Chapter 34..
Silence settled.
It always did.
For those who saw Dante’s sword for the first time, it hit them like a crushing shock.
They couldn’t even let out a short exclamation — they just stood there, dazed.
As if witnessing an unreal scene in a dream, they only stared.
Even now it was the same.
Their captain had fallen.
His stigmata destroyed, tendons in his limbs severed, his body drenched in blood.
He could no longer even groan properly.
Despite that, the Crimson Veil simply stared at Dante with eyes full of horror and disbelief.
It was as if their souls had frozen from the overwhelming shock.
“Clear them out.”
Dante’s cold voice cut through the heavy silence.
Startled—!
Only then did the red-armored knights, coming to their senses, take instinctive steps backward and shudder.
Would they obey?
Or would they rebel?
Lionel was their captain and the second son of the Velast count family.
He had collapsed before them in a gruesome state.
Yet…
They could not bring themselves to draw their swords for their captain.
The opponent was Dante Aquites.
A noble lineage incomparable to a mere Velast count’s family.
Not only that—
There was a pressure in Dante’s gaze that made it impossible to meet his eyes directly.
The Crimson Veil’s knights finally bowed their heads.
It was a picture of nothing but submission.
“Bring the captain.”
It was the vice-captain who answered Dante’s command.
He trembled with rage and shame, but there was no will left to resist.
The Crimson Veil supported the unconscious Lionel and withdrew from the battlefield.
Watching their rapidly receding backs, Zionhak spoke.
“He’s completely smashed.”
He likely meant to break the tension, but Dante gave no reply.
A final drop of blood that had run along the blade of Arpheon fell to the ground.
Clink.
As if embodying the dying Crimson Veil.
Just like that.
Acrasion patrolled around Outpost 107, slaying every monster they spotted.
In only a week, the number of monsters killed by their blades had reached some two thousand.
Still, Acrasion’s mood was far from good.
“It feels like they’re getting more and more,” Zionhak complained as he wiped blood off his armor.
“It’s not just a feeling. They actually are increasing.”
“See? I knew it wasn’t my imagination.”
Dante’s words made Zionhak grin and sheath his sword.
“Isn’t this going to be a real problem? I thought we’d get a breather once the Empire’s reinforcements arrived, but it’s only getting worse.”
He was right.
The monster waves were becoming fiercer over time.
Behemoth-class disasters were a problem, but the largest issue was the overwhelming numbers that kept pouring in.
Over the last three years, at least a million monsters must have died.
Yet their numbers did not decline at all.
If anything, as Zionhak said, they were increasing.
It had reached a point that was becoming unmanageable.
“I’ve heard some forward outposts are no longer tenable,” someone said.
“I’ve heard the same. Even after several recapture attempts, they keep getting pushed back.”
The front was gradually shifting north.
Acrasion knew this best — they were standing on the very front lines, holding back the monsters.
“If this continues, there’s no answer.”
Dante, listening to the knights’ conversation, let out a small sigh.
The pattern was the same as in his previous life.
Being gradually pushed back like this until a massive invasion forced them to surrender territory.
“Of course, there are some differences this time.”
For one, the magic corps.
In his previous life, the Empire had only sent knights and soldiers; they had not dispatched mages to the duchy.
They were too precious a resource to move carelessly.
This time was different.
At Dante and Isabella’s strong request, the emperor had changed his mind.
“Although few in number, their power is enough to change the tide.”
Having served as a mercenary across many battlefields, Dante knew how powerful mages could be.
And there was another variable.
It was Dante himself.
At this point, Dante was the only person who knew how the monster wave that struck the duchy had ended.
“I can end this war. But…”
He still lacked the necessary strength.
Just a little more.
If he could take one more step forward, he felt he could do it.
He had grown far beyond who he had been when he first arrived in the duchy.
He could now spar with Isabella and single-handedly behead monsters that would once have been unthinkable.
Yet it still felt distant.
“It can’t be rushed.”
Getting impatient wouldn’t help.
Hadn’t he gone through decades of that already?
He would keep working quietly, doing what he could, and one day he would reach it.
He believed that.
“Hey, Captain. Someone’s coming this way.”
Zionhak’s words pulled Dante from his thoughts and he looked up.
