Was Bought by the Demon King Right Before the Ending 26

Chapter 26 – Night Combat

Returning to the garrison, Dorothea immediately issued a call-up order to the entire garrison.

Perhaps because this is the forefront, they are well trained to fight at any time, so all the soldiers gathered at the parade ground in less than 30 minutes fully armed.

That number is about 3,000.

It may feel small for an army on the front line, but all of them are demons with superior physical abilities than humans.

If they fought against humans under the same conditions, they would be able to handle more than twice the head count.

Before long, Eva, heavily armed with gray-white full plate armor, and Dorothea, dressed as a witch, slowly walked up to the podium.

When the two appear, the tumultuous parade ground instantly becomes quiet.

Eva, who could not read the expression of her helmet, scanned the faces of the soldiers lined up in the parade ground, and shouted in a loud voice.

“Attention to troops!”

Then, with a moderate movement, all the soldiers move according to the ceremony.

“Salute to the commander-in-chief!”

Chuck!

Dorothea, who had a bored expression behind her, waved her hand roughly and accepted the soldiers’ salute, and Eva, who was next to her, read the next ceremony.

“Continued, a salute to the national flag, silence for the martyrs, and the singing of the national anthem…”

“Write-“

“… Is useless, so I’ll skip it, and the Commander-in-Chief will have a speech right away.”

Seeing as Dorothea clicks his tongue and then skips it right away, Eva is usually not on time either.

Pom wouldn’t have taken on the role of an adjutant to that hysterical lump.

As she stepped back from her, Dorothea, who strode proudly in front of her, cleared her throat.

“Ah- ah- this is Dorothea, commander-in-chief.”

She must have used amplification magic, but her cheeky voice was so clear that even Camilla and I could hear it in our ears as we stood at the end of the parade ground.

She looked down at the various soldiers gathered at the parade ground and spoke calmly.

“It’s nothing else, I went up the mountain a few hours ago and saw a rather interesting sight. Would you believe me if I said a hole had been dug in the Hamburg fortress across the mountain range?”

The ripples caused by that one word that Dorothea said as if it were not a big deal were enormous.

That’s also true, because all the demons in this place couldn’t break through that gate and have been stuck here for several years already.

All the soldiers start talking loudly, arguing with the soldiers next to them, as if they were quiet.

Ignoring the commotion, Dorothea calmly continued her words.

“I was convinced after seeing that. If I don’t take that fortress this time, I won’t be able to step foot on the land beyond the Vulcan Mountains for the rest of my life. … Wouldn’t that be too harsh? If, in spite of having such a golden opportunity, you can’t break through until the end.”

Having said that, Dorothea stopped talking once and looked around at the soldiers under the platform.

Her willful silence draws the eyes of all her soldiers to her alone.

This is a skill that agitators use a lot.

Then she opened her arms wide and said in her declaration.

“Once the enemy’s fortress is occupied, all plundering is allowed. After winning the battle, I will embrace whatever you do. Take all the treasures, women, and alcohol that come out of it. Instead, I haven’t been able to penetrate anyone for nearly 100 years. Will only take the honor of capturing an impregnable fortress.”

Her voice was husky, but it had a strange suction power that made her audience pay attention to her words.

You see this and call it charisma.

“Bring me a victory that will go down in history. Assholes. Finally…”

So said Dorothea, raising her right hand and pointing out over the mountains.

“Tonight, go into the human fortress and eat. More than that.”

-Waaaaa!

The moment she finished her speech, all the soldiers gathered in the parade ground let out a loud shout at once.

The morale of the army was at its peak.

***

It was at the military meeting barracks that I met Dorothea again.

When she entered the tent a little late, Dorothea, who had already opened a large map and was contemplating how to take over the human fortress with other officers and scribes, glanced up.

She called me with her beckoning hand as her eyes met.

“You’re welcome. Patrasch. I’m in the middle of thinking about how to break through the enemy’s fortress. Please tell me your opinion without hesitation.”

