The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

At the start of the war, Isa was leading the resistance fighters in defending the rear camp.

While it was said to be defending the rear camp, it was more that the resistance army had completed its historical mission and could now wait peacefully for the war to end.

Many people are already discussing what they should do after the war ends. Sam wants to go to a gray-collar job, reunite with his parents, and then decide what to do next.

Layton, on the other hand, wanted to join the Grey and White Collars' army, preferably the Third Army.

But Isa's mind wasn't on that. Isa always had a lingering sense of foreboding. From escaping from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation, to the meteorite that fell from the sky in Luye, and then leading the resistance in guerrilla warfare in the North, Isa had actually realized that she was special.

Everything was going too smoothly. At crucial moments, she would always unleash amazing luck. In the later stages of guerrilla warfare, Isa would even deliberately use this luck to put herself in relatively dangerous situations.

But even in the most dangerous times, I never had such an ominous premonition.

Soon, a whisper suddenly came from the Golden Harvest Plain not far away.

"I am Noam, the supreme commander under the Demon King, here to announce your demise!"

Isa's heart tightened, and she immediately looked up towards the direction of the Golden Harvest Plain. At the same time, she looked back at her fellow resistance fighters, who were also looking blankly towards the Golden Harvest Plain.

Did you hear that too?

Layton was the first to react and asked the resistance fighters around him.

"Yes, yes, what is that sound?"

The resistance soldiers all looked rather solemn. After all, although most of them had never been to school, they still knew what the Demon King meant.

Isa took out the monocular telescope that Linde had given her from her bosom, and followed a group of people to a high slope, gazing at the distant battlefield.

Immediately afterwards, the resistance fighters saw the grotesque and twisted monsters on the battlefield, and behind these monsters, the Noam, which resembled a small mountain.

Layton felt his teeth chattering. Dark clouds hung low, the sky was gloomy, and the battlefield was like the entrance to hell, with smoke and fire intertwined.

Man-eating, twisted monsters ravaged the battlefield. The once invincible Grey Collar soldiers could only fight and retreat. Countless Dogger soldiers became food for the monsters. Even the Grey Collar artillery, which Layton thought was invincible, could only barely hold back these monsters, even with continuous firing.

Adding to the chaos, the Doug army charged directly into the Gray Collars' camp, making the battlefield even more chaotic. Huge monsters, leading a group of humanoid sludge, advanced across the battlefield, while the human army scattered and fled under the pressure of these monsters. Their cries of agony could even be heard clearly by the resistance fighters on the hillside.

Even from such a great distance, the resistance fighters could still feel an indescribable sense of oppression, as if every move the monster made would push the despair of the battlefield toward them.

Soldiers on the battlefield were torn apart, crushed, bitten, and swallowed at will, like scarecrows. Even with the absence of Doug soldiers at the forefront of the battlefield, the Gray Collar army alone could hardly stop the monsters' attack.

The resistance fighters standing on the hillside gripped their weapons tightly, their palms sweating, their hearts pounding. Some began to mutter to themselves, as if in prayer, while others were pale, their lips trembling, their eyes filled with terror.

Especially the whisper of the largest monster on the other side, like a cry from hell, had the power to drag people into the abyss.

“This is not war anymore…” a soldier said in a low voice, his voice filled with barely concealed terror, “This is the end of the world.”

Isa put away her monoculars and quickly recovered from her fear, because she was thinking more about what would happen if the monsters won.

If these monsters win and break through the Gray-White Collar army on the Golden Harvest Plain, they will truly enter the Northern Territory and run rampant there without restraint. Isa has already seen it; those monsters will turn people into monsters as well, and ordinary people have no ability to resist them.

If the First and Third Armies suffer heavy losses, Linde will likely have no choice but to consolidate his forces and abandon most of the territory for defense, at which point the situation will probably become very passive.

Recalling what had become of her compatriots at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation under the demons, Isa's anger and sense of responsibility overcame her fear.

