The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 89

The magical message ended, leaving Count Donald in silence.

Count Donald immediately tried to contact the rear base.

“…No response.”

“Damn it.”

Count Donald’s expression hardened at the messenger’s report. He tried the magic communication several times, but still no response.

The messenger repeated, his voice shaking slightly, “Sir, still no reply from the rear base. We’ve tried everything.”

If they hadn’t received a response for over an hour, Roman Dmitry’s words had come true, and something had gone wrong. His heart sank, and his hands trembled.

The captured warp gate was a serious problem.

With this, the southern front is completely isolated. Even if the kingdom sends reinforcements through the warp gate closest to the southern front, it will take at least half a month. The war is effectively over. It’s a complete defeat for the southern front, and from now on, it’s a matter of survival that requires patience.

He felt trapped. Running away from the castle meant starving in the mountains, but staying meant facing a siege with no help coming.

There was nothing he could do.

If he abandoned the castle and ran away, he would likely die of starvation in the barren mountains. The steep and rugged mountains were not suitable for escape, and the guerrilla tactics Roman had mentioned were even more difficult. Of course, staying in the castle was not a good decision either.

He couldn’t guarantee how long they could hold out in a situation where they were isolated from both sides, but he thought that receiving the protection of the castle walls was the best option.

And…

I am likely to be held accountable for my initial complacent response. But if I abandon the castle and run away, I will surely receive a severe punishment after the war. For the sake of the future after the war, I will fight to the death in the castle. If we can hold out until the reinforcements arrive, we have a good chance of winning.

In fact, that was his true intention.

Count Donald, even after confirming that the Hector Kingdom had crossed the border, did not immediately report to the kingdom but showed a complacent attitude. That was the cause of the current result. If he had responded even a little earlier, the Cairo Kingdom might have faced a different situation, but from the initial response, he had completely worsened the situation.

It was an undeniable truth. Since many soldiers had witnessed it on the field, Count Donald knew that his mistake would be reported.

If so, he needed a justification to be exonerated.

A commander who remained on the battlefield and fought to the end. Wasn’t that a good justification?

He thought it was an opportunity to turn misfortune into a blessing, protecting himself appropriately while outwardly remaining a courageous commander.

‘Roman Dmitry is just a kid,’ Count Donald thought, trying to calm himself. ‘He reads books, but I know the real battlefield. Guerrilla tactics? Ridiculous.’

He fell into self-rationalization.

Even if he was the youngest ranker, Roman Dmitry was still just an inexperienced whelp on the battlefield. At that time, he believed that he was right.

Hope did not last long. Only four hours crawled by. Each minute felt like a heavy weight. Then, the lookout shouted.

The 1st defense line confirmed that soldiers of the Hector Kingdom were appearing from both the front and the rear. Roman’s words were true. The warp gate had been captured, and the Hector Kingdom seemed to have boldly sent troops through ‘warp’.

“Everyone, prepare to attack!”

“Prepare to attack!”

Clack. The soldiers loaded their arrows. They finished preparing to fight the enemies while enduring a nerve-wracking time. They had completely finished repairing the castle walls and had secured enough siege supplies to avoid repeating the same situation as before. Moreover, the siege weapons were also repaired. The soldiers who had finished loading weapons such as ballistae believed that they would not be easily defeated this time.

Count Donald shouted, “Soldiers of the 1st defense line, listen! The Hector Kingdom has captured the warp gate. With this, we are completely isolated on the southern front, and we cannot expect support from the Cairo Kingdom for at least half a month. But we are still alive. Just like we defeated the heinous Hector’s demons in the first battle, if we trust each other and fight, we can hold out until the reinforcements arrive. Trust me, Count Donald. We will survive to the end!”

“Hooray!”

“Follow Count Donald!”

The cheers faded, leaving a tense silence hanging in the air. Then, a horn blew in the distance, a long, mournful sound.

The soldiers of Cairo cheered. They did not know the truth. They believed that Count Donald’s words were true, and with their limited information, they thought that defending the castle was the only way.

However, they soon witnessed a bleak reality.

Beyond the border, the soldiers of the Hector Kingdom, who were rushing in again, were far greater in number than the first attack.

“…This is insane.”

“How many are there?”

At least thousands of soldiers. It was a moment that proved the preemptive strike was a joke. The densely packed soldiers were like a swarm of ants, and the legs of the Cairo soldiers, who were only a few hundred in number, began to tremble.

That wasn’t the only problem. When they saw the siege weapons that the soldiers of the Hector Kingdom were bringing, they felt like their hearts were sinking.

“Gasp.”

“It’s a Flare.”

The disaster of siege warfare. The Flare had appeared. Cairo had no way to stop it. They did not have new-style siege weapons, which meant that they would just have to endure the Flare’s attack.

The courage from the speech quickly faded. The soldiers thought it was over.

“Mother of mercy…” one soldier whispered, his face pale. “It’s a Flare! We’re done for!”

And as they thought, the disaster of the 1st defense line began the moment the Flare spewed out intense flames.

A monstrous roar ripped through the air as the Flare launched its fire. Flames exploded outwards, a wave of searing heat that licked at the castle walls. The stone cracked and crumbled under the intense fire, and the air filled with the smell of burning rock and wood.

“Kraaah!”

“Ack!”

The castle walls, which had been painstakingly repaired, collapsed at once, and soldiers with flames on the burning walls screamed and fell below the walls. The proper attack had not even started yet. Just by firing the Flare from afar, the 1st defense line had already lost its function.

