Chapter 127
A search party led by one imperial prince and one royal prince stepped into the forbidden land of Ergest.**
Martin entrusted the vanguard to Balaf, who was more familiar with the mountain range.
Balaf sent out three Ranger Units—including the White Weasel Unit—in all directions.
“While using the Ranger Units, we’ll conduct a thorough sweep as we proceed. This is a race against time anyway.”
Since they had to find the Tower, the question was simply how long it would take.
Even if it took more time, proceeding cautiously was the better choice.
“Yes.”
A week passed like that. By then, the search party couldn’t help but feel something was wrong.
Yeti, Frost Wolves, Trolls and other monsters had appeared, but the numbers were far too small for somewhere with Ergest’s infamous reputation.
“Is it normally like this?”
“No. Even if this is only the entrance, Ergest is a place crawling with monsters from the very beginning.”
Balaf Korzen furrowed his brow. As the captain of the White Weasel Unit, he had climbed Ergest multiple times. Though he had never gone beyond the entrance, he remembered clearly how many monsters had greeted them each time.
“How about we expand the Rangers’ search radius and find the monsters first?”
“Let’s do that.”
The search party set up camp on a modest snow-covered rise, resting while also scrambling to uncover the cause.
“This is definitely…”
“Yes. It seems so.”
Unlike the others, Hillen Cargill and Granada knew the exact reason for all this.
A strategy of luring the mountain’s monsters together and detonating them in one blow.
The current quiet was nothing short of the calm before a storm.
“Hillen. Did something like this ever happen during your Heroic March?”
At that moment, Daphner approached. Granada closed her mouth immediately.
“No. There were plenty of monsters from the entrance back then. Though it was my first time at Ergest and I cannot claim certainty, it was at least consistent with the rumors we heard in Hotenwalk.”
“It was the same when I climbed to search for the Tower. So this is the first time something like this has happened…”
Daphner stroked his chin.
“It’s certainly the Demon King’s doing. The ecology of monsters cannot be separated from the Demon King’s influence.”
There was something new they had to keep in mind. If the Demon King was manipulating monsters, that meant his influence had grown stronger.
“Hiding the monsters must mean they’re being kept in reserve for a single massive assault.”
“I think so as well.”
“Then the question is where, how, in what manner, and how many monsters will come.”
The Demon King meets the Hero at the top of the Tower—but sending monsters after the Hero beforehand, or planting black mages and demons in human society to obstruct the Heroic March, had always been a traditional tactic.
At that moment a knight approached Hillen and Daphner. The prince and the imperial prince were summoning them.
“What do you think?”
Upon entering the command tent, the two were immediately questioned by Martin.
“It is a ploy of the Demon King.”
“As expected. We thought the same. What do you suggest we do?”
“When Hillen and I climbed, nothing like this occurred. Meaning, the Demon King’s influence cannot be too strong yet.”
“Then it is likely limited to the monsters of the lower entrance who were pushed down the food chain.”
“Yes. It will be different from mid-slope onward. And the attack will most likely begin from there.”
“Then it will happen soon.”
“We should prepare thoroughly—”
That was when noise erupted outside.
A knight of the Kingdom and a knight of the Empire rushed into the tent.
“Your Highness, you should come outside.”
“What is it?”
“Have the monsters appeared?”
“No. Demons have appeared.”
“Demons?”
They hurried outside. On a snow-covered rise not far from the camp, a shadowy figure stood.
A woman cloaked in robes, her face hidden behind a mask. And behind her stood several others.
“Human?”
“I sense demonic energy. There’s no way they’re human.”
“Behind her—Dark Elves. That woman must also be a demon.”
People murmured.
“Is this the Demon King’s trick?”
“Give the order and we’ll capture them immediately.”
Some were puzzled, while others burned with fighting spirit.
But everyone felt an odd sense of unease.
A masked woman in the middle of the Ergest mountain range, a place overflowing with monsters?
It didn’t fit at all.
