Ch. 155
Chapter 155: Leg of the Tower
Bang bang bang-
“Move it carefully! Each and every one of those is more valuable than your lives!”
“You stupid ogre bastard! Don’t throw it!”
Dozens of furnaces continuously spewed flames. Shirtless, muscular dwarves brought their hammers down with force.
Countless metals were refined and brought out of the workshop. Monsters carried the finished parts outside, and craftsmen who had been waiting in the snow drew circuits and connected them, joining everything into one.
“This way!”
“Hurry up! The circuit isn’t fully engraved yet!”
“H-hey, it’s tipping! Careful!”
A gigantic leg.
Each one was a massive leg nearly twenty-two meters long, and there were eight of them in total.
They were racing toward completion.
In just three months.
“...An incredible speed.”
Berje watched the scene from atop a small mound and marveled. He had pushed them hard, but he had never imagined it would be this fast. He had thought it would take at least half a year.
“Don’t forget that my contribution was huge.”
Vivian shrugged her shoulders. He didn’t particularly like her smug attitude, but this time, she was right.
The demons she had brought numbered in the dozens, and most of them were succubi. And Berje had discovered another ability the succubi possessed.
Delicacy. Surprisingly good dexterity.
Compared to dwarves, it was but a drop in the bucket, but as supporting manpower, they were more than sufficient.
There was no denying that the succubi’s participation had greatly contributed to hastening the leg’s completion.
“Me too.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Scales.”
Berje frowned but tore off a piece of scale and handed it to Lavinia.
Thanks to the increased intelligence of the monsters after she turned them into chimeras, the work had proceeded far more smoothly.
Cher, who could lift most heavy objects alone, had also been a great help.
But if one were to name those who had contributed the most, it was the dwarves above all.
They wanted to complete, as quickly as possible, a structure they had never made before and would never be able to make again.
That obsession, mixed with Roger Friedrich’s desire to curry favor with Berje, had ground their very lives into it.
“I’m glad it was completed in time.”
“Yeah, truly fortunate.”
Just two days ago, word had arrived that the Empire’s hero’s march preparations were complete. It was at a level that even if the current Berje came back from the dead, he wouldn’t be able to stop it.
‘Even thinking about it again, it really was completed at an absurdly perfect time.’
“Demon King! It’s finished!”
From below, Roger, who had been directing the dwarves, shouted. The eight legs had finished being arranged around the tower.
From the outside, they looked as though they were attached to the tower, but in reality, they were merely pressed tightly against it. The tower’s outer wall was so sturdy that it was impossible to pierce it by any ordinary means.
“It’s done!”
“To think we actually made this.”
“But will it really work?”
“Yeah. It’s not even connected to the tower core, it’s just pressed against it.”
“Shh, do you really think the Demon King would have us do something pointless?”
“At first I wondered if it would work, but since there was no need to make a core, it was easier than expected.”
“Easy, you say, when your nose is bleeding like that?”
“And your eyes look like rotten pollock eyes. How about going to get some sleep?”
“Khhahaha, sleep at this glorious moment of activation? You want to try me?”
“That’s not a bad idea. Just remember that I haven’t slept for days, so my hammer doesn’t know the meaning of restraint right now.”
The dwarves, made irritable by three months of grueling labor, snarled at one another.
Berje considered ripping out their impudent tongues, but since it had been completed safely thanks to them, he decided to be generous and let it slide. It was a good day. It was thanks to their efforts.
Berje extended his hand.
The chill of metal imbued with the cold of Ergest could be felt.
And then.
[The tower recognizes the magic tool ‘Spider’s Legs’ X8 located on the outer wall.]
[Judged to have been installed by the will of the tower lord. The tools can be assimilated with the tower.]
[3,200,000pt is required.]
[Would you like to assimilate?]
The tower recognized the legs.
‘Four hundred thousand points per leg.’
It couldn’t be called cheap, but it was within his expectations, so Berje nodded without hesitation.
