Chapter 32
In the Dakan Plains northwest of the Lionel Kingdom, the Demon King's army had gathered.
There were fifty thousand in all. The plains were filled with the Demon King's black armor as soldiers formed ranks and drilled while countless horses whinnied. Behind them, countless tents had been pitched, and vast quantities of supplies had been stockpiled.
At the center of the main camp, the generals and senior officers of the Second Front Army, entrusted with conquering the Lionel Kingdom, had gathered in a huge tent and were holding a council of war.
Deep inside the tent, General Gare sat in an enormous commander's chair. Without moving his massive body, he listened to his subordinates while studying the map spread across the table.
Gare was known for making swift decisions, but now he harbored deep uncertainty. In truth, he was not the only one; all fifty thousand soldiers gathered here likely shared the same unease.
It had already been several months since word had come that Demon King-sama had been killed. Communications with the homeland had been severed, and they still could not even confirm whether he was alive or dead.
The information was contradictory and confusing.
They could hardly make any rash moves, while the cutoff of supplies from the rear had left them worried about provisions.
They had continued holding meetings almost every day, but the council of war dragged on without producing any clear answer.
"Was Demon King-sama really killed?"
One of the officers dredged up a question that had probably been repeated a hundred times already.
"A captured soldier saw Demon King-sama's head."
Another officer answered.
Indeed, the humans had shown captured soldiers Demon King-sama's head, told them he was dead, and then released them. As a result, news of Demon King-sama's death spread among the soldiers, causing great confusion for a time.
"How can you trust something like that? It must be a fake head. How would ordinary soldiers know what Demon King-sama's face looked like? It was a ploy to unsettle the troops."
Another officer cautioned them not to be swayed.
"But there are handwritten letters bearing his seal as well. Those are genuine, and the soldiers are shaken."
There seemed to be some vicious schemers among the humans. When releasing the soldiers, they had given them documents they had seized. This had produced a certain effect. At the very least, it proved that someone had traveled to the Demon Continent and back.
"Anyone could forge them. That's exactly what the enemy wants. Don't fall for it. Impose a gag order on the soldiers and tell them not to be deceived by rumors."
"That will only have the opposite effect. It will breed distrust among the troops. We should confirm whether Demon King-sama is alive or dead. That should be our first priority."
The discussion went in circles again. Confirming the truth was certainly urgent, but if it had been possible, they would have done it already.
"Then how do you propose we find out? We don't have a magic ship."
Several perilous stretches of sea lay between their homeland on the Demon Continent and this continent, plagued by complex currents and violent storms. An ordinary ship could never cross them. Only magic ships built in the homeland could make the journey. But magic ships were no longer available. They could not even return to their homeland anymore.
For an instant, homesickness crossed Gare's heart, but he forced himself to accept that nothing could be done and listened to the officers' discussion.
"Now that communications with the homeland have been severed, something definitely happened. It's hard to believe that this country's prince assassinated Demon King-sama, but perhaps someone among the homeland's high ministers rebelled."
According to the humans, this country's prince had set out with several companions to assassinate Demon King-sama.
It was impossible to believe that a human could kill Demon King-sama, but the time of the prince's return coincided exactly with the loss of communications with the homeland.
As the officer suggested, perhaps the humans had incited one of the homeland's high ministers. Or perhaps a high minister had used the humans to commit regicide.
Whatever the truth, since there had been no word from the homeland, they should act as though Demon King-sama were dead.
The officer's words led to a discussion of who had betrayed them, but with no information, it was nothing more than a guessing game.
"Enough. There's no point dwelling on what can't be changed. Instead, we must decide what we're going to do."
Before the discussion could turn into a pointless argument, I brought them back to the original subject and pointed to the pieces on the map.
The officers' gazes focused on the pieces placed across the map.
There were six black pieces on the map. All of them represented forces belonging to the Demon King's army, just like ours.
Like our army, which had been entrusted with conquering the Lionel Kingdom, five other armies had been organized into separate fronts and launched offensives. Farther to the rear stood Rovaine—the site of their first landing, remade as a military base—as well as the military fortress Gangarga, built by the humans.
Together, these forces totaled nearly five hundred thousand troops, but they were by no means allies.
"General Kergela of the First Front Army has sent a messenger ordering us to return to his command."
"Just because his numbers are greater, he thinks he can act like our superior?"
"What have the Fourth and Fifth Front Armies said? They were originally part of our faction, weren't they?"
"The Fourth has given no answer. The Fifth keeps sending back nothing but vague replies."
"The First has made the same offer, I assume. Even if we brought them over to our side, we wouldn't know when they might betray us."
