Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Demon Army Corps Leader Hero Sage (5)
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"We'll reach Mir soon. If we ride through the night, we'll arrive at the enemy's base by tomorrow."
Duke Volpar drove his forces forward alongside his adjutant, who was familiar with the local terrain.
One thousand cavalry, ten thousand infantry, and five hundred knights.
Including the non-combatants handling supplies and the squires assisting the knights.
All told, nearly forty thousand troops were on the move, including non-fighters.
This was the full force gathered after leaving only the minimum necessary to guard the borders and territories.
And he had been appointed as the supreme commander.
His shoulders felt heavy.
This battle would decide the fate of the Aslan Kingdom.
A fight they could not afford to lose.
His heart tightened more with every step toward their destination.
'I'm anxious.'
He had set out on the king's orders, but no matter how he thought about it, something felt off.
Like going to the bathroom but forgetting to wipe.
Like finishing the job but slacking on the final checks and paying the price.
'I can't let myself feel anxious.'
The supreme commander had to remain calm at all times.
So.
He focused his mind.
He absolutely could not waver.
One day.
Just one more day, and they could strike the enemy's stronghold.
No matter how strong the Demon King was, he couldn't overcome these numbers.
They could win.
They absolutely could.
Kieeeek!
A monstrous bird's cry echoed from afar.
Dullahan Bergio.
Sage's chest ached every time she saw Bergio's headless corpse.
Most of her memories were gone, but faint traces of the respect and affection she once held for him lingered.
She hated seeing his gruesome, decapitated form.
She didn't want to witness the ugly end of someone she had admired.
The silver lining was that Bergio seemed aware of her feelings and rarely appeared before her.
"You can't live only doing good things in this world. Get used to it. Soon, Sir Bergio will regain his true form."
Whenever that happened, Vivian would soothe Sage's heart.
Every time she nestled into those soft breasts, her anxiety and fear melted away.
It was comforting.
She never wanted to let go once she was held.
That's why she liked Vivian.
She always made her feel at ease.
That was how they endured until they reached the capital of Aslan.
Just a little longer, and they could restore Sir Bergio to his original self.
She clung to that resolve.
"We can't enter through the main gate."
"Why?"
Vivian gave a wry smile.
"The priests at the main gate would detect me and Sir Bergio."
The capital was different from Mir.
Priests were stationed at every gate, inspecting entrants.
To cure any who might be infected with demonic energy.
After Mir fell, high-level priests had been deployed to all territories of earl rank or higher.
That was why they had traveled through the mountains.
"We'll scale the walls at night."
"Got it."
Bergio, lacking a head to nod, simply stood motionless.
Sage and her companions waited until sunset.
The sun set, and darkness fell over Aslan.
Torches lit up the watchposts along the walls.
Light magic illuminated areas where the walls were lower.
Security was tight.
As she pondered how they might infiltrate,
"Come here."
Vivian, her lower body that of a spider, shot a web onto the wall.
"Climb up."
She could produce spider silk at will.
A wall like this was nothing.
One person, one dullahan, and one arachne scaled the wall via the web.
No knight vigilant enough to spot their agile movements in the darkness patrolled the top.
"Wasn't there just no wind?"
"Yeah. Maybe rain's coming?"
They felt like nothing more than a passing breeze.
"How will we find the head?"
"Sir Bergio will find it himself. His head and body are still connected."
"So we just follow?"
"Yes. But before we retrieve Sir Bergio's head, there's something we need to do."
Sage's eyes widened.
What else was there?
"Let's start with a very fun treasure hunt."
Vivian's smiling eyes drew people in irresistibly.
"Yeah......"
Just like now.
Vivian was amazing.
Listening to her made anything seem possible.
Her warm voice put her heart at ease.
Sage followed Vivian through the capital's shadows.
Eyes on the soldiers, after wandering for a while,
"Found it."
Vivian's spider silk caught the black smoke drifting lazily in the air.
Like a finely woven net snaring a fish, she smiled as she captured it.
What was that?
That black energy.
"Now let's go retrieve Sir Bergio's head."
Sage nodded and headed to where Bergio's head was buried.
Sir Bergio led the way.
Bergio strode forward steadily without hesitation.
And the place they arrived at was.
-Honor and Glory.
The communal graveyard for Aslan's knights who fell on the battlefield.
"Who goes there!"
As expected, guards were posted.
Slash!
Sage cut them down without hesitation.
To revive Bergio, killing was no issue.
He was her mentor, after all.
Sage's moral compass was utterly shattered.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The commotion drew soldiers who began ringing the bells.
"Let's finish this quickly."
The dullahan lumbered forward.
To the largest tomb in the graveyard.
The dullahan stood before it.
Then raised his sword, unleashing aura.
Boom!
He shattered the grave outright.
The tomb collapsed, and he dug through the dirt.
Waaaaah!
Meanwhile, soldiers closed in.
Sage drew her sword.
Holy power mixed with demonic energy, emitting a murky light.
She gripped the hilt tightly, ready to strike any foe.
At that moment, the head-found dullahan pressed his severed neck to it.
Fwaaaah!!
Black light spread.
As the glow faded, the now-headed dullahan lifted his head.
-Sage...?
He had become a complete Death Knight with glowing blue eyes.
"Sir Bergio......"
