7th Demon Prince Jilbagias' Chronicle of Demon Kingdom Toppling-Chapter 176: Those Who Resist

BGM: Thawing Light – Luuk Herssen

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The Alliance forces were shaken by the far-too-rapid fall of Seaburn Fortress.

Normally, even if a fortress had fallen, there should be some time lag before the information was confirmed and messengers could report it. But on this battlefield, the 【Mitologia Replica[Myth Reenactment]】 barrier was in place. Because people had placed such strong faith in the Great Sacred Tree, its disappearance—an unmistakably clear sign of defeat—dealt a far greater psychological blow than anyone had imagined.

「No way… That June is…」

And for Hessel, the Sword Saint known as the 『Frontline Demolisher』, who fought bravely at Fort Niburn, it was a shock so great that it made him freeze on the spot.

June — the name of a young Sword Saint who, at just 19 years old, had already transcended the very logic of the world.

They had only met a handful of times, but despite rising from the ranks of common soldiers, he was sincere in his dedication to the sword—a young man with a promising future.

Stationed at Fort Seaburn were June and other young prodigies, numerous seasoned priests, high-ranking forest elf spellcasters, forest elf archers, and battle-hardened soldiers. Veterans and newcomers were well-balanced, and both the quality and quantity of the force were deemed more than sufficient. Against the mid-tier demons expected to attack that area, they were believed to stand a very good chance.

However…

The barrier of Fort Seaburn had vanished. If the enemy had advanced all the way to the heart of the fortress—the prayer chamber—then those who had been fighting on the front lines likely didn’t make it out unscathed. The young heroes… and June… the chances that they had fallen in battle were extremely high.

The young genius Sword Saint had already…

He was someone who, with more experience, could have become a beacon of hope for humanity, and yet…

Naturally, even Hessel wasn’t an optimist. He never believed that every fortress would hold out without falling.

Even so, it was far too soon. The plan had been to hold out for a few crucial days while the Sacred Great Tree’s branches remained effective, thin out the Demon King Army's forces as much as possible, and then transition into urban warfare to further whittle down their numbers— That was how it was supposed to go.

He had hoped that when the time came, he’d be able to fight alongside June once more. That was what he’d been thinking. As long as he didn’t die in battle before then.

But now that a section of the barrier had been breached, the Demon King Army—who weren’t fixated on a frontal assault—along with other general forces, would likely pour into the royal capital from the direction of Fort Seaburn in waves――

「Hahaha! What’s wrong, humans?! All of you look as pale as corpses!」

Just then, a burly demon soldier who had scaled the wall raised a cleaver-like weapon with a mocking laugh.

『Shut up!』

Hessel brandished his greatsword in a sweeping arc. The devil soldier instinctively tried to block it with their cleaver-like weapon— But with a sharp SHWACK! the blade was sliced in two.

「A-AH!?」

And just like that, the devil was cleaved in two from the chest up by Hessel’s greatsword. As the lower half of the body wobbled and began to collapse, Hessel gave it a kick, sending it tumbling over the wall.

BOOM! The devil soldier’s corpse burst apart, scattering into countless tiny particles of magical power, and vanished without a trace.

「Heh, not leaving a mess where they die, that’s the one good thing about these fu*king devils.」

Even his joke lacked its usual sharpness. None of the surrounding soldiers laughed.

Yes, the shock of Fort Seaburn’s fall still hadn’t worn off.

（What’s the situation on the battlefield…?!）

He cast a quick glance in the direction far behind him, toward the royal capital where signal fires burned in various places. It was still intact, at least for now, but it wouldn’t be surprising if flames broke out at any moment.

What was the command center doing? Did they send reinforcements to Fort Seaburn? Or have they deemed that it was impossible to turn the tables at this point?

（I have no idea at all!）

No messenger had arrived yet, and even if one did, there was no guarantee the news would reach Hessel. He was a Sword Saint. While he played the part of a field commander, his true role was that of an anti-demon ultimate weapon—a living blade in human form.

His role was to receive an order like “Go take that demon’s head!” from a commander and respond with a quick “Got it!” before going off to kill. In that sense, he was similar to a Hero, even the old comrade of his used to say the same thing. There was no need for him to hear detailed reports on the situation, nor did he have the right or the capacity to make strategic decisions based on them.

And yet, at times like this, he couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming urge to know.

It’s not like there’s anything he could do about it, but at the very least, he wants to know what’s going on――

「Haaah, let’s not think about this complicated matter…」

――There was no point in thinking about it any further. Slapping his cheeks lightly, Hessel refocused on the battle before him.

For now, Fort Niburn—bearing the brunt of the Demon King’s army’s assault—was holding out with surprising tenacity.

The fact that they could withstand the initial all-out attack by the demon race using their three top-class sages was a huge success in itself.

「【ROT AND FALL!】」

「【Explode and scatter!】」

「【Quail in dread!】」

Even now, spells and hexes occasionally came flying from beneath the wall, but thanks to the protective ward of the elder elven sage, they could be blocked easily with shields or swords.

Hessel responded to the initial assaults by the beastfolk and devil soldiers as an ordinary swordsman, deliberately concealing his true power as a Sword Saint. As a result, when the devil warriors finally charged in with full confidence, he could take down several of them at once. A major achievement.

