The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Balthazar didn't know why he had called out to the other person.

Perhaps the long period of sealing away had worn down his personality.

Even Bartholomew knew of "their" existence, so how could Balthazar, as a demon god, not know that each of the heroes who sealed themselves away were incarnations of "their"?

He, a mighty demon god, was like a toy in their eyes, being lined up and defeated time and time again.

To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of it.

“I only eat what others don’t want, and what’s unclaimed,” Rimuru replied.

This is its bottom line when it is not under threat.

"But what if I agree?"

A glint of light flashed in Balthazar's eyes. He wanted to see if this newly born demon really had the guts.

"Then I'll start eating."

Rimuru greeted them and then walked straight toward Balthazar.

It nimbly climbed up his body, then split into four, each climbing up one of the four heavy iron chains and wrapping itself around him.

Upon contact, Rimuru felt a burning, stinging sensation.

The chains that can bind a demon god are not as simple as they appear.

“You…” Balthazar frowned slightly.

"You're the one who agreed to let me eat these chains."

-----------------

"Latest battle report: the kingdom has assembled a large army and is marching towards the allies," Sigurd announced. "The academy has mobilized its entire force to reinforce them, and considering the time it takes to deliver supplies, they are probably already engaged in battle."

Adele bit her lip. She finally understood why the kingdom hadn't taken advantage of the empire's internal strife; its target had already shifted to the weaker allies.

This move was not only precise, but also ruthless.

How many troops can we mobilize now?

“Thirty thousand,” Sigurd quickly announced the number.

"Felder, I order you to take them and go to provide support—"

Before Edel could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Venere.

"Wait a minute. The situation is still unclear. What if this is a ploy by the kingdom to lure us away from our base? If we rashly mobilize our troops, we might just be playing into their hands."

“But if we ignore it, I’m afraid the allies won’t be able to hold on and will think the Empire has abandoned them,” Edel said, expressing her concerns.

"I will take the Holy Knights with me to the Allied Powers to provide support and explain to them that the battlefield for truly defeating the Kingdom will not be within the Allied Powers' borders."

Wiener paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Feld. "Lord Feld, are you interested in having the Rafner family's flag flown again in the kingdom?"

written request for leave

Take a day off.

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Chapter 660 Lure the enemy deeper

"Of course, it depends on His Majesty's decision."

Although Feld was tempted, he remembered his status as a subject and left the decision to his lord.

"You want the Empire to take advantage of this?" Edel understood what Venere meant.

“That’s right. If we send troops to the Kingdom now, we can not only relieve the ally, but also force the Kingdom into a two-front war,” Viner tapped the map with his fingertip. “Once the battle lines are stretched out, it will inevitably expose its weaknesses.”

Edel stood before the strategic map, her gaze sweeping across the border between the Empire and the Kingdom. After a moment's thought, she finally made up her mind: "Then let's do as you say. We'll split our forces into two groups and launch an attack on the Kingdom."

“Alright,” Viner nodded in agreement, then turned to Samif and instructed, “Inform Aloy to prepare for the march.”

"I understand."

Samif immediately left the hall and relayed the order.

Since Leia returned injured, she had been waiting for the day of revenge. Now that she finally had the chance to strike back, she was naturally more eager than anyone else.

“Vina, how about we make a bet?” Edel suddenly spoke up.

"What should we bet on?" Viner asked, raising an eyebrow.

Edel pointed to the map: "Let's bet on who gets to Gracia first. Of course, it has to be with their troops that they reach the capital; sneaking in alone doesn't count."

"So what's the stake?" Wiener asked calmly.

"The loser has to grant the winner one request that doesn't violate their principles." Adele smiled slightly, as if she had already thought it through.

"You're not asking me to come to the Empire to assist you or something like that, are you?"

"Of course not. Since I said it wouldn't violate my principles, I naturally won't force you to do something you don't want to do," Adel promised. "This is just a prize prepared for conquering the kingdom. If you don't want to, you can refuse."

After a moment of silence, Wiener gave a wry smile: "Now that we've come this far, refusing would make me seem like I'm being indecisive."

“Then it’s a deal.” Adele extended her hand.

"Ah, see you in Gracia."

Wiener also extended his hand, and the two gave each other a high five to confirm.

-----------------

The kingdom's army is advancing rapidly through the vassal states.

The armies of the vassal states, who should have been more familiar with the terrain, were always caught up by the kingdom's army, and the reason for this is self-evident.

"Report!" Juno hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered the tent. "Lady Chlorie, the Kingdom's army has approached the camp by a hundred miles and will make contact with us in two hours at most."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers inside the tent all stood up. A young general volunteered to fight, saying, "Lord Alliance Leader, Bliss begs to go into battle! This constant retreat and forbearance will only embolden the enemy."

“Your turn will come, but not now.” Chlorie raised her hand to signal everyone to calm down, then ordered, “Abandon the position, retreat a hundred miles, and re-establish camp.”

"Lord of the Alliance!" Bliss spoke again.

"Excuting an order."

Chlorie forcefully suppressed the dissatisfaction of the generals.