“They say he’s the Blazing Demon King… Don’t tell me we’ve gone to the Tower of Lust by mistake?”
If she were a servant of the Succubus, the so-called Lust Demon King, it might have made sense. But the woman before them looked nothing like a succubus.
“Lord Daphner.”
“…Nothing is known about the Blazing Demon King. Whatever she does would not be surprising.”
Yet even in all the Heroic Marches he participated in, nothing like this had ever happened.
Then—
“Hello.”
The woman bowed politely. Her greeting was gentle and graceful beyond reproach.
Her voice was soft, yet it rang clearly in everyone’s ears.
The murmuring ceased. All eyes focused on her.
The woman smiled proudly.
“Nice to meet you, humans. I serve the Demon King as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Spirit Summoner of Darkness.”
“…Four Heavenly Kings?”
“What are the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“A demon using spirit magic?”
There were too many contradictions in her short introduction—first time hearing of ‘Four Heavenly Kings,’ and a demon claiming to be a spirit summoner.
Spirits were the foundation of the world itself. For demons—invaders from another dimension—to handle spirits made no sense.
‘…What the hell. Ernan Hilderan?’
Hillen and Granada barely held back their contorting expressions through sheer willpower.
They knew better than anyone who stood before them. They had seen her and dealt with her directly.
‘What is she thinking?’
‘If she’s discovered—!’
Even with the mask, disguise, and the demonic aura she radiated, she couldn’t fully hide the noble air around her.
Fortunately, there was still some distance, she wore a mask, she was releasing demonic energy, and no one imagined that a princess would pretend to be a minion of the Demon King—so no one connected the dots.
But nothing was ever guaranteed.
While they agonized internally, the Spirit Summoner of Darkness spoke again.
“I came to deliver the Demon King’s message. Who among you is the highest in command?”
Martin and Balaf flinched. After glancing at each other, Martin eventually stepped forward.
“That would be me.”
“Prince Martin Jespine of the Empire’s imperial family.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. How could I not recognize a prince of a great Empire? A prince certainly has the qualification to hear the Demon King’s words.”
Ahem—she awkwardly deepened her voice.
“Leave this mountain at once. Then I shall spare your lives. This is the final mercy I grant you.”
The delivery was so clumsy that Hillen and Granada screamed inwardly, but fortunately the others were too overwhelmed by the atmosphere to notice anything strange.
“Absurd.”
Martin shook his head.
“It was you who planted black mages in Hapstline Gorge and provoked the Empire. The Empire will not overlook this, and the Demon King will surely regret it.”
“Such words will only worsen the Demon King’s mood.”
“Then let me warn you in turn. Confess your wrongdoing and return the kidnapped princesses. If not, the worst fate awaits you.”
“You’re impossible to reason with. It seems you humans need some education.”
“Education?”
“On behalf of the Demon King, I—Spirit Summoner of Darkness—shall teach you your place.”
At that instant, mana surged. The magical energy of her mask mingled with the mana around her, obscuring her true presence.
“How displeased the Demon King truly is.”
“And what kind of being I am, as one who serves him.”
KUGUGUGUGU—
The mountain trembled.
“…My god.”
Humans gasped.
It was snow.
A wave made of snow.
“Take it sweetly.”
A catastrophe-level tsunami of snow swept toward them. The knights unleashed their aura. The mages frantically erected barriers.
“A worthless demon dares…!”
The Empire’s pride—the Platinum Shield Mage Corps—chanted a joint spell. A massive wall of ice rose and blocked everything.
“Your Highness!”
Martin hurriedly hid behind it with the knights.
But—
“This is actually better.”
The Spirit Summoner of Darkness smiled. By creating the wall, the humans had blocked their own line of sight.
As if waiting for that moment, the hundreds of mana cannons hidden behind her revealed their muzzles.
They had concealed them within the avalanche and the ice wall, and hid their sound within the roar of the collapsing snow. Then they fired.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Explosions rang out in succession. The wall trembled.
“Ghh…!”
“Something is striking the wall!”
