Book 3: Chapter 19

March of Destruction

The next morning, Amon, the devil who possessed the former general’s body, went to Halt and the flaming knights defending the private army.

“For a human to execute such advanced magic… Moreover, he conjured this many just by himself…”

Amon was impressed with Halt’s magic.

“They did a regrettable deed. It must have been a magnificent, powerful, and sublime soul. However, his soul is no longer serviceable. Maybe it’s because of the [Bracelet of Slavery] that was used on him?”

Apparently, Halt’s soul had been damaged by the [Bracelet of Slavery], so Amon could no longer interfere with it.

Amon went in front of Halt, who was gazing outward at the camp, and checked him out.

“Hm? You— Is it possible that you noticed me?”

Halt did not meet Amon’s line of sight, but Amon felt as if his magical power, which was somehow transferred to the former general’s body, was being scanned.

“You still took notice of my existence even in enslavement… There’s no mistake, the original body must have been superb!”

Amon directly touched Halt’s body and tried to interfere with his soul. 

Halt’s soul seems to have been completely destroyed, however. He rejected Amon’s interference.

“Tsk, I can’t snatch his soul with this… Well and good. I will make you work in the army from now on.”

Leaving those words, Amon went back to the camp’s center.

──＊＊＊──

At past noon the same day, 100,000 troops crossed the Alheim border and joined the Fifth Prince’s private army.

The army was led by the Left General, one of the three Army Commanding Officers in Apristos.

The Left General had received a secret order from the King—Kill the Fifth Prince in Alheim!

If things went according to plan, the Prince should have been defeated and slain by the border guards, without the need for the Left General to personally interfere.

Beyond their expectations, however, the Prince had been able to attack the country during their weakest period by cooperating with the former general. With his safety secured, he carried out the invasion of Alheim. 

The Left General had obtained that piece of information, and thereby formed a new strategy to kill the Prince. He would encourage the Prince to invade the country with his private troops before the nation’s militia proceeded.

The private army consisted of 3,000 soldiers. It would be useful for exhausting Alheim’s soldiers, more or less. It would be good if the Prince died during the attack. In case he survived, then the Left General would let his subordinates kill him.

With these thoughts running in his mind, the Left General decided to mingle with the private army. It was decided that they would be united at the prairie overlooking the Royal Capital of Alheim.

“What is the meaning of this? Shouldn’t there be 3,000 soldiers in the private army?”

The Left General inspected the army, and he then interrogated his close aide.

“Yes, it should have been, but…”

The aide was also stuck on what to say. Approximately 13,000 soldiers lined up in front of the Left General.

Three thousand were humans. They were from the Fifth Prince’s private army.

The remaining 10,000 were— 

“Is there something wrong with my eyes? Those soldiers seem to be on fire.”

The knights’ whole bodies were enveloped in flames, and they held spears that were roaring in fire. Naturally, they were Halt’s Flame Knights.

“Left General! You’ve come!”

“Your Highness.”

The Fifth Prince strode toward the Left General, who then knelt down to show respect, albeit just for the sake of keeping appearances.

“Did you hear anything from Father?”

“Yes. His Majesty decreed that we must cooperate with the Your Highness’ private army and bring destruction to the Elves.”

Cooperation with the private army was a lie.

The Left General’s motive was to obtain Yggdrasil, obliterate Alheim, and kill the Fifth Prince.

“Is that so! That is encouraging.”

The Prince, who knew nothing, was genuinely pleased with the Left General’s words.

“Pardon me, but… what are those knights standing in front of Your Highness’ private troops? Is it magic?”

“Oh, those? It’s the power of my friend’s servant.”

The prince then summoned the ex-general.

“He is an ally.”

“This is the first time we meet. I was the General of Alheim’s National Forces. I was dismissed, and now I desire to exact my revenge against Alheim.”

“I, is that so. I am grateful for your cooperation with His Highness. So, were those knights conjured by your magic? They seem to be around 10,000…”

“It is my servant’s magic. There were 1,000 of them formerly, but I was also taken aback earlier. Seems like he wanted to show the enemy that surprise attacks are useless, so he increased them by a little bit.”

──＊＊＊──

Shortly before the Apristos army arrived, Sarion, Tina, Luke, and Ryuushin came to take Halt away.

Strengthening his [Ultimate Magic], Luke blasted away dozens of flaming knights standing in front of Halt, thereby creating a path and narrowing the range between them.

Tina and Ryuushin rushed through that path towards Halt.

While Ryuushin was holding off the flaming knights, Tina cast a [Restraint Magic] spell on Halt.

The spell cast earnestly by Tina, who was at Level 250, was easily countered by Halt.

However, they had already predicted this. While Halt was preoccupied in breaking the restraint magic— 

At that moment, Sarion, who had erased his presence, came charging from Halt’s blind spot to strike the [Bracelet of Slavery].

Even if Halt couldn’t be controlled, he would have stopped if the bracelet on his arm shattered.

Sarion’s attack did hit the [Bracelet of Slavery]… but it did not break!

Under Amon’s order, Halt had placed multiple magical barriers on the slavery bracelet. The operation failed, and a flaming knight rushed to the panicking Sarion and the others.

They were on the verge of being surrounded completely, but Luke fired another [Ultimate Magic] attack on the flaming knights, and they managed to escape to the Royal Capital through the opened path.

──＊＊＊──

“Breaking through 1,000 is already impossible! Isn’t it pointless to increase them?” The Left General asked the ex-general.

“Those who attacked were not ordinary. There was one who could use [Ultimate Magic]. Besides, Tina Harivell came.”

“[Ultimate Magic]!? No, did you say Tina Harivell? The legendary Elf who, along with the Heroes, defeated the Demon King… She really exists?” 

“Yes. Those people resisted the attacks. On the contrary, they were able to force their way, just falling short in defeating them. With that, is it clear now that those flaming knights were not useless?”

“Y, yes… nothing will be more reliable than this.”

Contrary to his words, the Left General sense of impending crisis grew stronger. They were able to resist even the legendary Heroes. If that power was directed at them— 

“Are you in awe with the power of my friend? It is truly incredible.”

The Prince was puffed up in pride as if it was his own power.

“Our victory in this battle is already decided. Let’s attack quickly. I can’t wait to violate that Elf woman; let her taste the retribution of making a fool out of me!”

“…As you wish, Your Highness.”

At the Prince’s command, 10,000 Flame Knights, 3,000 soldiers from the private troops, and 100,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces began marching toward the Royal Capital of Alheim.