I blinked and looked down to see my hands covered in black blood.
Two nuns stepped forward and gently rolled up my sleeves as I placed my hands into the basin. Tasha then approached to help me wash them clean.
At that moment, a miraculous reaction occurred within the basin.
A wisp of white smoke instantly rose as the black demon blood mixed with the water.
Dominica froze in surprise, but I reacted quickly, sweeping my long sleeve to knock the basin over.
"Don't get close."
I pulled back the dazed Dominica and took a step back. The spilled water and blood hissed like cold water hitting a boiling pan. The water, which shimmered with a faint holy light, began to clash with and erode the black stains.
The black filth visibly lost its vitality, gradually transforming from black to a deep blood red.
Is this... restoration?
However, just as the black stains were about to revert to red blood, another peculiar reaction took place.
The congealed stains began to turn to ash, eventually becoming a mass of rotting sludge that emitted a foul stench before sinking into the earth.
"Your Highness, this is..."
Dominica stared at me in shock.
"It is nothing. Likely just my holy energy not getting along with that filth."
This reaction essentially proved that my holy energy and the demonic aura were utterly incompatible, existing in a state of mutual exclusion.
Since my holy energy was essentially a condensation of light elements, it was clear that these demons were closely aligned with dark elements.
"Wow, it can actually do that? I wonder if I can do it too?"
Lina walked over to look at the foul sludge and picked up a withered branch to poke at it.
"You are welcome to try."
I rolled my eyes at Lina's sudden childish curiosity and turned my gaze toward the distance.
"Lina, how much can you see of the path ahead?"
I was worried about the road forward. After all, no other race had set foot on this island for a thousand years.
The only information available about this island consisted of a few vague sentences, and there were no maps to be found.
It was said that humans and other races once lived here, but ever since the combined forces of the continent drove the demons to this island, it had lost all contact with the outside world.
Standing on this land now, I felt a sense of ancient desolation lingering in my heart, even though I had not experienced the events of a millennium ago.
"I cannot see much, but the terrain for the march does not look promising."
Lina frowned slightly and tossed away the branch. She drew her sword and began sketching in the dirt.
"What I can see fans out from here. From this point toward the heart of the island, it seems to be a gentle uphill slope. There is a mountain peak in the distance, but the mist is too thick to see anything useful there."
As she spoke, she mapped out the area within her sight and pointed out a route.
"If we want the army to advance, I recommend taking this middle path. There is a road here, and the area ahead is mostly plains and shrubs with almost no forest. The army will have no way to hide their movements if they take this route."
"So, once we pass this cliff, there is only one path forward?"
I looked at the simple map she had drawn. It was just her field of vision with the mountain marked by a circle.
"Mostly shrubs and plains... are there any other peaks nearby?"
"None. Aside from this cliff, everything past it is flat. Once we step out there, the demons will definitely spot us. I am certain they have flying units."
Lina turned to look at me.
"That presents a problem. You sent away the wyverns from the Kingdom of Sand, so we have no air force. It will be difficult to defend against an aerial assault."
"Yes, I know."
I nodded. I had already accounted for that in my plans.
It would not be an issue.
"So... Luo Li, what do you plan to do?"
Lina sheathed her sword and patted her palms before looking into the distance.
"I suppose we are in for a hard fight? Honestly, Luo Li, you must have an ace up your sleeve. Otherwise, I do not believe you would dare lead an army onto the demon island."
I winked playfully and answered her question before turning to give Dominica an order.
"Of course I do. You will find out when the time comes."
"Notify the entire army: rest for half a day. Afterward, the vanguard will advance fifty miles. The central command and the flanks will follow closely behind, and the rear guard will follow at a slower pace."
"Hmph~ fine, keep your secrets then. It is not like it matters~"
Lina huffed with a look of disdain. I simply smiled and headed back toward the Saint's Carriage.
In my head, I counted: one... two...
"Wait, let's talk about it! We are comrades on the same side now, you cannot keep me in the dark!"
I had not even reached three before Lina followed me in through the carriage curtains.
Hah, this girl is too easy to read. It does not matter if she is twenty or thirty years older than me, she is still a little sister in my eyes!
I have her right where I want her.
I turned around, a slight curve appearing on my lips as I watched her.
"You want to know?"
Lina nodded vigorously.
"I am not telling you~"
"Ehhh! You cannot do that! Tell me, tell me!"
As we bickered, we returned to the Saint's Carriage. For the next half day, we mostly sat inside and waited.
As the scouts frequently moved back and forth, a map of the surrounding area gradually began to take shape.
A massive island that had been silent for a thousand years was finally unveiling its secrets to me.
This island was essentially completely undeveloped.
A millennium of demon occupation had allowed the demonic energy to corrupt the life here, creating a biological chain entirely different from the continent's.
More and more reports of strange creatures came in.
Trees that could move, slime-like organisms that disguised themselves as ore, giant insect-like creatures, and more.
Demonic energy had given the life on this island a completely different path. The creatures here seemed to have no regard for race; the mammals in particular were driven by an instinct to mate with anything female they encountered.
A tenth of the knights in the regiment were women.
Many of the female scouts returned with dark expressions, some even washing their hands and armor repeatedly.
I did not even need to ask to guess what kind of bizarre things they had encountered.
After all, this was an eroge world.
Since this was the demons' headquarters, one could only imagine what kind of strange creatures they had seen.
