Volume 8, Chapter 30 – A Carefully Laid Conspiracy

Tianyin had imagined the scene of Inferno’s army assaulting the Northern Fortress.

Would it be tragic, or perhaps heroic?

Two days had already passed since the combat meeting. And two days later, the Inferno Legion that had just finished assembling launched an attack at night in a way that completely defied common sense.

Because the attack came so suddenly, Tianyin did not react immediately. By the time she woke from her sleep, the commanders of the Northern Fortress, including Fisiel, were already struggling to resist the enemy atop the city walls.

『What happened?』

Freshly awakened, Tianyin was still somewhat dazed. However, relying on the powerful perception of a Throne-tier, she quickly sensed the complicated situation surrounding the Northern Fortress.

『The attack has started?』

「Yes, Xiaoyin. It seems to be a sudden assault launched at night.」

In her mind, Samael calmly described what she had perceived.

『A night attack? Since when did demons start using this kind of tactic?』

To be honest, according to the many records of Inferno’s wars against various factions, there had never been any mention of Inferno using night raids or such unorthodox tactics.

Although the Northern Fortress did have night patrols and sentries arranged, the effect of a surprise attack at night was still apparent.

At the very least, the recently repaired defenses of the Northern Fortress had considerable strength. The magic arrays engraved on them could almost withstand half an hour of uninterrupted bombardment from Legendary-tier attacks.

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Even Throne-tier attacks could be endured once.

And this was only the strength of the Northern Fortress’s walls themselves. Beyond that, there was also a powerful magic barrier serving as the outermost layer of defense.

If relying solely on a frontal assault, it would be impossible to break through to the fortress walls in a short time.

『Something’s wrong. Even with a night raid, it shouldn’t be possible to break through the walls this quickly. What were the sentries even doing?』

After calming down and recalling the defensive strength of the Northern Fortress, Tianyin immediately sensed something amiss.

Once a doubt appeared, it uncontrollably surfaced in Tianyin’s mind.

『Samael, I need to go to the front line and ask Fisiel what’s going on.』

Her Throne-tier perception instantly enveloped the entire Northern Fortress. Very soon, Tianyin sensed Fisiel’s location.

Tianyin’s figure vanished from the room in an instant. A few seconds later, her small figure appeared beside Fisiel, who was commanding the defense atop the city walls.

“Fisiel!”

Hearing Tianyin’s call, the knight girl instinctively turned toward the source of the voice. After clearly seeing that it was Tianyin, her gaze dimmed slightly.

“My lord…”

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“Fisiel, what exactly happened? Even a demon surprise attack shouldn’t have been able to break through the walls so fast, right?”

“My lord… it was my dereliction of duty.”

Privately, Fisiel and Tianyin had a very good relationship. But in public, Fisiel still maintained the humility of a subordinate toward Tianyin.

When questioned by Tianyin, the blonde knight girl bit her lip tightly, her expression filled with deep guilt.

“It was the Paladins under my command… Previously, because the Kingdom’s Paladins were persecuted by Yunchou, an outsider, they chose to defect to my side. But among those Paladins who defected, some of them turned out to be spies that Yunchou had planted in advance… And tonight, before the demons of Inferno launched their attack, it was those Paladins who acted as internal collaborators and shut down the defense systems ahead of time…”

Yunchou?

That seemingly harmless young face appeared in Tianyin’s mind. Boundless rage suddenly surged in her heart.

“It’s him again… Why is it him again? That bastard!”

To be honest, Tianyin believed that there shouldn’t have been much conflict between herself and Yunchou. Yet this guy had targeted her again and again. Just that alone made her grind her teeth in hatred.

「But setting up ambushes around the Northern Fortress in advance, and even predicting that Fisiel would definitely accept those Paladins… and then having those ambushes respond to Inferno’s night assault… this Yunchou fellow is truly vicious.」

In her mind, Samael quickly sorted out the entire chain of events.

And after analyzing that Yunchou had anticipated Inferno’s Dawn offensive long ago and planted internal collaborators in advance, that alone was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

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「Step by step. Purging the Paladins was to consolidate the power he seized from the previous Holy King of Knights. And inserting spies among the expelled Paladins and sending them to Fisiel was also based on the certainty that Fisiel would not refuse.」

「And now, the ambushes are perfectly timed to provide support to Inferno… If this were Yunchou’s ultimate goal, I wouldn’t believe it. I think… behind this, that guy Yunchou still has other objectives.」

After witnessing Yunchou’s sinister cunning, Samael’s analysis became even more rigorous.

Someone as dangerous as Yunchou had to be guarded against. After this incident, who could say how many hidden cards Yunchou still had left?

“My lord… it was my dereliction of duty… If punishment is to be given, please punish me, my lord…”

As the one who had accepted the spies, Fisiel was undoubtedly filled with guilt.

However, Tianyin had no intention of punishing Fisiel immediately.

Anger was anger, but Fisiel’s capabilities were evident to all. At present, the Northern Fortress could not do without Fisiel’s command.

“As for punishment, we’ll talk about it after this is over. Changing commanders in the middle of a battle is extremely dangerous. So Fisiel, to atone for your mistake, you must hold the Northern Fortress for me at all costs!”

The meaning of Tianyin’s words was already very clear. As the commander of an army, this idea of redeeming oneself through merit was something the knight girl understood instantly.

Although her heart was still filled with boundless guilt, the girl’s bright and heroic face showed eyes of exceptional determination.

“Yes!”

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“Alright, alright. Continue commanding. I’ll go up on the walls to provide support.”

After clarifying the cause of the situation and reassuring Fisiel, Tianyin decided to go support the defense atop the walls.

However, Tianyin did not know that on a small hill not far from the Northern Fortress, a girl whose entire body radiated an ominous aura was staring intently at the city walls with eerie and frenzied eyes.

“Almost… almost there, vessel. Let me take your power… hahahahahahahaha…”

Indeed.

Just from that crazed laughter alone, it was obvious that this girl was none other than the true body of the Abyssal Lord who had previously been stationed at the Kingdom’s main camp.

Known as the Abyssal Lord, her true form was the Dragon of the End.

As the Supreme of Inferno, she controlled the abyssal power that was said to rival the power of the Original Sins.

“Once this battle ends, it will be the moment when I… become the End.”

“The stage is already prepared, and that vessel should appear now…”

As the Abyssal Lord muttered to herself, Tianyin’s figure suddenly appeared atop the walls of the Northern Fortress.