Chapter 310: The Roaring Flames fall at the former Scylla territory

To Rudel Sauron, who had recently become duke, the greatest threat to himself was the powerful Undead horde that haunted the former Scylla territory.

The land had been retaken from the Amid Empire. There were only two surviving siblings who could contest Rudel for the position of duke. He had already defanged and subjugated his younger brother. Even if he hadnt, there wasnt a single person in the duchy that was loyal to his younger brother anyway.

His younger half-sister was continuing to oppose him, but she was so weak that she couldnt be considered a threat. Rudel and his close advisors had decided it best to simply leave her be and have her serve as bait, as some might attempt to take advantage of her to get closer to Rudel.

The duchys public order, finances, and military affairs were full of problems. Regarding public order, one of Rudels advisors had argued that the Sauron Duchy was in a better state than the Alcrem Duchy, where the Face-tearing Demon who had even gone as far as killing n.o.bles still eluded arrest. But Rudel had immediately rebuked him, reminding him that the inhabitants of an entire village had gone missing and they didnt have so much as a clue as to what had happened, let alone caught the culprit.

Regarding the duchys finances, it didnt even need to be said. It had to repay its debts to the other duchies and the royal realm, from which it had received support during the retaking of the land from the Amid Empire, as well as for the projects to rebuild afterwards.

Of course, the other duchies would also suffer if the Sauron Duchy were to collapse, and they were aware of how troublesome it would be if it were to cut down on defense spending due to its heavy debts and the Amid Empire were to occupy it again.

That was why the collection of the debts was conducted very leniently; though it was politically difficult, as Rudel would have to be considerate of any requests by his creditors until his debts were paid.

The reason defense was so difficult to manage was because the Sauron Duchy had already been occupied by the Amid Empire once. During the battle in which the duchy was lost, most of the duchys powerful fighters those who were comparable to the Five Knights of Alcrem, such as George Bearheart, had been killed.

Of course, a great number of ordinary knights and soldiers had been lost as well. Given that the duchy had been occupied just over ten years ago and retaken only a handful of years ago, regaining its former military strength would be difficult. Even the current state of its army was only possible due to the support and men sent from the other duchies and the royal realm.

If Rudel approached these problems incorrectly, his rule would be threatened, but they were problems that could be resolved if he approached them correctly. And the other duchies also faced similar problems, though to differing degrees.

Thus, the greatest threat was the problem of the former Scylla territory. The Undead lurking in it hadnt left it so far. But that couldnt be possible if it were an ordinary Devils Nest or Dungeon.

When the monsters in Devils Nests and Dungeons were not culled and only kept growing in number, they would inevitably pour beyond the borders of their habitats in a stampede. And unlike highly-intelligent monsters, Undead possessed nothing but a hatred for the living. In their stampede, they would attack nearby settlements and make more of their own kind.

Considering that such a monster stampede had not occurred yet, one could conclude that the former Scylla territory was not an ordinary Devils Nest and that it was being protected by a powerful Undead army that was under someones command.

If it was an ordinary Devils Nest, then the only explanation was that the sheer size of the former Scylla territory was supporting the growing monster numbers. But it was certain that these monsters would emerge from it, years or decades from now, and attack human settlements even the Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory.

If it wasnt an ordinary Devils Nest, and the Undead were under someones command or rule, then their motives were unclear. But as unclear as they may be, it was unlikely that they would be friendly to Rudel and his duchy.

But Rudel had some ideas of who they might be.

The resistance, led by the Liberating Princess Knight, whose achievements he refused to acknowledge and whose name he had tried to erase from history. The Scylla who had vanished and had never been seen since.

Darcia, the Dark Elf who had first appeared in the Alcrem Duchy. She was the first ever person who was known to be able to summon a familiar spirit of Vida upon herself, and her Dhampir son Vandalieu was known to have tamed a Scylla.

Rudel and his advisors suspected that Darcia and Vandalieu were connected to whoever was in control of the Undead in the former Scylla territory.

Legends told of the three Vampires who wors.h.i.+ped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil G.o.d of Joyful Life, and their leader, who was able to control Undead. Considering that, Rudel and his advisors believed it only natural that Vandalieu, who was half-Vampire, was connected to these Undead.

