Once Agares's execution was settled, our army surrounded the inner fortress.
We had expected the remaining resistance to crumble easily since we'd already taken the outer fortress and the city district, but it proved far more difficult than anticipated. The inner fortress of Le Havre was extraordinarily sturdy. The walls were tall, and seven towers had been erected. It could well be considered a fortress in its own right.
"According to reports, approximately thirteen thousand managed to retreat safely."
"That's more than I expected. I'd estimated they wouldn't reach even six or seven thousand…"
Despite the infighting caused by Agares, they had managed to withdraw more than half their forces. And they did so while being attacked from both land and sea simultaneously. It was by no means easy.
Queen Henrietta must have foreseen from the moment the infighting began that things would end up this way. She had been preparing to retreat all along. There was no other way to explain it.
Despite being caught off guard by the surprise attack, Queen Henrietta calmly and composure assessed the situation, ordering her soldiers to hold their positions while instructing them to retreat into the inner fortress when the opportunity arose. It was remarkable command ability.
"She had anticipated everything. Quite impressive."
"Yes… certainly quite impressive."
I nodded and asked the messenger.
"Were any food stores discovered in the city?"
"No. We couldn't find any location where provisions were stored in the city."
"I see. They moved all the food into the inner fortress before the outer fortress fell."
This also explained why the siege hadn't dragged on.
I turned to the Demon Lords seated around me.
"The Bretagne army's objective was never to hold the outer fortress. They were buying time to transport all the foodstock from the city into the inner fortress. In short, the outer fortress served only to buy time."
"So the fortress defenses are more thorough than expected."
"Most likely, yes."
I confirmed Barbatos's question.
"The inner fortress is smaller than the outer fortress, which makes it easier to defend. And there's no risk of a naval surprise attack, so the situation has actually become more favorable for the enemy. A last flash of brilliance, one might say — putting up one final impressive fight at the very end."
The Demon Lords furrowed their brows.
They had just been relieved thinking the battle would end anticlimactically, only to hear that the real siege hadn't even begun. It was understandably irritating. Barbatos let out a huff.
"Can't be helped. Leave it to me."
"Barbatos, Legion Commander. Do you have a good plan?"
"Yeah. Well, it's not exactly a method I'm fond of, but…"
Barbatos trailed off at Laura's inquiry. What could her plan be? The Demon Lords tilted their heads as they looked at Barbatos. However, seeing Paimon let out a small sigh, she seemed to already know what it was.
Barbatos spoke.
"Plague. Plague. You haven't forgotten that I'm a dark mage, have you?"
"Oh."
I clapped my hands.
"Brilliant! There are corpses everywhere, so we can put dark magic to full use."
"Right. We infect the corpses with plague, then launch them over with the catapults. The fortress is cramped with over ten thousand soldiers packed inside, so the effect will be devastating."
In other words, biological warfare.
The enemy would have priests, but their numbers surely wouldn't reach into the hundreds. If ten thousand soldiers fell ill en masse, even the priests would be powerless to help.
If the fortress were spacious, they could set up quarantine areas, but the Bretagne army had retreated with large quantities of food. Every available space inside the fortress would be filled with supplies. Already tight quarters had become even more cramped. It was quite literally the worst possible scenario for dealing with an epidemic.
"Clean and brilliant."
I couldn't help but admire it.
Barbatos, the one who received the compliment, looked distinctly displeased. Finding it odd, I asked.
"What's wrong, Barbatos? Why haven't you been using dark magic from the start? If the Crescent Alliance Army had employed this method, the war could have progressed much more efficiently."
"…"
Barbatos sighed. She stared at me with a languid gaze.
I caught the meaning behind that look and let out an involuntary breath. I'd spoken like a fool. Above all else, Barbatos possessed deep pride as a warrior. Slaughtering the enemy through plague would surely go against her convictions.
"It doesn't befit the way of a warrior…"
"I learned dark magic to bring my fallen comrades back to life. I feel no shame about that whatsoever. Charging into enemy lines with spear and sword, exchanging blows at close enough range to hear each other's breathing. Those who haven't experienced it firsthand don't know that fear."
Barbatos gazed into the distance as she murmured.
There was something resigned about her demeanor. Her eyes held a sorrow unusual for Barbatos, and the Demon Lords around us, myself included, couldn't help but listen closely.
"A warrior is one who always presses forward despite their own fears… I take pride in that. And that's why I also take pride in breathing life back into comrades who were once warriors. But there are countless people who curse dark magic as nothing more than a wicked art."
It couldn't be denied.
No matter how noble a warrior one had been in life, once resurrected through dark magic, one was nothing more than a zombie or ghoul. Skin rotting away, body reeking of death. Even Death Knights were corpses or skeletons beneath their heavy armor.
Could one truly call such things living beings? Wouldn't it rather be an insult to life itself? Most people would certainly see it that way. I was no exception. Zombies and ghouls were simple monsters — nothing more, nothing less…
"No matter what the world says about me, I can tolerate it. But I will never forgive those who slander my comrades who continue to fight on even after death."
Barbatos lowered her gaze and looked directly at me. Her golden eyes shone with clarity.
"If I were to use dark magic in a different way, people would insult dark magic, and by extension, insult my comrades as well. Dantalion — as the last dark mage maestro in the world, I bear responsibility for dark magic itself."
"…I understand. I'm sorry for speaking thoughtlessly."
I apologized honestly.
Even in Dungeon Attack, Barbatos never resorted to biological warfare until the very moment of her death. She must have believed that being executed by the Hero's hand was preferable to tarnishing her comrades' honor. I held deep respect for such convictions.
