novelraw Chapter 232: 232. Abyssal Holy War – Wave of Despair (1)
Chapter 232: 232. Abyssal Holy War – Wave of Despair (1)
Episode 232. Abyssal Holy War – Wave of Despair (1)
Finally, the Allied Forces could cross over through the gate connected to Brest, the naval port of Francia on the Central Continent.
The reward for the long yet short moments of our fierce, desperate struggle after landing on this island had finally materialized.
But despite it being the moment we had so desperately wished for, only tension filled the conference room.
Annoyance surged within me.
Of all people, it had to be the mages from the reclusive Magic Tower.
I hadn't imagined the demons' influence could reach that far, but conversely, I had overlooked that they were more susceptible to their thirst for knowledge than to morality or common sense.
"You're telling me we can't control the gate at will? Is there no way to fix this?"
Commander Maxim, who was in charge of the tower's construction, looked as if he were sitting on a bed of thorns, answering while drenched in a cold sweat.
"It is a massive structure built from an extremely intricate blueprint, and we cannot pinpoint at which stage the interference occurred… We might have to dismantle a part of it to inspect it, but it's such a sturdy structure that dismantling it will take far more time and effort than its construction. In a situation like this, where the demons could attack at any moment…"I pressed a hand to my forehead.
The total strength of the Allied Forces was one million.
Even using the gate nonstop, it would take a considerable amount of time for them all to cross over. And we were supposed to tear down and dismantle this gate while isolated in enemy territory?
That was out of the question.
"…In the worst-case scenario, is it possible to block it by having it destroyed from the continent's side?"
I turned my gaze to the impossibly massive gate as I asked, but the Magic Tower Master shook his head firmly.
"What a dreadful thing to say! That gate is the very crystallization of Magitek. Did you think we wouldn't consider durability for a gate opened in the middle of a battlefield? This masterpiece boasts a durability on a different level from those common fortresses you build! It was designed to withstand a full day of bombardment from the demons!"
Damn it. What a thing to be proud of.
Then again, it had only been slightly damaged even after taking a direct hit from a rocket while it was just an incomplete framework.
It was a structure so massive it was hard to believe it was built in a week, a gate where every single brick was reinforced with magical characters.
Building such a huge gate, capable of transporting hundreds at once, so quickly was likely possible because the framework was constructed in advance, transported, assembled, and then powered by an immense amount of mana.
Even to me, it didn't look like a structure that could be simply dealt with by explosives, but…
"…And yet that sturdy masterpiece of yours was vulnerable to internal betrayal, which is why we have this problem."
"Ahem, ahem…"
The Magic Tower Master coughed dryly and turned his head away.
…What do I do about this?
Should we start dismantling the entire gate to investigate it now?
If we were attacked in the middle of it, the vanguard could be annihilated.
Should we dismantle the gate we barely managed to complete through so much bloodshed and order a retreat?
Even so, if the main force of the Allied Forces crossed over, a retreat would take as long as their entry, and even longer if we were in the middle of a battle.
And even if we somehow succeeded in withdrawing all the troops from a structure with durability that made a fortress look flimsy, it was unlikely we could destroy it immediately.
"…What will you do now? This looks no different from us building a road to the Central Continent with our own hands and opening it for the demons."
At Jill von Leonhardt's question, I pressed my hand to my forehead.
-Building the gate will instead bring the worst kind of ruin to the Central Continent.
I finally understood what Gremory had said.
That succubus knew that the mages of the Magic Tower had already been bought off.
Even now, beyond the gate, a million troops gathered from across the continent were awaiting my decision.
The moment they set foot on this island, there would be no turning back.
"If this is the situation, it's highly likely that the demon forces we've seen so far are not all they have."
At King Heinrich of Krafte's words, everyone let out a low groan.
During the vanguard's desperate struggle, the demons had lost an enormous number of Drones.
We had thought that the demons' virtual halt of their offensive after our reinforcements arrived meant they were switching to a defensive stance because they couldn't afford any more losses.
