Field Marshal Eric Runstedt, superior commandant of the Defense Forces’ Army Group Center, looked onward at the distant figure of Fort Dunbar, one of the last strongholds of Defense District Silesia, which was under the area of responsibility of Army Group Center. Fort Dunbar was now on fire, as it continued to resist barrages of fireballs from the enemy’s demonic land dragons.

  The fields of the north were now a deep white. A few blizzards already assaulted his men as the lakes and rivers turned to ice, and the layers of snow began placing greater strain on the already struggling supply lines of the Defense Forces. On top of that, they now had to deal with a determined demonic offensive, right when the people on the rear decided to squabble amongst themselves, taking precious manpower and supplies away from mankind’s defense.

  This might just be our undoing.

  His men were bleeding, battered, and suffering. The enemy demons, on the other hand, were terribly pleased, gleeful at the weakness of mankind’s forces. It was all around a bad situation; that was why…

  “We’ll have to abandon Defense District Silesia,” Eric declared to his aide, Colonel Adam Flemming, who was assisting him today in their emergency front inspection. Eric lowered his telescope before looking at Adam straight in the eye, his face now as pale as the snow around them.

  “But,” Adam sputtered. “Abandon Silesia?! If we do not hold this district, what lies behind us is the plains of the central region—”

  “Exactly.”

  Eric stepped down from the parapet of the trench line they were in. “This place isn’t going to hold. Not any further. Our reserves are sapped, our frontline units are low in morale and manpower, and our defensive fortifications are already gone.”

  Eric pulled a flask out of his coat, giving it a tentative sip. Meanwhile, his aide still seemed unsure about the words that Eric gave. Should they abandon Silesia, after all, the entire front that Army Group Center would collapse in its entirety. They hadn’t even built up proper defenses in the lands behind them.

  So, naturally, his aide’s question was based on that.

  “Fall back to where?” Adam said. “W-what are we going to do? If we run from our lines here, then we might as well die. There’s no damned chance that we’ll hold them off down south!”

  “Send a letter to the Defense Minister. Tell him that the situation here is untenable.” Eric smiled, looking back at Fort Dunbar, the sounds of battle still filling the cold air around them. “As for us, I’ve heard that the laughing fox himself is down south fighting the poor rebels. Maybe we’ll regroup with ‘em and die together, side by side.”

  Makes it even funnier. The crown princess and the saintess are apparently with the fox too.

  Eric sipped more of his fine red wine from the flask. It was a good indulgence, as he could feel in his skin that sooner or later, this conflict was going to end. And if he was going to die while seeing mankind’s end, he better do it drunk.

  Adam, on the other hand, stared blankly at Eric. He was still a newbie at the front after all, unlike all the hardened veterans around here. He was a volunteer from the Imperial Army, who managed to transfer himself into Eric’s command staff before the civil war began. Recognizing his talent at taking care of most administrative work, Eric therefore assigned him as his main aide.

  Now though, the man’s inexperience was showing through. He was really, really afraid that mankind might truly end. “Chin up, will you? You know, on the bright side, once we’re in warmer lands, on the retreat, we’ll have plenty of wine to loot from the fleeing people.”

  “That absolutely is no way ‘good news’ at all, Field Marshall.”

  “What is good news then?”

  “What? Of course, the only good news is if we’re beating them!”

  That caused Eric to laugh further. “Do you know why we’re called the ‘Defense Forces,’ and not the ‘Offense Forces’?”

  Eric leaned close to Adam, driving his question straight into the newbie officer’s soul.

  “I…”

  “It’s because we can’t beat ‘em, Colonel. That’s why we’re the ‘Defense Forces.’ Our job is to buy time.” Eric grinned. “Unfortunately, now, we don’t have a lot of time left to buy. That’s just how it is. The poor bastards at the back should have used the time we bought well, don’t you think? But eh, they didn’t. That’s not our problem anymore.”

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  “This is madness…”

  Alexa could only mutter those words as she looked down at the full report about the situation up north on her desk. Alfred crossed his arms, glaring at Wilhelm, while Phoebe had gone pale. Adele just stared at it blankly before turning around and leaving the room, clearly quite badly affected by it.

  Everyone already had experience here with the demon horde, and to be frank, none of them had good experiences with it. If this war was so hellish already, what Alexa and her friends remembered back in Perlenstadt was worse. There, it was true slaughter for all humans involved. The idea of having to fight demons, beings that were so alien, unholy, and vicious, was something no one other than the madmen of the Defense Forces found joy in.

  Even Alfred, who was a proud knight of the Royal Guard, was clearly distressed by it, as he grabbed Wilhelm by the collar and began shaking him.

