Chapter 158
Amon’s legion was in a state of confusion. Suddenly, someone had jumped down from the sky and taken both the enemies and Amon somewhere.
“W-what should we do?”
One of Amon’s generals, the most experienced among them, asked Eltlam. The experienced and distinguished general instinctively sensed something ominous and spoke.
“First, let’s retreat.”
“Excuse me?”
“Something is coming. Order the entire army to pull back about 200 meters.”
“Yes.”
Following Eltlam’s directive, each general ordered their legions to pull back. Just as they retreated about half the distance they originally intended, the ground suddenly shook violently.
Kugugugugugu!!!
The legion soldiers were startled and began to panic.
“W-what is happening?”
“What is going on, Commander?”
“How would I know?!”
Despite the legion’s numbers being vast, they were quite weak compared to Amon’s rank. This was due to their low loyalty towards Amon, resulting in lax training and negligence of practice.
However, among them, there were certainly outstanding individuals. Eltlam commanded the confused soldiers.
“Maintain formation! It’s not shaking too violently, so it shouldn’t be a big problem!”
“Yes…!”
Eltlam managed to calm the soldiers, but in reality, he was also feeling very anxious and bewildered. Where would the ground suddenly shake for no reason?
Unless the Earth Elemental King had come, he was fighting against another Demon King far away from their battlefield.
“What on earth….”
The man who had suddenly disappeared along with Amon and the Elemental Kings moments ago. Eltlam believed him to be the culprit. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, an unbelievable sight unfolded before Eltlam and the legionnaires.
“What is that…?”
“C-Commander, what is that?”
Soldiers asked Eltlam, who was staring at the same sight. This time, however, even he could not answer. The air was rifted apart. It looked as though the glass ceiling of the heavens had been smashed, and a scar left by a sword strike still remained in the air.
“A sword strike?”
“What the hell is happening….”
The legion soldiers and even the generals mumbled in disbelief. But Eltlam thought somewhat differently.
“A sword strike remaining? No, that can’t be. That’s….”
It was magic power. A powerful, dense magic power remained like a sword strike. It seemed to be the only way to describe it since it had shattered the sky and still lingered in place.
Eltlam shifted his gaze to the side of that sword strike. Clouds were split vertically. It was caused by a sword strike made from the battlefield of the Third Army in the Piast Kingdom.
“Is it the work of the same individual?”
The moment he reached that conclusion, the nothingness in the air suddenly began to shatter like glass shards. Amidst the falling fragments, a man appeared.
“!”
It was the man who had taken Amon and the Elemental Kings away. Eltlam was about to order the legion soldiers to prepare for battle when he noticed what was behind the man and immediately lost his fighting spirit.
“C-Commander.”
“W-what are those monsters?”
Behind the man were monsters that revealed their murderous intent, growling threateningly. At that moment, as Eltlam stared at the scene in shock, the man commanded the monsters.
“Devour them all. Leave not a single one behind.”
─────!!!
Three Massu let out roars and charged toward the legion. The generals quickly regained their composure and ordered their soldiers to respond, but….
‘It’s a futile… act.’
Truly.
It was indeed a meaningless act. The legion, which had formed its ranks, was sucked into the gaping maw of the colossal Behemoth along with the ground.
Just before Eltlam was trampled by the Behemoth’s leg, he glanced at the spot where the man stood. Right beside him lay the fallen Elemental King with sky-blue hair, and ahead of him was his lord, Amon, split in half.
“Why on earth… is there a Great Demon here?”
Eltlam let out a brief question as he was crushed underneath the Behemoth’s leg.
#
Nahun let out a long breath. He then addressed Behemoth, who was playing around, stepping on the already crushed corpses.
“Stop playing and clean up now.”
“Muuung.”
Behemoth, looking somewhat disgruntled, swept the corpses with its large nose. Then Leviathan approached, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed them in one go.
“Muuuu!!”
When Behemoth protested why it was eating alone, Leviathan responded with a light burp. Then Behemoth charged forward, causing Leviathan to topple over.
“Muuuu!!”
“Puuuuuu!!”
“Stop it.”
