Chapter 385. Looming War Clouds (3)

The room stirred from Ismile’s declaration. Though it sounded like a joke, it didn’t seem like Ismile was joking around. With an uncharacteristically serious look on his face, he said, “You may or may not be aware of the situation, but…I’m sure everyone heard that the legend and I left Shalyh for quite some time recently.”

Then Ismile summarized everything that has happened since then. He and Chi-Hyun had gone outside the city to assess the other factions’ situations since they had suddenly stopped warring against each other. It was then that they discovered the discrete dealings between the Demon Empire and the Sernitas. Thus, Chi-Hyun secretly trespassed into the Sernitas’ Sky Castle, and Ismile left. Everything up to this point was what Chi-Woo already knew.

“Before I separated with the legend, the legend assumed the worst-case scenario. Thus, he handed his secret information network over to me and told me to monitor our enemies’ movements closely.” And Ismile did just as Chi-Hyun instructed him to do. Before he went to see Chi-Woo, he contacted the information network and passed the legend’s message to them.

“Not long after that, I got some startling news.” Ismile cleared his throat, indicating that he was going to dive into the main topic now. “It was news that the Demon Empire had assembled a sizable army and dispatched them.”

It wasn’t strange for a faction to amass forces in preparation for war on Liber, yet it was a different story when the faction in question was the Demon Empire. The Demon Empire operated on a feudal system where the strong ruled over the weak. Any resistance against this system would turn into civil wars. Though they united if the empire’s survival was at stake, it was very rare for them to join forces for a conquest. It was all the more surprising that a sizable army had been assembled.

“What’s the estimate on the Demon Empire’s army?” A clear voice rang. It was from the lady with a white cloth covering her face, Alice.

Ismile shook his head. “We don’t know exactly. They are going to contact me when they get a general estimate…but for some reason, they are taking longer than I thought. I’m also telling you all this as soon as I return because it seems our enemies have already made up their minds.”

“What direction is the army heading towards?” It was a thick, rough voice this time. Dalgil’s hollow eyes snapped to Ismile.

“It’s a bit hard to tell.” Ismile smiled wryly. “They seem to be heading towards Shalyh, but…let’s talk while looking at this.” There was a large map hanging behind the desk. Ismile stood in front of it and made a mark with a quill pen. It was where the Demon Empire’s base was.

“If you look at the detailed path that they are following according to reports…” Ismile said while moving his quill pen, and Chi-Woo realized why Ismile had said it was hard to tell. In the path that the Demon Empire’s army was taking, there was really no other possible destination beside Shalyh. They could simply be passing through the area, but there was no really good reason for them to do this. At the same time, it would be hasty to conclude that the Demon Empire’s army was heading toward Shalyh for sure. Again, there would be no legitimate reason for the army to follow the route they did.

What was the reason the Demon Empire’s army was taking a roundabout path when there was a path that could get them to Shalyh faster? Last time they invaded Shalyh, they took the fastest route possible. What changed?

“Maybe they are wary of the bridgehead that the leader of the Seven Stars has secured recently. Isn’t an Cassiubia League army stationed around that area?” Dalgil said while glancing at Chi-Woo. Since the bridgehead that humanity and the Cassiubia League had secured wasn’t far from Shalyh, the Demon Empire might be trying to prevent the scenario where they were surrounded by enemies on both sides.

“You have a point, but…I still don’t understand,” said Ismile. “There are many other paths. Do they really have to make that much of a detour?”

Dalgil seemed to have no answer and simply licked his lips. “That’s true…that must mean they have another goal…”

“But isn’t it too early to say things like we are screwed and spout other profanities like that, which would only heighten people’s sense of worry?” It was then a high-pitched voice of a soprano spoke up. “I mean, even though the Demon Empire has started moving, their destination is still unclear.” Apoline tilted her head while crossing her arms and continued, “Of course, there’s a high possibility that they are after Shalyh considering their marching route, but they could also be planning to change directions and head toward the Abyss or the Sernitas.”