And Rudel and his advisors suspected that Duke Alcrem, who looked like he was struggling to deal with Vandalieu and his mother, had in reality joined forces with them.

Duke Alcrem gave Vandalieu and Darcia publicly prominent positions and openly supported them. Meanwhile, Vandalieu and his allies gathered their strength in the former Scylla territory so that they could one day threaten the Sauron house.

And in the future, they would take over the entire Sauron Duchy. First, they would destroy the Sauron houses military might with the Undead army, triggering an attack by the Amid Empires army.

The Alcrem Duchy would then send in its own army, declaring that Rudel could not be trusted with the Sauron Duchy, which served as the Orbaume Kingdoms defensive border. The Alcrem Duchys army would push the Amid Empires army back, and then continue to occupy the Sauron Duchy.

Was the Alcrem Duchys army, which was from an inland region and considered to be weaker than the Sauron Duchys army, capable of doing this?

Rudel and his advisors thought it was. If the Undead army was under the rule of Vandalieu and his allies, they just needed to cause a clash with the Amid Empires army to exhaust and weaken the Sauron Duchys army. The Undead army would then be withdrawn and the Alcrem Duchys army would declare that they had exterminated the Undead.

But while this was all possible, it would be considerably reckless. Rudel couldnt imagine that the people of his duchy would accept their lands being occupied by the Alcrem Duchys army, and the other dukes, as well as Prime Minister Tercatanis and Marshal Dolmad of the royal realm, would not be happy with Duke Alcrem holding so much power.

With no other circ.u.mstances in play, the Sauron Duchy would get away with ceding some land to the Alcrem Duchy.

But that was where Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart would come in. If she were to lead the Alcrem Duchys army, it was possible that the people of the Sauron Duchy would welcome her with open arms, praising her as a G.o.ddess who saved them from their second occupation at the hands of the Amid Empire while the feeble Sauron house failed to do so.

As for the other n.o.bles, the Alcrem house would argue that they were establis.h.i.+ng a new house rather than absorbing the Sauron house.

Due to the political marriages that had taken place between the duchies, those born to the houses of the dukes of the Orbaume Kingdom carried the blood of other houses as well.

Takkard Alcrem would send his second or third son to become the new Duke Sauron, along with a group of va.s.sals.

If Rudels half-sister, who was in the royal capital, were to be used as the first wife of whoever Takkard sent, then the Sauron house would continue to exist, at least officially. And if the new duke were to take Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart as his second wife, the people would follow him. It was also highly likely that they would be publicly acknowledged by the houses of the other dukes, the prime minister, and the marshal.

Darcia would be the second wife, so Vandalieu wouldnt be publicly involved with the duchys governance. But in the end, it would be these two who held power in the Sauron Duchy, along with their fellow Dark Elves and Ghouls.

It was even possible that Duke Alcrem was thinking of creating alliances with strong individuals and being elected as king in the next election.

With fears of such a great conspiracy running through his mind, Rudel had been gathering information about Vandalieu and Duke Alcrem while investigating the former Scylla territory.

But he had found himself unable to gather any information at all. And with more than nine months having pa.s.sed since Vandalieus appearance in the Alcrem Duchy, the situation had changed.

The cause of this change was not because movements had been detected in an enemy nation, nor a conspiracy plotted by political enemies. The cause was the public opinion among the people of the Sauron Duchy ruled by Rudel, as well as the less-informed among those involved in the Churches, the army, and the government.

The Sauron Duchy had always been a region where the wors.h.i.+p of Vida flourished. A great saint had appeared and achieved great things that would be written in history. She had summoned a familiar spirit of Vida onto herself to save the city of Morksi, and sealed away an evil G.o.d that had been resurrected in Alcrem (at least, that was the public story). The commotion among the people was inevitable, given these events.

The people praised Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart as a Saint, Vidas Incarnation, and Great Holy mother. They visited the Church of Vida and prayed even more often than usual.

People involved with the Church of Vida wanted to send letters and messengers to the Church in the Alcrem Duchy, hoping to have Darcia visit the Sauron Duchy.

