Alicia looked at Zeke standing before her and said, "Zeke Draker, friend of
Himonas! I'll clear out those useless fools for you."
Though her words came with a bright smile, their content was utterly ruthless.
Zeke glanced at Alicia and replied in the Northern Continental Tongue, "Grand Duke, I know you won't like it, but their forces are still vital right now."
At Zeke's words, Alicia made a dissatisfied face and lowered her Fang-Wolf Sword.
She then surveyed the assembled nobles and opened her mouth.
"Hey, you central continent idiots. Listen up good." Thud!
As she set down her heavy Fang-Wolf Sword, the grand audience hall floor shook.
Alicia bellowed in a resounding voice, "Don't yap crap from behind if you don't want trouble. If you're itching to die, go ahead and drop dead yourselves! Evidence? Why the hell would we need that? It's unbelievable you can spout such bullshit even after seeing tens of thousands of monsters pouring from the sky!"
She pointed at the images still hovering in the air as she spoke, then turned and glared at Delphoa's chief mage.
"I'm remembering that face of yours specially. When the monsters swarm later, don't come begging me to save you."
Exuding waves of killing intent, Alicia sat down on one side of the grand audience hall with Himonas's knights, as if she had said all she needed to.
She propped her chin on her hand and shot fierce glares at the others, creating an atmosphere of dread.
The central continent nobles, uncomfortable under her gaze, cleared their throats and averted their eyes.
Thanks to Alicia, the mood in the grand audience hall flipped once more.
"Well, whether the Demon King descends or not isn't the point. The monster wave itself is a disaster."
"If we don't form the allied forces and build a defensive line, things could get even worse."
In the end, they judged that forming the allied forces would benefit them more than checking Draker.
In truth, what swayed their hearts inwardly was the decision of Nirvana and Ishtar to participate.
"And with all the Three Great Transcendent Families gathered like this—an unprecedented event—something big must be afoot."
"Even if Draker has some scheme, Ishtar and Nirvana will keep them in check, so it should be fine."
Even those who had suspected Draker and opposed the idea changed their minds and agreed to join the allied forces.
As the situation settled, Kali created a roster and recorded the participants.
Even Delphoa, which had opposed the most, could not back out now and declared their intent to join.
Thus, twenty-five years after the Murk Empire's invasion, the Continental Allied Forces were reformed.
This time, it was the largest coalition yet, including the Three Great Transcendent Families and the continent's major kingdoms and houses.
The world hailed it as grander than the allied forces formed a thousand years ago to battle the evil dragon Bahamut.
A few days after the continental grand council ended, new intelligence arrived.
The Legion of Death, composed of demonkind, monsters, and undead, was marching north.
*
"Hah... hah..."
Daria Calvi, knight of Inmagung, caught her breath and slung her longbow over her shoulder.
No matter how many arrows she loosed, the enemy numbers showed no sign of thinning.
If anything, they seemed to grow as time passed.
Groooaaar—
The fallen soldiers, revived as undead by the power of darkness, rose to fight against their former comrades.
Even the Rom Imperial Legions, locked in fierce combat, began losing their will to fight at the sight.
Then, Leo's shout rang out from behind.
"Everyone! Stay sharp!"
The prince himself stood at the forefront, personally commanding the troops.
But at that moment, liches appeared in the sky.
Groups of three or five liches unleashed a barrage of magic toward the ramparts from above.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Aaaargh!"
Knights and soldiers struck by the liches' spells screamed as they collapsed.
The wounded gasped for air, dying in agony.
Seeing this, Leo, consumed by rage, drew his sword and leaped into the air.
"Haaah!"
Lightning crackled around Leo's body as sword light flashed toward the liches. Slaaash—
One of the liches in the group disintegrated into ash under Leo's strike, scattering away.
But such attacks were meaningless against liches.
As long as their phylactery endured, they could recharge their mana and resurrect anytime.
Landing back on the ramparts, Leo panted heavily from exhaustion.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Then, a horn flute sounded from afar.
Toot!
At the signal, the advancing Legion of Death began to retreat.
Looking up, dawn was breaking, light piercing the sky.
The Legion of Death could barely exert their power under the sun, so they mainly attacked at night.
That didn't mean they could rest during the day, though.
In daylight, the Breaker Mercenary Company hired by Jupiter assaulted with deafening drums and gongs, preventing any relaxation.
Over a week of this had left the knights and soldiers defending the fortress in a state of utter exhaustion, barely sleeping.
Prince Leo himself suffered from extreme fatigue.
He ground his teeth, staring beyond the ramparts.
"If this place falls, they'll march straight to Rom."
Thermo Fortress, the final gateway to the capital Rom, had to hold at all costs.
Then, Daria approached Leo.
"Commander."
Leo's current rank as overall commander of Thermo Fortress was supreme commander.
In a voice thick with weariness, she said, "At this rate, we may not last the night." For loyal Daria to say this meant the situation was truly hopeless.
Leo bit his lip at her words.
The Legion of Death that would not stay dead.
Opposing them with this force alone had been impossible from the start.
Daria continued calmly, "We still have time before the enemy returns. Use this chance to escape first, Commander."
