Chapter 42

Chapter 42

hapter 42

After some time, the deliberation table in the Saxon Duke’s fortress became the epicenter of reports regarding the strategic movements of the conflict.

An immense mountain range separated the Demon King’s domains from the Duchy of Saxony, a rugged terrain reinforced by multiple levels of bulwarks in its narrowest gorges, consolidating a highly solid rearguard.

These summit positions remained under the custody of scouts known as the “Winter Watchers.”

Even if the adversaries managed to overcome these defenses after bloody combat and cross the heights, they would encounter another network of fortifications within the territory, arranged to block the main transit routes and crucial passes.

—We have been notified that the aristocrats of the northern region and the Winter Watchers have initiated their withdrawal from the Ninth Mountain Fortress —it was reported at the meeting.

—They set fire to all supplies that they could not evacuate before starting the retreat.

—The time to mobilize the assault troops on open ground has arrived.

Sir Helmut marked the positions on the map while giving his explanations.

Various nobles with their respective armies, summoned by the Duke of Saxony, had already joined the defenders of the fortified structures, triggering high-intensity clashes.

However, the temporary inactivity of the Grand Duke, whom they called the Black Duke, obeyed a very specific plan.

Through constant attrition and a scorched-earth policy, they sought to undermine the resistance and morale of the enemy hosts. In this way, at the precise moment, the main contingent would strike with its full destructive capacity to deliver the final blow.

A strategy of tiered resistance.

Contain the onslaught until the ideal opportunity to counterattack with force and wipe the rival off the map. The moment to activate the final offensive was about to arrive.

—We will prevent the bulk of the adversary’s army from managing to cross the upper reaches of the Saxon River and we will proceed to their total destruction.

—Understood, Your Excellency.

The upper sector of the Saxon River represented an unbreakable border. Allowing the enemy to cross it and scatter would imply perpetual devastation for the duchy.

—Give the order to the feudal lords to prepare their men for the march.

The command evoked the occasion when they held off a tide of a thousand orcs in that same place, although the scale of the current conflict was immensely greater.

Before the imminent deployment of the troops, in the private office of the Duke of Saxony.

—I am placing under your responsibility a rapid assault contingent composed of three hundred Night Raven riders, acting independently of the bulk of the army.

In that space, the Duke of Saxony granted the “Black Prince” a task of great weight. As it was a faction with operational autonomy, it functioned practically as a special operations group.

—Likewise, you will have the support of Lady Sepia.

—…

Dale experienced deep astonishment upon hearing the name of Sepia, the mystical elf belonging to the sixth circle.

—It is my understanding that the guidelines of the Blue Tower prohibit involvement in the disputes of mortals…

—She currently serves as the “principal advisor” to the Saxon lineage —replied the Black Duke with total serenity—. Besides, protecting the soil of men against demonic hosts hardly qualifies as a simple “dispute of mortals.”

—Does this determination come directly from Lady Sepia? —inquired Dale, receiving a silent affirmation from his progenitor.

—The moment hostilities become generalized in both sectors, you will assume absolute direction of your detachment.

Such an arrangement was born from the macro-strategy named “rotation of black and white,” added to the certainty they had regarding Dale’s tactical capabilities.

—Don’t worry, father, I will meet your expectations.

Dale accepted the challenge without hesitation, accustomed as he was to carrying the responsibilities conferred upon him.

—If you grant me the floor, I would like to propose one last request.

—Proceed.

Dale nodded and spoke, bringing to his mind the image of the girl who wielded the heavy dark blade of the Saxons with unparalleled skill.

—I request that the young divine sword be integrated into the ranks of my detachment.

A girl waited wearing dark-toned armor that covered her completely.

Such attire, like Dale’s, had been custom-made for Charlotte, corresponding to the uniform of a Night Raven knight. However, instead of a fine thrusting sword, she held the great broadsword characteristic of the Saxon family.

—You inspire great confidence.

—After all, my job is to guard the celebrated “Black Prince.”

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, Dale sketched a grin of amusement in anonymity. His face remained hidden behind the dark visor, given that he needed to maintain the mystery about his person.

However, Charlotte was far from being a helpless person in need of permanent tutelage.

She was not a simple prodigy apprentice under the protection of the Saxon family. After an implacable training process under Sir Helmut, her level already equaled that of the “Aura Knights” belonging to the ducal house.

A true prodigy of martial arts, capable of balancing the colossal Saxon family broadsword by resorting to the control of her vital energy.

In the technical level of blade handling, her natural aptitudes surpassed those of Dale himself.

The shadowed steel of the Saxon family that she carried bore irrefutable witness to her capabilities.

An edge imbued with a completely jet-black energy.

A manifestation of power conceived to serve the Saxon cause until the last breath.

—… Let’s establish a pact —proposed Dale, fixing his attention on her.

—Agreed.

—Do not let them take your life.

—What did you say?

Charlotte tilted her face, bewildered by the requirement.

—A warrior’s oath demands offering one’s existence for their regent…

—Is that your conviction? —interrupted Dale—. Would you like to know what a knight’s duty truly implies?

Faced with the question, Charlotte maintained composure, attentive to what would come.

—Never betray the faith that your leader placed in you —stated Dale firmly—. And my will is that you remain alive. This scenario is not the place where you should perish.