[Consuming points.]
Pajijijik-
The tower’s demonic energy surged all at once.
But.
[Faint mana energy has been detected.]
[Assimilation failed.]
[More demonic energy is required for complete assimilation.]
[Would you like to assimilate by consuming 7,200,000pt?]
“...W-what, what is wrong?”
Roger shrank back as the sudden killing intent poured out.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Berje clutched his throbbing head. Come to think of it, the same thing had happened when assimilating the Ghost of Mana.
It had been because of the interference power contained by Roger, a hero.
‘I should be grateful that it isn’t ten times this time, at least.’
Since Roger hadn’t made it alone, the amount of interference power that had seeped in wasn’t that great.
Of course, because it was something so massive, the absolute quantity was still considerable.
Berje nodded once more.
Fortunately, the demonic energy he had steadily accumulated with the legs in mind was more than sufficient.
[Beginning assimilation.]
A massive flow of demonic energy swallowed both the tower and the eight legs.
* * *
“...Will it be all right?”
Ernan anxiously bit at her nails. It was rare for the mask of constant smiles she wore to crack like this.
- Should we try contacting him?
“I did. But he isn’t answering.”
He had told her in advance that he might be out of contact for a while because of what he was about to do.
But being informed beforehand didn’t make the worry disappear. Especially now that the Empire had completely drawn its blade.
“I didn’t know. I never imagined the Empire would be this desperate.”
At most, wasn’t the kidnapped one was just the 9th Princess?
And even if he had tried to overthrow the Empire using a Black Mage, it had been stopped in the end.
Fundamentally, no country allowed foreign armies to enter under the pretext of a hero’s march.
The same applied even if the opponent was the Empire. No, it was precisely because it was the Empire that it was even more problematic.
The Empire had a history of toppling multiple nations through such methods long ago.
That was why, unless it intended to wage war against the entire continent, it was assumed the Empire would abide by the unwritten rules of the hero’s march.
Instead of regular troops, it would officially send heroes, assault units, and mercenaries not affiliated with any nation.
That was the norm.
As the name suggested, since the opponent was a Demon King, heroes did form the core, but it was impossible to fill everyone with heroes alone. Having over four thousand heroes was by no means a small number, but it wasn’t overflowing either.
But the Empire had done it.
They had composed all five hundred of the hero’s march entirely of pure heroes.
And that wasn’t all.
Balraf Dislode, Gillian Aint, Aina Diaphrin, and even Watton Colo, who had newly become a Star.
Astonishingly, four Stars were included. No matter how many hundreds of mana cannons were installed and even if the elves stepped forward, even if the Demon King of Lust had been taken in as a subordinate, it was a force that couldn’t be stopped.
Unless both Demon Kings had been in Arein for well over a decade, but they were both Demon Kings of around two years at most.
- Well, I’m not particularly worried.
- I don’t think that Demon King will win, but I don’t think he’ll die either.
“...I suppose so.”
- That’s why he isn’t reachable right now, isn’t it?
- Talking about attaching legs to the tower or whatever.
“That’s right.”
Ernan nodded slightly.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t a bad sign. It meant he was moving forward to escape the worst possible outcome.
“It’ll work out. It always has.”
Things always got tangled, but each time, he came up with an appropriate solution. That was the Berje Deias she knew.
- Right, and at the very end, he even kidnapped eight more princesses.
- He rampaged around like a complete brute.
“...Please don’t talk about that.”
A fine crack appeared on Ernan’s face.
For several weeks now, under the justification that he needed to accumulate as many Demonic Points as possible, Berje had been provoking kingdoms left and right without discrimination.
He did not touch the three northern kingdoms that could directly lead armies north, but starting with the four princesses of Iasince three months ago, followed by the 4th Princess of Ormus, the 3rd Princess of Hessen, the 1st Princess of Gaina, and even the 1st Princess of the Principality of Karmenia, whose ruler was the Union Head of the Trafarta Union.
