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

nThe 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 hadn’t, there wasn’t a single person in the duchy that was loyal to his younger brother anyway.

nHis younger half-sister was continuing to oppose him, but she was so weak that she couldn’t 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.

nThe duchy’s public order, finances, and military affairs were… full of problems. Regarding public order, one of Rudel’s 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 nobles still eluded arrest. But Rudel had immediately rebuked him, reminding him that the inhabitants of an entire village had gone missing and they didn’t have so much as a clue as to what had happened, let alone caught the culprit.

nRegarding the duchy’s finances, it didn’t 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.

nOf 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.

nThat 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.

nThe 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 duchy’s powerful fighters… those who were comparable to the Five Knights of Alcrem, such as George Bearheart, had been killed.

nOf 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.

nIf 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.

nThus, the greatest threat was the problem of the former Scylla territory. The Undead lurking in it hadn’t left it so far. But that couldn’t be possible if it were an ordinary Devil’s Nest or Dungeon.

nWhen the monsters in Devil’s 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.

nConsidering that such a monster stampede had not occurred yet, one could conclude that the former Scylla territory was not an ordinary Devil’s Nest… and that it was being protected by a powerful Undead army that was under someone’s command.

nIf it was an ordinary Devil’s 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.’

nIf it wasn’t an ordinary Devil’s Nest, and the Undead were under someone’s 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.

nBut Rudel had some ideas of who they might be.

nThe 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.

nDarcia, 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.

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

nLegends told of the three Vampires who worshiped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God 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.

nAnd 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.

nDuke 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.

nAnd in the future, they would take over the entire Sauron Duchy. First, they would destroy the Sauron house’s military might with the Undead army, triggering an attack by the Amid Empire’s army.

nThe 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 Kingdom’s defensive border. The Alcrem Duchy’s army would push the Amid Empire’s army back, and then continue to occupy the Sauron Duchy.

nWas the Alcrem Duchy’s army, which was from an inland region and considered to be weaker than the Sauron Duchy’s army, capable of doing this?

nRudel 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 Empire’s army to exhaust and weaken the Sauron Duchy’s army. The Undead army would then be withdrawn and the Alcrem Duchy’s army would declare that they had exterminated the Undead.

nBut while this was all possible, it would be considerably reckless. Rudel couldn’t imagine that the people of his duchy would accept their lands being occupied by the Alcrem Duchy’s 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.

nWith no other circumstances in play, the Sauron Duchy would get away with ceding some land to the Alcrem Duchy.

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

nAs for the other nobles, the Alcrem house would argue that they were establishing a new house rather than absorbing the Sauron house.

nDue 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.

nTakkard Alcrem would send his second or third son to become the new Duke Sauron, along with a group of vassals.

nIf Rudel’s 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.

nDarcia would be the second wife, so Vandalieu wouldn’t be publicly involved with the duchy’s 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.

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

nWith 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.

nBut he had found himself unable to gather any information at all. And with more than nine months having passed since Vandalieu’s appearance in the Alcrem Duchy, the situation had changed.

nThe 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.

nThe Sauron Duchy had always been a region where the worship 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 god that had been resurrected in Alcrem (at least, that was the public story). The commotion among the people was inevitable, given these events.

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

nPeople 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.

nEven nobles who ruled lands in the duchy, as well as knights and bureaucrats who weren’t 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.

nUp 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 wasn’t progressing at all. Naturally, there was no evidence that Duke Alcrem had joined forces with Vandalieu and Darcia.

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

nPressed 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.

nDuke 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.

nThis 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.

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

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

nThus, 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.

nVandalieu and his allies, whom they were collaborating with, didn’t expect them to conduct such spy-like activities to begin with.

n“… 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.

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

nThey weren’t investigating the motives of the other dukes that were helping Duke Sauron and this army. They weren’t saying anything conspicuous at the strategy meetings.

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

nThey had then spoken to Vandalieu’s spy… the ‘Head-hunting Demon’ Sleygar, to tell them what they had learned about the abilities and personalities of these knights and adventurers.

nWhile he was alive, Sleygar had been one of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords of the Amid Empire, a legendary assassin 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.

nNot a single person in this army was capable of detecting his presence.

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

nThe 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 Duchy’s military strength.

nUp 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 nobles.

nBut the majority of this army gathered by the Sauron house comprised of soldiers of the Orbaume Kingdom’s 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.

nAs 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.

nIt 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 wasn’t 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.

n“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 it’s physically closed off.”

n“… If something like this happens again, I’ll think about it,” said one of the Demon King Familiars.

