The Closing Trap

Even after they set foot on this land, the Allied forces could hardly believe they had come this far.

At first, they were merely sent out for training. Who could have imagined that in just two months, they would capture six cities, and now, the former capital of the Federation is right before their eyes! So close that they could simply walk in and occupy the city! This has left many soldiers utterly astonished and excited. Just two months ago, they were merely a reserve force sent out to engage in Star Wars with wandering undead creatures to test their combat capabilities. But now, they have become the vanguard of the entire United Kingdom! As their victories expand, more and more soldiers are being added to their ranks. By the time they reach the Federation capital, their army has grown from less than 20,000 to 300,000!

Of course, for the two countries that were once the relatively stronger militarily within the Five-Nation Alliance, this wasn't actually a large number. Their total number of soldiers was close to one million, so an army of 300,000 wasn't particularly noteworthy for them. However, it's important to understand that this wasn't an ordinary war, and they weren't facing ordinary enemies—terrifying undead creatures! While the number of these 300,000 troops might not be large, they were all soldiers with extensive experience in warfare against the undead! For the United Kingdom, which was still in its early stages, this was clearly a matter of considerable concern.

However, Gabriel did not share this enthusiasm.

"Your Excellency, I admit that under your leadership, our army has indeed defeated many undead creatures and achieved numerous victories. However, I must remind you that we have been far too reckless! We have now arrived at the City of the Federation, the very heart of the Federation! Yet, we are only supported by a fragile supply route. According to Miss Catherine, she has detected unusually large-scale movements by the undead in recent days! We cannot advance any further; we must halt and consolidate our current gains!"

"Hmph, a brat is just a brat, you don't need to worry about him."

The man extended his hand, and the unprecedented confidence in his words made Gabriel increasingly uneasy.

"Worried? I have to be worried, Your Excellency. We have two hundred thousand elite soldiers and one hundred thousand clergy here. If they are all wiped out, it will be an unacceptable loss for our United Kingdom and the great God of Justice! We are now in the heart of the Federation, and we have no way of knowing how many undead creatures surround us."

So what?

The man interrupted the archangel's speech with a cold snort. His eyes were fixed on the Federation capital city before him, which had been burned and was now a ruin, its interior gleaming with fanaticism and amusement.

"Don't forget, your great god sent me as his plenipotentiary commander. Now, my words are his words. Do you intend to defy the command of the God of Justice?"

That's not what I meant.

Gabriel quickly lowered his head.

"I'm just a little uneasy about the current situation..."

"Haven't you figured it out yet?"

The man sneered and pointed a finger at the city not far away.

"That brat is hiding in that city. What we need to do is force her out completely, and then kill her!"

"... Why are you so obsessed with an undead creature?"

Gabriel couldn't understand why this man kept chasing Angela. From the very beginning, he had been specifically targeting that undead creature, driving her all the way here. Although Gabriel herself was deeply troubled by this, he was, after all, an emissary directly sent by the God of Justice, so no matter how much she disliked him, she couldn't disobey his orders. But now, she had to find out the truth.

"While I admit that the undead creature appears to be a figure of considerable status within the Magic Empire, we are not facing just a legion or a single commander, but the entire Magic Empire! I believe our actions should be more cautious. But why did you..."

"Why?"

This time, the man's voice was much colder, and Gabriel could even hear a trace of hatred in it.

"Because she dared to call me a lowly human! That damned brat!!"

At this point, the man actually clenched his fist and swung it forcefully in the air.

"That foolish brat dared to look down on me! Well then, I'll make her pay! I'll kill her, I'll make her suffer a torment worse than death, I'll teach her forever how to respect others! Although she hasn't shown me respect yet, I'll make her. So what if she's an undead creature? That kind of trash is beneath my notice. Similarly, I can't tolerate a piece of trash daring to despise me!!"

"..."

Faced with the man who was showing his anger for the first time, Gabriel was speechless.

She racked her brains but never imagined that what had driven this man to chase Angela all this way was just a single sentence? And that one sentence had plunged 300,000 soldiers into utter danger?! Just to vent his anger? Had he gone mad? This was no befitting an army commander!

You can't do that, Your Excellency!

