Battles took place on all the borders between the central and eastern regions of the continent.
The central kingdoms hadnât expected the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance to have gotten this big and were taken aback.
For them, it was the definition of a dire situation.
The Iberian soldiers had gained momentum and it didnât seem like they would go down easily even if the central kingdoms attacked them. However, they were afraid of being excommunicated by the Holy Kingdom and couldnât retreat back to their own countries.
But from the beginning, the answer wasnât going to change.
No matter how afraid of being excommunicated they were, it was better than losing their territory that had taken multiple generations to build up.
âThose who retreat from the frontlines with their troops will unconditionally be excommunicated!â
When the Holy Kingdom got wind of what they were planning, the kingdom once again threatened the central lords, but it didnât change their minds. The central kingdoms had already decided to retreat.
Every hour was important.
Having been weakened by the long war, there was no way the central kingdoms could withstand the eastern regionâs attacks. On top of that, with their main force gone from the frontlines, it wouldnât be strange if the borders were to collapse.
If they delayed, then they may completely miss their chance.
But unfortunately, the lords could not escape from the frontlines.
The Northern Cavalry that had been heading north lingered around the frontlines and massacred all the soldiers that managed to desert the garrison.
However, unlike before, the nobles didnât give up on leaving the frontline.
âEven they wonât be able to recklessly attack us when we have 4,000 troops.â
In their anxiety, some of the nobles decided to leave the frontlines by grouping together, but the nomads that had split up into units of hundreds had come back together.
In the end, the nobles who had placed their faith in the 4,000 soldiers to leave the frontlines were attacked by more than 10,000 cavalrymen and died alongside their soldiers.
âFrom this beginning, this war was unwinnable! We used up a lot of manpower against the Demon King, but unlike us, they had fully conserved their power!â
The nobles finally realized how ridiculous this war was, but it was too late.
They couldnât propose a truce just because the war situation had become unfavorable for them, at least, not when theyâve been energetically attacking Iberia before.
âThe Pope wants Iberia to be destroyed. As faithful believers, we must carry out His will.â
âAre you a nobleman of your country, or are you a priest of the Holy Kingdom?! Are you saying you do not understand whatâs more important in our situation right now?â
Every day, nobles who had come to their senses argued with the enthusiastic fanatics who continued to insist that the war against the heretics continued in accordance with the will of God.
But from the beginning, they didnât have a choice. It was the Holy Kingdom who had started the war, and it was still the Holy Kingdom who held the command.
âThe noblemen at the frontlines shouldnât worry about the rear and instead, obey the will of God and put all their hearts and souls into the Holy War. All the heads of the heretics you give as an offering will be the stepping stone for you and your family to enter paradise.â
The rulers of the central kingdoms, who all promptly did the bidding of the Temple, declared the continuation of the war.
The order was enough to cast a shadow over all the hard work the nobles had done until then to defend the border.
âEven if we are lucky enough to win this war, we wonât be able to find the prosperity our kingdom has built up over the generations.â
The desperate nobles mocked themselves. During the war with the Demon King, their countries had been filled with people friendly to the Holy Kingdom and now, their countries were merely vassals of the Holy Kingdom. When they realized that the royal families of their countries all obeyed the order of the Holy Kingdom, even if it would destroy their country, the noblemen gave up.
âWe will continue attacking again.â
The attacks, which had somewhat slowed down, resumed. However, the Iberian Army, whose momentum increased as soon as they heard that the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance had entered the war, didnât readily give up their borders.
But, having completely given up on returning home, the nobles unflinchingly resumed attacking the Iberian fortresses.
Once again, several fortresses fell. In the process, the damage suffered by the Central Kingdom Alliance was enormous. The nobles had always ordered soldiers around while they themselves stayed safely in the back. But, unlike usual, they stood at the front and were exposed to the Iberian armyâs concentrated attacks. Countless nobles fell.
It was almost as if this reckless action of throwing away their lives was their last homage to their royal family as well as a protest to their monarch for throwing their long history into the gutter.
But the monarchs of each country didnât care about their intentions and labeled their deaths as martyrdom while also giving them a title none of them ever wanted in their lifetime â martyr.
When so many nobles fell as martyrs, the Holy Kingdom declared a Crusade against the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance.
However, the Crusade had lost its shine and didnât interest the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance at all.
âIf the Holy Kingdom goes to war, it is always a Crusade. It has reached the point where the Temple is mistaking their will as Godâs will.â
Instead, the eastern kingdoms ridiculed them.
However, for the Holy Kingdom, a Crusade was not something to be taken lightly.
They said that the war would never stop as long as there was still one believer who was alive and that they would even use the forbidden power that they had never brought out before.
âThereâs something wrong with the enemies, sir!â
The first ones to notice were the Iberian soldiers who had been fighting as they advanced and retreated as they fought against the Holy Kingdom.
âDie! Die, you evil bastards!â
The enemy soldier had been stabbed with a sharp spear, but he merely pushed forward more. The Iberian soldier thought his enemy was merely struggling in pain.
The enemy soldier tugged on the spear as he used it to pull the Iberian soldier closer to him. The gesture was so terrifying that the Iberian soldier faltered without meaning to.
