novelraw Chapter 221: Abyssal Holy War - The Longest Week (3)
Chapter 221: Abyssal Holy War - The Longest Week (3)
221. Abyssal Holy War - The Longest Week (3)
There was almost no time delay between the decision and its execution.
The soldiers had already reached their limit, and we were desperate for a decisive action and a change in the situation, one way or another.
The decision was made exactly as I had stated in the meeting, and after taking only the minimal measure of letting the last group of sentries rest briefly, we headed out into the fog.
We changed our strategy and took action on the very same day.
I had expected that with such a swift action, we would at least encounter the enemies who had been bombarding us with rockets.
That way, once we identified them and achieved our first, albeit minor, military achievement, the soldiers could vent some of their resentment and regain a little hope.
However, to my disappointment, despite exploring the fog for a long time, we encountered nothing.
Even the high-spirited veterans of the Revolutionary Army merely wandered through the damp, gloomy violet sky and thick fog, returning only to watch the Germania Empire and Krafte Kingdom armies sally forth in rotation, before collapsing in exhaustion.
Unable to contain my frustration, I summoned the most competent commanders of the Revolutionary Army to the command barracks.“Commander Millbeau, what do you think?”
“Yes, yes? What do you mean, what do I...”
Even an attitude I would normally dismiss as just him being himself was infuriating now.
“...Those bastards were constantly bombarding us with rockets. So how is it that we switched to patrols and couldn't even run into them?”
“W-Well, I'm not sure...”
“Hah...”
I was a fool to expect anything from that guy, Demian.
“...General Nicolas Nere. What are your thoughts?”
“Ahem, I apologize, but perhaps those bastards can see through the fog...”
Seeing through the fog.
The demons' mana is violet.
And this fog happens to be violet too. If that's true, there's no situation more hopeless than this.
A sigh of bafflement escaped me, and I pointed to Giselle Davi, who was standing behind him.
“Lieutenant Colonel Davi.”
“Yes, Sir, His Excellency the Marquis!”
I had blatantly singled out the staff officer instead of the commander, but the expression on that guy Demian's face, relieved that his turn was over, only added to my annoyance.
“What are your thoughts?”
Giselle hesitated for a moment, glancing at Nicolas Nere, but after seeing my expression, she straightened her posture and replied.
“I estimate that the demons cannot see through the fog!”
“The reason?”
“The precision of the rocket bombardment, the time lag, and their actions. If they could see through the fog, the rocket bombardment should have been more precise. It should have been more frequent, as they could have observed us lowering our guard. And their immediate withdrawal when our artillery fire began means they can't gauge the precision of our fire either.”
I finally felt a little better.
It was something I had already surmised, but hearing it from a reliable subordinate added a bit of confidence.
“Yes, that's sound. General Nicolas Nere, do you agree with Davi's opinion?”
“I-It, is, I suppose...”
Nicolas Nere nodded reluctantly, and Millbeau, as soon as my gaze fell on him, nodded eagerly.
“However, the problem still remains. If they can't see through the fog, how can they change their actions so quickly in response to ours?”
“I apologize, His Excellency the Marquis. As of now, we lack the materials to make a judgment...”
I hadn't expected much, but when even Giselle Davi couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, I was just overcome with frustration.
They predicted my actions?
They anticipated that we would begin patrols in the fog right after being hit by four successive bombardments, so they withdrew...
If that's possible, it means the enemy commander is dancing circles around me.
Does that even make sense?
Or am I actually so incompetent that I'm being completely played by these demon bastards, and I'm the only one who can't admit it?
I sighed in lament, looking at the dark circles of fatigue under the eyes of Millbeau, Nere, and Davi.
Keeping them here wasn't going to solve anything.
“Right. I still don't understand what's going on, but at least the soldiers on standby can get some rest while the patrols are out. Dismissed. You all get some rest as well.”
“Yes, sir!”
What a hopelessly frustrating battle.
*
I went to bed, but I couldn't rest easy even when I closed my eyes.
Perhaps I had made a reckless decision.
It was hard enough fighting the demons on the continent, so is it even possible to win against them on this island, their base?
I had resolved myself for a tough fight, but I hadn't expected a situation where we would be so helpless and tormented.
What on earth can I do to break this deadlock?
If Christine were here, would she have lent me some wisdom I hadn't thought of?
If Eris were here, could she have given the soldiers hope even in a situation like this?
What about Raphael Valliant? Or that Great King of Krafte? How would they have responded in a situation like this?
As one thought led to another.
I suddenly opened my eyes and felt a familiar, dreamlike sensation.
A sudden realization dawned on me, and an empty laugh escaped naturally.
“...Damn it, I didn't think of that. I see now exactly how you've been toying with us.”
A self-mocking smile spread across my face.
The demons don't need to see through the fog.
They don't need to conduct reconnaissance or move to prepare for us.
Because.
“All humans sleep, think, and harbor desires.”
The succubus in a nun's habit standing before me said quietly.
Hah...
Right.
The premise was wrong from the very beginning.
How many succubi are there in Abyss Corporation? I don't know for sure, but at the very least, it's not just Gremory.
With all those succubi seeping into our dreams, reading our subconscious...
What good are tactics or operations?
This is no different from leaking military secrets without even being aware of it.
I raised a hand to my forehead.
“You didn't... leave the island, Gremory.”
Gremory looked at me with her golden eyes, smiled faintly, and replied.
“I'm grateful that you made a rather generous proposal, but the Marquis does not have the ability to annihilate Abyss Corporation.”
You've got some nerve.
We've already landed on this island and even established a bridgehead.
I briefly considered putting on such a bluff, but it would be meaningless.
“Right, you people certainly aren't to be underestimated. So? What brings you to me?”
