021. Demon King’s Tower
“Hortonworks welcomes warriors!”
“Long live Hillen Cargill!”
They passed through the gates of the fortress, but people cheered.
Granada exhaled a white breath. The feeling was new.
‘Finally back.’
Horton Walk.
The place where he first met the Demon King.
A place where he was purchased by the Demon King and decided to become his subordinate.
It was long. The brave journey that lasted nearly half a year was really long.
But it was not a pointless time.
Long live Hillen Cargill!
Long live the Wharton Cole!
Granada!
His name, which is secretly called among the prominent warriors, proves it.
“Sir Granada. what are you doing? Come in.”
Hillen, who had become close friends for several months, gently patted him on the shoulder.
“Yes.”
Five hundred warriors led by Hillen and Granada finally set foot on Horton Walk.
100 warriors and 400 nobles, knights or mercenaries.
Contrary to the idea of the Demon King, although there were minor disturbances, the size of the warrior squad did not decrease due to the departure. Of course, there was no setback in the warrior’s journey.
Hillen Cargill’s reputation made it so.
They dragged the knights in and fled the mercenaries and brought them all the way here.
Granada thought that the Demon King had looked down on Hillen.
“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
“Are the rumors true after all? It was said that there was a real demon king in Erzest. But no one knew that and said we should stay here.”
“stop it. Was I drunk back then?”
“dummy.”
“Shut up? Wanna die?”
The red hawk mercenaries who returned to their familiar places of work giggled. The members of the bravery were welcomed by the Hortonwalk Castle and unpacked their luggage in a corner of Yeongju Fortress.
“As the lord of Hortonworks, it is an honor to be in a chapter in the history of defeating evil and establishing justice!”
The banquet began with the greeting of the lord. He sat at the top of the table alongside famous heroes such as Hillen Cargill and Wharton Colo.
“Finally, the destination is just around the corner. We got here without a hitch. The Demon King, frightened by our might, is terrified, unable to respond in any way.”
“However, you must not be vigilant. Because he is a demon king and a shaman who kidnapped the princess.”
“I hope to see you all with a smile after the demon lord subjugation is over. For the peace of the continent!”
“for!”
“Long live the warriors!”
At the request of the lord, Hillen gave a toast, and the crew cheered. Their morale was even higher.
Belief in a hero named Hillen.
A martial art that had never been seen before, a brave act of the demon tribe.
Even information about the use of flames in the title of the newly descended beginner demon king.
It was the result of an appropriate combination of the four factors. Confidence that he would surely succeed was engulfed in the entire troop.
Granada had an awkward atmosphere.
‘Isn’t this almost the exact opposite?’
At first, it seemed to be going according to the will of the Demon King. But Hillen was a more capable warrior than he expected. Rather, it yielded the opposite result.
‘Can I stop it?’
Granada seriously thought about whether she should hit the back of the head even now.
It had only been a little over two months since he joined the bravery. And the last appearance of the tower he remembers was a princess standing alone in an empty vacant lot.
‘No. No need to worry. It would be good if it succeeded.’
I didn’t want to become the Demon King’s subordinate.
If the Demon King dies, the tyranny that oppresses him will also be released.
“·················ogue.”
Still, I couldn’t help but feel reluctant in the corner of my heart. He came out to the terrace out of frustration and injected mana into the crystal ball.
Fortunately, there was an answer.
“Now we have arrived at Hortonwalk. After a short maintenance, we will be climbing the mountain soon.”
“Right.”
A peaceful sound without any sense of danger returned.
“If you start climbing the mountain, you may be caught, so you can stop contacting us.”
“Is it okay if I still do my best to help the hero?”
『Until I reach the tower and give another order myself, the previous order is in effect.』
“It was fine. Don’t tell me what to watch out for.”
“Watch your eyes when you climb the mountain.”
“Don’t be restless at night.”
“And lastly, when you open the door of the tower, never be near it and be prepared for a shock.”
“···Yes? What else does that mean?”
No answer came back. Communication was cut off unilaterally.
“No, what…”
“What are you doing alone?”
Then, Hillen came out to the terrace with a bottle of wine. Granada quickly hid the crystal ball.
“I am just getting some cold air. How is Hillen?”
“I left the lord to the other warriors and left for a while.”
Indeed, the lord was surrounded by other warriors.
“Would you like a drink? It is a fruit wine that elves love.”
“I’ll just have one drink.”
I couldn’t resist the drink that Hillen suggested, so I got a glass. The scent was good.
“What are you worried about?”
