Chapter 93: Mobilization

Within Haefield, there was a huge mansion that was located in the residence district for the rich and nobles. Built with white marble, vast windows stretched across a single wall, allowing streaks of sunlight to flow inside a massive living room.

Within the living room, two people were seated on a luxurious, red leather sofa, and sipped tea from cups that they placed on the mahogany table before them. Normally, there would be servants attending them, but the maids and butlers were strangely absent from the room. As there was need for secrecy, their master had dismissed them beforehand.

Leaning against the soft couch and basking in the gentle sunlight that streamed through the windows, one of the figures let out a chuckle as he placed his cup of tea back on the table. With his blond hair and regal appearance, he was none other than Bradley Kreuger.

The other party was a girl dressed in white robes, her head and most of her features concealed by a hood. Despite the shade casted over her face, her sharp, piercing eyes were visible. Resting her gaze on Bradley, she smiled.

"So…how is it? The condition of the demonic sword, Azreal Drakkan, which I sold to you?"

"Yeah, it's fantastic. Thank you, my dear. I was finally able to completely master its blood magic after spending some time in seclusion and dominating it. I still content myself with third rank among all the Blood Knights of Haemorage for now, but…if I feel like it, none of the Blood Knights of this kingdom will ever be a match for me."

The blond noble's smiling response was brimming with confidence. The hooded girl beamed, her bright blue eyes sparkling in mirth.

"I see. As expected of you, Lord Kreuger. It was worth going through the trouble of convincing Nishida-kun to forge that weapon for you. Just make sure to keep this deal a secret."

The girl, Kishimoto Hikaru, deliberately lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Evidently, she had used her links with the other heroes to sell weapons in secret to turncoats lurking within the enemy.

"Then let's move on to the next topic. I shall be depending on you for that matter we discussed about."

Bradley smiled at her feminine voice.

"If I remember correctly, you're referring to the matter of me marrying her highness, the Vampire Queen from the Scarlet family, correct? It will be difficult to convince the other elders to allow me to marry into royalty, but I have that well under my control. That said, I am curious as to why you want me to marry her. Is there anything special about her?"

"Do you not know the history of your own kingdom?"

Kishimoto suppressed the irritation in her voice.

"She is the direct descendant of Alucard, the vampire king whose tomb we're planning to raid. Of course she will be vitally important – her bloody is the key to unlocking the seal of the tomb. In order to uncover the secrets and ancient treasures and weapons buried deep inside the heart of the tomb, we need her royal blood to unlock the gates sealing those within."

"Then…"

"Yeah, I want to entrust her to you. That's why it doesn't matter what sort of methods you use. Be sure to subjugate her…and by using her blood, I want you to wrench the gates to Alucard's tomb open. If you succeed, I'll split half of the tomb's treasures and weapons, and even allow you to rule this kingdom once we conquer all of Morten."

"Ku ku. I understand." Bradley chuckled and nodded, delight evident in his throaty laughter. "That woman seems to be quite proud, but such a female is worth breaking. I'll live up to your expectations, my lady."

He could almost envision his military rule in the future.

"Well then, I will take my leave. I need to prepare my forces for conquering the tomb. I trust I will see you there?"

"Indeed I shall."

Bradley nodded. Kishimoto smiled, and then rose to her feet. When Bradley stood up, she held up a hand to forestall him.

"Don't worry, you don't need to see me off. Your servants don't know I'm here, after all. Let's keep it that way."

"All right." Bradley bowed and took her hand to plant a kiss on it. "I will see you again, my lady. The tomb will be ours."

And just like that, Kishimoto Hikaru was gone. Bradley blinked, but he then calmly strolled toward the windows. There was a rustle in the trees, almost as if a breeze was flowing, the only sign of movement in his massive garden.

Then…nothing.

"Hmph."

Bradley Kreuger snorted as he watched the rustling slip through the row of trees, and turned away scornfully.

"Don't think I'll be under your thumb forever. Well, it's fine. If you say I can use any methods, then I'll be able to consider a huge range of measures."

As those words left his mouth, Bradley rested his hand on the hilt of his demonic sword, and licked his lips in anticipation.

"I'm looking forward to it. The next king of this kingdom…will be me."

*

The next day, after having agreed to a duel with Bradley Kreuger, I arranged a meeting with my officers.