Although that seemed highly unlikely, Ismile didn’t say anything because the Demon Empire could really be heading towards the Sernitas on their way to help exterminate Chi-Hyun, who was now trapped in the Sernitas’ Sky Castle. Of course, if things really went that way, humanity and the Cassiubia League wouldn’t stay still, but…Ismile wasn’t completely sure what would happen.

“And even if they’re coming towards Shalyh, I think it’ll be alright. Shalyh is a holy city protected by the White Horse General, and we’ve already given the main forces of the Demon Empire a crushing defeat once. Moreover, our situation is much better now than back then.” Apoline continued in a bright voice, “Although it would be great if they didn’t come here, it doesn’t matter either way. If those demons are crawling into a holy sanctuary on their own to become easy prey for us, is there any reason for us to stop them?” A couple of participants seemed to agree with her resolute attitude.

Ismile stared at Apoline, brimming with confidence, and made a bitter smile.

One of Apoline’s eyebrows went up seeing that. “What is it? Why are you smiling like that?”

“…No, it’s just,” Ismile said in a more subdued voice. “I agree it would be great if that were the extent of our problems.”

“If that were the extent…?” Apoline frowned. “What do you mea—”

“Oh, it’s here.” Apoline’s question was interrupted by Ismile’s exclaim that the call he’d been waiting for had finally come. “Now, let’s listen to it together.” As soon as he put the call on speaker mode, a desperate cry rang through the office.

–Sir, I-I have urgent news to report!

“Calm down first,” Ismile said calmly. “You said you’d call me soon. Why are you so late? You simply had to estimate the size of the Demon Empire’s army.”

–Sir, it’s immeasurable!

“…What?” Ismile’s eyebrow twitched.

–There are so many! There are way too many!

The ringing voice shouted in what was closer to screaming.

–The number of great demons identified so far has exceeded 10 and is close to 20! Most of the single-digit ranking great demons appear to have come out, and at the forefront, the first-rank Bael has…!

Sharp intake of breath could be heard all around the office. Everyone in attendance looked shocked. They had heard that the Demon Empire had gathered their forces on an unusually large scale, but never imagined it would be to such an extent. If this information was true, it was safe to say that a great army had been gathered at an unprecedented level.

“Okay, I got it. I’ll get back to you later.” Ismile ended the call with a sigh and put on a smile. “So how about it?” He looked at Apoline, whose eyes had widened in shock. “The number of great demons alone amounts to twenty; it’s also led by Bael, who is the first-rank great demon. This means there are at least tens of thousands of soldiers under Bael’s command…” If what the caller said was true, the Demon Empire had bared their fangs with all they had. They were determined to end everything here. Before, they seemed to be thinking, ‘It’s time to step on humanity once’, but now, they were declaring their clear intention to ‘exterminate them at all costs’.

“S-so what about it?” Apoline stammered. “Even so, don’t we have a good chance if we fight them inside the sanctuary? Of course, since the forces at Shalyh might not be enough, we need to get help from the League.” Although she sounded slightly flustered compared to before, she didn’t back down from her main argument.

“Well, that could be the case… Hmm? Apu, wait a moment. I just got another call.”

“Another call right after? Don’t tell me that the Demon Empire got additional troops—”

“No, it’s not a call about the Demon Empire. This caller is not in charge of that area.”

“…What?”

While Ismile turned on the device, saying they should wait for now, several participants were nodding and agreeing with what Apoline had said. Although they were appalled by the size of the Demon Empire’s army, they thought it was worth a shot if they fought inside the sanctuary. As Apoilne said, that was if they could expect reinforcement from the Cassiubian Mountain Range.

“What happ—”

—Urgent news! Sir, urgent news to report!”

—The Abyss has launched a military attack!

All thoughts vanished from the attendees’ minds when they heard that.

—The Abyss is leading a large army and advancing at an alarming speed towards Shalyh!

—Among the Two Monarchs Two-Six Alliance, the King of the Abyss and the Seven Chasms…!

Everyone froze; there was no other way to describe their reaction. As soon as news of the Abyss’ deployment was revealed, all movements in the office stopped. No one even made a sound.

“W-What…why would the Abyss all of a sudden…?” Apoline couldn’t even speak properly at the unexpected news. “Uh…perhaps, are they planning to go to war against the Demon Empire…?”

