Chapter 115
"Jena possesses the talent of a demon."
"What do you mean by that all of a sudden?"
Isabela asked, staring at the Light Sword with a perplexed expression. It seemed her plan hadn't accounted for him pulling out.
If Isabela could take on Balam, Kauli, and the dark elves all by herself, then she should've been the Hero, not me.
"No, I just figured I know how the elves feel about humans. We could get screwed over anytime, so better to bail early, right? Isn't that so, disciple?"
"Yes, Master."
Lucille quickly chimed in agreement with the Light Sword's words.
Of course, both I and Isabela knew they wouldn't back off that easily. But this was just a power play, and the elves' queen was in the worst position.
"Hoo. So what do you want from me?"
"Well? The one most pissed off about this is the Hero, so shouldn't we hear his opinion first?"
The Light Sword said that with a sly grin, glancing my way. He was handing the initiative to me for now. But nothing came free with him, and he probably had his own agenda.
I put off settling accounts with the Light Sword and turned to Isabela. She glared at me with a frustrated look, but she couldn't refuse my demands in this situation.
What should I ask for?
I pondered as I looked at Isabela, but it didn't take long.
Fucking the elf queen right here wasn't even on my mind. I had no intention of letting things slide for a quick dip in her pussy, and I could take it anytime I wanted if I felt like it.
What I wanted was a way to really screw over these elf bastards. And there was a perfect candidate right by my side to deliver a massive fuck-you to the elves on my behalf.
"I'll take command of the operation. If you give me that, we'll fight alongside the elves."
"Hooh?"
"...Command? You can't mean you expect us to follow your orders?"
The Light Sword let out an intrigued whistle at my words, while Isabela immediately shot back in protest.
Her reaction wasn't over the top, really. They were reinforcements, sure, but the battle was in the elves' Great Forest, and they had the most troops. The Light Sword only had his disciple, and my group was just four people plus one pet.
"Make a reasonable demand, Hero."
"Why's it unreasonable? You seem to have forgotten—I've got nothing to lose."
I shot back at Isabela, who was glaring at me like it was humiliating.
The elves weren't happy about it either. As I watched them, I casually grabbed Jena's hand and pulled her forward.
"This is an imperial noble and the captain of the Gaiana Church's holy knights. She's on a whole different level from you lot brawling like animals. This isn't just a fight—it's a war. And in war, strategy and tactics decide victory. If you want to win, shouldn't you follow the one who knows how to fight most efficiently?"
At my lengthy explanation, the elves' gazes locked onto Jena. She blushed under the weight of their stares, but my description of her wasn't wrong at all.
Back in the first timeline, she'd pulled her forces out intact by sacrificing the civilians. Despicable, sure, but retreating without a single loss isn't easy.
And I was certain her cursed talent would be a disaster for the elves.
"I'm all for it. War's different from a skirmish."
"And unlike with the elves, she'll assign troops fairly."
The Light Sword backed me up, and his disciple Lucille added her two cents. Lucille shot Isabela a cold glance, like she had a grudge against the elf queen.
"What's it gonna be? The decision's yours, Queen."
I said to Isabela, who bit her lip in frustration at my words but said nothing.
"Haaah... N-no more... Hiiik."
"Guess this one's done too."
Kauli sighed inwardly as he watched Balam toss aside the dark elf girl clinging to his crotch, snorting in satisfaction. It had been days since they'd surrounded the area near the Great Forest, but this bull-headed bastard showed no sign of moving.
It would've been better if he'd just stayed put. But Balam kept groping the dark elf women every day, pushing their rage to the boiling point.
Haa, fuck. It was better when Dalshinyang was in charge.
Kauli, who had taken over as beastkin leader in Dalshinyang's place, couldn't help thinking that. Dalshinyang's presence wouldn't have changed Balam's behavior, but at least Kauli wouldn't be stuck mediating between him and the dark elves' chief.
"How long are you planning to waste time like this?"
Kauli asked Balam, who was still licking his lips like he wasn't satisfied.
The beastkin weren't under Balam's command, but he was in charge of this battle, so his intentions mattered.
"What's the rush?"
"The Hero's teamed up with the elves. And the forces holding back the empire have collapsed, so they might send reinforcements too."
Kauli replied to Balam's question. In his judgment, dragging this out wouldn't benefit the demon army, but for some reason, Balam was stalling.
"Even better if they swarm us. No need to hunt them down one by one."
Balam chuckled at Kauli's words.
Kauli felt baffled by the response but didn't react. He knew this bull-brained idiot was a brute already.
"Scaredy wolf, Kauli. Don't worry—I've been planning to move soon anyway."
"Huh?"
Kauli stared at Balam in shock at the unexpected words. He was glad to hear they'd march out, but he couldn't fathom the sudden change.
"Gotta catch some elves. The beastkin and dark elves are getting bored."
But hearing Balam's mutter, Kauli felt his anger flare up again. He couldn't understand why Baal had put this dumbass bull in charge.
Questioning Baal's decisions outright would've been shooting himself in the foot—after all, Kauli owed his beastkin leadership to the same choice.
"What'd he say?"
As Kauli left Balam's tent, the dark elf chief approached and asked.
Kauli relayed everything Balam had said. The dark elf chief scowled, pride wounded, but also looked relieved.
"Whatever the reason, marching out is good news, right?"
"Yeah, but something feels off."
The dark elf chief let out a short sigh at Kauli's response.
"We never should've joined the demon army."
"...Too late for regrets now."
The beastkin and dark elf leaders exchanged glances as they spoke. Both had joined the demon army for profit, so they understood each other's positions better than anyone.
"...Here's the plan I came up with."
I checked the plan Jena had whipped up and stared at her in disbelief.
All I'd asked for was one thing: victory was a given, but the elves had to be the ones taking the brunt of it.
Not out of sympathy for the elves, of course. "Taking the brunt" was just a polite way of saying they'd suffer the most.
"If you don't like it... I can redo it."
I grabbed Jena's hand as she reached to take the plan back, gauging my reaction. Her talent was the real deal, and I was beyond satisfied with it.
I never could've predicted she'd plan to burn over half the Great Forest in an elf war. And the demon army wouldn't see it coming either.
Fire attacks worked best when unexpected, and this would catch them completely off guard. Plus, the spots Jena targeted linked perfectly with Duke Capella's strategy, which made it even better.
"Jena. I admit it—you're a genius."
Her cheeks flushed bright red at my praise.