The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 201 Guerrilla
On the fourth day of the demon siege, when the emperor personally climbed the city wall of the east gate and saw the densely packed demon army in the distance, he was completely stunned. When he came to his senses, his breathing became very rapid, and he quickly requested to return to the palace.

Although it was he who suggested coming here to comfort the soldiers just over an hour ago.

boom!
Explosions rang out again on the battlefield.

"What exactly is that commotion?" The emperor stopped uneasily and returned to the city wall. "Is it a siege tactic by the demons?"

The guards nearby replied, "Your Majesty, those were demons that self-destructed."

"Self-destruct?" The emperor seemed not to understand.

"Those demons rushed up and didn't even bother to fight us with swords and spears; they just exploded on their own," the city guard explained. "The explosion was quite powerful. Even if you weren't hit by the blast, the black flames that landed on you could burn holes in your body, and they were very difficult to extinguish. We had no way to get close to fight them."

The emperor recalled that Edgar seemed to have mentioned this point when explaining the fall of the northern pass to him.

"so what should I do now?"

"We can only suppress them with long-range firepower to keep them from getting close." The garrison soldiers pointed to the catapults, ballistae, and other equipment outside the city. "The mages are also constantly casting spells to destroy them before they get close... but their corpses explode when they die, which is really terrifying."

He muttered to himself, "Luckily, the demons don't have siege engines like catapults yet, otherwise they'd just throw corpses at us like bombs, how could we possibly hold them off..."

His casual remark terrified the emperor beside him, who seemed to already see the demon corpses being thrown high over the city walls, landing in the city, or even exploding in the palace.

"Where is Edgar? I want to see him!"

"The Grand Marshal is directing the battle outside the city, Your Majesty, and cannot spare the time," another soldier replied. "If there is anything Your Majesty needs to say, you can tell me, and I will relay it to the Grand Marshal."

"Prevent the demons from building siege weapons, especially catapults! If you see them, you must find a way to destroy them!" the emperor emphasized.

He glanced at the sergeant who had spoken out of turn earlier, who grinned and quickly lowered his head.

"I understand, Your Majesty. The Grand Marshal will resolutely carry out your orders."

The emperor stared at the distant battlefield for a while longer. "Can't Edgar spare even a moment?"

"I'll go and fetch the Grand Marshal to see His Majesty right now, but if any emergency occurs, the Grand Marshal might not be able to get back to the battlefield in time..."

The emperor had no choice but to abandon the idea, and then asked, "Where is the Holy Maiden?"

"Her Highness the Holy Maiden is leading her troops in guerrilla warfare, breaking through the demons' land blockade."

"Guerrilla?"

"Because of the military formations outside the city, the demon army is currently mainly concentrated on this battlefield, with only a portion of its forces deployed to block the roads into Lutia. His Highness Eric is leading his knightly corps to destroy demon camps and break through this blockade," the soldier continued in reply.

After hesitating for a while, the emperor had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​bringing the saintess back.

Eric, who was leading a group of elite church knights outside the north city at the time, was unaware of the emperor's plans, and even if he had known, he would have had someone give him a perfunctory answer.

The sound of hooves never ceased as a group of people galloped away and soon found a newly built demon camp, as reported by the winged scouts.

This is the only way to enter Lutia from the north. If the demons establish their camp, they will inevitably block support from Hotdan and other places to Lutia. It would be very costly to take it down.

"kill--"

The entire cavalry force, exuding a murderous aura, was enveloped in a divine light—except for their leader, Eric—and charged into the camp with unstoppable momentum, hacking and slashing in all directions.

Eric didn't care that he couldn't enjoy the group buff from the church knights, as his own buff was more powerful.

Since they were only facing ordinary demon soldiers, there was no need to worry about the buff not lasting or entering a weakened state.

Golden light surged across his face and body as Eric charged toward a slightly flustered demon soldier, slashing out with his sword and sending the soldier flying with its head in the air.

The blood of demons is also red...

Looking at the bloodstains remaining on the standard longsword, Eric felt a pang of regret.

After he threw the misty longsword at Xinmagu, it disappeared. It was unclear whether it was taken away by Xinmagu after being impaled in his body, or whether it was directly dissipated by Xinmagu's strange magical impact.

A charge swept away the demon guards on the outskirts of the camp. Eric pulled his horse to a sudden stop, jumped off, and with a few leaps, appeared in front of another group of demon soldiers.

In combat, his own mobility is much faster than that of a horse, and he is not very used to fighting on horseback.

While demons are generally stronger than humans, they are also ranked. These demon soldiers in front of us have almost no ability to resist Eric and the other elite knights of the church.

After quickly dispatching the five or six demon warriors in front of him, Eric did not linger and rushed into the camp, with several knights immediately following.

Storm footwork!

Eric appeared before a demon archer who had just drawn his bow and plunged his sword into its throat.

"Uh!"

The demon archer struggled and fell to the ground, clutching his neck and convulsing.

Whoosh!
On the other side of the camp, another demon archer's arrow was successfully fired at him, but Eric swung his sword horizontally and accurately blocked the arrow to the demon's incredulous gaze.

