80 - Possibilities Leading to the Future
One of the supply depots of the Laurel Kingdom in the north. Supplies that were nearly empty for a time are gradually increasing in quantity as transportation has resumed. The Laurel Kingdom Army is intensifying its movements to pacify the north. Naturally, the Demon King's Army is not simply watching this in silence. The Demon King's Army, having moved south, was acting to attack the Laurel Kingdom's bases. The Demon King's Army intended to continue what the Undead Legion had been doing.
"...Let's go."
In the darkness of the night, a group of the Demon Race begins to move. Their number is about a hundred. It is considerably fewer than the maximum number of the Undead Legion, but in terms of individual strength, they are far superior. They judged that this number was sufficient.
"There are about five hundred of the Human Race on guard. Kill them all."
The number of guards is also small. With five times the number, it would be like twisting a baby's arm. The demons approach the depot. In the eyes of those demons—bonfires began to light up one after another.
"...We've been discovered. I don't care! Charge!"
The order to charge is given. However, they would soon realize that this order was a mistake. A black shadow covering the sky. It immediately changed angle and rained down upon them.
"Do not flinch! Advance!"
The demon warriors continue to advance through the raining arrows. One of them was suddenly blown backward.
"What happened!?"
There is no voice to answer. A demon lying flat on his back on the ground. A thick stake-like object was driven into his chest.
"...Crossbows! Be careful!"
Such an instruction is useless. With the sound of wind-cutting, several streaks of arrows assault them. These are powerful arrows, different from ordinary ones, capable of piercing even the sturdy bodies of demons. Demons fall to the ground one after another. Then, this time, large stones rain down upon them.
"C-Cowards..."
Is a night attack not cowardly? No one asks such a thing. Only the sound of wind-cutting and the dull sound of stones hitting the ground and the demons can be heard. The defeat of the demon side is almost certain. All that remains is whether they struggle until they are annihilated or flee.
"...The targets feel large."
On the Laurel Kingdom Army side, a soldier operating the crossbows that are overwhelming the demons lets out a mutter.
"If that's the case, it's thanks to surviving the battle with the Undead Legion."
Another soldier answers that mutter.
"Ah, that's right. Unless you hit the bone directly, and even then, just blowing away one or two wouldn't stop them."
The difference from the soldiers of the Undead Legion. In terms of threat in close combat, the demons are incomparably superior, but in such long-range attacks, the Undead Legion was troublesome. Ordinary arrows had no effect at all. With crossbows, it was possible to wound them, but the more cleanly they hit, the more it only blew away a bone or two, failing to deal damage to the opponent. The most effective was stone-throwing, but stone-throwing launched into the air has a low accuracy. Moreover, when it comes to large stones that could crush a Skeleton Soldier in one hit, it is simply a matter of luck. And that luck belonged to the opponent, hitting only the unlucky enemy soldiers.
"Is it almost okay? The end is the most nerve-wracking. I hope they've become unable to move."
It does not end with long-range attacks. They must deploy to deliver the finishing blow, but in close combat, the human soldiers are at a considerable disadvantage. Furthermore, the enemy might possess terrifying magic. A notice had been issued to be sufficiently careful during the mopping-up operation. However, even saying to be careful, there was nothing they could do other than deploy in small numbers to keep sacrifices to a minimum, and for the soldiers, far from being a consolation, it had become like torture that made them feel the fear of death more than usual. It was a useless worry. Because such magic no longer exists in this world.
◇◇◇
General Sieg had placed the main camp near the center of the north. The current battle is a response to the Demon King's Army deployed widely across the north. He judged that this location was best for grasping the situation in various places. Messengers fly into that main camp one after another. This time, the Laurel Kingdom Army has constructed a wide-range information transmission network in the north. It was something originally prepared for the battle against the Undead Legion, and they are using it further strengthened.
"...Detected around the Luian Storage Depot in the east. Move the Eighth Battalion."
Pieces are placed on the map spread across the conference table. The locations where the presence of demons was detected. And the positions of the allied units deployed in the north. For the allied units, the size of the pieces is changed according to the military strength.
"There are many movements in the east..."
As far as the marks on the map show, reports of demon discoveries are numerous in the east. Confirming this, Sieg lets out a mutter.
