Chapter 105: The Demon Lord’s Army of Dreams and Hopes! Defeat the Hero’s Party!

War.

As it was a battle for the very right of their races to exist, both sides gathered all they had.

The soldiers dragged from the Empire didn’t seem to grasp the atmosphere, but they had all been turned into brainwashed soldiers. Ironically, the men had even been gender-swapped and now stood on the battlefield in perverted-looking states.

The atmosphere was tense… In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for either side to explode at any moment, the surrender demand sent by the King of Libra could be summarized as follows.

「A warning from the King of Libra to Sloth, the Demon Lord’s Army’s strategist. Our entire Hero’s Party is fully equipped with the royal family’s legendary heirlooms, slathered in full buffs and full doping, and in peak condition. We’re charging right now. They will charge exactly five minutes after this letter arrives. Surrender now and we’ll spare your lives. Refuse, and you die. If you’re thinking of foolishly challenging us despite this power gap, that’s a truly idiotic move, so I hope you’ll just quietly bow your heads. I’m old and don’t have much time left, so a war like this feels like a real waste of time.」

—Of course, it wasn’t actually written in such a tone.

However, the contents were so flippant they went beyond mere provocation for a pre-war declaration, so this summary certainly captured the feeling. It was packed with lines that made one question his suitability as a king—boasting about decking out those monsters with full gear, full buffs, and full doping in peak condition… The letter also revealed much about how carefree he felt, as he was soon to abdicate the throne.

“That old man… once this fight is over, he’ll probably spend his days frolicking with women.”

Inside the barracks, he sat on an extravagantly decorated chair, completely out of place, and after crossing his legs, he crumpled up the letter and threw it in the faces of his strategists. While Sloth’s attitude was infuriating, the purple-faced monster who’d been hit by the letter merely responded in a displeased tone.

“What is it? Do you know the King of Libra?”

“It’s not that. The memories of this body’s original owner, <Lord Bere>, dealing with the King of Libra, are still vivid. He won a great victory in the war against the Demon Lord’s army and has a decent reputation, earning him the title of the ‘Wise King,’ but in truth, he’s an old lecher… Once this is over, it’s obvious he’ll pass the throne to his son and laze around under the pretext of recuperating.”

“In that case, would a honey trap not have worked?”

“If it had, taking the Libra Kingdom would have been much easier…”

“He may be fond of women, but he’s not that much of a fool. More importantly, we don’t have time to regret what ‘could have been.’ We’re in a situation where we should be writing our last wills, yet here we are grumbling about the past. There’s no greater waste of time.”

“”””………………””””

Beyond the screen floating in the center of the barracks, they could be seen.

The human army.

Demi-humans who had heeded the call, the dragon horde convinced by Reina, new recruits gathered triumphantly after the last war’s victory, reinforcements funded by various small nations, adventurers who answered the Guild’s call, and the main force of the Libra Kingdom’s soldiers, along with the Hero’s Party…

“Quite a spectacle, isn’t it.”

“Did you mean to say ‘despair’?”

“They’re one and the same. Hah, now that things have come to this, I suppose this body is no longer needed… Heave-ho~!”

The slime that had been controlling the bald lord’s body popped out, and the borrowed flesh shriveled into an empty husk and vanished. The glowing purple monster wriggled its freely flowing body, its eye—which also appeared to be its core—darting about.

“What are the enemy’s numbers?”

“Around 200,000 in total, they say. The King of Libra’s letter claimed they had 500,000 prepared… that was probably a lie.”

“Of course. Even if they won a great victory with the Hero’s Party, they’ve also just finished a war. Gathering 200,000 is a miracle in itself. It’s safe to assume they’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel for every able-bodied person. Ah, and how many have we gathered in comparison?”

“350,000.”

“We have them outnumbered, then.”

“However, 200,000 of them are conscripts…”

“Just Imperial citizens incapable of combat and random trash wandering near the Demon Lord’s territory, scraped together and turned into undead… They probably won’t even make for proper meat shields…”

“And even our regular soldiers…”

“…It’s hopeless.”

“What about the rest of the soldiers?”

“Brainwashed soldiers. The Empire’s soldiers are strong, but having been turned into brainwashed troops, they can only follow simple commands. Coordinated maneuvers will be impossible, and even simple tactics like an ambush will be out of the question.”

“At this rate, there’s no reason for us strategists to even exist…”

“Don’t say that! We still have the superior numbers! No matter how strong the Hero’s Party is, with this many, we can somehow—!!”

“—Uooogh?!”

Just as one of the strategists raised a death flag, a deafening roar and an intense flash of light shook the entire tent from beyond the screen.

“……What was that?”

“An attack from the Hero’s Party. It was a light-attribute attack, so it was likely the work of that little priest.”

“………………”

Beyond the screen, the flash faded, revealing that a portion of the Demon Lord’s army, which had been in a standoff, had vanished. Literally ‘trampled’ by a pillar of light that fell from the sky, everyone who had been standing there was annihilated. And despite being so far away, one of the necromancy-affiliated strategists was bleeding from his forehead.

