Book 3: Chapter 17

Fighting Power Worth 10 Armies of the Demon King

“We’re in trouble.”

“Yeah, five of those Flame Knights can destroy demons, and now there’s 1,000 of them. Won’t Alheim be wiped out if they attack?”

“Didn’t the Demon King have 20 demon followers? Then that means they are equivalent to 10 armies of the Demon King. Not to mention Alheim, it’s the end of the world.”

“…Seriously?”

Luke and Ryuushin were hiding and spying in a forest about three kilometers away from the site of Fifth Prince of Apristos’s private army’s encampment.

After listening to Leaffa recount about Halt being brainwashed and taken away, the two of them had tracked Halt’s magical power. They then confirmed that it was truly Halt who had conjured those flaming knights.

“So what now? Wanna try beating Halt a bit and see if he’ll be sane again?”

“And sneak past through the defense of those Flame Knights? Impossible! I’ve seen one of those dudes throw a spear, my eyes couldn’t even follow!”

“Right, I also saw those guys team up and beat the hell out of a demon, but their offensive and defensive coordination was flawless.”

“Then…”

“Yeah…”

“It’s over!” (Luke and Ryuushin)

Luke and Ryuushin burst into laughter on the spot.

“Ahahaha… Oy, we’re beat. Normal people don’t laugh when in a pickle, right?”

“Nope, they won’t do anything but laugh. That’s 10 Demon King armies worth of fighting power, can’t be helped.”

“No doubt about that.”

“But Halt’s too strong—maybe he’s the Demon King?”

“Ditto!”

“Man, we don’t have any option but to escape in a country with no Halt.”

“That dude, he can teleport, yah know?”

“Ah…”

“Pfft!”

“Pfft! Ahahahahaha!”

Both of them didn’t stop laughing for a while.

“Sigh, in the meantime, we’ll just have to tell the capital about the situation here.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Luke and Ryuushin left.

Halt was staring at them the whole time.

The ex-general’s command was to keep the enemies in check. Thus, even if Halt saw those two, he did not move an inch.

──＊＊＊──

“What you said… Is it really the truth? That Halt became our enemy…”

“Yes…”

Luke and Ryuushin returned to the Royal Capital, and in the conference room, they explained to the Elf King and the ministers what they had seen. Tina and Leaffa waited in a separate room.

“Tsk, we really shouldn’t have placed our trust in humans! He was brainwashed so easily!!”

“Hold your tongue! A person of the Elf race was the one who placed that [Bracelet of Slavery] on him! Don’t shame us any further!” The Elf King bellowed, and all of the ministers shut up.

“Listen carefully! According to Leaffa, Halt banished Sylph-sama back to the Spirit Realm. Do you understand what this means?”

“Banished Sylph-sama!?”

“I, impossible.”

“Sylph-sama will be this country’s enemy!?”

“That is correct. If it is possible to forcibly drive her out, then the opposite is also probable. In other words, if Halt compulsorily summons Sylph-sama, it is likely that she will attack this country without any qualms.”

The ministers’ faces paled in panic upon hearing the Elf King’s words.

However, the problem did not end there.

“Sylph-sama is indeed a problem, but there is another one… Halt conjured a number of flaming nights.”

“By flaming knight, do you mean that magic he cast on the Army General during the tournament?”

“What do you mean by ‘a number’? 10? Or is it 20?”

“Don’t say stupid things! That Army General lost easily against that magic! If there are 20 of those, we won’t stand a chance!”

“It’s 1,000!”

“What!?”

“We confirmed that Halt conjured 1,000 Flame Knights, and they were integrated with the Fifth Prince’s private army’s 3,000 soldiers.”

The minister in charge of National Defense collapsed with a heavy thud.

“First, we have to separate Halt from the former general. Halt supposedly won’t be able to do anything if he does not receive commands.”

“W, will that be possible?”

“We must, or else this country will perish. We have to do it regardless. In case it fails, we must evacuate all the civilians out of the kingdom.”

“We’re letting the people escape? Wouldn’t it be safer if they stay in the Royal Capital? Magical barriers have been placed on the walls of the Royal Capital, so it should be able to hold up.”

“That is useless. Halt easily broke down the magical barriers that were put up around the stadium during the tournament.”

The magical barriers protecting the Royal Capital had the same strength as those used during the competition. In other words, the Royal Capital’s magical barriers didn’t stand a chance against Halt.

“Sarion.”

“What is it, Milord.”

When the Elf King called, Sarion suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Cooperate with Tina, Luke, and the others and think of a way to isolate Halt from the ex-general. I can only use the army as a decoy. I can only rely on you all.”

“I understand. Sir Luke, Sir Ryuushin, Lady Tina is waiting in a separate room. Let us head there.”

“Yeah.”

“We understand. Please excuse us.”

With Sarion, Luke, and Ryuushin out, discussions on the civilians’ means of escape were conducted.