Preparations for war proceeded swiftly.
At the summons of the new emperor, Sylvia Verden, the nobles vied with one another to pledge knights and troops.
They needed to demonstrate their power and loyalty.
Was this not an era in which so much was changing?
One could fall to ruin in an instant, but by the same token, one could also rise.
Above all, this was a war the new emperor was waging the moment she ascended the throne. Meticulous preparation and great attention would be poured into it, and if one distinguished oneself, the rewards would surely be immense.
Among them were even houses whose heads promised to participate personally as commanders.
It was because a rumor had spread.
That the leader of Black Fang, Ataolf of the Black Mist, had been grievously wounded by the Sword Saint in the previous attack.
That he had fled after suffering a terrible injury from the combined efforts of the new Guardian Knight and the Sword Saint.
And was it not being said that the Guardian Knight and the Sword Saint would be taking part in this expedition as well?
Thus, over the course of several weeks, forces on the scale of four legions gathered.
A force beyond expectations.
Most of them were likely thinking the same thing.
An expedition with a high chance of victory.
An opportunity to make an impression on the emperor.
Since the empire had resolved to act, even Black Fang would surely have no choice, no matter how formidable they were. After all, such an enormous force was gathering.
Even if they only dipped a foot in, they would gain the title of having participated in an expedition that eradicated evil.
Of course, this was a way of thinking entirely different from that of the leadership.
After a grand departure ceremony, the army set out.
Black Fang, who had launched a surprise attack on the academy and committed countless massacres.
And the legions marching out to bring that Black Fang down.
An expedition to destroy evil.
Well, would history not record it in such a way?
And so knights and soldiers alike marched proudly forward, chests thrust out.
They advanced with dignity, bearing flags and blowing horns.
In truth, this was a procession for show, and in reality, they assembled on the outskirts of the capital.
There was no need for the imperial army to expend effort marching all the way from the capital to the south.
Because there existed a large-scale spatial movement ability user. A being called Eos.
There was a limit to the number he could move, so it would take several days, but even so, the cost and time saved were incomparable.
The first to cross over to the designated location in the south were the scouts of the First Legion, and the next day, Hio, the Sword Saint, and the army’s leadership, including the commander-in-chief, crossed over as well.
A total of four legions, and four commanders to lead those legions.
The one appointed to the position of supreme commander over them all was Duke Robelun.
The head of one of the empire’s venerable ducal houses, and a man who could be called a center of power. Duke Robelun, who had maintained neutrality even during the struggle for the throne, had become Sylvia’s loyal subject and the supreme commander of this expedition.
He had not been chosen simply because his rank was high.
He also had abundant experience in war, and during the previous emperor’s reign, he had served as head of security affairs, giving him experience as a supreme commander as well.
A veteran of a hundred battles, a man called a noble above nobles, was the supreme commander of this expedition.
Inside the tent of the established command post.
Outside, amid the clamor of soldiers’ boots as they built the encampment and the voices of commanders issuing orders, the inside of the tent was strangely quiet.
There were three people there.
Hio and the Sword Saint, Vitalianus.
And Duke Robelun, the supreme commander, sitting across from Hio.
Hair turned completely white.
A stern face.
A white beard hanging long below his chin.
The mouth that looked quite stubborn at first glance slowly opened.
His straight eyes were fixed precisely on Hio.
“I love you.”
At that, Hio’s expression crumpled all at once, and he let out a sigh.
“Haa……”
“I love you! Seeing you here makes me feel it even more, you know?”
“What the hell do you have to do to turn even Duke Robelun into this?”
The one occupying Duke Robelun’s aged body was Airaitz.
And Vitalianus, who had been watching this, drew his sword and pointed it at the neck of Duke Robelun, who had become Airaitz.
“Who is this person, to have occupied the duke’s body?”
Whether or not the sharp sword was aimed at his throat, Duke Robelun only smiled and looked at Hio. No, simply Airaitz.
“He’s called Airaitz. He’s the one infiltrating Black Fang. For now… you can trust him.”
At the moment, Airaitz would be more useful than Duke Robelun. This was a war different from ordinary wars in both location and method. In the end, it was a fight over whether they could defeat Ataolf or not.
At Hio’s words, Vitalianus lowered his sword, and Hio stared directly into Airaitz’s eyes.
