134 Chapter 134: Siege of Havia

The resistance in Havia Castle was much more ferocious than I had anticipated, but nothing beyond my capabilities.

It appeared that Kobayashi had pulled back the bulk of his surviving forces to defend the castle, for they were unleashing a hellstorm of missiles, mass-reactive shells, las and plasma upon my position. My soldiers had already taken cover, ducking their heads as explosives struck ferrocrete and adamantium before detonating into shrapnel. Kratz and Benjamin had organized a hasty counterattack, but their infantry were currently pinned down by heavy suppressing fire from the castle. Meanwhile, Daniel's tanks were rooted, immobilized and stuck in narrow pathways as anti-tank weaponry spiraled from the castle's bastions and struck their titanium-steel armor with impacts tremendous enough to send tremors throughout their hulls.

The lead tank responded with a stream of plasma that incinerated one of the bastions, immolating human soldiers and causing the ammunition to cook off into bright, crimson conflagrations. However, thousands more remained, and it appeared that Kobayashi had held back the majority of his forces for defense after all.

The selfish bastard…ignoring his civilians and leaving them undefended all so he could protect himself. And he called me a coward?

"Forward, for the Emperor!" I roared and surged forward, wading through heavy fire and shrugging off the enemies' shots. Hundreds of projectiles and las-fire slammed into me, but none of them could even scratch the first layer of my Redwood jacket. It had endured far more powerful spells and attacks than the likes of mass-produced Guard-issued small-arms and weaponry. For all their effectiveness, the lasguns the puny humans were relying on could pass off as mere flashlights. Such was their lack of strength and firepower that they might as well be shining light on me rather than trying to burn holes through my defenses.

"Impossible!"

"What in Restia is that demon?!"

"I don't believe it! Why can't he just die?!"

The enemy howled and shrieked vengeance and bloodlust, focusing all their fire on me, to no effect. I continued to walk through multiple explosions and barrages of las-fire and bolts, my Redwood jacket's barriers shimmering fiercely as they aborbed most of the damage. Still, the first layer of its twelve barriers remained intact, despite being constantly hammered by a fusillade of bolts and las. I raised my hand and unleashed a hail of Doombolts that pulverized concrete and delivered mortal wounds to countless soldiers foolish enough to think that cover could save them.

"Follow the Lord General! Support him!"

"Protect the Lord General!"

"Forward, for the Demon Lord!"

"Fire on my target!"

"Move, move, move!"

Shouts and yells filled the vox channels as officers and sergeants barked orders and instructed their men forward. Infantry and tanks alike slowly advanced, their weapons emitting an unceasing hail of death and destruction. Another tower toppled over, its base support melted by superheated plasma beams, burying the men inside under broken debris.

Despite all the fire and fury around me, I continued to stroll forward calmly, tanking the shots meant for my men. If this was a game, I would be the hero character, with the mobs and opponents directing everything they had at me. Unfortunately for them, I had an equipment that granted me absolute defense against mob attacks, completely nullifying any damage they tried to deal to me.

It was a cheat equipment, or as readers liked to say, plot armor. Well, this was the endgame, so it made sense that I possessed such high-tier equipment.

"Lord General! Be careful!"

No sooner did Marko shout a warning than another tower blew apart. Overhead, the dragon zombie swarm was still unleashing apocalyptic attacks against the Knights. There weren't many wyvern zombies left with only five of them circling Ryuu and the former crimson dragon (which was now black). On the other end, ten Knights remained, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their titanic weapons and shields raised.

They might hold the numerical advantage, but they were being cornered. Just when I thought that, three crimson beams from the trio of Hellblades' volcano cannons converged and seared a hole through one of their shields. Ryuu took advantage of that to launch a Draconic Nova that detonated the Knight from the inside out.

Another colossal titan was taken out. Nine left. But the Hellblades had to recharge their incapacitators before firing another shot, and the zombie dragons were vulnerable during that significant window.

I'll have to trust them.

