It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 113

The endless screams finally stopped just over an hour later. Achilles, who had been quietly scanning for lingering demonic energy, confirmed the death of the last remaining creature—yet even then, he waited ten more minutes before withdrawing his mana.

He knew just how tenacious demon kind could be.

When he finally drew back his power, the blackened remains still suspended in the air hundreds of meters away came raining down like ash.

“Eliza, finish up.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even before her answer reached him, Achilles had vanished. No doubt he’d gone to check on the princess’s safety.

In his place, Eliza headed straight to the Emperor to report. The Emperor and half of the capital’s military forces had arrived about fifteen minutes after Achilles began his spell and were now standing by.

They had likely intended to hunt down the monsters and demons that magic couldn’t handle or to protect Achilles if he was attacked mid-casting. At the moment, they seemed utterly stunned.

But the battle wasn’t entirely over yet. The lifeforce of demons was stubborn, far more than expected. They now had to comb through corpses and finish off any survivors clinging to life.

“I wonder how the other regions are doing.”

The battle in the north was almost over.

*

Despite the massive horde of monsters and demons appearing in the north, the Tower Master had ordered detection spells to continue scanning the other regions. He suspected this army might be a decoy—a distraction—while another force attempted to breach the walls elsewhere.

“It sounds absurd to use such a massive army as bait, but with demons, whose individual power is so great, it’s not impossible.”

Achilles and the Emperor had taken charge of the northern front, Marcus and Duke Gianni held the east, the Crown Prince and imperial mages defended the south, and Aisha and Marquis Nodiers were assigned to the west.

As expected, the eastern wall showed signs of enemy movement, and Marcus clicked his tongue in frustration.

Six demons approached from the east. Compared to the overwhelming wave in the north, it might seem like a small number—but these weren’t just any demons. They were far stronger than the ones charging en masse.

“If it were Master, he’d probably take each of these down in one strike.”

Judging by the aura they gave off, each one had power equivalent to a Sword Master—or more. One of them even radiated a presence stronger than a dragon.

“Master… Even if I’m technically older than you…”

To Marcus, his first encounter with Achilles had been nothing short of shocking. He had never seen anyone control magic so freely and masterfully. At one point, he even dreamed of becoming the next Tower Master himself.

“But not anymore. There’s no way I could ever fill the shoes of a man like that.”

He now believed that someone truly exceptional—someone with a talent beyond even his own—would naturally become the next Tower Master someday. Until then, his duty was to support the Tower as its second-in-command.

Marcus immediately reported the demon sighting to Duke Gianni and signaled the mages under his command. He had already discussed the eastern battle strategy with the duke in case demons appeared.

Before the demons reached the wall, Marcus and the mage unit were to attack. The archers were left under Duke Gianni’s discretion—there were no strict restrictions placed on them.

“Their arrows wouldn’t interfere with our magic anyway.”

The knights would only enter the fight once the demons reached the top of the wall. At that point, Marcus would yield command to the duke.

Friendly fire was a risk they couldn’t afford.

“Thankfully, no flying demons have been detected!”

Marcus’s eyes gleamed as he cast lightning magic—bolts of green electricity shot down from the sky, slamming into the ground. Some demons were clearly shaken by the impact, but one of them, the one Marcus had been watching closely, took the full blast and still moved its massive tail.

In sync, defensive mages behind Marcus activated barrier spells to shield the wall. The demon’s tail—sharp like a blade—crashed into the magical barrier with a deafening boom.

The force was enough to make the mages stagger for a moment, but their shield could withstand dozens more of that level of attack.

“I won’t need Duke Gianni’s help. The mages from our Tower will finish them off right here!”

And when they were done, Marcus intended to bolt north at full speed—just to see with his own eyes the Tower Master’s spell in action.

For that, he poured all his strength into the next wave of magic.

Aisha stood on the western front, scanning the area with detection magic for what felt like the hundredth time, her face clearly bored. Unlike the other sectors—where screams, spells, and chaos filled the air—this place was unnervingly quiet.

“I expected this… but it’s still annoying.”

The Imperial Palace was located in the northern part of the capital, while the Grand Temple was situated in the southeast. The western district she was assigned to protect wasn’t near either, which likely meant it had been deemed strategically unimportant—even by the demons.

Because of that, Aisha had argued to the Tower Master that Giel should be sent west instead of her. He ignored her.

Frustrated, she slammed her fists repeatedly on the bulging stone ledge of the wall.

“Why, why, why?! I’m the Tower Master’s left hand! Eliza’s probably watching his magic up close right now—so unfair!”

She understood why Eliza was chosen to stay behind Achilles. Of the four of them, only Eliza had strong enough defensive magic to withstand the Tower Master’s spells at close range.

Marcus was best at intercepting and direct attack magic, Eliza at defense, Aisha at tracking, and Giel specialized in mental magic.

Aside from Marcus, Aisha and Eliza were fairly even in combat ability—but Aisha had the edge in close-quarters fighting, which made it even more unfair in her eyes.

“At the very least, I could’ve been the one guarding the princess…”

But now, only Giel was by Her Highness’s side. Even though he was a mental mage, that school of magic had its own offensive capabilities, so Aisha wasn’t worried about protection.

She was just jealous.

“That stiff Giel… I can be charming, especially with women. I’d make her feel more at ease. The Tower Master let me guard her twice before—why not this time…?”

The southern sector was under the care of the imperial mages and the Crown Prince. Since the Empire’s elite mages were based there, she assumed they’d handle things well.

Though Aisha didn’t say it aloud, she understood why the Emperor sent the Crown Prince south. In case things went wrong, the Emperor wanted at least the heir to survive. The prince seemed to sense that too—he wore a solemn, resolved expression.

“Still, I doubt he’d run away alone. It’s a pointless worry…”

Her real concern wasn’t the royals. It was the people of the capital. Achilles would never allow harm to come to the royal family—he was practically engaged to one of them.

“There may be some casualties, but the northern horde will be taken care of. The problem is whether a few demons manage to break through and climb the northern wall.”

The Emperor had taken half the capital’s military with him, so defense was likely to hold… but nothing was certain.

“Hmm?”

Aisha’s lieutenant was just about to stop her from cracking the ledge further when her head whipped around—toward the Imperial Palace.

None of the other mages around her seemed to notice.

“What the—?!”

All the walls were sealed off, and yet she felt demonic energy. It wasn’t moving on the surface—it was coming from underground.

At first, she thought of burrowing monsters. But no… this was different.

“Damn it! Could there be a tunnel into the capital?”

“They’ve appeared!”

“Gah!”

She thought someone else had noticed the underground movement, but no—it was something else. Now, demons were appearing above ground too, right in the western zone.

“Let’s see…”

Twenty-one low-ranking demons. They’d take some time to deal with, but Aisha doubted they could break through the western wall.

After all, she wasn’t alone—Marquis Nodiers was stationed here, too. He, along with Crown Prince Oscar, was one of the Empire’s three Sword Masters.

“Marquis! There’s movement underground. Something’s tunneling in fast—I’ll pursue it. Please handle those demons!”

The marquis nodded and chose four of his swiftest knights.

“Take these with you. They’ll be of help.”

Aisha nodded—refusing would only lead to more wasted time in argument.

She chose five of her own mages and quickly descended the wall. The knights following behind looked stunned—not one of the six moved like a typical mage.

“We’re using magic to boost our movement. If anyone falls behind, we won’t wait. Hurry!”

Already, some of the demons had made it past the wall’s foundation and were ahead of them.

Aisha bit her lip, sensing something ominous ahead.

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