This was not the first or second time he had suddenly appeared like this.
First, he had to know exactly what the guy’s ability was.
“Tell me clearly what your ability is first, Airaitz. How did you reach Duke Robelun?”
Duke Robelun was one of the central nobles. In terms of his family’s prestige, title, and position, he was a high-ranking official at the very top.
Naturally, even within the imperial palace, he was an important figure, and as such, he had been among the first whose soul Sylvia had remodeled.
How had Airaitz managed to reach even such a supremely important person?
At that, Airaitz answered without any particular hesitation.
“Think of my ability as a highly contagious virus. Once someone is contaminated, it spreads rapidly. Under normal circumstances, you can’t even tell they’ve been contaminated. Then, when an opportunity comes, it spreads again… Well, that’s how it works. What do you think? Attractive, isn’t it?”
Airaitz’s skill was Charm.
As long as he was making eye contact with the target, he could cast it at any time, and if the other party was of the opposite sex, the probability rose drastically.
Without a high-level mental barrier, one would be helplessly done in.
Moreover, he could also borrow the body of someone he had charmed and cast Charm on others through them. Like an infectious disease.
“…Weaknesses?”
“I can’t properly use the abilities of a charmed target, and my original power is weak, I suppose? My stats and a few other minor skills are all I have.”
Once again, he answered without any particular hesitation.
Who would reveal their own skill and weaknesses so easily?
“The fact that you’re telling me everything so smoothly only makes you more suspicious.”
Even when Hio was suspicious of him like that, Airaitz merely propped his chin on the table and grinned.
“They say people in love are supposed to share everything, you know.”
“…Enough. Is there more to say?”
“A lot. A whole lot.”
Airaitz pulled his body forward and moved closer to Hio.
“The forces gathered under Black Fang’s name are a little over four thousand. That’s the strength they’ve pulled together, including their existing subordinate forces and every gang or criminal organization in the west and south. On top of that, they’ll mobilize all the demonic beings they’ve completed, however imperfectly.”
The strength of Black Fang conveyed through Airaitz was greater than expected, but still within a range they could sufficiently handle.
Even if there were demonic beings who could turn into monsters in an instant, this side had the empire’s most elite legions. In both quantity and quality, they overwhelmed the enemy.
“Those bastards who were clinging to Black Fang like parasites won’t participate.”
Those bastards meant the possessors who earned points using notoriety. The ones who had been clinging to Black Fang like parasites.
Perhaps conscious of the Sword Saint beside him, Airaitz leaned close to Hio’s ear and whispered ticklishly.
“I spread the rumor that the Supreme Heavenly Demon, Hio Pavlenko, had come to deal with Ataolf. If they value their lives, they won’t stand on Black Fang’s side.”
After whispering that, Airaitz pulled his face away and smiled brightly again.
“What do you think? Useful, aren’t I? Lovable, aren’t I?”
But Hio’s expression did not change in the slightest.
The most important problem still remained.
“What about luring Ataolf out of Baal Forest?”
The dense mist surrounding Baal Forest. The sticky swamp.
It was a terrible mist that interfered with distinguishing friend from foe and even dulled one’s sense of direction and cognitive ability. The closer one got to the center, the worse the mist became, causing mental confusion and complete loss of direction.
The more one tried to head toward the center, the more one would lose one’s way and wander.
The moment they entered, the difference in military strength would become meaningless.
Ataolf’s power was also mixed into that mist, so methods of attacking from outside would not work either.
It was truly an impregnable fortress.
An absolute domain created by the meeting of heaven-sent nature, Ataolf’s power, and an artifact.
That was the reason they had been able to strike blows against Black Fang, yet had never been able to eradicate it completely.
So the best plan would have been to lure Ataolf outside Baal Forest, but……
Airaitz shook his head slightly.
“I failed. I’m sorry.”
“So it was like that after all.”
He had thought it would not be easy.
Still, what he had hoped for was Airaitz’s ability, but it seemed it had not worked on Ataolf after all.
“B-but there’s still a second method. Getting rid of the mist in Baal Forest.”
Perhaps thinking Hio was disappointed in him, Airaitz hurriedly continued.
“You just need to be brought to the old castle in the center of Baal Forest, right? You should know the location of that artifact.”
