Ch.131131. Gold Vein

The Hero of this generation is truly bizarre.

This was the general assessment of Hero Erick Wellesley by the Demon Lord’s army.

Of course, in terms of bizarreness, he couldn’t match the previous generation’s Hero. If they had known from the beginning that Gwon Heejin was “that kind” of Hero, they would have exploited him quite profitably, but by the time the Demon Lord’s army figured out his true nature, he had already been apprehended.

After a period of vacancy, Erick Wellesley emerged as the new Hero.

At one point, the Demon Lord’s army had expectations for Erick.

Not hoping he would be an idiot like Gwon Heejin, but expecting him to follow the typical path of a Hero. They believed the Goddess, having been burned by Gwon Heejin, had made a more stable choice.

“Your Majesty. That Iclit… no, Iclit believes that Erick Wellesley is acting as the Empire’s brain. That might be true. However, becoming the Hero is essentially like wearing a leash.”

“Why do you see it that way?”

“Erick Wellesley is from the Empire. Unlike Heroes summoned from another world, he is bound by status, connections, and reputation. The Empire… especially those of high status, will never allow the Hero to act independently.”

“You mean he won’t be able to spread his wings because he’s constrained by the checks and balances of the imperial family and nobility.”

“He will likely be a Hero with less discretion than any before him. He’ll have to consider the interests of various groups.”

A Hero forcibly leashed due to the previous Hero’s transgressions and the constraints around him.

Not all demons agreed with this assessment. Iclit, at least, maintained until the end that “the new Hero must be watched carefully.” But even that wasn’t a hardline position. Iclit had also become more relaxed since becoming part of the Tetrad.

…However, the Hero overturned this reputation in an instant.

Defeating New Tetrad member Olber’s forces in one fell swoop,

Having a suspicious meeting with the Beast King,

And then immediately returning to capture and kill Iclit.

This was the moment when the Demon Lord’s army’s expectation that Erick Wellesley would recklessly charge into the Demonic Land like Heroes before Gwon Heejin was completely shattered.

By then, the Demon Lord’s army acknowledged that Erick Wellesley was infinitely far from being a conventional Hero, but it was already too late.

Iclit, who had been most wary of the Hero, was already dead, and the succubi who had served as the eyes and ears of the Demon Lord’s army could no longer be utilized.

Although not all succubi had betrayed the Demon Lord’s army, the reality was essentially the same. It was impossible to identify who the traitors were.

Eventually, the Demon Lord’s army abandoned the practice of using succubi as spies. They decided that complete darkness was better than being swayed by unreliable information.

The one fortunate thing in all this was that they weren’t exactly losing the war against the Empire.

This wasn’t self-deception but reality. The Empire was rotting to its core, and the other nations had completely collapsed. The only reason the atmosphere in the Demon Lord’s castle was unsettled was because they couldn’t predict the Hero’s next move.

The Beast King’s report arrived when this unrest was at its peak.

The Demon Lord personally received the Beast King’s direct report.

The Demon Lord wasn’t in a position to reject the Beast King simply because of lack of trust. Above all, once the Beast King brought up the topic of ‘gold,’ rejection was not an option.

The conversation between the Beast King and the Demon Lord proceeded with subtle tension.

“You said you found gold?”

“I found placer gold. There were even nuggets the size of pebbles embedded in bedrock crevices. There’s a high possibility of a gold vein nearby, and a large one at that.”

“How do you know that?”

“The Hero shared relevant knowledge. As you know, he’s obsessed with gold.”

“Then you haven’t yet informed the Hero…”

“No, I haven’t. But I plan to tell him soon.”

“Even if I don’t permit it?”

To this question from the Demon Lord, the Beast King hesitated briefly before answering, “I live only for the benefit of my people.” Despite being a member of the Tetrad, he was prioritizing his subordinates over the Demon Lord’s instructions.

The Demon Lord didn’t point out the Beast King’s disloyalty. He hadn’t expected any to begin with.

Instead, the Demon Lord began laying groundwork to attempt a deal with him.

“Fine. Tell the Hero. …But I’m curious about something. Why did you notify me in advance when you could have just informed him?”

“That’s…”

“Probably because you don’t want to make an enemy of me.”

“……”

“I see you’re not denying it. But how long do you think you can hold out like this? Until the Hero and I settle things? No matter who wins, it won’t be good for your beloved beast people. It will likely be worse than now.”

“Our predicament isn’t unrelated to the Demon Lord’s castle…”

“Of course. But that doesn’t mean all possibility for cooperation has disappeared. If you grant me one simple favor, I’m willing to change my stance regarding your people.”

The Beast King was speechless for a while.

At that moment, the Demon Lord added, as if doing him a favor, that he had the ‘intention’ of looking after the convenience of the beast people.

