Better the fear you know than the unknown in this situation. There's a lot to fear in the demon realm if you're weak. And those are known sources of fear. If you constantly fear the unknown then you will die of fear. That is a real possibility because of the existence of demons of fear who can empower themselves with fear.
So fear is a very harmful luxury for the weak. No matter the amount of dread that they felt, the army commander's presence held the soldiers in line. They didn't bolt away, but that's all they could manage right now. When Aeternus got within shouting distance of the fortress, the army commander was the one to ask for Aeternus's purpose since no one else could ask and his vice-commanders didn't dare do anything without his consent.
"What brings you here, the ominous reaper?" Danazel asked proudly with his chest all puffed out and his height of 3.9 meters fully displayed.
NAME: Danazel
RACE: Demon of Pride.
BLOODLINE/SIN: Pride.
