Chapter 494: The Battle against Demons

The day had come when the citizens of the Bolvat Dynasty would speak of it as a decisive battle against demons.

The 6,000 survivors of Bolvat’s main army, the 3,000 Heraldic soldiers, and a few volunteers made up just under 10,000 soldiers.

Only a few of them were able to sleep through the night. It was extremely difficult to sleep because of the tension of the upcoming battlefield and the uncertainty of when the demons would show their fangs. A faint ray of sunlight illuminated the sky, and the soldiers finally caught their breath.

They were all different in one way or another: in terms of their equipment, where they came from, and the flags they carried. The only thing they had in common was that their distant ancestors had undoubtedly plunged spears and swords into each other and fought to kill each other.

Now they had only one goal.

Eliminate the demons that had taken root in the capital of the Bolvat Dynasty. Everyone had a premonition that the state of this city would mirror humanity’s future.

Naturally, they were worried. They were worried about the demons whose Bolvat’s main army had fought and were defeated, and the magical devilish beings waiting behind them.

How could this small group of people win against such foes? Weren’t they just being given a grave for their deaths?

The soldiers stifled such doubts and anxieties with their overflowing fighting spirit. They thought that dying on the battlefield was a much better way to die than being tormented by demons and dying miserably as a consequence.

「I never thought I’d be in command again. I thought that was Lord Lugis’ job. 」

As he watched the soldiers line up before the final battle, the Sorcerer General Mastigius spoke in a calm voice, yet with a dignified demeanor. It was something he had acquired since joining the army.

At this time, before the final battle, not only Mastigius but his vice-commanders were also gathered in front of the soldiers. It was more like a simple military parade.

The soldiers were keeping their eyes on Mastigius and his vice-commanders as they were putting a final effort into preparing their positions.

In reality, Mastigius and the others couldn’t predict what the demon army would do. It wouldn’t be strange if they came to crush them immediately, but they were taking a strangely leisurely pace.

However, the human army would be defeated if they were to charge now. The enemy was superior in numbers and quality. That was why they had to build defensive camps on the roads inside the city, and wait to see what the enemy would do, and advance little by little. Then, they would have to launch another offensive strategy of building camps again.

Fortunately, the demons weren’t as leisurely as humans. Mastigius learned that the enemy began to gather their demon army again as soon as they learned that the human side’s preparations were finished.

Mastitis thought that they were probably planning to crush them all in one go. They were ready to attack them today.

Beside Mastigius, Caria responded to his words with her silver hair shining.

「Not now. I don’t know how well he can command in that condition, and I don’t really want him to command in the first place. 」

Mastigius opened his eyes involuntarily at Caria’s cold words. Did she mean Lugis wasn’t good at commanding?

Mastigius had never seen Lugis command the troops himself, but he had heard of many battles where he led them to victory, such as the Battle of Sanyo. He had never heard rumors that he wasn’t good at managing troops.

He also never expected that such a thing would come out of the mouth of someone like Caria, a diligent follower of Lugis.

「You don’t want him to command because he has no experience? I think he’s more than popular among the soldiers. 」

Caria narrowed her silver eyes in response to Mastigius’ words.

「Well. You know, you’ve seen that he’s very good at treating his soldiers. He drinks with them as if he were his parent and sibling. But is that what you want in a commander, General? 」

Caria wasn’t reserved around Mastigius. But her words were way too straightforward, and Mastigius immediately understood what she meant.

「I see. So that’s what you want to say. He is good at treating his soldiers, so good that he can’t let them die on their own. 」

Caria shook her head slightly.

To be precise, Lugis could tell his soldiers to die. But then, he would die with them, because of his nature.

That wasn’t possible for a general. A general must survive, even if it meant losing the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.

The value of a general’s life was different from that of a soldier. But Lugis easily put the same price tag on his own life as on his soldiers.

It was frightening. If he died, then many things would go awry, and humanity would lose one of the cards it had to fight against evil.

And even Caria herself didn’t know what would become of her if Lugis died. Caria let out a heavy sigh after pressing her fingers to her temples.

She suddenly remembered Jewel Agathos’ words last night.

…Love is blind because you’re accepting any means to get him.

She said whatever she wanted. Caria instinctively bit her lips.

Even Caria didn’t think that what was happening now was normal. It was more like a temporary dream. Lugis had only been robbed of his memories and past, and he’d surely come back.

But even so, she should’ve told him what he needed to learn now. Was it because she was so close to him at the time?

…What was that? Did he really want to know if she was his woman?

How could she say no when he asked her like that?

