Side: Seraria

Surely I can’t afford to wait at home while I have tea moments before the Demon King Castle capture battle

That’s why I joined the headquarters last night and now I’m in front of the enemy castle’s gate.

From Ellis and my husband’s report, the peace faction is in the first gate, but it would be easier if the connections that Ririana has inside could open us the gate.

I wonder what to do in this situation? The enemy is watching closely for traitors to appear and will use the fire plan to burn us together in case we appear. I wonder what my next move should be?

In the beginning, we all thought different countermeasures but since Herge is this Allied Forces’ general, she went beyond her authority as general and used her position as elder sister to push away my opinion.

「Well, what should we do?」

「Yes, what should we do…?」

「Why don’t we wait a little longer for Ririana’s response?」

「We should restrain ourselves and not attack forcibly since that would cause us a lot of damage」

The other Allied Forces leaders discuss among each other, however, none of them think they should actively attack

Well, it seems like everyone wants to conserve their strength since after breaking through the gate, the Demon King’s castle is next.

「There’s no point in talking to each other. Let’s try asking Herge for her opinion, after all, she is the Allied Forces’ general」

When Lowell says so, all the eyes gather on Herge.

「Herge-sama, we’re all asking your opinion」

「Eh? Ah, thank you, Oriel」

Oh my, was she doing something?

It seems that she didn’t notice all those gazes gathering on her.

I wonder what she was concentrating until Oriel called her?

「Let me think. It’s like you all said, in order to capture the Demon King’s castle, we must keep unnecessary sacrifices to a minimum」

Everyone nods to Herge’s words.

「However, I’ll say this, even if we stand here waiting, nothing will change. As long as we don’t attack, the enemy won’t either. And so, I have just received a message from the person which Ririana sent inside」

「Ho, and what happened?」

「Here are the details about the current situation of the gate. As you know, the castle has two defensive walls and the two gates are strictly guarded. The reason why it is very well protected is that they are in the area where powerful monsters live. And so you all reached the same conclusion, that it would be best to attack and capture the castle in the shortest time possible. The first gate, in other words, the place which we are trying to attack right now from the exterior is being protected by the ones who the Demon King’s has taken their families hostage」

「What did you just say…? What a coward!」

「Yes, but there are worse details. On the second gate which is under the direct control of the Demon King, troops are in position with bows in hand monitoring the first gate, and in the event that they were defeated or tried to betray him, they will light the whole place fire to incinerate us with them」

「As expected of the Demon King… Scum」

「However, It’s also an opportunity for us that the enemy thinks that he has us cornered」

Fumu fumu, so you chose to disclose all the information? There’s a possibility that you might get caught in a trap if you’re not careful, but to each his own, I guess.

As for me, I think we should leave alone the first gate and rush towards the second.

「This is the condition of the defense of the first gate. And finally, I was told what they want us to do from the one inside」

「What is what they want?」

「They want us to perform a fiercely attack. The surveillance will loosen up as soon as the onslaught begins, meanwhile, we will open the gate and also stop their plan to set fire the gate」

「Fumuー, I see. It would be good if it succeeds, but we will be helpless against the fire and the rain of arrows if an ambush awaits us inside while we try to open the door. Are you aware of that?」

「Does that mean you don’t believe in Ririana-dono’s friend, Crack-dono?」

「No, it’s not like that. These are guys who will use fellow demons as a shield, maybe they have already seen through our plan… Or maybe they will take some strange action and will self-destruct together with us」

「Certainly, such possibility exists 」

Right, it’s not like as if this plan is infallible, so there is a need to be on alert.

Also, if they have prepared correctly, any of the enemies could light the place easily.

While we all were concerned about it, my husband stepped in.

Being only the adviser, as long as there is nothing that could harm the army and its advance, he can’t meddle in a military meeting.

Similarly, Lowell’s adviser, Higil, is standing next to my husband.

Oh my, it looks like they were doing something sneakily?

「May I make a suggestion?」

「Brother-in-law… I don’t mind. Do you have any good idea?」

Ugh!?

Dangerous. I almost spit out.

Right, for Herge, my husband will become her brother-in-law.

Until now she called him by his name, Yuki-san, so I didn’t feel a sense of discomfort.

It’s different in Weed, but we are in the middle of the headquarters of the Allied Forces, so I can’t just address carelessly my husband here.