The scene before his eyes stunned Count Donald. He had felt like a great hero when he was giving the speech, but now he realized what a mistake he had made.

Roman’s words echoed in his mind. [I can say with certainty that we can no longer withstand Hector’s attack. The Hector Kingdom did not intentionally capture the front line of defense. It’s not that they don’t have the strength, but they just needed bait to draw attention while attacking the rear base. Count Donald, think realistically. Do you really think they did their best?]

It was the truth.

Hector could have attacked with full force right away. He was strong enough to win easily.

Count Donald realized his mistake, but it was too late.

Rumble!

Dust and stone exploded outwards as the ancient castle walls cracked and tore apart, collapsing in a cloud of grey.

And then…

“Attack!”

“Charge!”

Waaah!

Enemies surged from all sides.

Count Donald’s mind spun in confusion and fear. His legs gave way, and he crashed to the ground.

It was too late to change anything. His bad decision had already been made.

Count Donald had been too confident. He thought the walls were strong enough.

A one-sided massacre unfolded.

The walls and gates had failed, and Hector Kingdom soldiers poured in from every direction.

In the end…

“The commander’s head has been taken!”

Count Donald’s head was lopped off as he desperately tried to escape.

There was no way for him to flee.

Edwin Hector’s forces had completely cut off the rear, and Count Donald, trembling with fear, died a sad and shameful death.

The situation was over quickly.

The forces of the First Defense Line, who had seemed ready for a big war, were utterly defeated in less than an hour.

It was a complete victory.

Edwin Hector, entering through the open gates, received Jackson’s report under the guard of his knights.

“Thanks to Flare, we seized the castle without many losses. What should we do now? Other commanders are attacking the Southern Front. They will probably be as unprepared for Flare as the First Defense Line was, so we should be able to secure the Southern Front soon.”

Jackson’s voice was excited.

Everyone thought this attack was impossible. But he had made it happen.

Jackson was very happy because he thought a historic moment was coming soon.

Edwin Hector said.

“First, focus on securing the First Defense Line. Time is on our side. To be safe, tie up all the soldiers who surrender and keep them together. We might use them as hostages or to negotiate. We need many bargaining chips for talks with Cairo.”

“Understood.”

Edwin Hector was thorough.

Despite the big victory, he wasn’t relaxed.

He should have been able to relax, but Edwin Hector felt uneasy.

‘The plan is perfect. What am I missing?’

He didn’t know.

Small things were bothering Edwin. The soldiers from the training camp hadn’t come back. And they couldn’t reach Baron McCleary. These things made him feel uneasy.

Just then.

A knight came running, panting.

With a pale face, he reported to Edwin Hector.

“Something terrible has happened!”

“What is it?”

“Baron McCleary is dead. We couldn’t reach him because he died on the battlefield!”

Edwin Hector’s expression turned cold.

The one who told the truth was a straggler.

A soldier who barely escaped from the battlefield joined the main force, and he was soon brought before Edwin Hector.

“Explain what happened.”

The soldier bowed his head and said.

“At first, the Hector Kingdom was winning. The Fifth Defense Line was not ready for war, and we broke through the gates without using Flare. Baron McCleary ordered the soldiers to capture the castle. And then, that monster appeared.”

“…Monster?”

“Yes. It was definitely a monster.”

The soldier trembled at the memory.

He had only survived because he was far from the monster, but he saw the monster killing Hector’s soldiers.

“The monster’s power was unbelievable. Just one person slaughtered many allies. Dozens of soldiers disappeared quickly, and even Hector’s aura swordsmen couldn’t withstand his attacks and died. The Fifth Defense Line didn’t have great defenses. It was just because of that one person. When Baron McCleary’s head was cut off, we had to run for our lives.”

A monster. It was unexpected.

Suddenly, Edwin Hector remembered a name.

‘Cairo’s youngest Ranker. I heard he was assigned to the Southern Front.’

Even when he heard that news, Edwin Hector didn’t think one person could change the war.

According to rumors, Roman Dmitry was a 3-star swordsman and not strong enough to be a big threat.

That was the start of the problem.

He had investigated the Southern Front for a year. The problem was that Roman Dmitry was new and couldn’t be known about through that investigation.

‘Something has changed.’

Baron McCleary is dead.

That meant the forces they hadn’t dealt with were causing trouble on the Southern Front.

“The forces on standby have checked the Fifth Defense Line, and there were no soldiers from the Cairo Kingdom there. They seem to have fled into the mountains. Just give the order. If you want us to capture them, we will create a team and bring Cairo’s monster to you.”

Jackson reported after getting new information.

He felt bitter.

The perfect plan had a hole, but Edwin Hector didn’t want to overreact.

“No. The situation has already changed. There aren’t many soldiers in the Fifth Defense Line. They can’t change the overall situation or do anything on their own. We will continue as planned. Once we have all five defense lines, we will turn the Southern Front into a fortress that Cairo can’t invade.”

That was the main part of the plan.

If they controlled the Southern Front, they could negotiate with the Cairo Kingdom.

Edwin Hector made a quick decision.

And so, a day passed.

The Hector Kingdom occupied the Southern Front.

And then, Edwin Hector gave the order.

“From now on, it’s time to negotiate with the Cairo Kingdom. Connect a magical communication line to the Cairo Royal Family.”

Hector’s real purpose.

The desperate situation on the Southern Front was told to the Cairo Royal Family.