Taking in the scent of blood in the air, Olthagia's brows relaxed slightly.
He felt quite pleased.
For creatures like Demons, a peaceful life might be tolerable, but it always lacked a certain flavor.
The great purge taking place in the royal capital today suited his tastes perfectly, granting him a rare sense of tranquility.
As for the matter they were currently handling, Olthagia didn't particularly care. He had no interest in whether other Demons entered this world or not. After all, given his current strength, he had no ability to conquer this world. Like a rat that had sneaked into a granary, he might eat his fill, but that was the extent of it.
Thus, he held no strong opinions about other Demons trying to break in. If they could enter, so be it. If not, it didn't matter.
Still, if the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind killing a few Demons. After all, slaying a powerful Demon could earn him a tidy profit—no reason to pass up free gains.
Gazing through the layers of earth above him at the moon in the sky, he stretched lazily. "...I really want to move around..."
He missed the simple days in the Bottomless Abyss, where it was just "you kill me, I kill you."
In the next instant, his figure dissolved into an illusory bubble and vanished from the basement.
———
By the time the sky was about to brighten,
both sides had finally completed their respective tasks and gathered before the palace.
The moment they met, Saffi took the initiative to complain, "Your Highness Jem, I feel our church got the short end of the stick in this deal. We only intended to prevent the Demon's descent, yet we ended up helping you deal with over a dozen cults and five or six underground factions—completely outside the scope of our mission!"
Clearly, he wanted Jem.Woz to cough up more.
In response, Jem.Woz merely waved his hand with a smile. "How can you say that? Our Maddon Duchy has already paid, and from what I see, your church's forces may look tired, but the casualties are minimal. So, why not let the capable handle more?"
The implication was clear: the deal was already set, and there was no way he was paying extra.
Saffi simply smiled faintly, saying nothing more. He knew further words would be wasted.
The man before him had a face at least as thick as his own—not someone easily fooled.
Silently giving him an evaluation that was neither high nor low, Saffi's gaze drifted to the blood-stained carriages behind Jem.Woz. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he remarked with a smile, "It seems Your Highness also ran into quite a bit of trouble!"
Jem.Woz shook his head, his expression casual as he replied with a laugh, "What can I do? When so many traitors suddenly surfaced, as the crown prince, I couldn't rest easy until they were all dealt with. To serve as a warning to others, I even had my soldiers behead them—planning to pile their heads at the city gates as a deterrent."
Saffi advised, "They're already dead, Your Highness. Doing this will invite gossip. It's hardly appropriate!"
"Just minor issues, not worth mentioning. Let's tidy up and prepare to enter the palace. Though this is an investigation, the palace still represents the dignity of the Maddon Duchy. I hope the Bishop can instruct his clergy to exercise some restraint."
"Naturally, I understand that much."
Not long after, when both sides had rested sufficiently, Jem Woz approached the palace gates. With two gestures from him, the doors were opened from within without a single word exchanged.
Facing this situation, Shar frowned slightly. 'It seems he's already secured control over all the key locations in the Marton Kingdom.'
"Let's go..."
Without concerning himself with their thoughts, Jem took the lead, riding his Warhorse as he entered the palace first.
However, what Jem Woz didn't expect was that upon entering, he immediately saw a familiar figure standing not far away, their back turned to him.
After a flicker of emotions crossed his face, he dismounted and knelt on one knee. "Mother, it's been a long time."
Without turning around, the other replied coldly, "I have no son like you."
Her voice was filled with icy detachment.
Unfazed by her coldness, Jem Woz maintained his composure. "There are cultists hiding in the capital now, attempting to create major trouble. The palace itself is at risk, so I need to conduct a search. I hope you won't take offense."
She scoffed disdainfully. "Take offense? Hmph, would anything I say matter now?"
With that, she walked away without even glancing at her son, Jem Woz.
Though Shar's expression remained neutral, he sensed there was much more to this story. No mother and son should be on such hostile terms without deeper reasons.
After she left, Jem Woz stood up calmly and gestured lightly to the soldiers and priests behind him. "Begin the search. Try not to damage anything."
Only Shar noticed the distant look in Jem Woz's eyes, as if lost in memory.
Clearly, his inner turmoil far exceeded his composed exterior.
But Shar didn't pry. He knew what kind of person Jem Woz was—if something had unsettled him this much, there was surely a reason he wouldn't share.
