Chapter 51: Recapture Esperanza
The emergency escape route was located in the woods a short distance away from Fort Esperanza.
At first glance, it appeared to be a dried-up, decrepit well, but it was actually a fake, serving as a hidden marker for the escape route. Upon examining the designated location, there was a metallic handle hidden in the bushes. Lifting it revealed the entrance to an underground passage leading to the fort.
Taking a torch out of the backpack, they flew towards the fort using their flight skill. Since there were no signs of recent activity at the exit of the passage, it seemed that the enemies had not discovered this underground route yet.
Relying on their enhanced hearing, they cautiously exited the underground passage while surveying their surroundings. By the way, they had a perfect memory of the fort's layout, so they wouldn't get lost.
(It seems there are no monsters inside the fort...)
According to Valonos's information, the fort was occupied by Count Gomis as the commander, one baron as the vice-commander, and 95 average demon soldiers.
(It feels like there are fewer people than I expected.)
They could only hear about 50 moving figures within the fort. They briefly considered the possibility that a separate squad might be attacking Primera, but they had Valonos and Flugel monitoring the area last night, so that seemed unlikely.
(If that's the case, perhaps Valonos retreated or returned to report after losing... He's more cautious than I thought. If he had attacked in anger, I could have wiped them out here.)
Raising their evaluation of the enemy, they moved on to the next action. The plan was to thin out the demon soldiers one by one.
The tricky part about demon soldiers was that they were incredibly sturdy and had multiple lives, making it time-consuming and difficult to assassinate them.
However, thanks to Valonos, they knew the demon soldiers' weakness. Their life core resided in what could be called their "dantian," and if that was destroyed, they couldn't regenerate and would die. However, the life core was exceptionally robust, so it might not be considered a true weakness.
(But I have the Death Scythe...)
When they tested it with Valonos, the Death Scythe easily sliced through the life core like butter. Perhaps it had excellent compatibility with souls and things related to life. In other words, they were the natural enemy of the demon race.
Just as they were thinking that, a demon soldier walked towards them from the opposite direction. Being inside the fort, they seemed completely careless.
Since they didn't have any noteworthy skills, as the demon soldier passed by, they severed the life core from behind.
The demon soldier couldn't even scream and died instantly, split into two. The Death Scythe absorbed the demon soldier's soul.
"Level up."
"Level up."
(Next is the food storage...)
There were three demon soldiers in the nearby food storage.
(Hmm, one of them seems to have an interesting skill...)
[Cooking (Extreme)]
They were likely an exceptionally talented chef among the demon empire. Alright! They would form a summoning contract with them and have them cook. They had found quite a valuable talent.
Inside the food storage, the demon soldiers were examining the ingredients without noticing their presence.
"Learned Cooking (Extreme)."
They understood that the demon soldiers were using their skills to select the ingredients. It was fortunate as they could save the trouble of making them cook.
Approaching silently from behind, they cut down two of them in succession. The third one, who turned around in surprise, was dispatched without difficulty.
"Level up."
Apart from the third demon soldier with the skill, they absorbed the souls of the other two and further increased their level.
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
(Alright, let's keep going...)
There were about ten people moving in a large room a little further away.
On intuition, they were curious, so they decided to change the order and check it out first.
"Learned Detection of Presence."
As they approached the room, it seemed that they entered the detection range of a lookout skill at the entrance. However, since they were using a composite skill, they wouldn't be noticed.
(They bothered to put a lookout here... Is there something important?)
They closed in on the lookout and took them down with a single strike. They could hear voices coming from inside.
"Hey, can we taste this guy? After all, he's going to die anyway."
"Absolutely not! What will you do if the spell runs amok?"
"Tch, I thought I could humiliate that arrogant noblewoman."
From what they heard, it seemed like this was a demon soldier who had been caught as a spy.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so for the time being, they decided to help them. They were also curious about this "spell" they mentioned.
There were eight demon soldiers in total, a bit more than usual, but they were just weaklings without any remarkable skills. They should be able to handle them.
They leaped into the room and cut down two of them. Using the returning blade, they dealt with two more—then they activated Intimidation, causing the remaining demon soldiers to freeze in place, making it easy to eliminate them.
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
"Level up."
(Alright, let's keep going...)
...Nevertheless, the level is increasing rapidly. It's like a bonus stage. Absorbing more souls to raise the level.
"Level increased."
"Level increased."
"Level increased."
"Level increased."
Approaching the female demon chained in the back of the room, I cut the chains with Death Scythe.
[Name]: Sonia
[Race]: Demon (Noble)
[Age]: 16
[Status]: Demon Empire Viscount
[Rank]: 147th
[Condition]: Magic Crest (Explosive)
[Level]: 59
[Stamina]: 8984
[Magic Power]: 9982
[Attack Power]: 9987
[Durability]: 8991
[Agility]: 8439
[Intelligence]: 9394
[Skills]: Miasma Manipulation, Monster Domination, Physical Resistance (Strong), Dark Magic (Intermediate), Stealth, Teleportation (Short)
She's like a higher-tier version of Valanos. A beautiful girl with characteristic golden hair, golden eyes, and slightly wavy hair that reaches her shoulders, giving her a strong-willed look.
She stared at me with a puzzled expression after my sudden intrusion.
"Are you okay, Sonia? I'm Kakeru. If it's okay, could you tell me why you were captured?"
"Thank you for saving me. As you seem to know, I am Sonia, a Demon Empire Viscount."
According to Sonia, she is one of the forces opposing the invasion war. She had been secretly gathering information, but she couldn't overlook the atrocious acts of the vanguard unit, so she was captured while trying to help people escape.
"I see... So, there are conscientious people like you in the Demon Empire. I was thinking of annihilating the entire country, but it seems that may not be necessary."
"Thank you for understanding... But our faction is very small. If it weren't for Her Highness, the Third Princess Arisce, supporting us, we would have been crushed long ago."
Princess Arisce is said to be the last remaining conscience in the Demon Empire. Sonia says she's someone who values kindness and compassion above all else in a world where strength is everything.
Due to her character, she is quite popular, but there are also many who despise her. Sonia, however, is risking her life to protect Arisce.
"I owe everything to Princess Arisce. Please, even if it means going to war with the Demon Empire, I beg you to help Princess Arisce. She's doing her best to stop the war, even in this hopeless situation! I can't do anything anymore..."
"Why? If you don't mind, I can help too. Once Princess Arisce ascends the throne, the war will end, right?"
Tears welled up in Sonia's golden eyes.
"I won't be saved anymore... The magic crest engraved in my life core has already been activated..."