But was that really the case?
If they thought they had to stop the gate's construction no matter what, would they have bothered building it with the mages they had bribed in the first place?
If they had already bought off the mages, it would have been more logical to have them fail the construction itself.
However, they let the gate be completed despite being able to stop it, and instead made it so it couldn't be closed.
As if they needed it for their own use.
A bitter taste filled my mouth, but I had no choice but to admit it.
"...That is a high possibility. We may have mistaken their main attack force."
We had deluded ourselves into thinking they were launching their main attack on the Eastern Empire, and that they would then use the population secured there as Drones for an offensive on the Central Continent.
But what if the Eastern Empire was the bait from the beginning?
What if they deliberately fell back against the Eastern Empire to dangle the bait of a mainland invasion of Abyss Corporation using the gate, thereby inducing us to build it?
…As the worst-case scenario I had half-expected became alarmingly real, a chilling sensation crept up my spine.
"D-don't tell me Francia could be attacked through the gate we built?"
Instantly the focus of everyone's gaze, Demian flinched and lowered his head.
"F-forgive me."
Damn it. I didn't want to hear that worst-case scenario spoken aloud.
What should I do?
What decision should I make here?
As I was lost in thought, my hand under the table was gently taken.
I turned my head and met the calm eyes of the person sitting beside me, watching me intently.
As black as jet, and endlessly deep.
Christine was watching me, trusting me.
That alone began to calm the chaos in my mind.
I slowly turned my gaze to Eris.
Eris's translucent, violet eyes were also staring fixedly at me.
An unwavering gaze, as if she had been watching me for who knows how long.
Well, I'll be.
Both Christine and the Queen trust me, yet here I was, the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, getting flustered.
I suppressed the empty laugh that almost escaped and took a deep breath.
"Nothing changes."
Right, it's another one of the demon bastards' traps.
So what?
"The vanguard's mission was to secure a bridgehead for the invasion of Abyss Corporation, and after a hard struggle, we succeeded in that mission."
What does it matter if they can use the gate to launch a counter-invasion?
This was a mainland invasion of Abyss Corporation from the very start.
Although I hadn't considered the possibility of our homeland being counterattacked through the gate, I had naturally resolved myself for a fierce counterattack from the demons.
"We always anticipated some level of resistance from the demons, and no one was optimistic enough to think there would be no sacrifice in this war. Therefore, what we must do does not change either."
Building the gate might have been their intention.
No, looking at the situation, it must have been their intention.
But I have faced countless traps from the demons until now.
And they have always failed.
This, too, is just one more of the countless traps I have overcome.
"Our objective is to advance to their capital, Pandemonium, and bring about the collapse of Abyss Corporation. In that case, we will simply carry it out."
"Uahahaha, that's my brother!"
Kroxx.
"Hmph, well, I agree. After all the torment of trembling in that damn fog, a good, clean fight would be a relief."
Jill von Leonhardt.
"I agree. The Krafte Army and I set foot on this island for that very purpose from the start."
Heinrich I.
"The Paladin Order wants revenge!"
Even Eramo.
Finally, Eris, who had received everyone's gaze, spoke.
"As the Queen of Francia, I will support the Commander-in-Chief's decision. I have no doubt the National Assembly will support it as well."
That didn't sound like something the Queen who ran away with an army after only leaving a notice for said National Assembly should say...
Sure enough, Desaix, with a half-resigned look on his face, spoke.
"Ah. About that, Your Majesty. The National Assembly has demanded the post-war appearance at a hearing for Your Majesty the Queen, Marquis Lafayette, Countess Aquitaine, …and myself."
"Ugh…"
The moment she heard this, Eris flinched her shoulders with a timid look on her face, and everyone present had to struggle to hold back their laughter.
…But.
"D-don't be swayed. We are doing the right thing, so God will protect us. …Probably?"
"Pfft."
Listening to Eris, who was so obviously shaken herself, we all couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
How could she say something like that, the Saintess Queen of all people?
