The fourth day of battle began before the sun had fully risen above the horizon.
When I stepped out of the tent that morning, the sky still held dark shades mixed with the orange glow of dawn. The entire camp was already awake. Soldiers walked between the tents carrying equipment. Healers organized herbs and potions. Blacksmiths worked tirelessly to repair weapons damaged in previous battles.
Despite the victories of the past few days, no one seemed relaxed.
Everyone knew the war was far from over.
I watched the movement around the camp as I finished putting on my armor.
My body still felt the effects of the previous battles.
My muscles were heavy.
My mana reserves had not fully recovered.
Even so, I had to keep going.
There was no other choice.
A little later, I found the girls gathered around a campfire.
Scarlett was sitting while sharpening a small dagger.
Vespera was checking her bowstrings.
Lyannis was studying maps alongside several officers.
Liriel was organizing healing supplies.
Elara was talking with a few wounded soldiers who had improved during the night.
Rai'kanna was watching the horizon.
As soon as I approached, she spoke.
"Today will be worse."
I looked at her.
"You feel it too?"
"Yes."
Her eyes remained fixed on the distance.
"The demons are preparing something."
Scarlett crossed her arms.
"Good."
Vespera let out a sigh.
"You really need to stop getting excited about these things."
"I'm not excited."
"You are."
"Maybe a little."
Before the conversation could continue, the sound of a war horn echoed throughout the camp.
Everyone immediately became alert.
A soldier ran toward our position.
"The enemy troops have begun advancing."
I nodded.
"Then let's go."
Within minutes, we were marching toward our positions.
The front line stretched across an enormous area.
Thousands of soldiers waited.
Adventurers prepared their weapons.
Mages gathered mana.
The atmosphere was tense.
When I finally saw the enemy army approaching, I noticed something different.
The demonic formations were more organized.
Much more organized.
I didn't like that.
It meant someone was coordinating everything efficiently.
Perhaps an important commander was behind it.
The troops continued advancing.
Until the battle finally began.
The collision between the two armies came with the same violence as the previous days.
Explosions erupted everywhere.
Arrows crossed the skies.
Magic illuminated the battlefield.
Soldiers and demons collided in one enormous mass of combat.
I drew my sword and charged forward.
The first enemies appeared immediately.
One strike.
Then another.
And another.
The battle quickly engulfed me.
Combat surrounded me on every side.
But I soon realized that one sector was under far greater pressure than the others.
I looked in that direction.
A massive demonic formation was advancing aggressively.
At the front of that sector stood Rai'kanna.
She led hundreds of soldiers.
Her axe gleamed as she cut down enemy after enemy.
Even from a distance, her presence was unmistakable.
She advanced like an unstoppable wall.
The soldiers around her seemed to gain courage simply by watching her fight.
"Advance!"
Her voice echoed across the battlefield.
The soldiers responded immediately.
A massive charge began.
I watched while continuing to fight.
Rai'kanna carved a path through the demonic ranks.
Her enormous axe spun relentlessly.
Demons were hurled aside.
Others fell before they could even react.
The enemy formation began to collapse.
But then new opponents appeared.
Elite demons.
Even from afar, the difference was obvious.
Their armor was stronger.
Their weapons were infused with demonic energy.
And their coordination far surpassed that of ordinary soldiers.
Rai'kanna noticed immediately.
She smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"Finally, someone interesting."
Then she charged.
The clash between her and the elite warriors shook the ground.
The first was defeated quickly.
The second endured much longer.
The third tried to surround her together with several companions.
It didn't work.
Rai'kanna simply crushed the entire formation.
The human soldiers began advancing even farther.
The demonic line retreated several meters.
Meanwhile, in another region of the battlefield, Scarlett and Vespera fought side by side.
Something that normally didn't happen.
The two had completely different fighting styles.
Scarlett preferred to destroy everything in front of her.
Vespera was incredibly precise.
But that day, they were working together.
I watched as Vespera fired an arrow into the sky.