In her panic, even the Archangel had to intervene. She had initially assumed the man's reckless advance was due to some strategic plan, but she hadn't expected that he had no strategy at all; he was simply there to cause trouble! It was understandable that the Archangel hadn't considered this possibility; as a high-ranking, lawful being, she considered everything according to order and rules. In her view, this man possessed immense power and was a messenger directly sent by the God of Justice, so his reckless advance must have its reasons. However, even the Archangel hadn't anticipated that this so-called "reason" was, in fact, utterly unreasonable.

This is completely beyond the scope of the archangel's thinking.

Although the archangel had always obeyed this man's orders, it was largely due to the limitations of his own rank. But now, faced with the man's chaos, the "law" in the angel's blood had taken over for the first time.

"I'm sorry, I cannot carry out your order. I must lead the army to retreat immediately! If we are surrounded by undead creatures here, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the man's gaze shifted to the girl in front of him, who was proudly holding her head high and looking at him with resentment.

"You mean I'm going to lose this battle? In all these battles, have I ever lost a single one? Why do you think I'm destined to lose this one?!"

"I..."

Faced with the opponent's unreasonable accusations, Gabriel was momentarily speechless. Because he had never lost before, he wouldn't lose again? What kind of logic was that?

It sounds reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't really make any sense.

Faced with this man's words, Gabriel was completely at a loss for words. She was utterly speechless. Perhaps she could consult with Catherine, but Catherine was currently leading a portion of the army in logistical support and reconnaissance work in the rear, not here at all. So what should she do? Should she retreat?

"Besides, do you really think you can just withdraw your troops now that it's said so?"

It must be said that Gabriel himself felt quite helpless when the man said those words.

She also understood that after these victories, most of the soldiers had placed all their hopes on this mysterious man. Even as the Archangel, her prestige was not as high as his. Moreover, now that they could see the City of the Federation, the soldiers, with their morale high, were eager for battle. If she were to order a retreat now, based on threats that could not be verified, it would be a very bad start for everyone. Therefore, just as the man had said, even if she wanted to order a retreat now, it was impossible.

Realizing this, Gabriel could only sigh helplessly, then turned and left. Now, all she could hope was that the battle would indeed proceed smoothly, just as the man had said.

Why would the God of Justice send such a person to lead his people?

For the first time, this question arose deep within the Archangel's heart.

If Catherine were to hear Gabriel's question, she would undoubtedly dismissively tell her that the God of Justice is, in fact, nothing worthy of worship. And right now, she clearly doesn't have the time for that.

Under the holy light, the gathered undead creatures once again fled in disarray. Catherine lowered her raised hands, let out a long sigh, and put the magical pendant back into her bosom.

"Lady Catherine."

As she landed on the ground, the paladin behind her hurriedly led his horse over.

"These days, the attacks from the undead seem to be getting more and more frequent, this..."

"Just as I suspected, they might be plotting something."

Catherine took the reins from the knight, frowning and remaining silent.

"To be honest, I've been very worried. That official has stretched the logistical supply lines far too far, which is putting immense pressure on us. And given the current situation, if those undead creatures were to launch a flanking attack from the rear, it could very well lead to a major disaster."

"But Lady Catherine."

The other soldier clearly didn't agree with her statement.

"Based on our previous battles, these undead creatures are completely devoid of intelligence. How could they possibly understand these things?"

"They don't understand, but the people who manipulate them certainly can't be ignorant."

Catherine shook her head, her expression growing increasingly serious and uneasy.

"Don't forget, these undead are being manipulated, so their future is completely unpredictable. Although on the surface we do have the upper hand, think carefully, have they really suffered any losses? What have they lost? Their undead army? Those poor undead whose bodies and souls were manipulated? They were already dead, so what losses could they possibly have? The Magic Empire isn't a capital ruled by the undead. We've annihilated so many undead, allowing so many innocent souls to enjoy peace again... But I still haven't seen the limits of the Magic Empire."

Hearing this, those around her felt uneasy. They admitted that Catherine's words weren't without merit, but in some ways, her concerns were excessive. Since the emergence of the Magic Empire, their method had always been to use an undead army to attack and destroy every city and fortress. They had almost never seen them use any other methods. Besides, even if those Magic Empire members were hiding some tricks, this massive undead army was still their main force. As long as they could eliminate this undead army, it would naturally be a significant blow to the Magic Empire.

So when these soldiers heard Catherine's words, they were somewhat dismissive, but since Catherine was of noble status, they didn't say anything more.

