73 - The Night at the Base
The headquarters of the Undead Legion, which the Laurel Kingdom army is searching for with bloodshot eyes. As for where that is, it is Nordende. Specifically, the garrison north of the Demon King's Army fortress. However, the headquarters the Laurel Kingdom army is searching for is not there. It is a headquarters located outside Nordende, within the territory of the Laurel Kingdom.
That, first of all, is a mistake. The Undead Legion does not have a headquarters outside Nordende. What they have are bases. They have numerous bases and are constantly moving between them.
Tonight, they were gathered in one of those bases—a village in the Laurel Kingdom that was now almost devoid of people.
"""…………"""
The Undead Legion gathered in the central square of the village. Everyone except Ray was silent—though the only ones capable of speaking were Sansei and the Vampio race, including Kai—as they gazed into the flames.
"...My condolences for the death that has visited you once more. I will never disturb your slumber again. I will not let it be disturbed. I swear this."
The words Ray was murmuring were a funeral rite. They were words to mourn the skeleton soldiers who had become immobile in battle, those who had met their second death.
"...Rest in peace. May eternal silence dwell in your hearts."
With a final deep bow, the ritual ended.
"Dismissed. Rest as you please."
Following Ray's order, the skeleton soldiers dispersed. Some soldiers entered buildings normally. Others attempted to burrow into the ground. Each chose where they would spend the night.
"Do you always do such things?"
A man of the Vampio race questioned Ray. The man asking this was not one of the Vampio who had joined Ray and the others alongside Kai. He had come to search for Ray's location on the orders of King Dracul.
"Not always... but if necessary."
"Is it necessary?"
A ritual to mourn skeleton soldiers who were already dead. The Vampio man was questioning the meaning of doing so.
"When a comrade dies, don't you at least hold a funeral? Or perhaps the Vampio race has no such custom?"
Ray's answer was not what the Vampio man was seeking.
"Does it have nothing to do with controlling the undead?"
This was what he wanted to know. He had thought it was some sort of necromantic ritual.
"I mourned them because they could no longer be controlled."
What the Undead Legion had performed was simply a normal funeral. Soldiers for whom necromancy no longer worked. He was merely mourning soldiers who had met their second death.
"...I see."
To the Vampio man, it was a completely meaningless act. The soldiers of the Undead Legion were already dead to begin with. There was no need to mourn death.
"It is self-satisfaction. After all, even after they died, I had them kill one another. And perhaps, they were even fighting people they knew."
Ray also knew it was meaningless. However, he could not put his mind at ease if he did nothing.
Many of the Undead Legion's soldiers were former Laurel Kingdom army soldiers. Among the units they fought, there may have been acquaintances. Even so, they acted to kill the opponent if ordered. Ray and Sansei were the ones who made them do so.
"Self-satisfaction..."
"To dull my own sense of guilt. Does saying it this way make it clearer?"
"...Yes, I understand a little."
In reality, there was no meaning in feeling guilt. The undead were not supposed to have memories of their previous lives.
"You didn't come here just to ask about this, did you? Shall we get to the main point?"
Realizing that no matter how much he explained, his feelings were unlikely to be conveyed, Ray decided to change the subject. In truth, there was no point in digging deeper into this matter.
"The enemy's movements are becoming more intense."
"Does that mean combat will begin on the front lines again?"
"Ah, no, I was lacking in my words. I mean movements in the rear. Their objective is to search for you."
The Laurel Kingdom army was allocating a considerable number of units to the search for the Undead Legion. The Vampio race, who were also deployed in the rear, could see this clearly.
"I had a feeling that was the case. The number of encounters has been increasing."
"I see. Is it not dangerous?"
"It is dangerous. It's just that, so far, we've been fine."
Ray had no intention of fighting the main force of the Laurel Kingdom army head-on at this stage. His goal was strictly rear-guard disruption.
"Then what do you intend to do from here?"
"That is what I want to ask. The Laurel Kingdom army is moving units to the rear, correct? Despite that, why is the Demon King's Army not moving?"
"It has been decided that we will act after confirming the movements of you, the Undead Legion."
"Why? Regardless of where we are or what we are doing, if the enemy's front line has thinned, I believe that is where we should attack."
There was no reason to overlook a golden opportunity. Ray believed that if the enemy had left an opening, they should move immediately.
