Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Chapter 39

Leaving the joy of their reunion behind.

As soon as Glenn arrived at Obenue, he introduced Penelope and Lucheria to Tris and explained everything that had happened.

How he had defeated Kasim Brion and the Demon King's Fifth Legion, then headed toward the central front, Raigle Territory.

How he had defeated the First Legion led by Rowen, as if mocking Palador, who was trying to abandon Raigle Territory and retreat.

And finally, how he had crossed into the Land of Demons and blown up Angrelcher Castle and its underground laboratory, dealing a major blow to the Demon King's army.

“To put it simply, that's what happened.”

“…….”

After hearing the story of that short yet long month, Tris stared at Glenn with a stunned expression.

Romina, who was also hearing about what Glenn had done after entering the Land of Demons for the first time, widened her amber eyes in admiration.

“Sister?”

“Ah, sorry.
It’s just… even though you’re my little brother, I can’t help thinking how amazing you are.
I always hoped you wouldn’t do anything reckless wherever you went… but seeing you accomplish it all in the end, I guess it’s simply part of your nature.”

Tris smiled with a bittersweet expression, as if she had given up on her younger brother's reckless behavior long ago.

“All of that was possible because, when everyone else turned their backs on me, you believed in me and protected this land, Sister.”

“I’ve always felt that I wasn’t doing enough, so I’ve only ever felt sorry toward you… Still, thank you for saying that, Glenn.”

The siblings soon exchanged warm smiles.

“Hmm… Anyway.
The Demon King's forces have been greatly weakened.”

The strongest First Legion had been defeated and had disappeared from the battlefield, and during that process, the Ninth-Star Magic Swordsman Rowen had become their ally.

The Third Legion, which guarded the Demon King's Castle, had its commander assassinated by Penelope.

The Fourth Legion Commander had died at Romina's hands, the Fifth Legion Commander had died at Glenn's hands on the northern front, and the Eighth Legion had already been taken over by its commander, Penelope.

“That leaves the Sixth and Seventh Legions.”

“I heard that the assassin known as the Red Stake was captured in Istierenne not long ago.”

Rogers, the Seventh Legion Commander and known as the greatest assassin among the demons, seemed to have been captured by Cardinal Gricia and Sir Ignat.

Leaving them behind instead of sending them to the front had been the right choice.

It was also proof of how well Tasha and Hockney, whom he had left in the capital, had carried out their duties.

“That's good.
Then we can consider the Sixth Legion dealt with as well.”

“The Sixth Legion is the unit fighting the Elchisco family on the southern front, right?”

“Yes.
I already made preparations there as well, so we'll soon receive some good news.”

No matter how powerful Golams Hemismier, the Sixth Legion Commander and the strongest Dark Knight among the demons, was, he would not be able to defeat Ridenhall.

Soon, it could be said that every legion of the Demon King's army had suffered a blow because of Glenn.

“…….”

Tris could only silently marvel at the fact that her younger brother had accomplished all of that by himself.

It was easy to say that every legion had been damaged.

But when one considered everything Glenn had actually done, he had completely reversed the unfavorable situation and changed the outcome of the war.

“Of course, that doesn't mean the situation has completely turned in our favor, Sister.”

At Glenn's quiet words, confusion appeared in Tris and Romina's eyes.

“It hasn't completely turned in our favor…?”

“Yes.
Everything I've done so far was merely to bring a situation that was overwhelmingly unfavorable back to an even starting point.”

“W-Wait.
You're saying everything you've done until now was just bringing things back to the starting point?”

Romina widened her eyes in disbelief as she stared at Glenn.

“It's true.
Even though all of their legions have been damaged, they still have the power to turn the situation around again.”

“When you say ‘they’…”

“I mean the Demon King Luphelos and the Second Legion Commander, Kacherto Rienz.”

Penelope, who had remained silent until then, looked at Romina with a serious expression.

“Even so… no matter how strong they are, how can just two people possibly…”

Romina trailed off.

Most of the Demon King's legion commanders were already dead, missing, or had withdrawn.

On the other hand, the Holy Empire had not suffered any significant damage to its main forces.

Moreover, Glenn's party, whose average strength was between the Eighth and Ninth Stars, continued to operate behind the scenes of the war.

The current situation was so favorable to the Holy Empire that they could even invade the Land of Demons and wipe out the demons.

Yet Romina could not confidently express her usual opinion.

Glenn knew the facts she had just mentioned better than anyone else in the world.

And he was saying that even this situation could be overturned by the Demon King and the Second Legion Commander.

“Are they really that strong?”

“The Demon King is.”

“Even if you fought him now?”

“I could fight him on equal terms for a short while, but I couldn't defeat him.”

Of course, if Glenn made good use of the power he had accumulated so far and the Holy Demonic Power he had awakened, he could even gain the upper hand against Luphelos.

But that would only last for about forty minutes while the Gray Ring was activated.

Even if we try to overwhelm him with numbers, he'll just run away if he thinks he's at a disadvantage.

In the end, if Glenn wanted to defeat Luphelos, who had become the incarnation of Nox, he needed to become even stronger than he was now.

“What about the Second Legion Commander, Glenn?”

“Romina could fight him even now… but with him, his direct combat ability isn't the real problem.”

Glenn clicked his tongue.

If Demon King Luphelos could overturn the battlefield by displaying overwhelming power from the front, Kacherto was the opposite.

He would use every vile method he knew from behind the scenes of the war to turn the situation around.