Even n.o.bles who ruled lands in the duchy, as well as knights and bureaucrats who werent well-informed of the situation, wanted to have Darcia visit. The people would be delighted by the visit of a hero and their everyday discontent would be erased. Economies would be stimulated and morale among the soldiers would improve as well. Given how much they knew, it was only natural for them to want a visit and no reason to oppose it.

Up until this point, Rudel had used various excuses to stop this from happening. However, there was a limit to how much he could delay it. And yet, he was gaining no information about Vandalieu whatsoever, and the investigation of the former Scylla territory wasnt progressing at all. Naturally, there was no evidence that Duke Alcrem had joined forces with Vandalieu and Darcia.

But looking at it the other way, in the several months since Vandalieus appearance, there had been no movements in the former Scylla territory and no suspicious information had been gathered about him.

Pressed to make a decision, Rudel had made a request through Duke Alcrem for Darcia and Vandalieu to take part in his previously-planned retaking of the former Scylla territory.

Duke Alcrem had refused this request. However, although one of the Five Knights of Alcrem had been lost and the remaining four were very valuable, he had sent the Knight of Roaring Flames Bravatiyu and the Knight of a Thousand Blades Baldiria, as well as a group of elite soldiers under their direct command.

This made Rudel and his advisors wonder if Duke Alcrem had no connection to the former Scylla territory after all. But they were still wary of the possibility that there could still be a connection that remained a secret, and he intended to wear down the power of the houses of the other dukes the military strength of the Sauron house in particular.

But before Rudel could find any leaked information or obtain any proof, the battle began.

Meanwhile, Bravatiyu, Baldiria, and the subordinates under their command had already sensed that Duke Rudel Sauron was suspicious of them.

Thus, they avoided doing anything suspicious such as looking for top-secret information about the anti-Undead army or taking a proactive role in planning its battle strategies.

Vandalieu and his allies, whom they were collaborating with, didnt expect them to conduct such spy-like activities to begin with.

To think that our allies would be satisfied with us simply sharing what we learn. If it were anyone else, I would be worried that they were planning to abandon us, Bravatiyu murmured.

He and the others had done nothing since they joined the army that would attempt to retake the former Scylla territory.

They werent investigating the motives of the other dukes that were helping Duke Sauron and this army. They werent saying anything conspicuous at the strategy meetings.

The most they had done was training and practice battles against the knights sent by the other dukes and the adventurers.

They had then spoken to Vandalieus spy the Head-hunting Demon Sleygar, to tell them what they had learned about the abilities and personalities of these knights and adventurers.

While he was alive, Sleygar had been one of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords of the Amid Empire, a legendary a.s.sa.s.sin known as the King Slayer. Now that he was a Zombie, he no longer had a pulse or the need to breathe, increasing his effectiveness as a spy.

Not a single person in this army was capable of detecting his presence.

And now, Bravatiyu and the others had been told of what would take place in the battle the script for this farce.

The purpose of this farce was completely different from what Rudel Sauron suspected. Its objective was to inflict a reasonable amount of damage to the army, ensuring that they would not try anything again for a while. It was not to wipe out the entire army or greatly harm the Sauron Duchys military strength.

Up until this point, Vandalieu and his allies had exterminated anyone entering the former Scylla territory because they were enemies whose deaths would not cause problems for the Orbaume Kingdom, such as soldiers of the Amid Empire, mercenaries, or soldiers under the direct employment of n.o.bles.

But the majority of this army gathered by the Sauron house comprised of soldiers of the Orbaume Kingdoms regular forces. If they were all slaughtered, the Orbaume Kingdom would lose much of its military might, and the Amid Empire, which had recently crowned a new emperor, might make a move.

As for Vandalieu, he had already given up on the Sauron and Hartner Duchies. However, the Sauron Duchy directly bordered the Amid Empire, and the Hartner Duchy was just to its south. He still wanted them to avoid them being defeated in war and occupied.

It would also be troublesome if the houses of the dukes of all the other duchies were to resent Vandalieu when his secret alliance with the Alcrem Duchy became public one day. It wasnt necessary to have friendly relations with every single one of the other duchies, but he wanted to be on friendly terms with about half of them.

Why not just occupy the whole duchy, kid? suggested Borkus. As for the border with the Amid Empire, you could just turn the Boundary Mountain Range into Golems to move them and surround the Sauron Duchy so that its physically closed off.