Under the cover of night, the troops of the vassal states quietly withdrew.

When the kingdom's army arrived, they were met only with a deathly silent camp.

The campfire was still burning, and the soup in the pot was still steaming. Apart from a small amount of food and weapons that had not yet been taken away, there was no other person in sight.

"Hmph, this is the leader you've chosen?"

Hermann stood on his horse outside the camp, feeling utterly disdainful.

It took him so much effort to deal with just a student who had just graduated from college.

"That Chlorie only rose to the position of leader because of her birth; naturally, she is no match for you, sir," Swain flattered.

The reason why the Kingdom's army was able to keep crushing Kurori's troops was all thanks to him.

After searching the area and finding nothing further, Hermann's adjutant stepped forward and asked, "General, should we rest here and wait for the main army to arrive?"

“I’m pretty tired of this cat-and-mouse game,” Herman said, waving his hand. “Leave five hundred men to guard the camp. The rest of you don’t need to waste time. We’ll capture that Chlorie alive today!”

With his order given, the Kingdom's army swiftly broke camp and advanced, the vast army rushing forward like hunting dogs.

Meanwhile, the allied forces were re-establishing their camps.

Juno, who was keeping a close eye on the movements of the Kingdom Army, hurriedly found Chlorie: "The Kingdom Army didn't stop, they're heading straight for us."

Upon hearing this, Chlorie looked at the general standing to the side and ordered, "Bliss, take three thousand men and prepare to meet the enemy."

"Master Alliance Leader?"

Bliss clearly hadn't expected Chlorie to choose to take the initiative and fight at this moment.

He didn't understand why, having decided to fight, they would abandon the fortifications they had already built and instead engage the Kingdom's army in open battle.

"What, is there a problem?" Chlorie asked back.

"No, your subordinate will cover your retreat, Lord Alliance Leader. I hope—"

"You're making it sound like I'm going to abandon you," Chlorie couldn't help but laugh. "You just go ahead and attack, I'll stay here and cover for you."

Bliss realized that there was no point in saying anything more, so he could only bite the bullet and reply, "Yes, sir."

The kingdom had clearly been planning the attack on the vassal states for a long time, and Herman alone led an vanguard of ten thousand men.

They knew that the war with the empire would be protracted, so they decided to take down the vassal states first.

In contrast, the alliance hastily assembled by Chlorie barely numbered ten thousand, and its elite status was far inferior.

The successive defeats brought the morale of the Allied forces to a standstill, and many soldiers lost contact with each retreat.

While they claim to have gone missing, they are essentially deserters, a fact that is an open secret within the military.

Everyone was pessimistic about this young leader, unaware that this was merely a selection tactic employed by Chlorie.

Bliss's three thousand troops comprised nearly half of the remaining manpower of the feudal lords' army.

"At least there are still some people who look like soldiers."

Hermann looked at the allied forces led by Bliss and nodded in satisfaction.

Only enemies who dare to resist are worth conquering.

He raised his spear and shouted, "Whoever captures Chlorie alive will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and promoted one rank!"

Meanwhile, Bliss was giving a final pep talk.

He drew his sword, pointed it at the enemy lines, and roared, "Today we'll show these invaders what true courage we have!"

These words completely released the pent-up frustration that the soldiers had been holding in for some time.

Despite being outnumbered and outequipped, they managed to fight to a standstill in the ensuing battle.

The two armies clashed instantly, with shouts and screams filling the entire battlefield.

Herman watched as Bliss charged through the chaos of battle, seemingly unscathed, and felt a pang of regret for his talent.

"What a pity, such a fierce general, it would have been better if he had been born in the kingdom."

After saying that, Herman charged toward Bliss with his gun.

Just as the two armies were locked in a fierce battle, a loud bugle call suddenly sounded from the flank of the Kingdom's army.

An army clad in silver-white knight armor seemed to descend from the sky, suddenly charging into the battle.

No one knew how they appeared; all that could be seen was their blades, aimed directly at the kingdom's troops.

"The Holy Knights?"

Hermann was distracted by this elite cavalry force that suddenly entered the battlefield.

A shot that could have severely injured Bliss was instead used to knock him off his horse due to a moment's hesitation.

He quickly adjusted his posture, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to reverse the kingdom's army's decline by killing the enemy general, but then he saw a cold light shooting straight at Herman's face.

Chapter 661 Traveling a Thousand Miles a Day

The Kingdom's vanguard was completely wiped out, and Herman was killed in battle.

Bliss stood there, stunned, his gaze fixed on the arrow on Herman's forehead, then on himself, a sense of unreality rising within him.

Having prepared to die for his country, I am now still alive.

The kingdom's vanguard general, who had been on a winning streak and unstoppable, paid the price with his death in his very first defeat.

"Are your injuries serious?" Chlorie's voice pulled him back to reality from his daze.

"It's out of the way!"

Bliss quickly composed himself and knelt down on one knee to pay his respects.

He was filled with mixed emotions, including relief at surviving the ordeal and deep gratitude towards the Alliance Leader.