The warrior drank alcohol. wow, that’s good too. exclaimed in exclamation.
“Do you see that?”
“yes. Are you nervous as the Demon King’s Tower is getting closer?”
In a sense, it was right.
“Can you successfully subdue the Demon Lord?”
“I don’t know. Others believe in me, but there is nothing unconditional about subjugating the Demon King. The demon lord is always strong, and the tower is hell.”
“But didn’t you kill the demon king of lust? Compared to that person, the demon king who has just descended is…”
“If it fell like that, all the demon lords in Alain would have disappeared in an instant.”
Hillen shrugged.
“still···.”
A mischievous smile settled on his lips.
“If Granada-sama helps me, I am sure I will succeed.”
“I am just an elf.”
“You’re pretending to be weak again. Aside from me and a few heroes, aren’t you more famous than anyone else?”
“That’s the first thing when monsters come in…”
“That’s it. There are some who are better than Granada-sama, but their reputation has changed incomparably. It is the difference between practicing that sense of justice or not.”
As an elf, it’s a virtue I can show. he muttered a little.
“So.”
The hero placed his hands on both shoulders of Granada. He opened his eyes and made eye contact.
“I will take the lead, so please support me from the side.”
“…I will.”
Granada tried to ignore the strange sense of incongruity.
* * *
From Hilderan at the southernmost tip to Hortonwalk at the northernmost point.
After a long journey, the warriors took a week’s rest.
Hillen called the leaders to recheck the plan.
“The most important thing is mobility and stealth. Erzest Mountain is full of monsters. Avoiding their attention as much as possible reduces damage and saves time by not getting lost in the snow.”
“The tower will be easy to find once you get to the top. Because of the nature of the Demon Kings, it is common to build a tower in the most visible place.”
“Probably built a tower on the highest peak.”
“As it is snowy mountain, it won’t be fast. You have to think about it for at least a week.”
“Then there are a lot of things to take with you.”
“You said that you have fire attribute power, so you should also bring fire resistant equipment.”
“We need equipment to protect against the cold in the snowy mountains, so the luggage will be doubled.”
I received supplies from Hortonworks and finally checked the equipment. And finally.
“Let’s go!”
The troop of warriors began to run towards the climax of their journey.
* * *
The beginning of Erzest is not very steep.
light slope. The relatively flat land and lush trees welcome guests.
However, as time passes and the height increases, white snow begins to appear. The slope rises and the trees disappear.
And the mountain owners do not welcome uninvited visitors.
Wow-
“It’s Yeti!”
“Five Yeti on the right flank! The distance is about 300m!”
Yeti, which you can’t see anywhere else, popped up every few hours.
“It’s a twin-headed ogre!”
“Damn it, scatter! If we come together, we all go to the goal together!”
Large monsters exposed their sharp teeth.
Even if only one appears, they are called disasters, but they could not break the warrior squad.
spatula-
Hillen’s sword danced gracefully. A flash of light flashed, drawing a picture of death.
Yeti’s neck fell.
The ogre’s heart ruptured.
The lives of the orcs were cut off.
Unlike the mask that looked like a person, his hands were swift and certain.
“After all, you are a warrior!”
“Long live Hillen Cargill!”
Stimulated by his activity, the warriors competed in front, and no matter how great the monsters of Erzest were, they could not be stopped.
Strong monsters and rough terrain were just a bit of a hassle.
It was then that slightly different monsters appeared.
“Fur Orc?”
“But the one in the middle is a little different…?”
Knights and mercenaries expressed their doubts at the dozens of shadows that appeared above the hillside.
“It’s a monster!”
An individual with horns on its head that is 1.5 times larger than other orcs.
The warriors who are more sensitive to magic than anyone else quickly identified their identity.
“No, that’s closer to a demon. Demons are controlling the Fer Orcs!”
“We haven’t sent a single demon until now, but we’re sending demons from the beginning.”
When the first demon appeared, the warriors were a little nervous. Hillen was the first to open her eyes and run. Some of the warriors followed.
Granada was also there.
‘If it’s a demon, the demon king must have summoned it, but should I pretend to fight and let him run away?’
No, that would be suspicious. I told you to do your best, so it’s right to do your best.
Then, our eyes met.
‘Smile···?’
Granada saw the corners of the demon’s mouth rise slightly.
“Smile?”
“That dog.”
The same goes for Hillen and the Heroes.
That moment.
Boo woo woo-
The demon blew a huge horn.
‘trap?’
I paused for a moment in a sense of incongruity not knowing what it was.
quaw-
An unidentified roar was heard.
and.