If something like this happens again, Ill think about it, said one of the Demon King Familiars.

While Borkus and the Demon King Familiar were having this short exchange, the battle began.

March forward! one of the commanders shouted. Today, we will rid the former Scylla territory of these Undead!

Do not be afraid! Those who marched here before us were only defeated because they lacked strength! The Undead stand no chance against our army! shouted another to raise the soldiers morale.

Without this, the morale would have likely plummeted to the earth.

Standing before them was just one Undead Knochen. But the form he took was an enormous army of groaning Skeletons that formed numerous protective rows at the borders of the former Scylla territory.

The soldiers facing them couldnt get an accurate count of how many there were. But they trembled, fearing that the enemy outnumbered them by dozens, perhaps even hundreds, to one.

They werent wrong. Knochen had prepared over a million split ent.i.ties for this battle.

Skeletons, Bone Animals, and is that a Phantom Bird? Theyre all Rank 3 or less, but Ive never seen such a huge swarm of Undead, one of the adventurers muttered.

Ive seen a monster stampede coming from a Dungeon that only sp.a.w.ns Undead, but even that had less Undead than this, said another. Even if these are all just small fry

The adventurers were here for all kinds of reasons for fame, for employment under the duke, for the thrill of a fierce battle but anxiety could be heard in their voices now.

Meanwhile, Bravatiyu and Baldiria were encouraging them to be cautious.

Just small fry? Look closer, you fool, Bravatiyu said, correcting the adventurer who had just spoken. Those blood-red Skeletons are Blood Beasts, and the ones with poison dripping from their jaws over there are Rotten Beasts. All of them are Undead that you wouldnt be able to handle unless youre at least D-cla.s.s.

The ones at the back are Chimera Skeletons and Ogre Skeletons And there are many Living Armors and Zombies as well. Dont let your guard down! Baldiria warned.

Bravatiyu and Baldiria were just two among ten thousand; their warnings wouldnt be directly heard by everyone. But their reputations as members of the Five Knights of Alcrem gave their warnings credence, and the soldiers and adventurers close enough to hear them helped spread the word.

Some of the knights and adventurers in the army were knowledgeable about Undead, so similar warnings were being spoken elsewhere as well.

The Blood Beasts were split ent.i.ties of Knochen, coated in a red dye secreted from the Demon Kings ink sacs. The Rotten Beasts were split ent.i.ties of Knochen that were using Poison: Breath continuously in small volumes. Of course, the Chimera Skeletons and Ogre Skeletons were split ent.i.ties of Knochen as well.

However, the Living Armors and Zombies were Demon King Familiars that were groaning rather unconvincingly. The Living Armors were ordinary armors that were being controlled by small Demon King Familiars using the Demon Kings fur as strings, and the Zombies were Demon King Familiars using the Demon Kings scent glands and ink sacs in order to pretend to be decomposing.

Jyuooh, my lords, you must be quiet or your disguises will be noticed, said Bone Man.

It seemed that the Demon King Familiars acting ability left a lot to be desired.

I suppose there arent many Zombies because weve been gathering our forces and n.o.bodys entered the former Scylla territory for over half a year, one of the adventurers said.

That is likely correct, said another.

And the Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory still hasnt shown himself.

There was a reason why Vandalieu and his allies had chosen to make it seem like they were stronger, but not to the point that it looked hopeless for the army gathered by Duke Sauron, despite the fact that it was truly hopeless for them in reality.

That reason was, if they showed too much strength here, the people of the Orbaume Kingdom might believe that their entire nation was doomed if they didnt do something about the Undead swarm in the former Scylla territory.

Monsters of ordinary Devils Nests and Dungeons, including Undead, would spill outside and cause a stampede if their numbers grew excessively. If this were to occur in the former Scylla territory, the Sauron Duchy would not be the only one to suffer the consequences. If the kingdom decided to bring its entire army in fear that the other duchies would be swallowed in a tide of Undead, it would be very troublesome indeed for Vandalieu and his companions.

And so, Vandalieu and his allies aimed to have the army fail to retake the former Scylla territory but inflict what appeared to be considerable damage to the Undead, in order to allow the Orbaume Kingdoms people to believe that they were safe for the time being for the next few years, if possible.

