151
I Killed the Demon King. It was a Mistake.
Chapter 151
It's unlikely that Pepe hid information from Caesar. If he had, Caesar would have noticed through psychometry that he was hiding something. Then, it means other doppelgangers might have hidden information from Pepe.
'There's a high probability that all the doppelgangers in the Forest of the Beast people are Elijah's avatars.'
Certainly, until yesterday, Elijah wanted to completely annihilate the Beast People. He might not have wanted to provide Caesar with unnecessary information about how dangerous the Beast People are.
"Anyway, the problems the Beast people are experiencing are not just their own. If the Beast people have no power to resist the Orcs, eventually damage will come to you as well."
"...So you think we should spare the Beast people?"
"It's true that the Beast people have wronged us. But that doesn't mean the Beast people are unnecessary."
Caesar decided to approach the situation as rationally as possible, removing emotions. This is not a society, but a battlefield. If one acts emotionally, mistakes will happen, and mistakes directly lead to death. He must judge as coolly as possible.
"I'm not telling you to forgive the Beast people. But as someone who will become the king of the demon race, you must think carefully about what will benefit the demon race's future and determine the direction to move forward."
"....."
Agatha did not look Caesar in the eyes, instead staring at the ground. He considered reading her thoughts with psychometry but didn't. Caesar knows Agatha as someone who is very emotional but knows rational and wise answers. Of course, the problem is that despite knowing the rational answer, her emotions often lead her astray.
"...I understand what you mean. I'll think about it and give you an answer."
A single raindrop fell on Caesar's head. Soon, rain began to pour like a waterfall. Agatha and Caesar were quickly drenched like wet puppies. Agatha brushed herself off and stood up.
"It seems to be morning. You should go back now."
"Okay."
Whitey flew over hurriedly, even though Caesar hadn't called him. He seems eager to return to the stable. Agatha pulled her raincoat over her head.
"By the way, after thinking about it, I believe it would have been more appropriate for you to become the Demon King."
"Why do you think so?"
"Just a feeling. If you had become the Demon King instead of me, I feel the current situation would have improved. Those who don't listen would follow you well."
Caesar chuckled and mounted Whitey.
"Even knowing that I broke the Demon King's pot?"
Agatha laughed softly.
"No."
***
Three weeks passed as quickly as a flowing river. During this time, a considerable number of troops had gathered in the Eagle valley. Not just the 5th Division, but the reinforcement troops from the adjacent 11th Division also arrived at the Eagle valley, setting up artillery and taking up positions. These were all troops prepared to deal with the succubi and vampires. With the arrival of reinforcement troops, the road leading to the Eagle valley began to be quickly paved. From the speed, it seems a four-lane road wide enough for carriages to pass within a few days will be completed. The soldiers began building outposts and underground houses using broken wood pieces. Though there's nothing as terrible as staying in a trench during the rainy season, this is likely preparation for a high possibility of a prolonged standoff with Agatha's group.
So what are Caesar and the knights doing during this tedious standoff?
Tap! Tap?
"Hey! Tighten that a bit more!"
"If you don't dig the drainage properly, the rain will all come inside the house!"
What are they doing?
They should build a house to avoid the rain.
It's disqualifying as a commander to just tease soldiers when there's nothing to do.
At times like this, even knights should be handed a shovel.
That way, they won't have other thoughts.
Of course, there were occasionally those who would slack off behind the scenes, but when Caesar directly took an axe and split wood, personally participating in fortification repairs, they had no choice but to pick up axes as well.
Then what about the 300 wizards?
Caesar stuck his left axe into a tree stump and took a short break. Then he looked at the cabin emitting smoke from its chimney.
"Damn, magic is the best."
Whose house is that?
Well, naturally, it belongs to the great Green Eye wizard 'Raven'.
Raven developed a 'house-building magic' because she hated getting wet during rainy seasons, creating warm houses where not a single raindrop could enter.
Inspired by Raven, other wizards also created their own houses and would hardly come out except for magic research or reconnaissance missions.
Gideon sighed and said,
"Sir Caesar, shouldn't we ask the wizards to help?"
