The meeting didn't last long. Once Niv learned that Hel intended to travel alone to the Mandrake Defense Line, she immediately insisted on following — bringing with her four Bloodlust Elves for protection.
"Master, I really think it'd be safer if you waited until you reach Tier Six before going," Niv said worriedly.
But Hel only shook her head. "There's no need. Even if I break through to Tier Six, it'll be in death magic. That kind of power can't be openly displayed anyway. Even if I advance, it won't make much difference for this operation."
Then Hel patted her waist. Hanging there were two swords — one was the Holy Sword Durandal, and the other was an alchemical longsword she had personally repaired, now sealed with a forbidden elemental spell.
"Right now, I'm bringing these two swords with me," she said calmly. "One represents authority, and the other represents power. With these by my side — and with you all backing me up — the Watchwall commanders will at least have to show me some respect."
However, when Hel actually arrived at the Mandrake Defense Line, things went even more smoothly than she had imagined.
The two Tier Six commanders in charge of the line turned out to be a retired king from the Honor Kingdom and a nun from the Holy Tribunal Church — the same nun who had once fought alongside Sister Pamela for many years.
After understanding Hel's intentions, the nun weighed the situation carefully. She consulted her subordinates, then finally nodded in agreement.
"Duchess Hel, to be honest, the Mandrake Defense Line is a hot potato," the nun admitted. "Ever since the Mandrake Pass was destroyed, all supplies from the Empire have had to detour through the Tulip Duchy. On top of that, the situation in the Snowveil Principality is far more complicated than here — their defense line also depends on Tulip's supply routes.
So right now, our Watchwall Army is in a very difficult position. Having you take over the Mandrake Defense Line is actually good news for us. With the recognition of the Holy Sword and the support of the elves, we believe you're capable of handling this responsibility.
It's just…"
The nun's expression turned slightly awkward.
"You know how tight our supply chains are. It's really difficult for us to spare additional provisions or resources. Once you take over, the Empire's ability to support your troops will be very limited."
"That's fine," Hel replied nonchalantly. "I'll find a way to handle that myself."
The nun studied Hel's eyes for a long moment, then sighed softly. "Very well. This technically isn't standard procedure, but since you're an acquaintance of little Pamela, I'll make an exception. Consider it a favor from a senior to a junior.
Besides, the Ayla Royal Court suffered devastating losses in this war — for the next three years, they won't be able to organize any large-scale invasions. To ensure the stability of the defense line, we'll send reinforcements after that period. At that time, command of the line will be reassessed. I hope you understand, Duke Hel."
"I understand perfectly," Hel said with a nod.
The nun's terms were reasonable. In fact, if they had completely entrusted her with the defense line without any conditions, that would've been suspicious.
They were handing the Mandrake Defense Line over to Hel for two reasons. First, the Ayla Royal Court truly had no ability to wage another large-scale war for the foreseeable future. Second, the Watchwall Army's supply situation was dire.
Originally, there had been three separate supply lines sustaining the Watchwall positions across the three duchies of the Selphis Kingdom. But after the Cataclysm and the Beastmen Invasion, only one remained — and that single route was already far beyond its capacity.
So when someone like Hel — this "big-hearted fool" — volunteered to take over one of their hardest positions, of course they were happy to hand it off.
If Hel could hold the line with her own power, great. If she couldn't… well, that was fine too.
After all, Mandrake now had only two exits: one led toward the demon-infested Snowveil Principality, and the other toward the Free Nations, a vassal of the Ymir Empire.
Whichever direction the Beastmen eventually invaded, it wouldn't hurt the Empire's interests.
Hel had understood this perfectly — that was why she went straight to the Watchwall commanders to negotiate without hesitation.
After some polite conversation and formalities, the Watchwall Army agreed to withdraw, leaving behind only a hundred elite soldiers.
These hundred were all Tier Four transcendents, tasked partly with helping Hel learn the operational details of maintaining the Watchwall… and partly with monitoring her. If the Mandrake Defense Line were to fall, they wouldn't be caught off guard.
Once Hel officially took control, she immediately ordered a deployment of puppet soldiers to garrison the area.
Unlike the Knight Puppets, these soldier constructs lacked mounts, making them much easier to produce and modify.
Hel dispatched all 22,000 Tier Two soldier puppets and 4,000 Tier Three soldier puppets to man the walls. While they couldn't rival the Watchwall's elite in high-end combat power, they far outmatched the city garrisons in numbers and endurance.
Interestingly, throughout the entire negotiation and handover, Hel never saw a single Saint-tier warrior. She wasn't sure whether they were simply in hiding… or fighting on entirely different fronts. Either way, it was a relief — one less thing to worry about.
The very next day, after the Watchwall Army departed, Hel wasted no time.
Beneath the bloodstained plains outside the Watchwall, ten meters underground, she began constructing a network of hidden Soul-Extraction Arrays.
Normally, a soul remains preserved within a corpse for about seven years. Here, however — on the Mandrake frontier — a major beast tide erupts once every three years, with smaller tides every single year.
Each major tide brought between 100,000 to 1,000,000 beastmen, while even the smaller ones involved nearly 100,000.
Aside from the most recent cataclysmic assault that had seen nearly a million beastmen fall upon Mandrake, over the years, hundreds of thousands of beastmen had perished here on the plains before the wall.
Their souls, Hel realized, were the perfect fuel to replenish her dwindling reserves.
As for their bodies, the Watchwall soldiers had already burned them to ash the moment the fighting ended.
Thus, on this journey to the Watchwall, Hel could harvest only the souls —but that alone would be enough to sustain her dark work for years to come.