"Shall we shift the overall force to the east?"
If the demons are gathering in the east, the entire Laurel Kingdom Army should shift to the east. The subordinate thought so. This was to move sufficient military strength to the predicted attack points.
"...No, let's stay as we are. It's a bit too many. Perhaps the enemy has started to use their head a little."
"A diversion?"
"Yes, I think so. In that case, conversely the west... the discovery location is Westin. Increase the number of guards to be sent to double, no, triple. Quickly send messengers to the units deployed in the vicinity."
"Yes, sir!"
"I hope we make it in time. I wish I had at least one more person to replace me."
In terms of being equal in every location, he placed the command post in the center, but that creates distance to the east and west. To solve that is to increase the number of commanders. In Sieg's mind are the deceased Alfred and Geel, whose whereabouts are unknown.
"There is no one who can replace His Excellency the General."
"I do not admire that way of thinking. Have the spirit to become a replacement yourself."
"I am sorry."
"...That's right. Perhaps it's time to try entrusting them. Place command posts in three locations."
At this point, Sieg thought he would try entrusting the command to his subordinates. He began to think about the locations to set up the command posts and the selection of people.
"...Is it alright?"
"It should be fine. The movements of the Demon King's Army are easy to read. If we don't think about unnecessary things and move the units steadily, we should be able to respond with that."
"But..."
They were completely unable to respond to the Undead Legion. Since these were words that seemed to criticize Sieg, the commander-in-chief, the subordinate hesitated to speak them.
"It's different from the Undead Legion. No, I should say it's different from Ray Tsukiya. I see..."
Ray has not returned to the Demon King's Army. Even if he had, he has not been entrusted with command. Sieg thought it was certain that the Demon King's Army had betrayed Ray, or was slighting him.
"What is different?"
"What... He is cautious. He does not do foolish things like letting prior reconnaissance be discovered. On the contrary, I think he might not have sent reconnaissance at all."
"No way. Then how did he choose the places where the defense was weak?"
The Undead Legion always struck the weak points of the Laurel Kingdom Army. The subordinate believes that was the result of reconnaissance.
"By attacking or letting himself be discovered, he was moving us. He was creating weak points... no, it might be my imagination."
"His Excellency the General..."
An attitude unlike Sieg. The subordinate feels anxiety at that.
"I feel like we were always being outsmarted. When we predicted the attack point and moved the units, the vacated origin of the movement was attacked."
"...As I thought, it is your imagination. Such a thing, once or twice might be a fluke, but there's no way it can be done continuously."
"Hmm..."
Then why? He stopped himself from voicing this question. There is no need to deliberately incite the anxiety of his subordinate.
"Against the main force of the Demon King's Army, we are certainly continuing to inflict damage. As a result, it has taken the form of defeating them in detail, so I believe the operation is a great success."
The subordinate also ended the topic of the Undead Legion and praised the current results.
"For now. We cannot let our guard down from here on. Inflict the maximum damage possible to the Demon King's Army within what we are given. That will make the decisive battle easier."
"Yes, sir!"
The Laurel Kingdom Army had retreated the front line significantly, but they were far from being at a disadvantage. On the contrary, they were certainly cornering the Demon King's Army.
◇◇◇
And that cornered Demon King's Army. For some people, it is a complete miscalculation. Their state of mind is that it wasn't supposed to be like this, but they cannot show that on the surface. They cannot let the cause of that state of mind be known.
"I believe we should promptly regroup our allies?"
At the military council. King Dracul is advising the Demon King. The attacks are failing one after another. The result is only producing sacrifices among allies. The operation should be promptly canceled. This is King Dracul's thought, and it is a natural opinion.
"............"
"Demon King-sama!"
"...I know. Honestly, to think you cannot even properly command an attack."
The Demon King glares at his aide. Anyone can tell he is trying to shift the responsibility.
"Then, please give the order immediately."
"Yes, withdraw the attack units. Send the instructions immediately."
Now that many allies have been sacrificed, the Demon King cannot remain stubborn. Accepting King Dracul's advice, he decided to withdraw.
"...What will you do after that?"
"After that?"
"Yes. After regrouping the allies."
"Protect the entrance to Nordende."