This was something the Demon Lord had never said before. While he might have treated the Beast King well, he detested caring for weaker individuals. He found it pathetic that the Beast King looked after those who had lost their combat ability due to old age.

When the Demon Lord finally showed a progressive attitude, the Beast King couldn’t refuse.

“What do you want me to do?”

In the end, the Beast King swallowed his pride and became compliant.

The Demon Lord issued a few simple instructions to him.

***

‘The beast people were really treated like garbage.’

This thought crossed my mind as I received the Beast King’s message that he had successfully baited the Demon Lord.

I had actually expected the Demon Lord to bring the Beast King into the castle unarmed and subject him to thorough verification. Or perhaps send several high-ranking demons to confirm if placer gold had really been discovered.

That’s why I called it a gamble, but now I felt embarrassed for even calling it that. It wasn’t even at the level of dice gambling, let alone a lottery.

“The Demon Lord instructed me to inform you about the gold. However, there were two conditions… First, to announce that any gold veins discovered in beast territory would be entirely owned by the Hero. He also said not to hand over any gold unless that condition was met.”

“Not a stupid instruction. If there really was gold.”

Of course, the crisis the Empire was facing couldn’t be solved just by increasing gold mining. The imbalance of assets and shattered productivity were bigger problems than currency shortage.

And the more fundamental issue was people’s distorted perceptions.

What if rumors spread that I was making another fortune in the midst of all this?

It would be hard to count how many people would either envy me or hold out their hands. I might even be treated like a walking winning lottery ticket.

Moreover, the Demon Lord’s instructions didn’t end there.

“He also ordered me to bring equipment and personnel needed for gold vein exploration to the border. He even said human forces could accompany them. Ordinary humans would die en masse if even a single basilisk appeared.”

It was an instruction to lure as many imperial personnel as possible using gold vein exploration as bait.

This wasn’t about giving the Empire a taste of real gold ore; it was about planning a special welcome ceremony for the workers who would flock in search of gold veins. A ceremony where none would return alive, all buried there.

“So he means to kill them all. You realize this puts you in a difficult position?”

“He said he would give me an excuse to save face. He said he would send high-ranking demons to handle it instead. It seemed like he was telling me to blame everything on the Demon Lord’s castle and wash my hands of it.”

“By high-ranking demons, you mean…?”

“I think Chief of Staff Bynessa will come personally.”

After hearing this, I finally began to understand.

‘He means to brand me as the scum of the continent. I’ll be accused of monopolizing a newly discovered gold vein, and worse, sacrificing innocent lives just to find more gold.’

I thought that if it had been Iclit, he would have used an even more vile and deadly move, but the concept itself wasn’t stupid.

To be honest, the Demon Lord’s arrogant attitude was more problematic than the plan itself. That arrogance of viewing the Beast King as just a beast that fights well.

If the Demon Lord had been just a bit more attentive…

As I thought this far, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It seemed absurd to criticize the political acumen of the Demon Lord, a being who had risen to the pinnacle of the Demonic Land with the blood of countless high-ranking demons on his hands.

It was strange to begin with that the Demon Lord was using such petty schemes.

It would have been more normal for him to proclaim the conquest of humanity while grinding down his forces, or to constantly attempt assassinations to eliminate his adversary, the Hero.

The Demon Lord’s army’s uncharacteristic use of cunning was ultimately due to humans’ improper conditioning. They probably developed a taste for it after seeing how easily humanity crumbled when their messy emotions were gently stimulated.

‘Well, having found an easy path, why would they abandon it now?’

It seemed they were continuing these tactics because of a bad habit they had developed. If they had mobilized large-scale forces with a do-or-die mentality, it would have been truly difficult for me to deal with.

Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing from my perspective. I could capture the high-ranking demon coming to massacre the gold exploration personnel and immediately infiltrate the Demonic Land.

No, if done well, I might even be able to fly straight to the Demon Lord’s castle.

“Good. I’ll see them soon then.”

“Understood. …Just know that the Demon Lord is very powerful. I didn’t beg him for a direct confrontation for nothing.”

This was the Beast King’s final warning. Since the Beast King wouldn’t say such things out of needless concern, it was probably true that the Demon Lord possessed transcendent power.

However, I felt no fear.

It wasn’t because I was confident I could crush the Demon Lord. Rather, having continued fighting unwinnable battles, I had unconsciously become more bold. At least with the Demon Lord, the concept of victory or defeat would apply.

I began to contemplate how to turn the Demon Lord’s strategy against him.

Unlike me, lost in thought, the imperial capital was buzzing with excitement. No one was concerned about the Demon Lord’s army.

The reason was simple.

The historic first drawing of the Empire’s lottery was about to begin.