Novel The Max Level Hero has Returned!

Chapter 197

Everyone at the command headquarters of the battle had been, of course, completely confident that they would win. What broke the headquarters’ deadly, cold silence was someone’s painful moans. “Keugh… Those cowards. How dare they gang up on us…”

It was Duke Alla, one of the captains of the Contas Empire’s Slaughtering Army who had come to help. He seemed so furious from the humiliation and anger that he could possibly crush anyone who approached him.

“We lost a huge number of soldiers…in one day.”

The first battle with the Undead army was not difficult; to be honest, they gained a victory against 20,000 Undead. However, the battle had been so easy that it felt almost disappointing. The Undead had charged into the allied army thoughtlessly, giving up their battle tactics and falling into every trap that the allied army had set. They kept advancing.

Perhaps that was why the allied army’s confidence shot up through the roof as the battle progressed, because the situation since the first battle had become completely different than before.

Everyone had praised Prince Sullivan, the Chief of Staff who led the war, and Alice, the Saintess candidate who displayed outstanding holy magic. The fact that Davey could potentially be the strongest among them didn’t matter to the allied army; the important thing was that they had survived the battle and the people who had led them to a great victory were in front of their eyes.

Of course, as things had been going well, the allied army’s attacks had become unhindered and they had even made a plan to switch up the situation. They did nothing else but defend. They actually partly succeeded; they had repaired the mountain fortress and had taken back some small territories that the Undead army had been occupying until then.

Everything had gone well up until this point. Illyna, who had experienced a different battlefield, had raised her concerns that they should be asking Davey for help, but it had been seen as nothing but a jealous tantrum to the people who were already touched by the power of Prince Sullivan and Alice.

That was when Alice had blatantly criticized Illyna.

‘The reason so many people died was because of your incompetence. I acknowledge your gift, but you are too young to understand the act of killing something.’

It only took a moment for Illyna, who had been stopping the Undead from leaving the mountain fortress, to be seen and treated like a useless princess. This had left her dumbfounded.

Alice, the Saintess candidate, was clever; in just a few days, she had quickly established her own support in the alliance after predicting the state of the war and the success of this slaughter. Illyna, Yulis, and Grand Duchess Kathryn of Lyndis, who was in conflict with Alice from the start, weren’t included in her group. As such, she had made everyone spread out in little groups to protect their own regions through Prince Sullivan, who she had joined forces with. As a result, no one was left to raise a concern about her decisions.

Just like that, everything had been going according to Alice’s plans. She was being praised with a more superior title.

‘I will stand in the frontlines. Now is the time, the opportunity, when the Undead’s attacks are stumbling. I will be at the front, condemning those who reject the course of God.’

Alice either did not value her life or she was brave enough to sacrifice her life for the cause she believed in.

Afterward, it hadn’t taken long for a separate Slaughtering Army to be created. They had joined the holy knight army and a few exceptional people, all led by Alice, the Saintess candidate.

However, the allied army had no choice but to watch their plan collapse in front of their eyes. A second before the Slaughtering Army could leave, they heard a loud horn, which had been an urgent request for rescue from each mountain fortress.

The Undead had attacked all eight fortresses.

The Undead usually poked around and only tested waters. They did use strategic battle tactics, but the allied army had been able to defend against them. After all, they had low basic stats.

However, it only took moments for the situation to change completely. The necromancer had begun increasing his attack power all of a sudden like playtime was over, and the allied army had begun engaging in defense. They believed they would be able to win again as they had already won once, but they had been played for fools.

In the end, the army had no choice but to drop their plan. They had to spread out to protect each mountain fortress. Except for the three fortresses commanded by Illyna, who was familiar with the battlefield situation, Grand Duchess Kathryn, and the one where the alliance’s main army was located, three other mountain fortresses had been taken over by the Undead in one day.

There were injured soldiers, screaming and crying out in pain. Even Alice’s holy power was not enough to cure them all; she could only alleviate some of their sufferings. It didn’t take long for the confidence of the alliance to plummet.

* * *

“I will be frank with you; please help us.”

“I said that I don’t want to,” Davey replied firmly.

Prince Sullivan’s eyes widened for a split second, because Davey had declined so calmly and quickly. He said, “Sir Prince Davey.”

“Your Highness, the unique role of each individual is important in a war. Surely, you know what this means.”

“…”

“I asked to be sent to the frontlines from the start. If the alliance wasn’t stupid, they should have known that I did not make that decision just to heighten my prestige. But now you ask for my help because the opponent is strong? Do I look like a tool that you can just take out and use when it’s convenient for you?”

“But…”

“I wasn’t a part of the alliance in the first place. I came here of my own accord to help out.”

As Prince Sullivan stayed quiet, Davey went on to say, “You were the one who said you didn’t need my help. You stashed me in the back and told me to do nothing but treat patients. How could you just flip a switch and ask for my help as soon as you are at a disadvantage?”