The arrow traveled an incredible distance.
It struck a demonic commander directly.
At that exact moment, Scarlett seized the opening.
A powerful spell exploded in the center of the enemy formation.
The result was devastating.
The demonic soldiers became completely disorganized.
Vespera fired again.
Another commander fell.
Scarlett unleashed more magic.
The entire formation collapsed.
When I managed to get a little closer, I overheard part of their conversation.
"To the left."
Vespera said.
Scarlett immediately cast a spell in that direction.
The explosion knocked down several enemies.
"Back there."
Another arrow.
Another target eliminated.
I smiled.
Only a few days earlier, the two of them would hardly have worked together like that.
Now they seemed far more synchronized.
The rivalry between them was fading.
And that made the group even stronger.
The battle continued for hours.
The sun climbed higher and higher.
The heat intensified.
So did the exhaustion.
But no one retreated.
Neither us.
Nor the demons.
At one point, I managed to reach Lyannis.
She was coordinating multiple units simultaneously through communication magic.
Her work was remarkable.
Without her, much of the army would have struggled to react quickly to the changing battlefield.
"How's the situation?"
I asked.
She quickly reviewed several reports.
"We're advancing in three sectors."
"Good."
"But they're still pressing hard in the west."
I nodded.
It was exactly what I expected.
The war was becoming increasingly exhausting.
Neither side could gain a decisive advantage.
A little later, I found Liriel and Elara working together.
The wounded kept arriving constantly.
Liriel used healing magic.
Elara created wind barriers to protect the healers.
Even exhausted, they continued working without pause.
"You both need to rest at some point."
I said.
Liriel smiled.
"You should follow your own advice."
I couldn't respond.
Because she was right.
When the battle reached the afternoon, something new caught our attention.
The demons began retreating gradually.
At first, only a few groups.
Then entire formations.
Their movement seemed organized.
It wasn't a rout.
It was a strategic withdrawal.
I watched carefully.
Something was changing.
The enemy troops began abandoning several important positions.
Soon, many allied commanders noticed the same thing.
The pressure eased.
The most heavily contested sectors became relatively stable.
For a few moments, even the sound of battle seemed to diminish.
Then Rai'kanna appeared beside me.
Her axe was covered in demonic blood.
She pointed toward the horizon.
"Look."
I followed her gaze.
Far away.
Very far away.
I could make out an enormous structure.
At first, I thought it was merely a rock formation.
But as I looked more closely, I realized it wasn't.
It had been built.
A fortress.
Gigantic.
Dark.
Imposing.
Even from that distance, its presence could be felt.
"So that's it."
I murmured.
Lyannis approached soon afterward.
Her face became serious.
"We finally found it."
Scarlett looked at the structure.
"It's bigger than I imagined."
Vespera agreed.
"Much bigger."
Liriel remained silent.
Elara looked worried.
We all understood the significance of that discovery.
It was probably Vaelthor's main stronghold.
The place where the First Demon General was coordinating the entire campaign.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
We simply stared at the distant fortress.
Then I looked back at the battlefield.
Everything made sense now.
The demons were retreating.
Not because they had been defeated.
But because they were drawing us in.
Toward their fortress.
Toward their territory.
Toward the battlefield they had chosen for the final confrontation.
The sun slowly began descending as the last clashes of the day came to an end.
The demons continued retreating.
The allied forces advanced cautiously.
But no one was reckless enough to pursue them immediately.
When we returned to the camp that evening, the atmosphere was different.
There was no celebration.
There was no relief.
Only anticipation.
Because everyone knew what that fortress meant.
Vaelthor was close.
Much closer than before.
As I watched the massive fortress in the distance, illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun, a single certainty formed in my mind.
The days of battles of attrition were coming to an end.
The true offensive was about to begin.
And somewhere inside that dark fortress, the First Demon General was probably already watching us.
With that thought, I brought the fourth day of the war to a close, knowing that our next step would lead us directly into the heart of enemy territory.