The demon was confident of victory. In the previous attack, they had succeeded in inflicting considerable damage on the humans. They had gathered the same number of monsters this time. Surely the humans had no way to defend against them now.
As the human town called Arkand came into view, the demon raised its voice. It wasn’t in their own language, but a roar that stimulated the fighting spirit of the monsters. In other words, an attack order.
The monsters began to run, as if venting the frustration of having to march obediently against their rough nature. The monsters, like the demons, are subordinates of the same god. Though low in intelligence, they instinctively dislike humans, who are subordinates of an opposing god.
The monsters led by the demon were mostly goblins. About the size of human children, they’re said to be the weakest of monsters. Though weak individually, they’re somewhat useful in group battles. They’re sufficient for making up numbers.
The demon glanced at the ten monsters around it.
Hobgoblins. Although they look similar to goblins, they boast an impressive physique surpassing that of human men. They’re also relatively intelligent and skilled with weapons, stronger than most human warriors even individually.
The hobgoblins twitched at the demon’s voice but quickly restrained themselves and remained in place. Seeing this, the demon was satisfied. Even among humans, the wise ones aim for the demon. To prepare for this, the demon keeps the hobgoblins as personal guards.
With this, there’s no chance of defeat.
Demons are the chosen ones of god. They must not fall behind humans.
The demon slowly approached the town with the hobgoblins. The battle had already begun, and although the humans were desperately resisting, we had the numerical advantage. They couldn’t possibly hold out.
The ogres, known for their strength, were trying to break down the gates while being shot full of arrows.
Ogres are humanoid monsters with horns, even larger than hobgoblins. They’re particularly hated by humans because they eat people.
The end was near. Before the demon realized it, all the monsters except for the hobgoblin guards had entered the town to attack. But that wasn’t a problem. The humans surely had no means of counterattack left.
(Hmm?)
At that moment, the demon sensed a surge of magical power. This sensation comes when being targeted by magic.
[Darkness born from shadows, protect me]
The demon chanted a simple spell to create a barrier as a defense. While there are individual differences in humans’ ability to use magic, almost all demons can use it without exception.
Without a moment’s delay, a thunderous roar echoed, and strong magical power crashed into the demon’s barrier. It seemed to be an explosion-type spell. Unable to completely block it, two hobgoblins were defeated.
(As expected, a magic user. Was there an ambush?)
Magic isn’t omnipotent. The direction of the magical power surge gives a rough idea of the caster’s position. The magic user’s location was in the opposite direction from the town.
(Did they wait until the monsters around decreased?)
The demon considered it a rational decision. If they had attacked earlier, they could have prolonged the battle for the town, but it seemed the opponent had used the town as bait to target the demon.
It’s an effective strategy against the Demon King’s army, which can’t afford to lose the demons who command the monsters.
Of course, the demon had no intention of letting them cast another spell unopposed. Pointing in the direction where the magic user was hiding, the demon sent three hobgoblins running. The demon itself drew its sword, preparing for enemy attacks.
It’s unlikely that only a magic user is lurking. There should be warriors nearby as well.
As the demon had the remaining five hobgoblins stay alert to their surroundings, someone suddenly attacked from above. A human warrior with a spear impaled one of the hobgoblins from overhead.
The hobgoblin let out a short scream before dying.
The demon immediately tried to surround the warrior, but a sword-wielding warrior emerged from the grass, catching a hobgoblin off guard and cutting it down. Three hobgoblins remained.
The three sent to search for the magic user didn’t return. They must have been defeated—though the demon didn’t sense being targeted by magic.
Now it was four against two, including the demon. The situation wasn’t too bad. The demon decided to face the sword-wielding warrior itself, directing the three hobgoblins towards the spear-wielding warrior.
When possible, the demon preferred one-on-one battles. It was confident in its own strength.
The demon swung its great sword as if to slam it down.
Demons often wielded massive swords to fully demonstrate their power. In fact, no matter how skilled, few humans could directly withstand a demon’s mighty sword.
The warrior avoided the blow by staying just out of range.
(Then I’ll just have to close in)
Humans are obsessed with honing their sword skills, but that’s only because there isn’t much difference in individual strength, so they try to gain an advantage through technique. If one can simply overwhelm with power, there’s no room for technique to come into play. Indeed, the demon moved to its next attack instantly after seeing the warrior’s evasive movement. The target was the head. There was no opening in that initial strike.
However, the warrior also stepped in simultaneously. Faster than the demon. As if predicting the trajectory of the next attack, the warrior took a low stance and swung their sword.
The demon’s sword cut through the air, while the warrior’s sword slashed the demon’s leg.
[Such a vile sword!]
The demon cried out involuntarily.
While chivalry doesn’t exist in the demon world, there are still some unspoken rules.
Basically, it’s assumed that strength or magical power will be directly confronted. That’s how they determine the winner and clearly show who is superior.
Clearly establishing power relationships. That’s what’s important to demons.
Therefore, underhanded fighting methods like targeting legs are not favored.
Fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep. But the demon couldn’t put weight on that leg anymore.
The demon swung its great sword using only its upper body. The reach of the great sword was long, still posing a significant threat. However, the warrior didn’t engage directly, instead circling around the demon looking for blind spots. Whenever an opening appeared, the warrior would approach, land a strike, and retreat.
The demon’s body accumulated more and more wounds. The initial leg wound prevented it from moving as desired.