Even after the battle, it was possible that small numbers of intruders such as adventurers and mercenaries would enter the former Scylla territory, so Vandalieu intended to have Knochens split ent.i.ties deal with them and send them running.

That was why it would have been problematic if the army had fled immediately.

And it seemed Vandalieu and his allies wish had come true.

We cannot turn back without even fighting. All forces, charge! Attack! ordered General Polbork of the Sauron Duchy, the commander of this army.

The soldiers yelled as they raised the magic swords and magic spears they had prepared for fighting against Undead, and the mages began casting imbuement magic. Bravatiyu held the flaming magic sword he was named for, while Baldiria gripped her magical axe, as the two of them led the knights on the frontlines.

With every swing of the weapons of the soldiers and knights, the split ent.i.ties of Knochen, which were disguised as Skeletons and weak forms of Undead, groaned as their bones were scattered across the ground.

Yeah! We can defeat them!

Of course we can! These enemies are small fry; dont get so happy over nothing!

Although they were just infantrymen, the soldiers of this army were all elite individuals with strength that was at least equal to that of a D-cla.s.s adventurer, and each of them was capable of defeating a Rank 4 monster on their own. Skeletons and Bone Animals stood no chance against them.

In reality, however, they were only destroying the split ent.i.ties that Knochen had made using weak bones. The main materials used to make them were the weak bones of criminals and the leftover bones of animals and low-Rank monsters that were used as food in the Demon Empire of Vidal and Morksis red-light district.

A Demon King Familiar disguised as a Zombie stepped forward with a monotonous groan.

Use fire against the Zombies! Burn them!

These Demon King Familiars were covered in an oil made from the Demon Kings fat, which burned very well. After the oil finished burning, they laid still on the ground, remaining on standby while pretending to be dead.

As for the Demon King Familiars disguised as Living Armors, the small Demon King Familiars inside would retreat once their armors took a reasonable amount of damage, leaving only the metal armors behind.

This would let the soldiers feel like they had made a dent in the Undead numbers.

But Vandalieu and his allies couldnt afford to let the Undead be underestimated either, so they would need to inflict a reasonable amount of damage back.

That was the role of Bone Man, who was among the split ent.i.ties of Knochen.

JYUOOOH! Bone man roared.

Th-this Skeleton is strong! My sword isnt working against it! one of the adventurers shouted.

Adventurers of C-cla.s.s and below wont even slow it down! Well surround it with people of B-cla.s.s and above, then take it down! shouted another.

JYUOOOOOH! Bone Man roared again as he swung his sword.

Despite facing multiple of the most powerful, high-ranking adventurers in the army, he was overwhelming them one-sidedly.

Jyuooh, come to think of it, I have become quite strong,

he thought.

The swords and spears wielded by these high-ranking adventurers were too slow. The hammers they swung at him were too brittle. Bone Man had become so powerful that adventurers who hadnt yet reached A-cla.s.s werent even able to put up a proper fight against him.

But that was why Bone Man deliberately did not kill these high-ranking adventurers. He would inflict wounds that appeared fatal for an ordinary person, but these adventurers were experienced fighters. Their bodies were st.u.r.dier than they looked, and they had a high amount of Vitality. They wouldnt die immediately as long as Bone Man didnt pierce their hearts or heads, or sever their necks.

When one was heavily wounded, another would cover them to help them retreat and heal. The people that Bone Man was fighting against were all capable of doing that.

Of course, neither Knochen nor Bone Man had the acting ability to coddle the adventurers like babies so that none of them died or were heavily wounded while concealing the fact that they were doing so. Other than the split ent.i.ties that were disguised as small fry, Knochen was only holding back a little. His split ent.i.ties groaned as they performed attacks powerful enough to break the arms holding the s.h.i.+elds they landed upon.

Bone Man roared as he swung his sword with the intent of piercing his enemies torsos and severing their limbs.

The Demon King Familiars who were pretending to be dead were responsible for making sure that not too many were killed or permanently maimed.

They were using Telekinesis to make sure that severed limbs flew in a direction that would allow them to be recovered later, and Death Delay to ensure that life-saving magic could be cast in time to save those who were fatally wounded.