So he simply stood by quietly, doing nothing.
Not long after, the search concluded.
They confirmed the palace was clear of any threats.
Following Jem Woz's orders, they moved on to the next location.
Staring at the building ahead, Shar reined in his Warhorse, his expression grave. "I think we've found our target."
"Since they sensed our approach and couldn't hide, they've dropped all pretenses?"
Feeling the building's unusually ominous atmosphere, Jem Woz analyzed coolly, "They must have deduced our intentions from our movements in the city. Now they're resorting to desperate measures."
'Beast Fighting Arena—one of the capital's largest structures. Its overseer position rotates among royal family members. If I recall correctly, my uncle Richard Woz is currently in charge. For the Twisted Spirit Society to use it as a hideout—was it his negligence, or something else...?'
After a moment's thought, he dismissed the question.
A pressing challenge now stood before him. The Beast Fighting Arena had been constructed with an additional purpose—serving as the [Royal Capital's Defensive Fortress]. Consequently, its specifications were exceptionally high. The outer walls stood nearly thirty-five meters tall, making them insurmountable for ordinary people, even with ropes—only Knights could scale them. The gates were made of ironwood reinforced with metal, resistant to fire and blades, and even a battering ram would take considerable time to break through.
Faced with this fortress looming before him, Jem Woz immediately abandoned any thought of using the main entrance.
After a brief flicker in his gaze, he raised his hand and shouted, "All Knights and Grand Knights, equip your wall-climbing hooks and prepare for an assault! Those below Knight rank, switch to bows and arrows—wrap oil-soaked cloth around the arrowheads and fire them inside!"
Unlike on Earth, where sieges relied on large-scale equipment like siege ladders, this world's humans, empowered by supernatural abilities, had developed specialized tools. Wall-climbing hooks were one such invention, allowing limited vertical ascents. However, they were highly dependent on physical strength—losing stamina mid-climb often meant a fatal fall.
Moreover, these hooks required the use of all four limbs, leaving no hand free to hold a shield. This made climbers easy moving targets for defenders, rendering the hooks mostly useful for stealth operations. A frontal assault with them was practically suicidal.
Yet, despite the enemy's preparedness, Jem Woz refused to believe a group of shadow-dwelling cultists could hastily muster hundreds of defenders. At most, they might have a few dozen. With archer support, his force of over a thousand Knights and Grand Knights could storm the walls using the hooks. Casualties were inevitable, but within acceptable limits.
At his command, the soldiers and officers acted without hesitation, swiftly switching to wall-climbing hooks. However, the priests from the Heretic Hunting Division hesitated, their eyes turning to Saffi.
After a moment of internal struggle, Saffi clenched his teeth and ordered, "Knights and Grand Knights, equip your hooks and prepare for coordinated assault. Those below Knight rank, provide covering fire with arrows."
He knew sacrifices were unavoidable now. If the sacrificial ritual inside the Beast Fighting Arena were completed, allowing the Demon to fully manifest, the devastation would be far worse—an outcome he could not bear to witness.
Whatever his motives or ambitions toward Maddon Duchy, as a devout believer, his hatred for Demons was absolute. He would never tolerate such an atrocity unfolding before him.
With this order, the priests quickly followed suit, equipping themselves alongside Maddon Duchy's forces. For them, wall-climbing hooks were as standard as swords—specialized operations against cultists and vile creatures had made them even more proficient than most soldiers.
Once preparations were complete, volleys of flaming arrows rained down, eliciting screams from within the Beast Fighting Arena—the cries of struck cultists.
Timing the lull between arrow volleys, Jem Woz gave the order without hesitation: "Begin the assault!"
Over a thousand warriors equipped with grappling hooks clung to the city walls like lizards, swiftly scaling upward!
Many cultists attempted to knock them down during the climb, but relentless arrow volleys suppressed most of them, leaving only scattered individuals free to attack the climbers.
Though unable to counterattack, the climbers relied on sheer numerical superiority to break through the defenses despite casualties.
As more and more successfully reached the top, Jem Woz immediately ordered the archers to cease fire.
With the shift in numbers above, continuing would only risk hitting their own allies.
He didn't have to wait long—the grinding sound of metal scraping stone signaled the Beast Fighting Arena's gates being opened from within!
Jem Woz commanded: "All archers switch to melee weapons! Eliminate any resistance on sight!"