Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 626

The Allied Forces had originally planned to take back several small to medium-sized cities on their way to Gersonosia.

But with the Immortals now handling the tasks once managed by the Demon King’s army, and doing so with remarkable speed and precision, the Allied Forces advanced with unstoppable momentum. They marched forward without having to engage in any battles. Their path was eerily clear of monsters. At most, they encountered the remains of the creatures, already reduced to pieces.

This unexpected turn of events was welcomed by everyone, regardless of the reasons behind it.

The cities they passed through showed signs of recent, massive carnage, which seemed strange. Rumors began to circulate that the Empire had deployed a massive vanguard. But wasn’t it a relief that there were no battles?

The military leaders had suspected, at least to some extent, that the Empire might have the ability to field a powerful large-scale unit. That force now comprised the Immortals.

While the specific capabilities of this vanguard remained a mystery, their ability to devastate small to medium-sized cities was seen as a promising sign for the main forces.

However...

Whoosh...

“What is this?”

Gersonosia, the initial target of this advance and the site where a major battle was anticipated, had already been reduced to ashes by the vanguard.

Connor Lint was the first to witness the scene.

An unknown, large-scale military unit had not only destroyed the small to medium-sized cities along the way, but had also obliterated the large city of Gersonosia, along with all its gates and monsters.

***

No matter how prepared an army was for war, no individual truly relished the chaos of battle.

The fact that the small to medium-sized cities were already destroyed, eliminating the need to fight there, wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

But was it right to celebrate the fact that the main strategic target had already fallen?

Regardless of the reasons for it, being able to capture a location without a battle, when that battle was expected to result in heavy casualties, was a welcome development, especially from the perspective of conserving the army’s strength.

Yet, the fact that it had happened was exceedingly strange. Wasn’t it odd that such a feat was possible? The battle that was supposed to have required the strength of the main Allied army had been fought and won by the vanguard alone, and no one seemed to know of whom this vanguard comprised, or where they had come from.

Even the lower-ranked soldiers felt a deep unease when faced with this bizarre situation.

It was good to be alive, and it was good that no large-scale battle had been necessary. Yet, despite these blessings, a strange sense of unease and anxiety hung over the entire Allied Forces.

Instead of bringing a feeling of relief, the absence of the anticipated large-scale battle brought with an unusual atmosphere of unease, which permeated the entire Allied camp.

Within the Supreme Command Headquarters, tension lingered in the air.

“Your Majesty, isn’t it time you shared the truth with us?” one of the commanders, representing the various military units assembled in the Supreme Command tent, asked cautiously.

“Everyone is aware that the Allied Forces have deployed a vanguard, and we all know that neither Dame Sabioleen Tana nor the Hero is part of it.”

While a few knew that the role now being taken on by the Immortals had once been performed by the Demon King’s army, most were in the dark. This led to the vague suspicion that the Empire was concealing a formidable military force.

“If such a powerful army or ally truly exists, wouldn’t it be beneficial for the other commanders of the Allied Forces to know? Wouldn’t it be something to embrace wholeheartedly?”

If there truly was a powerful ally, why keep them hidden?

Wouldn’t revealing the existence of such a powerful army boost the morale of the Allied Forces?

It was a valid point.

“We have continued our smooth advance without understanding the reason for it, and now, even the lower-ranked soldiers, not just the commanders, are starting to feel anxious. Your Majesty, I believe it’s time to inform at least the commanders of each army about what’s happening.”

Vertus listened quietly.

The Gersonosia campaign had, under strange circumstances, become rather unnecessary, and it was only natural for the commanders to feel confused.

The seating arrangement within the Allied Forces Supreme Command tent was determined by rank. The emperor was seated at the head, while Louise von Schwartz, the commander of Kernstadt, sat closest to him.

‘How will you respond, Emperor?’ she wondered.

She had seen the experiments within the Temple last winter, and she understood the current state of the Allied Forces.

Louise instinctively knew that an experimental army was on the move, and knowing that this army was strong enough to capture a large city on its own made her feel uneasy.

It was a powerful army, yet its origins were shrouded in mystery. Even though the possession of such a powerful army was a benefit to the Empire, its commanders were anxious due to the lack of transparency.

Should the emperor reveal the truth, or keep it hidden? Both choices carried risks, and she couldn’t tell which would lead to a greater crisis.

She herself was unsure what was the right course of action.

The more people knew a secret, the faster it would spread. If the emperor disclosed the information here, in the Supreme Headquarters, that it was an army composed of the dead, it was only a matter of time before the entire Allied Forces would find out.

The silence hung heavy and tense, like a storm about to break.

Just as the emperor was poised to speak, a voice cut through the air.

“I don’t want to know.”

It wasn’t the emperor who spoke.

The voice belonged to a woman seated near the head of the meeting, alongside Louise von Schwartz.

