The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 166

“Haah…”

“Hey, don’t stretch out too much, okay?”

The witch said this while watching her comrade yawn widely.

In response, that person answered in a lethargic tone.

“What’s the big deal? No one’s coming here anyway. Besides, in a little while, this whole world will belong to our Magic Kingdom.”

“Even so, aren’t you being a bit too careless? With the Empire Army pushing in, we don’t know when or how the enemy might show up.”

“Oh, those guys will probably head straight to the capital, Lehiere, where the ceremony is taking place. There’s no way they’d come to this dump of Insmurs. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s true, but…”

“To be honest, the only reason we’re here is because Shude was demoted. She’s barely hanging onto her position among the Four Demon Maidens, so it’s obvious why she was sent here at a time like this. They want us to just sit tight and eat whatever scraps are thrown our way.”

“…Huh…”

The witch was left speechless by her comrade’s blunt remarks.

To be honest, she was feeling quite irritated about their current situation too, and all she could do was sigh in frustration.

But then…

“Cough! Cough!”

“Huh? What’s going on suddenly…! Cough! Cough!”

In the next moment, the witches began to suffer from a sudden bout of coughing.

They started to look around, feeling something strange in the air.

“What is that? Is it some kind of dust…?”

“Fog? No… it seems a bit different than that…”

A sinister smoke suddenly filled their vision.

It felt like something artificial rather than a natural phenomenon, making them feel uneasy as they became tense, unlike before.

At that moment…

“Bang!”

-BOOOOM!!!-

“Gahhh!!”

Then, an enormous explosion erupted unexpectedly.

Without any chance to react, the witches present either died or sustained injuries in an instant.

And amidst the flames caused by the explosion, a demon clad in golden armor appeared.

As soon as she made her entrance, the Magic Kingdom’s troops guarding Insmurs began to rally around her.

“An intruder! Stop them!”

“Get Shude here right now! Wipe out anyone who dared set foot here!”

In a flurry, the soldiers rushed in to fill the gaps created by the surprise attack.

Watching them, a member of the Four Demon Maidens, Nyadan Yosia, calmly adjusted her halberd and spoke.

“You all must die. Given the nature of this mission, we can’t leave any witnesses.”

With those words, Nyadan began to unleash more of her magic to produce smoke once again.

Unlike before, when she deliberately spread it thickly to cover their vision, this time, the fine particles filled the area, becoming invisible to others.

“I’ll take care of you all.”

And…

-BOOOOM!!!-

Another immense explosion erupted, killing a majority of the soldiers rushing towards Nyadan, while the few following behind were paralyzed by fear and couldn’t move.

“W-What is this…?”

“W-What on earth is going on? Where did such a monster suddenly come from…?”

The defending troops hesitated in shock at the sudden attack from a strong opponent.

As they looked on, Nyadan, wielding her halberd, shouted in a cold voice.

“Path is clear. Moving according to plan.”

“Yes, Nyadan!”

Leading her direct subordinates waiting behind her, Nyadan began her offensive.

Although their numbers were small, the earlier mysterious attacks she demonstrated made it difficult for the enemy to approach.

Furthermore, after her initial show of flashy attacks that drew aggro from all directions, Nyadan started to hold back, not showing too much aggression.

And in her position of leadership in this standoff, a calm yet chilling smile began to form on Nyadan’s lips.


‘Now then… I’ve diverted their attention enough. The rest should take care of themselves, right?’

*

“Damn it!”

Shude rushed out from where the Sealing Stone was.

Though she was momentarily thrown into chaos by the abrupt situation, she quickly assessed that this wasn’t entirely an impossible scenario.

‘Right now, the Empire Army has invaded the Magic Kingdom, and it wouldn’t be odd for that Vice Minister Eileen to be leading a separate squad around here.’

While it was slightly odd that this was happening in the remote city of Insmurs, it was plausible that they stumbled upon the invasion by poking around here and there, or they might have caught wind of some information regarding the Sealing Stone.

‘Either way, it’s clear that they’ve infiltrated here. So…’

As she thought this, Shude stepped out of the temple and looked down at the outside.

From that vantage point, she could see the scene of the enemy attack that had already begun in Insmurs.

“Is that where she is? Eileen is over there?”

A place she could reach in mere minutes, if she took off flying.

With smoke and flames swirling around from the explosion, there stood the very person she had long sought to eliminate, causing Shude to feel a profound conflict in that instant.

‘Going to catch her right now is… No, no matter what I do, as the one in charge, leaving this place…’

As she sorted out her emotions, Shude, however, had no thoughts of defeat crossing her mind.

Although the scale wasn’t very large, the defending troops stationed here were by no means weak.

Above all, Shude’s combat power was second to none, except for Hero Ellen in the Hero Party.

Even if Eileen were to invade now, there was nothing she could do.

‘Nevertheless, the fact that she came here means she probably doesn’t realize I’m already here. Indeed… I didn’t expect luck to be on my side like this.’

With those thoughts, Shude resolved to finalize everything in this opportunity and began to unleash her magic fiercely.

“Come on! I’ll make this place your grave!”

-“Really? What a coincidence; I was just thinking the same thing!”-

“!?”

In the next moment, a chillingly familiar voice reached her ears.

To Shude, it was a twisted sound she knew well, and she felt a chill running down her spine as she slowly turned around.

Before her eyes stood…

A being with a skeletal body, wearing a robe, and emitting an ominous magic.

A Lich.

With the voice of one known as the distorted mage of the Demon Kingdom, Shude felt a deep confusion wash over her, and she spoke with a trembling tone.

“What… what are you… Who are you?”

-“Hehehe… How disappointing… Did you really forget my face already?”-

The Lich began to approach her slowly with a chilling laugh.

Seeing this, Shude instinctively had to acknowledge it.

The undead mage approaching her, devoid of flesh, was indeed the very person she had desperately wanted to find and eliminate.

Eileen.

“W-What… How… How did this happen…? Eileen, why do you look… like that…”

-“Well? How did it come to this? That’s not really important.”-

With those words, Eileen, now a Lich, unleashed a power beyond comparison from what she had demonstrated before.

Even Shude, one of the strongest witches, couldn’t help but feel a shiver down her spine from the tremendous force that enveloped her.

-“What’s important is that I can now take my revenge on you, even in this body! The one who took Torare away from me! Now that I’m like this, I won’t let myself be unhappy alone! You and Torare will also have to suffer like me!”-

With heartfelt hatred and fury laced with feelings of despair, the Lich Eileen lunged toward Shude.

In the midst of the shock, Shude hastily channeled her magic to defend against the attack.

-Crackle!!!

Shude’s barrier blocked Eileen’s staff wreathed in blue flames.

At that moment, Shude realized that this opponent before her now wielded a power that was several levels beyond the last time they faced off.

‘Twice as strong… No, perhaps even more… I’ve heard Lich power nearly doubles after they transform, and that’s proving to be true.’

Previously, Shude would have had a fair chance of winning, but now Eileen had become an opponent whose victory was uncertain.

Thus, Shude focused on her defense while quickly brainstorming her next move.

‘A battle with uncertain victory isn’t my style. So, that means…’