Chapter 59 – Signs of War (1)
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Yushin and his party escaped from Santander Castle.
They headed west.
An unexplored area where entry is strictly prohibited. They moved into a realm that the elves called the ‘sinister land’.
“Gareth, drive faster!”
“Yes!”
At Hecady’s words, Gareth, sitting in the driver’s seat, urged his horse even more and increased his speed.
A total of 20 people escaped.
Three wagons loaded with supplies moved quickly while galloping.
It wasn’t too far from the Santander forest to the wilderness. This is because the western part of the Liberia Peninsula was all unexplored. The process of entering the unexplored territory was relatively easy.
“The problem is unexplored territory, the troops guarding the border….”
Yushin muttered.
Then Allen answered.
“I’m with you.”
“Yeah, it’s really reassuring to have you.”
While talking in the wagon that was rocking wildly, we discussed our future plans.
Isana opened her mouth first.
He listed all the elven country information he had heard in Santander Castle.
“You just have to keep going west and cross Oviedo. Then it is unexplored territory. There are many hideous monsters, but we have two Kingdom Seven Swords.”
Yushin did not make it clear to his men why they were heading to unexplored territory.
But Isana knew.
The other subordinates did the same. Just as Yushin valued his men more than his life, his men also followed Yushin. So there was no way he didn’t know his intentions.
He still hasn’t let go of his lingering feelings. Although now it has become discordant, he was concerned about an all-out war between the elves and the Demon King’s army. Yushin was worried that the Valencia sisters would be swept away by the Demon King’s attack. That is why he did not choose the method of escaping to a foreign country.
“If you head to the unexplored area, you will be able to avoid the pursuit of the elves. Dangerous demons and monsters lurk there. From the evil demons who followed the demon king of the heatwave in the past to the savage monsters in the demon king’s army… , Who would want to come to the unexplored land?”
The reason why the west has remained unexplored even though the Elves have been conquering the Liberia for hundreds of years.
Because the elves gave up.
Even the elves who defeated Savnak and his subordinates and took the Liberia Peninsula stopped conquering because they were fed up with the monsters that swarmed in the unexplored region.
Now Yushin and his party were moving towards the danger zone on their own feet. But no one trembled with anxiety. It was because Yushin, Allen, and the Guardian Knights representing the kingdom of Valois were together.
“Wait, boss!”
“Uh.”
“I-over there…. Are the guards all over the place?”
“Look ahead and run.”
“Yes…. Yes!”
Yushin, who ordered Gareth to run while pulling the wagon, pulled out his sword with Allen.
And he threw himself off the carriage.
By the time they almost reached the unexplored land, the elves had noticed the presence of the wagon train that had left Santander Castle and had set up barricades.
He thought that he would not quietly let go. The troops seemed to number in the hundreds. They were all elven knights. It seemed that Maherit had committed knights in earnest.
“Kuh, 20,000 knights… ! Is it a duchy!”
“What bullshit! There are rangers up in the trees over there! Come on, lower your head!!”
The elven knights were put in to encourage Yushin.
But right now, he had no intention of accepting the proposal from the elves. Yushin and Allen destroyed the barricade while knocking down the elf knights who were blocking their way.
* * *
Yushin crossed Oviedo.
Ileina, who had been waiting for news from Maherit, put on a devastated expression when she finally heard that Yushin had headed to an unexplored land.
In the end, negotiations with the Demon King Slayer failed. As long as Yushin left for the unexplored land with his men, there was no way for the elves to capture him. Ardena also smiled bitterly when she heard the news.
“Surely I will go down in history as the worst incompetent child of all time. Because I missed the demon king slayer of the Holy Empire, who defeated even the tyrannical demon king, with a foolish shovel….”
“It is not the priest’s responsibility. The responsibility for the failed negotiation lies with the Shadow Clan.”
“It is also my fault for not controlling my subordinates. Who do I blame? It might have been a mistake to become the head of the priest in the first place, despite being a villager in the mountains.”
Ilayna rolled her feet as she lay on the bed.
She was upset
To yourself.
If I had excellent management skills, I would have been able to attract the demon king slayer as an ally. The demon king slayer who subdued Agares was a talent worthy of pouring billions of money, no, all the assets of the national treasury. The fact that I lost such a talented person right in front of my eyes only made me more angry.
“Sorry.”
“The decisive battle with the Demon King’s army is the mission that we elves must fulfill.”
“But you know what? The demon lord of the heat wave, Savnak, is an immortal being. Even El Cid at the time couldn’t kill the Demon King of Heat.”
Even El Cid couldn’t kill the Demon King.
At Ileina’s words, Ardena clenched her fists with a look of resentment on her face.
A feat Master couldn’t accomplish.
Ardena told Ileina that she would definitely subdue the demon lord herself. Ileina explained that she could not sever the Demon King’s immortality with any weapon or any attack. However, she replied that it was not completely impossible since Ardena had also done the Demon Lord Slayer of the Holy Empire.
“… We just do what we can. If you can’t defeat the demon king, the country of elves has no future. So please grant me the sword of Lord El Cid.”
At Ardena’s words, Ilaina put on an expression of surprise.
I plan to deal with Savnak.
An immortal being that not even El Cid could subdue.
It’s such a reckless act. However, Ardena replied that it was the responsibility of the 12 warrior commanders to deal with Savnak. The warrior chiefs’ duty is to protect the elven country. Savnak, which threatens the Elf country, is an enemy that warriors must risk their lives to stop.