“How many died just now?”

“1,000… no, 2,000…?”

“I see… So much for superior numbers. If we keep taking hits like that, we’ll be annihilated.”

“……How unreasonable.”

“I knew this was an impossible fight, but… this is too much…!!”

“What in the world…”

To hell with war. We scraped together all the numbers we could, but a single attack wiped out a piece of the terrain. It was expected, but in this excessively hopeless situation, the only ones who could lead them were Sloth and the strategists who had experience fighting the Hero’s Party. In particular, he, the leader of this group of losers, formed his slime body into a human-like shape, extended what looked like a hand, and issued a command to the entire Demon Lord’s army.

『I, Sloth, one of the Four Heavenly Kings representing the Demon Lord’s army, command you! All forces, advance! If you hesitate, another attack like that will come! Forget strategy! Push in and force a chaotic melee so they can’t deploy large-scale spells!』

“Will that be alright?!”

“Our goal is to see one last blaze of glory. Victory is just a bonus that might fall into our laps if we’re lucky. Right now, if we try any half-baked strategies, there won’t even be bones left of us…”

──BOOOOOM!!!

Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!

“…So they’ve started, too.”

The drums beat and the world began to seethe. It was a massive war with a combined force of over 500,000 troops. At this point, the surrounding area was filled with nothing but the shouts of men, and the same went for the barracks, where even a simple conversation was difficult without the use of magic. Fortunately, one of the strategists could cast such a spell, and the barracks fell silent, but no one spoke a word.

‘A battle this absurd… this can’t be a war.’

As Sloth watched the floating screen with his hands behind his back, the strategists who had agreed to this plan also stared grimly at the battle.

200,000 versus 350,000. It sounds good on paper.

Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought it was ‘the greatest match of the century, with the fate of the world at stake.’

‘And this is the result…’

‘This is it…’

‘…This is a battle?’

‘Unbelievable…’

Among them, those who had wished for such a battle more than anyone in the world now closed their eyes in despair.

Because this wasn’t a battle.

“Someone’s flying. Could you zoom in over there?”

“…Yes.”

The one illuminating the battlefield with magic zoomed in on the screen, focusing on Gara.

『HOOOOAAAAAHHH!!!!! HAAAAAAHT!!!!! HAAAAAA!!!!!!』

『BWUGEHEEEEEE!!!!!!』

Unlike usual, here was a monstrous knight in shining armor, swinging a greatsword that looked to be 20 to 30 times his own height, sending enemies flying. The greatsword was wide, thick, and solid—it was more suited to swatting enemies away than cutting them—and the brainwashed soldiers, undead, and monsters surging toward Gara were sent flying through the air like tennis balls, inflicting secondary damage where they landed.

One swing, 100 down. Two swings, 200. Three, 300. His kill count inflated like a balloon as Gara rampaged like the protagonist of a Musou game. Was it because of the greatsword’s length and width? Firing arrows or magic from a distance was pointless. With every swing, they were struck by its broad face and sent flying away along with the soldiers.

“A-a golem! Send in the golem! The extra-large one we prepared specially for this day! Deploy it!”

‘I doubt it will even leave a scratch, though…’

And just as Sloth predicted.

—Clang!

“Impossible…?!”

The large golem they had painstakingly prepared was sent tumbling toward a nearby mountain with a crisp sound, like a bat hitting a baseball. To think it was overpowered and knocked down in a single blow by a human who was no bigger than its fingernail. It was a truly pathetic sight, twitching on the ground, unable to get up after suffering a critical but not-quite-fatal blow.

“Is a human… even allowed to be that strong…?”

‘No, they’re not.’

Everyone felt the same.

As if in response, a second pillar of light descended in a circle, annihilating another portion of the Demon Lord’s army.

“That priest again…!!”

“Does he know no limits?! Magic of this scale should be shaving off his lifespan!”

“No, look at that.”

As they turned their attention from Gara to Tei, they witnessed a scene of pure madness and bared their teeth.

“What… is that…?”

“……A tree?”

『『『『『Uguhoooooot—♡♡♡♡』』』』』

With unpleasant moans, a group of elves screamed like sows in heat. They were joyfully grinding their vaginas against the roots of a giant tree erected in the middle of the enemy lines, pouring out their magical energy.

『Ah, eh, eha♡ Uheu♡ Eh♡ Et♡ Eh♡ Eeeeeh♡』

『Here, Tei, your magic is charged, right? Should we give you more if it’s not enough?』

『Mheee~♡ Ek♡ Eh♡ Eh♡ Eh♡ Bwhe~♡』

At the source of the great tree’s magic was none other than Tei. With his lower body thrust into the massive thing, presumably summoned by Lina, he was absorbing the magic of the surrounding elves and emitting light. The sight of him drawing a holy magic circle with his wide-open mouth and tongue was utterly bizarre, making it hard to see him as a priest, yet he summoned another pillar of light, and the damage was immense.