"All right, guys! We're meeting up with the rest of the battalion today!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

The vampires of the heavy infantry company saluted as they rested their heavy weapons on the ground.

Since Regis informed me of the mission, the date for my battalion's reunion had been moved forward. Already I could see the tanks and armored personnel carriers in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust as the convoy sped toward the military camp.

"There they are."

"Men, forward!" Sergeant Marko barked, and they all spun in a disciplined formation to welcome the armored and mechanized convoy. The gates opened as the sentries allowed the 1,087th Magna Battalion into the camp.

The tanks ground to a halt in front of me, and Lieutenant Daniel Dressia emerged from the top hatch of the tank, standing behind the turret to offer me a salute. I returned the salute, and then turned to the armored personnel carriers, which also stopped. The infantry borne within all spilled out, with Captain Elia Kratz jogging toward my position to report.

"1,087th Magna Battalion, reporting for duty!"

"Well met, Captain." I returned the salute and then nodded to the soldiers. "Everyone, at ease. Let's not waste time with formalities. Let's get started!"

"Yes, sir!"

As we found a place to park and store the tanks and APCs, as well as began to unload all the weapons and equipment, the vampire heavy infantry helped out. In less than an hour, we were done with unpacking and I had them all gather around in the plaza for a briefing.

Clearing my throat, I stood in front of everyone and gestured for them to sit. Exhausted after unloading their weapons and equipment from the vehicles, my soldiers gratefully sat down and glanced up at me in anticipation.

"Can you all hear me?"

I tried to speak as loudly as possible, my voice echoing throughout the plaza. The soldiers in the back gave a thumb's up, and I sighed in relief. Nodding, I began my briefing proper, sweeping my eyes across the battalion.

"As you all know, we've been assigned to guard the tomb from Evelyn's Chosen and their accompanying forces tomorrow. We'll be moving out at 0630 hours tomorrow, so reveille will be 0500 hours, breakfast at 0515, and we'll meeting in the plaza at 0615. The drivers can begin to start the engines of their vehicles then.

"Which tomb are we guarding, sir?" one of the soldiers asked. Private Percy Jackson, if I recalled correctly.

"Um…apparently it's Alucard's tomb." I glanced down at my notes uncertainly. "It appears her highness, Queen Scarlet, will be accompanying us tomorrow."

"Her highness is?"

"Oh wow…"

"This has gotten serious, hasn't it…?"

There were murmurs and chatter among the soldiers, but Sergeant Marko silenced them with his bloodshot glare.

"We'll scout the tomb and assign sentries and guards accordingly. The tank company will form an armored perimeter – a wall of steel, so to speak. The infantry will take up positions inside the tomb. The heavy infantry, particularly, will be assigned positions to maximize the effectiveness of their weapons. Captain Kratz, your infantry company will be fast and flexible, moving around the tomb to reinforce Lieutenant Burado's heavy infantry whenever and wherever necessary. After that, we'll also be relying on you for the tomb investigation."

"…tomb investigation?"

"Apparently his majesty Emperor Regis Gremory wishes to investigate the tomb and see if there are any ancient weapons or technology we can salvage. Her highness Queen Scarlet has already given her permission."

To the vampires, who were shocked, I had prepared this explanation. Lilith didn't seem pleased about it, but she recognized the necessity.

After all, we weren't going to beat the human heroes through ideals and sentiment alone. The demons needed something in their advantage, especially since the heroes could render our supposedly superior technology useless.

This sucks…

I was hoping to overwhelm the enemy with Cadian…cough, Morten steel and firepower. What I couldn't crush with words, I shall crush with the tanks of the Imperial Guard…I mean, the Morten demonic army. Maybe I could rename my battalion to Morten Iron Guard. It wasn't as if we were shock troops or ice warriors, after all…

"Sir?"

"Uh, right. But we're going to crush the enemy with overwhelming firepower. Secure the objectives and deny our foes the objectives…or destroy them completely. I'll take care of whatever Evelyn's Chosen who shows up, so you guys deal with the rest." I consulted my notes again. "Let's see, it seems they'll have a disposition of at least five thousand soldiers…and because they've been skirting the terrain and trying to avoid direct conflicts with demonic armies and troops in the area, their journey to the tomb will be delayed. We'll be able to reach the tomb before them."

