Chapter 186

Chapter 186

Bloody Path

Hannibal watched the movements of the Ashtaroth army from afar.

The Ashtaroth army had chosen the defense in depth formation.

Of course, they did.

He muttered.

All they had to do now was buy time. If their other army succeeded in defeating Queen Alioshe, then all would be well for them.

He would do the same if he was Ashtaroth. And so while he was not annoyed, he did feel a little frantic.

Aleshas mother, Alioshe, could die at any time.

She could die right this second, and the whole army would collapse.

That would be bad. Hannibal had grown oddly attached to his monstrous subordinates. Unlike the ones that worked under Alioshe directly, Hannibals ants did not eat humans. And Alesha was like a daughter to him.

To think that both would disappear if Alioshe were to die. His heart felt pain.

He wanted to avoid this no matter what. But Alioshe was too much a fool. Her immense greed caused her to antagonize all of their neighbors, and so they were fighting on multiple sides.

A shallow, foolish queen.

It was a miracle that a saintly person like Alesha had been born from such an avaricious queen.

When he looked, he saw that she was tending to the wounds of his ant subordinates. She was using healing magic.

She had not slept at all since yesterday. No, since the battle began. She would not stay quietly underground, and was constantly commanding the medical units.

Not only that, but her mercy didnt just extend to their ants and human soldiers, but the surrendered enemy soldiers as well. It did not matter if they were friend or foe. She treated the badly wounded first.

This kindness was enough to stir the once cold heart of an old man.

Hannibal looked at Alesha as if she were his own granddaughter, and thought back on the time that they had first met.

The day that she risked her life in order to summon him. That day, she had also worked hard to nurse him back to health. Hannibal had been summoned the same moment that an enemy soldier had stabbed him with a spear in his own world. It was the very second that he was about to die.

After being betrayed by friends from his homeland and being captured by a foreign king, Hannibal had lost the will to live. And it was then that Alesha enveloped him gently.

For the rest of his life, he would not forget that moment. He remembered it like it was yesterday. That was why he fought so desperately now.

He muttered. Then he took off his mask.

And said his name.

My name is NagakuraNagakura Shinpachi. I was born in a place called Emishi in Hinomoto. Im a petty samurai. While it was only for a short while, I am proud that I was able to fight under your command.

And I am proud to have had a subordinate like you.

Hannibal said with much emotion, and then they shook hands.

That would be the first and last time they did that.

Nagakura Shinpachi turned away from Hannibal, and explained to Alesha that they had to go north.

Hannibal would open a path so that Nagakura could escape. And so he made his army form an arrowhead formation, and they charged into the Ashtaroth army.

But the defense in depth formation was strong against offensive formations like this. It would take away all the momentum that was born from that formation.

However, Hannibal ignored such logic and continued to charge.

Five times a day, the desperate charges continued until the Ashtaroth army started to weaken, and their formation was broken. And the mounted soldiers led by Nagakura rode through, successfully moving up north.

Upon seeing this, Ashtaroth groaned at Hannibals leadership. But he would do more than just watch. Because it was clear what Hannibal intended to do.

Hes sending them north in order to save Alioshe. If it were anyone else, I would say that sending one small army would not change anything. Toshizou, take your men and chase after them.

Understood.

Toshizou said happily. Because he had seen a familiar face leading the cavalry unit. It was the old man that he had drunk with yesterday. The one he had fought alongside against Sachos dogs.

And so Toshizou took the cavalry from the Ashtaroth army and left in order to chase the enemy.

This meant that Ashtaroth had to fight Hannibal without the help of any Heroes. It reminded him of how he felt when he was first born.

But when he said this to Eve, she replied,

Then you will surely win. A newborn babe and a dying old man. The gods will surely favor you.

She smiled.

I hope that is the case.

I muttered vaguely. Of course, I had no intention of losing. The enemy was tired after so much charging. And so now was the time for us to attack.

The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King