Chapter 271

Chapter 271 — The Game Difficulty Is Crazy

Chapter 43

It was late at night, but the sky was red.

Below it stood Obenue Fortress, the frontline fortress of the Wordsworth Territory and the headquarters of the Gray Wolf Knights.

Drip, rumble—

The fortress walls that had always firmly blocked the west had been half-destroyed, with pieces of rubble falling from them.

Thousands of knights, priests, and conscripts who had been guarding the walls and the inside of the fortress were all lying collapsed, covered in blood.

Silence filled the fortress.

The thick red mist surrounding the area mixed with the stench of blood and the smell of burning, becoming a choking smoke that stung the nose.

“……You’re surprisingly still standing.”

“Haa… haa… kuck!”

Jaber Lemarque desperately controlled his ragged breathing as he glared straight ahead with his wolf-like single eye.

But Jaber was the only one standing against the golden-eyed demon before him.

The Gray Wolf Knights, whom he regarded almost like his own brothers and children, were all dead after fighting desperately.

The battle priests sent from the neighboring Veronia Territory had also fought to the bitter end and died.

A fortress that had endured countless attacks from the Demon King’s army had ironically been brought down by a single demon.

“Certainly… compared to the human armies I’ve fought so far, you bastards were much more troublesome. I’ll admit that.”

The demon who had slaughtered thousands of soldiers, Demon King Lupellos Van Zausrege, spoke arrogantly.

However, despite his tone, his blood-covered face was filled with exhaustion.

“Haa… huff… I heard that after the last battle, the Demon King’s army… no longer has the strength to wage another war in this generation…… Kugh… Then why did you do something so… meaningless?!”

Jaber clenched his teeth.

Tears finally burst from his barely raised eye.

As mentioned before, after Kacerto Rienze’s defeat, the Demon King’s army could no longer move.

Therefore, even if Obenue Fortress was destroyed, there were no troops available to occupy it.

This was not a battle meant to gain territory or benefits.

It was nothing more than a one-sided massacre.

The Demon King attacking Obenue alone was nothing more than that.

“Meaningless……? Hahaha! Yes, that’s not entirely wrong. At least from a demon’s point of view.”

“……What?”

“But this is a personal act of revenge by me, Lupellos Van Zausrege, against Glenn Wordsworth.”

Jaber’s pupils widened.

At the same time, Lupellos smiled wickedly.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but that bastard has done quite a lot to me. I’ve been waiting for a chance to get him back. But recently, he’s been nothing but running away, so finding him has been pretty damn difficult. That’s why I came here. I wanted to teach him what happens if he keeps running away like that.”

“Oh, and don’t think too badly of me for this. Since I came here alone, I also had to risk my life to fight.”

No matter how much of an overwhelming force a nine-star being was, fighting an elite force defending a fortress alone was extremely dangerous.

In fact, during the battle just now, Lupellos had narrowly escaped death several times while surrounded by countless knights and priests.

There had been moments when dozens of knights threw away their lives simply to hold him back for a single second.

Even now, thinking about those moments made him realize how dangerous it had been.

But Lupellos had accepted all those risks for one thing—revenge.

He fought the entire force stationed at Obenue and eventually crushed their resistance and won.

“Honestly, wasn’t this a pretty worthwhile fight for you too? If you had defeated me, you would have been recorded in history as heroes who defeated a Demon King.”

“Shut your mouth! What meaning is there in a title obtained by sacrificing your brothers……?! Cough! Kugh… you despicable bastard… Were you… really that afraid of Young Master Glenn……!”

“Afraid? Of that bastard? Heh heh heh… Not really. If anything, while I was fighting here, I was hoping that bastard would show up. But I’m disappointed. I never thought he would even abandon the death of his own subordinate.”

Jaber raised his sword, his eyes becoming razor-sharp.

“Do not… insult Young Master Glenn any further… my lord. Do you really think… he is someone who would be easy enough… to move according to your wishes?! He may not be here now, but when the time comes, he will return and tear you apart!”

Killing intent erupted from his beast-like single eye.

The Demon King narrowed his eyes.

“Judging by what you’re saying, you really have no idea what kind of situation that bastard is in……”

Goooooooo—

Thick black demonic energy flowed out and wrapped around Lupellos’s body.

“Let me tell one thing to a foolish loyal dog. Glenn Wordsworth is not coming. Even if I have to destroy this entire land with my own hands.”

His voice was cold.

But Jaber seemed unwilling to hear another word.

He kicked off the ground and closed the distance.

“Kraaaaaaaaa!”

“……”

The moment the burning single eye and the cold golden eyes met—

Stab—

The sword stopped right in front of the Demon King’s face.

At the same time, a spear forged from the Demon King’s demonic energy was embedded in Jaber’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

“Lie down already. You beast……”

“……Grrr… Kraaahhhhh!”

“Guh?!”

A huge hand grabbed the Demon King by the throat.

“Grrrrrrk…… you little… bastard……!”

“GRAAAAAAAH!”

A roar like that of a wild beast erupted.

