CH 73

Chapter 73 – Useless Death

“What the hell?”

The sound of a machete cutting through the wind was heard, and the sentry’s head flew off. Yadar dances in at an unseen speed and quickly slays about ten of the imperial soldiers.

The sounds of battle drown out the sound of gunfire, but Myrril is probably running amok in the rear as well. There is no sign of backup coming out this way.

“Yoshua!”

I nodded to Yadar and readied my AKM.

I carefully aimed and killed the cavalryman with a single shot as he tried to run forward, hiding behind his horse. As I expected, the leather armor was no protection, and the soldier, who had taken a 7.62mm round in the back, fell off his horse and stopped moving. I checked the rest of the horses, but there was no sign of any other cavalry coming out.

“Message control complete!”

“Vanguard control complete!”

“The rear is also under control. Everyone, can you come here for a minute?”

As I approached Myrril’s voice, I saw the scene I had expected.

A corpse with its eyeballs pierced out lay folded on the ground. In the back, there was a short magic staff lying on the ground and a man struggling with a bullet in his elbow. The middle-aged man, who appears to be a mage, turns his eyes with anger and hatred towards the Dwarf girl who is standing over him.

“Kuh, just kill me!”

Yeah, that’s what you’d say in this situation. I’m not thrilled to hear it from an old man’s mouth at all, so please don’t.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. When will the main force of the Imperial Army pass through? What is the size of the force entering the kingdom that will be heading for Casemaian?”

“Do you really think I’m going to let that information out? You filthy half-beasts!”

We listened to the insults that were desperately released and looked at the man with cold eyes.

Myrril let out a sigh and shook her head as she dropped the man’s rank insignia and papers in her hands to the ground.

“If you don’t want to say anything, that’s fine. We’re on our way to your main camp to see the Golem anyway. If anyone asks how I know, I’ll just say I heard about it from my friend.”

“…Screw you! I have not spoken a word to you.”

“Your superiors don’t know anything about that. People believe what they want to believe. If I do that, your family and your relations in the Imperial Capital will have a hard time, won’t they?”

“Why do you say that?”

“As a mage, you are an imperial nobleman, right? You must be a low-ranking nobleman in such a remote area. People in the center of the military have no trust in such people. I’ve heard that it’s common practice for the imperial army to take families, hostage in the name of protection.”

The source of this information was either Minya or Merel-san.

In any case, it seemed to be a hit, and the mage mastiff dropped his head in disappointment. [T/n: I don’t know why he called him mastiff.]

“The passage is in three days. The main force of the mounted Golem unit will be split up to the west ahead of here, and after the demons are eradicated, they will meet up in the royal capital.”

Before wondering how long the main force is, the other three seemed to have their attention on something else.

“…Demons?”

“There’s no point in playing dumb. The news that a Demon King has risen in Casemaian has reached the Imperial Capital.”

“It’s not too far off from the truth, but… the stupid prince was probably the one who made the claim.”

I indeed decided to become a Demon King, but I don’t know what it is about this feeling of bewilderment. It’s like I’m sitting in the parlor of a stranger’s house with no one living there. Or rather, that’s exactly the situation I’m in. If there’s another real Demon King, wouldn’t I be a pretender?

This is the kind of thing that Japanese businessmen do. I’m not used to sitting on the top seat, I’m a petty little citizen, after all.

“We have already heard that the damage to the kingdom’s army is enormous. Even though it is due to the incompetent king’s blunder, the emperor’s decision is that if we don’t crush it now, it will leave bad aftermath.”

“I see; that’s why they brought out so many Golems. They’re just trying to subdue an old country that would collapse in a civil war if left unchecked.”

“If they’re going to send the main force, it’s more likely to go to Casemaian.”

…Could it be that I am the cause of another major battle? I’m sick and tired of this.

“Even if the king is incompetent, don’t you think it’s strange that 30,000 troops of the kingdom that calls itself the most powerful country are wiped out?”

“No, you don’t. I don’t believe it either. At best, I’d say it’s half a story, or at best, a story about two or three hundred that were repulsed, with a twist.”

“It’s not impossible either. I know the damage was extensive, but it was all hearsay, and we don’t know who reported it or how.”

Myrril-san and the others are whispering to each other, but no matter what they say here, the decision of the imperial army will not be overturned, nor will any conclusion be reached.

The interrogation ended with noja loli’s comment, “They’re idiots too.”

“I see. I get it. You can go anywhere you want.”

“…!?”

Leaving the mastiff sitting there in a daze, I pulled out the bikes, and we started to move towards the empire. I let Yadar’s bike take the lead, and Myrril looked back at me in the side cart and shook her head in disgust.

“I think I understand how Yoshua feels now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“After the battle, I woke up and thought, ‘I don’t need to kill him too,’ and…”

A single .45 caliber round is fired from the UZI, and a small explosion is set off in the forest behind.

“…The emptiness of it all ended in futility.”

Whether it is the pride of a mage or a last-ditch effort, it seems that the mastiff tried to shoot us in the back with attack magic and was shot in the eyeball just like his friends.

“That’s about it.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly how it is.”