Ah, I dont need to save that one. I dont care about that one, either. This one theres no reason to let him die, so I suppose Ill keep him alive.

Using the information provided by Bravatiyu and Baldiria, the Demon King Familiars were choosing and deliberately abandoning the knights and adventurers who were pa.s.sionate about hunting Vidas races, as well as the more ill-natured mercenaries.

Vandalieu and his allies had created this farce because they did not want to weaken the Orbaume Kingdoms ability to defend itself or invite any more ill will than necessary. They didnt intend to go as far as to save those who didnt make much difference to the Orbaume Kingdoms defense or those whose ill will Vandalieu didnt care about.

Vandalieus side was overwhelmingly powerful and holding back their strength for their own reasons, but this was still a battle to the death. That was why Vandalieu didnt hesitate to abandon the ones he didnt care about.

With that said, he wasnt proactively killing them, either. His Demon King Familiars just wouldnt do anything for them. If they were resourceful enough to escape from their predicaments on their own, they would probably survive.

They are powerful, but can we not do something about this difference in numbers? To think that the former Scylla territory would be overrun with so many Undead! groaned General Polbork, lamenting the fact that he had lacked prior information about the enemy.

He had been informed that some of the soldiers had been surrounded by Bone Man and Knochens split ent.i.ties, and were desperately trying to retreat while being attacked from all sides.

But General Polbork, thanks to the brave efforts of our army, we have defeated numerous times more Undead than the men we have lost! said a mage who had been sent from the Alcrem Duchy a subordinate of the Knight of Keen Insight Ralmeya.

The other military advisors and commanders who had been sent from the other duchies nodded in agreement.

Indeed We have succeeded in reducing the Undead numbers in this place. I believe it may be wise to claim that as our victory and make a strategic withdrawal, one of them said.

They had been sent by their respective dukes in response to Duke Saurons request for aid, but they didnt intend to follow this army into the grave. They would risk their lives in battle if there was hope for victory, but they didnt intend to die meaningless deaths if victory was clearly impossible.

During the few seconds that General Polbork spent wondering what choice he should make, one final enemy the last of the three plus a few more made his appearance.

The Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory roared, radiating a terrifying bloodl.u.s.t that would cause even the most fearless of men to tremble. Whoever wants to die, come and face me!

I-Its the Grim Reaper! The Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory is here!

Dont falter! Maintain your formations! Attack it with arrows and long-ranged spells while our heavy knights pin him down!

It wont work! That black armor of his wont be pierced by normal spells!

Borkus had previously defeated Colossi in battle demiG.o.ds whose power exceeded Rank 13. These men, whose strength was equivalent to that of B-cla.s.s adventurers or less, were no match for him. They were feeble creatures that would fly like pebbles if he were to swing his arms and legs around.

Ordinary arrows and spells couldnt get through Borkuss armor, which was made of Demon King fragments. Even if one of them were to slip through a gap in his armor through some stroke of fortune, for him, it would be like being poked with a tiny needle. It would be itchy rather than painful.

The heavily-armored knights charged into him and simply bounced off, rolling like b.a.l.l.s across the ground.

I have a message! Bravatiyu-dono, the Knight of Roaring Flames, has fallen! a messenger shouted.

What?! General Polbork uttered.

The notification of the death of Bravatiyu, one of the Five Knights of Alcrem, an individual whose strength was equivalent to that of an A-cla.s.s adventurer, was just more salt in the armys wounds.

He served as the rear guard on his own to buy time for the adventurers to retreat from that particularly powerful Skeleton, and his heart was pierced by the enemy His death was truly heroic! the messenger reported.

No The Knight of Roaring Flames! whispered Ralmeyas mage subordinate.

His exceptional acting skills on full display, his expression was filled with pain and anger.

Baldiria-dono is currently using her transformation equipment and holding the Grim Reaper back! another messenger yelled.

General, please give your orders! Ralmeyas mage subordinate urged.

General Polbork finally made his decision. All forces, retreat! The rear will be guarded by the criminal slave suicide battalion and us, the Sauron Duchys army! Go and save Baldiria-dono!

And so, the battle to retake the former Scylla territory came to an end. A little over a hundred men were killed or missing a remarkably small loss for a force of ten thousand that had been defeated but several thousand of them had been heavily wounded. Several hundred of them had severed limbs that could not be restored without expensive Potions and difficult healing spells.

