Chapter 187
Chapter 187: The Demon Lord’s Prince Enters the City
――The sky is shrouded in darkness, and the Demon Lord Army’s encampment is engulfed in a restless atmosphere.
Demon race warriors in battle preparations and platoons of Night Elves are steadily making their way to the battlefield.
Even the Night Elves and the demons themselves appear somewhat tense, as the daytime suppression of the city has revealed the grim reality of the casualties among the Demon race fighters.
Out of the over 200 demons that ventured into the city, more than 60 have been slain.
Considering that around 20 have died in the siege defense, one can gauge the scale of the devastation and the shock felt by the demons.
(As a side note, although the number of injured Demon race warriors was significantly higher, most of them, being part of the Reiju Tribe, recovered instantly and returned to the front lines.)
In other words, out of 400 Demon race warriors, 80 were instantly killed in yesterday’s battle. This was a shocking blow. There exist skilled adversaries who don’t even grant time to heal with a [Teleportation Spell]――
It was also known that the Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias had clashed with the enemy’s elite unit, resulting in the complete annihilation of his 8 subordinates. It seems the prince single-handedly wiped out the enemy unit to avenge his fallen, as evidenced by the numerous corpses of heroes, sword saints, and mages recovered, though it remains unclear if the enemy hero who caused significant damage in the city was among them.
Tomorrow, it could be any of them. The demons who came in a festive mood to earn achievements found themselves finally stepping into the true battlefield. The Night Elves and Beastmen, who were already risking their lives, surely have had enough of this…
Beneath the waning moon, the Capital of Evaroti looms.
In the center, a towering, radiant giant tree stands, and the castle walls are draped in a large-scale barrier like the aurora.
Already, siege bases have been set up across the city, and bombardment on the castle gates and lookout towers has begun.
“…Are you really going alone?”
From the main camp overlooking the capital, Marquis Veteranos once again questioned the prince at his side.
“Yeah,”
Nodding coolly was Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias Reiju, already clad in white dragon scale armor and fully equipped with a helmet.
“At the very least, I could send one of my capable subordinates with you.”
“I appreciate the concern, but your goodwill is enough.”
He bluntly declined.
“My subordinates… They’ve been training together through the winter. A temporary subordinate won’t be able to fight properly without getting caught up in my spells.”
Zilbagias gazes at the castle with distant eyes.
“It’s easier alone. So it’s fine.”
Despite the prince’s expressionless mask reminiscent of an iron helmet, a sense of despair oozes from him, leaving even the seasoned Veteranos at a loss for words.
“However… if anything were to happen to you, I would feel remorseful towards your mother. If being near you is dangerous, then it would suffice just to follow from a distance. Please reconsider――”
Veteranos, despite being aware it was ill-omened to speak of such things before departure, pressed his counsel.
“Anything happening? That’s just the way of the battlefield. This is a kill-or-be-killed situation; if I fall, it merely means the enemy was better.”
The prince was impenetrable.
“Besides, my mother is a strong woman. She wouldn’t worry about my safety during battle. She’s probably holding her ground at the Demon Lord Castle right now… believing in me.”
Zilbagias laughed ironically.
“…Is that so?”
Realizing that no amount of protest would change his mind, Veteranos too became distant in thought.
“You already have sufficient achievements… why go so far?”
He couldn’t help but ask.
Having already captured the fortress first, defeating numerous heroes and sword saints, he seemed overly eager for battle, even in a funeral fight for his fallen comrades.
“Why?”
The prince snorted.
“――I want to surpass the Demon Lord.”
Short yet stern.
With a steel-like will shining through his words.
“I will become the strongest warrior in this country.”
Fiery red determination pierced through Veteranos.
“――For those who have perished… Is that reason insufficient?”
Veteranos could only shake his head saying, “…No.”
“That’s all.”
As if to conclude the conversation, the prince, shouldering his unusual spear, stepped onto the battlefield.
――Ah.
At that moment, I realized that this person was indeed different from mere mortals like myself who happened to live long enough.
He was destined to be a conqueror.
Once this battle concludes, he would surely align with the marquis, and then swiftly outstrip him. …As long as he survives.
After a moment of contemplation, Veteranos simply muttered, “Good luck.”
――To that overwhelmingly young back,
Heavy with an immeasurable resolve.
†††
The outer walls surrounding the castle trembled with a series of jolts.
Magic attacks from the Demon race and stone-throwing machines operated by Beastmen were coming down in concentrated fire on the castle gates and lookout towers.