"I've already helped them."
Caesar looked at the tall tower-shaped outposts stretched across the Eagle valley These outposts were built by wizards for reconnaissance and observation missions without getting wet. Currently, these outposts are mainly used by soldiers on guard duty rather than wizards.
"It's not appropriate to ask them to build our living quarters. Keep chopping without rest."
"...Understood."
While wrestling with water-logged wood for quite some time, a messenger rushed to Caesar.
"Is the Special Operations Battalion Commander here?!"
Caesar put down his axe and looked at the messenger.
"I'm here. Why?"
"The Allied Commander is calling you!"
"What for?"
"The reconnaissance team that went to the Forest of Beast people has returned!"
The reconnaissance team.
Caesar thought he knew what information they might have brought back.
"And... Hero Yan and Lord Mitchell have also arrived!"
Caesar pulled out lefty.
"I'll go right away."
Finally, it's arrived.
***
Caesar headed toward the command tent.
The command tent had grown quite large.
During the Timber Corps commander's time, it would be full with around 20 people, but now it was spacious enough to accommodate 50 people comfortably.
When Caesar arrived at the tent's entrance, he saw several familiar faces.
'Yan really did come.'
The White Knights were guarding the tent's entrance in the rain.
Caesar passed through the White Knights and entered the tent.
The slightly dry but warm air warmed his wet body.
As Caesar entered, the noisy command tent suddenly became quiet.
The command staff, Yan, Mitchell, and Elijah all focused on Caesar.
"I'll take the raincoat."
Caesar handed his wet raincoat to a knight and received a towel to dry his wet hair. He roughly dried his hair and found a spot.
"Where should I sit?"
The Allied Command Staff Chief Diove stared at Caesar with sharp eyes.
"Don't sit. Stand where you are and give a briefing."
Diove looked at Caesar as if he were a prodigal son who had stolen his youngest daughter. Caesar didn't particularly like him either. This was the guy who constantly argued that he must somehow take away Caesar's magical command authority from beside Elijah.
Nevertheless, he didn't think of him as useless like Baker. In game system terms, he was an S-class staff officer. In other words, he was a named talent so capable that Caesar would want to snatch him away immediately.
The way he's glaring now is because he's serving his lord, Elijah. If he were to start following Caesar, those sharp eyes would turn towards Caesar's enemies.
Hmm, he's tempting.
Caesar looked around.
The tent was filled with staff members he knew well.
Those seated were mostly A-class or S-class, and even the knight who took his raincoat was A-class.
They were also staff members who had served Elijah for decades.
'Certainly, Elijah is quite an impressive guy.'
Considering how much effort Caesar put into gathering a good staff of advisors, Elijah, who has collected only the best advisors, felt frighteningly capable. The fact that such competent advisors are assembled also means that Elijah himself knows how to distinguish good advisors.
"What should I brief you about?"
"How you personally dealt with a Twin-Headed Ogre that has turned into a devil? Could you tell me about the situation at that time?"
Through the words of Diove, the chief of staff, Caesar immediately understood what information they were asking about. He likely realized that the Forest of Beast people was almost occupied by the 'Black Horn Tribe'.
"The creature had two heads and four horns, which meant it had four abilities. The most shocking ability was that it could conceal nearly 80,000 Orcs and deceive our allies."
"In other words, it was an ogre with intelligence?"
"That's correct. It was an ogre that understood the concept of tactics and was a general capable of commanding 80,000 Orcs without missing a single one."
Caesar's briefing caused the staff to swallow hard.
"That's why we didn't know about the Orcs occupying the Forest of Beast people."
"And the Beast people didn't even request support from humans."
"The fact that all reconnaissance team members who entered the forest never returned was significant. It was right to compose a reconnaissance team using quick knights like this time."
Diove spoke up. "Indeed, it would be correct to immediately deploy a large military force to the Forest of Beast people to deal with the devil Orcs. If we only defend without knowing anything about their scale or abilities, the front line could collapse in an instant."