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

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

n“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.

nWithout this, the morale would have likely plummeted to the earth.

nStanding 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.

nThe soldiers facing them couldn’t 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.

nThey weren’t wrong. Knochen had prepared over a million split entities for this battle.

n“Skeletons, Bone Animals, and is that a Phantom Bird? They’re all Rank 3 or less, but… I’ve never seen such a huge swarm of Undead,” one of the adventurers muttered.

n“I’ve seen a monster stampede coming from a Dungeon that only spawns Undead, but even that had less Undead than this,” said another. “Even if these are all just small fry…”

nThe 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.

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

n“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 wouldn’t be able to handle unless you’re at least D-class.”

n“The ones at the back are Chimera Skeletons and Ogre Skeletons… And there are many Living Armors and Zombies as well. Don’t let your guard down!” Baldiria warned.

nBravatiyu and Baldiria were just two among ten thousand; their warnings wouldn’t 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.

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

nThe Blood Beasts were split entities of Knochen, coated in a red dye secreted from the Demon King’s ink sacs. The Rotten Beasts were split entities of Knochen that were using ‘Poison: Breath’ continuously in small volumes. Of course, the Chimera Skeletons and Ogre Skeletons were split entities of Knochen as well.

nHowever, 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 King’s fur as strings, and the Zombies were Demon King Familiars using the Demon King’s scent glands and ink sacs in order to pretend to be decomposing.

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

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

n“I suppose there aren’t many Zombies because we’ve been gathering our forces and nobody’s entered the former Scylla territory for over half a year,” one of the adventurers said.

n“… That is likely correct,” said another.

n“And the ‘Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory’ still hasn’t shown himself.”

nThere 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.

nThat 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 didn’t do something about the Undead swarm in the former Scylla territory.

nMonsters of ordinary Devil’s 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.

nAnd 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 Kingdom’s people to believe that they were safe for the time being… for the next few years, if possible.

nEven 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 Knochen’s split entities deal with them and send them running.

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

nAnd it seemed Vandalieu and his allies’ wish had come true.

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

nThe 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.

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

n“Yeah! We can defeat them!”

n“Of course we can! These enemies are small fry; don’t get so happy over nothing!”

nAlthough 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-class 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.

nIn reality, however, they were only destroying the split entities 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 Morksi’s red-light district.

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

n“Use fire against the Zombies! Burn them!”

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

nAs 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.

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

nBut Vandalieu and his allies couldn’t afford to let the Undead be underestimated either, so they would need to inflict a reasonable amount of damage back.

nThat was the role of Bone Man, who was among the split entities of Knochen.

n“JYUOOOH!” Bone man roared.

n“Th-this Skeleton is strong! My sword isn’t working against it!” one of the adventurers shouted.

n“Adventurers of C-class and below won’t even slow it down! We’ll surround it with people of B-class and above, then take it down!” shouted another.

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

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

nJyuooh, come to think of it, I have become quite strong, he thought.

nThe 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 hadn’t yet reached A-class weren’t even able to put up a proper fight against him.

nBut 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 sturdier than they looked, and they had a high amount of Vitality. They wouldn’t die immediately as long as Bone Man didn’t pierce their hearts or heads, or sever their necks.

nWhen 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.

nOf 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 entities that were disguised as small fry, Knochen was only holding back a little. His split entities groaned as they performed attacks powerful enough to break the arms holding the shields they landed upon.

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

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

nThey 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.

nAh, I don’t need to save that one. I don’t care about that one, either. This one… there’s no reason to let him die, so I suppose I’ll keep him alive.

nUsing the information provided by Bravatiyu and Baldiria, the Demon King Familiars were choosing and deliberately abandoning the knights and adventurers who were passionate about hunting Vida’s races, as well as the more ill-natured mercenaries.

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

nVandalieu’s 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 didn’t hesitate to abandon the ones he didn’t care about.

nWith that said, he wasn’t proactively killing them, either. His Demon King Familiars just wouldn’t do anything for them. If they were resourceful enough to escape from their predicaments on their own, they would probably survive.

n“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.

nHe had been informed that some of the soldiers had been surrounded by Bone Man and Knochen’s split entities, and were desperately trying to retreat while being attacked from all sides.

n“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.

