Karnak, Monarch of Death

The second day of the capital assault dawned. Once again, the Twilight army set out boldly. And once again, they began circling Thea Krahan. Calling it circling was an exaggeration. In reality, they simply started from the south and walked partway along the western walls. It would take more than a full day to walk completely around such a massive city.

As they marched, they blew horns, beat drums, and shouted.

”In the name of Serakal, we command!”

”Collapse! Collapse! Collapse!”

The leadership of the Black God’s army could not help but waver. They started to doubt whether they should really stand by and watch. They couldn’t help but think that this was a mere distraction. The enemy’s real attack was taking place somewhere else. Or perhaps that was exactly what the enemy wanted them to think.

In truth, it was not only the Black God’s faction that was confused. Many within the Twilight army also did not understand what was happening.

According to the Twilight Order, this was a ritual to pray for victory from the Goddess of Twilight, Serakal. It was a ceremony performed before battle to receive her blessing.

The seven traditional goddess churches also had similar pre-battle rites, so it was not entirely strange. However, why did they have to perform such rites at the enemy’s doorsteps? And was all the noise and ruckus really necessary?

At present, the Twilight army included a considerable number of volunteers gathered from across the empire. Those deeply devoted to the Twilight Order would follow any command without question, but these people were different.

”Doesn’t this feel a bit... cult-like?”

”Well, it’s hard to say anything for sure...”

”Wasn’t the Twilight Order always kind of like a cult anyway?”

”That’s true.”

By chance and timing, it had rapidly expanded its influence, but to the educated, it still strongly carried the air of a heterodox sect. And today was even worse than yesterday. In the midst of marching around the capital, the Twilight Saint herself stepped forward.

Clad in a beauty that transcended the mortal realm, she stood before all and raised her hand to the sky in prayer. ”Serakal, may your will descend upon this land...”

The heavens opened, and a beautiful pillar of light descended, enveloping Serati. At the sight of the saint bathed in sunset hues, the Twilight believers raised their voices even louder.

”Collapse! Collapse! Collapse!”

To anyone watching, it looked exactly like a fanatical cult.

Malican Thun clicked his tongue while watching through a farsighted crystal. ”It looks impressive enough, but what exactly did they accomplish?”

In the end, he found no answer. Same as always, they left after shouting for a while. Holding her forehead, Elezar let out a sigh. If it had been her in the past, she would have ignored such nonsense and crushed the enemy with overwhelming magic. But given who the opponent was, she could not act recklessly. ”How irritating, truly.”

***

It was the third day of the assault on the capital. This time, the Twilight army’s formation changed. They split into eight divisions, positioning themselves as if to encircle all of Thea Krahan. And once again, they marched around the city, shouting at the top of their lungs. ”Collapse! Collapse! Collapse!”

The leadership of the Black God’s faction deliberated. The enemy had separated themselves into smaller factions, which provided a perfect setup to defeat them separately. However, that would require them to step outside the capital. At last, Karnak’s intentions seemed somewhat clearer.

”Is it a trap?”

”That’s how it appears, at least...”

Yet even that conclusion felt like it could itself be a deception. They had been tricked too many times not to be wary.

”Then what was all that drumming and horn-blowing outside the walls? Just a simple provocation?”

”Or perhaps it was meant to make us think that, so we’d stay locked in our positions?”

”And if we do stay put, what disadvantage is there?”

”None in particular...”

They couldn’t figure it out. No matter how they thought about it, they weren’t put at a disadvantage by staying within the stronghold. But they had thought the same before, and been thoroughly blindsided.

After deliberation, Giyen Ren spoke. ”Rather than trying to decipher his intentions, let us make our move while keeping every variable in check.”

They would reinforce their defenses completely and distribute reserve forces throughout. That way, they would be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. The other martial kings, archmages, and fallen popes all agreed.

”Let’s do that.”

”We can’t afford to make the same foolish mistake again.”

***

On the fourth day, the Twilight army once again split into eight divisions and encircled the capital from all directions. The Black God’s army did not react. They simply maintained their positions and guarded their respective strongholds like iron walls.

Confirming this through necromantic reconnaissance, Karnak nodded. ”Well, they’re not idiots.”Then he smiled coldly. ”Which is exactly why they’ve fallen for it.”

He raised his wand and lightly swept it through the air. Red, blue, and yellow flames shot into the sky above the capital, bursting into brilliant fireworks. It was a simple command.

—All forces, advance.

***

The eight divisions of the Twilight army scaled the walls all at once. They ran through shattered buildings beneath the blood-red sky, trampling the ashen earth as they charged forward with fierce momentum.

From all across the city, countless undead, monsters, enslaved dragons, and corrupted elves surged forth to meet the Twilight forces.

”A new world will soon be born!”

”In the name of Tesranach, we bring death!”

The two armies in the south, closest to the grand cathedral, were the first to engage. Five thousand troops led by Leven and Dios clashed against nearly twenty thousand of the Black God’s army in a fierce battle. Fierce battles soon erupted in the east and west as well.

Finally, from the north, Karnak, Varos, and Serati entered the city together. As they passed through the ruined streets, Serati asked.

—What exactly have we been doing for the past three days?

