Chapter 185: Intercept

As winter arrived, the warm monsoon had already subsided, but the lingering heat would help the Demon Race’s northern cities get through this period.

The central southern region wasn’t cold at all.

There was no need for the monsoon to bring warmth here because the ‘Blazing Furnace’ was nearby.

But for that very reason—

“Did you hear? We’re going to the Snowfield this time.”

“What’s the Snowfield?”

“It’s a place where it snows all day and the mountains are buried in snow.”

“Uh… what’s snow?”

This was a conversation happening at the army assembly point.

Those living in the warmest part of the Demon Race, the central southern region, had never seen snow in their entire lives.

“What’s with all the noise? Shut up!”

The Lord of Central Southern Town walked over, scolding the whispering soldiers.

He was one of the local Nobles leading this campaign.

He had just returned from a meeting in Dark Star City yesterday and had hurried to prepare everything.

Dispatching troops to attack the south was certainly a thankless and strenuous task, but he was more afraid of the Noblewoman of Thorns from Bright Cross Star City continuing northward.

Yes, at the meeting in Dark Star City, the Noblewoman of Thorns shared the information she had.

Although there were some more plausible speculations, until actual evidence was found, everyone could only accept this fact—

We are fighting an unprecedented Succubus.

Don’t ask what kind of Succubus. If you must know, it’s a pink-haired thunderbolt.

His thoughts returned to the present.

The Lord looked at his numerous but worrisome soldiers.

In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to punish them—after all, they were his own household troops.

“Stop complaining. No one wants to go to the Snowfield. If we can trap the enemy inside the city, we won’t have to chase them onto the Snowfield. So move quickly when the time comes!”

“And, important people from Dark Star City will send experts to join.”

***

To the north, deep within the Demon Race’s territory, Dark Star City.

Four experts matching the ranks of generals like Yan Po had already been selected.

Coincidentally, there were four of them, and they barely resembled humans at all.

They had already set out ahead of the others.

Apart from these four, there was also a special being even stronger than them.

Beneath the gates of Dark Star City stood an unremarkable man, with few non-human features on his body.

In this largest city of the Demon Race, no one even glanced at him as he walked down the street.

Yet he was ranked among the top experts of the entire Demon Race, known as the Blade Demon.

When traveling, he didn’t need to carry his own luggage—a servant nearby handled it for him.

The Noblewoman of Thorns personally escorted him to the city gates.

She spoke, “Your mission is special. I believe you already know. The one you’re matched against is not one of those four traitors, but a certain missing person. With your strength, if you can survive against him, your mission is considered complete.”

The Blade Demon’s mission was to force Demon King Aio out.

Whether he could truly survive was another matter—but he believed he could.

The Noblewoman of Thorns pulled a birdcage from behind her, grasped the Crow inside, and thorny vines grew from her arm, tightly binding the Crow.

Sharp thorns pierced its body, madly draining its blood.

“Ga! Squeak!”

After two screams, the Crow stopped moving.

But a few seconds later, it opened its eyes again, its pupils a dead, gray color.

This scene left the servant dumbfounded.

“It will follow you and report everything to me.”

With that, the Noblewoman of Thorns turned and left.

After she was completely gone, the Blade Demon called out to his servant and prepared to set off.

The servant glanced nervously at the Crow circling nearby.

“That lady uses this thing to send messages… isn’t it a bit too wasteful?”

It wasn’t about being cruel—Demon Race people didn’t care about that.

The main thing was, every time a message was sent, a carefully raised Crow had to be killed.

Wasn’t that extravagant and wasteful?

As a fellow worker, he empathized with the servant who raised Crows for the Noblewoman of Thorns.

The Blade Demon stopped and looked at him.

“You’re from out of town?”

The servant tensed up.

“Yes, yes, I’m from Wei Town.”

Wei Town was one of several military strongholds guarding Dark Star City.

Compared to Dark Star City, it was certainly a rural place.

The Blade Demon snorted.

“I know. You outsiders have followed Demon King Aio’s rules for decades, but remember this now—we people of Dark Star City have our own noble elegance. That is the proof of our bloodline.”

Simply put, how can one show Noble status without a bit of extravagance and waste?

Only a country bumpkin like Aio, who rose to power overnight, would preach ‘use everything to its fullest,’ calling it pragmatism. Ha, utterly ridiculous.

“Understood, sir!”

***

“Understood?”

Ella spoke earnestly.

“Let your dad leave in peace. We really don’t need him here.”

Last time, after suggesting a defensive annihilation battle, Celes suddenly remembered there weren’t many troops inside the city and came running to ask if she should call her dad to bring soldiers back.

Ella hurried to explain.

Our previous battles were mainly for territorial control, so armies were the main force.

But in the coming annihilation battle, the main goal was to eliminate high-value local targets and strike at vital forces, so we top experts would become the key players.

“Understood.”

Celes nodded lightly, murmuring,

“So this is what it means for priorities to differ…”

Ella didn’t know if she really understood, but as long as she didn’t cause trouble, it was fine.

Currently, with the defense setup in Bright Cross Star City, both the Elven and Human Race armies had withdrawn, but they could support the two major territories at any time.

“After this battle, I need to return to Church Headquarters.”

Leah said,

“Send someone to establish a branch.”

As expected of the Saint, even after finishing the baptism, she hadn’t forgotten her official duties.

Vina cupped her chin in both hands, her peach-blossom eyes swirling.

“So we’re considered missing from the kingdom’s side for a while now. I wonder how long General Glengo can hold out.”

What the higher-ups were doing was hard to say, but the Magic Court was probably going crazy.

Everyone had a reason to go back at some point, so Ella actually hoped they would hurry and come.

***

Finally, on the seventh day after occupying Bright Cross Star City, enemy traces were spotted from the Watchtower on Locust Tree Mountain.

On duty, Bouer rushed back to report, nearly rattling his bones apart.

“Lady Ella, they’ve arrived. By the look of things, over ten thousand at least, moving quickly, but their formation is a mess.”

The numbers were intimidating, but from the formation alone, it was obvious they weren’t elite troops.

“If they’re not relying on the army’s combat strength, they must have brought a lot of top experts.”

Ella asked, “Can you pick them out?”

Bouer shook his head.

It wasn’t his fault—many Demon Race people looked flashy on the outside.

Some had bones sticking out from their shoulders, some had extra heads, and quite a few common soldiers looked more remarkable than their commanders.

“It’s fine. We’ll know once the fight starts.”

Ella stood up and called for the girls of the Hero Squad, heading for the Locust Tree Mountain front line to meet the enemy.