However, the most advanced protective magic that humans can wield, combined with the Forest Elf shamans’ superb adjustments, greatly reduced the impact of the [Holy Great Tree] barrier deployed right against the castle walls.
Nevertheless, the fact that the walls were still shaking was a terrifying reality―― without the protective magic, they would have turned to rubble in an instant―― and nobody left in the allied forces would be daunted by such tremors anymore.
“Fire, fire!!”
On the castle wall, soldiers bravely retaliated. An injured soldier served as a crossbowman with the crossbows brought from Nibaan Fortress, swapping them out with others loaded by other soldiers as they sniped at the approaching enemy.
Additionally, militia worked diligently to drop rocks and debris, smashing into the heads of the Beastmen soldiers attempting to scale the walls. The demon soldiers that broke through the barrier were all together battered mercilessly until the priests and heroes would arrive to provide support.
“Damn it, they’re way too agile――ugh!”
A soldier aiming with his crossbow suddenly jerked back. A black-feathered Night Elf arrow was deeply lodged in his left eye. Instant death. While he appeared leisurely shooting while others reloaded for him, he was, in reality, playing the most dangerous role, susceptible to counter-sniping.
“Let’s change positions. This time… I’ll do it.”
A soldier missing his left arm gritted his teeth as he picked up the crossbow from a fallen soldier’s hand. The snipers nodded, winding up the bowstring, while trying to attack from another window of the lookout tower――
“Take that!!”
Again, from the top of the castle gate―― a structure called the “Castle Gate Tower” directly above the gate―― scalding hot water was poured onto the gathered demons and Night Elf soldiers attempting to break down the door.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
“Hot! So hot!”
The Night Elves cried out in a death scream that sounded otherworldly, and the demons hopped about in agony due to the heat. The presence or absence of protective spells distinctly divided the success and failures.
However, this was far from the end.
“There’s more! Keep it coming!”
Soldiers hoisting a boiling pot of oil grinned wickedly as they poured its contents down below. From a hole in the floor, onto the demons below――
“Hottttt!! …Wait, this is oil!”
“Get well done!”
Torches were thrown in, igniting the oil, turning the area in front of the gate into an inferno in an instant.
“Damn it!!”
“Remember this later!!”
The demons, suffering minor burns and singeing their hair and eyebrows, cursed as they retreated. Incidentally, while each attempted to use a [Teleportation Spell] to press the burns onto the humans above, they all failed due to the [Holy Great Tree]’s barrier.
While the demons managed to retreat on their feet, the Night Elves and Beastmen without magical protection were already piled up and lifeless by the gate long ago.
“Damn it, even after dousing them in oil and lighting it, they’re still fine…”
“That’s the Demon race for you…”
While grumbling, the soldiers placed the pot back on the fireplace, preparing for the next attack by adding more oil and hot water. What lay below was a sea of fire; no matter how formidable the demon race was, they wouldn’t dare step in without cooling themselves with ice magic, and even if they did, they’d only suffer the same fate――
That’s what they thought.
“――Huh?”
However, one soldier noticed something amiss and peeked down at the gate through the hole in the floor. The inferno had subsided completely in the moment his attention was diverted.
――A flash of silver appeared in his sight.
“Guh!”
A blade flew straight into the soldier’s mouth, piercing his throat and pinning him to the ceiling like a shish kebab. His dangling corpse resembled a grotesque chandelier. Despite the horror of his demise, the death was instantaneous, bringing about minimal suffering――
“What the――”
Surrounded soldiers stood in shock.
What had pierced the poor victim’s mouth was―― a faded white spear.
No.
Its tip was a sword.
The spear’s shaft expanded and contracted.
The soldiers had no way of knowing that it was made from human bones, freely morphing through demon magic, possessing its own will, and effectively assisting its master.
Indeed, as if drawn up by the spear,
A silver shadow leapt out through the hole in the floor.
――He was aware.
In a human castle, the castle gate tower guarding the gates was shrouded in multiple layers of magical protections.
The height of magical resistance. And how the action of pouring down water or oil from above and dropping rocks or rubble was a simple attack method, allowing even an average soldier to be readily assigned.
Moreover, the hole on the floor was only large enough for a single child to slip through, with no iron bars fitted.
Thus―― once the height issue was cleared, the structure became remarkably fragile against physical assault!
“I am Zilbagias Reiju!”
With a thrust, the boy withdrew the spear, knocking the corpse aside.
“I am the 7th Prince of the Demon Lord that brings ruin upon your nation!”
The spear howled.
“Become my nourishment!”
In the next moment, the guardroom of the castle gate tower was drenched in fresh blood.