"Five thousand?!"

"Don't worry…we'll still be able to defend the objective with our superior firepower and armored might." I jerked my head toward the parked tanks. "And they'll need much more forces to dislodge us from the tomb if we're well dug in and well-positioned. We have defenders' advantage, and don't forget, they'll be exhausted after their trek here."

I waved my hand and conjured a holographic map of the tomb.

"This map is constructed from old archives and historians' estimations. I'll be forwarding this to all of you, so familiarize yourself with the layout somewhat."

"Yes, sir!"

"Any questions?"

There were a few here and there and I handled them as best as I could. Following that, I met with the commanders to discuss tactics and logistics based on the present information we had on hand. Before we began, I dismissed the men.

"Get some rest, all of you. Tomorrow is the big day. Commanders, meet me in my office. We're going to hold a strategium meeting."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir!"

As the men broke and dispersed, the officers gathered in my office, wher I beamed a gigantic holographic 3D map of the tomb.

"This is the best reconstruction of the tomb by current historians, derived from old archives. As I said earlier, I'll forward this to the men, but it's not 100% accurate. That said, we're going to formulate and assign positions based on what we have, and then adjust accordingly tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Lieutenant Gio Vanni remarked as he folded his arms.

"I bet you anything the actual tomb's going to be very different," Marko grumbled.

I nodded in agreement. "I guess we can count on that. But we still need to come up with a plan." I gestured to the tactical display. "Thoughts?"

"Hmm…" Burado contemplated for a few moments before stepping forward. "I think I can position my heavy infantry here, here and here…if the enemy approaches from these directions, we'll be able to channel them into a killing zone."

"Sounds like a plan." Daniel also piped up. "I see a few alcoves and spaces where I can park my tanks and still benefit from cover."

"Remember, your tanks and vehicles only benefit from cover if 50% of the model is obscured from sight of the shooting unit."

"…there's such a rule?" Daniel asked, confused. I shrugged.

"If your tanks aren't obscured from sight, don't you think the shooter will be able to hit the exposed parts of it?"

"Then why 50%?"

"Because 8th edition, and now cover saves just give you a bonus +1 to your existing armor save. Good thing your tanks have an excellent armor save." I glanced at the infantry models in the tactical display. "But our soldiers only have flak armor, which is pretty…bad in comparison. I hope we invent power armor soon, otherwise we'll be taking lots of casualties with our 5+ armor saves. Do you guys have invulnerable saves?"

By now, everyone was staring at me blankly. I sighed.

"Basically, our flak armor is so poor that it only has a 1/3 chance of stopping a weapon that has no armor-penetration, like…normal bullets, arrows or rounds. But if the enemy comes with more firepower such as plasma weapons, or heavy flamer weapons in the form of spells, magic or hi-tech weaponry, they'll punch through our armor like nothing."

"…so what exactly is an invulnerable save?"

Elia was still confused. I shrugged.

"Defensive magic. Barriers, force fields, ice walls, flame walls and the like. They should theoretically be able to ignore armor penetration values…I mean armor penetrating weapons and projectiles."

"…ah. Okay. Basically defensive spells." Benjamin nodded. "My company has defensive blood magic."

"Great. Do they have Feel No Pain too?"

"Uh…"

"If they take a wound, they ignore it if they roll a 5+."

"Why do I feel like you're treating this like a game?" Marko muttered. I realized I was becoming the very same thing I was criticizing my former classmates of, and turning into a hypocrite. I couldn't treat my men like models and reduce everything into dice rolls and statistics.

"Sorry. I mean, are they able to regenerate if they sustain a wound?"

"I suppose so. I'll make sure to have a supply of blood, which will speed up the healing and help us immensely."

"Good. I'll count on you for that." I turned to the rest of the infantry. "I'm a bit worried about the infantry, though, but they'll be much faster on their feet with lighter armor, so I'll be using you as a mobile fighting force to respond and reinforce whatever spots we need to defend quickly."

"Yes, sir!" Elia and Gio saluted.

"And you'll bear the bulk of the assault, Daniel." I turned to Daniel, who nodded. "Your tanks will be vital to this operation."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ben, you and Marko will be entrusted with strategically important positions. I'm relying on you to hold those positions at all costs." I grinned. "Mow down any intruder stupid enough to step into these killing zones."