Moreover――

With a sharp sound that tore through the air, a chillingly beautiful blue-glowing meteor was unleashed from the top of the fortress.

Properly speaking, it wasn't a meteor.

It was a magic arrow.

A demon who broke through the barrier of the【Sacred Great Tree】of Fort Niburn and stepped onto the battlefield had their entire head blown off and died on the spot.

「OOOOO!」

「YAAAAAAAY!」

「As expected of esteemed sage!」

The heavy mood at the scene lightened a little.

The forest elf sage was keeping a sharp watch from the watchtower, an undisputed presence. Their deadly arrow—impossible to block even by the demon race—served as a dire warning. Several night elf rangers had attempted to snipe them, but each one was struck down by the other sage, who shot them with magically-imbued arrows containing only the minimum amount of power. Every last one of them now lay as a pitiful corpse on display.

The demons who had just arrived beneath the castle walls had done well to scale the wall during the initial all-out assault, but thanks to that deadly sniper, they couldn't move carelessly and were effectively pinned down.

（Sages are incredible…）

Their skill evoked a sense of awe and gratitude within Hessel. They were said to have the same influence as the high elves for a reason, after all.

However――it didn't mean that the sages' magical power was limitless. They had cast powerful barrier spells and were still fighting even now. It wouldn't be a surprise if they reached their limit at any moment.

（If only the warding would at least hold out a while longer…）

"The rest is up to us—we'll just have to do our best!" Hessel thought. Thanks to the sages’ efforts, there hadn’t been any major losses at his position so far.

They could keep fighting. If they took turns, they could hold out for a few more days.

「…」

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling about their rear. Even if they managed to hold the line here, he couldn’t help but worry.

If even one of the sages had been stationed at Seaburn Fortress… would it have fallen so quickly?

「Woops!」

No, enough of that. It's pointless. There's no use in thinking about the "what ifs" in war. Besides, if the three sages hadn’t been here together, Fort Niburn might have fallen long ago.

Given the situation, all we can do is keep inflicting damage on the demons at all costs.

「Alright, let’s do this—time to kill!」

Upon regaining his spirits, Hessel called out to a nearby soldier and tossed something.

「Folks, pull this as soon as I give the signal.」

The thing he tossed to them was――a rope.

The other end was wrapped around Hessel’s waist.

「Eh… Could it be?」

「Yeah. I mean, this is just the right place, isn’t it?」

In a low voice, he pointed toward the base of the wall for the shaken soldier to see.

「G-Got it.」

「Here we… GO!」

Hessel leaned his greatsword onto his shoulder and suddenly leaned out over the wall.

As he looked down――his eyes met those of one of the devil warriors huddled beneath the wall.

「――Eh?」

The demon’s eyes widened in shock as Hessel came plummeting down toward him――

「Goodbye!」

Hessel raised his weapon high overhead and swung it down with full force.

His attack split the ground.

The split ran through the wall.

The crack ran through it, stretching dozens of steps beyond where Hessel’s blade clearly shouldn’t have reached.

Naturally, the demons, the devil soldiers, and the beastfolk warriors waiting directly beneath the wall were all cleaved clean in half.

「Alright, is the wall intact!?」

After landing with a splat on the vertically bisected corpse of a demon, Hessel's first action was to check the wall. Fortunately, since the cut had passed just a few steps away from it, not a single scratch had been left on the wall.

「… Who the hell is that guy!?」

「He's a Sword Saint! He's the one who cut the wall!」

「KILL HIM!」

Then, the ones who happened to be outside the range of Hessel's attack, along with those who had barely survived, came at him in a panic. Hessel shouted, "I'm counting on you!" and gave the rope at his waist a sharp tug.

「One, two… THREE!」

The soldiers waiting atop the wall pulled the rope with all their strength, like a game of tug-of-war. Hessel ran up the wall, deflecting the night elves’ arrows with his greatsword as a shield, and somehow managed to return safely.

「Huff… Huff… Took down three of those damn demons.」

「Welcome back… But man, that's truly a suicidal feat!」

「Don't worry, it ain't a big deal.」

Breathing heavily and dripping with sweat like a waterfall, Hessel dropped to his knees without thinking. That last strike could be called his trump card, but it was as exhausting as swinging a greatsword with full force a hundred times. He couldn’t use it repeatedly.

If he used that move on open ground, he could literally cut through the enemy ranks in a single stroke. But it was extremely dangerous since it could also hit allies. He didn’t think it would be suited for repelling the Demon King’s army from atop the wall either, but thanks to the sage keeping watch with precision sniping, it ended up working out perfectly.

（But those damn demons probably won’t be coming near this fortress for a while after this.）

As a soldier handed him a canteen, Hessel thought to himself.

Fort Niburn was well-defended. They managed to inflict heavy losses on the demon warriors. If that was the case, even the Demon King’s army might give up on a frontal assault.

Under such assumption――then even forces like Hessel and the sage might also――

Sure enough, just as Hessel had predicted, the Demon King’s army soon began to ease up their assault on Fort Niburn.

At almost the same time, a new order arrived for Hessel from headquarters.

【Retaking Fort Seaburn will be difficult.】

【There is a risk of a Demon Lord Army invasion in the urban area.】

【Sword Saint Hessel, regroup with the elite forces and intercept them.】

――Just what I was hoping for.

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