'Here they come again.'
Hans was a veteran soldier. Spotting a band of orcs approaching from a distance, he thought to himself. Hans had already spent fifteen years living in the Mountain Range brigade. He'd been through dozens of small-scale skirmishes. He was an elite soldier. In his eyes, the orc band closing in from over there was nothing more than one more incident to add to his dozens of battles.
The northern part of the continent, where the Demon Lord's Castle was concentrated. To invade from there toward the continent's center, where the majority of human-realm nations lay, one had to pass through the Black Mountains. Countless outposts and several mountain fortresses had been built across the Black Mountains to guard against monster incursions. Among them, Hans was stationed at a forward outpost.
The front line was a lonely place. Even if you deserted, there was no one to stop you. Your comrades were there, sure, but if you fled together with them, that was that. And yet Hans and his comrades had held their post for fifteen years. Voluntarily, with pride in their profession as soldiers.
It wasn't because they considered soldiering a masculine occupation. Hans despised those who loudly proclaimed soldiering to be the finest profession. It wasn't because he particularly loved his homeland either. The Habsburg Empire, where Hans was born, was one where aristocratic power ran especially strong, and Hans, a commoner, was nothing more than part of the ruled class. He loved his hometown, not his country. Something far more powerful and unshakable than military consciousness or patriotism resided in Hans.
Humanity's Watchdog.
How quickly he detected the Demon Lord's army's incursion and how accurately he predicted the route of attack determined how the garrison forces waiting behind the Black Mountains would move. If the garrison was annihilated, the Demon Lord's army would push straight onto the continent. It was a horrifying prospect.
Whether the continent was plunged into war or not depended entirely on his duty — Hans believed this, and so did every outpost soldier on the Black Mountains' front line. They had carried out their patrols with unwavering devotion. Even if he himself failed to notice an incursion, the second line would catch it, or the third, or the fourth... They trusted themselves and each other.
Even when the border-lord margraves sometimes delayed their supply shipments, the outpost soldiers held out by hunting for themselves. Among those who had become outpost soldiers were bakers and blacksmiths. There was even a mage — albeit only Circle 2. They were a small but formidable army that no longer needed outside support.
Over the past two thousand years, dozens of nations on the continent had risen and fallen, but here in the Black Mountains, nothing had changed. Watch the other side of the range. Monsters approach. Report it swiftly... The outpost soldier's duty was the same now as it had been two thousand years ago. Just as humans and monsters would remain eternal enemies, the outpost soldier's duty would likewise endure forever. An ancient spiritual legacy coursed through Hans's blood.
'I should head back to the outpost first.'
Fortunately, the outpost wasn't far from where he was currently scouting. Hans quickly scaled the mountain and returned to the outpost. The stone building — this too had been constructed over two hundred years ago — with his comrades outside enjoying a woodland bath while playing war board games.
"A monster army is bearing down on us."
"Damn it. Again?"
His comrades grumbled. But their bodies moved briskly despite their words. They began donning their armor before Hans had even finished his report.
"It's an orc unit. Goblins and lesser golems are mixed in too. Five ogres as well. Roughly five hundred all told."
"Now we're talking. Has it been two years since the last five-hundred-strong incursion?"
Friedrich, the outpost commander, spoke. Orcs, goblins, and lesser golems were trivial opponents. The fifty outposts in the vicinity could band together and crush them. Commander Friedrich alone had killed thirty-two orcs in his forty years of service and slaughtered over a hundred goblins. There was nothing to fear.
His comrades chatted as they gathered their equipment.
"Five hundred strong — how many of them banded together?"
"Two or three, I'd say. Hans, how many banners were there?"
"Three. I confirmed three banners."
Friedrich stroked his beard.
"Three Demon Lords. Whether a high-ranking Demon Lord is calling the shots, or if Demons of similar standing formed a coalition — the story changes depending on that."
Hans nodded.
"The distance was too great to make out the exact pattern on the banners, but five ogres were moving together. Chances are they belong to a single Demon Lord."
His companions let out low whistles.
Ogres were dangerous. They were the true masters of the mountain. Usually only one or so inhabited a hillside, and they carved out their territories with clear boundaries. By human standards, they were no different from minor lords. Compared to ogres, orcs and goblins were mere peasants.
