Tactical Stock (4)
King Ga was climbing a steep gorge with his pupil.
However, even as disciples, they are not very close friends.
As the master of the bard guild, he regarded all of the guild members as his disciples.
Occasionally, there were cases in which those who could see Ssaksu were given one-on-one instruction in actual combat, just like now.
The disciple, who had learned a valuable lesson, was excited and followed him, but that was only for a moment.
As the unknown mountain climbing continued for about two hours, the respect for the king gradually ran out.
“I… Singer, where are we going now?”
I don’t know if it’s simply a physical hardship, but the road they were walking was strangely quiet.
Travelers and mercenaries, as well as common animals, did not appear.
The king of singers replied as if he had waited for the student’s question.
“Go spy on the demon king.”
“Eh, the Demon King? Without other adventurers and paladins?”
“I can’t take those people. They are too smart to chase the devil.”
Anyone who thinks their lives are precious would not dare to follow the devil.
The disciple was a little stunned and said sarcastically.
“Then are we stupid?”
It was too lax an attitude to ask a great senior in the bard world, but the singer didn’t hate it. Originally, in order to become a good bard, it is necessary to make a habit of arguing or prying at the other person.
Etiquette doesn’t do much to make a good song or gather rumors.
“We are a little bit smarter. If you want to avoid the demon king, shouldn’t you know where the demon king is going?”
“Wasn’t the Demon King a woman who wandered around and killed anyone?”
“I thought I was like that too, but it seems to have changed a bit recently.”
The king of singers laughs and takes out a leather map from his bosom.
He marks the demon king’s activities on a handmade map.
“This is the route of the last time we wiped out the southwest, and this is the route of the invasion of the southwest. Can you see the difference?”
“… Are you, by any chance, the King of Kings’ stalker?”
Hearing the disciple’s words, the singer frowned. No matter how polite you are, isn’t this too much?
“Stop talking nonsense and analyze the map!”
“Um… The latter is a bit more straightforward. As if we have set a clear destination, we are heading straight south.”
“Nice to see you.”
In the past, I had a strong feeling of traveling wherever my feet touched, but this time is different.
The king of singers was sure that there was something in the king’s movement.
“The Demon King, who descended vertically southward while destroying the cities in the south, stays inside the canyon for several days. The demon lord’s army doesn’t even need a break. How many days has that wanderlust been around? This is the first time this has happened, except for Miracle, who stayed with the adventurers for about two months the other day.”
“There is something there.”
“So, let’s look for it from now on. Alright, we’re almost there.”
When they finally reached the top of the gorge, the two plopped down on the ground and looked down.
Before I could enjoy the view overlooking everything under the sky, I saw a terrifying army in the clearing near the canyon.
The king of singers slowly examines the demon king’s hands and feet, including Gearrick and the maid, and then swallows.
“Is this a bit strange?”
“Why is that?”
“Now, see the maid over there? The Demon King’s maid of honor always stays by the owner’s side and takes on the role of serving? By the way, isn’t there a demon king around that lady-in-waiting?”
The king of singers explained to his students in a quiet voice and organized his thoughts at the same time.
“That means that the demon king intentionally left the head maid alone. Accompany the now invisible death knights.”
“Is that so strange? You could have gone to work somewhere. I could have gone to the bathroom.”
When the disciple asked a very obvious question, the king of singers nodded as well.
“okay. They must have moved to a place where only a few escorts could accompany them. But why did you leave the maid and Gearick behind?”
The maid of honor has the most outstanding skills and loyalty among the maids of death, and Gearic is no different.
Singer, who knew that well, did not understand the current situation properly.
“If you’re going to bring an escort, isn’t it normal to bring the most powerful attendants? Even if the maid of honor doesn’t know, Gearick must be involved at all costs, right?”
“I heard and saw it. Oh right! Leaving the two behind to maintain vigilance… … .”
“Waste power. Who dares to challenge the demon lord’s forces? No matter how hard we slay them, it would be restored the moment the demon king returns.”
“Um… … .”
The two continued to spy while facing unresolved questions.
Thankfully for them, the target did not take long to appear.
When the door to the cellar, which remained at the site of the hut, opens, power enters the bodies of the king and his pupil.
“master! Welcome… … .”
“Wait, back off!”
While the maid who was waiting for the demon king was greeting her in a very welcome voice, Gearic suddenly stopped her.
Before the King of Singers could understand his sudden action, Gearrick, who had grabbed the maid, escaped as if he was being shot backwards. Right after that, the demon king swung his staff and smashed the undead around him.
“Uh huh?”
“Kawang-nim. That woman, why is she suddenly killing her men?”
“I know. Now that I look at it, it’s a bit strange… … .”
Elgar, with wounds all over her body, walks aimlessly with her head slightly bowed.
As if he was drunk, there was not even a trace of reason in his body.
The head maid reached out to such a demon king and stammered in a frightened voice.
“Lord, Master! I can’t believe the evil spirit master… … .”
“Stay still! It is useless to try to dry it now.”
Gearic, noticing the owner’s strange behavior, took the struggling maid and rushed out of the place.
The other undead don’t even dare to attack the owner and are swept away helplessly.
Just as the King of Kings was about to leave quickly, the King of Demons, who roughly organized the surroundings, invoked a powerful spell.
“Trial of the Sun God.”
A large ball of fire erupted from the staff studded with red crystals, completely erasing the clouds in the already clear sky.
Singer felt an instinctive sense of danger right before the spell was cast and looked for a place to hide.
Finding a narrow rock crevice not far away, he shoves his pupil inside and covers him with his body.
After the evacuation of the king and his pupils, the fireball that rose into the sky exploded with a roar.
It disintegrated into countless small but innumerable embers and began to descend slowly.
The sky, which had been clear blue just a moment ago, was dyed red with fresh blood.