Let's stop talking about this.

Catherine seemed to notice the change in atmosphere, gave a wry smile, and then mounted her horse.

"Let's do one more round of inspections, then go back to rest. After all, we just finished inspecting the transported supplies, and everyone must be a bit tired. So..."

At this point, Catherine stopped speaking and looked into the distance, where a black dot was rapidly approaching. This immediately tensed the group, who had been somewhat relaxed. They quickly mounted their horses, gripped their weapons, and watched the black dot warily. Only when it drew closer did they realize that it was the scout they had sent out to patrol the area earlier.

After Catherine took over the defense of logistics, the United Kingdom allocated approximately ten thousand men to her command. Once in control of this logistics force, Catherine dispatched numerous scouts to patrol the supply routes and the army's rear to prevent any problems. While no one verbally objected to her actions, they were inwardly somewhat uneasy. They didn't believe the undead were that intelligent, but since the saintess had acted this way, they could only remain silent.

But this time, the scout's face was filled with fear and unease.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!!"

What happened?!

Facing the scout charging towards her, Catherine's expression changed, and she shouted sharply. This calmed the scout, who had been somewhat flustered. He rode his horse to Catherine's side, and without dismounting to pay his respects, he spoke directly, his face pale.

"Your Highness, there are undead creatures gathering in the west, numbering around fifty thousand!"

"Fifty thousand?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

"What are their goals?"

Catherine waved to signal the people behind her to calm down, then continued to ask questions.

"They, they, their target seems to be the expeditionary force... they're heading towards the City of the Federation!"

Although this intelligence was somewhat unexpected, the group didn't pay too much attention to it. A mere 50,000 undead creatures compared to the allied forces' 300,000! They were nothing to fear!

But at that moment, the figures of several other scouts also appeared from different directions.

"Your Highness, a large number of undead creatures are gathering on the eastern front and heading towards the City of the Federation, numbering approximately one hundred thousand!"

"Your Highness, we have detected 50,000 undead creatures gathering from the south; their target is likely the City of the Federation!"

"Reporting to Your Highness..."

Reports quickly reached Catherine, and the previously relaxed expressions of the group grew increasingly somber. The intelligence gathered from these scouts revealed that the undead had amassed an army of 500,000 and were launching a flanking attack on the allied forces from the rear!

In fact, this is not surprising at all. After all, the undead are not human. They do not need supplies, nor do they need to gather or rest. They can gather and act at any time. And now, judging by the speed of those undead, they will probably reach their destination before dusk!

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

Looking at Catherine's serious expression, the group asked anxiously. They had never imagined that Catherine's worries would actually come true.

We must inform them immediately!

Ultimately, Catherine made her decision.

"Immediately send messengers to the allied forces to inform them of the undead gathering. I will advance as soon as the remaining troops are assembled. Hopefully... hopefully we still have time."

In another place, however, some people clearly do not see it that way.

"I don't have that much time right now, human!"

Angela stood in front of the professor, staring at him with displeasure.

"I know."

Faced with the murderous glint in those bright red eyes, the professor simply shrugged.

"But you can't rush things, can you? As the saying goes, haste makes waste. What you need now is patience, kid. Look, I can maintain enough patience with a half-naked beauty wrapped in a bath towel. At least I have time to take precautions before doing anything else, right? Patience is very important; it's also a guarantee against pregnancy and illness."

"How dare a human who hasn't even lived a hundred years ask me to have patience?"

Angela snorted coldly.

When I was born, you weren't even sperm!

"Then there's still a possibility that I'm an egg."

The professor remained completely unfazed by Angela's anger.

"Listen up, kid. I'm researching these damn things, and this sex toy you brought back that can be used as a vibrating egg, so even if you're in a hurry, you'll have to wait patiently. Judging by your age, you don't seem to be menstruating yet, do you Vampire Species menstruate every day? Then I understand why vampires need fresh blood to replenish themselves..."

"... Do you think I wouldn't dare to make a move, human?"

"If you dare to try, you can give it a shot. Maybe in actual combat I can more quickly understand how to possess this interesting Power of Origin."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Angela finally looked away.

"God knows if you're only patient because you're impotent, human."

"If you grow a little older, I wouldn't mind proving my prowess in practice, kid."

The debate between the two sides thus came to an end.