He made preparations. Sergei first summoned the leader of the assassins.
"How is the situation below? Carvingstone."
The assassin called Carvingstone bowed his head respectfully. Of course, the name Carvingstone was clearly an alias. An assassin must never reveal his true identity no matter what happens. He extended his hand and pointed to something like a white fog.
"First, that place right there is the barrier erected by the dragons. Inside it, the monsters from the time of the Dark War are swarming in tremendous numbers."
His pointing fingertip was trembling slightly. Sergei turned his head and could sense that fear had unknowingly seeped into Carvingstone's face. He was an assassin trained so harshly that his humanity had been erased. For such a person to feel fear was an exceedingly rare occurrence, but it wasn't impossible to guess why. Having realized something, Sergei nodded.
'No wonder. Most of the assassins I dispatched were swallowed up by that barrier….'
The damage to the assassins sent for reconnaissance was far greater than that to the main force. No matter how much hellish training they had received, they could not demonstrate power equal to Sword Masters. Of course, not many had died at the Ice Lake. Assassins typically wore no armor and carried little baggage. The problem was the mountain path where Ice Trolls appeared. While crossing the peak, a staggering fifty-plus assassins were taken by Ice Trolls. If there had been more Ice Trolls, the assassins would certainly have been wiped out without crossing the peak. Due to the unique habits of monsters, Ice Trolls don't think about hunting once their stomachs are full.
Even after facing Ice Trolls that had taken over fifty of his subordinates, Carvingstone had shown no particular fear. Yet he felt extreme, exceptional terror toward the barrier. Sergei couldn't help but be filled with curiosity.
"What kinds of monsters were there?"
Carvingstone hesitated briefly before beginning his report.
"The most numerous were Ghouls. Wights and Specters also appeared frequently. What was strange was that, compared to ordinary Ghouls or Wights, their combat strength was extremely high. Well-trained operatives could not handle even a single monster—that was the extent of it."
"Is that so?"
Sergei tilted his head as if he couldn't understand. The monsters Carvingstone had mentioned were indeed the combatants that made up the majority of the Dark Army, but strictly speaking, they could not be considered very powerful. Of course, they were stronger than the lowest-grade undead monster, the Skeleton.
The greatest strength of the Army of Darkness was unquestionably its numbers. Ghouls or Specters had truly negligible combat strength compared to well-trained human or orc soldiers. A single human soldier could easily handle two or three Ghouls……. There was no need to even mention Wights or Specters, which were weaker than Ghouls.
But the true might of the Army of Darkness was revealed in the fact that its individual combatants feared death not at all, and in its ability to create great numbers in an instant. Even if they suffered many casualties, as long as they won the battle, their forces could be replenished in the blink of an eye. They could even create new soldiers from the corpses of dead enemies.
Of course, the abilities of assassins could never match those of Sword Masters. But it was undeniable that they possessed far superior combat strength compared to ordinary soldiers. For such assassins to be unable to handle even a single Ghoul or Wight……. Sergei could not help but be surprised.
"Surprising. Were there no others? I mean high-ranking undead like Death Knights or Dark Shades."
"There were none of those. But peculiarly, a few Dullahans appeared."
A Dullahan is an undead in the form of a knight, holding its own head in one hand and a longsword caked with red rust in the other. Of course, there was nothing above its severed neck. It harbored deep hatred for the living, so it could be said to be a cruel undead that knew only blood and slaughter. Of course, it was a being incomparable to a Death Knight with its outstanding intellect, but in terms of pure combat strength alone, the Dullahan was powerful enough to rival an ordinary Death Knight.
Sergei's eyebrows twitched at Carvingstone's words.
"A Dullahan……. I'm surprised that such a rare creature exists there."
Of course, there was nothing to worry about. Though he had lost a few to Ice Trolls, close to two hundred Sword Masters remained under his command. Among them, there was not a single weakling who would fall to something like a Dullahan. All of them were capable of unleashing Aura Blades—such were the powerful warriors.