It was safe to say that those creatures' desire for females had far exceeded the limits of human psychological tolerance.
There were even demonized beasts that could catch the scent of a woman from dozens of miles away.
Some knights even brought back strange species of demonized wolves upon their return.
After resting for half a day, the geography of the immediate region was finally sketched out based on the scouts' reports.
It was just as Lina had said; there was nowhere to hide. Between here and the distant mountain, there were only small patches of forest, while the rest was a vast, endless plain.
These plains were covered in waist-high shrubs and nothing else.
Stealth was impossible; we would have to face them head-on.
"Has the vanguard departed?"
I looked at the map, which was still expanding as wave after wave of scouts explored the path ahead.
For such a strange region with no prior information, I could only use this tedious method to explore step by step.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the vanguard has departed."
Dominica responded. She was now my full-time assistant, acting as the hub for relaying orders and reports.
"Understood. Tell the central command to prepare to move. Inform Andre and Boris to be extremely cautious. They must not be careless, for we do not know what might appear in the next second."
"Yes."
Dominica took the order and went to relay it.
Ligeia's voice then drifted from behind me.
"Your Highness, is it not a bit too risky to march in so recklessly?"
"We have no choice. We do not have the luxury of taking it slow and steady. Do not forget our strategic objective. We are here to besiege a point to strike at reinforcements. For the sake of those hundreds of millions of people in the Kingdom of the Sun, we must take this risk."
If it were not for the Kingdom of the Sun struggling to survive, I would have preferred to explore this island bit by bit until every detail was clear before slowly figuring out how to conquer it.
It was very similar to a strategy game.
In fact, strategy games were derived from actual warfare.
But we simply did not have the time.
I did not know how long it would take to reach the demon stronghold, but every day we delayed here was another day of danger for the Kingdom of the Sun.
My current actions were like clearing a new map in a game; I needed to move forward carefully, but this time, the quest had a time limit.
I hesitated for a moment.
"Dominica."
"I am here."
Dominica's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Notify the vanguard commanders, Kiran and Amir. Tell them to keep only three thousand men together. The remaining seven thousand are to be broken into seven waves to scout the surrounding area. The army can stop, but the scouts must never stop!"
"Yes!"
As I said this, Lina's voice came from beside me.
"Just as I thought."
"Hmm? What is just as you thought?"
I looked back at Lina, who was looking at me with a beaming smile.
"Your sense for war."
"Is that so? I do not feel that way."
I smiled slightly. Such common sense was something almost any person from my world would know. War is a battle of resources and information; that is the foundation.
Whoever holds more information is closer to victory.
Whoever has more money has more opportunities.
That is the essence of war.
"Most people would not be so thorough when commanding their first war."
Lina walked to the map and watched it expand. Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and looked at me in shock.
"You keep sending out scouts, but not just to the front... you are exploring the entire surrounding area... Could it be?!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
As expected of a military genius, she had guessed my intent.
"It is roughly what you are thinking."
Lina covered her mouth, her face full of shock.
"You really are crazy. You actually intend to use this opportunity to map out the entire demon island? Do you really plan to come back later?"
"Of course. Eradicating the demons from this continent entirely is something I have always kept in mind."
After all, the demons were my greatest threat.
I did not want to suddenly hit a dead end one day.
Ligeia, standing nearby, was not particularly surprised, as I had mentioned this to her before.
Time passed minute by minute. After organizing the formation, the army set out once more.
Although the rear guard had not fully crossed the sea, the vanguard, central command, and both flanks had finished their crossing and rested for a few hours.
Many knights had managed a quick nap before starting the journey.
The road ahead was dangerous, but even if ten thousand stood against me... I shall not go!
Damn it, if I actually said that out loud, I would probably be setting a death flag for myself.
However, even though I was prepared to be discovered, I did not expect it to happen so soon!
We had been marching for nearly ten hours, and everything had been safe from dawn until about three in the afternoon.
But then, a scout suddenly returned with news.
A demon army had been spotted a hundred miles ahead.
It was a regular army, no longer just a group of stragglers.
We had encountered plenty of stragglers along the way and killed as many as possible.
Now, we had finally met their regular forces.
And meeting a regular army meant one thing—we were on the right track.
"Notify the vanguard: do not panic and do not be hasty to attack. Slow down to merge with the central command and maintain a high state of alert."
"Order the rear guard to accelerate. They must stay within twenty miles of the central command."
"Notify Kariel and Robert to bring the flanks in closer and remain vigilant."
"Tell Andre and Boris to speed up and rendezvous with the vanguard."
Orders were relayed one after another, and the speed of the central command suddenly increased significantly.
The thunderous roar of ten thousand galloping horses echoed across the land.
"Report! The demon army is advancing rapidly at fifty miles per hour! At this rate, we will face them head-on in less than an hour!"
"Report! The demon army is forty miles from the vanguard!"
"Report! The demon army is twenty miles from the vanguard!"
"Report! The demon army is ten miles from the vanguard! They are now visible to the naked eye!"
"Report! Preliminary estimates place the demon army at approximately one hundred thousand strong!"
The reports came in faster and faster, and a sense of anxiety began to rise in my heart.
The calm before the storm was over. Everyone sensed the coming of a great battle, and a murderous aura began to permeate the army.
But then, a scout returned with a strange piece of news.
"Report! The demon army has halted! They are only five miles away from the vanguard!!"
Hmm?
The demon army... actually stopped?
Rate on N.U.