With a haggard face, Emmanuel also seemed lost. A dire possibility came to mind, but it would be too much to accept as reality. Judging by how Dalgil closed his eyes and breathed deeply, it seemed as if he was trying hard to calm down. The others were also frozen in shock and could only gape. Their reactions were only natural, given the Abyss had sent out their forces in addition to the Demon Empire.

The Demon Empire alone would be fine. Although they were surprised to hear about the scale of their army, it wasn’t enough to put them in despair. If the League came to help them out, they thought it would be worthwhile to put up a fight with their fate on the line. However, the story changed if the Abyss was joining the Demon Empire.

It would be overwhelming enough to deal with one single force even if they put in all their effort, but now they had to fight two forces at once? The mere thought of it was completely ridiculous. Even more so considering the Abyss was the second-largest faction after the Sernitas and had always maintained an upper hand against the Demon Empire.

“Calm down. Did you confirm their route?” While everyone was speechless, Ismile listened to the call further and marked the Abyss’ route on the map. “Pweh, all right. So according to the news that just came in—” As soon as he was about to say something while looking at the map, he paused again. Another call came in.

“This is…?” Ismile frowned and hurriedly accepted the call.

—Reporting!

—From the Sernitas side, an unknown floating island big enough to cover the sky is moving towards Shalyh…!

Ismile’s expression stiffened. The news seemed to have made even him lose his composure. There was a moment of silence.

As everyone clearly heard the call, Apoline cried out, “W-What the hell is happening…!”

However, no one blamed her—no, they couldn’t because even Alice, who had remained calm until now, jumped up from her seat. The Sernitas had made their move after the Demon Empire and the Abyss. The Senitas was the most powerful faction that once stood firm against attacks from the other three factions. Chi-Woo showed the same reaction. Since he had somewhat anticipated such a situation, he remained calm until the news of Abyss’ deployment, but he couldn’t hide his dismay after hearing about the Sernitas. The unknown floating island was clearly the Sky Castle.

Chi-Hyun had definitely dropped the Sky Castle from the sky before, and they had even taken all the toharis, which were acting as an internal combustion engine. But above all, Chi-Hyun had said he would stay behind and break the Sky Castle apart. The re-emergence of the Sky Castle despite all that could only mean…the Sernitas had succeeded in reactivating the engine. In other words, his older brother had failed to destroy the Sky Castle.

‘Then Chi-Hyun has…’ Was he alive or dead? Maybe he had escaped before it was too late… Chi-Woo clenched his teeth. He felt like his head would explode if he dwelled on the possibility further, so he forced it aside and shook off his concerns; for now, he had to focus on the present.

“The route is…well, I see.” After marking the Sernitas’ route, Ismile looked up at the map blankly. “…Yes, I see it now.” He murmured to himself and slowly moved his quill pen. “If you connect these three routes…” Then as Ismile said, they were able to see a connection. If one drew a straight line along each of the routes the three factions were taking, there was a point where the three lines met, which was ‘coincidentally’ not far from Shalyh.

“So let me pose a question.” Ismile made a hollow laugh and pressed the quill pen into the intersection. “Are the Demon Empire, the Abyss, and Sernitas meeting at this point because they have agreed to gather here for a battle—” He continued in a low tone while looking at the map, “Or because the three armies planned to use this place as a halfway point to gather their forces and—” He suddenly drew a vertical line with the quill pen. “To go south so that they can destroy everything in one fell swoop?” The line fell straight through Shalyh, as if it was splitting the top of a person’s head in half.

They heard a loud thud. It was the sound of Mangil, who came with Dalgil, falling on his butt. His legs gave out, and he gaped with a stunned face. Nobody wanted to believe it. While everyone was speechless, Ru Amuh managed to open his mouth and conclude, “It’s a…coalition.” It sounded like he was forcing his emotions down with great difficulty.

“Why…? Why on earth…?” Apoline, who had been shouting for battle, became pale. She repeated the same lines while looking white as a sheet.

“…I told you,” Ismile said in a slightly hollow voice. “I think we might be fu…no, that’s not it.” With the news they got, he could say it for sure, “We’re **ed. Without a doubt.”