There was not even a trace of white remaining in the single eye glaring at the Demon King.

“Whe… re…… Kgh!”

The pain of having his throat crushed blocked his breathing, and his consciousness began to fade.

Then—

Thud, stab—! Crash-crash-crash—

Spears of demonic energy shot up from the ground and repeatedly pierced Jaber.

The black spears tore through his silver-gray armor.

Only after more than ten spears had pierced his body did Jaber’s hand, which had been trying to crush Lupellos’s throat, finally loosen.

“Khaaak! Cough! Cough! Haaah! Haaah……”

The Demon King collapsed face-first onto the ground.

“Haa! Huff… cough! Haa, haaah……. You fucking… bastards……!”

Lupellos clenched his teeth as he looked at Jaber collapsed beside him.

He had intended to end the battle after provoking Glenn to a suitable degree.

But he had ultimately been forced to risk his life before he could claim victory.

He was sick of how nothing ever seemed to go his way.

The black crow sent at noon from Obenue Fortress, announcing the Demon King’s appearance, arrived at the Wordsworth Mansion in the late afternoon.

After hearing the news from Obenue, Tris hurriedly summoned the retainers to the meeting room.

“According to another messenger who arrived afterward, the battle began immediately after the Demon King appeared, and they have been fighting for several hours.”

Butler Fred swallowed nervously as he delivered the latest report.

“Did the Demon King attack alone?”

“It seems so.”

“He must have lost his mind. Even if a nine-star demon is called a walking disaster, I never imagined he would attack alone……”

A thin, middle-aged man groaned.

He was Geochef Philenbard, the younger brother of Baron Philenbard, who served the Wordsworth family.

Besides him, close representatives of the vassal families were also waiting inside the mansion so that orders could be delivered quickly.

“Lady of Wordsworth, I believe there will certainly be casualties, but Obenue has overcome countless hardships. It should be more than capable of defeating the Demon King.”

“I agree with Sir Geochef. No matter how powerful the Demon King is, he cannot defeat the Gray Wolf Knights supported by Veronia’s battle priests.”

“Indeed, my lady. This may actually be the perfect opportunity to defeat the Demon King and completely destroy the demons.”

“Of course, I believe we should quickly send a certain number of reinforcements.”

The retainers were unanimous in their opinions.

The Demon King’s attack was reckless from every possible angle.

However, Tris had witnessed countless events that went beyond common sense.

She calmly looked at Fred.

“How is the battle going?”

“It seems they are struggling because the Demon King’s assault is fiercer than expected. However, thanks to concentrated bombardment using holy power stones, the Demon King has apparently been unable to approach.”

Relief appeared on the retainers’ faces.

Just then, the door suddenly opened and a man entered the meeting room.

“Urgent news from Obenue!”

He was a servant responsible for managing the black crows.

Everyone in the meeting room turned toward him, and Fred took the letter from his hands.

“……Hm?!”

The color drained from Fred’s face.

Seeing his eyes tremble, Tris quietly bit her lip.

“……What does it say?”

“Around six hours after the battle began… the western wall has collapsed……”

“What?!”

“How could that happen?!”

The retainers were horrified.

“E-even if he is the Demon King, he destroyed a wall equipped with dozens of holy power stones all by himself? That’s impossible……”

“My lady. I-I will contact Haven immediately and send the Canary Knights to Obenue!”

“I will also contact Baron Philenbard immediately and request reinforcements!”

The retainers finally understood the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly began standing up.

Then Tris spoke.

“Stop.”

“……My lady?”

“Stop? What do you mean……?”

“I am not telling you to stop sending reinforcements. However, tell each territory to gather their troops at Deventer instead of Obenue.”

“Deventer? You mean the place east of Obenue……?! But, my lady! If you gather the troops there……”

“Isn’t that an order based on the assumption that Obenue Fortress has already fallen to a single Demon King?”

The retainers froze.

But Tris’s expression remained serious.

“Seventy percent of Obenue Fortress’s defensive strength is concentrated on the western wall. Once that wall has fallen, it is difficult to expect Obenue to win.”

“Besides, even if they ride there as quickly as possible, it will take more than two days to reach Obenue. Because of the surprise attack, there simply isn’t enough time for reinforcements to arrive before the battle ends.”

Because of the Demon King’s surprise attack, they could not expect reinforcements to arrive in time.

If Obenue somehow won, that would be fortunate.

But if it lost, the reinforcements sent from each territory would be defeated one by one by the Demon King.

“Of course, since we have not detected any movement beyond the Demon Lands, it is possible that the Demon King may remain at Obenue.”

“But we do not know the Demon King’s purpose or final destination. We need to act while considering even the worst possibility.”

It was a perfectly reasonable decision.

Yet the retainers were deeply shocked that Tris, who treasured Obenue Fortress and the Gray Wolf Knights, could make such a cold decision.

Of course, none of them tried to reject or persuade her because they knew she was not wrong.

They simply bowed their heads solemnly and hurried out of the meeting room.

“……As you command.”

