CH 272

Now that the idiot siblings were back, they would want to challenge me daily again.

I would at least have some peace until their wounds healed.

“…Still, their defense ability has gone up quite a lot.”

I had also fought them before going to Kyuka’s main camp, and it had been much the same.

‘Ah, I might have killed them,’ I would think. But then they would get right back up.

Some of those attacks might have killed those of the high-ranking races, and yet they came straight back to the battlefield.

“They aren’t just getting hit. It’s like…they learned a new trick?”

I knew that they had learned to take hits in a way that naturally reduced damage.

They had been able to ‘parry’ for a while now.

It was a rare thing for residents of the Demon World.

And so I would attack them so that they couldn’t do it.

Doing this repeatedly seemed to have strengthened them.

“Also, their judgement has improved.”

After all, they were starting to understand how much strength was needed for each opponent.

If they were hurled into the middle of an enemy army now, they would likely survive.

“Hey, Rig. Did you learn anything interesting over there?”

I asked Rig once the loud people were gone.

While fighting was entertaining and all, Rig was a capable Adjutant.

Surely he had a good story or two to tell me.

Right?

“While it is not directly related to us, there was some information concerning General Tulart that I heard before we left the castle.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sure you know that General Tulart was sent to watch the border and keep the small countries to the south in check.”

“Yeah. The soldiers were replaced recently, weren’t they? And I suppose General Dardaroth is in the castle now?”

“Yes. General Farneze has headed to town in order to heal what remains of her soldiers after the battle in the north. Currently, only the castle and the south are being guarded.”

It was just a short while ago that the north of this country was important. But now that Lesser Demon King Kyuka was gone, there was no reason to keep soldiers over there.

The north was now in a state of civil war.

Not only did they not have the power to invade us, but they seemed to be on the verge of splitting up into multiple countries.

“And so what happened in the south?”

“A group of Cyclopes moved north from Great Demon King Bibashini’s country. It seems like they lost during a power struggle and were exiled.”

“Great Demon King Bibashini, eh? That’s quite far south. South of Great Demon King Dalm, isn’t it? And they headed north… You’re saying they moved towards us?”

“Yes. The small southern countries are fighting each other. They seemed to have slipped through during the chaos.”

Cyclopes were Giants, meaning they were incredibly big and strong.

They had a lot of stamina and magic resistance, making them very difficult to defeat.

“They traveled through many countries to get here. And yet they were defeated in a power struggle…”

Clearly a lot was happening in Great Demon King Bibashini’s country.

“Our own General Tulart happens to be a Cyclops.”

“Oh, he is, isn’t he? Is that why they came to him for help?”

“No, I heard that they fought.”

From what I knew, Great Demon King Bibashini was very old.

He had little interest in governing, and left everything to his subordinates.

And there were stories of successful Gekokujyo.

Perhaps there had been some fight over the position of General, and the Cyclopes were somehow driven out as part of the fallout.

“I suppose their superior, who was a Giant, was killed. And they ran away.”

If your superior was killed, you were supposed to become the subordinates of whoever took his place.

However, there were times when people chose to leave instead.

It wasn’t too unusual.

They lived hidden somewhere and saved their strength while observing the country. And when the time was right, they may choose to join that country.

The Lamias were a good example of this.

But those who constantly moved from one country to another would soon grow used to it, and develop strange habits.

Still, everyone wished for a place to settle down, and looked carefully for a country they could belong to.

It was kind of similar to searching for the right job in my past life.

Some people decided based on the salary and how many days they could take off. Others wanted a company that was right for them, a place they could work until they retired.

But this was the Demon World.

If you made the wrong decision, your entire tribe could be destroyed.

There was no internet here, and while rumors were an important source of information, they were not completely trustworthy.

You had no way of knowing unless you lived there.

“So, what were the results of the battle?”

“They were defeated. General Tulart beat the enemy leader in a duel and absorbed the subordinates.”

“No surprise there.”

General Tulart had risen after Gorgodan’s death.

Up until then, he had acted as General Gorgodan’s Corps Commander.

That army had a lot of Giants, and so they were incredibly dangerous, in spite of being fewer in number compared to the other armies.

Having some Cyclopes join them would only strengthen them even further.

“However, they say that General Tulart did not come out unscathed.”

“I see. The damage must have been great with the two of them fighting.”

When fighting in the Demon World, there were race combinations that were no good at all. But when you were both of the same race, it was simply a matter of all round strength.

Usually the person with more mana would win.

Though, because you were both chipping away at each other’s mana, it rarely became completely one-sided.

So it was no wonder that he also took a lot of damage.

Well, Tulart had still won the duel.

He had distinguished himself in battle. Surely that earned him a good rest.

…I thought rather carelessly, not realizing the aftershock of the event would soon hit me.