“Stand at ease and give me a report on the battle.”
At the mention of the battle, Mars’s weathered face showed several traces of heaviness and pain.
At the same time, his voice was a bit hoarse.
“The Abyssal Rift has now reached its limit of tolerance. No more Abyssal Demons will be descending here. However, Sand Fortress has completely fallen, and the survivors inside… amount to less than ten percent.”
“What?!”
Hearing that less than ten percent had survived inside the fortress, Nola stepped forward, disbelief written all over her face.
“You have the Eye of Divine Sight, and a powerful Imperial Army and Order of Knights. Even if you couldn’t kill those Abyssal Demons, just containing them in a small area should have been more than enough. So how could the fortress fall?”
Aside from their cunning and deceitful nature, Abyssal Demons were especially difficult to deal with because their bodies were made of Abyssal magic. Ordinary people simply couldn’t kill them.
But being unable to kill them didn’t mean they couldn’t be seriously injured.
As long as their heads, hearts, or vital organs were destroyed, even if they tried to resurrect, it would take time.
And if killing them was impossible, the Empire could at least imprison them.
In Nola’s imagination, with the Empire’s formidable military strength, there was no way a fortress would fall to demons.
However, her question seemed to stump Mars.
The seasoned Third Imperial Army commander showed an embarrassed expression and stammered as he explained:
“Well… it was mainly because some people were reckless and eager to take credit…”
Before he could finish, a portly nobleman emerged from behind him.
He stroked the thin beard on his cheek and sneered sharply:
“Hmph! When has the Norwich Empire ever needed you to criticize how we do things?”
“Besides, no matter what, we still trapped those demons inside Sand Fortress. If it were you, you might not even manage that.”
The nobleman then fixed his gaze on the girls behind Isavel.
“And those nursing babes—are they really here to fight the Abyssal Demons? The legendary Rose Knights who supposedly save the world don’t seem all that impressive.”
“Cassiu! Shut your mouth!”
Mars turned sharply and scolded him, but the nobleman named Cassiu was unfazed.
He let out a cold snort that made Mars’s eyebrows shoot up in frustration.
On the other side, the Rose Knights were naturally displeased by Cassiu’s mockery, but with Isavel present, they couldn’t just jump in and verbally spar.
Besides, when a dog bites you, do you have to bite back?
Isavel, however, was not affected by Cassiu’s attitude. She covered her mouth with a smile and said:
“Commander Mars, it seems the Norwich Empire is suffering from intense internal conflicts, and the nobles hold quite a bit of prejudice against the Rose Knights.”
“Please forgive us for providing you with a spectacle. Empire nobles are very concerned with their face; I hope you won’t mind.”
At this, Mars bowed in apology.
Looking at his graying hair, Isavel finally understood why the Norwich Empire, despite its powerful military, could not withstand the demon onslaught and lost Sand Fortress.
Internal discord makes even the greatest strength useless.
And the fact that noble Cassiu ridiculed the Rose Knights was also understandable.
No matter how weak their forces seemed, their soldiers were all above level 20.
If a group of fifteen-level girls claimed they could exterminate all the demons those soldiers couldn’t, wouldn’t that make them look incompetent?
As nobles, where else could they put their pride?
On top of that, the fat, pig-like Emperor of Norwich was surely manipulating things behind the scenes—after all, there was still an Oath between them.
“Sir, this way please. Let’s discuss the remaining matters in detail.”
Under Mars’s lead, Isavel entered the main tent of the army camp and began discussing the demon-clearing plan with several generals and aides.
She was not alone, bringing eight of the Rose Knights’ girl squad leaders with her.
That’s right. For this demon purge, she decided to have the forty girls operate in groups of five.
But unlike in the Golden Dungeon, this time the teams would have to do their utmost to assist each other.
Mars then proceeded to explain the situation in detail.
Sand Fortress now served as the demons’ stronghold.
Our side has the Eye of Divine Sight, which can monitor all enemy movements and use its power to trap the Abyssal Demons within Sand Fortress, preventing their escape.
At the same time, the demons used the Abyssal magic overflowing from the Rift’s seal to shroud the entire Sand Fortress.
Under this magical oppression, any mortal over level 25 cannot enter.
Many noble private armies and the Norwich Third Imperial Army have attempted to enter Sand Fortress, but soldiers below level 25 quickly lost contact inside and became demon fodder.
According to the Eye of Divine Sight’s survey, there are a total of 132 demons in Sand Fortress.
They do not have an army’s discipline and mostly roam within the fortress hunting hidden survivors.
The west and south gates of the fortress are unguarded by demons.
The Rose Knights’ mission is to enter through these two gates and purge the Abyssal Demons inside.
The girls in the Rose Knights are blessed by the Saintess. When they kill a demon, it cannot resurrect on its own.
“Oh, by the way, Saintess, the Oath with His Majesty still stands, right? If the Rose Knights fail to clear the Abyssal Demons this time, you will have to hand over the training rights.”
Cassiu seemed to suddenly think of something and interrupted Mars.
Isavel nodded.
“Of course it stands. But the Oath has a condition: these Abyssal Demons must all be low-level demons. That was agreed upon when the Oath was made.”
At the meeting a month ago, the Tower Master of the Archmage Tower had said that the demons coming into the human world were all low-level. It was on this premise that the Oath was established.
If that proved untrue, she naturally had the right to annul the Oath.
“No problem. However, since it is an Oath, the Empire will not provide any assistance or rescue to the Rose Knights when they enter Sand Fortress to clear the demons.”
“Even if they escape the fortress and are killed by demons just meters in front of us, we will not intervene. I hope you understand.”
Cassiu chuckled, and his words caused the other nobles and aides in the tent to exchange glances and murmur among themselves. Mars frowned deeply, nearly bursting out in anger.
Leanna stared daggers at Cassiu, flames of fury burning in her eyes, as did the other girls.
Nola, however, lost her patience and abruptly stood up, saying:
“This is too much, isn’t it? An Oath is an Oath, demons are demons, and the Abyss is our common enemy. What you’re doing is truly disheartening.”
“Duchess Nola, we are simply respecting the fairness of the Oath. Of course, if the Saintess admits defeat now, we could still offer assistance.”
Cassiu glanced at the girls behind Isavel and sneered:
“After all, although no one says it aloud, everyone knows the current Rose Knights aren’t ready. They simply cannot stand against those Abyssal Demons.”