The nearest church knight charged toward the demon archer, but Eric ignored him and continued hacking and slashing at the enemies in front of him.

Just then, a large sword burst through the tents of the camp and rapidly approached him.

Along with the greatsword appeared a demon warrior over three meters tall, whose massive size made him seem to be on a completely different level from ordinary demon soldiers.

The demon race is divided into many tribes, and there are significant differences between the different tribes. This should be the captain or leader of this group of demon soldiers.

Eric immediately accepted the challenge, but he was not prepared to directly confront the demon soldier captain's blade.

The distance between the two sides closed rapidly, and the demon soldier captain launched the first attack, sweeping his greatsword across a wide area.

Eric jumped back to avoid the blade, and then pushed off with his foot after landing, closing the distance between them again.

By this time, the demon soldier captain's moves were outdated. His greatsword lay horizontally to the side, and Eric swung his sword at its neck. The demon raised its shoulder and blocked the blow with a shoulder armor that looked like the bone of some kind of giant beast.

when!
Although the shoulder armor absorbed much of the force, the demon soldier captain was still in great pain and swung his greatsword down again.

boom!
The greatsword missed its mark, striking the ground and sinking into the ground at the tip. Eric had already dodged to its side and thrust his sword into its armpit.

"what--"

The demon soldier captain let out a painful cry and turned to throw a punch. Eric had basically figured out its reaction ability by now, so he quickly moved behind it, jumped up and stabbed the exposed skin on the back of its neck with his sword.

Even though the demon had thick skin and flesh, the sword still pierced through its neck from back to front.

"Uh--"

The soldier captain's massive body crashed to the ground with a thud. Eric stepped on its head and pulled the sword out, half-slicing and half-drawing it, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

Looking up again, the battle in this newly established camp was already coming to an end.

After slicing the last demon soldier who was trying to escape in half, Knight Commander Edward pulled his horse to a sudden stop and looked at Eric, "Your Highness, none of them escaped."

“Burn this place down.” Eric whistled, and his horse galloped toward him. He mounted the horse and looked up at the sky.

The remaining knights set the camp ablaze with holy flames, and soon, thick smoke billowed into the sky, announcing yet another victory for them.

On the main battlefield, these knights are currently of little use, but their agile mobility and devastating striking power make them invincible against the demons' flanks.

The siege had only just begun a few days ago. The demon army's current focus was on dealing with the troops led by Edgar outside the city, and they were not yet able to encircle Lutia. Therefore, they could not devote much energy to dealing with them. In the past two days, Eric had succeeded in one after another, killing and burning several camps in the north and south.

However, Eric already knew that an elite demon cavalry force was tracking them.

Even in a head-on confrontation, his side is composed of elite troops, and they might be able to put up a fight, but there's absolutely no need for it. Hit and run, avoid prolonged battles and unnecessary delays, use movement to control stillness, and speed to defeat slowness—this is the only way to maximize their advantages.

"Your Highness, more demons are approaching from the east," a knight warned.

Eric didn't look east, but instead gazed at the sky, where winged beings hovered, waving a red flag that pointed east. "Mount up, create some distance, and observe," Eric said.

"Yes!"

The knights mounted their horses, and soon a group of demon soldiers appeared in their field of vision.

Eric looked up again. The message from the winged man in the air remained unchanged, indicating that this group of demon soldiers was not bait, but rather there to support the camp.

"Charge over there and take them down."

"kill--"

The church knights charged again, attacking the demon soldiers who were fleeing in disarray, and quickly annihilated them all.

As soon as the battle ended, Eric returned to his horse and led his knights toward the north gate to return to the city to rest and await new intelligence and opportunities.

Upon seeing their procession in the distance, the guards at the north gate lowered the drawbridge across the moat, and then quickly raised it again once the procession had entered the city.

The knights returned to the cathedral to rest, while Eric stopped at the north gate, climbed the city wall, picked up a green flag, and waved it at the winged people in mid-air.

The winged man circled down and reported to him on what he had observed over the past period.

Eric listened for a while, nodded, and asked, "Any news from the winged people sent to the east and north to search for Princess Natalia?"

"Not yet, Your Highness," the winged man replied. "The Princess is in the wilderness, where demons are everywhere. She will likely be trying to conceal her whereabouts."

Eric pursed his lips. "Right now, the demons' attention is focused on the front and hasn't been diverted. This is actually a good opportunity for her to return to Lutia... Have your people fly east and north as much as possible, and try to get the princess to notice you so she will show herself."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The two talked for a while longer before the winged people flew back into the sky. Eric looked up for a while, feeling quite envious of their race's ability to fly.

After descending the city walls and returning to his horse, Eric headed towards the cathedral in the eastern part of the city.

The already relatively quiet northern district was now almost deserted. The northern district of Lutia was a noble district, and those with better connections had generally fled Lutia and headed south many days in advance.

Not too far from Lutia, but with mountains blocking the way, Otwell became the primary destination for fleeing nobles—close enough to receive news from Lutia quickly, and far enough to allow them to escape before the demons conquered Lutia and continued their southward advance.