“Ugh?!”

“Dammit!”

“That damn kid is a problem, but unless I’m mistaken, aren’t there two pillars of light rising now?!”

“If someone’s firing those off without any support, the culprit must be the Hero!”

“That monstrous bloodline!!!”

Beep!

The next scene was, as expected, the Hero.

While Tei was firing off large-scale holy magic with support from Lina and the elves, this monster was on another level.

『Hmph, that makes 20,000!』

With the Hero’s mighty roar, a new pillar of light fell. She herself swung her extending sword, stole the magic from the enemies she’d just killed, and conjured a magic circle to cast the spell on the spot. In terms of scale, it was smaller than Tei’s, but it was still about 70% as powerful as the original. What’s more, she was repeating this feat instantly without any help from Lina or the other elves, and was even keeping score. It was absurd.

“Humans… why are they so unreasonable…!!”

“We just want to live in peace (by enslaving the weak)!!!”

“Why does God only smile upon humans!”

『GAAAAAAL!!!!!!』

As if mocking the strategists’ screams, she let out another roar, and the shockwave alone killed countless soldiers. She pierced forward with her extending sword, killing dozens more. She stomped her foot, shattering the ground and killing hundreds. She called down a pillar with the magic stolen from the corpses, and with that, thousands died.

A storm, a torrential downpour, lightning… a walking natural disaster…

It was a massacre far too extreme to have occurred in the less than twenty minutes since the order for a melee was given…

As if that wasn’t enough, the Hero left the area she had just wiped clean and ran toward a part of the battlefield that looked like it might become a proper melee, gathering light in her sword to charge a finishing move.

『You demons who disturb the earth, you dead who reach for the world of the living—all of you, go to the next world and sing your praises and chant your sutras!!!!!』

The light gathered in her sword shot forward, becoming an even longer, deadlier weapon.

『Judgment Blade!!』

The moment it vertically sliced through the battlefield, all the air in the world seemed to tear, all shouts vanished, and the mountain visible beyond the horizon in front of the Hero split clean in two. It was a cataclysm, as if she had reforged a pillar of light from the heavens into a longsword and swung it.

“Ha… huha… haaaa…?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?!”

“H-Hey! Why are you dying!!!”

The attack from this cheat Hero was so absurd that its aftershock reached the command tent. Despite being a considerable distance from the main battlefield, not only was the top of the tent torn away, but a ghost-form executive touched by the sword’s shockwave died instantly.

『Ahahahaha!!! Ahahahahahaha!!!! How refreshing~!!』

It wasn’t a technique meant to be used in a place like this, but with no Demon Lord around, she seemed to be enjoying herself, just like Gara and Tei. She was clearly venting all the anger from when she was captured and tortured by the Demon Lord’s army. Showing no intention of stopping this fun game, after unleashing her finishing move, she began absorbing magic from the corpses she’d made to prepare a new technique, moving like a perpetual motion machine.

“That… is the Hero……”

“She revives somewhere in the world even if she dies, she recovers magic the more enemies she kills, her natural healing is outstanding, and any status ailment that worked once won’t work a second time……”

“………………”

Did she realize the strategists were watching? She spread her arms wide in their direction.

『You’re watching, right? You are watching, aren’t you? Slooooth~! I haven’t forgotten what you did back then~! The disgrace, the humiliation, the pain you inflicted on me! I remember it all! Ahahahahahaha!!!!』

“Hiii…”

The monster using the communication magic, which was showing a frontal view of the battlefield and the Hero’s face, hastily shifted the viewpoint to the side, toward her cheek, but the Hero’s gaze followed it precisely.

『You were always like this… A fool who always makes the same mistakes, an optimist who thinks torturing me will solve everything, an idiot who thinks I’ll succumb to your evil and despair…! Now you’ll learn exactly who you picked a fight with! Scream at your own foolishness for throwing away the chance to live out the rest of your life peacefully in hiding! Curse this world that gave birth to me, despair at your own powerlessness, and then just rust away and die!!!!』

Ping!

“—Kuaargh?!”

With the Hero’s final message, the very air was sliced, and the monster inside the barracks using the communication magic was split in half and died.

“She has a record of being affected by Gast’s crystal ball… but even so, to cut through communication magic itself… she’s completely off the charts…!!”

“Does that monster not even permit us to watch!!!”

As the Demon Lord’s army crumbled on its own, only one person remained quiet: Sloth.

‘Indeed. Can that monster be stopped after we’re dead? Honestly, I’m half in doubt, but I suppose I have no choice but to entrust my body to this.’

While the strategists and executives screamed, he sat quietly, entrusting his body to the glowing red magic circle beneath his chair. Dragons flew in through the hole blown open in the tent by the Hero’s attack, and even as the breath of a red dragon, presumed to be Reina, was about to be witnessed, he did not rise from his seat.