Episode 31. Finding Hints (complete)
“The time has come.”
Vlas rises from the throne. In front of him, there were enough demons bowing their heads to fill the audience room. All of them were high-ranking demons who made a name for themselves in the demon realm.
“From today, humans will be driven out of the Physis continent, and the arrogant world capital that is watching over our heads will be completely eliminated with this war.”
His declaration boosted the morale of all the demons in the audience room.
“I am willing to give my life for the sake of the supreme Blass Whale!”
“——I will dedicate it!”
Other demons also shouted at Peremus’ voice. Although each thought differently, the purpose was the same.
「Kills all living things except demons.」
“Start a war.”
At his declaration, the demons arose at the same time, regardless of who they were. Their faces didn’t show seriousness or solemn determination.
It was only a smile.
The mere thought of being free to wield violence made them unable to control their excitement.
“We will begin by cutting down the roots of the World Tree found by Habito’s elite troops while creating disturbances throughout the empire. If chaos arises in the empire, Lichen and Miles lead the 2nd Corps and destroy the eastern border.”
“Yes!”
Brigade Commander Lichen replied. Miles was Lichen’s ego sword. Normally, he gave his body to Lichen in the form of a sword, but he could change his body at any time depending on the situation.
“The 4th Corps destroys the Aium Kingdom after destroying the Forest of Beastmen and Elves, and then detours into the Calus Territory. The Calus Territory is relatively unprepared for demons, so it should be easy to enter.”
“Okay.”
“…… Yes.”
Habito and Stella answer. Stella answered a beat late. I wanted to destroy the Aium Kingdom alone, but I had to endure it because I failed due to Prause’s interference.
“The 1st and 3rd corps move when the 2nd corps breaks the border. The 3rd corps wait inside Ekabel’s body and release them at an appropriate location. If you’re walking alone, you’re less likely to be discovered. By the time the power gathers on the border, Ekabel must destroy the Todia family in the north. If the Todia family collapses, the empire’s defense power will be greatly shaken.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Ekabel felt sorry inside as he answered. It was because he didn’t seem likely to have Prause on the side he was going to.
“The 1st Corps, go in the southeast and destroy the Aus Territory, then head towards the capital. Kill Emperor Se-ri and destroy the center of the empire.”
“Yes!”
“Okay.”
“…… Yes.”
Following Peremus’ cheerful reply, Soro and Ter answered.
The appearances of the two were very different from before.
Originally white-haired, the siblings now have dark purple hair color like the Demon King, and the whites of her pupils are dyed black and her pupils turn red, so they have eyes inside Hyuk.
In addition, the energy that radiated from her body was no longer mana, but magic.
Seeing that figure, Blas smiled contentedly.
‘The person who was supposed to protect the empire now seems to be destroying it. Kuk-kuk.’
“Demon King, can I ask you one thing?”
Ther raised his hand and said to Blas.
“… What?”
“Can I meet Prause if I go to the capital?”
“I can’t say for certain where he might be. According to reports, he heard that he was in the spirit realm from half a year ago.”
Blass answered, but still had doubts. Why is Prause still in the spirit realm?
‘Is this really an intention to abandon the human realm and protect only the spirit realm? No, if that was the case, he wouldn’t have made Princess Se-ri the emperor in the first place. I don’t know what the plan is, but it’s clear that now that I’m away is a golden opportunity.’
“The important thing is not that you fight Prause. It is for the demons to win the victory over the humans.”
“… ….”
Ter bowed her head. Blas looked around at the demons in front of him and said.
“I will move according to my orders, but I will leave the judgment of the situation to each corps commander and deputy corps commander on the spot.”
“Yes!”
“Go. Go and show the power of the demons.”
Lastly, the demons with their heads bowed deeply leave the audience room one by one.
‘Prause…… No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to stop my legion no matter what tricks you do with the warriors.’
Not everyone in this world is as strong as you!
That’s how the beginning of the war begins.
* * *
From noble mtl dot com
I stayed in the spirit realm for half a year.