“Many are hurt and dead…”

“And many more will get hurt and die. No matter how large the alliance’s army increases to become, the Undead’s force will not weaken unless you find a way to cure the Undead’s poison.”

Prince Sullivan could not refute anything that Davey was saying.

“I originally came here for the food exports, but that has become meaningless now. All I have to do here is to treat patients and spread the teachings of Goddess Freyja.”

Davey could get food supplies at a later time if treating patients was the most important means of dealing and preparing for a war against the World Tree.

“Prince Davey, wait!” Prince Sullivan got up quickly and shouted, “I understand. I was foolish. Please help us. I can no longer overlook this situation where people are dying.”

‘And you are still trying to persuade me with this right now?’

Davey, who sighed, stared at Sullivan coldly. “Alright. Let’s say that I will help. However…”

Prince Sullivan’s eyebrow twitched when Davey grinned and said, “Why is the person responsible for this not showing her face at all? Who does she think she is?”

“Pardon?”

“Saintess candidate Alice. Is that woman the Pope or something? I don’t understand why she is so inflexible.”

What reason did Alice, the root cause of this problem, have for not even showing her face here?

“Tell Saintess candidate Alice to stop being so condescending, since I’m done letting her be this arrogant.”

Although Davey was an honorary Saint, his rank was a lot higher than her even at the Holy Empire in terms of hierarchy. But what? She could tell Davey to hurry up and demand for his help now that she needed it? Davey felt no need to treat a woman who knew no respect and common sense with logic and sympathy.

“W… Wait!”

“Rinne, the Chief of Staff of the alliance is leaving. See him out.”

“Are you allowing Rinne to draw blood if he refuses?”

“Get him out since I will be busy treating patients.”

“Hm… Rinne thinks highly of Sir Davey’s decisiveness.”

Davey turned away without hesitation and walked past Prince Sullivan.

“Prince Davey!” Prince Sullivan, who was staring at Davey silently, quickly called him again.

“Do you have more reasons to sway me?” Davey asked.

“There are soldiers dying, even right now. It will keep happening if you don’t help.”

Davey scoffed at Prince Sullivan’s words; now, he was trying to put pressure on Davey by using public opinion. As Sullivan stared at him confidently and completely unaware of Illyna’s frown deepening from anger, Davey replied calmly, “I joined the alliance, but what power do I have to defy you, when I have been demoted away from the war per the orders of the Chief of Staff?”

“I am the Chief of Staff. Past commands are unimportant, so right now…”

“And people aren’t just dying there. People are dying here as well.”

‘Once I go, they won’t be able to save all the patients being rushed to the treatment center.’

“I am doing my job perfectly…” Davey’s voice trailed off. As Prince Sullivan’s expression grew dark, Davey added, “But it seems like the people in the frontlines are not.

Sigh

… Who do we fault for this…?”

* * *

“Why are you not saying anything?” Davey asked.

Illyna, who was getting her arm treated, roughly threw the circlet she wore on the ground. She snapped out of irritation, “Say anything? What difference would it make? You want me to say something earlier on, even when I know just what you are like? Don’t forget that I am also incredibly angry. I might just go crazy.”

The war was costing Illyna dozens of lives a day.

“Whose side should I be on? If it is for the empire, it is right to request for your help. But…is that the right thing to do? You are not part of the empire. You’re just someone who has come to help. But what happens if we silence all their opinions and make them do whatever we want? What happens next…?” Illyna stared at Davey firmly and added, “This time, it will be you. It could be others in the future. And that boomerang will come back to me later on.”

“Hm…”

“The most irritating thing is the fact that Saintess candidate Alice, the cause of this situation, hasn’t even shown her face here. You know that?”

Illyna spoke about the situation like it was all ridiculous.

“The empire has to accept the Holy Empire’s decision about necromancy or dark magic. That is an agreement. That is why we are just watching Saintess candidate Alice’s tyranny, but this isn’t right. To prevent something similar from happening again in the future…” Illyna trailed off. Then, she got up after Davey finished treating her arm and pulled down her sleeve. “We have to establish power when we have the chance.”

“How feisty.”

“So Davey, I’m asking for your help. I don’t know what you are trying to do, but after you’re finished with that and the problems regarding different interests are dealt with…”

‘Please help… I will give you anything if it is in my power.’

Unlike others, Illyna’s desperate pleading was full of worry. She couldn’t help but worry about her soldiers, who were fighting this war right now.

* * *

The Undead’s attacks became stronger and stronger. At first, the high-rank Undead that initially stayed back to watch were starting to attack. Then, the other Undead’s aggression began to rise.

This situation probably frustrated Illyna the most. She had led her subordinates, who were like family, and had kept the fortress safe, sacrificing her own people along the way. She had thought everything would work out as long as she held on for long enough until Davey got here. After all, she knew that Davey had monstrous power that was unexplainable by common sense. Although the enemy was strong, they had never shown power as strong as what Davey had displayed.

