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Volume 3 Chapter 55

An Army of Countless Demons

[…The situation isn’t good.]

[Even just five demons can destroy a thousand fire knights. If they attack, Alheim might be destroyed.]

[The old demon king had 20 demons under his command, right? That means that the army right there would be enough for ten demon kings. It wouldn’t just be the end of Alheim, it would mean the end of the world.]

[Seriously?]

As we were talking, Luke and Ryushin were hiding in the forest about three kilometers away from where the private army of the Fifth Prince of Apristos had set up camp, and were currently spying on them.

The two of them had heard Rifa’s story, that Hurt had been brainwashed and been taken away, so they tried to follow Haruto’s magic signature. It was at that moment that they saw Haruto manifesting a fire knight.

[What do we do now? Could we punch Haruto a little bit and see if he goes back to himself or not?]

[And how would we do that? There’s about a thousand fire knights defending him. It’s impossible. I’ve seen a single one of those knights throw a spear once, and I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes.]

[That’s right. I saw those knights work together to take down a demon, and there was no gap in their coordination, their teamwork was perfect.]

[… I guess this is goodbye then].

[Yeah…]

[It’s over.]

As they said that, Luke and Ryushin started laughing on the spot.

[Haha. Do people laugh when they’re in this much trouble?]

[No, no, you can’t help but laugh at this. The enemy has the strength of ten demon kingdom armies. It’s literally impossible.]

[Yep.]

[I guess he’s just too strong. Like a demon king.]

[Yeah.]

[I guess we’ll just have to keep running to a country where Haruto isn’t around, won’t we?[

[Eh, doesn’t he know how to transfer?]

[…Oh right.]

[Pfft-]

[Hahahahahaha!]

The two continued to laugh for a while.

[Let’s just tell the king about this situation for now.]

[Yeah, let’s do that.]

At that, Luke and Ryushin left the scene.

What they didn’t know was that Haruto had been watching them for a long time.

The former general’s orders were to keep the enemy in check.

So even though Haruto noticed the two of them, he didn’t move from the spot.

——

[Is it true? Has Haruto truly become the enemy?]

[That’s right.]

Luke and Ryushin returned to the King’s Castle and explained to the Elf King and his ministers in the conference room the situation they had seen. Tina, Rifa and the others were waiting in another room.

[Tch, that’s why we can’t trust the humans! If it were me, I wouldn’t have been brainwashed so easily!]

[Oh shut up! It was the elves that placed the armband of servitude on Haruto. Do not try to shift the blame any further!]

The ministers were quieted by a single voice from the Elf King.

[Look, Rifa says that Sylph-sama has been forced to return to Haruto. Do you understand what this means?]

[Forced return of Sylph-sama?]

[… Oh no.]

[Are you saying Sylph-sama has become hostile to my country?]

[Yes. If they are forced to return, the reverse is also possible. In other words, the sylphs who were forcibly summoned by Haruto could attack our country without opposition.]

The words of the Elf King brought a look of impatience from the ministers.

[The matter of Sylph-sama is a problem, but there’s an even bigger one that…….Haruto has caused quite a few fire knights to appear.]

[The Fire Knight? You mean the magic spell that defeated the General at the Tournament?]

[How many is “a few”? Ten? Twenty?]

[Don’t be a fool. This is the magic spell that caused the army general to lose so easily! If there are even twenty of those things, we stand a chance against them!]

[There’s a thousand.]

[Hah…?]

[…There are about three hundred demons under the firth prince’s command, there’s another thousand fire knights that Haruto summoned.]

Instantly the minister of the national defense collapsed to the ground with a loud slam.

He had fainted, unable to bear the pressure of having to fight that level of overwhelming force.

[Everyone, listen up.]

The Elf King spoke to his ministers.

[First, we must get Haruto away from the former general. Haruto shouldn’t be compelled to do anything if not ordered.[

[Oh, would that be possible?]

[If we can’t do it, the country is doomed. Which is why we must accomplish it at all costs. We still have to get all of the citizens out of this country just in case.]

[You want to let the people go? Wouldn’t it be safer to barricade yourself in the Castle? The walls of the Castle have a magical barrier that should be able to hold up any type of attack.]

[That’s not possible. Haruto broke the magical barriers in the arena in the martial arts tournament with ease, which is comparable to the barrier in the castle.. In other words, the magic barrier in the castle is just as meaningless in front of Haruto.]

[Sarion,]

[What is it, my lord?]

The Elf King called out to thin air as out of nowhere, Sarion, the butler, appeared.

[You, Tina, and Luke and the others here can help me figure out a way to get Hurt away from the former general. My army will only be used as a decoy. You guys are the only ones we can count on.

[Luke-sama, Ryushin-kun, Tina-dono and the others are waiting for you in the other room. Go over there.]

[Understood.

[Now, if you’ll excuse me…]

In the conference room where Sarion, Luke and Ryushin had left, there was a discussion of where and how to get the people away.