Her tone was clear and cheerful, almost annoyingly lighthearted, given the gravity of the moment.

“Am I the only one who thinks so?”

It was Rowen, the newly appointed Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.

***

Everyone in the room was pressing the emperor for answers, and Rowen’s unexpected declaration that she preferred ignorance left the assembly in stunned silence.

They were all already aware that a major political shift had taken place within the Church of the Five Great Gods. The sudden replacement of the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights made this clear. However, the details of what had happened remained a mystery to most, since those in the know had chosen to keep silent. As a result, few truly understood the implications of this leadership change.

Despite being a new face, the leader of the Order of the Holy Knights commanded respect in the room. The Order held a rank within the Allied Forces that was higher than most of the principalities, giving them more influence than many kings. Rowen’s words, therefore, carried weight, and couldn’t be ignored.

“Commander, what do you mean by that?” someone asked, seeking clarification.

Rowen tilted her head thoughtfully. “I mean to say that His Majesty must have had a reason for keeping it a secret from us all this while.”

The emperor remained silent, and a tense, suspicious silence settled over the room.

“Everyone suspects that there is a hidden power within the Allied Forces, right?” she continued. “But the fact that it hasn’t been revealed yet suggests there’s a reason for the secrecy.

“Even though this uncertainty makes everyone anxious, the fact that it is a difficult topic to bring up implies that it’s something we’re not meant to know, doesn’t it? If that’s the case, then I don’t really want to know the details. I trust His Majesty has a reason for keeping it a secret.”

Louise felt a wave of nausea at the declaration of the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, who claimed to trust the emperor. She didn’t know the true nature of the Demon King, but she was well aware of Rowen’s intense hatred for the Empire. Rowen had even orchestrated an uprising that had forced the Empire to conduct a massacre. Watching her feign trust in the emperor with such a calm demeanor made Louise’s anger flare.

‘Of course she knows...’

It seemed absurd to think that Rowen, with her ties to the Demon King, was unaware of the happenings within the Allied Forces. Louise knew she was only pretending not to know, which only fueled her frustration.

“Commander... If there’s an undisclosed force within the Allied Forces that we’re unaware of, wouldn’t it be beneficial to know about the details, for the sake of future operations? Even the lower-ranking commanders and common soldiers are feeling uneasy.”

“But what if revealing this truth causes more problems than it solves?”

“What do you mean...?”

“Think about it. Sometimes, knowing doesn’t necessarily ease our anxiety; it might actually make us more anxious. Can’t there be a good reason for keeping it hidden?”

Rowen smiled gently. “The nature of this force might be such that it has to be kept hidden. If you learn about it, can you then confidently declare that we shouldn’t use it anymore? Especially when it was thanks to that very force that we managed the Gersonosia campaign, one that should have cost us enormous losses, without such a price?

“What if it is dark magic, or a power that should be cursed, something that would draw external criticism, or a power gained by allying with a group that we should not be allying with? If that is the case, then who among us can declare with utmost conviction that we should not continue to use it? Can anyone claim that we should bring an end to this war by relying solely on the strength of the Allied Forces?”

She glanced around the room. “This unknown force is so powerful that it even saved our army from having to take part in a campaign to retake a major city. We have to admit that this hidden power of the Allied Forces... or rather, the hidden power of the Empire, is essential for this war, even if we learn about its true nature.

“If the nature of this force must remain secret, then it can’t be a righteous one, can it? But knowing such a force exists and staying silent because we need it... What does that make us?”

She paused to let her words sink in.

“It makes us accomplices.”

No one knew what kind of power the emperor had tapped into.

If it were true that the emperor had harnessed a dark and malevolent power, then acknowledging it would pose a significant problem. If the emperor was waging war with such a sinister force, and they chose to remain silent because they needed that power, they would become complicit in the crimes of the Empire and the emperor.

“Could it be that His Majesty’s silence is actually meant to protect us?” suggested the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.

That made everyone tense up, their faces etched with concern.

Ignorance is bliss. In most situations, that saying might not hold true, but at that moment, it felt undeniably accurate. Some truths were better left undiscovered.

“His Majesty is shouldering the burden alone. Trying to share it might be futile and dismissive of His Majesty’s intentions,” the commander continued, trying to shield the emperor’s secret.

Despite her words, everyone in the room sensed that Rowen’s motives were not purely out of respect for the emperor. She was suggesting that one person alone carry the burden of sin, while the rest remained in the dark.

Regardless of the nature of the evil scheme, the emperor’s silence in response to the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights spoke volumes.

Had the commander’s accusations been mere conjecture, the emperor would have had no reason to hold his tongue. Her bold claim that the emperor had committed an unforgivable atrocity was a grave insult to the imperial family, the Empire, and the emperor himself. Could the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, no matter her influence, truly overshadow the emperor?

Yet, despite the Holy Knight Commander’s audacity, the emperor remained silent. His tolerance of such disrespect was a tacit admission, and everyone knew it.