There was nothing I could do but believe in my men and dragon zombies. The only thing I could do was defeat Kobayashi Kenji as soon as possible so that I could permanently destroy the surviving Knights of Round and bring an end to this bloody siege.

Raising my hand, I unleashed another Doombolt that sent men flying and obliterating both cover and bodies alike. Strolling through the remnants of the barricade I had just destroyed, I coldly ignored the moaning wounded and the dying. If Aoyama made it in time, he could save them and erase their brainwashing, but before then I had no choice but to proceed. I wasn't god or Kira Jesus Yamato. I didn't have the ability to deal superficial yet crippling wounds that allowed the enemy to survive without taking their lives. I had neither the luxury of time nor skill to show my foes mercy. The lives of my men were more important, and I wasn't naïve enough to buy into the "let thy enemies live" bullshit that idealistic and unrealistic anime love to spout.

"Fire!"

"Take out that demon!"

"Don't let him near the castle!"

"Protect the Emperor with your lives!"

The human zealots formed a living wall between me and the castle, pouring a barrage of las and bolts in my direction. My Redwood jacket continued to absorb the damage, shimmering as it practically laughed at their pathetic efforts to attempt to hurt me. It just wasn't happening. In terms of game terminology, they were level 1 mobs trying to inflict damage on a level 1,000 hero character. Never mind the sheer volume of shots weren't enough to weigh down my near-infinite HP, my auto-regeneration was surpassing the amount of damage being dished out.

However, I didn't buy into this game mechanism nonsense. As I said, the strength of humans couldn't be measured in numbers, levels or stats. There was no such thing as HP. How do you measure HP anyway? Or MP, for that matter? It wasn't something that could be represented by values. Even the most exhausted magician could still unleash a devastating spell if he was desperate enough, something that couldn't be represented by MP values of 0 or whatever.

"Why isn't he dying?!"

"The Emperor said we can take him down through faith and courage alone!"

"But why isn't it working?!"

"Who cares!? The Emperor said so, believe in his words! We're to sell our lives to kill this bastard. For the Emperor!"

Despite several soldiers faltering, their commanders refused to give in and continued to fire a barrage upon my position. Several soldiers broke morale and began to flee, but their officers spun around to put a bolt through their skulls, thus "inspiring" the rest of the troops to bravely sacrifice their lives and valiantly resist to the bitter end.

Clearly some humans were brainwashed more than others. Or perhaps the effects of Kobayashi's Kingly Disposition were weakening?

No matter. They stood in my way, and therefore they should die.

I swung my sword and released a Shadow Lunar Fang, blasting human soldiers apart and pulverizing their scant cover and hastily erected barricades. Striding over the debris and bodies, I proceeded forward. The main entrance to the castle beckoned just meters away, but enemy warriors continued to fire from bastions and towers built into the castle walls.

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I ignored them all, shrugging away las and bolts, missiles and plasma. Walking up to the door, I kicked it open with brute force, sending the ten-meter high gates crashing down in a cloud of dust, sand and concrete.

"Please excuse my intrusion," I proclaimed loudly and sarcastically before casually striding into the interior of the castle.

"The enemy has breached the castle!"

"The demon has broken through!"

"Don't fall back! Hold your ground! Or I'll shoot you where you stand!"

Despite my forced entry, the human zealots refused to retreat and held their ground. They continued to pump las and bolts into my solitary figure, but none of the rounds had any effect. I merely strode through the storm of fire and explosions, occasionally blasting soldiers apart with Doombolt. They desperately threw whatever they had to stop me, but I continued, unimpeded. It was almost as if I was some unstoppable force of nature, a god incarnate.

I felt like a Primarch, a god of war casually strolling through the battlefield and meting out death to those pathetic fools who thought they could try and hurt me. Well, they probably could if I let my guard down. Complacency was still the biggest enemy here.

Be careful. Don't get too arrogant and let your guard down. Mortals they may be, but they have courage and hearts of steel.