Under no circumstances should the North fall under the rule of the demons, under no circumstances should it be allowed!

"No!"

Isa said firmly, "The situation isn't that bad yet. Now is the time when the front lines need us. Layton, go and form ranks!"

Layton initially thought he had misheard and asked, "Your Grace, are you serious? Even the Gray Collar army couldn't defeat those monsters. Aren't we just throwing our lives away if we go up there?"

Not only did Layton think so, but the resistance fighters behind him also thought so.

“I’ve observed that these monsters lack ranged attack methods, and while ordinary muskets can’t damage them, they can suppress them. As long as our attack is well-organized, we can stop these monsters from advancing.”

"As long as these monsters can be suppressed, the gray-collar workers' magical weapons can damage them."

The resistance fighters fell silent. Even if they usually respected the Holy Maiden, it was simply wishful thinking to expect her to suppress a monster that even the Gray Collar couldn't handle.

Seeing the silence of the crowd, Isa shouted, "Warriors, raise your heads!"

Isa's voice was clear and powerful, carrying an undeniable divine strength that made the resistance soldiers raise their heads again.

Just then, a beam of light broke through the clouds and shone behind Isa, forming a beautiful and holy pillar of light. Isa's expression was resolute and calm, with no fear in her eyes, but rather a resolute determination to die.

“We once swore to defend our homeland and protect our people, but what will happen if those monsters break through this line of defense? The army at the front is the most elite force in our northern territory. If they fail and these monsters penetrate deeper into the north, our people will either become monsters or become food for them.”

"Our land will fall, our faith will crumble, are we to bow down and surrender in this time of despair?"

Isa's voice echoed in the air like a sacred horn, striking the hearts of the soldiers.

“I understand your fear. I am just an ordinary person. I believe some of you have heard that I have even lost the protection of the Holy Light. I am more afraid than you are. But even if I am alone, I will go to the battlefield. When I became a saintess, I swore to the goddess and the governor that no matter whether I still have the protection of the Holy Light or not, I will fight for the people!”

After saying this, Isa slung a musket over her shoulder and, illuminated by the beam of light, walked down the hillside, preparing to head to the battlefield.

The resistance fighters, seemingly inspired, gradually straightened their bodies, their fear replaced by faith and determination, and their hands gripping their weapons no longer trembled.

"We swear to follow the Holy Maiden to the death!"

"They're just monsters, aren't they? Watch me push them back!"

The resistance fighters, who had been affected by Noam's whispers, regained their senses and made up their minds to follow Isa. They all silently lined up and headed to the battlefield.

Along the way, the resistance fighters even encountered many escaped Doug soldiers. Seeing the resistance fighters moving against the flow of traffic, some Doug soldiers kindly stepped forward to dissuade them, saying, "Are you crazy?! Humans can't defeat those monsters, not even the Gray Collars. What use are you ordinary people going up there? Run away!"

"If we let those monsters into the North, where can we escape to?"

"Escape to the capital, escape to the Giant God Mountains, or escape south—anything is fine."

"But only the North is my home."

The Doug soldiers fell silent, watching the contrarian column. Some Doug soldiers who had just looted the supply camp behind Gray Collar silently followed.

The resistance fighters didn't say much, but distributed their weapons to the newly joined soldiers. Many escaped professionals even silently joined Isa's team. By the time Isa arrived at the battlefield, the team had grown considerably since they set out, and many more professionals had joined them.

"Run! Run! You lowly humans deserve to be sacrifices for the Demon God's resurrection! But I will give you respect and let you be reborn as new warriors under the Demon God's command, to receive the baptism of holy blood!"

"Humans are nothing more than ants trying to shake a tree in the face of divine power!"

On the battlefield, Noam continued his whispering, further demoralizing the soldiers. Isa, watching the ever-growing number of soldiers behind her, shouted, "Don't underestimate humans! You monsters!"

A mixed force of resistance and Doug forces, led by Isa, charged the monsters.