Episode 267
Episode 96. Dempir’s Nightmare (1)
Members of the Blue Sword informed the director of Yunin Oasis about Yuma’s past in detail.
The blue sword had also arrived at Yunin Oasis via Seruka.
So, I was able to get in touch with the story of Yuma and his party’s exploits that had spread to Hajir Castle and King Seruka’s Castle.
The directors of Oasis couldn’t help but open their mouths when they heard Yuma’s new title of ‘Ogre Slayer’.
They still couldn’t understand the fact that Yuma killed Bappa, but they realized that it was not for personal gain.
As soon as the full-scale management of the blue sword began, the party left the oasis to occupy the next key point.
“Everyone understands this war as a rebellion in Ragatino, but Your Majesty called it an ‘invasion of demons’. Looking at the way they are going, it seems that the invasion of demons has really begun. A demon with purple blood…
On the way to see Yuma off, the captain of the blue sword added such words along with a greeting.
Originally, what humans are familiar with is the demons of the underworld, and they all shed black blood.
A large-scale invasion by demons bleeding purple blood was something humans had never imagined.
That’s right. Ragatino is probably just a focal point to gather human traitors.”
“At Eltainer, Kantra’s chief elementalists are trying to find a way to stop the Demon Possession. He wants to stand up to His Majesty and give strength to the great people.”
“Okay. Be careful too.”
When Tulka left the castle, members of the Blue Sword raised their swords.
[Anyway, humans are a disgusting tribe. At most, the lord saved me, but there was no one to see me off, Aim!]
After Rakir left the oasis, I wasn’t in a good mood.
It was because none of the people in charge of Yunin Oasis had properly thanked Yuma.
“What does this mutt care about? But the blue sword sent me off.”
The members of the blue sword were in an atmosphere that treated Yuma and the others as if they were heroes of mankind.
It was thanks to Rugal’s brief explanation of the reason why Yuma left for the central region first to his bodyguards.
[girl! Even in the underworld, if you experience something you are thankful for, you show your gratitude. Insignificant human bastards are not basic anyway. Lord! Why don’t you just kill them all!]
Yuma was not at all interested in why Rakir was angry.
In fact, the people in charge of Oasis were too insignificant for Yuma today. I feel like a child who knows nothing.
There was nothing to offend if those people hated the one who killed the commander.
Rather, Yuma was satisfied with the fact that his body in the underworld became noticeably stronger by absorbing the higher-level demons.
Of course, it was still not enough to handle Rakir, but there was a clear difference from the last time when only the bones were a little hardened.
“You say thank you even in the underworld? Asmodians?”
[sure! Isn’t it natural?
One of the best tokens of gratitude in the underworld is the fresh soul of a freshly deceased human being. It’s fun to play with and fun to eat! Hee hee.]
“Ah… yes.”
[Perhaps when the lord ascends the throne, the arrogant demons from the southern part of the underworld will come to offer their fresh souls. Just having the king sitting on the throne can prevent the southern part of the underworld from collapsing.]
“I don’t want to receive it.”
[If you try it, you will change your mind. Hehehe.]
“If I receive it, I will give it to you.”
[Oh oh! Thank you!]
As Yuma met Rakir, he was realizing that the demon world was not too different from the human world.
They, too, express gratitude by eating, making love, starting a family, and living.
Of all the values, strength is put at the top, but that was no different for humans.
It was really unexpected.
To Yuma, who experienced the Dragon Horse War, the image of the Demons was pure evil or an incarnation of absolute destruction.
‘But even those bastards get hurt when they’re hit and shed tears when they’re sad.’
There were obviously many differences from the monsters.
Yuma liked the fact that the customs of the demons were similar to those of humans.
It was because I felt like it would be easier to catch and kill those filthy demons in the future.
It would be easier to kill someone who thought of it as a piece of meat that was no different from a human than an unknown monster.
In addition, the fact that there are emotions could be interpreted as the existence of weaknesses.
If a demon tribe that was difficult to deal with appeared, it would have been possible to find things that could be its weakness and threaten them.
‘For example, blood relatives or something precious.’
It felt like I had one more weapon to fight against the demons. Yuma became more refreshed and drove Tulka to Kuzan Castle.
“Rakir, then you have a family too?”
[They are all dead. They fell prey to Southern generals. At that time, they weren’t generals yet.] “I’m sorry.”
[There is no such thing. All of them are more than 700 years old. In the underworld, it’s natural to die if you’re weak. Kihee! Isn’t that different for humans too?]
“Well, that’s right. So you want to get revenge on those southern generals?”
[Hmm, revenge… I hadn’t thought of that before meeting my lord, but now it’s okay to seriously think about it. If I succeed my master and become the Demon King! You will become much stronger! Kyaha!]
“…Yes. cheer up.”
Thanks to Tulka’s hard work, the party was able to arrive at Kuzan Castle in four days.
Fortunately, Kuzan Castle had a completely different atmosphere from Selukana Oasis.
Like Seruka, there was no uproar from being stabbed in the back by nearby allies, and it was not peaceful like Oasis.
Guards were placed at each watchtower of the castle wall, and wooden fences and various traps were already installed in front of the castle. The magic bombardment was also placed in the right place.
