Chapter 305

Chapter 305

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 305: Stop Ganging Up On Me! (9)

ㅡThunk!

ㅡSplat!

“Keaaaargh!”

The front-line soldiers were falling.

Exhausted from the march and equipped with inferior gear, it was no surprise the front lines were collapsing.

“Kyaaaaargh!”

Amidst this chaos, a translucent, purple, specter-like apparition burst forth, causing further disarray on the battlefield. The front lines quickly crumbled.

At that moment—

ㅡScreeech!

The sky brightened. Despite the enemy’s onslaught, the soldiers couldn’t help but gaze upward.

“…Beautiful.”

A young soldier muttered blankly.

“A… foreboding… star.”

An old soldier murmurred in reply.

ㅡScreeech!

Of course, such sentiments are reduced to dust as the angels’ black flames descend.

ㅡBoom!

ㅡBoom!

With massive explosions, soldiers burst apart. Due to their dense formation, the damage was even greater. They’d reformed their lines quickly after the previous chaos, but now it proved fatal.

“Ah…”

Veteran Sergeant Barik, a man accustomed to war, struggled to keep his composure.

“Sergeant Barik! Sergeant Barik!”

“Graaargh!”

This was an unimaginable situation.

Where could such a thing happen?

ㅡBoom!

Meanwhile, the angels continued to cast sinister spells in rapid succession. Barik realized… he was going to die here. No, wait. No! He couldn’t die here.

“…!”

Barik’s mind raced.

“Th-those guys!”

As the angels began to unleash their magic, the monstrous infantry stopped advancing! They had clearly halted to avoid exposure to the bombardment!

If those monsters stopped advancing, then somehow…!

“We can escape! All units! Retreat! Retreat!”

There was no point in maintaining formation; they’d only be obliterated by the angels’ bombardment. It was better to run now while the enemy infantry was paused. Normally, turning one’s back would be dangerous, but there were no incoming arrows, and the narrow path meant no enemy cavalry would be rushing in.

If they ran, they had a chance at survival.

ㅡFlash!

Thus, Barik and the soldiers threw down their spears and turned to flee. But after they had run a fair distance, they were confronted with a strange and terrifying sight.

“W-what the…?!”

Barik cried out.

“Aaaargh!”

“Save meee!”

“Graaaah!”

Their screams drowned him out.

It was a truly eerie sight. The soldiers were not fighting enemy soldiers…

“The—the plants have gone mad!”

The soldiers were battling enormous plants! From both sides of the path, monstrous plants were emerging, attacking the soldiers!

ㅡChomp!

A giant Venus flytrap snapped up a soldier, and strange, large flowers overhead opened their jaws, shooting something down.

ㅡSplat!

“Graaargh!”

The soldiers were utterly helpless. They were taking catastrophic losses.

“Save me! Pleeease save meee!”

A soldier caught in the maw of a monstrous plant bled profusely, flailing and screaming for help, but the plant’s jaws were so powerful he couldn’t escape.

“Hold on! I’ll save you!”

“Everyone, this way!”

The other soldiers tried to drive their swords into the plant to rescue him, but freeing their comrade was no easy task. Their blades couldn’t cut through, and there was the risk of accidentally hurting the soldier inside, so they had to be cautious.

And as they delayed—

ㅡSwoosh!

ㅡSwoosh!

Something like arrows kept flying at them, piercing their bodies.

“Argh!”

“Ugh…!”

Seeds, piercing their leather armor, embedded themselves in the soldiers’ bodies. Those in iron armor fared better, but others fell, screaming in pain.

“Aaaaagh!”

In a panic, Barik simply fled.

“Just plants—mere plants, doing this to soldiers…!”

Ignoring the soldiers being swallowed by the plants and the seeds pelting his armor, he leapt over the corpses and ran.

He was still a veteran who had survived the battlefield. Barik fled with skill and experience.

As he reached the rear lines—

“What…?”

Barik despaired.

“Graaaaagh!”

“Die! Kill all these humans!”

Hellish heavy-armored knights with snake-like lower bodies and winged demons were slaughtering the fleeing soldiers.

They didn’t know much, but it was clear that the gates of hell had opened. How else could such a nightmarish army suddenly appear?

“H-ha… those wicked angels…”

That was what Barik thought.

ㅡSwoooosh!

He closed his eyes, staring at the lance of a serpent knight charging straight toward him.

“Annihilation! It’s a complete annihilation!”

I shouted in a burst of excitement!

The tactics had worked flawlessly. Everything moved exactly as I had positioned it, and victory was in hand the moment the Fallen Angels fired their black flames.

“Those plant weapons are no joke!”