“Ahhh… … .”
“It was too late to run away. Stay still.”
Singer clicked his tongue when he saw that the embers that fell first burned a tree in an instant.
Everything he can see is within the spell’s influence.
As he tried his best to block the entrance to the cleft, acrid smoke and terrible heat filled the air.
Giant trees collapse, and animals are roasted alive.
Their death sentences were so terrible that the two of them trembled.
But the screams stopped much earlier than expected.
Now, as if there were no creatures left around, only the noise of wildly burning flames filled my ears.
How long had it been since she desperately endured it while raising her magic power as much as she could?
The king of singers was agitated by the chilling silence and slowly slipped through the cracks in the rocks.
The canyon, which was green just a moment ago, is covered with gray ash.
No, it’s not just the valley.
As he hurriedly looked down, everything he could see was like that.
The feeling of the heap of ashes under your feet couldn’t be more terrifying.
The fledgling bard barely held back his vomit as he gazed at this desolate and lonely hell.
“oh my god… I heard that the Demon King is very cruel, but I never thought he would do something like this… … .”
“no.”
The King of Kings responded softly, looking at the vaguely carved footprints at the bottom of the gorge.
The demon king who used the spell had already left somewhere.
The disciple is confused by his ambiguous answer.
“yes? What do you mean it’s not?”
“The Demon King doesn’t act like this. If it did, we would have gone extinct long ago.”
“But you created this horror in front of our eyes.”
“So, I don’t think this incident was the devil’s intention. Like the way he killed his servants earlier… I feel like I’m being taken over or manipulated by someone.”
Even after the singer himself said it, he was a bit dumbfounded.
Where in the world is there a being powerful enough to rule over the demon king?
Even if divine beings are involved, it is not easy.
As he erased the candidates in his head, he soon remembered the last remaining name.
“Argal the Mischief… Considering the level of the watchmen I saw in Argal Ruins, it might not be very impossible.”
“That, who is that?”
“I’ll explain it to you from now on, so remember it well. Sooner or later, I will have to make it into a song and spread it around.”
The ash-covered king said in a hard tone as he descended the valley of death.
A terrified disciple follows him with a worried look on his face.
* * *
The demon king is crazy.
The rumors that hit Vector recently didn’t win Chris’ trust.
Even so, the Demon King was not a very calm woman from the beginning.
What on earth must a person who has made rivers of blood and piled up mountains of corpses do to be called insane?
However, after Tyrone’s explanation continued, Chris was able to understand it.
“I don’t know why, but our demon lord is heading north while turning everything around him into ashes… Three entire cities have already been burned to the ground. If you include small towns, double digits will be enough.”
“I thought burning at the stake was not to Elgar-sama’s taste.”
Chris clicked his tongue as he listened to Tyrone’s story and corrected the map.
Tyrone, who was gathering information about the Breton Empire, heard about this from numerous bards and merchants.
When the cities that had already been burned and the course of the demon king were displayed on the map, the ordinary leather map became the same as the diary showing the movement of the typhoon.
Chris, who watched it, let out a small sigh.
“What a natural disaster… Why are you suddenly doing this? I’ve never been killed this hard before.”
“I don’t know. How do you know that even if you try to look at it from a distance, you will burn and die?”
“They say they are going north from the south, so if you’re unlucky, I’ll come here too. Let us prepare quickly.”
Saying that, Chris stuffed the travel items scattered around the room into his backpack.
Of course, if Elgar invaded Vector, he had no intention of fighting back.
Although Bector’s lord position is a waste, it is nothing compared to having only one life.
As the two were busy packing their belongings, a knock was heard outside the door of the office, which was closed.
Chris never stops working and responds to the familiar knock of a beat.
“Baren? come in!”
“Excuse me… Hey, my lord. What is all this?”
Baren looked at the men preparing to leave at any time and closed his eyes.
Then, a shameless reply is heard that is slightly admirable.
“Prepare for evacuation, what?”
“Your lord has also heard the news. The demon lord countermeasure meeting was held, so it’s good to attend… … .”
“Oh, do you do something like that in Basilonia? are you okay. This time, no matter how much old man Frederick tried, it would be of no use. Even if the rest of the Six Kings gather and attack, there will be no chance of victory… … .”
“Okay.”
It was the voice of a strange man, not Varen, who answered Chris.
While packing their luggage, the two men hurriedly turn their heads to face an unexpected guest.
Standing at the door of the office is a man in shabby traveling clothes with a slightly nervous expression.
It’s a look that doesn’t stand out because it’s not properly groomed, but Chris and Tyrone couldn’t forget that face.
“for a moment! Why is the Sword King here?”
“The organizer of this demon lord countermeasure meeting is the Sword King. He said he would meet the lord, so I came here to inform him… … .”
Baren expresses his feelings of discomfort to the Sword King who entered the lord’s castle without permission.
However, the Sword King did not even look at it and said it as if he was notifying Chris.
“Chris Vector, come down in five minutes. I’ll be waiting for you in the drawing room.”
“No, what is that… … .”
The sword king, not listening to the stupid answer, turned around and headed downstairs to the drawing room.
Chris asked Tyrone, taken aback by his attitude.
“Hey, wasn’t this my house?”
“I don’t think it’s because I’m a nobleman, right?”
When Tyrone sighed and replied weakly, Illesis, who was engrossed in the experiment in his room, reflected his face.
As if she had witnessed the sword king passing through the hallway, she trembled all over and asked urgently.
“I… Why is that person here?”
“I don’t know either. I need to find out from now on.”
Chris muttered dissatisfiedly, threw away the things he was carrying, and went down to the living room with the three of them.
In the neatly arranged drawing room, the Sword King, the Singer King, and a middle-aged man they had never seen before greeted them.