Chapter 175 : Only
Chapter 175: Only
After arriving in Iasince, the allied forces stayed for two weeks, finalising their formations and constructing more detailed plans.
The army of 110,000 was divided into three formations, with three heroes each taking command as supreme commander.
Balraf Dislode (Dormunt front) – Zespine Empire, Kingdom of Dormunt.
Rozel Charnte (Korzen front) – Kingdom of Arkan, Kingdom of Korzen, Kingdom of Hessen, Kingdom of Iasince, Kingdom of Machiel.
Hero Hillan Cargill (Horton front) – Kingdom of Hilderan, Kingdom of Horton, Trafarta Union, Kingdom of Ormus, Kingdom of Gaina.
“You are here, Hillan Cargill.”
Advancing toward the Kingdom of Horton, Hillan Cargill arrived at the royal capital and met another Star.
Jessica Horton. A princess of the Kingdom of Horton, and one of the few heroes who, despite being a Star, belonged not to a guild but directly to a kingdom.
She was the sword that protected Horton, and its final shield. Because of that, she wished not to leave the kingdom, and although the Kingdom of Horton had joined the alliance, she herself had been absent.
“I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Princess.”
“Let us refrain from such formalities between fellow Stars.”
“No, it is fine.”
“It has truly been a long time. Has it not?”
“Yes.”
“I was truly grateful for what happened back then. Thanks to you, I had something to say to Gillian Aint. But when I think about how your life was endangered because of me, I feel sorry.”
“No. I merely did what a hero was bound to do. What hero would fight a Demon King without risking their life?”
“Not everyone does what is bound to be done. For you, that was not something ‘bound’ either.”
“In the end, it was a failure born of insufficient ability.”
“That was not due to your lack of ability. It was because all of us underestimated the Frost Demon King. Who could have imagined that Demon King had hidden so many monsters and creatures and laid such traps?”
Hillan barely swallowed the words about there being Demon Kings who even prepared mana cannons.
“I have yet to give you the compensation I promised, so this is my failing. Even now, is there anything you desire?”
“It is fine.”
“There is always a price attached to every matter. You accepted my request and risked your life to help Gillian Aint, and I staked my honour in promising you a just reward.”
“...It is so sudden that nothing comes to mind right now.”
“Then it is fine even after the subjugation is over. Speaking like this, it seems as though I am reproaching you. I apologise.”
Jessica smiled bitterly.
“No. I am grateful for your consideration.”
“I am the one who should say that.”
After finishing his private meeting with Jessica, Hillan returned to the palace lodgings assigned to him.
‘A request promised on her honour by Princess Jessica.’
To be honest, he had forgotten. From the start, when he accepted Jessica’s request, he had not expected anything extraordinary.
Fame as a hero, and connections with her.
The request itself had merely been an additional benefit.
And though his fame had fallen due to the failed subjugation, it had recovered well, and he had succeeded in leaving a favourable impression on her.
After that, incidents kept occurring, and as he was tossed about by the Demon King, he ended up forgetting entirely.
‘A good card.’
It was a request he could make of a princess, a hero who held the position of a Star. Calling it a request was modest—given her personality and position, she would try to grant almost anything.
Depending on how it was used, the effect would vary immensely.
‘Should I ask her to push for me within the guild?’
‘Or an investigation into mental-type magic?’
Though he had now become a pawn of the Demon King, Hillan always dreamed of escape.
He did not deny that the Demon King had helped him greatly, nor that he was who he was now because of the Demon King. But was not humanity, after all, a race that longed for freedom?
No matter how great a hero he was, what was the point of killing four or five Demon Kings? Being the Demon King’s personal possession was still the same.
‘...I will think about it later. For now, I must focus on this matter.’
An astonishing 110,000 search troops and over a thousand heroes had been mobilized.
Even so, Hillan Cargill could not be certain that Berje would die.
That confidence.
It was because of the groundless confidence Berje had shown.
‘No, what kind of Demon King is he? There must be a reason.’
He simply did not share it.
‘The opponent is Balraf Dislode.’
Could the Demon King’s reason truly land a decisive blow on a Dragon Slayer who was sharpening his blade?
Hillan was convinced that this was the crux of this hero’s march.
‘But....’
As memories of last night’s private meeting surfaced naturally, Hillan’s brow furrowed.
‘Balraf Dislode is suspecting my relationship with the Demon King...?’
He had not said it outright, but there had been a strange atmosphere.
It was a very small fragment, but Hillan could sense it instinctively.
‘Is it because the tower was moved, after all?’
Hillan had found it, but Balraf had not. A tower being relocated was an unprecedented, absurd event.
Rather than believing the tower had moved, it was more plausible to think that Hillan was hiding something.
‘But why....’
He was not thinking that I killed it and hid it, was he? Without a tower, the first assumption would be that the Demon King was dead.
Like the Lust Demon King.
‘I do not know.’
After pondering briefly, Hillan shook his head. Whatever it was, this matter had long since left his hands.
He closed his eyes and prayed earnestly.
‘Please let the outcome be beneficial to me.’
Either Berje would sever Balraf’s head and cut off the seed of suspicion entirely.
Or Balraf Dislode would sever Berje’s head and free him from being a vassal.
Either way, Hillan Cargill would be relieved of one worry.
* * *
Countless humans were nothing more than easy prey for monsters to find.
Even the Peul Griffins, who held their own territory within the monsters’ paradise known as Ergest, were no exception.
