Chapter 77: 77

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‘They’re coming again.’

Hans was a veteran soldier. He thought to himself as he saw a group of orcs in the distance. It has already been 15 years since he was assigned to the mountain range unit. He’s experienced numerous small-scale battles. In other words, he was a seasoned soldier. To him, the group of orcs approaching from the distance was nothing more than something that was going to add to his already abundant battle experience.

The northern region of the continent is where many Demon Lord Castles are heavily concentrated. In order to invade into the center of the continent where a majority of the human nations are located, you have to go through here, the Black Mountains. Numerous outposts and multiple fortresses were built on the Black Mountain in the case of an invasion. Among those positions, Hans was located at the outpost closest to the front line.

The front line is a solitary place. No one would stop you even if you deserted your position. He has comrades, but if he ran away with those comrades, then that would be the end of it. Nonetheless, Hans and his comrades have protected this outpost for 15 years now. They did so voluntarily while holding pride in their job as soldiers.

It isn’t because they considered being soldiers as an honorable job for men. Hans despised people who would go around claiming that being a soldier is the greatest job in the world. He wasn’t particularly patriotic either. Not only do nobles still possess a strong authority over the country he was born in, the Habsburg Empire, but Hans is a part of the ruled class since he’s a commoner. He loves his hometown, not his nation. Hans possessed a sense of duty that was much stronger than something like patriotism.

Watchdog of Humanity.

The garrison at the back of the Black Mountains will move according to how quickly the person at the front line discovers the invasion of the Demon Lord armies and accurately pinpoints their route. If the garrison is destroyed, then the Demon Lords will have free access to the continent. What a terrifying thing to imagine.

It wasn’t only Hans, but every other sentry on the front line of the Black Mountains also believed that it solely depended on them whether the continent became a sea of flames or not. They patrolled with devotion. Even if they fail to notice oncoming enemies, the 2nd line, the 3rd line, and the 4th line will definitely notice……they trusted their comrades.

The margraves would occasionally send the provisions late, but the sentries would manage on their own by hunting. The sentries even had a baker and a blacksmith among their ranks. Furthermore, although they’re only Two Circles, they have a mage as well. They were already a small but strong army that didn’t need support from the outside.

Although dozens of nations have risen and fallen in the past 2,000 years, nothing has changed here on the Black Mountains. Keep watch over the mountains and give a hasty report if monsters approach……. Be it now or 2,000 years ago, the sentries’ jobs have remained the same. Similar to how humans and monsters will eternally be enemies, the duty of the sentries will most likely also be eternal. An eternal spiritual heritage was flowing through Hans’ veins.

‘I should meet with the others at the guard post first.’

Fortunately, the area he was patrolling wasn’t far from the outpost. Hans quickly hiked up the mountain and returned to the outpost. His comrades were outside the stone structure⎯⎯this outpost was built more than 200 years ago⎯⎯enjoying the fresh air and playing chess.

“A group of monsters is approaching.”

“Damn it. Again?”

His comrades complained; however, despite their grumblings, they were already moving with haste. They had begun to put on their armor before Hans could even finish his report.

“It’s a group of orcs with some goblins and low-tier golems mixed in. There were also 5 ogres. Altogether, there’s approximately 500 of them.”

“A full-fledged invasion, huh? Has it been 2 years since the last invasion with over 500 monsters?”

Frederick, the captain of the outpost, commented. Orcs, goblins, and low-tier golems are trivial enemies. If the sentries from the 50 outposts nearby gathered, then they could handle something like that with ease. Captain Frederick alone has slain 32 orcs and more than a hundred goblins throughout his life. There was nothing to fear.

His comrades chatted as they equipped themselves.

“How many of those guys do you think formed an alliance to make a group of 500?”

“Probably two or three. Hans, how many banners were there?”

“Three. I confirmed 3 banners.”

Frederick brushed his beard.

“Three Demon Lords, huh? Depending on whether a higher ranking Demon Lord is acting as the leader or this is an alliance of three similar ranking Demon Lords, the situation will change drastically depending on which one it is.”

Hans nodded.

“They were too far, so I couldn’t confirm the emblems on the banners. Nevertheless, they were moving with 5 ogres. There’s a high chance that they’re under the command of a single Demon Lord.”

His comrades gulped.