Charlotte held her breath for an instant, recovering her composure almost immediately.

—Understood.

Assuming her role as a fighter devoted to her superior, Charlotte knelt solemnly in front of Dale and buried the tip of the Saxon family’s dark steel in the ground.

Inwardly, she celebrated that the structure of the helmet prevented seeing the emotions reflected on her face.

The main contingent commanded by the Duke of Saxony began the advance to face the orc warlords who were gaining ground.

The demonic hosts constituted a race driven by pure survival, incapable of tolerating the geographic inclemencies in the Demon King’s domains. They were not moved by a plan of supreme evil to submerge the terrestrial plane into darkness.

«Which makes them much more dangerous.»

Despite not equaling in volume the colossal invasions commanded by the “Demon King” in previous eras, the massive movements of these creatures were still of consideration.

Before each wave, the Duke of Saxony summoned the northern aristocrats and, in critical moments, resorted to the use of “dark arts” to contain the rate of casualties in his ranks.

Asserting his status as a dark sorcerer of the eighth circle at the pinnacle of the Black Tower.

That the “Black Duke” himself marched at the head of the main body predicted a resounding outcome. Despite having delegated the leadership of the rapid operations group to Dale, the ruler intended to seal the fate of the conflict with his own means.

Deploying the mystical capacity of the individual most feared in the reaches of the empire.

Upper reaches of the Saxon River.

At a distance of a few kilometers from the base of the main army under the command of the “Duke of Saxony.”

In this strategic position were located the quarters of Dale and his three hundred Night Raven riders, components of the rapid assault force.

Faithful to his custom, Dale had the support of Sir Baskerville’s Veil, the protection of Charlotte, and the mystical guidance of the sixth-circle elf, Sepia.

However, in this environment, Sepia did not act as Dale’s “tutor,” but played the role of his right hand, abiding by each of his provisions.

During that night at the camp of the detachment commanded by Dale.

Despite the late hours of the early morning, the mystical elf Sepia was trapped by insomnia. She left her tent to wander under the mantle of stars.

By becoming the guide of the most gifted young man in the entire territory, she ended up linked to the ducal dynasty, becoming fully involved in terrestrial intrigues. It was a step she took with the firm intention of channeling Dale’s potential, which she considered her true purpose.

—Lady Sepia.

Dale’s voice interrupted the silence, revealing that he could not find sleep either.

—Dale.

At that instant, Sepia understood that her perception of the young man had transcended the notion of a simple “purpose to fulfill.”

—Can you not rest either?

—What was the real reason for accepting my progenitor’s proposal? —questioned Dale.

—I am merely attending to my duty —replied Sepia.

The young man in front of her harbored a gift much more formidable and risky than that of anyone she had known in the past. In her role as a mentor, her goal was to guide him along the right path.

That constituted Sepia’s reason for being.

Upon analyzing the situation in detail, she realized that the young man’s internal environment was impregnated with an extremely cold isolation.

A space of emptiness and perpetual helplessness, an environment that demanded her presence.

In the midst of that desolate abandonment.

Such certainty inspired in her both compassion and deep affection. Understanding that she represented the only presence capable of mitigating the young man’s emotional void moved her.

—… Did I not give you my word that I would remain by your side?

—I thank you for it.

Sepia’s cheeks took on a reddish tone as she replied, while Dale dedicated an affable gesture to her.

The night extended over them vastly and darkly.

The first clash of forces occurred before calculations anticipated.

Before the bulk of the army attempted to pass through the ford area, a smaller pocket of orcs sought to get ahead by crossing the current at a distance of several kilometers upstream.

Being a small number of troops, improvising floating platforms or makeshift footbridges to move the combatants did not represent a complex task. It was the “rapid assault force” commanded by Dale that was in charge of neutralizing this movement of the orcs with total precision.

—Attack!

The direction of four squadrons of riders, totaling fifty combatants per section, fell to Lord Baskerville, while Dale assumed direct control of two squadrons in the rearguard, ready to intervene in case of unforeseen events.

However, the enemy forces had just completed the river crossing after an exhausting march, lacking any possibility of receiving close support.

The cavalry’s onslaught fell upon the unprotected orc infantry with the violence of a gale. The confrontation turned into a highly unilateral execution.

The orcs repeated the feint of crossing the current in smaller factions with the intention of provoking dispersion in the defenses, but Dale’s mobile group frustrated each of the attempts.

Shortly after, realizing that the distraction maneuvers were sterile, the bulk of the orc army, composed of thousands of combatants, initiated a frontal offensive against the strategic pass guarded by the men of the Duke of Saxon.

Under the direct orders of the orc warlord, the most implacable and experienced combatants of the group opened the attack.

They advanced mounted on fierce wolves of such imposing dimensions that they reduced the northern steeds to the category of mere beasts of burden.

—Raaaargh!

The terrifying roars of the orc riders in communion with the howls of their wolves enveloped the atmosphere of the battlefield. The main hostilities had begun.

In the instant that both sides collided, initiating a fierce dispute, the three hundred men on horseback under Dale’s orders managed to move to the northern bank, the nerve center where the critical mass of the orc army gathered.

The orcs’ concentration on the frontal onslaught left their rearguard totally unprotected and exposed to a swift blow.

However, the group of riders did not suspect the presence of a hidden trap that awaited them in that very place.