Under the calm night sky, the pure white castle wall revealed itself.
My heart began to race instinctively at the sight of the familiar architectural style, simply and elegantly decorated with regular patterns.
‘So I ended up returning here this way.’
Beyond that white castle wall lies the village where I once lived.
The orphanage that Plona, who picked me up when I was cast alone into this world, introduced to me, the street I regarded as my second hometown, is right there.
In the western part of the Luminous Kingdom, Randell.
A place that once granted me a daily life I was most grateful for and, despite becoming like this, taught me the desperate reality of still wanting to be human.
And now I’ve come to bring it down, along with the countless vampires, beastmen, and elves.
“Sister.”
Plona’s soft whisper broke my contemplation.
Now that I think about it, Plona must feel even stranger than I do.
For me, Randell is both a second hometown and an object of memories and hatred, but for Plona, isn’t it the land where she actually grew up?
Becoming the one invading her hometown as a vampire, it must be quite unsettling for her.
Thinking about her resolve, I decided not to urge her to back out this time, but if I showed my own agitation, it might just increase unnecessary distractions.
“Are we ready?”
“Lavina is doing the final check with the elves. The beastmen are ready to go.”
The immediate response came to my deliberately vague question.
This war marks the first time warriors from allied kingdoms other than the vampires are joining.
Led by Levanta Clocksees, the first among the elves to pledge allegiance, alongside some soldiers of the former beastman resistance led by Kanak, and warriors from beastman slave backgrounds.
I’ve fielded beastmen as non-combatants a few times, but this is the first time we have a military comprised entirely of combatants from different species.
It isn’t particularly comforting to suddenly make a new attempt in a war that’s practically the last gateway to conquer the continent, but with the opposing side being what it is, relying solely on vampires has its limitations.
Insisting on finishing with just vampires in the birthplace of holy magic is obviously a waste of manpower.
“Martini, as soon as we’re ready, we’re attacking. Let the vampires know and have them on standby.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As I watched Martini’s quietly retreating figure, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
When tomorrow night arrives, how many among the many gathered here will actually survive?
It’s undoubtedly going to be a hard fight, and this time, there may truly be an unprecedented number of casualties.
I had been trying hard to look away, but my heart felt heavy.
Thinking that with a single word from me, many lives could be lost scares me.
Killing enemies and witnessing the death of allies are indeed worlds apart. Especially if it’s deaths caused by my command.
Thus, I’ve always stood at the forefront every time I step onto the battlefield.
Only then can I ensure at least one less person who follows me dies.
Only then can the colors of criticism directed at me, who brings forth both a promised glorious future and an inevitable sacrifice for someone, fade just a little.
Today, however, it was somewhat comforting that we could proceed carefully and thoroughly ready before advancing, without having to rush.
Surely the Luminous Kingdom had been keeping a close eye on us since the moment we set out.
Since a surprise attack was no longer on the table, there was no need to hide our presence or be overly anxious.
“Your Highness, the entire army is ready.”
“……Understood.”
I regained my composure in response to Martini’s report after how long had passed and turned back.
Martini, Jeil, Plona, Eleonora, Lavina, Stella.
And countless warriors of various races forming the alliance army that stretched endlessly out of sight.
Hiding my unease, I took in those I needed to protect one more time before turning my gaze toward the castle wall of Randell.
“Everyone, no matter what happens, survive.”
I wished for it, knowing it was a wish that could never be fulfilled.
And just like always, I stood at the front and declared the initiation of battle.
*
A silver blade grazed my cheek. Simultaneously, I felt a cold metal slip between my ribs from behind.
Taking a deliberate step back to prevent recovering the silver sword lodged horizontally between my ribs.
As I twisted my body slightly to secure the sword protruding from my side, I sensed the bewilderment of the knight behind me.
I sprayed the blood that gushed from my back backward and scattered a handful of shadows clutched in my right hand forward.
The knight behind me lost his heartbeat, but the knight before me emitted a bright silver light, barely managing to remove the shadows.
The next moment, an arrow lodged itself in his temple, and he collapsed.