Every time I went to the human world, I gave instructions to tax collectors. He asked that measures be taken so that the beasts could be received as knights and the elves as mages.
Accepting a non-human race as a knight or wizard means that you will treat them equally with humans, and at the same time, it means that you will trust them.
He gave advice saying that it would be good to increase the national power of the empire with this at the forefront.
As a result, I heard that the number of applicants has increased steadily since several months ago, and that they are building up the virtues of a knight or wizard while receiving training.
In addition to the cities, I ordered anti-demon magic to be installed in areas that I knew of, the route of infiltration of demons, prediction points, and areas that should never be lost.
Preparations for the Battle of Man and Horse are being thoroughly prepared, and it seemed that it would be prepared that way for the next year.
The strategy will be different depending on the situation, but I know how it starts, so I’ve even said it. The demons within the empire are Habito’s elite troops.
One person, one person was close to S class in terms of adventurers.
In other words, it will be difficult to deal with unless you are a skilled knight among the imperial knights.
Of course, since I told you in advance, Seri will prepare for it. Seri had also studied war strategy.
Basically, it follows the manual, but it is expected that the ability to respond to situations will be useful due to its flexibility.
However, the only thing I was worried about was that the death of the emperor hadn’t happened yet and that the warriors hadn’t completely broken through their limits yet.
The only consolation thing was that the warriors got their senses.
In particular, Maria had succeeded in penetrating the 9th hierarchy, and her skill proficiency was still low without her staff, but she was able to stack up to 20 magic stacks.
I have told you that if you break through the limits and reach the transcendence stage, you can naturally use magic higher than the 9th tier, so you will notice yourself if you break through.
Recently, Iris began to understand her gap and was able to receive Maria’s 8th tier magic with her bare body. She wasn’t perfect yet and would get injured if hit with her direct hits, but it was a huge improvement from half a year ago.
Tina started to see the essence, but she hasn’t yet broken through the limits to acquire the mind sword skill. Because she didn’t understand the essence itself.
For her, understanding the essence is to understand the cause and effect of something that didn’t exist, so it might be a bit difficult for Tina.
However, all three heroes achieved growth in half a year that seemed impossible to achieve in half a year.
If you put in a little more effort in the future, you will be able to achieve a breakthrough within a month.
“It seems that the warriors got hints and have grown up to this point.”
As I observe the warriors, Yggdrasil stands side by side with me. It didn’t even feel popular.
“Yggdrasil.”
“Yes?”
“I need to unlock the facial expression management skill four more times. How can I unlock it quickly?”
“Okay. It is impossible to predict all situations 100%, and since it depends on how Prause accepts the situation, it seems difficult to say with certainty.”
“I see.”
The expression management skill wasn’t unlocked just because I acted plausibly. Seeing that the hologram didn’t come out even when I sincerely thought and poured out my emotions, it seemed that the standards were quite strict.
“However, Prausu has the feeling of accepting ‘death’ sensitively. I hope that will be a hint.”
Certainly, there were not a few such parts.
In fact, when Leones died, I couldn’t control my emotions. I felt like a really close friend had died.
It was also shocking when Leones, whom I had just learned about, died. If a hero or another S-class dies, you will experience an excruciating pain.
However, it wasn’t just death that unlocked the facial expression management skill. The facial expression management skill wasn’t unlocked only when death was in front of it, so I decided to look the other way.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask about holograms because I was so distracted.”
“A hologram?”
“The phrase appeared in front of me like a game.”
“Ah, that is also related to facial expression management. It must mean that Prause still accepts this world as if it were a game. So if you turn off facial expression management, everything will disappear. You don’t have to worry.”
“I see.”
Does this mean accepting this world as reality when the expression management skill is completely unlocked and becomes a true Prause?
In the end, I felt like I had to turn off facial expression management to be able to understand everything.
Today as well, watching the warriors training to break through their limits, I was wondering if there was anything I could give them advice about, and the light came on from inside my clothes.