Would they choose to become an accomplice by learning the truth? Or would they choose to remain ignorant, relying on the excuse later on that they knew nothing?

As the number of people in the room dreading the truth began to grow, the emperor slowly nodded.

The emperor fixed the commander with a cold gaze. “Thank you, Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.”

“For what, Your Majesty?” Rowen asked, a smile playing on her lips as she narrowed her eyes at the emperor.

“...”

The Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen, seated near the end of the table, quietly observed the tense standoff between the two.

***

When the Allied Forces succeeded in occupying Serandia, they felt a bittersweet mix of sadness and elation.

Many lives had been lost, but there was hope that the Gate Incident might finally be resolved. It was a battle they had won.

This time, though, the only task the Allied Forces had was to gather and burn the monster corpses scattered across the ruins of Gersonosia. It was a grim cleanup operation.

“What happened?”

“Wasn’t it the Hero’s doing?”

“Was it?”

“I heard there’s some incredible unit involved.”

The soldiers and commanders exchanged whispers, each trying to make sense of the strange and uncertain situation.

Once the cleanup in Gersonosia was complete, the Allied Forces would announce a new plan for advancement. Whether they could move forward without engaging in any further battles remained uncertain.

“If things keep going like this, do we even need to be here?”

“If we’re not needed, then what will we do when we go back? Starve to death?”

“Exactly. Staying in the army is better.”

Even if they didn’t fully understand what was going on, the consensus was that remaining in the army was preferable to returning to a life of hunger.

“Whatever the case, it’s a good thing.”

“Yeah.”

In the end, everyone was thankful that they had remained safe. But instead of joy, the Allied Forces’ camp was shrouded in a peculiar sense of confusion.

“In the end, we couldn’t test the new equipment we made for the Titan,” Adelia murmured quietly in one of the tents where Grand Duke Saint-Ouen’s unit was stationed.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Oh, no! Not at all! That’s not what I meant...!” Adelia exclaimed, waving her hands in a flustered manner, her face growing pale.

The grand duke shook his head gently. “I’m not upset with you. I share your disappointment that we couldn’t activate the Titan a second time.”

“Ah, yes, I feel the same way...” Adelia replied softly.

They had hoped to activate the Titan a second time during the battle of Gersonosia. That would have let them assess the condition of the Titan, which had been enhanced as much as possible in a short time, gathered data, and pinpointed areas for further improvement.

From a certain point of view, it might have seemed like they were disappointed there was no battle.

Adelia, the grand duke, and the grand duke’s mages had dedicated every available moment to upgrading the Titan, yet there had been no battle of Gersonosia. In fact, there had been no battles anywhere along the marching route.

Even Adelia, usually absorbed in her research and indifferent to external events, couldn’t shake the feeling that something unusual was going on.

“But really... what could it be?” she wondered aloud.

Adelia’s question was one that lingered in the minds of everyone in the army.

An important battle had not taken place, and no one knew what had transpired.

Even those who had been present at the Supreme Command meeting understood only that seeking answers would bring danger. That warning had come not from the emperor, but from the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights. The emperor himself had scarcely uttered a word.

Grand Duke Saint-Ouen was one of those in the dark.

“Adelia.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

The grand duke was seated, examining the Titan’s blueprints.

“If you could end this war by selling your soul to the devil, would you do it?”

“Sorry...?”

Adelia was taken aback by the Grand Duke’s unexpected question.

‘Selling one’s soul to the devil...’

Legends spoke of powerful devils granting their strength to dark mages through such pacts, though no one could say for sure if these stories were true. Perhaps they were just tales meant to instill fear of demons, or perhaps there was something more real behind them. Such things were often just metaphors, though.

‘Selling one’s soul to the devil in return for ending the war...’ Adelia considered the Grand Duke’s question.

The tragedy they faced was overwhelming. It was unbearable. If all it took to end this war was to sacrifice her soul...

But standing before her was Grand Duke Saint-Ouen, not just a friend’s father, but a member of a family of pure mages, renowned for never dabbling in dark arts. Saying that she’d sell her soul to the devil in front of him was hardly wise.

“I think I... would,” Adelia said, despite herself.

Wasn’t it too small a price to pay?

‘If my soul, my life alone, was enough to stop all this suffering, wouldn’t countless others do the same, even as many wouldn’t?’

Adelia anxiously waited for the grand duke’s reaction, worried she had overstepped.

Grand Duke Saint-Ouen glanced back down at the blueprints and smiled bitterly.

“I think I would too.”

“...”

Even the Grand Duke, with his steadfast beliefs, had admitted as much.

The war was so horrific that he would forsake the honor of his ancient family and his deepest beliefs if given the chance.

‘That was the choice the emperor made.’

The grand duke couldn’t shake the feeling that the emperor had turned to something dark, even if he didn’t know the exact details.