"I was lacking in my explanation again. As for the Demon King's Army, the plan is to judge after confirming whether the Laurel Kingdom army has truly retreated to the rear. It is my King who wishes to know your movements."
"Ah, that I understand. Except for the reason why he wants to know our movements."
It was not a bad thing to suspect an enemy trap. Ray thought he would be equally cautious. However, what the Undead Legion did was still unnecessary information.
"...The King is concerned about your next move. He believes that what needs to be done may change depending on that."
The movements of the Undead Legion were unpredictable. This confused not only the enemy but also their ally, King Dracul.
"The next to move will be the main force of the Demon King's Army. Our actions will change depending on that movement."
Even when asked about his next move, Ray had no answer. He hadn't decided yet.
"...How do you think the Demon King's Army should move?"
"Huh? You're asking me that?"
"No... I just want to ask for reference."
The Vampio man put on airs. In reality, he had absolutely no idea how to move the units in his head.
"Crush the enemy's front line completely. That would be best, but if that seems difficult, slip through the front line and advance a decent-sized force into the enemy's rear."
"...And what would you do after getting behind the enemy? Attack enemy bases like you do?"
"Yes. However, unlike us, we would seize the bases themselves, not just the supplies."
"What happens if you seize enemy bases?"
"Hah?"
He hadn't expected to be asked something like this. Since it was a war, it was natural to seize enemy bases. That was how Ray thought.
"You mean seizing the enemy's towns and villages, right? What is the point of doing that?"
But the Vampio man didn't understand. Ray didn't know why.
"...How do you win a war without seizing them?"
"You win by annihilating the enemy."
"...Does the meaning of that word 'annihilate' mean literally annihilating them?"
"Hah?"
Now it was the other party's turn to be bewildered by the question. He didn't understand why Ray was asking such a thing.
"...Do you seriously think you can kill every single member of the Human Race living in the Laurel Kingdom?"
In other words, this was it. Ray understood that "annihilate" meant literal extinction.
"That... I know is difficult. But the enemy is trying to annihilate us. To prevent that, we have no choice but to annihilate the enemy."
There was a reason, for once. It was slightly different from an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but it was in response to the enemy.
"...A war's conclusion will never be reached, will it? At least, it's impossible while I'm alive."
Perhaps because they were long-lived members of the Demon Race, they could seriously consider such an unattainable goal. He thought so, but he couldn't afford to indulge them. Ray wanted to achieve his revenge while he was still alive. For that sake, he felt it wouldn't matter if his life ended shortly.
"That may be so, but..."
"Well, whatever. I'm not in a position to complain about the Demon King's Army aiming for that. But if that's the case... what will we do?"
The Demon King's Army might not move to seize bases. If so, the battle would not progress as Ray had envisioned.
"What will you do?"
"I can't answer even if you ask me now. I need time to think. More time than just a day or two."
"I see..."
"I'll be leaving here before dawn, but what will you do?"
The other was a newly joined ally. Moreover, he was supposed to have the role of searching for enemy movements. Knowing that he wouldn't accompany them, Ray asked this.
"Before dawn. That's early."
"I don't want to be spotted leaving this place."
"...What about the residents? Will you kill them?"
There were a few villagers who had originally lived here. The man thought that if they didn't want to be seen departing, they couldn't leave them alive.
"I absolutely don't want you to make this public, but can you promise me?"
"I understand."
"They are collaborators."
"...What?"
"In exchange for the supplies we seized, they keep quiet about our stay in this village."
"...Such people could betray us at any moment."
Humans cannot be trusted. The man held such a belief. Even without that, he found it unbelievable that they would cooperate with the enemy army.
"But if the truth is told, they will be punished. The supplies we gave them will be taken away. That would put them in a difficult position."
"However..."
"True, they aren't the kind of people you'd normally trust. But precisely because they are those kinds of people, they are faithful to their desires and don't think twice about betraying their country."
"To think you can trust them precisely because they are evil."
"I can't say this in front of them, but it's only as long as we are the ones with the advantage. If things get dangerous, they'll betray us immediately. I have to make sure I don't miss the shift in their hearts."
If he spoke with them face-to-face, Ray could do this. If the emotion of betrayal had sprouted, he could feel it. Still, that required meeting them, so the risk of betrayal remained.
"...Why do such a dangerous thing?"
"If they say we aren't here, then this base becomes safe. In that sense, being found by you was a lapse in vigilance. I need to strengthen the perimeter security."