The fact that the Knight of Roaring Flames Bravatiyu was among the fallen was greatly shocking news to the houses of every duke.

Some praised General Polbork, the man in command, for keeping the losses to a minimum and returning with valuable information about the former Scylla territory. But many said that the battles outcome was due to the ability of the soldiers, not the ability of General Polbork.

The final result was that Duke Sauron acquired a small amount of (falsified) information about the former Scylla territory, and the Undead numbers had been reduced by several thousand (though this was meaningless). The price he paid in exchange for that was an increase in his debt to the houses of the other dukes, and the damage caused to the reputation of General Polbork.

The Alcrem house lost Bravatiyu and both of Baldirias arms were severed during the battle; she would need a long period of time to recover and return to active duty. However, she drew praise from the soldiers who had witnessed her valiant fighting, and the reputation of the Alcrem Duchys army, whose soldiers were previously ridiculed as being good at nothing but counting coins, was renewed.

In addition, the functionality of the transformation equipment Baldiria had used when fighting against the Grim Reaper became known in every duchy.

Having my heart pierced hurt so much I thought I was going to die, said Bravatiyu, who had been stabbed in the chest by Bone Mans sword, as he ran his fingers over the hole in his breastplate.

It would hurt less if I cut your head off, but even my lords spell would only last an hour if I did that, so I decided to aim for your heart, said Bone Man.

The Death Delay spell It is far more potent than most healing magic, Bravatiyu murmured. But even after you stabbed me, did you really have to hold me up on the end of your blade? I think you sc.r.a.ped some of my bones, and that was the most painful moment.

Jyuuh, I needed to show the enemy that I had killed you. Do not complain so much, Bone Man said.

Naturally, Bravatiyu was not dead, despite now being known to have died in battle. A Demon King Familiar at his feet had cast the Death Delay spell, and with this spell active, Bone Man had driven his sword through his heart.

Anyone who witnessed Bravatiyu suffering what was clearly a fatal wound and becoming motionless afterwards would a.s.sume that he had died. But the truth was otherwise.

After the army retreated and he was treated with some Blood Potion, he was as good as new.

With this, my master, Duke Alcrem, has a reason to refuse any future requests for military support from Duke Sauron, said Bravatiyu. But to think that Baldiria would take on such a shocking appearance

Im the one who designed the equipment that gives her that shocking appearance, and Im also the one who is about to make great changes to your body, you know? said a Demon King Familiar as it walked towards Bravatiyu.

Ugh! My apologies! Bravatiyu said hastily. But if I recall, Baldiria opposed it as well! She said, I cannot imagine myself dressing like a young girl, in front of the knights under my command, no less.

She changed her mind after my mother persuaded her, didnt she? the Demon King Familiar said, drawing closer.

As it did, the real Vandalieu crawled out of the shadow around its feet.

A floating ma.s.s of flesh appeared beside him as well Legion.

Now then, its time for your Youth Transformation and cosmetic surgery, Vandalieu said.

As previously discussed, youre now going to be reborn as Bravatiyu Junior, the illegitimate child of Bravatiyu, said Legions Isis.

The public story was that Bravatiyu had died, but with that being the case, he would not be able to serve his master and nation when the time called for it. Thus, the plan was to reverse his aging, transforming him from a man in his sixties to a twenty-year-old man, so that he could return to the Alcrem Duchy as the illegitimate child of the previous Knight of Roaring Flames.

Duke Takkard Alcrem, the other members of the Five Knights, their direct subordinates, and Bravatiyus family had all been informed of this.

But can you really reverse my aging? Bravatiyu asked, sounding concerned. You had better not be planning some kind of trickery, and A-AAGH!

Yes, yes, I have to go through an inspection soon so Ill be hurrying this along, said Vandalieu.

If you doubt us too much, Im going to add a few eyes and noses to your face, okay? said Isis.

And so, Bravatiyu returned to his youth and attained the body of a twenty-year-old.

You know, I think being alive is rougher than it seems, said Borkus.

Jyuuh. I am glad that we are dead, Bone Man said.

Knochen groaned in agreement.