In addition, even Randel was impressed by the fact that even the citizens of the capital of Kuzan were brought into the castle.
Three weeks had passed since the Kuzan Royal Castle went into wartime mode.
Kuzan’s leaders were acutely aware of the danger Lagatineau’s army was.
After showing Rugal’s seal, the party was able to enter the castle without difficulty.
“His Majesty Rugal hasn’t forgotten us either! I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you in these days, in these heinous times. Nice to meet you. I’m Fights 2. He is the king of Kuzan.”
Faiz II stroked his beard while accepting the seal of Rugal that Yuma held out. He was wearing armor, not robes.
“Thank you for your hospitality, my King.”
For a while, Yuma and Feitz talked about their journey.
Pitts did not doubt Yuma’s restoration of Seruca Castle.
He is a person who deeply trusts Rugal, and he is conscious of the names of Yuma and Rugal written side by side on the seal. In Fitz’s eyes, Yuma was no different from Rugal’s friend.
No ruler in the East had ever received a seal with the name of an emperor written side by side.
“The western baron is the first to take care of the eastern affairs. I have nowhere to thank. Do you have any more news from outside?”
Soon, Emperor Rugal’s personal guard will be deployed to Kuzan Castle. We are on our way after confirming that Blue Sword support has arrived at Yunin Oasis.”
“Ohh… I’m just thrilled with Your Majesty’s grace.”
It seemed that Yuma and the others didn’t need to exert much effort in the Kuzan castle.
“Is there anything the King can tell us?”
“Yes. Demon possessors are appearing one after another in the central region. I don’t know what kind of magic Lagatino Rollmandi is using…
“The captain of the blue sword said that Emperor Rugal correctly named this war ‘The Demon Invasion’.”
“There were also two possessed persons in Kuzan. Fortunately, it wasn’t that strong, so I killed and burned it, but I’m worried about what if a large number of ice chairs suddenly appear like this.”
Demon possession was the phenomenon that broke the morale of the human army the most even during the dragon horse war before returning.
There were many cases in which a person who had been an ally until this morning was suddenly possessed by a demon and put a knife through his throat.
At the time, it was not uncommon for some areas where demonic possession was severe, where soldiers could not trust each other and became devastated and then self-destruct.
This was a question that had no answer unless the possession was prevented.
“There is no solution other than to isolate those who show symptoms in advance.”
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 0uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 0uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 0uuuuuuuuuuuuuu 0 of them of course… you guys are now planning to go to Fort Dempir via the Central Fort?”
That’s right.”
“You really picked the key point well. But I have two bad news.”
Pitts said with a hard expression on his face.
Any good news?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Please tell me.”
“First… the Central Desert Fortress has already been defeated by Lagatino’s army. I can’t believe it, but two ogres swept the fortress.”
They’re probably not ogres, but weapons from the Demon Realm called ‘Maktoum’.”
When Yuma explained about Maktoum, Fitz smiled awkwardly.
“Fortunately, the least of my misfortunes.
However, it doesn’t seem to have much meaning in the situation where the fortress is completely destroyed.”
“They will definitely send Maktoum to Kuzan, so the SS’s support should arrive as soon as possible.”
There are over 100 magic bombers and 6 sword masters. We should be able to hold out until His Majesty’s bodyguards arrive.”
If you use more than 100 magic bombers properly, you will be able to drag the time against Maktoum.
However, defeating Maktoum that much was impossible for Yuma.
He could only hope that Rugal’s bodyguards would arrive before Maktoum’s.
The war situation was going much worse than Yuma and the others expected.
The Central Desert Fortress was in ruins and lost its value as a strategic point.
Rather, it would have been completely destroyed if it had been occupied by the army of Ragatino.
They knew very well that a more certain strategy would be to destroy a desert fortress and make it unusable for humans to use, rather than occupying and managing it.
“What’s the second bad news?”
“The Dempir Fortress has become a demon cave.”
“yes?
“Literally. It seems that there was a dormant demon cave in the basement of the fortress. Recently, there was news that the devil’s activity had completely encroached on Dempir Fortress.”
This was the reason Kuzan entered the wartime system faster than Selukana and Yunin.
Forts in the immediate vicinity were collapsing one by one, so he had to prepare properly.
“Huh… Did you build a fortress on top of a demon cave?”
“It’s a demonic cave with no history of activity since ancient times, and since it was underground, no one thought it would be a problem. And now I’m at a loss.”
Feitz slowly blinked bitterly.
“Without the Dempir Fortress, it would be difficult to scout the central battle line.”
“Sir Randall. Were there any other alternative places on the map you saw last time?”
“Yes friend. Without Dempir, mid-level combat is virtually no different from doing it without eyes. If I were the entire commander, I think I would rather call the enemies to Seruka and fight.”
In that case, it meant that all countries in front of Seruca would have to give up.
“I was also prepared.
These days, I feel helpless as a king…
First of all, I’ll go to Dempir and see it with my own eyes. Don’t worry too much, I’ll find a way.”
It was time for the Kuzan Royal Meeting to be held.
The party went to the room Paiz had given them and started discussing what to do with the Dempir Fortress.
[Master! You seem to know how to do this Rakir haha. From my point of view, this is really honey!]
The Rakir sitting on top of Ballinan’s head let its small fangs shine.
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