"You mean if you hadn't been careless, I wouldn't have found you?"
Stealth and concealment abilities were the specialty of the Vampio race. Ray's words about being careless were an insult to the man.
"Who knows? I don't actually know."
Ray said this, but everyone except the man who arrived today knew it was modesty. The other Vampio men subtly, yet clearly enough for their comrade to understand, shook their heads.
"...Which base do you intend to move to next?"
If he didn't ask this, he might never be able to reunite with them. If the signal the comrades gave was true, that was how it would be.
"I don't know. As I said before, I don't want to be seen approaching a base, so I'll stop by a nearby base only when it's absolutely safe."
"...How can we keep in touch from now on?"
"Honestly, I don't want to keep in touch much. That only increases the risk of the enemy finding our location."
If there were people who repeatedly reunited with them, there was a possibility that the Undead Legion's location would be discovered through those people's movements. Ray feared that.
"That will be a problem. I have been ordered by the King to ensure we can always maintain contact."
"Even if you say that..."
"Kai-sama is also here. It would be a problem if the location couldn't be known through that."
"That's..."
Ray couldn't say, "Then just take Kai back with you." Because if he said that, he knew Kai would be sad.
"How about this? We decide on several locations to maintain contact. We reunite at those locations. By reunite, I mean only one person needs to come."
"Hmm."
Ray wasn't very keen. He felt a risk in deciding on reunion points, even if there were multiple.
"Trust us. We are not so foolish as to be followed by humans. We are not so incompetent as to allow that."
"...You shouldn't underestimate humans too much. But, well, I understand. However, contact will be kept to the absolute minimum."
"Of course."
"Now, shall we get some rest? You're probably fine without sleeping, but I can't afford that."
In reality, Ray had no problem with little sleep. However, it wasn't that he didn't need it, but that he could endure it.
In the midst of daily battles, Ray made it a point to rest when he could, without overextending himself.
"Ah, my apologies. Please rest."
"Yes. Then, good night."
"Hm?"
Such a greeting did not exist in the customs of the Vampio race.
"...Then, until before dawn."
"A-ah."
To get some sleep in the short time before dawn, Ray entered a nearby building. His comrades were already resting there.
"Is the conversation over?"
And so was Sansei.
"Yeah. It wasn't a very good conversation. Are demons just slow-paced?"
"You're just impatient, aren't you? Anyway, what conversation?"
"It seems the Demon King's Army hasn't moved yet."
To Ray, it seemed the Demon King's Army was voluntarily letting a perfect opportunity slip away. He couldn't understand it.
"Isn't that more like being cowardly than being slow-paced?"
"Cowardly? Could it be the Demon King is?"
"Yeah."
"...He's the Demon King, though?"
He couldn't imagine a cowardly Demon King. He didn't think one could even become the Demon King that way.
"Even the Demon King panics when backed into a corner. He probably didn't think he'd struggle this much."
"The pressure of absolutely not being able to lose... I can understand that."
If he failed, he would die. Suppressing that fear, Ray also fought. He thought he was just as cowardly.
"We helped him when he was backed into a corner, didn't we? I don't know how the recent battles have been, but he probably doesn't want to end up like that again."
"If he doesn't have absolute confidence that he can win, it's hard to move forward... that's just tedious."
There is no such thing as a situation where one can absolutely win. The Demon King's Army had been at a disadvantage from the start.
Ray thought that if they sought that, they would never be able to go on the offensive.
"What will you do?"
"What do you mean 'what will I do'... I just have to do what I can."
"Is that really something you 'can' do?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because you always try to make things you can't do possible."
While saying "what I can," it was obvious he would end up overextending himself. Sansei saw right through Ray's thoughts.
"I'll make it so I can do it and then do it, so it's fine, right?"
"...As I thought, that's how it is."
"How it is?"
"Nothing... I'm going to rest now. You guys should rest while you can too. It seems the Commander intends to work us even harder."
"...!"
The soldiers reacted to Sansei's words. Though they had no facial expressions, Ray could tell they were slightly exasperated.
"I won't work you too hard. Besides, I'll think of a proper, good method. So rest easy."
Even without being told, the soldiers weren't worried. Many of Ray's strategies seemed reckless, but in reality, the idea of minimizing the sacrifice of his allies was at the root of his plans. They knew that. And that a commander who tried to value existences like them was rare. For some reason, they knew.