"Hah… hah…"
Galloping forward on horseback, Prince Barton clutched the reins tightly, his face deathly pale.
What in the world was that monster?!
His plan had already failed.
At this moment, Prince Barton finally understood this completely. Although his deal with the Devilmen had been a gamble from the start, he had never imagined that their true goal was to resurrect the previous Demon King!
Now that the Demon King had already revived, he could be said to be the greatest sinner of all humanity on this continent. Forget about becoming king of Helman—once Lisath exposed this matter, he would have only one fate left: death.
But I don't want to die! I don't want to die yet! I can't die now!
Staring straight ahead, Prince Barton trembled violently. The conquest of Lisath had failed, and he could no longer return to Helman. But that didn't mean he had nowhere to go. Right—if he could conquer the Free Cities Alliance, then he would still have a trump card! Yes, as long as he could take down the Free Cities Alliance…
"Your Highness?"
Seeing Prince Barton—who should have been stationed far in the rear—suddenly appear at the front lines, the Helman commanding officer in charge was greatly surprised. Especially given Barton's current disheveled appearance, it was even more shocking.
"Why are you here?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Prince Barton walked into the command tent, his expression dark.
"How is the campaign against the Free Cities Alliance going?"
"Well… we are currently holding our position…"
"Holding? They only have a thousand soldiers! What's there to hold?! Gather all forces and completely crush them! I'll personally lead the charge! Hurry!"
"Eh? Right now?"
"Yes! What are you waiting for?!"
"Y-Yes…"
To be honest, for a frontline commander, it was already strange enough that the general who should have been in the rear had come to the front personally—let alone that he was now urgently demanding an immediate offensive. Unfortunately, Barton was the supreme commander. Once he gave the order, it had to be carried out.
"Then I'll immediately issue orders to prepare logistics—"
"No logistics needed. The entire army moves out! Supplies can be taken locally!"
"Yes…"
Soon, amid loud trumpet calls, the Helman army assembled and once again charged toward the Free City of Ragel.
When the Helman army arrived on the plains outside Ragel, the Ragel resistance forces were already fully prepared. However, upon seeing the Free Cities Alliance resistance, the Helman soldiers were shocked.
"That is… what is that thing?"
"It looks like some kind of steel giant bull…!"
No wonder the Helman soldiers were shaken and terrified. Standing before the Free Cities resistance forces was a massive, terrifying construct made entirely of steel. The Helman soldiers had never seen anything like it before. Even without knowing what it was, its menacing appearance made it obvious that it was nothing good.
"Heh heh heh…"
Seeing the enemy soldiers' hesitation, Maria, seated inside, lifted her chin proudly.
"Scared, are you? This is an offense-and-defense-integrated, perfect mobile steel fortress—Tulip No. 3!"
As she spoke, Maria issued her command.
"Attack! Let them experience the power of Tulip No. 3!"
With Maria's order, the steel tank roared forward, charging directly toward the Helman army.
"My lord, what do we do?!"
Faced with this scene, the Helman soldiers were completely dumbfounded.
"How are we supposed to fight that? It sounds incredibly heavy…"
"Stop spouting nonsense!"
Seeing this, Barton drew his sword and roared loudly, cutting off his subordinate.
"That thing must be made of paper! How could something that heavy even move?! Follow me—let those remnants of the Free Cities Alliance see the might of Helman's soldiers! Advance!"
"Ooooooh!!!"
Hearing Barton's shout, the Helman soldiers raised their weapons and charged forward.
However, just as Prince Barton led his troops in the advance, he suddenly saw a flash of light from the steel monster. Instantly, a deafening roar erupted. In the next moment, Barton saw the army to his left explode violently. Several soldiers screamed as they were blown into the air, then crashed back to the ground.
"M-My lord!"
"Advance! Advance! They only have one monster! If we break through, we can destroy it! Flank it—entangle it!"
Under Barton's furious commands, the Helman soldiers quickly steadied themselves and launched another assault.
"Truly worthy of Helman's soldiers."
Watching this, Maria couldn't help but sigh. Helman was a harsh northern land, producing fierce and battle-hardened troops. She had heard of it long ago, but seeing them refuse to retreat even in the face of her secret weapon was still surprising.
"But… that's fine! Thanks to the Inquisitor's generosity, this Tulip No. 3 isn't something that can be taken down so easily! Charge forward!! And—full firepower!"
"BOOOOOOM——!!!"
With Maria's command, the red-painted tank fired again, shelling the enemy formation. Its engine roared as it sped straight into the Helman army.
"Charge! Charge!!"