A soldier spoke, trying to keep the unease out of his voice.
"What do we do, Commander? This isn't something we can handle on our own."
"We split the company into three. Fabian, you and Oliver go alert the surrounding outposts about the orc regiment. Just cover our sector."
"Got it."
The soldier immediately stripped off his chain mail. There was no point dragging heavy gear like chain mail or shields along on a two-man recon run. They needed to be as light as possible so they could flee at a moment's notice.
"And then?"
"We fall back to the mountain fortress. We'll likely be welcoming the orc regiment there. Bruno, you and Nicholas load up the gear and head straight to the fortress."
"Understood, Commander."
Outpost Commander Friedrich donned his helmet — a steel helm blackened with soot to prevent sunlight from reflecting off it.
"I'll take the rest of the men and trail the orc regiment from behind. Hans, guide the way."
"Right."
"Gentlemen. An invasion with over five hundred troops is the first we've seen in two years. Our human fortress will never fall to a mere five-hundred-strong unit, but we must minimize casualties as much as possible. If our outpost was the first to detect this incursion, then our mission is of the utmost importance. Move swiftly."
The ten outpost soldiers nodded in unison. They were relaxed, but their eyes were razor-sharp. Friedrich recited the rallying cry, satisfied with his troops' level of training — a motto passed down from the ancestors who had served in outposts for two thousand years.
"——Until the day all evil is vanquished."
The soldiers answered in one voice.
"We are the hounds of humanity!"
Commander Zepar's tent. If yesterday's meeting had ended on a light note, today they began discussing the operation in earnest. Perhaps because of the atmosphere, even the newly appointed Demon Lords who had excitedly blathered on the day before were now quietly listening to the operational overview.
"The vanguard's mission is to breach the outermost wall of humanity's front line. Right here."
Zepar tapped the map with a stick.
"The green fortress is our objective. If the vanguard bypasses the green fortress and advances, it will be cut off from the main force. The humans will use the network of fortresses to wage sporadic engagements against both the vanguard and the main body. To ensure a safe advance, the green fortress must be taken."
The Black Mountains.
A mountain range that naturally divided the Demon Lords' territory from human territory. There were only three passages large enough for a major army to march through. Each passage led respectively to the Teuton Kingdom, Polithunia, and the Habsburg Empire.
The grand strategy of the Central Continental Expeditionary Force was as follows.
(1) Ranked Ninth, Paimon. She leads the Crescent Alliance Army's First Corps, the Mountain Faction. The First Corps will march through the first mountain pass and head toward the Teuton Kingdom.
(2) Ranked Fifth, Marbas. He leads the Second Corps, the Neutral Faction. The Second Corps will march through the second mountain pass and head toward Polithunia.
(3) Ranked Eighth, Barbatos. She leads the Sixth Corps — our Plains Faction. The Sixth Corps will march through the third mountain pass and head toward the Habsburg Empire.
That concluded the first phase of the grand strategy. The objective was to bring the entire Black Mountains region under the Crescent Alliance Army's control. The reason for advancing along all three routes simultaneously was to disperse the enemy's forces as much as possible. From the First through the Third Crescent Alliance Armies, the Demon Lord's forces had tried to concentrate their power and break through the Black Mountains in a single thrust. But every attempt had failed.
The Black Mountains were far too vast. The time it took the Crescent Alliance Army to break through a passage was shorter than the time it took for humanity to mass its armies. While the Alliance had to traverse harsh mountain terrain, the human forces could move freely across the plains — so the outcome was inevitable. As border lords held one side of each pass, the armies of each nation organized allied forces to stand against the Crescent Alliance Army……
The Crescent Alliance Army's command had learned through repeated defeat. They had to divide the human armies. And they had to divide the Demon Lord's armies.
The more humans gathered together, the stronger they became — but the more the Demon Lord's forces congregated, the more they fell into infighting…… That was precisely why the corps had been formed around Factions. Grouping units from the same Faction together reduced the likelihood of internal conflict. And yet, from the Fourth through the Seventh Crescent Alliance Armies, internal strife had erupted without fail.
Now, let us focus on our Sixth Corps.
We had to break through the third passage in the Black Mountains. The third passage boasted the strongest defenses of all. We would need to punch through no fewer than four fortresses before reaching the border of the Habsburg Empire.