Given enough time, the sheer volume of fire they directed toward me would eventually wear down my defenses and scrape away at my physical body. But I had no intention of giving them such time and space. And even if I did, my men weren't willing to allow that.

"Fire!"

"Support the Lord General!"

"Kill all who oppose us!"

Infantry poured in through the breach I had created, scything down human warriors with las and plasma. Tanks rolled in, crushing more towers and carving more holes through the walls to create breaches for both tanks and infantry to file in. my battalion was invading the castle in mass numbers, largely unmolested by the defenses because the humans stupidly directed almost everything at me. Even so, I could see the casualties were horrendous. A vampire shuddered and fell, his body riddled with smoking holes as a dozen las-rounds punched through him. A demon was blown apart as a missile streaked and slammed into his squad's position, raining blood down on his wounded comrades, one who lost an arm and leg, and another who was twitching helplessly on the ground after being punctured by countless shrapnel. A tank stalled and exploded as several missiles and thermal beams from meltaguns scorched their ways through its armor, reaching its volatile plasma reactor and detonating it sky-high. An entire squad tried to break through a barricade but were mowed down by the autocannon and heavy bolter heavy weapons teams stationed there.

Yet I couldn't let their deaths be in vain. Raising my Blood Dragon Sword high into the air, which gleamed an angry crimson amidst a dark battlefield saturated with blood, I let out a deafening battle-cry to rally my surviving men.

"On me! Onward! Let's finish this!"

"Yes, sir!"

"We're with you, Lord General!"

"Kick those humans' asses!"

Taking another step forward, I blew another barricade up with a Doombolt and carved my way through it, slicing through the steel barriers with my glowing sword. The main hall was just ahead now, with nothing but masses of human warriors standing fearlessly between me and my goal. They raised their rifles and fired, but I merely walked through their barrage of las and bolts, totally unharmed. Reaching them, I cut a bloody swathe through the first three, causing their corpses to crash to the ground in bloody pieces.

Even in face of such a terrifying sight, the human zealots refused to falter. Their officer charged forward, his power sword flaring in a crackling, blue energy field, and hollered.

"Fix bayonets!"

The human soldiers didn't hesitate, yanking their bayonets from their utility belts and affixing them to their rifles. With a roar, they charged me, stabbing, thrusting and slashing.

I wasn't sure what to say. If bolt, las and plasma couldn't penetrate my barriers, what were the chances that a mere blade powered by meager human strength and muscle could? Nonetheless, I refused to let my guard down. There were far too many humans clustering around me, massing about and stabbing that they might wear me down with the sheer volume of attacks. I gritted my teeth and slashed a bloody path through them. Dozens went down, falling in pieces as my sword effortlessly scythed through them. Reversing my grip, I cut another three down and began hacking my way through the crowd of humans who were attempting to mob me.

"Do not fear the demon! For the light of the Emperor will allow us to prevail! Have faith! Emperor Kobayashi will not let us down!"

The officer with the power sword was yelling platitudes and encouragement. Striding forward, he thrust with his power sword. Realizing that it contained an arcane spell that would allow it to penetrate at least the first layer of my barriers, I parried it on instinct. The officer then delivered a riposte to cut into my shoulder, but I ducked it quickly and staggered back.

As much as I hated to admit it, this so-called mob character had better footwork and superior sword skills than me. I had relied too much on my magic that I had neglected my Sword Saint Ability and swordsmanship. I tried to activate my Sword Saint ability and engage the officer in a fight, while keeping his crazed men and their bayonets at bay.

"For the Emperor!" the officer bellowed and swung his crackling power sword. I intercepted his blade and used my superior strength to send him off balance. As he stumbled I ducked under his deadly blade before ramming my Blood Dragon Sword into his sternum. He croaked, blood dripping from his mouth as my blade exited his back, impaling him and lifting him off the ground.

To his credit, he refused to die simply. Grabbing my Blood Dragon Sword, he then desperately swung his power sword to cleave me apart.

"For the Emperor!" he roared defiantly.

