Episode 232 The Crusade of the Abyss – Waves of Despair (1)
The Allied forces were finally able to cross through the gate connected to Brest, a military port in Franzia, the central continent.
The reward for the long and short intense struggle we spent upon landing on this island has finally become tangible.
However, even though it was the moment we desperately wanted, there was only tension in the conference room.
I feel irritated.
These are mages belonging to a closed magic tower, not anywhere else.
I hadn’t even thought that the devil’s influence had reached them, but I overlooked the fact that they were people who were more sensitive to the desire for knowledge than to morality or common sense.
“We can’t control the door the way we want. Is there no way we can solve this problem?”
Director Maxim, who was in charge of the tower construction, looked like he was sitting on a thorn cushion, but he answered while sweating profusely.
“It is a huge structure made with very elaborate blueprints, and it is difficult to determine exactly at what stage the interference occurred… If we are not careful, we will have to dismantle part of it and examine it, but since it is a very sturdy structure, dismantling it will take much more time and effort than construction. I will. In a situation like now where demons can attack at any time…”
I placed my hand on my forehead.
The total strength of the Allied Forces is 1 million.
Even if you constantly use the door and move it, it will take a long time to get over it. How about tearing down and dismantling this door again when you are isolated in enemy territory?
It can’t be like that.
“…In the worst case, is it possible to block it by blowing up the door from the continent?”
I turned my gaze and looked at the enormous door and asked, but the magic tower lord resolutely shook his head.
“What a terrible sound! That door is the very essence of magic engineering. Do you think we didn’t think about durability when opening a door in the middle of a battlefield? That door is a masterpiece, boasting durability that is on a par with the common fortresses you have built! “It’s designed to withstand a full day of bombardment from demons!”
Damn, I’m proud of it.
Well, it was only slightly damaged after being hit directly by a rocket while the structure was still unfinished.
It is unbelievably huge for a structure built in just one week, and each brick on the door is reinforced with magic letters.
Building a door so large that hundreds of people could move at the same time so quickly must have been possible by making the frame in advance, transporting it, assembling it, and mobilizing a vast amount of magical power.
I also didn’t think it was a structure that could be easily destroyed by explosion, but…
“…that sturdy masterpiece was actually vulnerable to betrayal from within, so this problem arose.”
“Keuhum khum….”
The Mage Tower cleared his throat and turned his head.
…How do I do this?
Are you going to tear down all the doors again and inspect them from now on?
Then, if attacked, the advance team could be completely wiped out?
Should we dismantle the gate that was barely completed after shedding so much blood and withdraw?
However, if the Allied main force crosses over, withdrawal will take the same amount of time as it takes to enter, and if it is in the middle of a battle, it will take even longer.
It’s a structure with the durability of a fortress, but even if we somehow succeed in withdrawing all the soldiers, there’s no way it would be possible to blow it up right away.
“…What are you going to do now? “Does this seem no different from creating a road to the central continent with our own hands and opening it to the devils?”
In response to Gilles von Leonhardt’s question, I placed my hand on my forehead.
-Constructing the gate will actually bring the worst destruction to the central continent.
I finally understood what Gremory said.
That succubus knew that the magicians at the Magic Tower had already been bribed.
At this very moment, beyond the door, a million troops from all over the continent are waiting for my decision.
The moment they set foot on this island, there is no turning back.
“If the situation is like this, there is a high possibility that the strength of the demons we have seen so far is not everything.”
Everyone fell silent at the words of King Heinrich of Krafte.
While the advance team’s fight continued, the demons lost a huge number of drones.
It was thought that the Devils had virtually given up on the offensive after reinforcements arrived and that they were thinking of going on the defensive because they could not bear any further loss of power.
But is that really the case?
If they had thought that the construction of the gate had to be prevented at all costs, why would they have built it with the magicians they had bribed in the first place?
If the mages had already been bribed, it would have been better to have caused the construction of the gate itself to fail.
However, even though they could have prevented the completion of the door, they allowed the door to be completed and made it impossible to close the door.
As if they needed it for their use.
I have a bitter taste in my mouth, but I have to admit it.
“…that’s very likely. “Maybe we misunderstood the main attack.”
We mistakenly thought that they would launch a main attack on the Eastern Empire and use the population of the Eastern Empire they secured as drones to launch an offensive on the central continent.
But what if the Eastern Empire was bait from the beginning?
If they were deliberately pushed out by the Eastern Empire and tricked us into constructing the gate by giving us the bait of using the gate to attack the Abyss Corporation’s mainland.
…As the possibility that the worst assumption I had made is becoming reality rapidly increases, a feeling of eerieness runs down my spine.
“Is it possible that Franzia could be attacked through the gate we built?”
Damien, who instantly received everyone’s attention, flinched and lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Damn it, I didn’t really want to hear that worst assumption out of my mouth.
What should I do?
What decision should you make here?
As I was lost in thought, my hand was carefully held under the table.
I turned my gaze to face the calm eyes sitting next to me, quietly looking at me.
Black as pitch black and infinitely deep.
Christine trusts me and is watching over me.
With that alone, my confused mind began to calm down.
I slowly turned my gaze to look at Eris.
Transparent purple eyes, as if they were Eris’ projection, are also staring at me.
An unwavering gaze that makes you not even know when you have been looking at it.
This is it.
Christine and the queen believe in me, but the person who claims to be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force is acting agitated.
I took a deep breath, suppressing myself from almost bursting into laughter.
“Nothing changes.”
Yes, it’s another trap from the devils.
So what happened?
“The mission of the advance team was to secure a beachhead for attacking the Abyss Corporation, and after much struggle, we succeeded in that mission.”
What if they can use the door to invade the station?