Glancing towards the hobgoblins, the demon realized they had somehow been drawn away.
The spear-wielding warrior had lured the hobgoblins into battle, separating them from the demon.
The demon was about to call for help but stopped himself. His pride wouldn’t allow him to seek assistance from the lowly monsters he despised.
He wished he could at least use magic. However, the warrior seemed to anticipate his intentions, launching relentless attacks.
(This human understands us well)
The demon sensed it. The warrior had challenged him with a thorough understanding of demon-kind. He came to defeat him like hunting prey, not allowing him to do anything.
Finally, their eyes met face-to-face. By now, the demon’s body was covered in wounds and wouldn’t move as he wished.
The warrior’s eyes seemed to pity him.
Yet, deep within them, the demon sensed intense hatred.
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“Finally dead, huh?”
I caught my breath at last, facing the demon who had fallen to the ground motionless.
Demons are more rational than humans, but even they show traces of pride in battle. Unless there’s a significant difference in power, exploiting that weakness makes them beatable.
If even one hobgoblin had remained, my chances of winning would have been slim. But this demon, wanting to fight one-on-one, deliberately sent all three hobgoblins towards Efsei. That was his conceit.
Still, I didn’t escape unscathed. The demon’s sword had grazed my side, leaving a considerable wound. I’ve hastily bandaged it with cloth, but truthfully, even walking is painful.
“Well, I’d better go help out now.”
I stood up, sweating profusely.
I managed to take down the first one by surprise, but hobgoblins are formidable monsters. While one might be manageable, facing three simultaneously is nearly impossible to win.
Efsei’s weapon, a spear with good reach, allows him to keep the hobgoblins at bay, but he must be sweating bullets inside.
Moreover, Sophia and Nina should be returning soon. Those two are fleeing while luring the hobgoblins. Hobgoblins, burdened by weapons and armor, aren’t particularly fast. On the other hand, Sophia the mage and Nina the priestess, wearing no armor, are light and quick on their feet. They should be maintaining a perfect distance while escaping, using this difference to their advantage.
After drawing away the guards like that, I would defeat the demon. This was our strategy for this mission.
“…I’m exhausted. Hey, did you know? A mage’s job is to move their mouth, not their feet. That’s a horse’s job. Leonard, aren’t you misusing your comrades?”
Sophia, sitting down exhausted, complained bitterly.
“Even mages need stamina. It’s better to be versatile.”
“Then why don’t you try using magic?”
“I’ll consider it.”
I shrugged.
“I found this strategy tiring as well. The hobgoblins weren’t fast, but they never tired and kept chasing us endlessly. I even prayed to God midway. For ‘help’.”
Unusually, Nina jokingly expressed her fatigue. Despite having enhanced her body with divine miracles, she seems quite exhausted, perhaps due to the backlash.
We managed to take down the three hobgoblins chasing the two by launching a surprise attack from behind.
Meanwhile, Efsei sat silently on a rock. With his spear resting on his shoulder, his head hung low. He seems physically and mentally drained from his precarious maneuvering.
We easily defeated the hobgoblins Efsei was facing when we all finally regrouped. This too was according to plan. But everyone was tired. Even though I’ve been healed, the pain in my side hasn’t fully subsided.
“Nina, I need a prayer to recover from fatigue. At this rate, we’ll lose the town.”
Defeating the demon doesn’t change the fact that Arcand is at a disadvantage.
We need to return to town now and let the monsters know we’ve defeated the demon. For that, we need to recover from our fatigue. It’s good that we defeated the demon, but it would be a joke if the town fell and we didn’t get paid.
“Leonard, your side wound was the deepest. Even though I healed it earlier, isn’t it still painful? Maybe you should rest a bit more…”
Nina showed concern for me.
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about our reward. If we don’t get back to town soon, we’ll run out of time.”
As I forced a smile through my pained expression, Nina silently began to pray to her God.
Meanwhile, I gazed at the face of the dead demon. His expression was literally that of an evil spirit. He must have been dissatisfied with being defeated by my underhanded tactics.
I have to cut off his head. We need to brandish the demon’s head to intimidate the monsters and force them to retreat.
“Don’t glare at me like that. I’m sure I won’t have a decent death either.”
I’m well aware that my own death will likely be miserable.
The demon’s head proved incredibly effective. As soon as we returned to town and displayed it, the monsters fled in fear. It was worth pushing ourselves to return.
However, it seems we cut it very close timing-wise.
The elderly knight acting as the lord’s proxy in the town’s defense gave us a skillful response, half gratitude and half anger.
He thanked us for defeating the demon but complained that considerable time had passed since the town was attacked, resulting in heavy casualties among the defense forces. Regardless of whether they were knights, soldiers, or adventurers, half had fallen in battle.
“Couldn’t you have defeated the demon a little sooner?”
His expression was filled with grief. He probably lost someone close to him.
In contrast, none of us had suffered any casualties. That’s what he couldn’t accept.
He wanted to say we hadn’t fought with our lives on the line.
“Our job was to take down the demon, not to save the town. We fulfilled our duty.”
That’s all I could say. There’s only so much people can do. If we were heroes, maybe we would have worked more selflessly, but that’s not who we are.
The lord generously approved the reward I demanded. The death of the demon, a commander in the Demon King’s army, meant a period of peace for the town, albeit likely not a long one.
While waiting for next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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