Gremory was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“The one you're dealing with, Marquis, is Paimon.”
“Ah, right. I had a feeling that might be the case. It's a real shame that damned Red Demon wasn't purged. It would have been great if he had died because you shifted the blame onto him.”
Gremory let out a small chuckle, then her expression sobered and she spoke.
“Withdraw, Marquis.”
“After coming all this way? These are men who came here knowing this mission is akin to suicide. You should know full well that we cannot retreat.”
Gremory replied with a wry smile.
“Constructing the gate will, on the contrary, bring the worst kind of ruin to the Central Continent.”
...So she knows what we're doing and what our objective is.
Perhaps the rocket hitting the gate under construction wasn't just an unlucky coincidence, but its intended target from the start.
But, constructing the gate will bring the worst ruin?
An unsettling feeling crept over me. The gate was developed by analyzing parts acquired from the gate the demons built in the Eastern Empire.
A sliver of hope, barely grasped, achieved through the struggle of Archduke Elsion and the Eastern Empire's army.
But what if that was the demons' intention?
The suspicion that the only hope we're clinging to might not be hope at all began to rear its head.
How far can I trust Gremory?
No, even if I did trust her.
I let out a self-mocking smile.
“Let's say I believe you and withdraw. Let's say I save the rest by taking the blame for this expedition's failure and getting exiled. Will you people, after the Eastern Empire falls and you've secured an infinite number of Drones, leave the Central Continent alone?”
Gremory faltered for a moment, but soon replied calmly.
“I'll try.”
“You want me to retreat, throwing away the first opportunity in 400 years with my own hands, all while hoping for a demon's mercy. At least the demons I know aren't the type to stay put when they have power in their grasp. Am I wrong?”
“Perhaps enough time will be given for the Marquis to enjoy a generation of peace with those he holds dear. ...I don't really see how the Marquis's proposal for me to take those I'm responsible for and leave the island is any different from this one.”
Gremory's last words hit home quite sharply, and I let out a forced laugh.
I don't know why I'd forgotten about this until now.
I haven't always fought because I thought I could win.
To protect Christine, to protect my world. I do my best until my last breath. That was all there ever was.
“Alright. I apologize, Gremory. And I refuse. For the same reason you didn't leave this island.”
I was curious what kind of expression Gremory would make—
Gremory completely shattered my expectation by smiling softly, as if looking at someone beloved.
“Marquis Lafayette. If it's not too much of a discourtesy, may I bless you?”
I confirmed the sword at my hip was there, and with my hand on its hilt, I asked.
“What would happen if I were to cut you down in this world of dreams?”
Gremory smiled again and replied in a perfectly casual tone.
“If the mind dies, the body dies too.”
“...If you're fine with that.”
Smiling, Gremory approached me, poised to draw my sword at any moment, and gently extended her hand toward my forehead.
The kind of situation I expected—a violet magic, characteristic of a demon, emanating from the succubus who was spying on my and my soldiers' movements to report to the enemy—did not occur.
Perhaps I knew it wouldn't happen.
The incomplete succubus, who claimed to be a saintess from 400 years ago, merely radiated a golden Divine Power, then stepped back a little from me, smiled, and spoke.
“I love those who crave the impossible, Marquis Lafayette.”
“A pity, but my love is a single-occupancy room.”
Gremory chuckled as if something was very funny, then looked at me with calm eyes.
What kind of look is that?
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
I've seen that look somewhere before, but I can't quite recall it.
The demon said.
“May God's blessing be upon the Marquis.”
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't answer properly.
“...Well, to you... Damn it, what am I supposed to say?”
Gremory smiled, then faded away.
Just before she disappeared completely, I added.
“...May God's blessing be with you, too.”
My consciousness scattered, and I couldn't tell if Gremory had heard me.
*
“His Excellency, Marquis Lafayette.”
“Mm.”
I opened my eyes at the call of my adjutant.
“I apologize for waking you from a deep sleep, but it is time to sally forth.”
I could feel that my mind, which had been murky and anxious with fatigue, had cleared up.
I don't know how long it's been since I slept so soundly.
Only after vitality returned to my body and my mind began to work smoothly did I look at my adjutant, smile, and speak.
“Thank you, Major Vachet. Having you, who performed so well in the Krafte war, as my adjutant is quite the luxury.”
José Vachet.
The man who had cut down the Drone that was once his family in Iberica, and who had been captured as a prisoner of war in a Krafte Army ambush, blinked his eyes and then smiled.
“It's an honor that you remember me. Honestly... when I was first assigned as your adjutant, I had high expectations.”
From my perspective, he was just one of many subordinates, but he could never have forgotten me.
When he was first assigned as my adjutant, my head was so full of thoughts and pressure that I failed to recognize him.
Maybe it's the influence of this damned island...
“Yes, you must have been disappointed. My apologies. I feel like my vision is finally clearing up.”
I patted Vachet's shoulder, getting up as I asked.
“Has there been any news from the Imperial Army and the Krafte Army?”
“No, the last messenger reported no significant encounters.”
“Alright, then relay this to Commander Millbeau. Tell him there will be a battle during this reconnaissance, so they should make maximum preparations.”
“Sir?”
Vachet looked bewildered, so I chuckled and added.
“Just say it's Lafayette's intuition.”
“Ah, I understand.”
They were grasping our situation through the succubi.
When we first sallied forth, unable to endure the rocket bombardment any longer, they would have only roughly known that we'd changed our actions, so they wouldn't have been prepared.
However, they didn't move while the Imperial Army and the Krafte Army were out.
Now they know it's my turn to move again, and the opponent is Paimon.
Paimon knows me, and I know Paimon.
I felt the Divine Power flowing through my body and clenched my fist.
That bastard is coming for me.
Definitely.