“How did Gilead, the Yusin, kill the demon king of tyranny? Did you hear any stories?”
“Yes, no…. I didn’t know until he revealed it himself.”
It is very rare to have a precedent in which a great empress or a demon king who rules the demon world was subdued, but it definitely existed.
However, there was little relevant information.
The method and weapon that killed the demon king were all wrapped up in a veil.
Do I have to fulfill certain conditions in order to kill the Demon King? Ilayna wanted to raise a question against the demon lord slayers recorded in history. If you kill the demon king, please leave a detailed record of how he killed it. All of the demon lord slayers had no consideration for posterity.
“El Cid’s sword…. I’ll give you permission first. But it’s reckless to try to hit the devil. Even if you use El Cid’s sword, there is no guarantee that you can defeat the demon lord. Because even that sword couldn’t kill Savnak.”
“You’re saying that special measures are needed.”
“That’s right. The best strategy was to become a Demon Lord Slayer of the Holy Empire.”
In order to gain the support of the Demon King Slayer, he tried to hand over Gilead, the God of Restoration, to the Kingdom of Valois again.
It was stupid.
Ileina bitterly regretted her own stupidity.
I could never have thought that the demon king slayer was Yushin Gilead. It was only natural that he hated the country of elves. Because he tried to sell himself like an object, and one side was himself. Even if the Dark Elves hadn’t attacked Santander Castle, it was highly likely that he would not have accepted the negotiations.
“Chief priest.”
An elf female knight came in.
As she hung her head, she told Ilaina her news.
“It’s a report that the movements of the Demon King’s Army are suspicious.”
At the news of the death here, Ileina shrugged her shoulders.
“They did only suspicious things every time.”
“No. The Demon King’s detached corps are heading west, bypassing the front line greatly. It is said that there were well over 1,000 people.”
“West… ?”
Here at the death report, Ileina put on her questioning expression.
It was because the Demon King’s army had no reason to aim westward. He needs to break through the central front to attack Maherit, the capital of the Elven country. If the purpose was simply plunder and destruction, they would have aimed at the Eastern Front.
But the west is a desolate wasteland with nothing. A barren land where life can’t live because of the heat wave and heavy rain. In addition, most of the demons living in the unexplored areas were in a state of wild flowers, so they became pure monsters unaffected by the demon king.
“Didn’t you notice that Yushin Gilead was heading for unexplored territory? No, it can’t be. If the Demon King’s Army had moved the detached unit, it would have moved before Yushin headed for the unexplored region. It will take quite a while for news from the front to arrive here.”
Ileina shook her hand and bit the female knight who brought the news.
She put her hand on her chin with a hard expression on her face.
What the Demon King’s Army is aiming for is not Gilead. It is obviously trying to contact something in the unexplored area. Because the unexplored area was a place where everything was unknown, there was no way to know the identity of what the demon army was trying to contact.
“Ardena warrior commander.”
“Yes.”
“Is there anyone who can be immediately sent to an unexplored area? The top warriors can’t. You never know when Savnak will move.”
“… There is a suitable battlefield just in case.”
“Okay, then I’ll ask you for that.”
Savnak is a very annoying foe.
It was because of her performance in El Cid that her elves were able to drive her out of her Liberia peninsula and establish her country.
The current El Cid has become unable to go to war due to the ‘oath’. However, before fulfilling her oath, El Cid was a hero who made a decisive contribution to driving the demon king’s army south for her compatriots. Thanks to her, she was able to drive out the demon king’s army and establish the Liberia Elven Country.
“I have a question. How was Sir El Cid able to drive the Sabnak out of Liberia? Sir El Cid could not have killed Sabnak.”
Ardena answered Ilayna’s question.
“As the priest said, Sir El Cid could not kill Sabnak. But instead, he inflicted mortal wounds on Savnak that brought her near death again and again. As Sabnak, whose heart was broken, fled to the southern continent with his followers, the Liberia Elf nation was able to be established.”
“As expected, the Ardena warrior commander is familiar with old stories? Neighborhood kids will love it. Even though the voice is blunt, the story is fun.”
Ardena had the idea that she wanted to hit Ileina’s head.
If she hadn’t been the chief priest….
I would have beaten her to the point of tinkering with her head.
“Then I will go.”
“Yeah, good job.”
After Ardena bowed her head to her Ileina, she turned her back on her.
At the same time, the door opened and our eyes met with the elf warrior chief, who was making an urgent expression. She was Seira Leon, the older of the twin warrior chiefs.
“Ah, the Ardena warrior commander….”
“What is it, Sarah?”
Seira, who was asked about her by Ardena, took turns looking at Ileina, who was making a sad expression on her face, and opened her mouth with her urgent voice.
“The demon king army has moved! The forces gathered at Linares are advancing north. It is reported that it will soon collide with the defense line led by the bariteon warrior commander.”
“Finally moved….”
In response to Seira’s report, Ileina strongly scratched the back of her head, saying that it was finally going to explode.
The Demon King comes with an army.
Furthermore, it is said that the enemy targeting Bariteon’s defense line is one of Savnak’s followers.
Although Sabnak has been defeated by El Cid in the past, he is still a force to be reckoned with. Besides, isn’t El Cid now in a situation where he can’t go to war due to the oath? The Elf nation currently had no way to stop the Savnak.