In truth, Caria had no idea what Lugis had thought of her before. But when he asked her directly, Caria wasn’t strong enough to answer no.

And maybe Lugis had thought the same. He would be aware of it once he regained his memories.

The pain of drinking lead and the joy of poison coexisted in Caria’s heart.

Caria had never been taught how to deal with this in her studies as a knight.

「…Lady Caria…Lady Caria. Are you okay? Lord Lugis will now speak to the soldiers. 」

Suddenly, the light cleared in her eyes. Caria rubbed her eyes, realizing that she had been lost in thought. Lugis looked over the large number of soldiers after climbing the simply constructed wooden steps on a high platform.

Before the decisive battle, the general looked at his soldiers, and the soldiers looked at the general. It was especially important that Lugis, who had been the driving force behind the saving of Mastigius, appeared before the soldiers and offered them encouragement.

He took time to do this, and gathered the unit commanders, who were normally separated, at their positions on the main road.

Caria noticed that Lugis was looking at something like a parchment in one hand while sitting on the platform. It was a draft of a speech that Caria and Mastigius had prepared a few days ago.

It seemed that Lugis had no intention of speaking to the soldiers or the people at the moment. Therefore, they tried to make him read the draft that they had prepared. It seemed that he had not forgotten the parchment.

Caria even felt a slight sense of relief as she looked up at Lugis.

Lugis took a quick peek at the parchment…then he threw it away and spoke.

「I heard that the people here are a bunch of idiots. 」

Not a single word of that had been written in the draft. Caria’s shoulders twitched and her eyes widened.

—

Lugis asked as he stepped onto the stairs before climbing up to the wooden platform.

「Why are so many humans gathered here? 」

The bronze dragon Shadraput, who had been ordered by Caria to accompany him, and the demon-eyed beast Doha Surah were astounded by his words. Doha Surah lightly held down his horn with his right hand while considering the meaning of his words.

「…Well, I guess it’s to kill the demons and their demon army. What happened? Did your memory go blank again? 」

「…No. I had heard about it. You guys know it because you are demons yourselves, right? There’s no way that a bunch of ordinary humans can defeat a demon army. I thought for sure that there wouldn’t be that many humans gathered today. 」

When Lugis said those words, Doha Surah and Shadraput finally understood what he was trying to say. Doha Surah agreed with him.

He didn’t understand why so many humans were gathering together to fight against the demons. Besides, they wouldn’t be able to inflict a single wound on a magical devilish being.

But at the same time, Doha Surah thought that Lugis had changed a lot.

His bold cunning personality and the ability to read people’s emotions were gone, and only a strange fearlessness remained.

Perhaps, this was his original nature, and the other traits were merely cultivated by memory.

What was certain was that he probably wouldn’t fight alongside those human soldiers. However, he had to make up for it just for today.

「It’s quite simple. They’re all complete idiots! If I were them, I would have run away as fast as I could when I was told to fight a magical devilish being! 」

「Okay, I get your point. But please stay quiet for a bit. 」

While holding down Shadraput, who was probably not thinking at all, with one hand, Doha Surah pondered what to say. It was strange to see Doha Surah, in a boy’s body, holding down the tall Shadraput.

「You’re right. It’s strange for me, a demon, to say this, but the point is…they gathered because you’re here. 」

「Because I’m here? 」

Lugis rolled one eye in surprise and replied nonchalantly. Doha Surah said while still holding Shadraput’s arm.

「You’ve always led the soldiers in battles that were called reckless and foolish, and you’ve always won. That’s why everyone is entrusting you with their hopes. That said, they’re probably prepared to die against those demons. 」

So, as planned, please cheer up the soldiers with this piece of parchment, Doha Surah handed a small, rolled piece of parchment to Lugis.

Lugis took it but only glanced at it and seemed uninterested. He even seemed to be thinking deeply, repeating what Doha Surah had said to him.

Lugis turned his back and climbed the stairs. Doha Surah could see him standing on the platform, and then, he boldly opened the parchment.

「…Hey, I think it’s okay to let me go!! Why are you holding me down for so long!? 」

Shadraput slapped Doha Surah’s arm, asking to be free. To be honest, Doha Surah didn’t want to give her much freedom because he had no idea what she would do.

However, he couldn’t stand the noise, so he finally loosened his grip on her arm.

『…I heard that the people here are a bunch of idiots. 』

Doha Surah heard Lugis’ words. Instinctively, Doha Surah’s cheeks twitched, and he crushed Shadraput’s arm.

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Oh my goodness, Lugis!!! You’ve turned into a funny character, your demonic nature is quite a funny one!

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