Even Heinrich I and Christine were laughing…
"Good grief…"
I let out a small sigh and said.
"We have to win, no matter what."
This could turn into a situation where the Queen, the Army Commander-in-Chief, the Admiral of the Navy, and the Army Deputy Commander are all ousted at once.
There's no state of emergency quite like this one.
Still, thanks to that, the tension dissipated.
I gave Christine's hand, which was still holding mine, a firm squeeze before pulling away and rising from my seat.
"Relay the order to the main force. Tell them all to enter through the gate. We will prepare for an all-out offensive against the enemy capital, Pandemonium, as planned."
"Yes, Sir!"
*
Once the order was given, the main force began crossing over to Abyss Corporation's island at a rapid pace.
It's a grand army of one million that would be a hopeless task to transport by ship, but seeing hundreds move at once through the gate, and supplies being moved as if by land, is truly a marvelous sight.
At the same time, my resolve hardened.
If the demons were to launch a counterattack through something like this, it would be a calamity itself.
If Drones and the demon army started pouring into the heart of our territory, Francia would be plunged into ruin in an instant, and the other nations of the Central Continent that sent their elite armies on this expedition would sooner or later meet the same fate.
It seems that ever since setting foot on this damn island, every single moment has become a desperate fight where not a single defeat is allowed.
As a self-mocking smile touched my lips, the sound of hoofbeats approached me.
"General Morelle."
Jerome Morelle.
The commander of the Light Cavalry Chasseurs, who had been excluded from the vanguard on the grounds that there was little for them to do during the coastal landing and the defensive battle against the Drones.
However, his Chasseurs, who would be deployed for reconnaissance and containment missions as important as the main force in a standoff or all-out war, were one of the first units to cross the gate.
"Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette."
Morelle immediately dismounted and approached me, speaking urgently.
"Enemy forces are approaching."
"Their numbers?"
Jerome Morelle swallowed dryly before answering.
"Visibility is limited due to the fog, so I could not get an exact count, but…"
Visibility limited by fog?
The fog, which had been thinning since Eris's landing, had receded significantly once the gate was built and connected to the Francia homeland.
It had been a ridiculous fog where you could barely see 100 meters ahead, but it had improved to the point where one could see about 1 kilometer, hadn't it?
My silent question was answered in the very next moment.
"This is the result of compiling the opinions of the scattered Chasseurs, but the enemy's estimated forces are over one million. They appear to be mostly Drones."
"...How many did you say?"
The 100,000-strong vanguard had to struggle just against the relentless attacks of Drones in the thousands, and now how many Drones?
"At least one million, Your Excellency the Marquis."
"I, don't, understand."
One million?
The material for Drones is humans. No, even if not humans, they are weaponry made from any primate as material.
But one million?
They must have troops deployed in the Eastern Empire as well, so where on earth could they have procured such a population?
The combined forces of the Allied Forces, with all the nations of the Central Continent scraping together their entire strength, is one million. And Abyss Corporation alone churned out that many troops?
It felt like my breath was catching in my throat. Even the valiant Morelle was breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Your Excellency the Marquis, I understand your disbelief, but this is the common report from all the Chasseurs. I am telling you this after seeing the horde of Drones that fills the land, approaching with my own eyes."
…No, it’s the same.
No matter how vast the enemy's forces are, whatever they may be, we have no option but to face them.
If we are defeated here, the Central Continent, no, Francia itself will be directly threatened.
Nothing has changed. Since the enemies induced the construction of the gate, facing powerful resistance was already foreseen.
I forced out a breath that felt like it wouldn't come and replied.
"...Have the entire army prepare a response stance. And-"
But before my command was finished, another messenger galloped up.
"Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!"
What is it this time?
"What is it?"
"A-an emissary has arrived from Abyss Corporation!"
"What did you say arrived?"
"A demon has come bearing a white flag. They say it's a peace negotiation emissary!"
Damn it all, what the hell is going on?