45-Episode 45: Trump and End

I am the leader of demons.

Now I am away from my Lord, and I am hunting alone.

After all, if the Lord is with me, he will hunt the food first.

If that's the case, I can eat as I please if I give up the big game and we go our separate ways.

Besides, the land is now overflowing with demons that give off an extremely appetizing smell.

If I had to put it that way, it would be similar to the way humans add various things to their food to change its taste.

It's understandable why humans would go to the trouble of changing the taste of their food.

"Gahhhh!

What's more, these things are very easy to fight.

I'm not sure what they're thinking, but they're not using their own strength, they're fighting like humans.

It's very foolish of you to go out of your way to imitate humans by abandoning your own fighting style.

It's just that it's easier for me to eat.

◆

When I saw the demons being defeated one by one, I finally made a decision.

I'll ignore the adventurers and send the demons to the capital.

Yes, to hasten the coup attempt.

'Oh no!　It's still too early, Commander!　You were going to start the coup after you had made all the preparations!

My men will give me their opinions, but the situation is already in motion.

'Fool!　Our trump card, the demon army, is being neutralized!　If we don't act now, our numbers will dwindle!　If not, there are fewer demons these days because of the demon-avoiding potions.

I don't know who they are at all, but that potion has started to circulate on the market, and it has become a hindrance to our collection of demons as well.

''However, if we are dealing with B-ranked or lower-ranked demons, or even A-ranked demons, we need to carefully control them to control them. Moreover, S-ranked demons are still not completely controllable, and if they run out of control, there is a risk that the people will be harmed.

Hmph, what's the point of having a commoner suffer a little bit of damage?

''What's more, since you've already defeated the top S and A rank demons, isn't it pointless to attack them now?

It's the other way around. In fact, I should think of it as the opposite.

What do you mean?

Okay?　S-ranked and A-ranked demons are dangerous beings that need all the knights to be on hand to defeat them. It is true that the fact that they were able to defeat those demons in such a short period of time is commendable, but how long do you think they can continue to do that?

That means....

''Hmm, the enemy should keep using something as a trump card to defeat the higher ranked demons. Perhaps the fact that the first S-ranked demon was defeated in succession should be seen as a threat, or perhaps a bluff, to say that we have an easy way to defeat even an S-ranked demon.

Yes, it's a bluff.

There is no way such a bullshit white thing can be used without limit.

Perhaps it was used to store lost items that were hidden by a high-ranking noble family, or perhaps it was a national treasure.

A national treasure?

It upsets my men.

The national treasure Laverain, a treasure of our country that no one has ever seen its power wielded before.

It is said to be the holy sword wielded by the first king, who defeated the powerful evil dragon that once ruled this land and founded the country.

Its appearance only appears at the coronation ceremonies of the kings for generations.

With the power of this legendary sword, it would be possible to defeat S-ranked demons.

But if the national treasure has such tremendous power, its power should have brought more prosperity to our country. In other words, I think there must be a price to pay for using it. Magic power, or some other kind of price to pay for your life.

So the enemy will want us to retreat from ourselves.

But you were somewhat quick to use your trump card.

''........Indeed, if the national treasure is such a thing, we can't use it casually.

''I will therefore send a demon army to King's Landing. If all the top-ranked demons attack King's Landing at once, no one, not even the wielder of the Lost Items, will be able to do anything about it!

""Haha!"

My subordinates nodded in agreement with my explanation.

''Use the lower-ranked demons as a stopgap for the adventurers. They're disposable anyway.''

All right!

Tell the army. We're headed to King's Landing to defeat the demon horde!　Tell the guild to let the adventurers take down the small fry!

""What."

This should make it difficult for the enemy handlers in the guise of adventurers to track us down.

Well, the demons are moving fast, and they may not be able to get to us before we arrive.

It's time for the ruler of this country to take over!

You're not going to be able to do that.

''Hmph, are we done taking out the S and A ranked demons around here?

I stowed the defeated demons in my magic bag and used my exploration magic to search for signs of new demons.

'Huh?　What's this.........this isn't good!

Oh no, there's a bunch of demons heading for King's Landing!

A group of people, probably the Knights' reaction, is following from behind the demons, but they can't make it in time if they don't.

''No, I don't want to face the Knights, but it's no use!

Yes, a lot of people will be killed if we let it go.

As an adventurer, I can't allow that to happen!

Let's go!

I'm going to use my flying magic to get to King's Landing.

I'm sure it won't take long to get to the capital if I fly with all my might.

I'm sure you'll be able to see the main gate of the capital and the swarm of demons approaching it in the meantime.

The entire capital is surrounded by walls, but it's unlikely to hold up against this many demons.

Since the walls are in danger of being breached, we'll start with the larger demons first!　Lightning Rain!

A rain of thunder poured down from the cloudless blue sky with a roar and blew away the swarm of demons.

It's a special outdoor attack spell designed to reduce a large group of enemies before they come into contact with you, Lightning Rain.

