Chapter 1102

While Siegfried was locked in a life-or-death struggle against Belial inside the Maze of Evil, the Allied Forces and the Holy Alliance were locked in a brutal battle of their own.

What was the result? A string of consecutive defeats for the Allied Forces.

The combat prowess of the five hundred thousand Holy Alliance soldiers, each enhanced with combat stimulants, was simply beyond imagination.

The combat stimulant was some sort of extremely potent narcotic painkiller that allowed them to overcome the fear of death, but that wasn't all.

The stimulant granted them a mysterious power that allowed them to display tremendous strength, all while being unable to feel pain.

In other words, the five hundred thousand Holy Alliance soldiers who had taken the stimulant were no longer ordinary soldiers. They became something similar to an enhanced berserker.

This made them exceptionally difficult opponents for the Allied Forces. The Holy Alliance soldiers did not bat an eye even after getting stabbed, and most of them did not stop attacking until they suffered fatal wounds.

Due to the effects of the combat stimulants, the Allied Forces had no choice but to focus on maiming their enemies’ limbs or outright decapitating them rather than fighting normally.

To make things worse, the enemy soldiers were like swarming zombies, as they seemed to possess near-infinite stamina. They could fight for hours without showing the slightest signs of fatigue, and their endurance was nothing short of monstrous.

And so, after four consecutive battles—

“

Huff... Huff...”

Oscar leaned against the fortress wall, gasping for breath. Out of the five fortress walls, three had fallen in just four battles. Even the two remaining were already on the brink of falling into enemy hands. The Allied Forces troops were utterly exhausted, and the casualties they had suffered were staggering.

Over two hundred thousand soldiers had already died, and their bodies stacked so high that they nearly matched the height of the fortress walls.

“Are you all right, Supreme Commander Oscar?” Draculis approached, offering her a leather pouch filled with water.

“I’m fine, General Draculis,” Oscar replied, taking the leather pouch. However, her face seemed to show otherwise. She had pushed herself to her limits during the four battles, and the last battle had already taken a huge toll on her.

While she did not suffer any critical injuries, she was covered in wounds. Gone was the dignified knight known for her composure, as she was now a ragged mess. Right now, she was nothing more than another knight fighting a grueling battle all in hopes of delivering news of victory to her liege.

“You don’t look well.”

“I’m all right. Everyone is struggling, so this is nothing compared to what the others are going through.”

Not a single one of the Allied Forces troops stationed at the Last Fortress was in good shape, and not even the strongest among them were spared.

The Great Wizard, Duke Decimato, had collapsed from overusing his mana. He was barely hanging on using the mana chargers supplied by the Bavarian Workshop.

Gringore’s throat was so hoarse that he couldn’t even sing properly anymore, and Lamborghini fought until his stamina was completely exhausted, forcing him to revert to his human form.

Seung-Gu was in the middle of urgently resupplying ammo for his Iron Golems. Every single key figure participating in this battle was already pushing themselves way past their limits.

However, the real problem was that things seemed bleak even though they were giving it their all.

‘

If this keeps up...’

The thought of defeat flashed through Oscar’s mind. Until now, she had never once doubted that they would eventually emerge victorious in this war, but it was different this time.

The Holy Alliance was simply far too powerful and numerous.

The very fact that the Allied Forces were still holding on was a miracle in itself.

‘

No, it’s too soon to despair. We can still hold on until His Imperial Majesty is back. Once he's back, then...’

Oscar braced herself once more, trying to rekindle her fighting spirit.

And that was when it happened...

“E-Enemy forces approaching!”

“They’re coming!”

“All forces! Prepare for battle!”

Once again, the Holy Alliance troops began charging in, signaling the start of the fifth battle.

However, the fifth battle was completely different from the previous four battles.

“

Ah...

” Oscar muttered in despair.

Why? Because it was not only the Holy Alliance troops charging in this time.

“F-Fallen Angels...!” she gasped.

The sky had turned black, blotted out by a swarm of fallen angels.

And among those fallen angels were a significant number of high-ranking ones.

No matter how well-trained the soldiers of the Allied Forces were, there was no way they could ever hope to defeat the High-Ranking Fallen Angels, especially when they were extremely exhausted.

***

“Let’s see how long you will hold out,” Deldelos muttered to himself as he watched the fifth battle unfold from aboard his battleship.

With approximately one hundred thousand fallen angels added to the fray, the Holy Alliance's strength reached its highest peak since the war began.

The Holy Alliance’s high command had opened a Celestial Gate and summoned additional angels from the Celestial Realm, and they were immediately deployed onto the battlefield for this operation.

From Deldelos’ perspective, the collapse of the Allied Forces was no longer a question of

if,

but rather,

when.

Why was he so confident?

The Allied Forces couldn’t even properly withstand the five hundred thousand foot soldiers enhanced by the combat stimulant. With that in mind, how could they possibly hope to stop an army of one hundred thousand fallen angels?

The notion that they could somehow pull off a miraculous victory was simply absurd.

“Does their commander truly intend to spill meaningless blood until the very end?”

Deldelos considered the Allied Forces’ commander to be utterly pathetic for repeatedly rejecting the calls to surrender. What was the point of holding out like this when the only thing that awaited them was death?

If they had just accepted the new world order and learned to adapt, then they could have at least avoided this meaningless death and survived.

“I hope this battle finally makes them face reality," Deldelos muttered to himself. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a long, slow drink.

***

The appearance of the one hundred thousand fallen angels crushed the morale of the Allied Forces troops.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of Allied troops remaining, only a handful was yet to witness how terrifyingly powerful the fallen angels were, so it was no surprise that fear swept through the entire army like a tidal wave.