Ogres are dangerous. They’re the true owners of the mountains. Usually, a mountain is occupied by only one ogre and they are highly territorial. If you were to compare them to humans, then they’re like the lords of small regions. Compared to ogres, orcs and goblins are like commoners.

One of the soldiers hid his unease as he spoke.

“What should we do, captain? This isn’t something we can resolve on our own.”

“Let’s split the group into three. Fabian, go with Oliver and inform the other outposts nearby about the appearance of orcs. You only have to inform our direct neighbors.”

“All right.”

The soldier promptly removed his chain armor. There’s no reason for him to be wearing chainmail and holding a shield when he’s only going to notify the other outposts. If anything, he should be as light as possible in case he has to make a quick escape.

“What should we do afterward?”

“Retreat to the mountain fortress. We’ll most likely be facing the monsters there. Bruno, you and Nicholas will be taking our equipment and heading to the fortress immediately.”

“Understood, captain.”

Captain Frederick put on his helmet. It was a helmet that was covered in charcoal so that it wouldn’t reflect light.

“I will go with the remaining members to follow behind the orcs. Hans, lead the way.”

“Roger.”

“Men. This is the first time in 2 years since we’ve had an invasion of over 500 monsters. Although there’s no way that humanity’s fortress could be brought down by a mere group of 500, we must lower our losses as much as possible. If it turns out that our outpost was the first to discover this invasion, then our mission becomes that much more vital. Act with haste.”

The group of 10 sentries nodded. They acted leisurely, but their gazes were sharp. Frederick seemed satisfied with his unit’s expertise as he began to recite a chant. It was a chant from their ancestors which had been passed down for generations among the sentries for 2,000 years.

“⎯⎯Until the day all evil has been vanquished.”

His unit responded in unison.

“We are the hounds of humanity!”

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General Zepar’s quarters. Today’s meeting was a stark contrast to yesterday’s light-hearted gathering as we began to discuss military operations in earnest. The rookie Demon Lords who were excited on their own yesterday must have been influenced by the atmosphere as they quietly listened to the outline of the operations.

“Our role as the vanguard is to capture humanity’s outermost wall. Right here.”

Zepar pointed at the map with a rod.

“Our goal is this green fortress. If we ignore this green fortress and continue to advance, then we will be separated from the main army. The humans will link with the other fortresses and force sporadic battles on us and the main army. We must occupy this green fortress at all costs so that we can advance safely.”

The Black Mountains.

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It’s the mountain range that naturally acts as the border between the humans and the Demon Lords. There are only 3 routes wide enough to allow the passage of a massive army. Each route leads to the Kingdom of Teuton, the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, and the Empire of Habsburg respectively.

The grand strategy of the expeditionary force into the center of the continent is as follows:

(1) Rank 9 Paimon, she leads the 1st legion of the Crescent Alliance, the Mountain Faction. The 1st legion will traverse through the first route and head to the Kingdom of Teuton.

(2) Rank 5 Marbas, he leads the 2nd legion of the Crescent Alliance, the Neutral Faction. The 2nd legion will traverse through the second route and head to the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom.

(3) Rank 8 Barbatos, she leads the 6th legion of the Crescent Alliance, the Plains Faction. The 6th legion will traverse through the third route and head to the Empire of Habsburg.

This is the first operation of the grand strategy. The goal of the operation is to put the entirety of the Black Mountains under the control of the Crescent Alliance. The reason we’re advancing down all 3 routes at once is to split up the enemy forces as much as possible. During the first, second, and third Crescent Alliance, the Demon Lord armies concentrated their forces and tried to get through the Black Mountains with a single push; however, they failed every time.

The Black Mountains are excessively vast. It takes more time for the Crescent Alliance to get through a route than for the human armies to gather their forces at a single point. It’s a given since the Crescent Alliance has to tread through rugged mountain terrains while the human armies move through plains and flatlands. Thus, while the human margraves were defending a single route, the armies of each nation were able to unite and face off against the Crescent Alliance…….

The leading members of the Crescent Alliance came to a realization after experiencing multiple defeats. They have to split the human armies up and they have to split their armies up as well.

Contrary to how humans grow stronger and stronger the more they group up, it’s more likely for internal conflict to occur the more Demon Lords gather and gather……. There’s a reason why the legions are formed around factions. It’s less likely for internal conflict to occur when a legion consists of like-minded people. Although, despite this, internal conflicts never failed to occur from the 4th Crescent Alliance to the 7th.

Now then, let’s concentrate on our 6th legion.

