought Varco’s forces weren’t so great after all.

But it was a mistake.

At first, Varco was taken aback by the unexpected counterattack, but as time passed, the situation reversed.

“Look at these fools! They think they can fight us?”

Shwick!

Squish!

Among the soldiers, there was a group carrying out a massacre.

These were not just soldiers. They were the Berge Mercenary Corps, known for their skill and cruelty. They moved together like a pack of wolves, making a living out of battle, they showed a prominent presence among the ordinary soldiers.

Helping each other even in the chaotic battle where it was difficult to grasp the situation, they slaughtered Lawrence’s soldiers, and the gap began to widen with their counterattacks.

Even if the opponent was a knight, there was nothing they could do.

The existence of a knight was absolute from the moment they perfectly controlled their aura, and the Lawrence knight, who was fighting at the very front, was overwhelmed by the mercenaries’ coordinated attacks, eventually being attacked from all sides.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Kraaah!”

The pain of flesh being torn.

The knight screamed miserably and collapsed.

It was from that moment the atmosphere shifted.

Lawrence had also hired mercenaries to replenish their forces, but they didn’t show the noticeable performance that the Berge Mercenary Corps did.

Lawrence’s soldiers pushed forward as far as they could. But then, they were stopped. The enemy was too strong, and they couldn’t move anymore.

One by one, people died.

The fear spread quickly, and one soldier was terrified by the sight of his friend and comrade dying.

“W-we’re finished. We can’t win!”

A difference in power beyond expectations.

The soldiers backed away.

The disorganized mob, facing a group of fierce beasts, couldn’t maintain their determination to fight to the death.

A variable had occurred.

Lawrence. They couldn’t even fulfill their role as bait properly.

Thwack!

An arrow was fired.

Her arm trembled from repeating the action several times, but Flora loaded the next arrow with a face full of determination.

It was then the soldiers screamed.

They, who needed to buy more time, were retreating helplessly like sand being swept away by the tide.

‘They shouldn’t be pushed back already.’

Her heart sank.

Roman’s plan was a diversionary tactic.

If Lawrence’s soldiers opened the gate and launched a counterattack, Varco would naturally concentrate his forces, thinking it was an opportunity.

That was the opportunity Roman had spoken of.

With the battle in front of the gate, there wouldn’t be many soldiers in Varco’s rear, and Roman planned to take advantage of that timing to destroy the Flare.

The Flare was expensive equipment.

It wasn’t a price that could be easily replenished, so Lawrence could secure the advantage of defending the castle.

Therefore, Flora’s voice was full of fear, but she tried to sound strong. She knew everything depended on them holding on.

“Don’t retreat! Hold on to the end!”

Not yet.

The enemies hadn’t sent enough troops yet.

Many soldiers remained in Varco’s rear, and at this rate, Roman’s plan couldn’t even be attempted.

But even with Flora’s cries, Lawrence’s soldiers couldn’t hold on.

They had already lost their will to fight, and Varco’s momentum, which was rushing in like a flood, was not something that could be stopped with willpower alone.

It was over.

Flora had stayed up all night studying military tactics, but she was now facing a reality that the books didn’t tell her about.

‘We should have known our level. Unlike the pillagers of Varco, we weren’t ready to fight.’

Lawrence. They were herbivores.

They had lived a peaceful life with the wealth that came from fertile land, but they hadn’t put much effort into protecting it.

The problem arose from that.

Varco had nothing but had constantly fought to plunder, so from their perspective, Lawrence was an easy target.

It was a battle with an obvious outcome.

Flora’s mind went blank at the sight of two Lawrence soldiers facing one Varco soldier.

‘We have no chance of winning.’

Roman Dimitri. He wouldn’t appear.

If Lawrence had played their role as bait as planned, it might have been different, but now there was no reason for them to step in.

It would be a meaningless sacrifice.

In that case, Lawrence’s choice had become a self-inflicted wound.

If they had held out with the castle walls, they might have lasted a day or two longer, but opening the gate meant there was no way to stop Varco’s forces.

What should she do?

Reason sent countless messages to give up, but Flora’s mental strength, which had grown stronger in the past few days, constantly sought an answer.

Thwack!

An arrow cut through the air.

She struggled.