Quarrel-
“Uh-huh.”
“Do, run away!”
An avalanche began to occur.
Granada thought in the pure white waves that hit her.
‘Fuck, how do you take care of your eyes like this!’
* * *
Coke Coke-
Granada spit out the eyes that had entered her mouth and barely escaped.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes···.”
Fortunately, the avalanche was not as big as expected, and the members of the Brave Troops were not weak either. The damage was less than expected.
However.
“Damn, what demon use an avalanche?”
“Well, something like this dog.”
The first failure while trying to win. A slight drop in morale was unavoidable.
‘Crazy bastard. I have one too, are you going to just wipe it out?’
It was by no means completely free from damage. Weak mercenaries were typical, but the Red Hawk mercenaries completely disappeared.
‘These guys are not enough to be annihilated at this level…’
As Granada was feeling both shy and angry at the same time, Hillen laughed in dismay as he gathered all the survivors.
“I never thought I would get my first attack like this.”
“···How do I do this?”
“For now, we’re going to fix it up and camp somewhere out of the snow and wait for more survivors to come. The damage itself is not great, but I think it would be better to rest a little than to go up right away.”
Hillen calmly settled the situation. But the avalanche was only the beginning.
“It’s an attack!”
“The Puer Orcs have driven the Yetis!”
“Stop it!”
“이 개새끼들이!”
The mountain sun sets quickly. The warriors set up the camp, but before the sieve was completed, a visitor came with darkness.
Angry beasts attacked with the characteristic stench of the monster. It was a sudden surprise, and the warriors were mentally exhausted.
Hillen and Granada, although it was relatively easy to block the activity of the heroes, no one could deny that the morale of the crew was declining little by little.
So a day or two.
Contrary to the initial plan, the movement of the warriors was slow, and the Ful Orcs had been attacking them over and over, aiming for moments when they were careless.
“이 빌어먹을 새끼들이 진짜!”
“Let’s just stay cool!”
The warriors burst into anger, but driving monsters in the middle of the night and chasing the disappearing Ful Orcs was like committing suicide.
“Are these guys orcs?”
“Why are you so wicked?”
The members of the troop were getting tired.
“This demon lord is truly a wicked man.”
“You mustn’t play around with his tricks. Even at the cost of sacrifice, we have to force the march.”
“I think the same.”
The warriors with poison began to advance rapidly. I slept and ate meals with jerky while walking.
In their march, the attacks of the Ful Orcs became rare. The same goes for other monsters.
Fortunately, more and more people were left behind in the harsh forced march, and when they reached the top of the mountain, it was again less than half.
But there was another bigger problem.
“…there’s no tower?”
“I can’t see the tower!”
All of the Demon King’s Towers were located in easy-to-find places, where you would expect to be here.
It was natural, and after hundreds of years, it became the truth.
When the truth cracked, the warriors began to panic.
A day or two from the top. The damage of the warriors from the cold and raids increased day by day.
In the end, there was a abandonment.
“I can’t do it any more. This demon lord is very different from other demon lords. I wouldn’t waste my time and life like this looking for a tower I don’t even know where it is.”
“It will be soon. It wasn’t the highest peak, but somewhere on the summit.”
“How many more must be sacrificed to find it? This is Erzest. Once you live, you can do something. This dog death is a specification. It is right to prepare more thoroughly and promise the next one.”
“no. If you don’t succeed this time, the next one will be even more painful.”
“It would be better than dying and failing completely.”
Wharton, a champion with a reputation second to that of Hillen, set a stand against him.
The problem was that his remarks provoked the minds of the weary and deprived crew.
“I will go! Those who will go down the mountain with me, follow me!”
Read at noblemtl.com
More than half of the warriors followed him.The morale of the warriors dropped exponentially.
“·················ogue.”
“I will be with you.”
“Granada-sama…. I will definitely kill that demon king.”
Granada is the first time he has seen a good man, Helen clenched his teeth and cursed someone.
But finding the tower was sluggish. Damage increased, and exhausted defectors continued to appear.
Quite ironically. When I wondered if I might have to give up the bravery itself, I found the tower.
“In the basin . . .”
“This motherfucker is real…!”
about fifty people. The original members, who were only one tenth of the original, sharpened their teeth.
“What would you like to do?”
“We are here for a cause. Even though their numbers have decreased and their morale has decreased, we should not run away from witnessing evil in front of our eyes. That is a true warrior. Even if everyone leaves, I will behead the Demon King even by myself.”
“That’s right.”
“Cowards.”