"If there are no Death Knights or Dark Shades, breaking through won't be so difficult."
Sighing in relief at the fact that the beings he had worried about most were absent, Sergei immediately ordered the knights to descend the mountain. It didn't matter how many low-rank monsters like Ghouls or Wights there were. With the forces at his disposal, they could easily wipe out and break through such monsters……. As he descended, Sergei recalled what he knew about the two monsters that had concerned him most.
Death Knight. An undead born by infusing the soul of a knight who wandered the living world due to resentment with the power of darkness. The more dark mana it was granted, the stronger its combat strength became, and sometimes it displayed abilities exceeding those it had in life. But in ordinary cases, Death Knights displayed about 70% of the abilities they had possessed before death. This was because Demon Kings often used Death Kings as commanders to lead low-ranked combatants. The dark mana that a Demon King could mobilize had clear limits, and to command a large number of undead soldiers required a considerable number of Death Knights; thus, Demon Kings tended to prefer quantity over quality. For this reason, most Death Knights were so weak that they couldn't hope to be a match for Sword Masters. Not only did their unique black magic not work at all, but a Sword Master's Aura Blade could cleave through a Death Knight's sturdy body with ease.
However, there were exceptions……. Occasionally, very occasionally, beings appeared that defied expectation and logic, unbelievably strong. They were called [Master-class Death Knights]. They were so strong that even Sword Masters couldn't handle them. Master-class Death Knights wielded formidable Aura Blades using dark mana in addition to their trademark powerful black magic. An undead with truly terrifying combat strength had been born.
During the Dark War, numerous Sword Masters lost their lives to them. In other words, it wouldn't be wrong to view them as powerful secret weapons the Demon King had created to oppose Sword Masters. The secret lay in using dead Sword Masters to create Death Knights.
Of course, that was no easy task even for a Demon King. First, since the target was a Sword Master who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, their pride was bound to be immense. Such individuals would never easily submit to a Demon King—even as dead souls. Moreover, even if they were subdued after tremendous effort, to make them possess the abilities they had in life required an enormous amount of dark mana. The dark power needed to transform a single dead Sword Master was enough to create a hundred ordinary Death Knights……. Therefore, to create a single Master-class Death Knight required accepting a corresponding drain on military strength.
Nevertheless, the Great Demon King Naidel Hark continuously created Master-class Death Knights. There was no existence more suitable for opposing Sword Masters. Recalling that, Sergei's expression darkened and sank.
"Even the Sword Masters of the mighty Croseina Knight Order were insufficient against them. It took two or more fighting together just to barely contend with a single Master-class Death Knight."
That wasn't the only difficult part. Another secret weapon the Demon King's army had possessed during the Dark War was the Dark Shade. It was a spirit of darkness ranked quite highly in the demon world, one of the few powerful monsters capable of operating in the human world.
Summoning one was so difficult that only a Necromancer exceeding at least the 7th Circle could call one from the demon world, but it possessed commensurate power. Its characteristics included a gigantic stature reaching 3 meters, and large wings like a mantle that could wrap around its entire body. Additionally, its long claws couldn't be cut by Aura Blades, and they carried a powerful poison that paralyzed the body on contact—these were its basic weapons. Like most demon world monsters, physical attacks hardly worked on it, but attacks by Aura Blades or holy power inflicted serious damage. However, it could fly freely and its movements were swift, so knights capable of opposing Dark Shades were rare.
In other words, unless one was a Sword Master, it was impossible to stop a Dark Shade one-on-one. Of course, the most powerful monster was the Balrog summoned by the Demon King, but due to the limitation that it could remain in the human world only for a limited time, it couldn't pose that great a threat. If they just dragged out the time, the Balrog would have to return to the demon world.
"That's fortunate."
Thanks to the fact that those two monsters didn't exist inside the barrier, Sergei could set aside his worries for a moment.
"We will break through the barrier at maximum speed. If we enter the temple before the dragons notice, the mission can be accomplished."