The bookkeepers around me stared at me as if they were looking at a rolled stone, but I decided to go out as shamelessly as possible.

“Let’s see…”

As I muttered that, I slipped in between the bookseller and checked the situation on the map.

The valley in which the fortress of the Margrave of Hamburg was built was made of cliffs on two of the four sides, and the road leading up to the front was a narrow and long uphill, and there was little cover, forcing one-sided damage to the attacking side.

Even if he managed to break through their onslaught and get to the entrance of the fortress, he couldn’t even get a single scratch on the walls that were covered with all sorts of magic.

I don’t know if it’s magic of 4th tier or higher or the aura of a sword expert, but if such a high-level manpower stepped forward, it would be easy to be targeted by archers and turned into a hedgehog.

After examining several possibilities, I chose the one that seemed the best.

“This way, why don’t you infiltrate the join tribe and beastmen this way?”

As I said that, I pointed to the southern wall of the fortress.

It was also a place where a large part of the wall was demolished by a large-scale avalanche earlier.

Dorothea, hearing me, tilted her head.

“But that side is a cliff. No matter how good the beastmen’s stamina is, there’s no way they can fight normally after consuming their stamina by climbing such a high cliff.”

I shook my head at her skeptical reaction.

“No. It looks like there is no road this way, but if you look closely, there is a byway that you can climb from below. It is a secret passage that humans used to transport goods. We can infiltrate it.”

“…How did you, who just arrived yesterday, know that there is such a byway?”

“I stayed in the Vulcan Mountains for about three months during the Manma War five years ago. This is a byway I discovered then, but at the time there was no way to properly break through the enemy’s fortress, so I didn’t bother to report it to the command.”

When Dorothea heard me, he put on a suspicious expression, but he sighed and said, probably because he knew there was no other way.

“Then let’s do as you say. Some of them will attack the front, and a detached group made up of quick beastmen and joiners will break through the southern wall, right?”

“Yes. No matter how strong the castle walls are, they won’t be able to block attacks from the inside, not from the outside.”

Saying so, I grabbed a flag from the map and set it down on the south side of the fort.

“The core of this operation is diversion. The main unit must firmly press the enemy so that the enemy’s eyes are diverted and the detached unit can infiltrate the enemy’s camp.”

Then Dorothea asked, stroking his chin.

“First of all, I understand what the ploy you are talking about. Then what will you do during the battle? You know that you can’t just tease a 5th tier mage, right?”

“There’s one way I’ve thought of beforehand.”

Saying so, he asked Dorothea.

“Do you have any magic stones left in the garrison?”

“Why is there a magic stone all of a sudden?”

I replied with a meaningful smile.

“I have a place to write.”

***

Ridge! Ridge! Ridge! Ridge!

The heavy sound of drums echoes through the dark night sky.

A group of fully armed troops was advancing towards the White Valley, where the Hamburg fortress had been built.

The cavalry of the Demon King’s army stood in the forefront.

Among them, there were cavalrymen riding ordinary horses, but there were also cavalrymen riding bicorns or dire wolves, and there were centaurs who were half people and half horses, and rhinoceros beasts whose skin was like armor.

Before long, Eva, commander-in-chief Dorothea’s lieutenant and captain of the cavalry, raised a long lance above his head in the lead and shouted:

“All grand!”

Then, the cavalrymen lined up behind her raised their weapons in unison.

The role of the cavalry in this battle was nothing else.

To open the way for the foot soldiers in the rear row to advance.

The Demon King’s cavalry, unmatched in momentary destructive power and breakthrough power, soon finished all preparations to attack.

Only chilly silence hangs in the dark night sky.

Perhaps the enemy on top of the castle wall has already spotted them.

But there was no fear.

There are only attacks.

Eva, who made up her mind once again, lowered the face guard on her helmet and gave a command in a loud voice.

“Turn around!!”

It was the beginning of a night battle.