"I hear General Barbal of the Third Front Army is calling himself the Demon King."
"That man, the Demon King? What a terrible joke. It's so absurd that it's almost funny."
"The Sixth Front Army is being pushed back by an offensive from the humans, apparently."
"What an embarrassment. If they ask for reinforcements, we'll help them."
Though they were all part of the Demon King's army, they were not coordinating with one another. With Demon King-sama absent, they were quarreling over who would take command.
Once an army submitted to another and came under its command, a hierarchy would be established, and that relationship would continue indefinitely.
Bowing before Demon King-sama, accepting an assignment under his orders, and obeying a superior as a subordinate were all acceptable. But none of the other generals was Demon King-sama.
Even if they held a higher rank, there was no need to obey orders from someone who had not received Demon King-sama's trust.
"Every last one of them is after Demon King-sama's position."
The officer spat out the words, but in a way, he had only revealed his own feelings.
Every commander of a front army had risen to the rank of general and was formidable and ambitious. Barbal of the Third Army had jumped the gun, but deep down, every one of them believed he alone was worthy of becoming the next Demon King. Gare himself, of course, believed he was fit to become the Demon King.
I could not simply submit to them and bow my head. If that was the choice, I would rather lose and die.
But I needed their troops, whatever it took.
With contact with the homeland lost and supplies cut off, we could not replenish our forces. To absorb them as subordinates, however, we would have to fight, kill their general, and reorganize the army. Yet with the humans already attacking us, fighting our own kind was hardly advisable.
"What does Rovaine say?"
When I asked, the assembled generals straightened their backs.
"Well, um... We still haven't received an answer."
"I see."
We could not ignore the intentions of Rovaine, the first place they had landed and now their largest base.
Thirty thousand soldiers were permanently stationed in Rovaine, with another ten thousand garrisoning Gangarga Fortress farther ahead. Their military strength was sufficient, but more important than that was their ability to supply food and replenish their forces.
Rovaine had been steadily developed as a base. Already, several hundred thousand settlers had streamed in from the Demon Continent and built a city. There were also many humans gathered as slaves, providing ample labor.
Farmland had been opened, and the settlers could have children and raise them to become soldiers.
Children obviously could not grow to adulthood overnight, but Rovaine and its people were essential for establishing a firm foundation.
If I could return to Rovaine and reign there, I might even be able to proclaim myself the next Demon King. But with the forces at my disposal, I could not take Rovaine, which had been fortified as a military base. We lacked siege weapons. We could not even say for certain whether we could take Gangarga Fortress, which lay far short of Rovaine.
I had thought the course of this confusion would depend on what Rovaine did, but our rear base continued to maintain an ominous silence.
It would be an opportunity if the death of Demon King-sama had left them unable to act. But those two were in Rovaine. As long as they were there, there was no way they would simply sit by and watch.
So I truly had no choice.
The realistic course was to seize control of this land, establish a warlord domain, and build my own kingdom. Once I had built up sufficient military strength, I would crush the other armies and invade Rovaine. Then I would reign as the Demon King over this land. That was the only way.
The time was already ripe.
We had not spent all this time in vain. We had gathered soldiers scattered across the region, raided nearby villages for food, and stockpiled provisions. The soldiers who had been shaken by Demon King-sama's death had also regained some composure with the passage of time.
"How is the human resistance?"
First and foremost, we had to conquer this country.
"Yes, General. It seems they used the time we spent assembling to prepare their own military forces."
"Oh? They mean to challenge us to battle?"
"Interesting. At last, we'll get to fight a proper battle."
The scent of battle stirred the officers. The soldiers, too, preferred the straightforwardness of a battlefield to fruitless discussions.
"The exact number is still unknown, but it is certain that more than seventy thousand troops have gathered."
"We've also received word that the prince of this country who supposedly defeated Demon King-sama will be marching out as well."
The words caused a stir among the officers and soldiers.
"A stroke of good fortune. I can't imagine a mere human could have slain Demon King-sama, but taking the head of the prince who supposedly defeated him would be a fine achievement."
If I defeated the one who had slain Demon King-sama, it would hardly be strange for me to claim the title of next Demon King.
The officers and soldiers wore warlike smiles at the prospect of such a great achievement.
Now seemed like the right time.
Just as I was about to announce our course of action, a young officer who had remained silent until then suddenly spoke in a cracking voice.
"U-um... Well... Is it... impossible for us to return home?"
Several senior officers looked exasperated when they heard the young officer's words.
However, I could see that the officers of a similar age and the adjutants standing behind the generals were wavering.
It was a troublesome matter indeed. Just as I reluctantly began to speak, a voice like the cry of an old bird rang through the tent.