The royal realm of the Orbaume Kingdom, some time after the battle at the former Scylla territory and Bravatiyus treatment.

Inspections were being conducted at the gate into the capital of Orbaume.

These inspections were to verify whether tamers entering the city for the first time had truly trained their familiars to obey them, and none were exempt from them even a renowned tamer who was known for his great achievements in other duchies and whose mother was an honorary n.o.ble.

One of the guards was carrying out this inspection. Lightly hitting the familiars was a part of the inspection, but the familiar he was about to carry this test out on was a monster that, at first glance, appeared to be a beautiful, half-naked woman.

She appeared to be in her early thirties. Some might consider this a little old, but the guard actually preferred women of this age. There was a glossiness to her skin that girls in their teenage years didnt have, and she had a voluptuous figure. But she was by no means chubby, and there wasnt a single inch of her body that was sagging. Her face was among the most beautiful out of any the guard had ever seen.

If he had met her at a brothel, he might have considered visiting regularly, even if he had to cut down on his living expenses.

A-are you sure about this? the guard asked apprehensively.

Go aheeead, the woman said.

Her skin was neither white nor black; it was green, and her body was covered in not clothes, but leaves. There were numerous branches protruding from her back.

She was apparently a plant-type monster by the name of Eisen.

Unlike insect and Undead monsters, it was possible to tame plant-type monsters, but they were considered far more difficult to tame than other monsters. This was especially true for highly-intelligent races.

But Eisens tamer insisted that he had tamed her, and she did indeed obey his commands.

She hadnt caused any trouble while they were waiting in line to be inspected. She hadnt frightened any of the other merchants and travelers This fact was true, even if it was only because the merchants and travelers had a.s.sumed that she was a person with an unusual appearance, rather than a monster.

And although all tamers had to go through this inspection even if they were the child of an honorary n.o.ble, the law didnt allow inspectors to refuse to inspect a familiar just because it was a plant-type monster that was commonly known to be difficult to tame.

To begin with, there was no guarantee that common knowledge was correct. In the Alcrem Duchy, it had been common knowledge that Ghouls were monsters, but reforms were now being made to acknowledge them as a race that was created by Vida.

Thus, the guard did not have any objection to performing this inspection.

However, the problem was

Youre sure this is okay, right?! he asked once more.

The problem was the boy who was Eisens tamer, who was currently radiating a terrifying killing intent towards the guard.

The boy, Vandalieu, was currently being held back by Darcia, Simon, and Miriam.

Yes! Please do it quickly while were still holding him back!

Simon groaned in exertion. I pray these arms of mine will hold!

Dont worry about us! More importantly, hurry up! Miriam shouted desperately.

The guard did a light jab a truly light one in Eisens direction.

Incidentally, every other guard had pa.s.sed out due to the killing intent that Vandalieu was radiating. Though the guard wished that he had pa.s.sed out as well, his fist caused no harm to Eisen, and the inspection was completed with no further incident.

Name

: Bone Man

Rank:

14

Race:

Skeleton Blade High Kaiser

Level:

85

t.i.tle

: Slayer of the Roaring Flames (NEW!)

Pa.s.sive skills

:

Dark Vision

Monstrous Strength: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Augmented Attribute Values: Loyalty: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Spirit Form: Level 10

Strengthened Attribute Values: Mounted: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Self-Enhancement: Creator: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Self-Enhancement: Guidance: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Physical Resistance: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Murder Healing: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Strengthened Attribute Values: Ruling: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Enhanced Body Part: Bones: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Active skills

:

Hollow Bone Swordsmans.h.i.+p: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

s.h.i.+eld Bone Technique: Level 1 (Awakened from s.h.i.+eld Technique!)

Archery: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Silent Steps: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Coordination: Level 10

Commanding: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Armor Bone Technique: Level 1 (Awakened from Armor Technique!)

Mount: Level 7

Long-distance Control: Level 10

Aura of Fear: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)

Parallel Thought Processing: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpa.s.s Limits: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Familiar Spirit Demonfall: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpa.s.s Limits: Magic Sword: Level 3 (NEW!)

Unique skills:

Bone Blades

Xerxs Divine Protection

Vandalieus Divine Protection

Rojefifis Divine Protection (NEW!)