Chapter 317: Commander’s Discord

Wasn’t the Demon King’s attitude the same as always? Just like he’d always been, he simply condoned it, the only difference from what I once thought was that the opponent was the Hero.

Thus, Idelia, who had designated only Deon Hart as the enemy, also designated not only Lirinel but also Develania, who seemed to be taking the lead in rebelling against the Demon King, as enemies. Therefore—

“Lady Idelia… aren’t you going to stop them?”

“Hmm?”

Rustle.

She folded her fan.

It was fortunate that the last remaining Hero was outside the palace rather than by the king’s side; otherwise, he would have arrived only after this castle was devastated. Of course, even then, she had to fight the Hero forcefully to shorten the time.

Who could expect less from a Hero? His strength is something else. Ignoring the still throbbing pain in her wrist, she pressed a specific part near the hilt and swung. Hidden in the fan ribs, tiny, needle-like thrown weapons rushed toward the two clashing figures.

….

And so, now.

Leaving Lirinel, who was flustered and stammering ‘Huh? Uh?’ at the word ‘traitor,’ the gazes of the 2nd and 4th Corps Commanders clashed in the air.

Unlike the murderous intent, Commander of the 2nd Corps Develania, with a sweet smile as if she had never glared, broke the ice amidst the tension.

“How about you join us, Idelia? You roughly know the reason, don’t you?”

“Knowing the reason is why I’m not going, wouldn’t you think?”

“Why? You don’t want to die either.”

Is that even a question? Commander of the 4th Corps Idelia scoffed.

“Your actions are shortening your lifespan.”

“But if you just lie low like you, you’ll only be prolonging your immediate life a little bit, right? Even if you postpone death, how long will it last? It’s better to take a slight risk and move boldly.”

Above Deon Hart is the Demon King, and above the Demon King is my life. At least, that’s how Develania saw it.

That’s why she put away her smiling face and stared directly at Idelia with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“Idelia, the Demon King has no interest in ‘our’ lives. He wouldn’t even bat an eye no matter who kills us.”

“He’s always been like that.”

“The problem is that it extends even to the ‘Hero,’ who is our ‘enemy.’ No matter how much it’s the law of the jungle, it’s absurd to allow that even to the Hero, the natural enemy of demons, isn’t it? I don’t want to die.”

“If ‘Hero’ is the problem you mentioned, wouldn’t it be solved just by killing the Hero?”

“Are you saying the same thing won’t happen again? Aren’t you disgusted by the Demon King’s attitude of condoning even when the Hero tries to kill us? It means our worth was only that much.”

No, it’s not ‘only that much.’

“It meant we were worth nothing!”

He wouldn’t care how many ants died. To the Demon King, demons, even legion commanders, were such beings.

Who, where, how they die—if it’s not related to him, he wouldn’t care. Even if he did care, it would only be out of necessity, not because the death of a demon itself was a reason.

What meaning is there in loyalty to such a being? The one receiving it wouldn’t even remember.

Her fiercely shining eyes glared at her silent opponent.

“I will live. And to do that, I’m going to kill you both.”

The Hero is trying to kill her, and the Demon King is just watching and laughing. The choice of someone cornered at the edge of a cliff was to desperately attack the opponent.

“…Hah.”

Idelia, facing her resolute gaze, let out a deep sigh. No matter what the opponent said, she had already decided to side with the Demon King, so the answer she would give was obvious.

“The Lord Demon King has always been like that. There’s nothing new about it now.”

“…Too bad. I thought you were smart, so I thought you’d come to our side.”

“You too. I thought you were smart and knew how to act discreetly, but to think you’d try to charge in so recklessly.”

“Because there’s no other option left.”

Time is running out, so what other option is there besides charging in? Develania smiled faintly and then opened her mouth with a stiff face.

“2nd Corps. All demons present in this place except for us are enemies.”

“……”

“Kill them.”

Silently, threads spread out. Idelia, sensing those that embroidered the sky and were engraved on the ground, reacted immediately.

“4th Corps, and 3rd Corps. We are corps loyal to the Lord Demon King. All those except us in this place are traitors, so eliminate them.”

“…11th Corps! Can’t you see they’re trying to kill us? All other demons except us are enemies, so kill them!”

Lirinel shouted urgently, not wanting to be outdone.

The 3rd Corps charged with greatswords, and the 4th Corps supported from behind. The 11th Corps deployed barriers to block them, and when they cast attack magic, the 2nd Corps interfered. As the 2nd Corps spread threads as if trying to set traps, the 3rd Corps swung greatswords to cut them down and identify their location, while the 4th Corps aimed thrown weapons at the 11th Corps floating in the air.

Chaos erupted.

***

Tap, tap.

Busy footsteps are heard. Faintly, voices shouting to search can also be heard. These must be the enemies. It has been a long time since everyone in the palace was evacuated.

In the palace, which was eerily quiet and desolate, the King of Rweche calmly fiddled with a communicator.

“It seems Rweche is over.”

– …….

“The array that suppresses magic has collapsed. Demons have entered the city and even the palace. Soon, my life will be cut short too.”

It was a predetermined situation since the array, which was the lifeline of this siege defense, had collapsed.