"You're a brave mortal, I'll give you that," I acknowledged, and then ripped my sword out of his chest and through his right shoulder, severing his arm and dropping his power sword onto the ground. The company commander gurgled one last time before he collapsed, the life fading out of him.

A shudder rippled through his company. Their morale broken, they began to flee, no longer having the courage to attack me with their bayonets. There were a few brave souls who stayed and fought to the last, and I honored their courage with swift, brutal strikes of my sword. The cowards who retreated were shot in the back by my subordinates, their lasguns finding their targets with impunity and precision.

"The way is clear, Lord General!" Elia reported as she hurried over with Gio and a squad of infantry. I nodded.

"Secure the hall. Keep a platoon here and send the rest of the battalion out to capture the castle. Flush out any resistance."

"Easier said than done," Gio grumbled. "We're just a small battalion. This castle is huge! Didn't you see the size of this thing earlier?!"

I did see the full size of the castle earlier when I was outside, trying to break in. I knew taking it would be difficult, but I didn't have a choice.

"Just do your best with whatever resources you have available," I instructed wearily. "You know the deal. We've to capture this castle if we want to put an end to the reign of the tyrannical self-proclaimed Emperor of Humanity."

"Well, I've good news," Benjamin called out from the other end while he was busily assigning heavy weapons teams to optimal placements. "Captain Charlie Bass and the 7th Battalion of the Marrina Marine Corps are arriving to reinforce us. Once we link up, we can ask the Marines to storm the rest of the castle."

"Let's do that," I agreed. The Marrina Marines excelled at this sort of thing, after all, and they would be itching for a fight after the 1,087th Magna Battalion had taken the full burnt of the battle when invading the castle. "I'll leave it to you guys."

"Where are you going, sir?" Marko asked, his heavy plasma gun hanging off his shoulder.

"To finish this once and for all."

I turned toward the gigantic double doors that stood guard in front of a colossal chamber. From schematics, I remembered that the throne room lay ahead.

That would be where Kobayashi Kenji would be waiting.

"Do your best to secure this hall. Don't let any enemy in. try not to come in either."

"Why not?" Elia asked, confused. "We can help you, Lord General!"

"Uh, actually, the boss is right. We'll only be getting in the way."

Gio placed a hand on the sullen Major's shoulder to restrain her. He shook his head gloomily.

"From here on out, it's going to be a battle between gods. The Lord General won't be able to fight at his full strength if he has to protect us as well."

"Yeah, you saw how the Lord General simply waltzed into the castle despite taking the full brunt of an entire army's worth of firepower." Marko was shaking his head in disbelief. "We won't be able to help him."

"You've already helped me out plenty. And you can do the things I can't…such as capturing this castle and securing strategic locations. I can't be everywhere at once." I took a deep breath and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be back shortly. And this whole war will finally come to an end."

"Good luck, Lord General." Benjamin saluted. "Try not to…uh, die."

I laughed at that. "Don't worry about that. I've already come back to life more than once."

Turning around, I pushed my glasses up my nose and exhaled. I took a step forward and pushed the double doors inward, forcing open a small gap for me to enter. After I strode into the room, the massive double doors closed behind me.

"So you've finally come."

A scornful voice sneered from up ahead. Seated upon the throne was none other than Kobayashi Kenji himself, resting his head on a hand and glaring down on me derisively. He was flanked by two girls – Midorikawa Midori and Yoshida Yume. They were glaring at me hatefully, disdain and contempt filling their gazes.

"Since you want to die so badly, I will grant you your wish."

Kobayashi rose to his feet and drew the heavily decorated sword by his side. He sauntered down the steps that led away from his throne and pointed his glowing blade at me. Midorikawa and Yoshida followed, remaining close to him.

I couldn't help but smirk.

"…I wonder about that. I'm surprised, though. Even until the very end, you remain unbelievably delusional. Did your mind snap from all the fear and guilt?"

"Shut up!"

With a roar, Kobayashi hurled himself at me, his glowing sword flashing downward in a deadly arc of might and magic.