The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

100 – EP6. Great Change

Angel thought to himself. What should he do if he is holding the reins of a monster that he cannot handle alone?

The answer he came up with was that he needed someone else to hold the reins together.

The person who came up with the answer was Jacob Ruderan.

The leader of the former noble faction, who could bite the Emperor’s neck at any time, the leader of Ruderan.

Another monster who can handle the reins of a monster tied to the reins.

Angel joined hands with Jacob Ruderan. Although it was only half-hearted, he handed him the reins.

And secretly let go of it.

It was pressure towards the Emperor.

“This, what is this…!”

The Emperor clenched his teeth. It was a clearly visible threat to anyone.

Jacob Ruderan, who had gone down to the territory to hide his appearance under the pretext of deteriorating health. Why does he suddenly give away his weaknesses?

The reason was simple. The fact that Jacob Ruderan went down to the territory because he, too, had been caught by the warrior’s weaknesses.

Even Jacob Ruderan is in a miserable state because his weaknesses have been caught. The Emperor felt a chill at that fact.

But that didn’t mean there was no way to stop the warrior. The warrior had sent him an inexplicable pressure. It meant, “If you play around, I will immediately overthrow this empire’s royal family.”

“Why are you suddenly doing this?”

The Emperor couldn’t understand and was angry at the absurdity. From his perspective, it was only natural. Who would know that the previous him, before regressing, had hit the warrior on the back of his head and made him cautious.

The Emperor started to think rationally while feeling angry.

“What should I do in this situation?”

The warrior suddenly strengthened his guard against him. What can he do in such a situation?

“…There seems to be no solution.”

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t work. What cannot be done simply cannot be done. The Emperor reluctantly gave up on what cannot be done and started to think about something else.

There is no other way. If he can’t touch the warrior, it would be better to just let him pass by.

And, with that thought in mind, the destination the Emperor reached was none other than the Demon King’s army.

“The momentum of the Demon King’s army is stronger than expected.”

The Demon Army was launching an offensive and was pounding the Imperial Army, who had assumed a defensive position.

Even though each demon was strong enough to take on at least ten humans, they received supplies at the same level as an ordinary human, making it challenging to gain an advantage in terms of logistics.

“In the end, we need a hero. We need a feat that will make the Demon Army falter and lose morale, rather than just continuing to attack.”

If there was a way to block the enemies who seemed to be rising in strength and morale and boost the spirits of their own forces, victory was the only possible outcome.

After careful consideration, the Emperor decided to send a hero to the frontlines.

Telvein Fortress. Among the fortresses occupied by the Demon Army, it was known to be the most challenging to conquer.

The reason was simple: geography. It was all about the terrain.

Located at a height that seemed to pierce the sky, with abundant resources and crops, Telvein Fortress was easier to defend due to its lower food requirements compared to its combat capabilities.

However, from the perspective of the attackers, it was like experiencing hell. The extreme altitude not only broke the morale of the soldiers but also severely limited the number of troops that could be dispatched before their stamina gave out, thanks to the rugged mountain range.

Many of the Empire’s great generals had suffered defeat there, and the Emperor was considering sending a hero.

The fact that the hero had revealed his weakness to Duke Luderran meant that the Emperor intended to prevent the hero from betraying him.

In other words, the rough terrain and the fact that the hero could die along with the Emperor’s weakness, which he held, seemed to be sufficient reasons to send the hero.

On the other hand, if the hero achieved victory, it would not be a bad thing.

Telvein Fortress required a small elite force rather than a large army due to the overwhelming number of enemy forces. In that sense, it was an advantageous environment for the demons. If they could only divert their attention, the condition most needed for Telvein Fortress, the “small elite,” would be fulfilled by the hero and his comrades.

The Emperor issued an order to send the hero to Telvein Fortress.

“Hmm…”

Ainzelle began to contemplate.

Before her was Telvein Fortress. Almost impossible to conquer, yet overflowing with reasons that it must be conquered.

Ainzelle was deep in thought. In this rugged terrain, they couldn’t mobilize a large army. Therefore, the story was that the maximum possible force in this terrain had to move along with the hero and his comrades.

One relatively favorable point was that Lena had reached the level of a Master.

The Ritual of the World Tree possessed far greater power than expected, and Lena, who had the greatest talent among the fairies, was highly compatible with awakening the potential of the World Tree.

So, Lena had returned to the royal palace with great enthusiasm.

But there was unfortunate news waiting for her.

Her brother had committed suicide.

She was greatly shocked.

She couldn’t believe that her rational and composed brother had taken his own life. Consequently, she often spent her time in a daze, shocked by the news.

In other words, Ainzelle was facing a crisis situation where Lena had become stronger but was mentally absent.

It was already a treacherous mountain range at high altitude. What could they do when the fairy race, who needed to show their abilities more than anyone else from the mountain side, acted like that?

Ainzelle was secretly worried.

There were some corners that he could target, at least.

The plan was to disrupt the enemy’s spirits with a small number of troops, and then the party of warriors would enter the inner walls. That was his aim.

Originally, the party of warriors was created to kill the Demon King, in other words, to infiltrate his stronghold and assassinate him. It was not suited for fighting in a large-scale battle against many opponents.

On the contrary, in a situation where the enemy was a small elite force, it was the best situation among all the battles fought so far.

No, it wasn’t exactly the best situation. It could be called the “most suitable situation according to the original intention.”

However, since it was a fortress occupied by the enemy, there were quite a lot of demons.

So, what should he do?

It was simple. They just needed to lure out the demons inside the fortress.

And Angel was someone who knew very well how to do that.

Numerous soldiers attacked the fortress. No, exactly speaking, they only made a slight commotion.

Even though it was less than 1% of the Empire’s available forces, it was enough manpower to fill this small mountain range, which meant that the enemy always had to be on high alert.

And yet, the Empire army, who had kept the enemy on high alert, didn’t do anything. They maintained a distance where they couldn’t be reached by the enemy’s attacks, but were close enough to touch if they were to fall, at least from the demons’ perspective.

Maintaining a high alert state required a considerable amount of stamina.

Even though the demons boasted a combat power of ten to one, he was no different.

Of course, as long as they maintained a high alert state during the day, it wouldn’t be a big problem. It was common sense that exerting oneself inside the fortress was less physically demanding than laying traps outside.

However, if the nights, the time of absolute peace due to nature’s intrusion, were invaded, the situation would change.

In other words, if Angel were to be attacked every night like he had been by the ashen soldiers in the past, it meant that his stamina would be rapidly depleted.

Angel and his companions deliberately did not participate in the attack. Adding them wouldn’t change the fact that they were just standing still, and the role that the warrior’s companions had taken was precisely to be attacked every night.

When night came and only a few guards remained, when the enemies disappeared, Lena shot the guards with her bow.

Of course, this would put the enemies on high alert.

Then the warriors and their companions would retreat and rest in the barracks where the soldiers gathered.

On the other hand, there was also a method of sweeping away the guards nearby with a multi-shot and then attacking the castle interior with Peria’s magic.

Clearly, in terms of supplies and military power, the enemies were far superior.

And yet, the enemies were dwindling.

And for a logical commander, in a situation where he had the advantage in terrain, proficiency, supplies, and military power, there was no reason not to fight when the outcome was just sitting still and dying of thirst.

The fortress gates opened.

The enemies poured out.