Confirming Lavina’s cover, I wasted no time escaping from there and turned my direction.
In the chaos, stained with the sweet smell of blood and the heavy scent of ash, metal, and sweat, I expanded my senses wide as a net, focusing solely on the presence of holy magic.
In that moment, I sensed the orderly presence of holy magic.
Given its relatively large scale and consistent pattern, they must be the supporting priests.
Such a situation is one that someone like me, unaffected by silver or holy magic, should handle in advance.
Without hesitation, I plunged into the enemy’s midst, cutting through the crowd toward where the priests were.
Humans in my path fell one after another, with blood dripping from where my left arm used to be and my right thigh.
‘This was quite a bargain.’
Like a flower bud blooming, my left arm regenerated.
Just as the priests were about to unleash their magic, I swung my spilled blood like a whip, and the softly rising light completely vanished.
I continued to bustle about, handling strong knights and support priests.
With the effect of dark magic halved, my means of attack were limited. As I rushed to handle them before their support magic was activated, I inevitably had to expend considerable regenerative energy.
But today, I couldn’t afford to drain all of it just like this.
Not using blood magic to turn the battlefield upside down isn’t just because I didn’t want to use something so costly right now.
I was looking for a single paladin while minimizing my involvement only where necessary.
‘…Where is he?’
The strongest paladin of the age, Jeref Parvian.
The one who had clung to both Martini and Stella until dawn as the Sahelrn Duchy was on the verge of collapse, and the one who stood as the last line of defense against the human alliance’s retreat, blocking my path.
Though I’ve become stronger since then, the fact that the red-haired paladin was undeniably the most overwhelming among the humans I had ever seen still stands true.
And if the Luminous Kingdom’s top power is to be employed, he would certainly be deployed to this battlefield.
Understanding that the situation was headed this way from the beginning, I had planned to fire a signal flare to call for me as soon as I spotted that paladin.
‘But then why…’
Hours have passed since the battle began, and I still have yet to see the signal flare.
While I searched for him on the battlefield, I felt none of the intense aura of holy power I had sensed previously.
‘This is strange.’
This shouldn’t be happening.
It can’t be that they’re waiting for the right moment to strike and surprise us; it’s far too late for that now.
The outer walls of Randell have been breached, and while we haven’t reached the residential areas yet, close-quarters combat is already being fought inside the city.
No matter how much they might anticipate a dramatic reversal, I doubt they’d willingly give us the advantage of the environment.
In other words, from the Luminous Kingdom’s perspective, the time to hide their trump card has long since passed.
As I mechanically moved in accordance with the immediate priorities, I couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort.
It would be better if the most threatening enemy appeared quickly to reduce variables, but based on the confirmed facts, it’s certainly a situation favorable for our side, yet there’s a foreboding aftertaste as if I might get stabbed in the back if I let my guard down.
But amidst the tense silence that felt like it could explode at any moment, time continued to pass.
“Just hold on a little longer! Dawn is coming soon!!”
A near-scream echoed throughout, and I looked up at the reddening sky.
A full night.
The battle I had anticipated to be the most challenging in Randell lasted longer than expected and has led us to this point.
With almost 80% of the victory already leaning in our favor, we were only a step away from actual occupation of Randell.
However, the strongest paladin still remained nowhere to be seen.
If he hasn’t shown up by now, should I assume he’s not here?
Or was he planning to give up Randell to confront us at the Luminous Kingdom’s palace?
The reasons remain unclear.
Yet, with the dawn approaching, I had to act before it was too late.
“Eclipse.”
With a clap of my hands, the red hues in the sky began to turn back to pitch black.
Cheers rose up from everywhere.
From somewhere, Eleonora emerged, standing beside me with a dagger reversed in hand, ready to provide cover, but by now, there was no human left who could approach where I stood.
Thus, the roughly 20% possibility of defeat that had existed vanished with the sun.
An hour and thirty minutes later.
We seized the western city of the Luminous Kingdom, Randell.
Far simpler than I had anticipated.
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