Prince Barton continued leading his troops forward. Although the enemy's weapon was far more powerful than expected, fortunately, it appeared to be only one unit. As long as they could breach its defense line, Helman's numerical advantage would easily wipe out the Free Cities resistance. At that point, he could even capture this steel monster and claim it as his own!
As long as we get close to it, we can suppress it!
That was what Barton believed.
However… reality was not so kind.
Just as the Helman soldiers pushed through the bombardment and reached the steel monster, sudden flashes of fire erupted from its front and sides. A storm of bullets howled out, sweeping across the battlefield. They formed an almost airtight wall of fire. The armor worn by Helman soldiers was utterly useless against such attacks—their bodies were torn clean through at the waist, reduced to scattered, mangled limbs. At the same time, the steel monster continued advancing relentlessly, mercilessly crushing everything in its path beneath its treads.
"It hurts—AAAH!!"
"Help! The left flank has collapsed!"
"H-How… how is this possible?!"
Watching the steel monster indiscriminately spread death across the battlefield, Prince Barton felt his limbs go cold. He couldn't believe his eyes. He had gathered all eight thousand Helman soldiers, believing victory would be effortless—but instead… they were being annihilated by a single steel monster?
Of course, Prince Barton could not understand. In truth, what Maria had built using Duanmu Huai's blueprints was a Leman Russ Punisher variant. It was the strongest anti-infantry tank of the Human Empire, and one of the galaxy's finest anti-personnel weapons. Its Punisher Gatling cannon, with its terrifying rate of fire and destructive power, could effortlessly shred heavily armored infantry.
In the era of the Human Empire, the Leman Russ Punisher was primarily used against Orks and Tyranids—races that relied on overwhelming numbers. Compared to Orks and Tyranids, Helman soldiers lacked both numbers and individual strength.
This was the textbook definition of using an anti-aircraft cannon to shoot mosquitoes—one shot, and the entire swarm disappears.
"My lord, we must retreat! If this continues, we're just throwing our lives away!!"
At this point, the Helman army's morale had completely collapsed. Soldiers threw away their weapons and armor, turning to flee. At the same time, the Free Cities Alliance forces launched a counterattack, pursuing the fleeing Helman troops.
"I… I…"
Hearing the report, Prince Barton turned his head blankly. Before he could say anything else, a flash of light passed through the corner of his vision.
In the next instant, an explosive round flew in, ripping through Prince Barton's strong body, tearing him in half at the waist. A storm of bullets followed immediately, turning his head and limbs into a bloody mass of shredded flesh.
"A… AAAAAH!!"
Witnessing Prince Barton's death, the nearby soldiers finally broke completely. Screaming, they turned and fled, abandoning the battle entirely.
Thus, Helman's invasion of Lisath came to a complete end.
"Huu…"
When Duanmu Huai returned to the Duel City, the conflict between Lisath and Helman had largely been resolved.
Prince Barton was dead. As expected, the Helman Kingdom shifted all responsibility onto this idiot, claiming they had never dispatched troops and insisting that everything had been Barton's private collusion with Devilmen—completely unrelated to them. This was only natural. When Jill revived, the upper echelons of both the Hani Church and the AL Church had sensed the Demon King's resurrection, not to mention that Princess Lia had publicly revealed the truth afterward.
At that point, Helman had no choice but to bow their heads. Otherwise, what could they say—that they wanted to revive the Demon King and destroy the world?
That would just mean they were insane.
After that, Duanmu Huai returned to the Duel City. Of course, he didn't return alone—Kentō Kanami and Maria came with him. In fact, Maria not only came herself but also brought a whole group of helpers, as well as… her close friend, Mosou Shizuka.
According to Mosou Shizuka, she absolutely refused to let Maria go alone to some suspicious and dangerous place. Since she wanted to come, Duanmu Huai didn't stop her.
"So this is the Inquisition?"
Arriving on Venus Island and looking at the scenery around her, Mosou Shizuka frowned, her gaze filled with suspicion as she looked at Duanmu Huai. And honestly, it was understandable—this place looked far more like a vacation resort than the headquarters of any organization.
In fact, it really was a vacation resort.
"Of course not. This is just the entrance to the Inquisition."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai snapped his fingers, and a portal of light quickly opened.
"All right, let's go in."
After saying this, Duanmu Huai turned and entered the light gate together with Oghis and Yue Huasha. Seeing this, Maria exchanged a glance with Mosou Shizuka.
"What do you think, Maria?"
"We're already here. It's not like I can turn back now."
Maria shook her head.
"Besides, the Inquisitor said there are even more powerful machines in the Inquisition. I really want to see what they're like!"
"Ah…"
Seeing her friend's expression, Mosou Shizuka sighed helplessly.
"Looks like I have no choice but to go with you."
(End of Chapter)