Until now, she had deliberately avoided asking about the plan. It wasn’t just because she feared enemy necromantic surveillance. If that were the only concern, they could have simply used telepathic communication to discuss strategy.

The real issue was them actually knowing the strategy. For the most part, everyone had lived honest, upright lives. They weren’t exactly skilled at lying. They couldn’t help but become awkward whenever they tried to lie and deceive. As such, it was better to tell them nothing and simply have them follow orders.

—But you can tell me now, can’t you?

Karnak nodded in agreement.

—Well, Serati, you’ve gotten almost as good at lying as me lately.

The crimson-haired woman’s expression darkened. She didn’t like that he was comparing himself to her.

—Wow, I just felt a slight urge to kill myself.

In any case, she was curious. Marching around the walls while blowing horns and beating drums? What kind of grand plan required something like that?

”You’re wondering what’s going to happen?” Karnak smiled faintly. ”Nothing. Absolutely nothing is going to happen.”

”What?” Serati’s eyes widened. ”Then why did we do all that?”

Karnak’s smile deepened. ”Because they won’t think that way.”

***

What was Karnak’s group’s objective? Naturally, it was to eliminate Tesranach.

So how could they accomplish that? The best method would be for Karnak and his allies to swarm Tesranach alone and beat him down. Of course, there was no guarantee of victory even then. The opponent was that powerful, but it still offered the highest chance.

However, that scenario was impossible. Tesranach had many powerful subordinates. There was no way they would simply stand by while their master was attacked. If Karnak’s group swarmed in, the enemy would swarm in as well.

If Tesranach, the Black God’s martial kings, archmages, and fallen popes all gathered together, and humanity’s strongest fighters did the same, it would devolve into chaotic melee. Moreover, it would mean certain defeat.

Karnak continued.

—Our plan was never to overpower Tesranach head-on, was it?

—That’s true.

They were still outmatched in raw power. Their only option was to exploit an opening through surprise. But in a chaotic melee, that became impossible. Even if Tesranach showed a momentary weakness, his subordinates would immediately cover for him. They had to sever the coordination between Tesranach and his forces.

—Dividing and defeating them would be ideal, but that’s impossible in the current situation.

During the first battle for the capital, they had succeeded in isolating enemies by luring them into traps and defeating them individually. They had still failed to stop Tesranach’s descent, but that had been a strategic failure. Tactically, they had still achieved their goal.

They had believed victory would come if they detonated the Shadow of Doom, and they had done so at the right moment. But that approach would not work now.

The enemy outnumbered them significantly. Even if they lured some into traps, those who avoided them could simply rush in.

So Karnak devised a different strategy. Instead of dividing and conquering, they would create scattered battles. From the outset, they split the Twilight army into fragments and attacked enemy strongholds simultaneously.

While Tesranach’s forces were fully engaged across multiple fronts, Karnak would lead the Twilight Saint straight to Tesranach! If executed well, it would allow them to reach their target in the shortest possible time.

But the plan had one major flaw. It required the Black God’s army to simply watch as the Twilight forces scattered and charged in pieces.

They were already at a numerical disadvantage. It was a wild idea to split their forces even further and scatter them across the capital. In that case, the Black God’s army could simply march out of the city and defeat them in detail. Divided, the Twilight forces would be crushed without being able to even mount proper resistance. That was precisely why Karnak had orchestrated such a bizarre spectacle.

—Didn’t I say this before? Misdirection is a necromancer’s essential virtue.

How would the Twilight army’s antics appear to the Black God’s Cult? Under normal circumstances, they would remain cautiously vigilant and act according to sound military doctrine. They were not fools who would react to every trick the enemy played.

But their opponent was Karnak. This was the very man who had consistently, diligently, and relentlessly stabbed the Black God’s Cult in the back time and time again. They simply could not ignore it.

—Is his goal to make us leave our positions?

—Or is his goal to make sure we can’t leave them?

—Which is it?

—Which choice is safer? Which brings us closer to victory?

Once people fell into suspicion and doubt, most reacted the same way.

—They become extremely conservative.

They focused on protecting what they had, avoiding risks, and minimizing losses.

—That’s not inherently bad, but in a situation like this, it’s no different from doing nothing.

Serati understood Karnak’s words. Even as the Twilight army advanced from all directions, the Black God’s forces did not abandon their assigned defensive positions. Even after battle began, they did not coordinate counterattacks with other strongholds.

They couldn’t afford to. They had already committed all spare forces to monitoring every situation and responding to every possible variable. Seeing this, it almost felt wrong to say Karnak didn’t understand people.

He understands them extremely well—just in the worst possible way.

But it was still too early to relax. They had succeeded in pinning down the enemy and forcing scattered engagements, but if the Twilight forces at each stronghold could not hold out, the entire plan would collapse. And they were facing legendary martial kings, archmages, and fallen popes.

—Well, that’s not something I can control. We’ll just have to trust our promising future martial kings.

—Can future martial kings really defeat the current ones?

Karnak gave a faint smile.

—I’ve already set things in motion. Now we just have to hope it unfolds as expected. Or perhaps we should pray to the Goddess of Twilight?

Her expression twisted strangely.

—That’s me, isn’t it? What exactly are you expecting by praying to me?