-Why are you here? I was clearly killed by the Demon King......
"You've suffered until now, haven't you, Sir Bergio? I came to save you."
-I can't understand. I clearly......
Vivian flinched at Bergio, who still retained his reason.
He had died long ago.
Even with a rotting, decayed head left abandoned for so long, he kept his sanity.
In case Bergio retained reason, she scattered the black mist she had been told to use on him.
"How long will you cling to your lost flesh? It's time to awaken to your true mission, Sir Bergio."
The black mist enveloped his head.
His body was already the Demon King's.
Only the head remained.
Once it fell too, he would live under the Demon King's grace like them.
-Hngh!
The remnants of his reason wavered.
-Aaaah......
His blue-glowing eyes were tainted red.
-Sage, have you been well? I forgot for a moment. Even without my head, I was with you.
"Ah, Sir Bergio!"
Sage embraced Bergio, now evolved into a Death Knight.
Bergio gripped her arms firmly.
-Oh my, you've slacked on training. Your arms are softer than before.
"It's to His Majesty's taste."
-Ah, I see.
Bergio nodded at Vivian's words.
He couldn't explain why, but loyalty to Him welled from deep in his dantian.
If it was what He desired, so be it.
The hero served the Demon King too.
-Heh, I can't relate to such tastes. A woman needs muscle, after all.
"Only you think that, Master. Weird hobby."
-Heh, mine is odd too. But even so, don't neglect training. Repeated practice will make you stronger.
"I'll do it once we return to Mir."
-You've become a proper hero now. Do you pledge loyalty to His Majesty?
"Loyal... not quite."
-If not loyalty, what is it?
"I'm not sure."
-I see. You'll figure it out in time. Why you follow His Majesty. Sage, as you know, you're a capable knight.
Her chest swelled.
Recognition from her mentor flushed her with excitement.
"I'll take it slow. Thank you."
-Good. First, let's handle business. We came for a reason, didn't we? Vague memories from my separated body remain. To kill the king?
"Yes."
Vivian answered for her.
"Let's go together, Sir Bergio."
-Of course. I'll lead.
Bergio stepped forward, drawing his sword.
Sage's eyes turned to the approaching soldiers.
-It's been ages since I fought with gusto.
"Master, I'll support from the side."
"I'll bestow blessings."
Two vanguards and one buffer.
The trio mowed down the swarming guards like dungeon delving.
"T-The hero betrayed the kingdom!"
"Sir Bergio has returned as an undead!"
Terror spread among the soldiers and knights who recognized them.
They had been the kingdom's protectors until recently.
Seeing even them defect crushed all hope in their eyes.
"R-Run."
"We can't win this......"
"Uwaaah! Where are the mages?!"
It was pure pandemonium.
King Liberal II thought as he watched the blood-soaked hero and Death Knight enter.
'The kingdom's fortune ends in my reign.'
The capital was ravaged by a mere three intruders.
The knight commander meant to protect the kingdom, the hero, and an unknown priestess.
The king could do nothing.
Not as guards died, not as his son was slain, not as royals and knights fell.
He could only watch.
'I've been had.'
The king realized everything had gone according to the Demon King's plan.
The diplomat's provocation was designed to lure the kingdom's main force from the capital to Mir.
He had anticipated that, having lost troops, the knight commander, and even the hero, the king would swallow the bait.
Striking the undefended rear to kill him...
'Truly bewitched by the devil.'
Enchanted, he had done nothing as the kingdom's assets were stripped away.
Would the nobles avenge him after his death?
He didn't know.
One thing was certain: he would go down in history as the king of a fallen realm.
The incompetent ruler who lost the kingdom to the Demon King.
"Heh, foolish. So foolish."
The hero approached, having slain everyone in the palace.
She was smiling.
Beaming innocently as she killed.
Like a child praised.
'She's broken.'
The king, who once knew her, saw it instantly.
Sage had collapsed.
The hero he knew was dead.
She was no different from the Death Knight Bergio slaughtering knights.
'What should I do?'
No one answered.
"You're the king, right?"
"Yes."
At least he would meet death kingly.
"Did you send Sir Bergio to the Demon King?"
The king nodded at the hero's innocent question.
"I did. To slay the Demon King."
"Oh? Then that's that."
A smile bloomed on the hero's face at his answer.
She raised her holy sword and severed the king's head.
The king's head flew, spraying blood.
His body slumped powerlessly, rolling under the throne.
Liberal II, head sent flying, did not hear Sage's final words.
"His Majesty was right after all."
At that moment, the gem embedded in the holy sword's center wriggled like a living eye.
And that eye witnessed the fallen king's death.
The hero once called the kingdom's guardian had fallen completely.
'Bergio evolved as planned.'
Feeling the connection with the dullahan strengthen, I instinctively knew Sage had succeeded.
Vivian had done well.
Feint the main force with the Demon Army upfront, strike the rear with elites.
I could have targeted the capital myself, but that risked losing the frontal clash.
A commander's presence on the battlefield makes a huge difference.
So I aimed for a triple win: the holy sword and hero's corruption, Bergio's awakening, and the main force's victory.
It was a bit of a stretch.
With the rear playing its part,
"Now it's our turn to move."
I needed to step up too.
I muttered as I gazed at the kingdom's army encamped outside the city.