“When I fought Father, he didn't seem to be that strong…”

“I did think there was an unusually large difference in power between the forces in this war… but I guess we still have a long way to go.”

As Romina and Tris's moods sank after facing the situation realistically, Lucheria quietly opened her lips.

“Even so, everyone.
Brother came here to solve this problem, didn't he?”

At those compassionate yet powerful words, the two women turned their eyes toward Glenn.

They soon noticed that Glenn was looking at them with a confident expression.

“Yes.
Of course.”

It had only been difficult to bring the overwhelmingly unfavorable situation back to an even starting point.

Suppressing the remaining threats and gaining a definite advantage from that point would not be as difficult as the path he had walked until now.

“If everything goes according to my plan, we should be able to defeat the Demon King soon and bring this long war to an end.
But I'll need everyone's help to do that.”

Hope appeared in Tris's eyes at Glenn's words.

“Don't worry, Glenn.
No matter what happens, your sister will always be on your side.”

“If it's you, Brother, I'm sure you'll create a world where no one has to suffer.”

Saint Lucheria gave him her usual warm gaze.

Romina and Penelope, sitting beside her, also nodded.

Receiving the trusting gazes of all four women, Glenn gave a faint smile.

“Thank you, everyone.
Then let's get to the main point.
First, I'll explain why I returned to Wordsworth and then tell you about my plans for the future.”

Several kilometers away from Obenue Fortress.

The Demon King's Fourth Legion had established a base near the border.

However, after their commander had recently been assassinated by the enemy, their morale had fallen to rock bottom.

“…….”

Inside the tent that had once belonged to the Fourth Legion Commander, Kacherto Rienz stroked his beard with a deeply troubled expression.

“Things are worse than I expected…”

The situation was not good.

Before coming to the northern front, he had planned to use the remaining Fourth and Sixth Legions, along with the Demon King as his trump card, to turn the unfavorable situation around.

However, immediately after arriving, he had to hear the news of the Fourth Legion Commander's death.

Honestly, I never imagined that even the Fourth Legion Commander would die here.

Considering her normally arrogant personality, her death might have been caused by excessive carelessness.

However, considering the strength of Obenue that he had personally assessed recently, she should not have died simply because she let her guard down.

In the end, someone must have taken action to eliminate the Fourth Legion Commander.

Kacherto already had an idea who that person was.

“Glenn Wordsworth…”

Of course, it could have been nothing more than an assumption.

But considering that all the abnormalities that had occurred so far had started with one man, it was actually a reasonable conclusion.

“…….”

A cold light appeared in Kacherto's eyes.

He truly was an existence that could not be left alone.

“Helmut.”

“Yes, Commander.”

At Kacherto's call, a man emerged from the darkness covering the corner of the tent.

“You called for me.”

“We'll hurry the plan.”

The man did not ask any questions.

He simply lowered his head and answered without emotion.

“Understood.”

The man disappeared into the darkness.

Left alone, Kacherto looked down at Obenue Fortress marked on the map.

Of course, he expected that Glenn Wordsworth would not be there.

Judging from his actions so far, Glenn was undoubtedly somewhere in the Land of Demons, moving in secret, planning to disrupt the Demon King's army and carrying out those plans one by one.

But I won't let myself be defeated any further.

There was no point in trying to catch Glenn in the Land of Demons now.

Kacherto Rienz would only end up chasing after him.

That was why he refused to remain on the defensive and be controlled by Glenn.

Instead, he had come here rather than staying at the Demon King's Castle.

His target was the destruction of Wordsworth.

While Glenn was absent, he intended to completely trample the homeland where Glenn had been born and raised, the place he had tried to protect several times.

Those who resisted would be given such terrible suffering that they would wish for death.

The lands his army passed through would be cursed with otherworldly plants until they rotted away, making them unusable for hundreds of years.

And the people of the territory Glenn cared about would be turned into the dead and forced to slaughter their own kind.

If he did that, wouldn't the man who had lost something precious soon become enraged and come looking for him?

This isn't simply revenge for destroying the research materials.

If anger had made him lose his reason, he would have ordered his subordinates to search every corner of the Land of Demons until they found Glenn.

But he had regained his composure and decided to think of the best move.

Rather than personally chasing down a swift stray dog hiding inside his home, he would raid its den and wait for it to return.

Of course, doing this could allow the humans to launch a counterattack on fronts other than the northern front.

But even if it isn't an exaggeration to say that every abnormality was caused by him…

He was certain that killing Glenn Wordsworth was the best way to restore the distorted balance of this war.

That was why he ordered his adjutant to crush the supposedly impregnable Obenue as quickly as possible and turn it into a sea of flames.

The person who had killed the Fourth Legion Commander might be there.

But that would not be a problem.

I'm going to let the entire land rot away along with everything on it anyway.

Kacherto Rienz stood up from the seat where he had been sitting for a long time.

He was going to summon a large number of otherworldly plants that would devour this land while the loyal soldiers of the Fourth Legion attacked Obenue.

Things will not go according to your will.

A cold light shone in his hazy eyes.

“Commander!”

At that moment, the deputy commander of the Fourth Legion entered the tent while pulling aside the tent flap.

“What is it?”

Kacherto frowned at the unexpected interruption to his plans.

Had he come to ask about the sudden order for an assault because he was confused about what was happening?

“I gave the order myself, so…”

“The troops of Obenue have opened the gates and are marching toward us!”

“…What?”