Chapter 59 Collapse of the 2nd division
The centaur messenger I had sent in the middle of the night was taking quite a long time to return.
Finally, at noon of the next day, the centaur returned.
"You took quite a while; Did something happen?"
As I asked the young centaur, he answered with a pale face,
"It's terrible…. division leader Tiberit has…"
"What happened?"
"… has died in battle.."
Are you kidding me?
That titan who is even taller than castle walls, that veteran soldier?
"You're sure it is not some sort of a mistake?"
"It was reported by Gomoviroa-sama, therefore, the chances of it being so are really low….."
So master went and confirmed it herself.
"Wait, is the 3rd division leader all right?!"
"Ye-yes. She just returned this morning. She was all exhausted so aide Mereen has been nursing her."
It seems like something beyond my imagination had occurred.
According to master, it looked like the 2nd division was attacked while they were stationed in the agriculture city, Behhen.
Naturally, division leader Tiberit had confronted the enemy but then, a citizen soldier appeared.
And at the end of the intense battle, they had slayed division leader Tiberit.
She went on further saying, that it turned into a battlefield of hell.
The demons fight and follow a strong leader but, when that leader is defeated, they fall into a state of panic. One would not comprehend this feeling if they are not a demon. That in itself just goes to show how much they are relying on the leader.
The reason why the demon king or I do not go to the front line is precisely because of this.
Having lost their leader in battle, the second division had started to panic.
For the Miraldia army, it probably seemed like a bonus round. They could not fight nearly as well without their leader.
And in the blink of an eye, the soldiers of the 2nd division were defeated.
However, master, who had come running into the battlefield, used fog magic to cover the whole area. It is of the same type which drifts outside the Glenstadt castle.
Master ordered the 2nd division to retreat and barely managed to avoid total annihilation. At that time, master had spotted a soldier, on whom the fog magic had no effect. Only around that one soldier, the fog was clearing up.
For master's magic to not work on someone, that person cannot be anyone other than the hero.
"Did anyone go to report to the demon king?"
"The 2nd division has started to retreat aiming towards the Glenstadt caste. I sent a messenger to Bernhainen just in case."
"Got it, thank you. Please rest for a while."
I immediately called all of the leading members. Airia and the leaders of all the squads.
This turned into a serious matter.
Now, when the 3rd division leader is in a lethargic state and the 2nd division leader has died in battle, the demon king army's command has been entrusted to the vice commanders of each division.
"Vaito-dono, let's return to Glenstadt at once."
Aide Bartz said with a calm tone but, one could feel his unexpressed strong feeling of impatience.
"At the very least, permit us, the Blue Scale Knights' Order, to return. We will protect the Demon king."
However, I could not approve of it.
If our opponent is the hero, no matter how elite squad we send, it will be of no use.
Even if 500 of the Blue Scale Knights fight till annihilation, it would do as little as to tire the hero a bit.
The opponent is like the demon king of the human side. Right from the moment Tiberit division leader was defeated, our chances of winning were reduced to zero.
Tiberit division leader was strong enough to go up against all of the Blue Scale knights alone.
"Bartz-dono, I cannot give you permission for that. Every squad under my command will devote themselves to Rune Height's defence."
"But….."
"Against the hero, we cannot afford to exhaust anymore military strength. And also, the demons' future is at stake in this town. If we neglect defending this town, we will surely get scolded by the demon king."
"Airia-dono, I will temporarily entrust all right to command the squads under the demon king army to you. You, being a human, can surely deal with it calmly. Lash will command the skeleton soldiers."
"I-I understand. Umm, what will you be doing, Vaito-dono?"
There will probably be opposing opinions if I say this but, I resolved myself and declared,
"As the representative of all you here, I will go to protect the demon king. I am a magician, therefore I can surely protect the demon king even without engaging in direct combat."
As I finished saying, the room became silent. Technical officer Kurtz, aide Bartz, the centaur troop leader, even Faan-onee-san looked at me in silence.
As expected, was it unfair?
Before long, Kurtz started talking.
"There does not… seem to be any other way. Even if anyone else returned, I doubt they would be of any use."
As Kartz said with a bitter expression, his little brother Bartz also agreed.
"Unfortunately, it is as brother just said. Vaito-dono can also use healing magic. If someone were to be beside the demon king, Vaito-dono would be the most reassuring."
"And also, Vaito is absurdly strong… Now, when the division leaders are not present, Vaito is the strongest…"
It seems like among them, I am considered as the strongest after the demon king and the division leaders.
They are probably overestimating my magic. I shall let it be like that for now. Forgive me.
At the end, Faan-onee-san gently said,
"I will look after the werewolf and inujin squad so you don't need to worry, okay? You must definitely not die, Vaito-kun."
"Yes, I will try my best."
After I entrusted everyone their jobs, I immediately started preparing for the journey.
It is already past noon and no recent news have been delivered.
It would probably take 2-3 days to reach Glenstadt castle on foot but if I transformed and kept running without rest, I could probably reach there by tomorrow. I can take detours through routes where humans or horses cannot cross.
I brought out the old leather cover magic book from my office drawer. It was the textbook I was using during my training.
As I went through the marked pages, I confirmed the spells written there once again.
It would be nice if I do not have to use this…….
6 votes