In fact, she had closely analyzed the situation to successfully keep the fortress safe. She had done whatever they could to defend against the Undead’s attacks.

But then, these people who called themselves the allied army had messed everything up. As the Undead attacked like they weren’t playing around anymore, three of their fortresses had been overtaken. Illyna was bound to be frustrated, since the administration of the alliance had trolled them hard when they had fought with their lives.

To Davey, it didn’t really matter what happened. If he hadn’t gone to provoke the Undead, the allied army would have kept sending troops in due to the false hope they had been given. They would not have realized that they were being sent to their deaths. The damage would not have been as extensive as the first huge loss, but it would have amplified a whole lot more upon the continuation of the battle. They would have forced unending sacrifice, saying that it was a holy war.

However, the allied army, who were no longer able to fight recklessly, were now retreating without resistance. The Undead had become more powerful after Davey’s provocation. Perhaps that was why the deaths were unexpectedly decreasing compared to the first battle, with the allied army’s retreat.

Between fighting the enemy, who they had assumed to be easy, and immediately retreating after realizing that the enemy was dangerous, it was obvious which situation would yield more casualties.

Of course, as avoiding battles did not stop diseases, the number of soldiers being transported to the treatment center after being exposed to diseases kept increasing.

“Additional patients! All of them have a nasty skin disease!”

“Move all of them to ward 1. We will head over as soon as we are done here. Rinne.”

“Rinne, waiting for orders.”

“Go assess the situation and do preliminary treatments if you can treat them with the information I have given you.”

“Roger that.”

Rinne flew with the wings on her back and waist after giving Davey a cute salute. She attracted a lot of attention, because she was a different kind that no one had seen before.

As expected, the command headquarters’ treatment center was extremely busy.

—The number of casualties decreased as their attack power increased… This is a result I didn’t expect at all.

“I brainwashed them a little.”

Davey had cast a spell on Grell Orfan, the 8th Circle Elder Lich: he had erased a certain amount of persistence, implanting the need for stronger attack power and hostility. Thanks to that, the Undead were much more powerful than before but did not follow the allied army to the ends of the Earth. As such, the allied army could retreat without a big problem if they ran away as best as they could.

The headquarters were going mad over the continued loss, but Davey just sat back and watched the situation in amusement. They would grow anxious and worried as the Undead kept taking their land. It was also quite entertaining to see the reputation of Prince Sullivan, the Chief of Staff of the alliance, and Saintess candidate Alice gradually fall.

A week after their attacks grew stronger, the Undead took all eight mountain fortresses that were protecting the breadbasket. It was unknown why they tried so hard to take the eight fortresses, but the allegiance could tell that it was out of necessity.

In the meantime, Davey was focused on the extremely busy work of treating patients. Many soldiers who had been exposed to diseases were transported over in a never-ending stream. Thanks to that, Davey was well on his way to fulfilling his deal.

15,323/20,000.

The number was only about a thousand a week ago, but now, the deal was almost 70% fulfilled. Not only did Davey’s own patients count, but all treatments he had given and were administered by others also counted.

There was an extreme decline in casualties, but the number suffering from diseases skyrocketed.

With the current situation, it would only take four days for the war to be lost. The deal with Goddess Freyja would come to an end, and Saintess candidate Alice, whose position and power was very weak right now, would demote herself from not being able to take the external pressure.

A lot of people had reached out to Davey, sneaking in a request for help, but he had denied them all.

“Damn it… This war is completely screwed,” mumbled one of the soldiers who survived while leaning against the wall.

“How is it not? This damn thing. Even if we try to fight, we are destined to die the moment we are bitten or cut by a sword with a poisoned blade. How are we supposed to fight?”

“What did the Saintess candidate even do? She can’t do anything. What can she do other than curing us a little bit and giving us a little energy with her holy power?!”

“I know, right? I bet even ordinary priests can do that, too.”

Public opinion regarding Alice grew extremely negative. She didn’t intend for that, but she was suffering the consequences of having promoted herself extensively.

Hoot!!

“The allied army is returning!”

The Undead had continuously advanced to the point that the allegiance was forced to retreat to the command headquarters, the furthest place away from the frontlines. It was obvious that the Undead’s next target was where Davey was at: the headquarters’ treatment center.

Davey had come up with something to keep Baris, who he was most worried about, here. He also didn’t have to worry about Yulis losing his life, since Yulis was assisting with firepower in the back anyways.

Clang… Clunk…

Davey was quietly stretching alone outside the treatment center. He could see a group of the holy knight order approaching him with silent footsteps. Then, he could see a face that he hadn’t seen in a long time. It was Alice, one of the Saintess candidates.

“I cannot understand someone like you.”

“It must be a coincidence because I really cannot understand people like you, Lady Alice.” Davey grinned.

Alice slightly frowned as she said, “Do I look like I am joking? How can a demon like you receive the stigmata…”

“I thought I told you…”

Alice went silent.

“To go play tug of war somewhere else.”