Peul Griffins were monsters with thicker fur than ordinary griffins, living in flocks ranging from dozens to as many as a hundred.
Flying through the sky, they caught the sweet scent of prey. At the sight of countless humans, their mouths watered.
The leader griffin ordered preparations for the hunt.
Some griffins said that the number of humans was far too great, but the leader ignored their opinions.
Even to his eyes, the humans were quite numerous, but that was all. Humans were nothing more than weak prey. Some put up a decent resistance, but if they swooped down all at once and carried off just a few, the rest would surely panic and flee.
And so, the griffins beat their wings. They began a simultaneous descent toward the humans.
And that—
─────!
—was the leader griffin’s final memory.
Slash-
A massive cleaving strike split his body in two. As the griffins panicked at their leader’s death, what swept over them were countless arrows and auras.
Pabababak-
Kiiieeeek!
The screams of the Peul Griffins shook the once-silent snowy mountains.
“A rather harsh welcome.”
Balraf Dislode, who had split the leader griffin in two with a single blow, shook the blood from his sword. Without him needing to act further, the griffins were reduced to piles of gore in an instant.
Only about ten managed to escape. Balraf did not bother to pursue them.
An attack by a flock of nearly a hundred griffins—something rarely seen elsewhere—was merely a common occurrence here.
“We will divide the forces from here.”
After entering Ergest, at their first full-scale battle, the combined forces of the Empire and Dormunt nodded without loosening their tension.
Balraf divided the army of 40,000 into four groups of 10,000 each and assigned them their respective areas.
The 1st Army under Balraf Dislode himself.
The 2nd Army under Gillian Aint.
The 3rd Army under Aina Diaphrin.
And the 4th Army under a hero from Dormunt named Buarn.
For a coalition of 40,000—30,000 imperial troops and 10,000 from Dormunt—it was a perfectly fitting lineup.
“Search thoroughly from the ground up as you advance. There will be no second failure. We will find the tower without fail.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“I dislike a second failure as well, so I will do my utmost.”
The search forces split into four, then again into dozens more, scouring the mountain range from the bottom upward.
Monsters whose territories were violated bristled, but all became mere handfuls of corpses and vanished with screams.
And from afar, there was a Demon King watching all of it.
“Are they planning to exterminate the monsters entirely?”
Fools. Berje clicked his tongue.
“Do you see any familiar faces?”
“Quite a few.”
“Most of them will die.”
“They will not all be able to enter the tower.”
“Let me correct that. Most of the heroes will die.”
“And the rest, you will spare?”
“If they tuck their tails and flee on their own, I have no intention of forcing the issue.”
“That is a relief. Thank you for your mercy.”
“Mercy.”
At Kaede’s thanks, Berje let out a self-mocking laugh. It was not mercy, but escape.
Even if traps were laid, the overwhelming difference in force would not shrink.
Even if he annihilated the heroes in one blow, tens of thousands of troops would remain. If he pressed his advantage, he would likely be subjected to concentrated attacks and forced into an ignominious retreat.
Each of them was not a common soldier, but an elite.
“Krutu, what would you do?”
“If you give the order, I will punish them in the name of the Demon King.”
“Enough. You would be annihilated.”
What could a mere few hundred orcs hope to do?
“Let us simply return.”
“Is that acceptable?”
“Originally, I planned to lure them neatly to the tower, but....”
If they searched and advanced like that, from one end to the other, the story changed.
Their speed would slow, clashes with monsters would increase, and casualties would grow—but they would inevitably arrive at the fake tower.
That was enough.
“What kind of hero is Balraf Dislode?”
“I have no direct connection with him, so I cannot say much. However, I know that he is extremely strong and a representative figure of the Empire.”
Balraf Dislode had maintained ties with the Empire for quite some time. The Empire had long been connected with several Star heroes, and Balraf was one of the heroes it sponsored.
“A deep connection, huh.... Then how likely do you think it is that Barstain has passed into his hands?”
“...Pardon? That is impossible.”
“Why?”
“The Red Dragon Sword is a symbol of the Empire. No, it is a symbol of the imperial family. There is no way it would be handed over to someone who is not of imperial blood.”
To begin with, Kaede had never even heard rumors that Barstain had fallen into anyone’s hands.
“If Barstain had been taken out and an owner chosen, the entire Empire would have been in an uproar.”
“And if he had it nonetheless?”
“That is....”
“Nonetheless.”
Berje emphasized each word slowly and clearly.
“If he had it?”
“...The Red Dragon Sword is different from the ordinary relics of the archive. It would not be taken out simply because an owner was chosen.”
“Then?”
“Even so, if it could be taken out without a rat or bird noticing and handed to someone not of imperial blood.”
“If so?”
“...That would only be possible for His Majesty the Emperor.”
Not the First Imperial Prince, not the Second Imperial Prince, not the First Imperial Princess, nor the Third Imperial Prince.
Only the Emperor of the Empire could deceive everyone.
“...!”
* * *
Meanwhile.
“Now, let us go! To our Demon King!”
“O Lust, we are coming!”
In the Seratin Archipelago, where wars raged between pirate crews and kingdoms, those who could no longer endure the conflict began to flee.
Alkan of the Black Eyepatch Pirate Crew, Miriel of the Waterfall Beard Pirate Crew, and Rui of the Night Sea Pirate Crew.
The pirate captains who had been seduced by Vivian and become her vassals set sail with their fleets, searching for their vanished master.