How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 286 - Preliminary Battle (4)

‘Star Cluster’ said that Great Devil had revealed itself to its followers. Nearly 3m tall, it had a completely different aura from ordinary devils.

This was bad news, but I wasn’t too shocked. It was somewhat expected. And it could even be seen as a good thing.

There were two possibilities. One was that Great Devil had regained its power right on cue, and the other was that it was forced to reveal itself as we got closer.

Personally, I thought it was the latter. I had already destroyed one of the spheres, and it revealed itself in response to our advance.

Of course, even so, it remained a formidable opponent. Even if it revealed itself, it would have accumulated as much power as possible before doing so.

And it was certain that the power it had accumulated would be incomparably greater than that of individual Sword Masters.

I had thought it might not appear until the very end. In fact, regardless of what happened to its followers… if Great Devil regained its full power, it might be able to face everyone alone.

So if it was still hiding to regain its strength, I had considered trying to find it through Rina. Now that was no longer necessary.

‘I was preparing for this anyway.’

It wasn’t anything to be greatly surprised about. Of course, it would have been best if it hadn’t appeared at all. That would have meant Great Devil was lacking something.

But I had been preparing for the final battle with Great Devil for a long time. It felt like what was bound to happen had finally come.

Nothing changed with Great Devil’s appearance. We would head northeast, and the enemies would be waiting for us there.

The march continued. There were no minor skirmishes. The east had also gathered its forces. The defensive battles were truly just to buy time.

The reason I think it’s the latter is that Great Devil popped out as soon as the defensive battles failed.

An incomplete body, it might be able to face the continent’s great army…

It would also need to instill confidence in its followers. There are no devils now. Or it might have another purpose.

For example, it might be possible to recover its strength by using soldiers as sacrifices.

‘It’s getting more and more gloomy.’

The further northeast we went, the harder it was to see people. Not to mention passersby, even small villages were deserted. The scattered household items were signs that people had left in a hurry.

I couldn’t tell if they had fled or been taken by devil worshippers. But the latter seemed more likely.

And it was the same for the small castles. As we headed straight to the northeast, we didn’t see many.

But when we passed by two castles, the gates were wide open and there was no one inside.

Only a few rotting corpses remained. Judging by the absence of food, it seemed they had taken everything and moved.

These scenes amplified the suspicion that it might be trying to recover its strength through sacrifices.

It was during a rest while moving that one of the imperial knights approached me. This was a common occurrence.

‘People with or without anxiety are the same’

I was one of the most famous people in the empire. An object of admiration for knights and soldiers. Even without this situation, there were plenty of people who would come to talk to me.

Especially knights, who would often very politely ask if I could take a look at their swords.

It got a bit worse when we came to the east. Marching in unfamiliar lands against Great Devil. No matter how numerous our allies were, Great Devil’s name carried weight.

The soldiers wanted to alleviate their anxiety through me. Because I had never been defeated and had been at the center of every devil capture.

-My lord, will this expedition really be alright?

In this way, they wanted to confirm that we would be victorious in the upcoming war. I told them we would.

If things went well, admiration for me would increase, and if we were defeated, we’d all die anyway so it didn’t matter.

Of course, I didn’t say it just out of irresponsible thinking. Naturally, saying so helped boost morale a little.

My words spread instantly. I only needed to tell a few people. After that, it would be exaggerated on its own.

-The undefeated knight, Lord Carl Schurtafen, said we would be victorious in this expedition too.

-If it’s the words of Carl, accompanied by the goddess of victory, well, of course. There’s no problem.

-But this time it’s the Great Devil…

-Look, rookie. See here. After the war with the western border, he killed the devil’s minions and caught the devilish dragon. Then what? He slaughtered two devils. What’s next? Of course, it’s the Great Devil, isn’t it?

-Oh! When you put it that way, you’re right!

I didn’t stop such talk. Especially not the recounting of my past achievements and saying the Great Devil was next.

Rather, the empire’s leadership might even encourage such talk. To boost the soldiers’ morale.

When such words spread, soldiers were happy that they could put their names on the army that would defeat the Great Devil by being with me.

Of course, they would put their names on it. If we win. I don’t know how many of them will survive, though.

Anyway, I greeted the approaching knight with a casual face, wearing my helmet.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Yes, my lord. Could we speak privately?”

But that voice was somehow familiar. I narrowed my eyes. It took about 2 seconds. For me to recognize the owner of that voice.

“Sure. Follow me.”

“Yes.”

After moving to a less populated area, I smiled brightly at Toun Zaha. The joy was genuine.

“Toun!”

“Carlyn.”

He also greeted me with a gentle smile as he took off his helmet.

“How long has it been?”

“Hmm, it’s been a while.”

The last time I met Toun Zaha was in the southeastern desert. When I was with Denif. Before that, it was before I left for the empire.

Quite a long time had passed since then, so it was a face I missed. After all, we had been companions for a year in the past.

“Have you been well?”

“Me? I’m always the same. You seem to be doing well, Carlyn. Though it looks like you’ve been through some hardships.”

“It’s not just a day or two. I used to do this kind of hard work before too.”

Thinking of past memories, he shook his head.

“You didn’t catch devils back then.”

“I’ve grown too, you know.”

At my words, he laughed and looked around. It wasn’t a situation where we could talk for long anyway. He probably approached after checking the situation too.