The first gateway — the Green Fortress.
The second gateway — the Blue Fortress.
The third gateway — the Yellow Fortress.
The last, fourth gateway — the Red Fortress.
Truly, it was a hellishly difficult challenge. Each successive fortress was sturdier than the last, and even if we somehow managed to break through the Yellow Fortress, the fourth — the Red Fortress — was utterly impregnable.
The problem was the time it would take to breach the first three fortresses. By then, the Habsburg Empire's formidable Margraves would have already finished mustering their armies and be waiting at the Red Fortress… On our side, a Demon Lord's army worn ragged from fighting through fortress after fortress. On theirs, a freshly mustered human army at peak condition. The outcome didn't need to be debated.
Therefore, we had to preserve as many of our forces as possible until we reached the Red Fortress.
Our vanguard's role was to smash through the first gateway — the Green Fortress — and on top of that, inflict damage on the Blue Fortress. That was it. Everything else was to be handed over to the main army.
Zepar spoke.
"The Green Fortress is garrisoned by approximately five hundred troops. In contrast, we field two thousand. Even if the enemy holed up inside the fortress to defend, we have ten Ogres."
"A guaranteed victory!"
Amy, ranked fifty-eighth, shouted. Boasting about an easy win before the battle even started wasn't the best look, but I too agreed that the Green Fortress would fall easily. If ten Ogres charged all at once, the Green Fortress wouldn't last.
Perhaps Zepar thought the same. He gave a slight nod.
"Correct. But keep this in mind. Simply winning isn't what matters — what matters is the margin by which we win. We must preserve as much of our strength as possible before the decisive battle at the Red Fortress. Squandering troops needlessly will never be forgiven."
The Demon Lords answered with a resounding roar of acknowledgment. The atmosphere was already that of a victory celebration.
"Leave the Ogre squad to me!"
"No — please, to me! Commander Zepar! I will shatter the fortress gates without a single Ogre sustaining a scratch!"
Oh dear — the competition for glory had begun… Honestly, you lot are a bit too hot-blooded. Zepar had just warned them that preserving their forces was paramount. Couldn't they at least think for a second about what Zepar was actually asking of them?
"Hm. Does anyone else have a better idea?"
You see? Even Zepar is asking the same kind of question. A subordinate needs to know how to anticipate what their superior is thinking and answer accordingly.
Amy spoke up confidently.
"We smash straight through the front. We have a whole ten Ogres! Those humans will be pissing themselves and running before we even reach them."
The other two rookie Demon Lords nodded in agreement. Oh boy — they were giving answers that completely missed the point.
If the enemy were a regular human army, Amy would have been right. Conscript soldiers would turn tail the moment they laid eyes on an Ogre's hide. But the human soldiers garrisoned in the Black Mountains were no conscripts.
They were a standing army, and roughly half of them were volunteers. Elite troops who had deliberately rushed to the front lines to defend humanity. If they were the kind to flee just because there were a lot of Ogres, they never would have volunteered for the Black Mountains garrison in the first place. The rookie Demon Lords weren't even considering who the enemy actually consisted of.
"…Does anyone else have a different suggestion?"
Zepar asked with a sigh. Whether it was my imagination or not, I felt his gaze drift toward me.
I spoke up politely.
"Sir. I have an idea. We divide the army in two."
"Divide the army in two?"
Zepar frowned. The moment he did, Amy started jeering.
"Hah! You don't even know basic tactics. You gather your forces and strike at a single point — that's the foundation of tactics. Dantalion, don't you think you're underestimating the enemy a bit too much?"
"As if that were the case."
I laughed inwardly. If anyone was underestimating the enemy, it was you, not me.
At this point, Amy was almost endearing. Watching her little antics was entertaining enough, but right now I wished she'd shut her mouth for a bit. I was the only one here who knew the human army's situation inside and out.
What was there to hide? In Dungeon Attack, I had fought against the Demon Lord's army in those very mountain fortresses. Naturally, I knew the human army's weaknesses like the back of my hand. Those four mountain fortresses that looked impregnable on the surface each had fairly critical flaws. All we had to do was exploit them.
This was a strategy that had actually succeeded in Dungeon Attack.