Judging from the letters received from Dante County these days, several high-ranking nobles from Lutia have settled in his hometown and written many letters of greeting to Edgar, mainly to curry favor and seek certain privileges.

Edgar was busy dealing with the demons on the battlefield, leaving all these matters to Eric. Eric was too lazy to pay attention to them and even tried to intimidate them into continuing their southward escape or fleeing further west to Rentani.

However, not all the nobles in Lutia fled. For example, the family of the old saintess, the Duke of Toulouse, remained in the city, and several of the younger generation of nobles were even in the army, doing what Edgar arranged.

As Eric was thinking, several shouts suddenly came from behind him:
"Your Highness Eric, Your Highness Eric—"

He reined in his horse and turned around, but saw no one on the road. The shouts came again, this time from the second-floor window of a house he was passing by.

He also knew the person who called out to him.

"..."

Turning around, Eric returned to the window and looked up at the unchanging face inside.

"Long time no see, young master Boas."

The noble young master he had met on the ancient battlefield, Boas Vergo, who also belonged to the Twelve Knights noble family, had unexpectedly stayed in Lutia City as well. Moreover, judging from his address, he now knew his identity.

"Your Highness, please don't call me that anymore..."

Boas looked somewhat ashamed and then said, "Please wait a moment, I'll be right down."

Eric stopped there, dismounted, and waited for a short while. Boas soon appeared downstairs and bowed respectfully to him.

"After returning to Lutia, I learned of Prince Eric's identity. Please forgive my rudeness and disrespect on the ancient battlefield."

Eric smiled. "I was surprised you hadn't heard of me."

Boas lowered his head. "I left Lutia for several years and traveled all over the empire, trying to make a name for myself... In the end, it was His Highness Eric who granted my request."

"Don't say that. If it weren't for you, I would have had a hard time finding teammates willing to take risks with me back then. You could say we made each other's lives work out," Eric said.

After exchanging a few more words, Boas said, "I've seen Prince Eric pass by here many times. He must be busy dealing with the demons. Is there anything I can do for you?"

“I was merely leading the church knights in guerrilla warfare outside the city under the Grand Marshal’s orders.” Eric looked at Boas, wondering if he also wanted to join his ranks.

"I heard the Grand Marshal is..."

"Yes, he's my uncle."

Eric thought for a moment, “I’m on my way to the military camp outside the city. If Mr. Boas also wants to join the army to fight against the demons, you can come with me first to see the situation.”

“That’s exactly what I was planning!” Boas’s voice suddenly rose.

Before leaving the city, Eric went back to the cathedral to make sure there was nothing urgent for him before leaving with Boas and arriving at the military camp.

As he left the city, he learned from the soldiers on the city wall that the emperor had come before and seemed to want to see him again.

"Is that so? Then after I finish seeing my uncle, I will immediately go to the palace to see His Majesty."

In front of outsiders, Eric was quite respectful to the emperor, though whether he actually went was something only he knew.

Upon arriving at the military camp outside, explosions would occasionally erupt, far louder than those heard inside the city. Boas was quite concerned about this. "Your Highness, what is that noise?"

"You'll know right away."

Eric led him to the front lines, where he witnessed demon soldiers charging into battle being stopped halfway by catapults or ballistae, before exploding with a deafening roar.

Boas was horrified. "The demons can explode?"

“That’s how it seems for now, but I think it’s more like some kind of secret technique, and has nothing to do with whether they are demons or not,” Eric said. Seeing that he couldn’t take his eyes off him, he waited a while before taking him to see his uncle Edgar.

Upon hearing the purpose of the visit, Edgar looked away from Boas's face. "I've heard the Marquis mention you, Mr. Boas. However, I don't need any manpower here at the moment, so please leave."

"..."

Boas's face turned completely red, and Eric was also somewhat surprised. Just as he was about to say something, Edgar gave him a look.

There was no need for Boas to stay any longer. Eric saw him off from the camp and back into the city, saying, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Boas."

“It must be something my father said to the Grand Marshal…” Boas gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, but still expressed his gratitude to Eric before dejectedly returning home.

Eric returned to the camp, where Edgar, who was standing in front of the map, said, "Don't you know he's the only son of the Vergo family? His father is currently in the army."

“So that’s how it is.” Eric also walked up to the huge map. “Little Vergo thought his father had said something bad about him and that he was incompetent.”

Edgar shook his head. "No one wants their child to risk their life on the battlefield..."

He paused for a moment, then said, “But now, I may have to put you on a risk, Eric.”

Eric looked at his uncle, awaiting his instructions.

"During this period, although the demons did not launch a large-scale attack, they did not just sit idly by either."

Edgar pointed to a mountain range on the map. “The winged people told me that the demons have found the timber they need here. Although it’s far away, they have no other choice. They are currently working hard to cut it down, and some of the timber is already on its way—they will soon have long-range siege weapons as well.”

He looked at his nephew, whom he trusted most in every way.

"I need you to cut off this supply line."

(End of this chapter)