Far off across the plain, a rider carrying a red flag was racing at a frantic speed.
A familiar sight.
“A messenger.”
They were usually sent when dangerous monsters appeared or when an outpost urgently requested aid.
Acrasion had seen this many times and rode toward him without hesitation.
“Urgent news!”
Before the messenger could fully approach Dante, he shouted loudly.
“A massive monster army has been spotted at Outpost 302! Their numbers are impossible to gauge. We request every available order of knights to assemble! You must go at once!”
A heavy mood fell over Acrasion.
“A massive army whose numbers can’t be counted?”
“Damn, so that’s why they seemed to be increasing.”
“Captain, do we depart immediately?”
The knights’ faces hardened at the unexpected plea for support.
‘…So it’s happening now.’
But Dante did not flinch.
He had known a large-scale invasion would occur soon.
He hadn’t thought it would be immediate, though.
“Veladion?”
“His Highness the Duke has already moved toward Outpost 302!”
At the news that Isabella had set out, Dante nodded.
If she arrived, a catastrophe wouldn’t break out immediately.
But that didn’t mean they could relax.
In the original timeline she ultimately failed — the duchy lost a massive amount of territory.
This moment was the starting point.
“We move as well.”
When Dante turned and said so, Acrasion was already ready to depart.
He liked their swift readiness.
“Sir Zion will lead the way; Sir Milleon and Sir Ilain will secure the surrounding perimeter.”
“Understood.”
“We obey your command.”
As they answered, Dante kicked his horse.
Vrroom—!
The horse — which should have been exhausted already — charged across the land with Ture at its side.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—!
“How far to Outpost 302?”
“About two hours.”
“At full gallop?”
“One hour.”
They weren’t Windgale — the fastest knight order on the continent — but for Acrasion this was as fast as they could go.
“Then full speed.”
“But the horses aren’t in great shape.”
“They can rest once we arrive.”
Apologetic but with no alternative, Dante pushed onward.
The sooner they got there, the more damage they could prevent.
“All right then.”
Zionhak nodded and launched forward.
At least in horsemanship and sense of direction, he was better than Dante.
Thanks to him, Acrasion reached Outpost 302 without wasting a second.
Vrroom—!
By the time the horses, foaming at the mouth, began to tire and struggled to maintain speed—
“Hold the line!”
“Let not one through!”
“Damn it! Kill them! Kill them all!”
Screams came from the distance.
The battle had already begun.
“…There are too many.”
Zionhak said with a grave expression.
Too many?
No — that word didn’t do justice.
Monsters covered the entire plain.
Not in the tens of thousands, but at least a hundred thousand.
Given how they kept pouring in, the true number could be several times that.
Since the monster waves began, this was the largest army they had ever seen.
The allied soldiers fought with everything they had, but they were outnumbered.
Reinforcements were arriving piecemeal, but at this rate it was clear they would collapse soon.
“Can we break through?”
Dante asked.
But Zionhak and the other knights shook their heads.
“The horses are too exhausted. We can’t break ten meters like this. Even if it were possible, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
They were only thirteen; even at their best, Acrasion alone couldn’t manage a complete breakthrough.
They’d likely be stopped somewhere in the middle.
But that didn’t mean they could sit idle.
“Half a circle, then flank them.”
They could join the outpost’s forces to defend, but that wouldn’t change much.
If they struck the flank, they might not cut the enemy’s backbone, but they could at least divert attention.
“I don’t want to, but it’s an order — we have to comply.”
It was a suicidal command, but none of the knights disobeyed.
They trusted Dante.
Dante trusted them.
The allied army’s strongest order, Acrasion, thus mounted and charged.
Sshhrrr—!
Arpheon was drawn.
A sword that a few hours earlier had been used to beat the trash named Lionel in training now drank in mana to slay real enemies.
Crack—!
As hooves kicked hard into the earth, web-like cracks formed, and Dante’s form surged forward like a projectile.
‘One strike.’
He cut down as many as possible.
Mana surged crazily through his body, granting him superhuman strength.
Shing――――――――!!!
Part of the enemy host collapsed, and Acrasion pushed into the gap.
“Slaughter them all!”
With Dante’s ruthless command—