Heartened by his words, the knights quickened their pace, gazing at the fog visible in the distance. The path down was just as treacherous as the way up, but it couldn't block the knights' zeal to protect the fate of their race.
After roughly three hours of arduous mountain trekking, the party safely made it down from the peak. It was a rugged path covered in ice that could hardly be called a road, but since they were composed entirely of outstanding warriors, they could safely set foot on the ground. On the way down, there weren't even any Ice Troll attacks, so there were no casualties.
The warriors decided to fill their stomachs first before departing. They couldn't eat inside the barrier swarming with monsters, of course. Since they couldn't light fires, the warriors hurriedly took out dry rations and drinking water from their packs and sat together. They had to switch shifts with their comrades standing guard as soon as they finished eating.
Daphne, too, was released from Daemon's back after a long time and set foot on the ground. The cold remained, but since the wind wasn't blowing particularly hard, it seemed somewhat bearable. Then, as Daemon rummaged through his pack, he made a bewildered expression. Because of the cold weather, all the fruits Daphne would eat had frozen.
"Well, well."
He couldn't help but be at a loss since he knew Daphne ate only fruit. To such a Daemon, Daphne gave a gentle smile.
"It's alright, mister. I'm not hungry."
"But it's been a long time………."
"I was on your back, mister. What about you, mister? Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm not really thinking about it either."
In truth, Daemon was lying. Having carried a person over a mountain, it would be abnormal not to be hungry…….
But since he didn't want to eat alone, he stuffed the dry rations he had taken out back into his pack. As Daemon organized his pack, Daphne, who had been staring at him, suddenly threw out a question.
"If God accepts the prayer, the war will surely end, right?"
"Perhaps……."
"What will you do when the war ends, mister?"
Daemon's hands, which had been organizing the pack, stopped cold. In truth, that was the matter that troubled Daemon the most. Of course, Daemon knew well that he was alive thanks to Daphne.
'If the mission ends in success, that bastard Sergei won't let me live.'
Therefore, it seemed he would have to flee the moment he confirmed the mission's success. But there was simply no way. Of course, Sergei wouldn't let him go quietly.
'With this broken body, can I really evade their pursuit?'
Daemon subtly turned his head and looked around at the knights concentrating on their meal. Strictly speaking, their skills were no different from the warriors of the Baegyo pursuit squad of the past. The warriors who had been slaughtered by his own hands during his escape.
But the situation was inevitably vastly different from then. Not only had he lost his internal energy, he was now in a state where he couldn't even cast Haste. Even the weakest among them was clearly far stronger than him. Also, what tormented him was his future, as opaque as the fog covering the barrier.
'What can I do with this body? Hide deep in the mountains, hunt to survive?'
Revenge was already a lost cause. But Daemon absolutely did not want to live like that. At least the experience of having been the leader of an organization called Baegyo barely sustained his pride.
'I won't live like that. This is a body that should have died in Zhongyuan anyway; I'll simply meet a clean end.'
When he turned his head with a hardened expression, he saw Daphne's face waiting for an answer. Strangely, just looking at her face made Daemon's heart feel warm. The flustered Daemon made an awkward expression.
"Wh-what did you ask?"
"Where will you live when the war ends?"
"Well? I've never thought about it."
Daphne gave a bright smile to Daemon, who was scratching the back of his head.
"Come live with me in our village."
"………."
"It's a small, remote place, but the people are really kind. It's warm……. Someone like you, mister, would surely be welcomed by the villagers."
"R-really?"
When Daemon showed a reaction that didn't seem particularly enthusiastic, Daphne's expression turned sulky.
"I want to live with you, mister………."
At those words, Daemon was overcome with shock as if struck by lightning. Her words were the very wish he had dreamed of, weren't they? If that wish came true, even if he fell into hell, Daemon wouldn't have minded. He stammered as he asked again.
"I-is that true?"
"Of course. Mister Shrekheimer said so. If God accepts the prayer, He will send me back to my hometown. Mister, let's go together. Okay?"
Daemon nearly nodded his head in agreement.