“Is it black magic?!”
“Hold it! If this collapses, we’re finished!”
The mages spat blood as they poured in more mana. The barrier shattered and regenerated repeatedly—but in the end, the victor was the mana cannons.
Crafted by some of the greatest dwarven master artisans alive, hundreds of mana cannons far exceeded anything mere human mages could hope to withstand.
────!
The wall collapsed. Mages coughed blood. And through the gap, the momentarily held-back tsunami of snow flooded over everything.
Screams, shouts—every sound was swallowed whole.
“Adios, amigo.”
The Spirit Summoner of Darkness whispered softly.
***
On another rise apart from where Ernan stood, Berze watched the pandemonium below with folded arms.
“We really shouldn’t let Ernan act.”
He had been nervous she would be exposed by that stiff, awkward acting. Still, aside from that, she carried out the mission smoothly.
“There are many survivors.”
The massive avalanche had wiped out everything, but they were elite forces from two nations for a reason.
The mages reinforced their shields harder, the knights endured with aura, and the rangers let their bodies flow with the snow to minimize injury.
Their formation was completely shattered, but the number of survivors was still quite large. Exactly the amount Berze had intended.
“…Hmm. Do you think Sir Hillen and Lady Granada are alright? The Red Hawk, too.”
Having finished her task, Ernan approached Berze, asking with worry.
“After the farewell speech you gave?”
“Granada and I accidentally made eye contact, and without thinking I just… reacted…”
She was far too immersed in her role as the Spirit Summoner of Darkness. Not that Berze minded—her acting often ended up benefiting him.
“No need to worry. Those guys are tougher than cockroaches.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
“But we can’t allow them to regroup so easily.”
Berze signaled with his eyes. FWOOOO— The Feral Orc blew a horn.
The Feral Orcs, who had positioned monsters all around the battlefield beforehand, began to move as one.
Dozens—no, hundreds.
Born and raised in the brutal snows of the frozen mountains, these savage monsters were nothing short of calamity for the disorganized allied forces who were still reeling from the avalanche and the mysterious attacks.
A battle erupted, full of blood and shrieking monstrosities.
And among them, two individuals shone brightest:
Hillen Cargill and Daphner Philian.
Each time lightning flashed, Hillen’s blade severed a monster’s neck. Each time Daphner released an arrow, it struck an enemy’s vital point without a hair’s deviation.
“Send more monsters and draw those two away.”
At Berze’s command, the Feral Orc blew the horn again. As the battle intensified, the two heroes drifted farther from the 3rd imperial prince.
“Let’s collapse that slope over there.”
“Yes.”
Ernan and the elves summoned the spirits again.
At that moment—
SWEEEENNG—
A flash laced with dimensional interference shimmered.
CRUNCH—
Berze’s grip cracked open. The arrow, forcibly halted midair, shattered under the strain. Ernan blinked; the arrow had nearly reached her face.
Berze frowned at the sensation—the interference force gnawing at his body.
“…Was I about to die?”
“You sound rather calm, considering.”
“I was surprised. Very much so.”
Still—
“I thought the Demon King would protect me. And he did.”
Berze scoffed and turned his head. His eyes met those of Daphner Philian, who was already drawing another arrow toward him.
Another arrow flew—and that was only the beginning. One shot instantly multiplied into dozens.
Berze hurled black fire. The flames devoured the flashes of light.
“Kruutu.”
“Yes.”
“Deal with that one.”
Kruutu charged forward on a Frost Wolf. The Feral Orcs who had finished herding the monsters followed closely behind.
Screams grew even harsher.
Soon enough, none of the heroes could spare a thought for the imperial prince anymore.
Only then—
did the Demon King, who had been merely watching,
finally move.
To abduct the prince.
“Is your jaw loosened up? You’ll need it smooth if you’re going to persuade your brother. When I persuaded you, I warmed up my mouth beforehand.”
“Um…”
Kaede swallowed dryly.
That was not information she ever wanted to hear.