Signs of War (1)
Yushin’s group departed from Santander Castle. They headed west. Toward the thoroughly forbidden unexplored zone. The region the elves called the “cursed land.”
“Gareth, drive faster!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Hekadi’s command, Gareth whipped the horses harder from the driver’s seat, picking up speed. The fleeing party numbered around twenty in total. Three wagons loaded with supplies raced swiftly onward.
It wasn’t far from Santander Forest to the unexplored zone. The entire western region of the Liberia Peninsula was undeveloped land.
Entering the unexplored zone itself was relatively easy.
“The real problem is the forces guarding the unexplored zone and the border…”
Yushin muttered. Allen replied immediately.
“You’ve got me, don’t you?”
“Yeah, having you here makes it feel solid.”
Inside the wildly rocking wagon, they discussed their plans while chatting. Isana spoke up first, listing all the intel she’d gathered from Santander Castle about the Elf Kingdom.
“Just keep heading west and cross Oviedo, and you’re in the unexplored zone. Sure, it’s crawling with nasty monsters, but we’ve got two of the Kingdom’s Seven Swords with us.”
Yushin hadn’t explicitly told his subordinates why they were heading to the unexplored zone. But Isana knew. The others did too. Just as Yushin valued his men more than his own life, they followed him with the same loyalty. They could read his intentions clearly.
He hadn’t given up yet. Despite the current rift caused by discord, he was worried about an all-out war between the Elf Kingdom and the Demon King Army.
Yushin feared the Valencia sisters might get swept up in the Demon King Army’s assault. That was why he hadn’t chosen to flee to a foreign land.
“Heading into the unexplored zone should shake off any pursuit from the Elf Kingdom. It’s crawling with dangerous demons and beasts—from the wicked demons who once followed the Raging Flames Demon King to the brutal monsters the Demon King Army unleashed… Who’d want to go there?”
Even after the elves’ centuries-long conquest campaigns across the Liberia Peninsula, the western region remained untouched. They’d given up on it. The elves, who had driven out Sabnack and her minions to claim the peninsula, had grown weary of the swarming beasts and halted their expansion.
Now, Yushin’s group was marching straight into that peril of their own accord. But no one trembled in fear. Yushin and Allen, the guardian knights representing the Valua Kingdom, were with them.
“B-Big bro!”
“Yeah?”
“L-Look… guards are spread out everywhere?”
“Eyes forward. Keep driving.”
“Y-Yes… sir!”
Yushin ordered Gareth, who was handling the reins, to charge ahead. He and Allen drew their swords and leaped from the wagon.
Just as they neared the unexplored zone, the Elf Kingdom had caught wind of the wagons fleeing Santander Castle and set up barricades. He’d figured they wouldn’t let them go quietly. The forces numbered at least a few hundred—all elf knights. They must have deployed proper knight units from Maherith.
“Tch, two thousand knights…! Is this the Duke’s territory?!”
“What bullshit! Rangers on the trees! Duck your head, now!!”
The elf knights had been sent to coerce Yushin. But he had zero intention of accepting the Elf Kingdom’s offer now. He and Allen cut down the knights blocking their path, smashing through the barricades.
* * *
Yushin crossed Oviedo. Ileina, waiting for news in Maherith, heard he’d headed into the unexplored zone and stared in blank dismay.
Negotiations with the Diablo Slayer had ultimately failed.
With Yushin vanishing into the unexplored zone with his men, the Elf Kingdom had no way to capture him. Ardena heard the news and gave a bitter smile.
“I’ll go down in history as the worst incompetent captain ever. Letting the Diablo Slayer from the Holy Empire—who even defeated the Tyranny Demon King—slip away through sheer idiocy…”
“That’s not the High Priestess’s fault. The shadow clan bears responsibility for the negotiation failure.”
“Failing to control my subordinates is on me too. Who am I to blame? Maybe a country bumpkin like me becoming High Priestess was a mistake from the start.”
Ileina flopped face-down on the bed, kicking her feet in frustration. She was furious—with herself. If only she’d had better political savvy, she could have pulled the Diablo Slayer to their side. The man who’d slain Agares was worth every coin in the national treasury, no, billions more.
Losing such a talent right in front of her only fueled her rage.
“Sorry.”
“The final battle with the Demon King Army is our elves’ destined duty.”
“But you know too, right? The Raging Flames Demon King, Sabnack, is immortal. Even El Sid back then couldn’t kill her.”
El Sid hadn’t been able to kill the Demon King either. Ardena clenched her fist, frustration etching her face at Ileina’s words.
Her master’s unachieved feat. Ardena vowed to Ileina that she would slay the Demon King herself.
Ileina explained that no weapon, no attack could sever the Demon King’s immortality. But Ardena countered that since the Holy Empire’s Diablo Slayer had done it, it wasn’t impossible.
