Chapter 278

The morale of the beastmen was through the roof.

For the first time in centuries, they had reclaimed territory taken by humans. If they pursued the retreating enemies to Pale Run Fortress, they could easily annihilate them, securing a monumental victory.

However, their king, Ryurik, halted the advance immediately after capturing the northern wall.

Though the warriors couldn’t understand the decision, they obeyed their king’s command.

The great king, who single-handedly climbed the northern wall and led the conquest, was already seen as a divine incarnation by his warriors.

—

In the command room of the northern wall, Ryurik sat on a bloodstained table, chewing on a human arm while glaring at a robed magician.

“So, the Empire’s civil war has been suppressed… You’re quick with the news, magician. Even the Imperial Army we fought doesn’t seem to know yet.”

“If I couldn’t do at least that, how could I call myself a magician? It’s confirmed. The civil war isn’t completely over, but the empress and the third prince have been executed. It won’t be long before the retreating Imperial Army at Pale Run Fortress hears the news too.”

For Ryurik, this was unwelcome news.

The end of the civil war meant the Empire’s forces would once again focus on the north.

Thanks to his and his warriors’ bravery, they had successfully captured the northern wall, but the beastmen’s losses were also significant.

They could handle the retreating Imperial Army, but against the reinforcements that would follow, victory was uncertain.

‘As expected, they’re not so easily broken…’

He had hoped the Empire would split in two amidst the chaos.

“What about the east and west? Do you have news from there?”

“After losing five thousand troops in one go, the Kahars have gone silent for some reason. Whether they’re waiting for their main force or facing internal issues, I don’t know. As you know, they’re notoriously hostile to magicians, making it hard to gather information. Still, they’re better than the fairies who monitor the entire Great Forest.”

“They crashed into the Great Wall and shattered, didn’t they? Those fools, I thought they’d put up a better fight.”

Ryurik clicked his tongue. He had already heard about the five thousand troops lost overnight.

Even if it was just a detachment, it was still absurd.

“The Kahars’ king, Ai-shan Gi-or Orhan, is undoubtedly a great warrior… but his children seem more incompetent than expected. Though there’s one exception…”

“An exception? You mean that woman?”

Ryurik leaned closer to the magician, showing interest.

He was quite curious about Orhan’s daughter, the woman who had caused the collapse of the militia he had infiltrated into the capital.

Her ridiculous nickname, “Beastman Devourer,” was also amusing.

“Yes. Ai-shan Gi-or’s Hashal-leur. She’s now called the Empire’s strongest swordsman. Ten masters, the Empire’s top swordsman, even the empress and the third prince—all fell by her hand. She’s the primary hero who suppressed the civil war. Orhan’s life is quite tragic, isn’t it? His only promising child happens to be a daughter who betrayed her own people.”

“Children rarely turn out as you expect.”

Ryurik chuckled.

“Anyway, if she’s that strong… I’d like to meet her someday.”

If her achievements were true, she might be as strong as Ryurik himself.

‘She could bear strong offspring. If I captured and impregnated her, even if they were hybrids, they might be as strong as pureblood warriors… or even stronger.’

Though for now, that was impossible.

—

“…That’s the situation, Nazar. What do you think?”

After the magician left, Ryurik called his adjutant to discuss their next steps.

Nazar, a brown-furred fox beastman, tapped his nose and shook his head.

“Advance, hold, or retreat. If we have to choose one, retreating is the best option. If we advance, we could capture Pale Run Fortress, but… that’s just a fleeting pleasure. All the bloodshed would be for nothing as things return to how they were.”

If they destroyed Pale Run, the Empire would throw everything at them, sparing no effort to crush them.

In the end, the beastmen would either retreat to the northern snowfields or fight to the last and be annihilated.

“Holding is the worst option. If we defend the northern wall, we’ll lose not to battle but to starvation. So… retreating is still the best choice.”

The saying that logistics are the most important part of war applies to beastmen too.

