CHAPTER 7.5: DIVERSION

***The border crossing of Chersea-Cherflammen***

It was an ordinary ‘market day’ at the demon outpost guarding the crossing into Cherflammen. Human merchants, doing business with the demon traders, would arrive at a designated place at the border, and exchange goods, be it food, clothes, weapons and armors, and even servants (there were some ‘manpower’ agencies at that time in Chersea).

“…”

Once a demon trader had finished conducting his business, he would return to the outpost to have his goods inspected, and levied tax dues. Then only after completing those requirements was he/she allowed to cross back into Cherflammen to have his/her products sold.

However, there was an additional task for the demon border guards. A fugitive demon was on the loose, according to the embassy of the Usarved demon lord, and that criminal might attempt to cross into Cherflammen in disguise, so they were on extra alert. A special identification device was activated, and they scanned every person, beast of burden or goods that went past them.

“…”

A few distances away from the demon outpost was a small camp of Paladin Guards. They were sent there to monitor the activities on the border, especially there was that fugitive demon. Word that came to them said that though the house of this person was burned and leveled, his body was never found, so it’s possible that he may have had escaped their comrades’ cordon of the area.

As such, they were also on high alert.

By lunch, the merchants had already wrapped up their business for the day, and the ‘marketplace’ was now empty. What’s left were the people trying to enter Chersea, or those going to Cherflammen. Still, there were no signs of anyone who fits the description of the fugitive given to them attempting to cross…

That is, until…

“Milady,” a paladin called the attention of her superior. “Look over there.”

The paladin squad leader took out her spyglass and looked towards the direction her soldier pointed at. There was a cloud of dust whipped up by a dozen of unknown cavalry heading their way. She asked her subordinate, “Can you identify them?”

The paladin borrowed the spyglass and said, “They have no flags, milady!”

“Prepare yourselves,” the squad leader told them. “We might be going in for some skirmish.”

“Will the demons at the outpost join us?”

“I don’t know,” the squad leader drew her sword. “But they better be, or Her Holiness the Human Saint would see their inaction as a hostile move against the humans of Chersea.”

----------

On the demon outpost, they were also alerted by the incoming cavalry with no flags for identification. As the demons interpret this as a sign that those forces were immediately hostile, the outpost commander put his soldiers on standby, closed the border and asked the people crossing to Cherflammen and Chersea to escape away from the area for the meantime.

“Bring out the cannons!”

“On your positions!”

“Raise the war flag!”

Within a few moments, the demon outpost was bristling with guns, both heavy and light. The demon soldiers also fitted bayonets into their muskets, ready to fight off the incoming cavalry if they charged at them.

“…”

Everyone at the border crossing was silent, as they waited for the cavalry to arrive. However, the dust and sand the horses made suddenly disappeared, along with their riders.

And monsters of horrifying appearances showed up to attack the two forces.

“Wha—” the paladins were surprised by transformation. They barely lifted their lances just as the first monster crashed on their group. Armed only with swords, lances and light arms, the paladins fought with skill and ferocity as their enemies, who tried to pummel them with powerful attacks.

“Fire at will!” Likewise, on the demon side, they were also confronted by a group of monsters. Their accurate artillery fire shredded off the body of the first in their line of fire, while their musketry hit the subsequent attacks.

The ‘battle’ raged for a while, though the longer it dragged, the more the defenders realized it was a ‘no contest’ conflict. The monsters just attacked at random, which they easily suppressed and the creature killed. In the end, the demon and human side even cooperated with one another in destroying the survivors of that group.

“…”

In conclusion, and as they wrapped up the ‘battlefield’, the paladin squad leader and the demon commander wondered what were those monsters for.

“…”

They didn’t know that the answer could be found at the Chersea-Cherwind border. The fugitive demon, the Lord Haya, had freely crossed into Cherwind, and took the train to the city of Malvette, where he planned to catch a ship going to Cherwoods, and into Cherflammen itself.