The soldiers of the Baron’s army were in complete disarray. Just as they were fleeing, my Plant Towers rose up.

ㅡCrunch!

The Venus flytrap seized a soldier in its powerful jaws, clamping down and causing agony. Its tooth-like structures seemed to sink in, causing bleeding—it looked excruciating.

As soon as one soldier was caught, the others were gripped by terror, and the Bolt Plants I’d planted further up turned and began launching seeds.

ㅡThwip!

The seeds flew at high speed, embedding themselves in the soldiers’ bodies. They were useless against iron armor, but most of these soldiers wore only leather armor. It must have felt like being hit by arrows.

“Perfect… They’re really useful!”

The soldiers in chaos were easy prey for the Venus flytraps and perfect targets for the Bolt Plants. The plants were doing the job of my soldiers.

These were weapons worthy of deployment on the battlefield. I should use them more actively in the future.

In any case.

It was another great victory. Few enemy soldiers survived; those who did were just screaming in despair.

It was inevitable.

In front of them were goblin heavy infantry. In the sky, the Fallen Angels. On both sides, Plant Towers. At the rear, Lamias and Pixies. And I had Dark Elf special forces on standby as well.

There’s no way they could win after being ambushed by us.

“Goblins, advance! Dark Elves, deploy! Finish off the stragglers and clear the battlefield!”

“Understood!”

ㅡShing!

Nekri drew her sword, aiming it at the battlefield, and shouted.

“Dark Elves, charge!”

“Haaargh!”

“Hyaaaah!”

The Dark Elves charged down the slope. Not a single soldier of the Baron’s army would survive. This would keep information about my forces hidden, and the reason for their disappearance would remain a mystery.

Leaving no survivors was essential.

The more our army’s identity remained hidden, the better our advantage.

“Hehehe, in the next battle, I’ll have to use the Mandragora.”

The power of nature was truly amazing.

With the battle over, we quickly cleared the battlefield, reorganized, rested, and prepared to move on to the next area.

Three minor lords were attacking me.

Among them, I’d already defeated Baron Myler’s forces. But Baron Myler himself hadn’t even shown up; he’d just sent his knights and troops, which was a bit disappointing. Although, killing his knights and obtaining good armor and equipment was certainly rewarding.

I decided to award this gear to Juria.

Anyway, my next opponent was Baron Mellerja. His forces were also reportedly heading toward my territory. We had already scouted the route he’ll take, so I needed to get to that mountain and set up an ambush.

“Alright! This time, we’ll set up camp here!”

Upon reaching the battlefield, I immediately ordered the troops to fortify the area. According to Karuti’s report, Baron Mellerja’s forces would arrive soon.

We didn’t have time to produce and grow more Plant Towers, so I prepared our usual strategy. As always, we would lure the enemy into a narrow path and ambush them.

“Keruk! Set up the defenses! You, dig the traps!”

“Kerk! Understood, Master Buril!”

“Hurry and dig those traps! Kerak!”

The goblins were busy moving.

ㅡWhoosh!

The Pixies were also actively scouting.

With the preparations complete, we waited in silence. Time passed. As it did, Baron Mellerja’s army approached, eventually setting up camp near this mountain.

“Are they planning to rest for a day?”

Well, it didn’t matter. We just needed to lure them in.

The next day arrived, and I was a bit startled.

“Dark Lord! The baron’s soldiers are preparing to climb the mountain!”

“What?”

Baron Mellerja was deploying scouts.

According to the Pixies’ reports, small groups of soldiers were forming teams to ascend the mountain.

“This isn’t good. If they detect our ambush, the enemy may change their tactics. In the worst case, we might have to engage in a pitched battle on the plains.”

“That would be risky.”

“Definitely risky.”

“What are the chances of not getting caught?”

“None. We’ve hidden a large number of forces near the path, and the scouts will undoubtedly search around it.”

“Then we’ll have to kill them.”

“If the scouts don’t return, the enemy will realize there’s an ambush. They might then try another route.”

That was still manageable.

We had maps, so we could predict their likely entry points. Plus, our mobility was better, so even if they changed routes, it wouldn’t be an issue.

We’d simply follow them.

“Well, we don’t have much choice. If they don’t notice us, great. If they do, we’ll kill them all. But if we kill one, we’ll have to kill them all… Buril!”

“Yes, Master!”

“A small scouting party of humans will be heading this way. If you think you can stay hidden, do so. But if you’re spotted, hunt them down and kill them all.”

“Kerk! Those humans even use scouts now! These crude creatures have grown!”

“Hehehe, indeed.”

It was the first time I had seen them use scouts.

In any case.

It was risky but doable.

I wondered how Baron Mellerja’s forces would react if they discovered our ambush.