''Alright, the first wave has been neutralized!

I hurried to the main gate of King's Landing and spoke to the knight on the wall.

''There are still more demons after us!　Hurry up and close the gates and evacuate the citizens to the center of King's Landing!

"What the hell are you?

The knight asks me who I am, but I don't want to answer that, so I ignore it.

Once the demons destroy the wall, they will enter the capital from there. I'll take out the larger demons first, so you all should take out the smaller demons from the top of the wall. Soon the knights who participated in the defeat will come to reinforce you.

Okay, okay!　I don't know who you are, but thanks for the help!

Now, I'm not going to let a demon get anywhere near King's Landing!

You're not going to be able to do that.

'My God, Captain!　An unbelievable number of demonic groups are coming towards the royal capital!

''What?!''

When I received the report from my men, I hurried to the viewing platform on top of the wall that surrounded the royal city.

And then I saw them. I'm sure you'll be able to see the demons coming towards me.

Demons of different sizes and races are coming towards us in great numbers.

I don't know the exact number of them, but being able to see them from such a distance is a significant number.

''Not good, this is going to be a terrible thing!　Close the gate immediately!　Recall those who left King's Landing! You can use the horses!　And report to the castle!　Tell them that a horde of demons is heading to King's Landing!

...Ha ha!

My men are rushing to action.

'But how far can we keep them in this situation?　As far as the walls are concerned, they're still a raggedy wall that hasn't been repaired as far as I'm concerned.

This wall was built soon after the establishment of the royal city.

Unlike the walls defending the castle, they were left abandoned after they were built, so they are all in danger of collapsing at any moment.

It is unlikely to be able to withstand the attacks of those demons.

Moreover, they're all new recruits with no real combat experience. There aren't enough people with war experience to go around.

No matter how you look at it, it's just a hopeless outcome.

But still, I had no choice but to run away.

Because it is our mission and pride to protect this place.

That's why my men and women are following my orders.

I'm sure they would all like to run away after seeing that scene.

It's not too late to run away from the scene, though.

"Maybe the young people will have to be let go for a reason and the old people will buy themselves some time.

But then it happened.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light in the cloudless blue sky.

Next, a roar so loud you thought your ears would break drowned out all the sounds.

''What the hell happened!

Startled, I looked around in a panic.

That's when I saw an unbelievable sight.

"Well, the demons are being wiped out?

That's right, the swarm of demons that was trying to drive us into the depths of despair a moment ago had vanished!

What's more, something amazing happened.

A boy came down from the sky and said, "There are still demons after you!

'There are still demons after you!　Hurry up and close the gates and evacuate the citizens to the center of King's Landing!

He fought off a bunch of demons?

Who the hell are you?

But the boy didn't answer my question, only told me that the reinforcing knights were coming, and then he disappeared into the sky without a sound.

And once again, as the roar from before echoed a few times, there was smoke in several places, and it was filled with the corpses of the demons, just like before.

''It's like the legend of our founding hero king, Lord Wardram...''

His Majesty the First King Wardram, the Founding King and King of Swords, the hero of his country, who wandered into this land where demons swirled around him, vanquished the demons in the blink of an eye, and defeated the evil dragon, the ruler of the land.

I suppose this was the scene of that battle.

I was saluting the boy who disappeared into the sky unknowingly.

◆

'Oh my God!　The demons we sent to King's Landing have been wiped out!

"How could that happen?

How could that happen?　How could it happen?

Didn't the enemy expect us to make this move, and store their trump card in King's Landing in advance?

Well, it's about to get to that point!　We'll use the thing!

Huh?　You're not going to use him?　You don't know what you're doing!　As far as I'm concerned, that's something you can't even control!

A subordinate of mine turned pale and shouted.

I don't care!　If this happens, we can throw that thing in and give them true desperation!

My enemies are to blame.

You are the ones who sabotaged my ambitions.

Awaken my true trump card, the dragon!

You're not going to be able to do that.

'Huh?　The knights have suddenly changed direction!

For some reason, the knights who were coming towards the royal capital suddenly changed their course and started heading in the direction of the day after tomorrow.

''As I recall, that's the direction of the wilderness... what happened?

The suspicious movement of the knights was bothering me, so I decided to go after them.

Fortunately, we've defeated most of the enemy groups coming towards the royal capital, and the rest of the sporadic attacks of demons will be managed by the royal capital's defense team and adventurers.

''Alright then, I'll go too!

You're not going to be able to do that.

We come to a secret facility hidden in the wilderness, and we begin to act to awaken the dragon, our trump card.

In front of us is a dragon trapped in a large cage.

''Commander, please reconsider!　The dragons are only put to sleep with a powerful sleeping potion made from magical plants. There's no guarantee that they will be able to control them when they wake up!

But this time of year, my man is saying weak things.

"What's the matter with you? Isn't that why you've been studying the art of controlling demons?