“What in the world are we supposed to do now...

Ah...

” Hansen muttered, falling into deeper despair as he watched the approaching swarm of fallen angels.

From his perspective, this was the end for the Allied Forces.

They had already lost air superiority, as the onslaught of the fallen angels would begin at any minute now. No matter how powerful their airship might be, there was no way they could retain air superiority against a hundred thousand fallen angels.

Once the aerial assault from the fallen angels began, it would only be a matter of time before the remaining two fortress walls fell into the enemy’s hands.

No matter how accurately they fired their anti-air cannons, the fallen angels would still be nearly impossible for them to intercept.

In other words, the Allied Forces were finished.

“Your Imperial Majesty... You trusted me with this task, yet I...” Hansen lamented as he sank to the ground.

Shwaaaa!

Just then, a radiant beam of light streaked down from the heavens, and an angel with ten white wings appeared, blocking the oncoming swarm of fallen angels.

Whoosh!

When the angel swung his sword, a miracle unfolded.

“

Gaaaah!”

“Arghhhh!”

“Kyaaah!”

The swarm of fallen angels was mercilessly slaughtered, cut down indiscriminately by the angel with ten shining white wings.

“Sir Michael!” Oscar exclaimed, beaming with joy.

But Michael was not the only reinforcement.

“Hear me, brave soldiers of the empire! Follow me to battle!”

Before anyone realized it, Brunhilde appeared atop the fortress wall, rallying and leading the troops of the Proatine Empire.

Most people knew her as the Empress of the Proatine Empire, but she was also a hardened warrior who fought valiantly at the frontlines of numerous battles. She was also a Master, leaving little room for any doubts about her combat prowess.

And beside her was the Weapon Master, Shakiro.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He unleashed the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, creating a whirlwind of aura blades that completely swept away the enemy troops.

Michael, Brunhilde, and Shakiro.

For the Allied Forces, which had been short on powerful individuals capable of turning the tide of the battle, the arrival of these three Masters was nothing short of salvation from the heavens.

Thanks to their intervention, the battle between the Allied Forces and the Holy Alliance, which had seemed seconds away from ending in the total annihilation of the Allied Forces, entered into a new stage.

The brutal fighting continued without showing signs of ending.

Roughly three hours later...

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“All forces! Fall back!”

“Retreat immediately! Abandon the siege!”

The Holy Alliance was forced to withdraw to their own lines, having failed to capture the fourth wall of the Last Fortress.

“I do not wish to shed meaningless blood. Go home if you wish to live,” Michael said.

He had regained ten wings, which meant that he wielded the power of an archangel once again. Though far from regaining his full power, the overwhelming might he currently possessed was enough to save the Allied Forces from the brink of annihilation.

Michael was so strong that he could slaughter one hundred thousand fallen angels by himself and drive back an army of nearly one million Holy Alliance troops.

***

Three more battles broke out after that.

The fighting was fierce and evenly matched, but in the end, the Holy Alliance succeeded in breaking through the fourth of the five walls thanks to their overwhelming numbers.

Even with Michael defending the front, they had managed to make their way past him, and the sheer brute force of the five hundred thousand soldiers enhanced with combat stimulants was enough to take the wall.

However, seizing control of the wall came at a heavy price, as the Holy Alliance lost three hundred thousand of their one million-strong army.

“Engage in skirmishes from now,” Deldelos commanded. He had no plans to fall back now, so he ordered his troops to wear the Allied Forces down.

‘

In the end, we have the numbers. Also, reinforcements are on the way, so we will come out on top if this turns into a battle of attrition.’

He had received confirmation that another five hundred thousand fallen angels were scheduled to arrive. With such massive reinforcements incoming, there was no reason for him to sound the retreat and regroup before taking the fifth wall.

Michael, the strongest warrior on the Allied Forces’ side, was starting to show signs of exhaustion His once-unmatched dominance on the battlefield was visibly diminishing, as he began slowing down.

From the Holy Alliance’s standpoint, this was the moment to press harder and not give the enemy any respite.

And that decision turned out to be correct.

“Are you all right?”

“I-I’m fine.”

“You’re badly injured!”

Shakiro found Michael bleeding from his abdomen and hurriedly tried to heal him.

Michael’s condition was dire. After fighting over one hundred thousand fallen angels on his own, he had already passed his limits, but on top of that, he had to fight against hundreds of High-Ranking Fallen Angels as well.

Even if he had regained most of his powers, this was far too much for a single individual to handle. Had he fully regained all of his wings and recovered the powers he once wielded as the Chief Archangel, then he could have wiped out all enemies in an instant, but sadly, it wasn't the case at all.

“Drink as many potions as you can for now. You’re going to collapse if you keep pushing yourself like this.”

“Thank you.”

Michael grabbed the potion that Shakiro had handed over to him and gulped it down, recovering his HP.

The potion barely healed his HP, but every bit helped right now, as the Holy Alliance refused to give him any time to rest.

“The enemy’s approaching again!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!”

Not even two hours had passed since the last battle ended, and yet another one was about to start. The problem was that the sheer size of the force being deployed in the next assault was so enormous that even Michael was not confident he could stop it.

“N-No way...!” Shakiro gasped in horror after looking up.

An even larger swarm of fallen angels had completely blackened the sky. A staggering five hundred thousand fallen angels were flying in, darkening the sky with their wings.

“

Ah...

” Michael gasped.

Even he couldn’t stop that many fallen angels on his own, but surrender was not an option.

“

Argh...”

Michael leaned on his sword like a cane and forced himself to his feet.

He was badly battered from the countless battles, but he couldn’t afford to just stand there and do nothing. If he was going to die, then so be it. If he was going to die here, then he would rather die fighting!