No sooner had he heard the news that the array had collapsed and demons had entered the city than the king, making a similar judgment to someone from the past, wore a bitter smile.

“I hope the Heroes succeed in killing Deon Hart, and I’ll be on my way.”

Screech. He pushed the chair back and stood up from his seat.

He must know that this communication will be the last time they talk, but he chuckled at those who remained silent until the end and calmly threw out his last greeting.

“Good luck.”

– …Wai—.

Thud. Crash.

The communicator, which had fallen helplessly to the floor, was crushed under his foot. Before it broke, there was someone’s call, but knowing it was just a meaningless call due to inexplicable lingering attachment, the King of Rweche strode forward without a second thought.

The steps from the office to the audience chamber were quite light, uncharacteristically of the situation.

‘…It’s quiet.’

It took quite a bit of effort to get to this point.

No sooner had the news of the demons’ entry been heard than he had struggled to fend off the soldiers who tried to evacuate him first. Even the Hero was persistent, even for a Hero, so he sweated even though there was no time.

‘Everyone knows there’s nowhere to evacuate to.’

He chuckled, then picked up a lamp that was lighting the hallway and opened the audience chamber door. As if properly carrying out the last order, the smell of oil that had been vibrating from all directions throughout the passage became even stronger. He paused for a moment and scanned the interior.

“…Perfect.”

The window that always showed the outside scenery was firmly blocked, creating a sense of incongruity, but the king walked over and sat on the throne as if nothing was wrong.

Before long, footsteps approached, and the half-open audience chamber door burst open. Eyes met with someone who was not human.

“…He’s here!”

A thunderous shout followed, and demons rushed in as if they had been waiting. The king just smiled faintly.

He didn’t know what the former Emperor of the Empire was thinking when he took such action at the end, but he knew one thing for sure.

“Welcome.”

There was no better way to achieve this much efficiency against the demons that had invaded the castle.

He had ordered all those in the palace to leave, and before leaving last, he had ordered oil to be sprayed throughout the palace. He had especially told them to spray the audience chamber thoroughly. Those who read his intentions requested reconsideration with pale faces, but the king was resolute.

One life can kill many demons, so where else could there be a more efficient method?

“The legion commander….”

“……”

“It seems they’re not coming.”

That’s a bit of a shame, but it can’t be helped.

With the lamp precariously hanging on his fingertips, he slowly opened his mouth towards the demons who were approaching, faltering as if feeling ominous.

“Come with me.”

Clang!

The lamp fell to the floor and shattered. Small sparks of fire transferred to the oil, and flames soared up in an instant.

“What is this…!”

The king calmly walked through the bewildered and flustered demons and locked the audience chamber door. Before closing the door, he checked the fire spreading to the hallway and smiled faintly.

Even if there were other demons in the palace besides those here, they would soon escape outside to avoid the spreading fire. He had stubbornly ordered the soldiers and Hero he had chased away to stand by near the palace, so even if they survived and escaped the palace, they would die at their hands.

This is enough.

‘I’ve done enough.’

He slumped down, leaning against the door.

Demons’ magic is not omnipotent, and the more rules they break, and the bigger they break them, the more magic power it takes, they say.

Long-distance space travel consumes a considerable amount of magic power, so for those who are at best legion members, escaping from here would be at most moving right outside the building or breaking the blocked windows and jumping out. That can be handled by the Heroes and soldiers waiting.

‘Water made with magic would be counterproductive for oil fires, too.’

Although they don’t seem to have the mental capacity to create water with magic in the first place.

Amid the suffocating breath and scorching heat, he watched the demons struggling to survive somehow and closed his eyes.

‘They say that when ordinary people die, a panoramic view flashes through their minds.’

Ironically, nothing came to mind in his fading consciousness.

…Nothing.

***

Communication with Rweche was cut off. He probably died.

However, the rulers of Sanguo and the Empire could not express any emotions. To be precise, they didn’t even have time to feel emotions. Rather, it was as if they had to greet each other again.

The situation in Sanguo and the Empire was also not good.

‘Even enduring is too much, really.’

The King of Sanguo quietly touched his forehead.

Arrows from the 5th Corps are reaching this city wall, but our arrows are blocked by the 8th Corps’ shields and cannot reach them. Even the 9th Corps, which was at the forefront and ambushed by Sareen, was somehow alive and well, pounding the city walls with their fists.

What’s even more headache-inducing is that the city walls are breaking from that. Just how strong does a body have to be for punches to break city walls?

We were careless because there were no catapults, but who would have known that there would be human… no, demon catapults here.

“Commander of the 9th Corps….”

He gnashed his teeth, contemplating the one who was at the forefront, ambushed, and yet was most diligently breaking down the city walls with his bare body.

“I wonder if we can even hold out until Deon Hart dies.”

Everyone expected defeat in the siege defense itself. The only question was how long they could hold out.

If the castle falls, the troops attacking to capture it will turn around and go to support Deon Hart. To prevent that, they had to hold out.

…But since one place has already fallen, it’s meaningless.

‘Still, I should hold out as long as I can.’

Yeonhwa, erasing the miserable emotions from her eyes, asked into the communicator connected to the Empire.

– How is the Empire side?”