Leo was the one who should become the empire's emperor.
Though he had stubbornly come to the front lines, he was truly the figure who needed the utmost protection.
Leo shook his head at Daria's words.
"No, I'll continue commanding from here."
"Commander... Staying here means only death awaits."
Even then, Leo said nothing.
Daria realized then.
"The prince has already resolved to die."
Leo had arranged that if he fell in battle, Carus would take over the Rom Empire.
After the mad emperor's death, while managing state affairs with Carus, he had come to one realization.
"The one suited to be emperor is not me, but Carus."
He could have been an excellent knight or general, but he had lacked the makings of an emperor.
Carus, unexpectedly adept at governance, had navigated crises with wisdom.
Seeing this, when news came of the Legion of Death advancing on Thermo Fortress, Leo volunteered to lead the troops himself.
It was partly to boost morale, but more so to do what he was best at.
Carus would guard the rear, so he wanted to give his all on the battlefield as he always had.
Understanding Leo's resolve, Daria knelt on one knee before him. "Corps Commander Daria Calvi. I shall share the commander's fate." In that moment, she too steeled herself for death once more.
No matter what, they had to hold this pass and buy time for Rom to devise countermeasures.
Then, a massive drumbeat echoed from beyond the ramparts.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound that had come every dawn for days now.
After the Legion of Death retreated, the mercenary company advanced with thunderous drums.
Each time that noise rang out, the soldiers on the ramparts sank into despair.
They could not rest properly and had to fight again.
Leo slowly rose from his seat.
"Daria, Corps Commander, move the wounded to the rear. Divide the able-bodied into three shifts to hold the line in rotation. Ensure each shift gets at least an hour to rest their eyes."
"Understood, Commander."
Yet Leo himself, who gave the order, had not slept a wink in days.
But he had no time for indulgences.
With the raucous drums, the mercenary company dragged massive siege engines forward.
Whoooosh!
A trebuchet hurled a black iron lump toward the ramparts.
Leo leaped into the air and swung his sword at the incoming projectile.
"Haaah!"
His strike collided head-on with the iron lump, triggering an explosion.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was not an ordinary shot but a bomb packed with gunpowder inside.
"Urk!"
Caught in the blast, Leo spun in midair and landed back on the ramparts.
Barely steadying himself, Leo's eyes beheld an unbelievable sight.
"What...?"
A black horde of monsters swarmed in.
Behind the mercenary company, monsters advanced in orderly ranks toward Thermo Fortress.
Despair filled Leo's eyes.
The mercenaries alone had been overwhelming, but with this monster horde, holding was impossible.
The other knights and soldiers wore similar expressions.
Despair and defeat.
They could only sense their impending deaths here.
"Ugh... aaah!"
Some soldiers, driven mad by exhaustion and terror, wailed and hurled themselves from the ramparts.
Thud!
Crashing into the rock piles below, a soldier's head burst open, body shattering on the dirt.
From that point, soldiers began climbing the ramparts one by one.
Then, like puppets with cut strings, they plummeted.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The gruesome sounds of falling soldiers echoed chillingly.
Daria shouted, "Everyone, fall back from the ramparts! Knights, reform ranks to stop the soldiers from jumping!"
Her voice went unheeded.
Among those climbing were not just soldiers, but knights too.
They too had lost all hope of survival and chosen death.
Thud!
In moments, hundreds of knights and soldiers threw themselves to their ends.
Leo saw phantoms of countless vengeful spirits crawling up from beneath his feet, grasping at him.
"You killed me."
"You led us all to death."
Amid the horrific whispers, Leo clenched his teeth.
"Fine, I'll gladly join you in hell. But not yet."
Before dying, he resolved to take more enemies with him.
He pulled out a cherished potion from his pocket, downed it in one gulp, and drew his sword.
Whoooong!
Drawing every ounce of remaining strength, he ignited his Aura Blade.
Hoping to rally the soldiers' morale even a little.
"Haaaaah!"
He roared at the charging monster horde.
Then, he leaped into the air and unleashed a strike upon them.
A desperate blow with all his might.
But then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Where Leo's strike landed, a massive explosion erupted.
Keeeaak!
The lead monsters engulfed in the blast disintegrated into gore, vanishing without trace.
Leo, who had loosed the strike, was even more shocked by the unexpected destructive power.
"What was that?"
Something rose into the air then.
Whoooosh!
A figure in black armor, identity unknown, soared overhead and hurled a blunt-tipped spear at the monsters.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
An explosion bloomed where the spear struck.
The advancing monster ranks began to scatter from the sudden blasts.
Daria cried out to the stunned Leo, "Commander! Allies—our allies have arrived!" Leo was startled by her words.
"Allies? Could Carus have sent them?"
But the unfamiliar armor and weapons made it hard to believe they were from Carus, leaving Leo bewildered.
Amid this, one of the airborne figures descended toward Prince Leo.
Thud!
The armored figure approached slowly.
Removing the helmet revealed his identity: a Zoin warrior with black feathers.
The leader of the Zoin and supreme commander of the western allied forces.
The Crouched Flame's Song had appeared at Thermo Fortress.