Even if the castle fell and was captured, Flora had no intention of surrendering to the enemy and begging for her life, just like she had told the maid.

Flora’s choice was to die rather than fall into the clutches of a piece of trash like Anthony Varco.

It was then…?!

In the distance, a group of people could be seen.

Their goal was clear: the Flare.

They were running towards the siege weapons.

10 minutes ago, Roman’s soldiers waited for orders with nervous faces.

“Hoo.”

This plan made them nervous.

Even when they volunteered as private soldiers, they didn’t expect to go into battle so quickly, and even less did they expect it to be a crazy plan to attack Varco’s rear.

The time to risk their lives had come too soon.

Unlike Chris and Kevin, who calmly accepted reality, the soldiers who had just decided to follow Roman showed signs of anxiety.

Their hearts, he understood.

However, Roman didn’t think it was necessary to be more considerate than just understanding.

‘From now on, it’s a reality they have to face. If they survive as my soldiers, I will grant them the life of predators that I promised at the beginning, but whether they survive or not is ultimately a matter of their own strength, not mine.’

The past ten days, Roman’s soldiers had entered training.

They had trained hard in their own way under Chris’s whip, but that alone wasn’t enough to satisfy Roman.

He ignored the soldiers’ feelings.

Now was not the time for empathy.

Before the operation, Roman said, “Listen up! Our job: destroy the Flare. Lawrence is weak, expect enemies in the back. I go first. Follow me and kill anyone in your way. Don’t be stupid. Survive, and you will be rewarded.”

Roman had expected Lawrence to fail. He knew they might not be strong enough.

In the end, logically, it meant it wasn’t good.

The soldiers didn’t avoid eye contact with Roman.

30 soldiers risked their lives in the test.

They were basically born with strong hearts, and even in situations where they were entering a dangerous place, they were nervous but didn’t turn away from reality.

It was enough.

Roman had gathered the minimum number of people for the plan.

“I don’t expect you to play a big role in this operation. I will take the lead. When I run ahead, slaughter the enemies, and open the way, you just follow behind and clean up the stragglers. Remember, our top priority is to destroy the siege weapons. If there is anyone who is intoxicated with blood and carnage and loses their mind, I will not hesitate to abandon that person in a deadly place.”

Roman’s words made the soldiers’ eyes waver.

At first glance, it seemed like a cruel statement, but Roman said that he would take the lead in this dangerous situation.

It wasn’t consideration, not yet.

He didn’t trust the soldiers.

Therefore, Roman said that he would trust himself and take on the role of facing the enemy head-on.

Soon, the time had come.

“Now!”

At Roman’s command, the soldiers rushed out all at once.

In the distance, Roman and his forces could be seen.

Varco’s commander understood the situation right away, but he didn’t immediately call back the troops at the front.

“What is that?” Lord Varco distorted his expression.

“Perhaps the opponent is preparing a last-ditch effort, but the crude trick is laughable. Hey, prepare to welcome the crazy guests right now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Clack clack. The soldiers moved.

They stuck their shields close to their bodies and prepared to face the enemy with their spears.

The difference in power was clear.

The number of people carrying out the surprise attack was only 30, but there were three times as many people in Varco’s rear.

Moreover, it included elites such as the leader of the Berge Mercenary Corps and knights.

Lord Varco had no reason to be afraid at all, and he believed that the enemy’s reckless attempt would be quickly dealt with.

Not long after, the enemies arrived.

The moment he confirmed that the opponent was not a member of Lawrence, the man at the front kicked off the ground alone.

Whoosh!

Everything seemed to blur. One moment Roman was far away, the next he was right in front of them, moving faster than anyone could follow.

It was suicide.

The soldiers raised their shields high to prepare for the opponent’s attack, and at the same time, the second line of soldiers behind them tried to stab the man’s body through the shields with their spears.

The future was obvious: the man’s body would be torn to shreds.

Lord Varco, who was watching the situation, widened his eyes at the sight that followed.

Shwick!

Squish!

Blood splattered.

They clearly thought they had blocked it with their shields, but the soldiers’ heads fell off one after another from the man’s sword.

A massacre that followed immediately.

The defensive formation collapsed in an instant.

It was really an unbelievable, out-of-the-ordinary sight that they couldn’t believe even after seeing it with their own eyes.