Another staff member spoke. "Are you suggesting we break the non-aggression treaty established between the Beast people and the Orcs? The moment we break that treaty first, they will gain justification and could launch a collective offensive."
"Shouldn't we try to renegotiate by contacting the leaders of the Beast people and Orcs who signed the agreement? If we just wait for them to attack like now, we'll suffer greatly."
Now he understood the topic they were arguing about. If the Black Horn Tribe penetrated one of the vast front lines, the troops guarding that area would struggle to defend. Especially since the combat power of the devilized Orcs was not clearly understood, and their purpose was not clear, confusion was only increasing.
At that moment, Mitchell, who had been sitting quietly in a chair, spoke. "In conclusion, we need more information, right?"
Diove nodded. "We need accurate and fresh information. But the question is how and who will obtain that information. With the reconnaissance resources we currently have, we cannot accomplish that objective."
"What do you think about contacting the Beast people?"
"Reconnaissance team members who entered the forest to contact the Beast people have never encountered anyone. They only found corpses."
As the conversation seemed to be getting longer, Caesar sat in the empty seat next to Raven.
Seemingly annoyed, Raven frowned when Caesar sat down.
"... You smell."
I was just building a house until a moment ago, right?
Isn't it natural that I would smell of sweat and water?
Raven waved her wand.
Instantly, Caesar's body became clean and refreshed.
It seemed she had used a cleaning spell.
Mitchell and Yan looked at Raven and Caesar alternately with a surprised expression.
I know that look.
Something like, ‘When did you two become so close?’
Anyway, Yan, do you have time to be so relaxed?
Mitchell seems about to send you back to the Forest of Beast people.
"If it's the Hero, you could safely enter the Forest of Beast people and have a conversation with the Beast people."
Yan slightly nodded at Mitchell's words.
"If necessary, I will go."
Yan did not refuse.
He is remarkable in many ways.
According to Caesar's information, this guy was sealed in the Forest of Beast people for over two months without proper supplies.
If it were me, I would not even look at the Forest of Beast people due to trauma.
"But I doubt the Beast people will try to communicate with me."
"Why?"
"Because I killed too many Beast people."
Indeed, Yan entered the Forest of Beast people alone and massacred more than a thousand Beast people.
After spilling the blood of a thousand Beast people without being able to kill them, he could only seal them, and thus the Beast people considered the Hero as a monster beyond description.
"And isn't it specified in the ceasefire treaty? That I should not enter the Forest of Beast people."
"This is not the time to discuss the treaty. The Beast people currently have no means to control the Orcs. At this point, the treaty is essentially invalid."
"So I hope someone else is sent instead."
Yan looked at Caesar.
"I recommend Sir Caesar."
Oh, so there was another reason for his calmness.
This was likely a pre-arranged plan between Mitchell and Yan.
Caesar decided to read the thoughts of the surrounding staff using psychometry.
-Hero, nice move!
-If Caesar hands over the wizard command authority, division is possible.
-Even if he asks to return it later, we can resist with various excuses, and Caesar would have no way to counter.
-Best if it falls into Lord Elijah's hands, and if not, it's advantageous if it falls into the Hero's hands.
"Hmm! Not a bad idea. Actually, Sir Caesar is a fresh character with no particular connection to the Beast people or Orcs."
"I also recommend him. The special forces battalion commander is also incredibly powerful, so he can safely return from the Forest of Beast people."
Even without using psychometry, the intentions are obvious, making him chuckle.
Don't these guys want Caesar to die in the Forest of Beast people?
They likely think it's more advantageous to gain control of 300 wizards than Caesar's individual power.
'Who drew this picture.'
Caesar swept his gaze across the staff.
At that moment, his gaze landed on 'Mitchell’.
Mitchell maintained a very calm expression, not even making eye contact with Caesar.
'It's you after all.'
Mitchell has a habit of playing dumb when he's scheming or doesn't want his intentions discovered.
When lying, he smokes a cigarette or drinks alcohol, and when he doesn't want to be caught like now, he goes into maximum cloaking mode.
It's so obvious now that he doesn't even laugh.