  “Why didn’t you relay this information to us?!” Alfred asked. “Damn it! You’re telling me that there’s a risk that demons will come pouring out to this place soon.”

  Alexa held her hand up. “Alfred, cease it! I don’t want you two fighting again.”

  “This one-eyed freak! We told him to stop scheming, but all this time, he’s still scheming. I’ve overlooked all of it because it was helping us at least, but now?!”

  On the other hand, Wilhelm remained dead silent and neutral, even with his brother shaking him and glaring at him. His eyes practically looked down at the royal guard knight as Alfred continued bombarding him with questions about what plans or preparations he had. When Alfred was done, Wilhelm just sighed.

  “Do any of you have a plan?” Wilhelm asked.

  No one answered. Not Phoebe, who was honestly just usually following everyone else’s plans, not Alfred, who was more of a weapon in the battlefield than a thinking man with good strategies to deal with this, and not even Alexa, who believed that she would have an idea on what to do after Wilhelm revealed everything. Unfortunately, she didn’t.

  She had nothing in her hands. Her mind had been so focused completely on Henry and the rebels that, to add this into her problems, her brain could only produce blank. Maybe Wilhelm was indeed right. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked for this. Maybe she should have just waited for them to beat Henry and the rebels, and once the demon horde appeared, that was when she should have shifted her focus to it.

  But, still…

  “Do you have a plan?” Alexa asked, crossing her arms. “You’re the true brain of our camp, aren’t you? You’re the one with the master plan about every problem we have. So, do you have a plan?”

  “I do,” Wilhelm adamantly said, placing a hand on his chest. “We beat the rebels, then we deal with the demons. With the rebels gone, I will be able to finally do something that hasn’t been done in history. The Imperial Army will join the Defense Forces up north.”

  “That’s what your plan is?” Alfred laughed. “Don’t jest with me, please. You do know that Imperial Army soldiers aren’t trained to fight against these monsters? What about demonic corruption? What about—”

  “What about it?” Wilhelm coldly asked. “You think any of the young men sent up north knew how to deal with any of that? No, they either died, or they survived to learn how to fight back and endure. That is how we humans have fought since the first day of this war. No one, not even the most innocent young lady, is exempt from this, not if we want to survive.”

  Wilhelm then pushed Alfred off before walking near Alexa’s table. Then, he pointed his fingers on the map, outlining the areas under the Defense Forces’ jurisdiction. “All of these are still good defense lines. I expect that Army Group Center will hold on a little longer, even if they conduct a strategic withdrawal. If we beat Henry and his forces within this week, we’re on a good timetable to redeploy up north and plug the gap.”

  “Wilhelm…” Alexa could only mutter his name as Wilhelm straightened himself.

  “I will personally go up there too. I’ve called up the members of the Fuchs Brigade to wait in a nearby staging position. I plan to hunt down both the Archdemons of Greed and Wrath, the same two bastards leading the assaults that are breaking Army Group Center’s back. I…will drive them back myself.”

  Alexa looked up at Wilhelm’s eyes. He seemed unsure of himself, which was something truly new in Alexa’s experience. It was why this worried her. Not just the fact that they were in a sticky situation, but because said situation was enough to make Wilhelm’s confidence go down. That meant he must know something more about this, or maybe he knew that he didn’t know something crucial.

  And that was bothering him.

  “...Do we need to go there too?” Alexa asked.

  “No,” Wilhelm shook his head. “You and Phoebe will be able to return to Perlenstadt as victors when the rebels surrender. I want you to know this—your job is different than mine. I want you to show the people that Lotharingia is back and that hope is clearer than ever. Any news of collapse in the north will not help the victory and peace process. All I ask of you is that you help me get our timetables in order.”

  “I see…” Alexa hardened her resolve. “Then, will you let me and Phoebe go to the rebel’s stronghold itself to capture Henry? If what you need to win against the demons is to speed up the defeat of the rebels, then will this not be a way for us to contribute?”

  Immediately, Phoebe stood up, as if on cue. “I like that idea. I was itching anyway at capturing Henry,” she raised her fist. “Right now, if Sir Henry is just fighting because of one stupid term, then I wish to beat him and make him realize his error. This is for mankind’s survival after all, and as the saintess, I have to play a greater role in that.”

  Phoebe smiled at Alexa, and Alexa even hugged Phoebe for her friend’s support. Both Wilhelm and Alfred were so taken aback that they were left agape.

  “I’m sure we can do this, Phoebe,” Alexa whispered to her, and she felt Phoebe’s hand on her back.

  “Please let us execute Alexa’s plan,” Phoebe said to Wilhelm. “We already did this once. Surely we can do it a second time and end this conflict once and for all.”