“…We’ll do what we can. If we can’t defeat the Demon King, there’s no future for the Elf Kingdom. So please, grant me El Sid’s sword.”
Ileina’s eyes widened in shock at Ardena’s request. She planned to face Sabnack. The immortal being even El Sid couldn’t subdue. It was too reckless.
But Ardena insisted it was the warrior captains’ duty. Protecting the Elf Kingdom meant staking their lives against threats like Sabnack.
“How did Yushin Gilliard kill the Tyranny Demon King? Heard any stories?”
“No… I didn’t know until he revealed it himself.”
Precedents existed for slaying great demon lords who ruled the demon realm, but they were rare. Details were scarce. What method, what weapon—everything shrouded in mystery. Did it require specific conditions?
Ileina wanted to grill history’s Diablo Slayers. If you killed a Demon King, at least record how in detail. Those killers had zero consideration for posterity.
“El Sid’s sword… I’ll allow it for now. But challenging the Demon King is reckless. Even that sword offers no guarantee. It couldn’t kill Sabnack either.”
“You mean we need an extraordinary measure.”
“Yeah. The best one was the Holy Empire’s Diablo Slayer.”
They’d tried handing Yushin Gilliard back to Valua to secure the Diablo Slayer’s aid. Foolish. Ileina regretted her stupidity to her bones. Who’d have thought Yushin was the Diablo Slayer?
Of course he hated the Elf Kingdom. They’d tried to sell him like merchandise. Even without the dark elves’ raid on Santander Castle, he probably wouldn’t have accepted negotiations.
“High Priestess.”
An elf handmaiden entered. Bowing her head, she delivered urgent news to Ileina.
“Reports say the Demon King Army’s movements are suspicious.”
Ileina shrugged at the handmaiden’s words.
“They’re always up to shady shit.”
“No. A Demon King Army detachment is bypassing the front lines on a wide arc toward the west. At least a thousand strong.”
“The west…?”
Ileina frowned in confusion. The Demon King Army had no reason to target the west. To strike the capital Maherith, they’d need to breach the central front. For mere pillaging, they’d hit the eastern front. But the west was barren wasteland. Ravaged by extreme heat and storms, lifeless barren land. Plus, most beasts in the unexplored zone had gone feral, pure monsters unaffected by the Demon King.
“Did they catch on that Yushin Gilliard’s heading to the unexplored zone? Nah, impossible. If they moved a detachment, it’d be before Yushin even went that way. Front-line news takes time to reach here.”
Ileina waved off the handmaiden and rested her chin on her hand, face grim. The Demon King Army wasn’t after Yushin Gilliard. They were reaching out to something in the unexplored zone. With everything there unknown, its identity was a mystery.
“Ardena, warrior captain.”
“Yes.”
“Anyone you can send to the unexplored zone right away? Not top captains. Sabnack could move anytime.”
“…There’s a suitable one available.”
“Good, handle it.”
Sabnack was a massive pain. The elves had only driven her from the Liberia Peninsula and founded their nation thanks to El Sid’s exploits. Now, bound by the covenant, El Sid couldn’t fight. But pre-covenant El Sid had been the hero who pushed the Demon King Army south, enabling the Elf Kingdom’s birth.
“One thing I’m curious about. How did El Sid drive Sabnack from the peninsula? She couldn’t kill her.”
Ardena answered Ileina’s question.
“As you said, High Priestess, El Sid couldn’t kill Sabnack. But she inflicted near-fatal wounds time and again. Sabnack’s spirit broken, she fled south with her minions—that’s how the Liberia Elf Kingdom was founded.”
“As expected from Warrior Captain Ardena, steeped in the old tales. The neighborhood kids must love it. Voice’s all gruff, but the stories are fun.”
Ardena itched to bonk Ileina on the head. If she weren’t the High Priestess… She’d have smacked her hard enough to patch the dent.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Yeah, good luck.”
Ardena bowed to Ileina and turned to leave. Just then, the door opened, and she locked eyes with an elf warrior captain wearing an urgent expression. Seira Leon, the elder of the twin warrior captains.
“Ah, Warrior Captain Ardena…”
“What’s wrong, Seira?”
Seira glanced between Ardena and the sullen-faced Ileina before speaking in a rush.
“The Demon King Army’s on the move! Forces assembled at Linares are advancing north. Reports say they’ll clash with Warrior Captain Bariteon’s defense line soon.”
“Finally moving, huh…”
Ileina scratched the back of her head hard, as if the dam had burst at last. The Demon King was leading her forces. And the enemy targeting Bariteon’s line was one of Sabnack’s minions. Though Sabnack had lost to El Sid in the past, she remained a foe not to underestimate. Especially now, with El Sid covenant-bound and unable to fight.
The Elf Kingdom currently had no means to stop Sabnack.