We have to go through the third route of the Black Mountains. The third route boasts the most steadfast defenses. It’s because we have to get through no less than 4 fortresses in order to reach the borders of the Empire of Habsburg.

1st gateway, the green fortress.

2nd gateway, the blue fortress.

3rd gateway, the gold fortress.

And finally, the 4th gateway, the red fortress.

Truly, this is a horrifyingly high hurdle to get across. Naturally, the fortresses become sturdier the further you get. Even if we manage to get all the way through to the gold fortress, the red fortress would practically be impregnable. 

The issue is the amount of time it takes for us to get through the first three fortresses. The mighty margraves of the Habsburg Empire would have finished gathering their armies and be waiting for us at the red fortress by the time we get through the first three fortresses……. To make matters worse, our forces will most likely be exhausted after getting through those fortresses while the humans will be in prime condition since they had just been convened together. It’s obvious who’d win here.

Therefore, we have to maintain our military strength as much as possible until we reach the red fortress.

Our role as the vanguard is to capture the first gateway, the green fortress, and cause as much harm as we can to the blue fortress. That’s it. We’re allowed to leave the rest to the main army.

Zepar spoke.

“The green fortress has roughly 500 troops residing in it. Compared to them, we possess an army of 2,000. Even if our enemies utilize the defenses of the fortress, we have 10 ogres.”

“So our victory is certain!”

Rank 58 Amii exclaimed. Although it’s unsightly to see someone be so certain of their victory before the battle has even happened, I also agreed that the green fortress will most likely be taken down with ease. There’s no way the green fortress could last if 10 ogres ran at it all at once.

Zepar seemed to agree as he nodded.

“That is correct. However, bear in mind that simply achieving victory is not what is important. What is important is how much of an overwhelming victory we achieve. We must preserve our fighting power as much as possible before the decisive battle at the red fortress. I will not allow our troops to be wasted carelessly.”

All of the Demon Lords present gave an energetic response. The atmosphere felt like we had already won.

“Please leave the ogres to me!”

“No, leave them to me! General Zepar, I will destroy those gates without losing even a single ogre!”

Oh dear, they’ve begun arguing over who gets the achievement……. Generally speaking, their vigor is a bit too excessive. Zepar had just warned us that it’s important to preserve our troops. You guys need to think about what you can do to satisfy Zepar’s condition.

“Hm. Does anyone have a good idea?”

See? Zepar is asking that as well. You have to know how to be a subordinate who knows how to read what their superior is thinking.

Amii spoke confidently.

“We go through the front. We have 10 ogres! Those humans would just piss themselves and run away.”

The other 2 rookie Demon Lords agreed with that sentiment as well. Sheesh, giving an answer he shouldn’t have given.

If our opposition was just a normal human army, then Amii would be correct. Drafted soldiers would undoubtedly run away with their tails between their legs if they even saw an ogre’s hair. However, the soldiers stationed on the Black Mountains aren’t drafted soldiers.

The mountains are packed with ever-ready troops and volunteers. Seasoned soldiers who deliberately came to the front line to protect humanity. If they were cowardly enough to run away because they saw a lot of ogres, then they wouldn’t have applied to be stationed on the Black Mountains in the first place.

“……Any other ideas?”

Zepar asked like he was letting out a sigh. I might be imagining things, but it feels like he’s glancing at me.

I spoke courteously.

“Your Excellency, I have an idea. Let us split our forces into two.”

“Split our army into two?”

Zepar made a face. The moment he did so, Amii taunted me.

“Hah! It seems you do not know what tactics are. Gathering our forces and attacking a single point, this is a basic tactic. Sir Dantalian, are you sure you are not underestimating the enemies too much?”

“Of course not.”

I laughed on the inside. I’m not the one underestimating the enemy. You are.

Amii almost looked adorable to me now. Although watching your cute antics is fairly cute, keep your mouth shut for now. I’m the only one here who is familiar with the situation of the human armies.

What’s there to hide? In , I had faced the Demon Lord armies at those very fortresses.

Naturally, I know the weaknesses of the human armies like the back of my hand. Even the 4 fortresses that look impregnable from the outside have quite a critical flaw. We just have to dig into that.

This is a tactic that succeeded in .

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TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I don’t really have much else to say. I’ll be translating to chapter 80 before going back to finish off volume 4 of Handholding. I’ll see you guys in the next release.

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