At the heart of the vast Baal Forest was an old castle where Ataolf resided.
It was there.
The artifact that caused the entire forest to be wrapped in mist and invoked all manner of obstructive effects, and that produced even more powerful effects by receiving Ataolf’s power.
And because the one who had destroyed it and personally killed Ataolf in the game was none other than the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
Because Airaitz knew that, he spoke.
“I’ll take you there. You’ll be able to remove the mist, and then the imperial army can wipe out Black Fang’s forces in an instant. Then Ataolf, wounded and isolated, can be dealt with by this Sword Saint here and you, Hio, working together—slice—and it’s over! How’s that?”
Airaitz explained eagerly with every gesture of his hands and feet.
“You know very well that isn’t an easy thing to do. Ataolf isn’t an idiot. Do you think he’ll just watch me go all the way to the center?”
“That’s why we have to act. The imperial army enters Baal Forest as planned. Ataolf will actively try to stop them from the entrance onward. He wants to wear down the Sword Saint’s strength as much as possible while inside his domain.”
“And?”
“When Ataolf personally steps forward to torment the Sword Saint, I’ll go with you.”
“You’ll come in person? With your main body?”
Airaitz nodded and smiled with his eyes.
“Yes. I’ll go myself.”
Airaitz’s ability was more frightening the more thoroughly he hid the location of his main body.
Had he not said so himself? That his main body’s power was insignificant.
“Why?”
So Hio’s question was quite reasonable.
Airaitz’s smiling eyes only deepened.
“To meet you, Hio.”
At that answer and that appearance, Hio’s brow narrowed.
Because he had roughly grasped the meaning.
“…You mean you’ll use your ability on me directly.”
“Yes. Because we need to deceive Ataolf.”
As if just imagining it made him happy, Airaitz cupped both cheeks and smiled radiantly.
In accordance with that emotion, the crimson hue gradually grew stronger.
“It means you have no choice but to be caught by my Charm, Hio Pavlenko.”
It meant he had to go all the way to the center of Baal Forest while under Airaitz’s ability.
Only then would they be able to avoid Ataolf’s suspicion and destroy the artifact that formed the foundation of the mist.
“Do you think Ataolf will quietly allow that? If he realizes I’ve been charmed, he’ll immediately try to kill me.”
“He won’t. He’s been driven into quite a corner too, so he needs my ability. Even for the sake of the future, he won’t be able to cast me aside. And I only made one demand, so he’ll definitely try to fulfill it.”
“Demand?”
“Yes. Are you curious what it is? Should I tell you?”
“…No, I feel like I know already……”
Airaitz pulled himself forward so much that he was practically lying on the table as he looked up at Hio.
“Spare only Hio Pavlenko and hand him over to me. That was my condition.”
As Airaitz said that, both his cheeks were flushed red.
Over the course of five days, the movement of all the legions was completed.
It had taken only five days to get from the imperial capital, Imenia, to the southern Petrona region.
The knights and soldiers were almost entirely free of fatigue, and morale was high. The majority of them were already convinced of victory.
They were people who did not know the terror of Baal Forest.
They were people who did not know the true power that had made Black Fang be called a symbol of fear for decades.
“Advance!”
With the order came the sound of horns and drums. The standard-bearer raised a crimson flag high, and the procession began to march in time with it.
Spreading wider little by little, they advanced as though surrounding the vast Baal Forest.
Watching it from atop their warhorses were the Sword Saint Vitalianus, the Royal Knights Damon and Melissa.
And the mage, Hio Pavlenko.
“Very well. If you have chosen to do so, I will trust you.”
They had decided to follow Airaitz’s plan.
It was true that the risk was great.
However, it was also true that there was much to gain compared to that risk.
Without a method like this, in the end, they would have no choice but to push through Baal Forest step by step, slowly. How much damage would they suffer in the process?
How many deaths would descend?
He could not even imagine.
“Let’s do it.”
Even if he entered the heart of Black Fang, as long as he kept his wits about him, would he not survive?
It was exceedingly simple.
If they could get rid of this tiresome mist, it would be an easy victory.
If they could not, then it would be a victory won only through wounds.
The misty forest that had been visible in the distance had, at some point, drawn right up before them.