Without food, they weaken, and without strength, they can’t fight—beastmen are no exception.

And the beastmen’s supply method has always been local procurement.

Maintaining a large army while transporting massive supplies across the Heavenly Mountains is an incredibly difficult task for them.

On the other hand, once a battle begins, they can easily seize vast amounts of supplies.

Just stripping the armor off dead Imperial soldiers can provide a meal.

It was all part of the plan.

The arm Ryurik was chewing on was also considered a supply obtained from battle.

“Duver, was it? He had plenty of meat and fat, quite edible.”

Remembering the juicy taste of the meat, Ryurik’s mouth watered.

Anyway, as Nazar said, this supply method wouldn’t work properly in a siege.

Fighting by knocking enemies off the walls, no matter how many corpses piled up, it wouldn’t be easy to reach them.

In fact, if the Imperial Army didn’t even launch a siege and just surrounded the north wall, attacking from a distance… the beastmen could starve to death without a proper fight.

“So, retreating is the best option, huh? After coming this far? If we’re going to retreat anyway, attacking Faelun Castle and then retreating later would be…”

“No. If we’re going to retreat, we should leave behind some definite results, right? There’s a better way than attacking Faelun.”

Nazar flashed a sly smile.

—

Awakened in Faelun Castle, Freide went berserk but was barely calmed down after desperate persuasion from Damien and Milia.

It wasn’t the time to be angry.

The remaining forces were only about eight thousand soldiers, two hundred knights, and one master.

Freide, having regained her senses, had to move so busily she couldn’t even sleep.

She had to draft a request for reinforcements to the capital, reorganize the remaining troops, and even send out a scouting unit to check the beastmen’s movements.

Her reddish-brown eyes were bloodshot, now looking completely bloodthirsty.

Amidst this, the information brought back by the returning scouts was enough to turn her world upside down.

“…What happened to the north wall…?”

The knight in charge of the scouting unit bowed deeply and recounted what he had seen to the trembling daughter of the Northern Duke.

“…All that remained was an empty field scattered with bone fragments and piles of stones. The beastmen had retreated, and the north wall… was completely destroyed, not a single foundation stone left.”

“These… damn beast bastards…!”

Feeling as if blood was rushing to her head, Freide grabbed the back of her neck and slumped into a chair.

Her face turned red, almost as if it would burst.

Indeed.

Mocking Freide, who had been struggling under the pressure and fatigue of figuring out how to stop the beastmen, they had halted their advance and retreated into the Heavenly Mountains as if it were all a lie.

Erasing the north wall, humanity’s defense line that had held back the beastmen’s advance, from the map.

For Freide, it was a conclusion that made her vision go dark.

How long would it take to rebuild the collapsed north wall? No, would it even be possible to rebuild it?

If there were even a hint of construction starting, those beasts would surely attack and disrupt it.

But leaving the collapsed north wall as it was, who knows how much damage would be incurred during the next great invasion!

From the snow-covered mountains visible through the window, a hallucination of a white wolf laughing maniacally seemed to echo.

“Ryurik-!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Freide let out a scream that could shatter her throat.

—

In a dark underground laboratory.

A naked woman with no wrists or ankles floated in a tank in the center, her eyes closed, while dismembered flesh and organs were scattered across the tables like a slaughterhouse.

Shelves on the walls were filled with flasks of colorful potions and glass jars containing grotesque creatures.

As if to prove they were magically created life forms, they all looked exactly the same.

Tiny creatures that looked like unborn fetuses. It was a repulsive and blasphemous sight.

In a space where priests would have screamed for immediate purification by fire, a woman hummed a tune.

With her voluminous red hair flowing long, her exposed arms wrapped in bandages, she exuded a strange aura.

Ophelia van Sigmilus.

Having healed her arm injury with Leonor’s help, she had returned to her secret laboratory.

To create little Isabella, as promised to Hasharl.

The fetuses in the glass jars were the results.

Though not yet complete, the first result was nearing the end of its growth.