Harassment

“Hm?”

Hearing this news, Vivian raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Tell me more.”

“I saw a special squad in the enemy’s ranks.

There were about five of them, three men and two women.

The two women were elves—judging from their auras, they seem to be Heroes.”

“…I see.

Continue to scout and report back.”

Vivian waved her hand, her voice perfectly calm.

She then took a deep breath.

“Then, continue according to the original plan.

Rest for now, and after nightfall, we will launch the second wave of attacks.

The operational time limit is still no more than ten minutes.

You must retreat immediately.”

“Reiterate to everyone, the whistle is the signal.

You must disengage!

Don’t let them even catch our shadows!”

“Yes, My Lady.”

The first wave of attacks was completed, but this was only the beginning.

For a long time to come, their small force of only two thousand would have to get along and have intense exchanges of opinion with the other side.

She, Vivian, was doing this not only for herself but also for the child in her belly to have a peaceful environment to grow up in in the future.

She had to use the heads of this expeditionary army as the foundation for that stability.

…

Night fell.

The shadows of the Territory of Evernight seemed to come alive, writhing in the darkness.

Due to the surprise attack, the expeditionary army needed to regroup its wounded and supplies, so they made camp right where they were.

The expeditionary army, still shaken, made camp and rested.

As time slowly crept into the night, bonfires flickered, illuminating the slightly weary faces of the soldiers.

Although the raid had only lasted for a short ten minutes, it had been a scene of utter chaos during that time.

The panicked noble sons and their private soldiers running wild, the various wounded who had been crushed and trampled in different ways—it could be said that the number of casualties caused by the internal chaos was even greater than those directly inflicted by the demons.

But this was only the first day.

Although they had been ambushed, everyone still maintained their hatred and fighting spirit toward the demons.

At night, the knights strengthened their patrols, the Gospel Priests chanted hymns to soothe the people’s hearts, and the warriors on night watch stared with wary faces into the seemingly bottomless darkness—

“Wooo—wooo—wooo—”

A shrill horn, like the cry of a night owl, sounded without warning from all directions around the camp!

The sound pierced the night sky, stabbing at their eardrums, instantly shattering the brief tranquility!

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

A sentry’s piercing scream cut through the night.

“Form ranks! Defend!”

Officers roared, hastily organizing a proper defense—they all knew that night was the demons’ paradise, let alone for demons named after 【Evernight】.

With the sharp sound, the entire camp exploded into chaos!

Soldiers scrambled to grab their weapons and rush to their positions, the heavy armor of the knights clashing with a dull thud in the darkness, while the fanatics roared angrily in the direction of the horn’s source.

However, the anticipated tide-like charge never came.

Only scattered, phantom-like black figures, like bats melting into the night, flashed past the edge of the camp!

And then—

“Swish-swish-swish-swish!“

A dense volley of arrows, with a piercing whistle, accurately covered the camp’s outer tents, baggage carts, and even a few bonfires!

The arrows were wrapped with a faint corrosive magic or burned with a ghostly green phosphorescent fire, igniting the tents and burning the soldiers who tried to put them out.

“Ah! My eyes!”

“Put out the fire! Quickly, put out the fire!”

“Where are they?! Fire! Fire back quickly!”

The human soldiers fired blindly into the darkness in a panic.

Arrows and scattered magical lights flew into the thick night, like stones sinking into the sea, without even causing a ripple.

And the positions from which the arrows were fired were already empty.

A few contemptuous sneers were heard from the darkness, and then it fell completely silent, as if everything just now had been a nightmare, leaving behind only burning tents, terrified soldiers, unlucky fellows hit by stray arrows, and a thoroughly disturbed night’s sleep.

“…It’s over?”

“That’s it?”

“Where are the people!?”

The soldiers who had just entered a combat state looked at the empty darkness around them, completely at a loss.

They couldn’t find their target at all.

This was only natural.

After silently approaching and startling the enemy with a horn for one round of attacks, the Night Demons responsible for the night raid followed Vivian’s instructions and slipped away directly.

And so, the people who had just been startled could only stare at the empty night, looking at each other in dismay.

And two hours later, a rumbling sound once again echoed in the camp—this time it was a long-range magical bombardment.

The quick-reacting knights and adventurers immediately rushed in the direction of the attack, but by the time they arrived, the demons were long gone.

And such attacks occurred intermittently throughout the night, forcing the expeditionary army to dispatch night watch teams and expand their patrol range—and after one night, several of the forward night watch teams had disappeared without a sound.

The next day.

With dark circles under their eyes, the spiritually drained expeditionary army set out again.

Their heavy footsteps trod on the gloomy land of the Territory of Evernight, the atmosphere depressingly heavy.

Everyone’s eyes were wide open, their ears pricked up, their nerves stretched taut.

Any slight movement in the grass or wind could cause a small-scale disturbance.

The Gospel Holy Knights and the knights rode on their tall horses in the core of the formation, warily looking around, while the Hero Garen’s face was grim.

After returning yesterday and seeing the miserable state of the army, a blazing fire of anger had ignited in his heart, but he had nowhere to vent it.

In a normal state, the Hero Garen was indeed slower than the Demon Lord Vivian.

He could see this himself—although he might be able to catch up with a full burst of power, Garen was still rational.

He couldn’t unleash his full power so early.

Moreover… as long as he pushed on to the Demon Lord’s Castle, the other party would have to face him no matter what.

And in fact, this was how he comforted and encouraged the others in the expeditionary army.

“Everyone! What we are facing now are just the lowly tricks of those damned demons!

They are trying their best to delay us, but as long as we can reach the Demon Lord’s Castle, these rats hiding in the shadows will have no choice but to face us head-on!”

“At that time, we will completely crush these filthy rats!”

“Roar!”

And with the Hero Garen’s encouragement, everyone’s confidence and hatred for the demons were reignited, and they gritted their teeth and continued to advance!

But looking at the demons who were still constantly harassing them, a nameless fire still burned in Garen’s heart.

It was simple.

He knew that in the dark, Vivian was also watching him.

If the Hero Garen went to hunt down those insignificant demon squads, then the next second, the Demon Lord’s attack might slam into the army, causing terrifying casualties—in an instant, thousands of people might die on the spot.