From the beginning, it was a mainland attack on Abyss Corporation.
Although I had not thought about the number of cases in which the home country could be counterattacked through the door, I was naturally prepared for the fact that the demons’ counterattack would be fierce.
“The level of demonic resistance was assumed anyway, and no one was optimistic that there would be no sacrifices in this war. So what we do doesn’t change.”
It may have been their intention to build a gate.
No, looking at the situation, there is no doubt that was their intention.
But I have been through the devil’s trap countless times.
And they always failed.
This is just one of the countless pitfalls we have encountered so far.
“Our goal is to advance to their capital, Pandemonium, and collapse the Abyss Corporation. If so, just do it.”
“Hahaha, that’s why he’s my brother!”
Crocs.
“Well, I agree. “I suffered a lot while shivering in the damn fog, but it would be better if I could have a refreshing fight.”
Jill von Leonhardt.
“I agree. “That’s what Krafte-kun and I set foot on this island from the beginning.”
Heinrich I.
“The Holy Knights want revenge!”
Even Eramo.
Finally, Eris, who received everyone’s attention, spoke.
“As the Queen of Franzia, I will support the Commander-in-Chief’s decision. I have no doubt that the National Assembly will also support it.”
I don’t think that’s what a queen who left home without notice to the National Assembly and then ran away without permission with her army would say…
As expected, Desais said with a half-liberated face.
“ah. That’s right, Your Majesty. “The National Assembly demanded that Her Majesty the Queen, the Marquis of Lafayette, the Count of Aquitaine…and even me appear at the hearing.”
“Ugh…”
As soon as she heard those words, Eris shrugged her shoulders and made a timid face, so everyone in the room had a hard time holding back their laughter.
…only.
“Don’t get upset either. We are doing the right thing and God will protect us. … maybe?”
“Phew.”
Everyone couldn’t help but laugh when they heard Eris’ words, which were clearly agitated.
Is it okay to say something like that on the subject of the Queen of Saints?
Even Henry I and Christine were laughing…
“This is it…”
I said with a small sigh.
“I have to win no matter what.”
If you’re not careful, the Queen, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, the Admiral of the Navy, and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army will all be kicked out at the same time.
There is no emergency like this.
But thanks to that, the tension disappeared.
I held Christine’s hand, who was still holding my hand, firmly, then withdrew my hand and stood up.
“Issuing orders to the main unit and telling everyone to enter through the door. “We are preparing an all-out offensive against the enemy’s capital, Pandemonium, as scheduled.”
“ancient!”
* * *
Once the order was given, the main force’s move to the Abyss Corporation’s island was proceeding rapidly.
It is a large unit of 1 million people that would be impossible to move by ship, but it is amazing to see hundreds of people moving through the gate at a time and supplies being moved as if they were being moved by land.
At the same time, determination is engraved.
If the devils were to launch a counterattack through something like this, it would be a disaster itself.
If the armies of drones and demons begin pouring in from the center of the country, Franzia will quickly fall into ruin, and other countries in the central continent that sent elite troops on expeditions will also meet the same fate, sooner or later.
Somehow, once I set foot on this damn island, I end up in a desperate fight where not even a single defeat is allowed at every moment.
As I was secretly smiling self-deprecatingly, the sound of horse hooves approached me.
“General Morel.”
Jerome Morel.
In fact, the commander of the Chasseurs, a light cavalry unit, who was excluded from the advance guard because it was not feasible to do the coastal landings and defensive battles against drones.
However, his Chasseurs, who would be deployed for reconnaissance and containment missions that were as important as the main force in situations of confrontation and all-out war, were one of the first units to come through the gate.
“His Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette.”
Morel immediately got off his horse, approached me, and opened his mouth urgently.
“Enemy forces are approaching.”
“What is your medical history?”
Jerome Morel swallowed dryly and answered.
“I couldn’t figure it out clearly because the visibility was limited by the fog, but…”
Is the visibility limited by the fog?
The fog, which had gradually eased after the landing of Eris, was largely pushed back as the gate was built and connected to the main country of Francia.
It was an unbelievable fog where I could barely see 100m ahead or not, but now it has improved to the point where I can see about 1km away.
My doubts about what he was talking about were broken in the very next moment.
“This is the result of combining the opinions of the scattered Chasseurs, but the enemy’s estimated number of troops is over 1 million. “Most of them appear to be drones.”
“…How many?”
The 100,000 advance troops had to struggle with constant attacks from thousands of drones. How many drones?
“At least 1 million. “Your Excellency the Marquis.”
“I don’t understand.”
1 million?
The material of drones is humans. No, it is a weapon made from non-human primates.
But 1 million?
There must be troops deployed to the Eastern Empire, but where on earth can they get that much population?
All countries in the Central Continent have gathered all their strength, and the Allied Forces have 1 million troops, but the Abyss Corporation alone has pulled out that many troops?
I feel like I can’t breathe. Even the brave Morel is breaking into a cold sweat.
“I understand that you may not believe it, Marquis, but this is a common report among the Chasseurs. “I’m telling you this after seeing with my own eyes the army of drones approaching and filling the ground.”
…No, it’s the same.
No matter how large the enemy’s power is, we have no choice but to confront the enemy.
If we lose here, not only the central continent but Franzia will be directly threatened.
Nothing has changed. Since the enemy induced the construction of the gate, it was already expected that strong resistance would be encountered.
I took a deep breath and answered.
“…Prepare the entire army to respond. And-”
But before I could finish my instructions, another messenger came running.
“His Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette!”
What is it again this time?
“what?”
“An envoy from the Abyss Corporation has arrived!”
“What came?”
“The demons have come with a white flag. They are envoys for peace negotiations!”
How on earth does this damn thing work?
