The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 44

Bilemon Castle.

This place, about two days’ journey north of Antioch, was enveloped in a surprisingly quiet atmosphere, unlike just moments before.

“Hey Cain, how’s it over there?”

“What do you think? Of course, it’s empty here too. All the capable guys have been dragged off, and only a lucky few, like me, are left.”

“Well, you’ve always had ridiculous luck in situations like this.”

The soldiers leisurely basked by the campfire, seated with drinks in hand.

They were currently assigned to defend the eastern and western sides of Bilemon Castle, but for now, they had set those duties aside and were enjoying their drinking session.

“By the way, Lost, is this really okay? We’re technically on duty, and just sitting around drinking like this feels a bit… irresponsible.”

“What’s the big deal? The Demon Race isn’t going to show up in this situation anyway.”

“True, but…”

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. Overthinking just ruins the taste of the drink. Even if the Demon Race does actually show up, we can’t do anything about it, right?”

“Hmm…”

Given the cowardly reasoning from his comrade, soldier Cain could only reluctantly agree.

He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling by tearing into a small bird roasting over the fire.

The generals who had led their troops out under the pretense of capturing the Demon King and ending the war.

Now, with most of the forces that had originally been stationed here having departed, the few remaining soldiers were sinking into an overly relaxed atmosphere.

Although they had taken most of the food with them, they had left behind the barrels of alcohol, claiming they would be an unnecessary nuisance on the march and in battle.

Thus, those barrels had become the sole delight of the soldiers left behind.

Effectively, the soldiers were filling their bellies with alcohol instead of the scarce food.

In any case, feeling thrilled at finally being able to eat something plentiful after a long time, their previously tight tension had completely dissolved, and the already minimal number of soldiers had completely thrown their guard away.

And…

Watching this scene unfold, as they had now entered the castle and were slowly revealing themselves from the shadows, they couldn’t help but feel a profound emptiness at the rather lackluster situation they had found.

“I expected something along these lines, but… this really borders on ridiculous, doesn’t it?”

“Right? We’ve bled so much to defend this place. I didn’t think it would be reclaimed so easily…”

In the past, the battle at Bilemon had forced the Demon Race to retreat after losing 2,000 troops.

Yet, at this very moment, the Demon Race had essentially taken over the place without spilling a drop of blood.

Before their eyes lay the humans, sprawled in a drunken stupor.

These were virtually all of the defenses here, and all that remained was binding them up properly and taking them as prisoners.

“Anyway, the situation isn’t completely over yet, so don’t let your guard down. Once this place is settled, we’ll move on to the next location with just a handful of troops left.”

“Yes, Demon General.”

“Understood.”

While adhering to Elias’s orders without loosening their tension, the subordinates began tying up the drunken human soldiers.

Right after confirming that the worry of a surprise counterattack from them was utterly meaningless, Elias felt a mix of emptiness and joy at having once again seized a castle without any loss to his side, all the while questioning why things had gone so smoothly.

“I was aware that General Samson’s troops in Antioch would act as bait, but even so, isn’t this a bit much? Did they really leave the castles unattended while squeezing their troops this much…?”

The Alliance Army’s reaction to simply defeating the enemy seemed excessively enthusiastic for mere defense.

Like a swarm of bees drawn to honey, they rushed in without hesitation, making Elias wonder if that cunning hero had pulled off another trick.

“I’ll need to look into the details later, but for now, I can’t afford to dwell on that. The only priority now is to reclaim as much territory as possible while the enemy is absent.”

Pushing aside the questions in his mind for the moment, Elias proceeded with all haste, much like an overeager glutton in a food-eating contest.

Despite the doubts in her heart, she had always made it her principle to choose the best option for the Demon Kingdom.

*

“Ugh!”

“Urk!”

The short gasps of dying soldiers echoed.

Just moments ago, they had been grumbling about the Demon Races not arriving, and now, their faces were stained with despair as they transformed into cold corpses.

Witnessing the pitiful sight of soldiers being cut down without any resistance, General Giltier, ruling over the small town of Enmaow, fell into a trance of fear, unable to move an inch.

“This… this can’t be… h-how… how are you…?”

A warrior from the Demon Race clad in purple armor.

Holding a sword that radiated a purplish aura, Giltier knew all too well who it was.

The one who had dealt him a bitter defeat in the past, a symbol of despair.

The Demon King.

Confirming that the person he should be facing in battle was here instead of engaged in warfare in the southern Antioch, Giltier found himself engulfed in confusion and despair as he had chosen to abandon the fight against the Demon King to guard this place.

As the Demon King slowly approached him, Giltier couldn’t even muster the thought of drawing his weapon to fight back; all he could do was tremble and cry.

It was not simply resignation from fear.

He had learned through his past experiences, all too well.

His attacks wouldn’t reach the Demon King.

Meaningless resistance would only add despair on top of despair.

And as he witnessed this, the Demon King extended a finger towards Giltier as if to demonstrate that no weapon was needed.

-Snap!

In that instant, a searing pain coursed through him.

Simultaneously, as the world flipped upside down, Giltier realized the gruesome state he was in.

His head, detached from his body, was flying through the air.

In the dying moments of his consciousness, he beheld the terrifying symbol of his fear one last time.

The visage of that monster he never wished to see, even in a dream…

*

Strategies and tactics can essentially be perceived as a dignified expression of conning the enemy.

However, if one doesn’t defeat the enemy before them at the risk of their own life, not only will they lose themselves…

But also, their home, society, and ultimately their nation could crumble.

This makes such cunning very natural in the nature of war.

And based on this essence of warfare, at this moment, the Demon King and General Elias were…

No…

To be more precise, the 15,000 troops they commanded were successfully deceiving the Racial Alliance and even General Samson’s forces, harvesting outcomes at a horrifying speed.

The territories they once occupied and had been taken by the Racial Alliance as a result of bloody struggles.

However, unlike the difficulty experienced in grabbing those territories before, the Demon King and Elias were reclaiming their lost domains with astounding ease, as if simply picking up ripe fruits off the ground.

Starting from Colossae, a small castle located three days from Antioch and centrally situated within the Racial Alliance’s territory, the Demon Army began to capture castles like Dimode, Thessalonica, and Corinth, one after another, without suffering significant damage.

Although there had been some fighting along the way, the losses suffered by the Demon Army compared to the territories they had claimed were virtually negligible.

And… as they experienced such absurd yet remarkably fruitful events, the Demon King began to seriously reflect on her life thus far.

“I never expected it would be this straightforward to reclaim our kingdom’s territories. What were all the efforts I put in up until now…?”

Though the Demon Kingdom had struggled against the relentless onslaught of the Racial Alliance, it was undeniably the Demon King’s efforts that had been pivotal in their survival.

But witnessing her long-held ‘dream’ being fulfilled with such overwhelming abandon after thinking it would be unattainable, the Demon King couldn’t help but feel a slight emptiness.

Yet at the same time, her fondness for the hero who had made all of this possible grew as a bonus.

“I’ll have to offer a bigger reward when we regroup. I might need to ask the hero for specifics, though…”

Having promised to bestow a reward for significant contributions, the Demon King found herself involuntarily flushing slightly beneath her helmet, wondering why she felt such anticipation regarding the reward for the hero…