Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 171
Northern Front (3)
Even under the reigns of the previous tsars, who were at the peak of luxury and pleasure, the Northern Front was continuously improved by some loyal noble families.
Representative parts of these are bridges and caves that were built to allow quick movement between front lines.
The knee-high snowfields and steep mountain slopes were a natural defensive barrier but also impeded the movement of friendly forces, which the Tsardom overcame through decades of construction.
Lucia didn’t know that either. The problem is that even using those bridges and caves, it would take more than ten days to reach the center of the front line.
Even at the eastern edge of the front line, two demons attacked.
It would not be strange at all to say that the number targeting the central region is more than ten times that number.
“It will take some time, but the central front will be fine.”
It was Felber who answered Lucia’s concerns.
The most spacious back seat on a sled. The old man opened his half-closed eyes for meditation and spoke.
“The center of the northern front is the capital of Eklahim, the largest city in the northern part of the continent and a huge fortress in itself. “There is a reason why that place has not fallen for hundreds of years.”
“For what reason?”
“The Frost Throne of Eclahim Palace is a relic older than the history of this country. “You will see it soon.”
Felber grins and looks straight ahead.
His expression looked like a grandfather covering a gift with wrapping paper and raising his child’s expectations.
Lucia, who does not like this type of question and answer, frowned, but then shook her head and lost interest.
“Anyway, wizards…”
Dallon chuckled as he heard her mumble.
Although Felber was quite mischievous, as he said, the royal capital of Eklahim will be alive and well for a while.
The current Tsarina was a strong person who could not be defeated even by the transcendents of the Labyrinth City, and if the extraordinary Noble Phantasm called the Frost Throne was added, her abilities would be more than doubled.
Even if the evil god Shun came directly, he had enough power to last a week.
Of course, it was a flaw that I literally just ‘held on’.
‘That’s why we need reinforcements.’
The strategy was like this.
Moving from the eastern end of the front to the center, they visit major forts and strongholds one by one to summon troops.
The first step of the plan was to gather all available personnel on the eastern side of the defense line and deploy them to Eklahim, the center of the front line.
In fact, it was an incredibly ignorant idea that completely emptied one side of the defense line and concentrated all of its power into one fortress.
However, as the saying goes, ‘fight back like a fool’, it was necessary to break away from the concept of general strategy in order to deal with fighting fanatics.
In fact, out of the hundreds of times, the only times we managed to stop the great northern offensive until the very end were all times when we defended the royal capital of Eklahim in this way.
[Hmm… It’s difficult to understand as a common sense strategy, but I think it would be the most appropriate method to deal with Shun. If he were to see the northern forces gathered in one place, he would attack like a dog in heat.]
The elder dragon beyond the image also seemed to agree with the plan.
Somehow, there are a lot of bones in the words, but that may be because the Dragon Clan and Xun are almost enemies in the setting.
“Then the problem is how to persuade the nobles.”
said Craig Widloff, executive officer of the task force.
“The lords and subjects of the fortress I was in were full of old people, but they were very weak in terms of ability and mentality. However, the further you go inside the battle lines, the more capable nobles will be sitting in the castle lord’s seats. There is no way they will agree to withdrawing the troops from the defense line, so what should I do…”
Craig lost in thought, his eyes shining.
Dallen quietly scratched his chin. They were in a relatively safe frontier fortress, but were called up as reinforcements and went on an expedition.
Of course he felt bad, but Craig didn’t show any such feelings.
“Hehe. Yes, it has to be at this level to be romantic. Romance…”
On the contrary, it seemed like he was enjoying this situation, as he often twitched the corner of his mouth like he did now.
The friendly local guy from when we first met is gone, and the agent with an unknown source of madness still remains in his hard body.
In any case, this is better than being immersed in grief.
And contrary to Craig’s worries, Dallon had barely even thought about persuasion.
If his prediction is correct, the important thing in this plan was not persuasion.
“Ah, Aslfar Fortress has fallen!”
At that time, the skirmisher who had gone ahead returned to the sleigh and reported.
Is it because the skirmishers’ faces turned white? Although the voice was not loud, it was somehow overheard and a stir quickly spread among the soldiers.
As we advanced a little further with our reinforcements, we saw smoke rising from the half-ruined fortress further down the mountainside.
Dallen said as he got off the sleigh.
“Old man. Please camp nearby. “I will take a look around.”
Survivors of the collapsed fortress.
It was time to go and get at least a handful of reinforcements.
***
Ruined Aslfar Fortress.
Although it is located on the eastern edge of the front, it is a fortress that is incomparably stronger than the fortress from which Dallon departed.
The double walls and dozens of water-based weapons are reminiscent of the fortresses of the Holy Knights that were blocking the cracks.
This probably means that at least this level of preparation is necessary to block the forces of corrupt northerners and monsters.
Kwasik.
Trample the remains of the burned-out catapult and enter the fortress.
The collapsed castle wall cannot prevent the invasion of even a single person, let alone a powerful demon.
“There’s no one there.”
Lucia muttered shakily.
It was quiet inside the fortress. There wasn’t even a single monster in sight, let alone a devil.
It is absolutely not normal to not see even a body, let alone a survivor, amidst this level of destruction.
And less than five minutes after heading to the center of the fortress with Lucia, the reason revealed itself.
Rustle.
A shadow writhing in the shadows of collapsed rubble.
“Kaaaa!”