「Yes, I have discussed it with Higil-dono, and we reached the conclusion that we should jump in on Ririana-sama’s friend proposal but with a different approach」

「What do you mean?」

「I will explain it in detail. May I speak?」

「Please, Higil-dono」

「Then, you will have to excuse me. The point to keep in mind this time is the defeat of the Demon King. In other words, it means that it’s not necessary to break through the west gate」

「Then, should we move towards the south gate? But I feel that doing that would a waste of time, don’t you think, Higil?」

「No, you’re wrong general Lowell. It’s important to know the reason why they are defending the gate」

「I see, the gates are not only to stop our advance towards the Demon King’s castle but the vital point of their defense」

「Indeed, it’s like Crack-dono says. In other words, it doesn’t matter which gate falls, be it the west gate in which we are, south or east, if one falls, then there is no meaning in protecting the others」

「You mean that you want us to attack the other gates?」

「Yes, if they see us splitting the army even if it’s only a show, the enemy will have no other choice but to disperse even more even if they don’t like it. Moreover, it is also a measure to defend ourselves in case the enemy tries to attack us from behind with a detached force from another gate」

「Certainly, it wouldn’t be surprising if another enemy force tries to attack us while we are focused on the west gate. It’s perfect for surprise attacks」

「Yes. A dispatched force of 500 will go to the north, south, and east for each gate, and it will also serve to monitor them. After all, the possibility that they try to light all the gates like the one in the west is low. If they do such a thing. at worse, they wouldn’t be able to get out」

「Right, even if they try to sink up a gate of that size into a sea of fire, it doesn’t matter how much oil they have, they won’t have enough hands to do it. Of course, it’s different if it’s only one place, so I find it difficult to think that they prepared the same trap in all the gates」

「The contact told me that we should start on the capture of the west gate after the detached forces go to the remaining gates. Then, the betrayer will come out, and even if they use the fire plan, we can easily escape back from the gate. Of course, it would be impossible to endure if they did some petty tricks to the gate. That’s why it would be better to form a gate defense unit and let the defense unit handle those things. That’s all I have to say」

Having said that, my husband and Higil took a step back.

I see now. It’s common to attack from multiple directions at the same time when you have more manpower than the other party. After all, it’s very likely that you will lose if you reduce your fighting power.

But only this time, the enemy pushed the peace faction into the west gate and is monitoring them.

If they can’t reduce the vigilance properly and they end moving a unit from other gates, their haste will make loose the vigilance of the peace faction.

The other party gathered a large number of people and now is watching for their betrayal, but what they don’t know is that what they are doing is strangling themselves.

「I support Higil-dono’s tactic. If the diversion is successful, it will be easier for the ones inside, and the damage will be less」

Like Herge, everyone didn’t have any objection, and immediately a unit consisting of diversion troops and breakthrough troops was formed and started advancing towards the gate.

And then, the main unit started at the same time the attack on the west gate.

As long as we do not use any weapon outside of common sense that my husband has, the only way to attack and hold down the enemy on the gate should be using bows.

Tentatively, we are using ladders too on the wall but neither are great.

And we don’t have to forget that all this is an act and not to get carried away and enter too deep.

「What do you think will happen to the ones inside?」

「Hmm, I want them to succeed but the vigilance around is too strong」

「Well, an order for them to betray the enemy on the gate was issued, so that’s a matter of course」

「Yes, but since the enemy-san sent another unit to the other gate, their number started to scatter. Look!」

Having said that, my husband shows me the dungeon monitor.

Since it’s already under his dungeon control, it’s possible to monitor in real time in the same way as in Weed.

Seriously, after having obtained all this information it’s hard to imagine us losing.

「Oh, people are gathering at the gate. It seems that the units on the second gate are quite dispersed. Is the gate about to be open?」

「It looks like the diversion went well. All that remains to be done is to do something with their plan to set fire all the place」

While I was looking at the gate, the gate opened from the inside.

Above the castle walls, there are soldiers waving a white flag to welcome us.

「Good! This is an order to all the units!! We are entering right now, but without forgetting of whatever could be inside and also their plan to set the gate on fire!!」

「「「Ooooooーー!!」」」

Gartz unit led by, defense of steel, Lowell, starts the attack ahead of schedule and opens a path towards the gate. It’s so that he can retreat in the unlikely case that this were to be a trap.

Roshur will take care of the hostile forces inside the door with the support of Litea, while Weed unit will go towards the second gate and handle its capture.

Now now, I wonder how long the second gate will endure?