"Yes, sir!"

"All right. Any questions?"

With that decided, we launched into logistics and other important matters regarding the operation before I dismissed them early so that they could get some rest.

*

"So tomorrow is the day, huh?"

I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Since I had let my men off early, I should set a good example by going to bed early as well. Otherwise they would be up to no good, drinking and having fun. Well, if that was how they rested or needed to let off steam, they could do that. I just needed them to be sober and ready for mobilization tomorrow.

However, right now, the issue that nagged at my mind wasn't the mission to guard the tomb or the exploration of it, but the duel over Lilith's engagement. I didn't mind that it had turned into a duel. It was the fight itself that concerned me.

Aside from the woman butler, Claire McAlterize, Bradley Kreuger himself was a dangerous opponent. He might not look much, but being a demon noble who would normally be the equivalent of a boss character who needed a party of multiple heroes to fight, taking him on by myself might prove to be quite a challenge.

There was also Lilith, who had decided to fight. Despite knowing how strong she was, I was a little worried.

Not only that, there's also the issue of her having a bad relationship with her family. Or the elders. Why is she, the queen, being dominated by the council of vampire elders? Is the position of queen just a figurehead?

Lilith was a powerful warrior who commanded the respect of the Haemorage military, and from what I had seen, was loved a lot by the ordinary vampire citizens of Haemorage. Yet, she couldn't trust the elders because of their political machinations.

Well, I'm not a noble, and I was born in an ordinary Japanese family, so it might be very difficult for me to understand her position…

I was so glad I didn't need to deal with all these politics. They sounded like a complete pain to deal with. I was happy being normal. Unfortunately, I recalled that I was technically a demon noble who was in charge of the domain, Umbra.

There's no one living there after the heroes and the human armies annihilated it, though. What did Emperor Regis want me to do with the territory?

It was very possible that he wanted me to look after the domain after the war. Perhaps there would be plans to repopulate it and welcome the refugees back. Or maybe we were to leave it as it was, an empty, desolate domain that served as a stark reminder of the strength of the heroes and the human kingdoms.

I had no interest in governing a territory, after all. I didn't even want this title or to be a demon noble. I just wanted to take revenge on Kobayashi and the others.

But what comes after that? What will I do after I get revenge on Kobayashi and the rest of the class?

Come to think of it, that thought had never crossed my mind.

"..."

Was there any point to thinking about the future, especially when my present was bloody and filled with violence?

Would I even live long enough to see that future? Given my current objectives, it wouldn't be surprising if I died in the line of duty, or got slain by Kobayashi or one of my former classmates before I reached the future.

When that happened, I would fail at getting my revenge. Perhaps Takeda Tetsuo and the Iron Knights would help avenge me. But after I kicked their asses and defeated the Eight Guardians on my own, I couldn't say I had much faith in them.

If you want something done, you had to do it yourself.

Yeah. I couldn't entrust my goal of revenge to anyone but myself. I was going to exact my vengeance on Kobayashi, no matter the cost. Before I achieved that, I couldn't allow myself to die. I would use whatever means necessary to achieve my goal.

Speaking of which, I will be seeing at least one of my former classmates tomorrow or the day after…

Intelligence reports had indicated that at least one Evelyn's Chosen was accompanying the invading human army. Even though we were outnumbered one to five or six, I was slightly confident of holding out against them.

A human army of 5,000 against a demon battalion of 800 soldiers, which included a company of heavily armored tanks. Normally, the aggressors had to outnumber the defenders three to one in order to take the objective, but the tanks alone were worth a hundred men. Given how I had approximately 15 tanks, that was worth 1500 men. So I could assume that we had 2,100 men against 5,000, which was almost one to two rather than three.

We had this. All I needed to do was keep the heroes away from my tank.

Oh…and Lilith-san says she'll be accompanying us.

I wasn't sure I was comfortable with that. Having the queen of Haemorage accompany us would put her firmly in the crosshairs of the enemy and expose her to danger. Even if we had defender's advantage, all it took was one accident, or one lucky shot, and Haemorage would suddenly be robbed of its ruler.

I can't let that happen…no matter the cost…

Clenching my fists, I stared up at the ceiling and vowed to myself to protect Lilith and my 1,087th battalion.