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

n“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.

nThey had been sent by their respective dukes in response to Duke Sauron’s request for aid, but they didn’t intend to follow this army into the grave. They would risk their lives in battle if there was hope for victory, but they didn’t intend to die meaningless deaths if victory was clearly impossible.

nDuring 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.

nThe ‘Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory’ roared, radiating a terrifying bloodlust that would cause even the most fearless of men to tremble. “Whoever wants to die, come and face me!”

n“I-It’s the Grim Reaper! The ‘Grim Reaper of the Former Scylla Territory’ is here!”

n“Don’t falter! Maintain your formations! Attack it with arrows and long-ranged spells while our heavy knights pin him down!”

n“It won’t work! That black armor of his won’t be pierced by normal spells!”

nBorkus had previously defeated Colossi in battle – demigods whose power exceeded Rank 13. These men, whose strength was equivalent to that of B-class 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.

nOrdinary arrows and spells couldn’t get through Borkus’s 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.

nThe heavily-armored knights charged into him and simply bounced off, rolling like balls across the ground.

n“I have a message! Bravatiyu-dono, the ‘Knight of Roaring Flames,’ has fallen!” a messenger shouted.

n“What?!” General Polbork uttered.

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

n“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.

n“No… The ‘Knight of Roaring Flames’…!” whispered Ralmeya’s mage subordinate.

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

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

n“… General, please give your orders!” Ralmeya’s mage subordinate urged.

nGeneral Polbork finally made his decision. “All forces, retreat! The rear will be guarded by the criminal slave suicide battalion and us, the Sauron Duchy’s army! Go and save Baldiria-dono!”

nAnd 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.

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

nSome 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 battle’s outcome was due to the ability of the soldiers, not the ability of General Polbork.

nThe 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.

nThe Alcrem house lost Bravatiyu and both of Baldiria’s 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 Duchy’s army, whose soldiers were previously ridiculed as being good at nothing but counting coins, was renewed.

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

n“… 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 Man’s sword, as he ran his fingers over the hole in his breastplate.

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

n“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 scraped some of my bones, and that was the most painful moment.”

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

nNaturally, 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.

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

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

n“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…”

n“I’m the one who designed the equipment that gives her that ‘shocking appearance,’ and I’m 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.

n“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.’”

n“She changed her mind after my mother persuaded her, didn’t she?” the Demon King Familiar said, drawing closer.

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

nA floating mass of flesh appeared beside him as well… Legion.

n“Now then, it’s time for your ‘Youth Transformation’ and cosmetic surgery,” Vandalieu said.

n“As previously discussed, you’re now going to be reborn as Bravatiyu Junior, the illegitimate child of Bravatiyu,” said Legion’s Isis.

nThe 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.’

nDuke Takkard Alcrem, the other members of the Five Knights, their direct subordinates, and Bravatiyu’s family had all been informed of this.

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

n“Yes, yes, I have to go through an inspection soon so I’ll be hurrying this along,” said Vandalieu.

n“If you doubt us too much, I’m going to add a few eyes and noses to your face, okay?” said Isis.

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

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

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

nKnochen groaned in agreement.

nThe royal realm of the Orbaume Kingdom, some time after the battle at the former Scylla territory and Bravatiyu’s treatment.

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

nThese 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 noble.

nOne 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.

nShe 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 didn’t have, and she had a voluptuous figure. But she was by no means chubby, and there wasn’t a single inch of her body that was sagging. Her face was among the most beautiful out of any the guard had ever seen.

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

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

n“Go aheeead,” the woman said.

nHer 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.

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

nUnlike 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.

nBut Eisen’s tamer insisted that he had tamed her, and she did indeed obey his commands.

nShe hadn’t caused any trouble while they were waiting in line to be inspected. She hadn’t frightened any of the other merchants and travelers… This fact was true, even if it was only because the merchants and travelers had assumed that she was a person with an unusual appearance, rather than a monster.

nAnd although all tamers had to go through this inspection even if they were the child of an honorary noble, the law didn’t 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.

nTo 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.

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

nHowever, the problem was…

n“You’re sure this is okay, right?!” he asked once more.

nThe problem was the boy who was Eisen’s tamer, who was currently radiating a terrifying killing intent towards the guard.

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

n“Yes! Please do it quickly while we’re still holding him back!”

nSimon groaned in exertion. “I pray these arms of mine will hold!”

n“Don’t worry about us! More importantly, hurry up!” Miriam shouted desperately.

nThe guard did a light jab – a truly light one – in Eisen’s direction.

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

n

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