"How? The number of allies has decreased considerably. We, who were already at a disadvantage, will further reduce our combat power, how will we protect Nordende?"
"...Is thinking about that not the responsibility of everyone present here?"
Since it is a military council, that is certainly true. However, he has never listened to everyone's opinions and summarized an operation. They are not a group capable of such a thing. Unless the Demon King first shows the overall policy of the Demon King's Army, the discussion will not move forward.
"Many sacrifices have occurred among the allies. Should we not first question this responsibility?"
"What?"
"The responsibility for the failure. Despite producing many sacrifices, nothing was gained. Is this not a problem?"
"...It was the Undead Legion who told us to move."
Why, at this point, did King Dracul bring up the issue of responsibility? The Demon King does not understand. For now, he decided to push the responsibility onto the Undead Legion.
"The Undead Legion is not in a position to give orders. It was merely a request, and there must be someone who made the decision to accept it."
"...That was King Dracul. Was it not you?"
"I merely conveyed the request from the Undead Legion. I made no decision."
As the words say, King Dracul did not make a decision. In all things, the decision is made by the Demon King.
"What will happen if we question the responsibility for such a thing here and now? We have an important battle ahead. This is no time to be quarreling internally."
King Dracul is trying to pursue his own responsibility. Thinking this, the Demon King thought he would end the discussion on this matter.
"Precisely because we have an important battle ahead, it is necessary. We cannot afford to make another wrong judgment."
But King Dracul does not end the conversation. He is determined to pursue the responsibility to the end.
"...What are you thinking?"
"The victory of our allies."
"That's not it! I am asking why you are doing things that disturb the unity of our allies!"
"I have no such intention."
"Even if you have no such intention, that is the result. Right now, whose responsibility it is doesn't matter. It is time to face the enemy as one."
The Demon King's words are correct. Provided the premise is not wrong.
"I am saying this because there is someone who will not allow that."
"...What does that mean?"
"There is a traitor among us."
At King Dracul's words, a stir ran through the conference room. Most of them were negative reactions. Everyone thinks there is no way there is a demon who sides with the Human Race.
"...What nonsense. There is no way there is someone in league with the Human Race."
The Demon King also voiced the thoughts of many people. He knows that the demons who deny this are very few.
"What if they didn't league with the Human Race, but betrayed the Undead Legion?"
"...That is also an unlikely story."
"I thought that replacements for the Undead Legion could be found anywhere. And indeed, after annihilating the Undead Legion, I intended to take the same method, yet we have this current situation. Am I wrong?"
"Even if you ask that. There is no way such a person exists. That is my answer."
The Demon King denies King Dracul's story. It cannot be recognized as a fact. He feels no need to recognize it.
"Such a person existed."
"What...?"
"It is an embarrassing story, but within my tribe, there was one who leaked false information to the Undead Legion."
"...Is that a fact?"
He didn't think King Dracul would publicly reveal the existence of a traitor himself. Unable to read the intention, the Demon King responds with a question.
"It is a fact. I conducted an interrogation and made them confess."
"...And?"
"It seems there are other collaborators. I wish to clarify who those collaborators are."
"I see... however, can the words of that person be trusted? Are they not speaking nonsense to lighten their crime?"
Knowing that the collaborator has not been revealed, the Demon King is relieved. Of course, he does not show such a sign on the surface and spits out words to undermine the credibility of the words of the Vampio race, whose betrayal was discovered.
"Lying does not lighten the crime. Death to the traitor. That is how it is decided."
"Even so, with only that person's testimony..."
"Yes. That is why we should pursue the responsibility. I believe there is a high possibility that the person who moved this matter is a collaborator."
"...There is no evidence."
"Of course, it is also necessary to find evidence."
"...Will it be found?"
What does King Dracul want to do and how? The Demon King has no clue at all. He admits there was a traitor within his own tribe, and on top of that, he tries to pursue the existence of other collaborators without evidence. Even if the conversation continues, he doesn't think it will proceed in a direction favorable to King Dracul. He has no intention of letting it proceed.
"Whether it will be found or not, we won't know unless we try. First, permission to search for evidence."
"............"
While unable to read King Dracul's intention, he cannot easily give permission. The Demon King hesitated to answer.
"Before that, is there not a need to think about what to do with the responsibility of the Vampio race?"
