After the battle.
It's been 5 days since the invasion. 1 million casualties, equivalent to 10% of the country's population. Despite Satsuki's efforts, the damage from the explosions was unavoidable. Alexandra showed great pain as he held the report in his hand.
" Never in a century had we suffered such a terrible loss. However, it was also inevitable that the god of Mordox intervened in this battle."
" Sorry, we were not strong enough –"
The king raised his hand to cut off Haruki's words.
" You guys did a great job, actually it's even exceeded my expectations. I thank you on behalf of Argatha. Not only were you able to slay the four great demons, but you also survived and defeated one of Mordox's ten great ones. Without you, the damage would have been unimaginable.
" I agree, Your Majesty, all the soldiers in Andria and many other places have not ceased to praise the heroic team of heroes."
The one who spoke was the eldest princess Isseria who was called Argatha's rose for her beauty and benevolence. Her innocent smile made Haruki dumfounded for a moment but he immediately woke up from the sound of grinding teeth coming from somewhere. Suddenly a chuckle came from the king's right, which was a seat of the royal family.
" It's true that repelling the great one was quite impressive, but in the end our heroes let her escape."
" What do you mean, Hector?"
" Father, my dear king. I just expressed my concern about the current situation. Sarila sama still hasn't fully recovered from the attack just now. Who dares to say that there won't be another attack from monsters. In this situation is it possible to trust someone who couldn't even kill one of the ten great demons? I mean, what if next time another one joins the line? The Demon King for example. "
Whispers began to stir in the palace. Prince Hector's words were not wrong, if they were in a normal situation then it would be commendable given the hero's current strength. However, Mordox's ten great ones were now able to break through the barrier. There were rumors somewhere that the whole group of heroes could only stop one of them. If there were more then Argatha would surely be destroyed.
" So I mean we're going to start phase 3 of the war."
" What?"
The whole palace was in an uproar. Throughout history, the wars between the hero and the demon king were always divided into three stages: the preparation phase, the growth phase, and the final war.
During the preparation phase, Sarila's defense will be the strongest and no demon will be able to get through.
During the growth phase, the hero party will be transported to the labyrinths in the land between which was filled with abandoned dungeons and labyrinths. In these areas, Mordox would be able to interfere with the training, and some high-level demons would be able to pass through the barrier to infiltrate and endanger the group of heroes.
The final stage was war. The stage in which the barrier would be greatly weakened and would likely lead to an all-out war between Mordox and the alliance. In these three stages, the final stage was the stage where the group the hero will gain the most experience, and not only the hero group, anti-demon blessings would be bestowed on all the people of Argatha. However, phase three should have taken place for at least 2 years as it was an extremely dangerous period, especially for the hero's party. In history, many members of the hero party died during this period.
" Do you realize what you're saying, Hector? This is the stage where war happens and a lot of soldiers will die. "
" But it's not that different from the current situation, was it? On the contrary, if we have the blessing, won't our soldiers have more chance to fight them?"
" This is not a joke Hector. If you enter the third stage at this time, it will be very dangerous for the hero group. If something happens to them, we will immediately lose this war!"
" I didn't mean to anger you, father. It was just a suggestion. Of course, this still needs to be consulted with Sarila sama and the rest of the heroes."
Prince Hector stared at Haruki smiling. Haruki was not stupid, he realized this guy had always held a grudge against him since he came here for some unknown reasons.
A brilliant light engulfed the room and Sarila appeared. Although her face was serious, a tired look could be seen on it.
" Actually, Prince Hector's words were not without any base. The situation is quite dangerous now if we continue, even though we have repaired all the barriers but they are not as strong as before and I think there are some holes that I have not been able to detect. High-level demons can use them to infiltrate."
" Sarila sama. Are we really going to proceed with 3rd phase at this point?"
" No. As Your Majesty said, it is still too early to wage war. Three, at least three more months, during which the heroes will undergo a special training. We will not go into details about it because it's going to be top secret. For now, I will activate the second stage. "
" Middle stage?"
" Right now, surprise attacks are far more dangerous than direct encounters. I will loosen the barrier just enough for the demons to enter the northern area. Blessings will not be given to all but begin with the chosen warriors. "
A 3D map area appeared in front of Sarila. She zoomed into Mordox's area the image of a castle appeared before everyone's eyes.
" During these three months, we will attack 11 key points on the border and also here, Vundan city."
" Ohh can we retake Vundan! If we can occupy that place, we will have a great advantage when the war happens!"
Vundan was an ideal location for anti-aircraft and teleportation magic. However, the Mordox forces there were very dense, the one defending there was a high-ranking demon.
" The chance'll be very high."
All were happy to hear that, no one doubted what Sarila said. She really had a lot of influence over the nobility even more than the king. Sarila tilted her head to look at the group of heroes, although her face was smiling, behind that smile was unbelievable anxiety and insecurity.
At the end of the meeting, Haruki's group was invited to a closed room where only Sarila, Azael, and the king were present.
" Satsuki san, about Shizu san's situation…"
Satsuki painfully shook her head
" I understand… sorry…"
" …"
" Now besides the training, there is another important thing I need to tell you. It seems that the information about… Torei kun had been leaked by someone."
" That's impossible! Apart from the king, Shizu kun, me and Sarila sama's escorts, the one who knows whereabouts of Torei kun…"
" Rest assured Azael none of us are traitors, I guarantee that. However it raised another concern, maybe a member of the nobility or worse, the royal family was a demon worshiper."
" Understood, I will conduct an investigation on everyone."
" Thank you, Alexandra. It's a pity that I'm completely useless in this, Unless they use Mordox's energy, I can't detect them."
" It's not Sarila sama's fault, even now it's hard for me to believe those lunatics exist in the palace." – The king
" Haruki kun, please be careful, for the time being, you should always have to activate the [Great Devil Detection], I promise to do my best to protect your party. "
" …I understand."
There's a silent sound of a person gritting teeth.
' Your best? One of us was fcking dead!'
" Now to the point of your training this time… It's the dungeons located deep in the Mordox area."
" What? Mordox?"
" I know this sounds silly, but right now it's also the safest place to hide all information about the hero group's whereabouts. Usually, just like Mordox beings couldn't get past the barrier. The hero party should have been unable to enter certain areas of Mordox due to the curse of the dark god Marila. But after what just happened, I don't think my sister is still alive, at least not for many more cycles."
" Come to think of it, why would the dark god be so reckless as to sacrifice herself to break the barrier?" – Midori couldn't help but wonder.
" That, I don't know, maybe it's related to one of the ten great ones."
" Lilith? "
" If you encounter her or any of the ten great ones this time, withdraw immediately, don't try to fight. "
Haruki nodded, he could tell how scary Lilith was from the battle just now. There was no way his group could defeat her with their current abilities. Mitsuru became annoyed every time he heard that name mentioned. The harem that he worked so hard to build dropped to zero in an instant.
" Perhaps this trip will make up for it."
Mitsuru recalled Lilith's appearance, she looked quite human, if all the female demons in the nobility in Mordox looked like that, maybe a slave wouldn't be so bad.