He was unfortunate. The Iberian soldierâs eyes widened when as he stepped backward, he tripped over a corpse and fell down. At some point, the enemy soldier had gotten so close to the Iberian that the enemy was able to shove his face close enough for the Iberian to feel his breath.
The Iberian soldierâs eyes widened when he saw the enemyâs strangely bloodshot eyes.
At that moment, the enemy bit the pitiful Iberian soldierâs neck. Blood poured out of the Iberian soldier and he died right there. However, the central armyâs soldier continued to bite the victimâs neck with red, bloodshot eyes.
Soon after, he himself died.
That scene repeated itself everywhere.
The central kingdomsâ soldiers acted as if they felt no pain and as long as they could breathe, they charged towards the Iberian soldiers.
Their bloodshot eyes as they ran towards their enemies while disregarding their lives were similar to those of berserkers in the legends.
The damages were immense. When the tide of the battlefield began to change from the equal footing it was before, even the Iberian armyâs commander noticed that the enemyâs condition wasnât normal.
âWe, we canât stop them!â
But they realized it too late.
By the time the commanders tried to change the situation, the enemies had already turned into beings possessed by an evil spirit and had climbed over walls to leap on top of the Iberians while snapping their teeth.
âGive up the outer wall and fight in the inner fortress!â
In the end, the Iberian army had no choice but to give up their outer fortress and make their final resistance inside the walls.
A company commander, who was overseeing his retreating troops until the end, glared at the horrendously hellish scene in front of him
âWhat on earth is thisâŚâ
He saw a soldier dragging his leaking intestines while belligerent trying to somehow kill at least one more enemy. Right next to him was a soldier, whose legs were cut off, crawling towards the direction of the garrison, clawing at the earth with his broken nails.
The young company commander had once faced enemies with the same appearance as them before. They looked exactly like the army of the undead that had been led by the Demon King.
But these were not the undead. The hot breath that was exhaled out of their mouths covered in flesh and blood was proof that they were alive. The red blood they shed was still warm and in its wet, liquid state.
While he hadnât been paying attention, an enemy approached to grab his ankle.
Belatedly paying attention, the company commander raised his sword high and cut off the undeadâs head. The soldier had been constantly moving even with his legs cut off, but only then did the soldier stop moving.
The company commander noticed that there werenât any allies left on the wall. He turned around and tried to leave the battlefield, however, he was surrounded by red-eyed enemies that he never noticed approaching him.
âThis is a nightmareâŚâ
He gripped his sword, but the company commander didnât last long and his limbs were ripped apart by the enemies who rushed at him like evil spirits.
Soon after, the fortressâ inner walls were also captured.
In the span of a couple of days, close to a dozen Iberian fortresses were captured by the enemy. The fortresses that had endured the enemyâs onslaught until then all collapsed at once.
It was incomprehensible. The Iberian armyâs commanders couldnât understand why the frontlineâs balance had suddenly collapsed.
âThat place was hell.â
Fortunately, some survivors had escaped from the captured fortress, and through them, the situation on the frontlines was known.
âThe enemies were like berserkers, but yet at the same time, also like the living undead. Even if their legs were severed or their limbs crushed, they didnât seem to feel any pain and ran towards our allies until their heads were cut off.â
Although the fortresses were all located in different places, the testimonies of the survivors were all the same.
The Iberian Grand Duke exclaimed as he realized in his gut that the Holy Kingdom had done something.
âWhat is the situation on the other fronts?!â
The officer who received the order from the Iberian Grand Duke quickly left the conference room and returned shortly thereafter.
âItâs, itâs all the same, sir!â
His complexion pale, the lieutenant cried out that the same thing was happening on all the other frontlines that the Eastern Kingdom Alliance was fighting the war on.
âSir, theyâre saying that after hearing an unfamiliar hymn they had never heard before, the enemies all suddenly changed.â
The terrible news didnât end there.
âTheyâre saying that a horde is approaching the border right now, sir!â
âAll of them have bloodshot eyes and are being led by a priest, sir.â
The Iberian Grand Duke staggered at the lieutenantâs words.
âThereâs a report that the mainland is speculating that the current situation is due to the Holy Kingdomâs secret art which makes their followers into berserker zealots, sir.â
He had thought it was strange that the thoroughly weakened Holy Kingdom would wage a war against the mighty Empire and the eastern kingdoms, but there was a reason.
Believers all across the continent had been mobilized for this war by the Holy Kingdom.
âAt this point, is there even a difference between the Demon King and the Pope?!â
The Demon King had turned the people of the West into demons and mobilized them for war while the Popo had turned his followers into berserkers and pushed them into battle. In the eyes of the Iberian Grand Duke, both of them were the devil.
âExcept for the Seville fortress where Duke Roachim is located, all fortresses have been captured, sir!â
At that moment, another terrible piece of news flew in.
âTh, the border has completely fallen! The central kingdomsâ forces are flooding over the border, sir!â
The Iberian border had finally collapsed when it could not withstand the attack of the berserkers created by the evil secret arts of the Holy Kingdom.
âDo whatever it takes to push the frontlines forward. Do not let Iberia become a battlefield!â
While the leaders of Iberia and the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance were taking measures against the Holy Kingdomâs evil secret arts, the missing Indomitable Grand Duke finally returned.