The entire continent was thrown into turmoil, yet under the Empire’s threat to “keep the order,” everyone stayed as silent as dead mice.
- Still, isn’t it fortunate? They say there’s no princess like you, or Kaede, or Ellena, or Lavinia.
“What do you mean, ‘princesses like us’?”
- Ones who feel more comfortable in the Demon King’s Tower than in their own homes? Who see the Demon King as a friend and an object of love?
“Don’t treat us like we’re strange people.”
- You are strange though.... Of course, I like that about you.
- ‘The one who first reached out her hand.’
- ‘The one who first grasped his hand.’
- ‘The first princess.’
- Kyaaaaaah! I love it so much!
“...Don’t you ever get tired of that?”
- Not at all! It’s always thrilling! Always fresh!
“Please be quiet. I have something important going on right now.”
- How could you be so cold!
The water spirit, already far gone, did not listen.
Ernan closed her eyes and covered her ears. She slowly regulated her breathing, steadying her heart.
After a moment, the door opened.
Hero Hillan Cargill, dressed in a neat formal suit, slowly bowed his waist.
Ernan lifted the head she had lowered and gently brushed back her platinum-blonde hair.
“Your Highness, you are beautiful. That dress suits you exceedingly well.”
The pale lavender hue was warm yet foreign. Still, it harmonized perfectly with Ernan’s atmosphere.
Within it, her shining eyes were more beautiful than any jewel hanging from the dress.
The light makeup made her stand out all the more.
“You don’t have ulterior motives, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“I believe you.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Me?”
The corners of Ernan’s lips lifted.
She was nervous. But that wasn’t because of this event. It was because of Berje, who could not be contacted.
“Not at all. My elder brother couldn’t endure his impatience and bared his claws first, so I’ll just enjoy watching.”
“Quite a few nobles are wavering back and forth.”
“How nice of them. They’re conveniently giving me a chance to sort out those bat-like people.”
“That is also His Majesty’s intention.”
“I know Father better than anyone. It seems my refusal didn’t sit well with him. You can tell by how he’s causing trouble like this.”
It wasn’t particularly significant.
Already more than half of the nobles had turned to Ernan Hilderan’s side.
Because of the talent and dignity Ernan Hilderan had shown.
And because of the goodwill and trust possessed by Hero Hillan Cargill, who stood with her.
No matter how aristocrat-centered the kingdom was, it could not completely ignore the will of the people.
With the intentions of countless citizens resting with Ernan and Hillan, the nobles had no choice but to follow the prevailing tide for their own safety.
Even so, her elder brother’s actions were nothing more than a final struggle.
Unable to bear watching himself slowly sink, he tried to twist the situation somehow.
Added to that was the king’s silence, tinged with a bit of anger toward Ernan for refusing marriage with Hillan.
But there were two things that would never change.
One was that Ernan’s faction was no longer so fragile that it could lose authority with a single word from the king.
“My elder brother is foolish. He doesn’t realize that the only way to change Father’s intentions is to kill me. But he’s a coward without the nerve to do it.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but that he can’t. I am protecting Your Highness, and Your Highness is also a Spirit Sorceress contracted with a high level spirit. How could an assassination even be possible?”
“If his will for the throne were strong enough, he would do it no matter what.”
“Even if he succeeded in killing Your Highness, the Second Prince would not emerge unscathed either.”
The other unchanging fact was that the king could never abandon Ernan Hilderan.
To the king, Ernan was not merely a Crown Princess, but a light that could elevate the kingdom into an empire.
“It’s time. Shall we go?”
“May I be granted the honour of escorting Your Highness?”
Hillan knelt on one knee and extended his hand.
“Gladly.”
Ernan took his hand and rose.
Together, the two headed for the banquet hall.
That day, in the royal castle of Hilderan, the wedding of the kingdom’s Second Prince and the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Hessen was held.