A soldier jumps out from the shadows screaming, holding a broken sword and aiming for Dallen’s neck.
Dallen quietly reached out and grabbed the guy’s neck. The soldier, whose leash was so easily caught, let out a growl and glared at Dallen.
Eyes turned red.
Long, overgrown nails.
The horns and thorns that grew through the chain armor here and there were proof that it had already completely mutated and could not be used.
Kak! Kak!
He repeatedly stabs Dallen with the broken sword, but there is not even a scratch on his muscles that are harder than steel and his tough skin.
Dallen tightened his grip a little. There was a crunching sound and the soldier’s body went limp.
But even for a moment.
“Kyaaaaaaa! “Kaaaak!”
The soldier raised his eyes brightly as if he was lying about dying and started gritting his teeth at Dallan.
The body with flailing limbs and the head with clashing teeth were completely separated and became two monsters.
This is why there were almost no corpses on the streets while the walls collapsed and buildings were destroyed.
They were all revived by the influence of hell’s magic and were hiding quietly waiting for their prey.
The evil magic flowing from the center of the fortress covered the entire inside of the walls.
Because of the dense flow of magical power, the presence of these small monsters was difficult to notice until they got quite close.
“It’s not serious. “If this is the case…there’s probably a hell gate not far away.”
Dallen nodded. He threw away the soldier who had become a monster.
“Keueeek! Kahak!”
Quagwang! Crrrrr!
The thing that was flailing its arms and legs until the very end stopped moving only after it crashed into a stone wall, shattered, and was buried in a pile of rubble.
***
The sticky magic power became more concentrated as we walked deeper into the fortress.
At the same time, people similar to the soldier monsters I first killed began to appear in large numbers.
A lowly soldier with a broken skull holding a spear knife.
A trumpeter who attacks with his internal organs eaten and his empty stomach left open.
As we went a little further, our path was blocked by strange monsters made of several bodies attached together and giant bugs made of internal organs and bone fragments.
Even though they did not die at all, there were soldiers who were contaminated by hell magic and completely lost their humanity.
“At this level of contamination…it is virtually as good as dead. My soul and body were completely tainted by the energy of hell. “You can think of it as a monster, not a survivor.”
When asked if there was a way to bring back the contaminated soldiers, Lucia shook her head with a bitter expression.
Dealing with the mutants themselves was not difficult.
For two people who could cut down demons with their single body, these seemingly vicious monsters were literally less than a fistful of distance.
After advancing without much difficulty, the two discovered the blazing Hell Gate in the middle of the fortress’ central square.
“…Oh God.”
“It’s a gate to hell opened by the devil himself. Is that right?”
“you’re right. If the warlock’s hell gate is a gate that closes after pouring out a certain level of monsters or demons through a large amount of sacrifices and contracts… the devils, the residents of that hell, break through the passage itself.”
They had both seen the Gates of Hell themselves, but this was their first time encountering something like this.
The Gates of Hell glowing in the shape of a dark red ring.
Due to the strange magical power emanating from there, the square was already colored with colors that were no different from hell itself.
Unlike the results of black magic, the devil’s gates of hell never close alone.
As if it were alive in itself, it absorbed all the surrounding spirits and vitality and used it as power.
Its most core feature is that it once again pollutes its surroundings with the power it gains.
If warlocks opened the gates of hell simply to gain power and military power, the gates of hell opened by the devil had a different purpose.
Transforming the environment into a better place for demons and monsters to live.
Because the ultimate goal of the devils was to turn places that were not hell into hell.
“You did well to defeat the troops you led. An ordinary person would turn into a monster just by entering the walls of the fortress.”
It will be difficult for there to be any survivors. Instead of answering Lucia’s muttered words, Dallon pulled out the holy sword from his waist and swung it lightly.
Quack!
The empty space is cut off, and scales of unique colors scatter in all directions, sparkling with light.
Dallen raised his hand and caught the spear that was stabbing from behind the concealment tool.
Heavy texture. It was a spear strike from someone who had honed his weapon skills to the limit.
The man whose surprise attack failed immediately retreated, drew his sword, and shouted.
“The devil’s minions that will tear and kill! “In the name of the Special Forces Executive Officer, I must…?”
A cry that didn’t last until the end.
Bloodshot eyes shake violently.
“Ah, you weren’t the devil’s minion…? The paladin next to me…huh? “Huh?”
A man stuttering in embarrassment. It was not difficult to realize the intention of the surprise attack.
They probably misunderstood Dallen, who was covered in blood and flesh from dealing with the monsters, as a servant of the devil, and tried to kill him.
To begin with, the man himself was a spherical figure.
It wasn’t just a chance meeting on the street, it was a co-worker with whom I had been going through ups and downs for several weeks.
“It’s been a while. Censor Roman Barkov. Is that right?”
“That’s right. Dallen…”
Although his bloodshot eyes and hair were caked with blood and sweat, I could recognize him.
The immediate subordinate of Executor Sasha Taran, who died while protecting his subordinates in the labyrinth.
The man was a companion who had joined the expedition into the labyrinth to thwart the rebels’ plan to summon the demon Calchas.
“I’m so sorry! “It’s definitely not intentional, but you really look like a monster… no, that’s not it!”
“…I’ll hear about that later.”
Dallen lowered the holy sword while rubbing his eyebrows, which were itching for some reason.
After shattering the Hell Gate with a blue flash, he looked around the square and asked.
“Are there any other survivors in this fortress besides you?”
172