As Nahun warned softly one last time, both Leviathan and Behemoth immediately ceased their actions and eyed him cautiously.
“Once everything is cleaned up, shrink back down.”
Gize poked at their backsides with its beak as if urging the two Massu to shrink. Leviathan, Behemoth, and Gize all shrank down and approached Nahun.
“Puu.”
“Muuung.”
“Pii.”
As all three Massu gathered around him, Nahun pressed his forehead. The headache was due to having expended not only Amon’s magic power but also his own usable magic.
“Tsk….”
The reason Nahun had exhausted his own magic power was not solely to finish Amon with one blow. There were only a few seconds left before the space he had separated with magic disappeared.
If the space vanished, Amon would be able to escape, which would reveal that Nahun had attacked the Demon World Allied Forces.
To disguise that, Amon had to be dealt with and eliminated inside the separated space. Hence, he simply….
“I can’t afford to do that twice….”
He had lopped off Amon along with the space he had separated. That was why it had looked like the air was shattering when he had emerged.
With all his magic used up, Nahun thought he needed to return quickly and got to his feet.
“Pii.”
But suddenly, Gize poked Nahun with its beak. When Nahun looked at it quizzically, Gize shifted its gaze.
“What is it?”
“Pii.”
Nahun followed Gize’s gaze and saw the spear that Amon had used. Gize seemed to be asking how they would handle that.
The magic spear was as rare as a magic sword, so parting with it felt a bit wasteful.
“Should I take it with me?”
However, if he were to show how he used it, Nahun would reveal that he had killed Amon….
Nahun picked up the magic spear, then crushed the space to open it and also shoved his sword inside. His pocket dimension was more secure than most secret vaults.
“This way, no one will know.”
#
The supply-deprived Heidelbear Castle could no longer hold out. For a while, they had sustained themselves with the supplies stored in the castle, but since a massive explosion had occurred from the royal capital, proper supplies had ceased to arrive.
Enrique Pheldorf, the lord of Heidelbear and general of the Piast Kingdom, stood armored before his soldiers.
“Gentlemen.”
He had to make a decision. He couldn’t wait for a future of starving to death while rotting within the castle. If that happened, all their previous efforts at the siege would have been in vain. For the sake of a future where that meaning would not fade away, they had to venture out while they still had strength left.
“We are trapped.”
At Enrique’s words, the soldiers wore solemn expressions.
“A mysterious explosion occurred in the royal capital, and communication was cut off. Food supplies are no longer coming in. I believe you all can anticipate what this situation signifies.”
It was truly a grim situation. Because of that, the soldiers showed no signs of rising morale.
“However, does that mean we have lost? No! The enemy cannot even dare to breach our solid castle or break through your defenses. They are merely loitering outside all day! Should we be frightened by such an enemy?”
Whether they could break through or not, it was a matter that would decide their fate. A bit of morale was instilled in the soldiers, who steeled their resolve at Enrique’s words.
“Even if the royal capital has fallen, our kingdom has not been entirely occupied. Only if we come to our senses and fight can we protect the remaining citizens, friends, and loved ones!”
Enrique raised his sword high.
“Let us go, warriors! Show that bravery and carve a path to life!!!”
“Waaaaaaah!!!!”
The soldiers of Heidelbear Castle, unable to hold out any longer, began their march. Enrique knew as well. This was exactly what the enemy desired.
But they had no choice but to do so.
Starve to death or die fighting.
At that crossroads, the honorable Enrique chose the latter. However, as soon as they opened the castle gates and stepped outside, they could not help but regret that choice.
“Been waiting quite a while.”
With white hair fluttering in a foreboding aura, a Demon King holding a sword awaited them.
“You have finally emerged.”
Behind her, loyal legions preparing for battle appeared, as if they had expected her followers would come out.
Although their numbers were not overwhelming, it was sufficient to overwhelm Heidelbear Castle’s forces. And the most concerning factor was….
‘…Only elites.’
Enrique, with his vast experience, immediately recognized the capabilities of the death gods waiting for him.
They were all soldiers of nearly elite caliber. The Demon King leading them, Seere von Debata, aimed her sword at them.
“It is time to pay the price for making me wait, humans.”