The Demon King's aide interrupted there. To the Demon King, it was a rash statement. King Dracul must know that if he admits the existence of a traitor, this will be questioned.
"What kind of thing are you thinking of? Let me hear that first."
"That is..."
What kind of punishment to give the Vampio race. Even when asked this, the aide cannot answer immediately. It was a mistake to speak when the result was visible.
"Although it was something an individual did on their own, I do not think there is absolutely no responsibility. I will not say we accept everything, but it cannot be helped unless we hear the thoughts."
"...King Dracul."
Before the aide said anything unnecessary, the Demon King stepped in.
"Do you have any thoughts, Demon King-sama?"
"...As I said before, right now, responsibility and such doesn't matter. The fact that a traitor appeared is a great problem, but I think this should end with individual responsibility."
With this, the material to make King Dracul's position worse was gone. Of course, there will be people who continue to view the fact that they produced a traitor as a problem. However, official punishment cannot be given. This matter ends here.
"...If the Demon King-sama says so, I would think to rely on that, but here, even if it is a light one, I believe we should properly settle the score."
"What?"
Despite saying it would be left unpunished, King Dracul does not try to end it. The Demon King was surprised by this. He thought King Dracul had achieved his goal by erasing the weakness of having produced a traitor.
"Would it be alright if we were under house arrest for a while?"
"House arrest?"
"Yes. I have no intention of producing a traitor from my own people a second time. However, even if we truly think so, those around us will likely not believe it."
"Is that not the case?"
"No. I am sure it is. For the sake of those who feel resistance to fighting alongside us, who are untrustworthy, I believe we should step back from the front line for a while."
"That is unnecessary."
"No. We will not be satisfied with nothing."
"...Is this not desertion in the face of the enemy?"
King Dracul is trying to withdraw the Vampio race from this battle. He cannot easily allow that. They are an eyesore, but a harsher battle than ever before is about to begin with the Laurel Kingdom Army.
"Not desertion, but house arrest. For the sake of our honor, we will firmly deny it."
"But..."
"Demon King-sama. We have already decided. No matter what anyone says, we will take responsibility in our own way. We have decided so."
No matter what anyone says, they no longer intend to fight together. To the Demon King, King Dracul's words sound like this. It seems they are trying to distance themselves from the Demon King's Army, from under him, using house arrest as a pretext.
"I will not allow it... King Dracul, I will not allow that!"
"Demon King-sama, we have our own style. Even the Demon King-sama does not have the authority to deny this."
Gathering under the Demon King was, after all, their own will. Now that they have lost that will, they no longer intend to obey. King Dracul's argument is not special. The Demon King's Army is originally such an organization. The Demon King should not have absolute power.
"Wait! Wait!"
Regardless of the Demon King's attempts to stop him, King Dracul tries to leave the conference room. The one who stopped his feet was King Crown of the Werewolf Tribe, who stood blocking the exit.
"What are you thinking?"
"...A way for the Demon Race to survive."
After a beat, King Dracul answered King Crown's question.
"And you think fleeing from the battle is that?"
"Honestly, I do not know if this choice is correct. However, I believe it is one of the possibilities. Is it not alright if there is at least one race that bets on that possibility?"
"...And the betrayal?"
King Dracul is not just fleeing from the war, but has some plan. That was understood. And the trigger for thinking of that something was this.
"Fact. However... it may sound like an excuse, but there were circumstances that made it necessary. Of course, no matter the circumstances, it is not something to be forgiven. A punishment appropriate for the one who committed the betrayal has been handed down."
"Can I not hear those circumstances?"
"...If I make that public, the Demon King's Army might split."
"I see. So that's it."
Behind the betrayal is the Demon King. It was something King Crown could imagine. By condemning that, King Dracul tried to avoid the Demon King's Army splitting completely. For that purpose, by using forced logic, he is making the Vampio race withdraw from the battlefield and is trying to do something.
"I pray for your good luck. If possible... no, I cannot say this now."
"...Is there a future for the Demon Race?"
"I do not know. As I said before, we are just trying to search for one of the possibilities. Believing that it is the correct choice."
"...I understand."
King Crown steps aside and opens the exit. King Crown understood. What the Vampio race is trying to do. Who the possibility they are searching for is.