Barbatos gave a faint smile.
"Well, but we're an alliance. I can't let my personal pride get in the way of the bigger picture. Just this once, I'll set that aside and use it."
"No. It's fine."
I shook my head.
Barbatos, who would stake her life on something she held so dear, yet called it merely "personal pride" — she was truly remarkable. Only Barbatos could simultaneously pursue both the greater good of all Demonkin and the honor of a warrior.
Barbatos must have decided that now was the time to sacrifice for the alliance. She readily abandoned her deeply held convictions. But I didn't want to watch Barbatos sacrifice herself in any sense of the word.
"Huh? But…"
"The fact that the fortress is the perfect environment for spreading plague remains unchanged. There's no particular need to use dark magic. Simply launching corpses over with catapults each day will be enough to spread it."
Barbatos tried to protest, but I ignored her and stood up.
I looked around at the Demon Lords and spoke courteously.
"Esteemed comrades. It has already been over two months since we put down the traitor Bael and established the new Demon Lord's army. Speaking as someone who contributed, however modestly, to the creation of this new army, I wish to say this: we must never demand personal sacrifice from any particular Demon Lord."
I met the eyes of each Demon Lord one by one.
"Think of Bael. He casually discarded an army of tens of thousands to fulfill his own desires. And remember Agares. She betrayed her own kind to achieve her obsession. They were both Demon Lords who sacrificed others for their selfish desires, and we are none other than their victims."
"…"
"If the new Demon Lord's army were to once again demand sacrifice from a specific Demon Lord for the sake of the whole, I would have to question what difference there is between Bael and us."
The Demon Lords murmured among themselves. Quite a few nodded in agreement.
"For us, the collective good must serve the individuals. It is not for the benefit of His Excellency Vassago alone. Nor is it solely for the benefit of His Excellency Gamigin. We always seek the benefit of all. And we must firmly refuse anything that does not serve the collective good."
I paused for a moment and looked at Barbatos. Barbatos was staring at me with a dazed expression.
"Barbatos. We are strong."
"…"
"The Plains Faction, the Mountain Faction, the Neutral Faction. Not only that, but unaffiliated Excellencies are here with us as well. Let me make this perfectly clear once more. We are strong. Surely you don't think we can only win through your personal sacrifice?"
"Uh… yeah…"
I smiled gently.
"You don't have to carry everything on your shoulders. Trust your allies."
Barbatos gave a small nod. Then she lowered her gaze. Her lips moved, but her voice was too quiet for me to catch. It was probably something like "thanks." She was rather clumsy about expressing gratitude despite her bold exterior.
"Deputy Commander. I also support Legion Commander Barbatos's proposal. Let us collect the corpses of the Bretagne soldiers and launch them with the catapults. An epidemic will almost certainly break out, and even if it doesn't, it will greatly demoralize the enemy."
"…There's no room for me to interject at all."
Laura smiled wryly.
"Very well. I fully accept the proposals of Legion Commander Barbatos and Chief of Staff Dantalion. Collect the Bretagne corpses scattered throughout the city and launch them over with the catapults."
From that day forward, our army launched corpses into the inner fortress every single day.
The sight of their own comrades' bodies falling from the sky was horrifying in itself. The Bretagne army was visibly shaken even from a distance. Half a month after the catapults were deployed, plague finally broke out within the inner fortress.
The Bretagne army's condition deteriorated day by day. We deliberately launched attacks at night. While these so-called sieges were really just hit-and-run operations, they inflicted tremendous stress on the enemy.
After one month, the Bretagne army was approaching its limits.
Presumably, a significant number of soldiers had already contracted typhoid and similar diseases. The priests were doing their best, but that couldn't last forever. Occasionally, the Bretagne army could be seen dropping bodies from the walls. Casualties had begun to mount.
"Her Majesty the Queen wishes to negotiate."
In the end, the gates opened and an envoy arrived.
We received the envoys at our leisure. Unlike humans, Demonkin were resilient against various pathogens. An epidemic had briefly circulated through our ranks as well, but we had quickly quarantined it, so there were no significant casualties. In terms of composure, the two sides were in entirely different leagues.
Laura raised her chin and asked.
"Negotiate? What terms?"
"Her Majesty requests an honorable surrender."
The Demon Lords around us scoffed openly. The atmosphere was one of undisguised contempt. Honorable surrender was a proposal made and accepted when the enemy occupied a fortress too costly to capture, to minimize our losses. The current situation was overwhelmingly in our favor.
"Is honor not merely an epithet added only to death for a warrior?"
"If you were going to surrender, you should have done so at Parisiorum. Now you're trying to save your own skin? How absurd."
"Tell your queen to open the gates and come out herself! If she's dressed prettily enough, we might just consider it."
The Demon Lords laughed loudly. There wasn't a shred of diplomatic courtesy. Sure enough, the envoy's face flushed crimson. If the battle weren't going against them, he would have already been hurling insults.
"Now, now. Esteemed comrades. The sovereign of Bretagne did put up an admirable fight."
I seized the opportunity to interject.
"Shouldn't we extend at least some opportunity to an adversary who fought so hard? We are magnanimous, after all. The queen might even present a proposal that suits our interests."
"Hmm. Dantalion, what exactly did you have in mind?"
Marbas stroked his beard.
I smiled.
"Well, we'll have to hear the queen's proposal directly to make a judgment. Everyone — please allow me to enter the fortress personally and negotiate with the queen. Grant me full authority."