Light was coming from the delivery scroll in the inner pocket. I took the delivery scroll out of my pocket. Do you have any urgent contact?
I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat the moment I opened it wonderingly.
「Prause, there is a problem. Like Prauss said, demons hiding all over the country started to move. Thanks to your words, I responded immediately…….
Cities and areas near the knights were easily subdued, but in some places the knights seemed to be in trouble.
Furthermore, I received a report that a number of demonic knights along with the vicious demons are approaching the border all at once in the border area adjacent to the Pandemonium.
I need help.”
“…… sh*t.”
I shouted at the warriors as I crumpled the delivery scroll.
“Tina! Iris! Maria!”
The three people who heard the urgent cry turned their heads towards me.
“What is it?”
Looking at the three warriors who approached quickly, he said.
“The demons started to invade the empire.”
The eyes of the warriors widen wide. I’m so embarrassed that I’m going to have a good time with my mouth open.
“Ha, but I still have room…” ….”
“It seems to be moving much faster than expected.”
It seemed that the Demon King was quite pissed off. I tried to make various plans in preparation for the Great War of Man and Horse, but every time I did, the warriors and I came in the way.
This kind of response was not entirely outside the expected range. I didn’t know that the time would come this soon.
“Then get ready to go right away…… !”
“No.”
I grabbed Iris by the shoulder as she hurriedly went to the cabin.
“You stay here. I go to the human world alone.”
“Yes?!”
The success of the Battle of the Horses varies greatly depending on whether the warriors break through their limits.
It is said that he has recently acquired a sense, but if he returns to the human world as it is, there is a possibility that he will forget that sense again.
If this was a game, I would have been able to seize the opportunity to awaken in the face of death like a cliché.
But this is reality. Even if it’s not real, you have to assume it’s real and act.
That’s why it was right for them to grow up and then return to the human world.
As I explained about it, the warriors said “No!” He hurriedly stopped me.
“It’s not that I doubt Master’s skills. But if a war between demons and demons is really taking place, Master alone cannot stop the numerous demons!”
“Maria is right. Not all demons will be as strong as Peremus, but if we don’t have them right now, there could be a lot of damage.”
“It is more important that you grow here. If we cannot break through the limits, we cannot kill the Demon King.”
To end the Great War of the Demons, you must kill the Demon King.
Breaking through the limits is not an option but a must if you want to defeat the army commanders flocking to the empire individually and kill the demon king.
“Listen to me. My judgment is correct.”
Now that the warriors have a sense, it will surely not take long to achieve a breakthrough.
But one month was too long. Until then, it was unknown whether I could handle the four corps commanders who were attacking by myself.
“I will protect the human world. So break through the limits as soon as possible and come to support.”
“But… ….”
“Didn’t Tina say she was going to outrun me?”
“Yes? Yes… ….”
“Jump over now. If not now, you will never be able to surpass me. Of course, so are you.”
It was a word to stimulate them. Because I’ve never surpassed the warriors.
“I will go first. I’ve got a feel for it, so I’ll be able to do it soon.”
I stroked the heads of the three warriors and then turned around.
“Yggdrasil.”
“Yes.”
“When the warriors reach their limit, tell them to bring the equipment I asked the Spirit Kings in the past. Even if there is a limit on the number of times, it doesn’t matter.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go, Ariel.”
“Yes.”
As if Ariel had been waiting, she opened the gate to the human world. Rather than asking if she was going too, she showed an attitude of course that she would go, so she was very reassured.
“Please take good care of me, Prause.”
Yggdrasil said, her face stiff. The tension on her face made me realize that it was the beginning of a war to get to the end of this story.
“I don’t know how long I can last. Still, I can’t let the demons install it.”
From here on, the situation will depend on the discretion of the warriors. I don’t know how long I can wait for them, but if the empire is pushed back by more than half or the capital is captured, the war is over.
If that doesn’t happen, I’ll have no choice but to run around.
I let out a sigh or a deep breath as I stepped into the gate that Ariel had opened.