Chewing on their escaped comrades, they regained their confidence in the tower that was only five stories high.
“After all, it is true that he has just arrived.”
“I will open the door.”
“There must be some weaklings on the first floor anyway.”
The triumphant warriors opened the tower’s door.
That moment-
flash-
A brilliant flash of light surrounded them.
A huge explosion shook the world.
* * *
“Turn it off…”
Granada gasped.
“Are you okay?”
The messed up Hillen held out her hand. Granada barely got up.
“What was that just now?”
“If my feelings are correct… it was a magic cannon.”
“A magic cannon?”
this crazy
‘You said you put a magic cannon on the first floor of the tower instead of a monster?’
No matter how unusual a demon king who purchases himself and uses him as his subordinate, he is first a demon king. But it’s a magic cannon.
‘That’s why I told you to never go near the door and be prepared!’
“It’s strange. If a mana cannon like this had been accumulating mana, I should have known for sure…”
Especially since it was the Tower of the Demon King with sparse mana and overflowing with magic.
“But the others…”
“For now, no one has died…”
Hillen mumbled. As soon as the door was opened, it instinctively developed defensive magic to the bright light pouring in.
It engulfed the entire troop and saved their lives, but it did not completely relieve the shock.
At the tip of Hillen’s finger were members of the Braves who were stunned like corpses.
“It was a sudden surprise, so the response was insufficient.”
“So it’s just the two of us.”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“Now how….”
“As soon as I woke up, I looked inside. There were as many as five large magic cannons. Behind them were the teenage big ballistas.”
“Oh My God.”
“Once I broke it all down, but there was nothing else inside. Not even a monster, or someone who would have fired a magic cannon.”
Hillen frowned.
“Still, we have to go.”
“Isn’t it better to give up? For the two of us…”
“I killed the demon king of lust. A man who has just arrived is no match for me.”
Hillen’s eyes changed to wretched.
“Our bravery has received a lot of love and attention. There is no way to not live up to that, to give up in the face of evil.”
but.
He added a family.
“I want Granada-sama to be with you.”
“I don’t know if I will become one.”
“What do you mean? Granada is more reliable than anyone else. I want you to be by my side.”
Granada nodded at that earnestness.
‘The first floor is over, but the Demon King would have prepared something more. The condition of the hero is not good, so it would be right to take him.’
After doing so, the elves and the brave set foot in the Demon King’s Tower.
* * *
Hillen bit her lip. The fishy taste of blood made my mind a little clearer.
‘Let’s be calm.’
This bravery was never a failure.
I had to get something by beating the Demon King’s head or tearing down the tower.
He used his fame and achievements to attract a lot of people. The cost of breaking their expectations and trust is not light no matter how brave they are.
‘The top managers who believed in me and invested in me…’
The fire resistance and cold resistance equipment worn by all the warriors were not made by digging into the ground.
The supplies they ate and drank for months were not free either.
He even made a secret deal with several nobles to believe only in himself.
Those luxurious things always come with a price.
If they die, they will be buried, but when they come back alive, they will all become debtors and run away.
Surely, this bravery must not have failed.
‘Yes, elf. There are elves too…’
The worst can be avoided.
“Let’s go.”
After clearing her mind, Hillen went up the stairs to the second floor with Granada.
“yes···?”
“Well?”
And I found an empty vacant lot.
“trap···?”
“It doesn’t seem to be. There really is nothing.”
‘What the hell is this tower?’
As soon as I opened the first floor, instead of a monster, a magic cannon and a ballista greeted me.
And now the second floor is empty. The bigger question is that so far not a single life has been seen.
“Let’s go to the next floor.”
After thoroughly checking the entire second floor, Hillen’s feet headed back to the stairs. And after facing the same tragedy on the 3rd floor, I went up to the 4th floor.
‘Isn’t there anything up to the 5th floor?’
Fortunately, those worries were in vain.
The wind blew.
The fresh scent of the forest tickled his nose.
The warm warmth caressed her skin.
“···what’s this.”
Water flows.
The trees sway in the wind.
Translucent birds and animals flew.
It was an ecosystem. It was part of nature.
And among them she appeared.
“Welcome to the Demon King’s Tower. strangers. I am the Four Heavenly Kings serving the Demon King, a dark spirit magician.”
“…Princess Mama?”
“You got the wrong person. I’m the Demon King’s 1st subordinate.”
“I just said the Four Heavenly Kings…”
“He is not a good listener. I need to be punished.”
that is.
Quang-
It was Hillen’s last memory.
Lmao I fkin love this Princess, MC, marry her please?