Chapter 385
Each one channeled their power into a coordinated ritual that Seraphina had spent weeks teaching them.
Dark purple energy began manifesting in the air, invisible to those without magical sight.
Seraphina raised both hands, her demon lord power amplifying and coordinating the individual casters into one massive spell.
"NOW!" she commanded.
The corruption spell activated.
A wave of dark magical energy erupted outward from Third Line in all directions, covering a three-hundred-yard radius.
The air itself seemed to darken, taking on a sickly purple tint. The ground began steaming as magical contamination seeped into earth and stone.
Human soldiers within the spell’s range felt it immediately.
Those with weak or no holy protection fell first.
A soldier named Garrick was running toward Third Line when the spell hit. He felt sudden burning in his lungs, his eyes, his skin. He looked down at his hands and watched his flesh begin to blister and blacken.
He screamed. Tried to run. Collapsed after three steps, his contaminated body shutting down.
He died in twenty seconds, his final sight being his own hands rotting off his arms.
Fifty soldiers died in the first fifteen seconds—those with no holy protection at all.
Another hundred fell in the next thirty seconds—those with only basic holy protection that couldn’t withstand demonic contamination of this intensity.
Those with stronger holy protection—priests, blessed warriors, soldiers carrying holy relics—felt the spell’s effects but survived. Their skin burned, their breathing became labored, but they lived.
But they couldn’t advance. The contaminated zone was too dangerous.
Lieutenant Daren felt his holy protection amulet heat up against his chest, burning his skin as it fought against the corruption spell. He pulled his horse to a stop, seeing soldiers ahead of him falling dead.
"RETREAT!" he shouted. "Fall back! Contaminated zone! RETREAT!"
—----------------------------’;
Captain Marcus had been coordinating pursuit from a position five hundred yards behind the leading elements.
When the corruption spell activated, he saw it from distance—the purple darkening of air, the soldiers falling, the panic spreading.
"Contamination spell!" he shouted to his command staff. "Demon lord-level magic! Get runners to Commander Elric immediately! All forces retreat from Third Line! Establish defensive perimeter outside contamination range!"
He watched helplessly as approximately one hundred fifty soldiers died in the first minute of the spell’s activation.
Those with adequate holy protection fled in organized retreat, pulling back to safe distance.
Those without adequate protection either died where they stood or fled in panic, some falling dead even as they ran from the contaminated zone.
Marcus made rapid assessments.
"Get priests up here! We need divine protection extended to our front lines! And get scouts counting enemy positions inside Third Line! I need intelligence on how many defenders actually made it to their fallback position!"
His officers scrambled to obey.
Behind Marcus, human forces regrouped outside the contamination zone’s range, establishing defensive positions while the purple magical energy slowly dissipated over the next ninety seconds.
—----------------------
Commander Elric received the report with cold fury.
"One hundred fifty-three dead from contamination spell. Another sixty-two dead during pursuit. Eighty-seven wounded. Total casualties from retreat and contamination: three hundred two."
Lieutenant Thorne delivered the numbers with professional detachment, though even he looked shaken.
"So the settlement sacrificed Second Line but successfully retreated to Third Line, and in the process killed over three hundred of our soldiers with a prepared ambush using corruption magic." Elric’s voice was quiet and dangerous.
"Yes, sir. The retreat was deliberate. They baited us into pursuit, then activated a wide-area contamination spell when our forces were concentrated outside Third Line."
Captain Marcus entered the tent, his face grim. "Sir, I’ve analyzed the spell’s characteristics. That was coordinated corruption magic—approximately two hundred casters working in synchronized ritual. The magical signature matches Seraphina’s corruption specialists."
Elric’s eyes narrowed. "Seraphina’s forces. Not just demon warriors, but her actual corruption specialists."
"It appears so, sir. The spell’s structure, the contamination type, the coordination required—it all points to trained corruption casters, not regular demon warriors."
"So Seraphina sent reinforcements." Elric studied the tactical map with renewed focus. "The question is whether she’s here personally or if she just sent her specialists to support the settlement."
"We haven’t detected any demon lord presence directly," Thorne reported. "No overwhelming aura, no reality-warping effects, none of the signs that usually accompany a demon lord’s physical presence."
"Which could mean she’s not here... or that she’s hiding her presence deliberately." Elric tapped the map thoughtfully. "Either way, this changes the tactical situation. If Seraphina sent two hundred corruption specialists, that’s a significant force multiplier. If she’s here personally..." He paused. "Then we’re facing not just a fortified settlement, but a demon lord-defended position."
Marcus spoke carefully. "Sir, the contamination spell killed one hundred fifty-three soldiers in ninety seconds. If Seraphina herself is present and decides to enter combat..."
"I’m aware of the implications, Captain." Elric’s jaw tightened. "A demon lord in direct combat can kill hundreds of soldiers before being brought down. That’s precisely why the Church summoned the Four Heroes."
"So we deploy them tomorrow?" Thorne asked.
Elric considered the question with the weight of four decades’ military experience.
"The settlement has revealed they have access to Seraphina’s corruption specialists. That’s confirmed. Whether Seraphina herself is present remains uncertain, but we have to assume the worst-case scenario and plan accordingly."
He traced troop positions on the map.
"Tomorrow we assault Third Line with full force. All twenty-three hundred soldiers. And yes—we deploy the Four Heroes from the beginning. No more holding them in reserve. No more testing conventional approaches."
"The heroes will want to know what they’re facing," Marcus noted.
"Tell them the settlement has demon warrior support and corruption specialists confirmed. Possible demon lord presence—either Loki or Seraphina, potentially both. They need to be prepared for demon lord combat." Elric’s expression was grim. "This is exactly the scenario the Church summoned them for. Tomorrow they earn their divine mandate."
"What’s our current strength?" Thorne asked.
"Twenty-three hundred effective soldiers after today’s casualties. Intelligence suggests the settlement is down to approximately six hundred forty effective fighters."
"Still nearly four-to-one advantage, sir."