But dragons are not like ordinary demons. They are different from the equally powerful S-ranked demons. That's why there's a good chance they can't control demons with their control techniques.

Then if it fails, you can just put him to sleep with the pills. Just get on with it!

Yes, sir.

My men finally accept the order and begin to prepare to wake the dragon up from its slumber.

Hmph, dragons are still just giant lizards.

Even if they can't be completely controlled, as long as they can give me sketchy orders, that's fine.　

As long as they don't attack me, that is all that matters.

"We've given the dragon a sleeping potion to help it wake up. She will be awake in a few minutes.

When the dragon awakens, cast a spell of dominance on it!　Wardsmiths, do your best to ward!

Then the dragon that had been sleeping on the floor of the facility opened its eyes with a small roar.

''Activate the control technique!''

""Activate the art of domination!"

The sorcerers apply the art of controlling the demons to the dragons.

At that moment, the figures of the surgeons were scratched off.

'What?'

And then a besha, a sound could be heard from one corner of the room.

When everyone present looked in the direction of the sound, they found the figures of the surgeons lying there covered in blood.

Then there was a cracking sound, and when they turned their gaze back, the cage that had trapped the dragon had been abducted and was caught by its tail.

''What?

''It's a potion!　Feed him food with sleeping pills!

A subordinate hurriedly orders the drug to be used.

The newly awakened dragon blinks his eyes a few times and takes a bite of the bait brought in front of him.

'Good!　I'm going to put him to sleep again...

But instead of going to sleep, the dragon spat out the flesh it should have eaten and stood up with its eyes wide open, spreading its wings.

Then it broke through the ceiling and soared up into the sky.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

''Ridiculous!　The drugged meat was spat out?　..............................The drug isn't working?　No, you didn't... you didn't succeed in refining the drug?

What's going on here?　Why did you spit out the drugged meat?

He grabs his man by the breast and has him explain the situation.

I'm afraid that the magic plant we procured was of poor quality and failed to refine the potion...

So what happens to the dragon then?

We were able to capture him by accident when we experimented with a magical sleeping potion, so we don't think we'll ever be able to capture him again.

I mean....

My man nodded at my words with a blue face.

'Since you've been awake for so long, I suspect that next time you'll eat until you're full.

The bait is...

"First us, then the nearest and most populous human city, I suppose.

Evacuate!　All hands, evacuate!

We immediately chose to escape.

But just as we decided to do so, the ceiling blew up.

The dragon swept us off our feet to find us, the bait.

Just a little bit of a distraction.

'Aww.'

Grrrrrr.

The dragon is looking at us.

It's definitely looking at us as bait.

'Gahhhh....'

The dragon's mouth slowly opens and drool drips down.

'Wow, I don't taste good...'

I don't know if that's a good idea with a dragon.

In that case, you get eaten first!　In the meantime, I'll get away!

'We won't get away with it in this place anyway!　The only difference is who dies first!

Gahhhh!

As we were arguing, the dragon barked at us.

''Hi!''

And then the dragon tilted its head back slightly and came at us with its mouth wide open.

Oh, it died.

We couldn't even start the coup and we would die.

What a miserable life it was.

'Terryaah!

It was then that a gale suddenly appeared and slammed into the body of the dragon.

Then the body of the dragon flew through the air and blew away, destroying the walls of the lair.

''Wha!

''Are you okay!''

The one who appeared there was a boy.

You're not going to be able to do that.

It was a close call, and in a few moments, a stranger, a knight, was about to be attacked by a dragon.

I don't have very good memories of the knights, but I still can't leave someone in danger of their lives.

But still, it's as expected of the Order.

I didn't know that they knew that a dragon was hiding in a place like this.

But it's unlikely that a dragon would be willing to hide in a place like this.

If that's the case, did someone bring them here to control the dragons?

Oh, it's possible that the Knights of the Order may have noticed the abnormal outbreak of this monster in this building and were searching for it.

I see, the knights of this era are really good.

When I thought of the Knights of the Order, I had an image of corruption and corruption, but it's just like the Knights of the future era!　I've reviewed it!

Anyway, let's get it over with!

It's the Green Dragon again, so let's just take it down.

Taah!

I took a big leap and hunted for the dragon's neck, which was dizzy from being slammed to the ground with a single blow.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it out of a mutant blade. It's sharper than a normal iron sword.

With a cut like this, the buyout price could be higher than the green dragons I've hunted before!

I stow the defeated green dragon in my magic bag and turn to the knight person.

'Thank you for your service!　I will return to defeat the demons in the vicinity, so you all can rest assured to continue your search for this facility!

Oh, yeah.

After telling the knight that much, I hurriedly returned to defeat the demons.

◆

The dragon was defeated by a boy who suddenly appeared.

And that too with a single blow.

''Hey........''

I speak to my man.

'Yes, sir?'

Do you want to turn yourself in?

Yes.

Yeah, I can't very well rule a country with such a monster in it with a coup d'état.