Clunk—

The retainers left, leaving the meeting room empty.

As Tris began giving Fred orders to mobilize the troops, Romina approached her.

“My lady. Are you all right?”

“……No, I’m not.”

Tris’s hands were trembling.

“But there’s nothing I can do… It’s just… this happened so suddenly…….”

The Demon King’s inexplicable surprise attack.

Everything had happened so suddenly that they had not even been given the chance to do anything.

It felt unfair and unreasonable.

If there had at least been some warning that the Demon King was coming, perhaps they could have prepared.

“Would it have been different… if Glenn were here……?”

“If he had known that the Demon King would risk his life to attack, he would have stayed here.”

“It may be shameless of me to say this… but I really hope Sir Jaber… survives.”

Tris bit her lip.

Knowing that the chances of survival were low made her feel terribly cruel for giving the order she had.

“……Don’t worry, my lady.”

Romina quietly embraced Tris.

“I can’t save Sir Jaber, but I’ll do what I can.”

Killing intent swirled in her amber eyes.

“No matter what happens… that man, at least, I will…….”

Lupellos woke from a long sleep and was still in the ruined Obenue.

Judging by the sun overhead, an entire day seemed to have passed.

“Didn’t he say he was coming to find me……”

At the very least, Lupellos had expected Nox to retrieve him after he collapsed.

“That bastard sure is taking his sweet time.”

But he did not think about it any further.

The anger inside his head had erupted again and again until it felt as though it had finally burned itself white.

Lupellos stood up.

“Grrrrk!”

His wounds had not healed yet.

The demonic energy he had squeezed out to his limits had not fully recovered because he had not been given enough rest.

Step, step—

Nevertheless, Lupellos began walking.

He was heading east.

Toward the Wordsworth Territory, the hometown of Glenn Wordsworth.

“Fuck……”

At first, he had planned to casually destroy Obenue and lure Glenn out.

Since his incarnation contract had already been canceled, there was no chance of him defeating Glenn.

But luring Glenn out had been his objective.

Once he dragged the constantly fleeing Glenn Wordsworth out, Yuelos and Nox would take care of the rest.

Step, step—

In fact, Lupellos had once suggested this plan to Yuelos and Nox.

Now that he had lost his power as an incarnation, he needed to use their strength to kill Glenn.

Moreover, although Nox was ambiguous about it, Yuelos had wanted Glenn Wordsworth to disappear, had he not?

But—

—A lowly plan worthy of a surface-dweller. Do you really think he would come out on his own because of that?

Yuelos had coldly rejected the idea.

—That’s a place that bastard cares about! He’ll probably come running right away!

—If that beast could be lured out by such a pathetic hostage scheme, he would have been a beast that Kalungod could have dealt with. I have no reason to hear any more. Move aside. There is a woman I must deal with before him.

Yuelos dismissed his plan as a pathetic hostage situation and left.

—Lure Glenn Wordsworth out? Give me a break. Yuelos will take care of him anyway. Stop thinking about useless things and prepare to represent me as the Demon King.

—……

Nox had been the same.

After defeating his archenemy, he had completely lost interest in Glenn.

Those arrogant bastards clearly did not understand how dangerous a human named Glenn Wordsworth was.

“Fucking idiots……”

Someday, they would pay the price for their arrogance.

In the end, Lupellos waited for an opportunity and moved alone to carry out his own plan.

There was no need to hurry.

Once Glenn Wordsworth appeared, Yuelos and Nox would naturally appear and eliminate him.

But even after risking his life to destroy Obenue Fortress and killing thousands of people, Glenn Wordsworth never appeared.

—If that beast could be lured out by such a pathetic hostage scheme, he would have been a beast that Kalungod could have dealt with.

Yuelos’s words seemed to echo inside his head, making Lupellos clench his teeth.

“Just you wait… you fucking bastards.”

Would Glenn still refuse to come out even if Lupellos destroyed the entire Wordsworth Territory and all of his family?

Thinking that, Lupellos continued walking.

His pride had fallen endlessly and become pathetic.

The Demon King, whose meager pride had been damaged to its very limit, no longer thought about anything else.

With bloodshot eyes, he hurried forward for one purpose alone.

Revenge.

Step, step—

“Glenn… Wordsworth……”

He simply muttered the name of the person he wanted revenge against while dragging his wounded body forward……

Whoooosh—

Suddenly, a chill descended over the surroundings.

Lupellos, who had been reduced to nothing more than a vengeful spirit, instinctively moved away.

Crack—!

At the place where he had been standing, a sharp ice spike rose from the ground like a giant thorn.

“……Tch.”

If his reaction had been even slightly slower, he would have been impaled.

But that was only the beginning.

—Finally…… I finally found you……

An unfamiliar voice echoed inside his head.

The sultry voice of a woman sounded excited, but the emotion beneath it was overflowing with rage.

“What……”

—The enemy who killed my father……

It was something Lupellos could not understand.

But he felt an intense chill coming from above and raised his head.

Whoooooosh—

And there, hundreds of pieces of ice were falling like a blizzard.