“It’s fine now, though we can’t talk for long.”

“Right. I knew you were doing well from what I heard, but I still wanted to say hello.”

“I’m glad too. It’s nice to see you, isn’t it?”

“By the way, is everything alright? Any people you don’t like? Phiri was concerned.”

“No. You know well too, right, Toun? The current atmosphere.”

Before leaving Chenarus, Phiri had talked about Toun Zaha. She meant she would take care of anyone I wanted dealt with without dirtying my own hands.

Of course, I didn’t think it would actually happen, and I didn’t need Toun Zaha’s help now either.

“Well, that’s true.”

An expedition to unfamiliar lands and the appearance of Great Devil. Like the east, we were close to being a coalition army, but there was no one who would disobey or take Erendil lightly.

It’s impossible. With the new emperor of the empire, and all the Sword Masters of the continent gathered.

In fact, if someone talked nonsense here, it wouldn’t be strange if their head was cut off immediately. It’s also impossible to go back now that we’ve come to the east.

As Toun Zaha had already said, he approached me just to say hello.

“We’ve said our hellos, so that’s enough. Let’s see each other again next time. I hope we can talk longer then.”

“Yes. That’s right. When everything is over, we’ll have a lot of time.”

With Erendil now emperor, the empire’s future was bright. Originally, not only was the empire itself powerful, but there were no hindrances at all.

The south has always been desperate to catch the empire’s eye, and the war with the west was won long ago.

Small sparks remained, but even those disappeared as I helped Casmak and Al Fahri. The west and southwest are under the control of my collaborators.

It meant that if I stayed here after everything was over, there wouldn’t be much to do.

‘If I had to say, maybe just swordsmanship?’

If I stay here, I have one personal goal. I’d like to try to reach the realm of Sword Lord that the founding emperor was said to have achieved.

At first, I picked up the sword for survival. Of course, it’s still for survival now, but I’ve become sincere about the sword.

“Then I’ll be going. Sorry for taking up your busy time.”

“Don’t be sorry. Come by often.”

“Alright. I just wish you good luck.”

“You too, Toun. Don’t die.”

“I didn’t die in that cold north, how could I here? It’s not like I’m fighting the Great Devil, don’t worry.”

“I actually helped you back then too. Take care of yourself, you’re getting older. You have to live to see each other after everything’s over, right?”

He was already a veteran when I first became a spy, and he was at an age where it wouldn’t be strange if he retired.

His skills probably haven’t rusted much, but we don’t know how the battle with Great Devil will turn out. He chuckled at my concern.

“Carlyn, worry about yourself. Aren’t you the one who’s going to face the Great Devil? I’m the one who’s worried.”

“You know me, I’m tough to kill.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He laughed heartily. As the conversation was wrapping up, I saw someone running towards me from afar. It seemed like someone had called for me.

Toun Zaha saw him too and put his helmet back on. His expression changed as he gave a stiff salute.

“My lord, then I’ll be going first.”

“Take care.”

Toun and the approaching knight passed each other. The knight stopped in front of me, panting as if he had run in a hurry.

“What’s the matter?”

“Huff, huff. My lord, Her Majesty urgently calls for you.”

“Has some problem arisen?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard that the enemy forces in the northeast have also started moving.”

I frowned and nodded. The fact that they had started moving was not good news for us.

Where the enemies are now is rugged terrain connected to the northeastern mountain range. The fact that they are coming out of that high ground is clearly a display of confidence along with Great Devil’s appearance.

‘Will the battlefield be the Romanek Plain?’

When they said the enemies were approaching us, the place where we would meet was a vast plain. If we only count the number of soldiers, we have the advantage, but…

I was a bit worried since they were coming out so confidently. Anyway, since Erendil had called, I also quickly ran to the tent.

***

Count Campbell also thought the battlefield would be the Romanek Plain. Our plans also changed with the enemy’s movements.

Of course, it didn’t change much. We just increased the marching speed a little.

This is unfamiliar territory for us, and even if it’s a battle on the plains, it’s important to secure positions in advance.

There’s a clear difference between judging based on maps and reports and seeing with your own eyes.

Even on a plain, there are places with long undulations that are good for ambushes or drawing in the enemy.

The enemy’s advance was of course conveyed to the soldiers as well. The atmosphere, which had been quite calm even after Great Devil’s appearance, became quite heavy.

Throughout the march, the soldiers didn’t talk much. They were either resolute or tense. Occasionally they would joke with each other.

It was jokes to overcome fear, but the laughter rarely lasted long.

It was about a week before we reached the plain. I was eating with Denif. That’s when the anomaly came.

Thump-. My calm heart beat violently. The blood flowing in my body reacts. The meaning was clear.

“Carlyn, what’s wrong?”

“Damn it.”

Denif, noticing the anomaly, expressed concern, but a curse came out instead of saying I was okay.

“Your eyes…”

“Another devil has appeared.”

I recalled the sight of the deserted northeast as we came. The desolate villages and castles. Was this what Great Devil was preparing?

Although I have experience catching devils, the appearance of additional devils was not good.

Even though I was expecting it, I thought that there wouldn’t be any more devils added right before the decisive battle.

Because of that, the allocation of Sword Masters to face Great Devil was almost decided.

‘This is going to be troublesome.’

I clicked my tongue and stood up. Even if it was bad news, I had to report it.