Chapter 382

Chapter 382

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 382: The Elves (2)

“Elves are exceptionally skilled marksmen. Moreover, some of them infuse mana into their arrows, so caution is advised during reconnaissance.”

“Arrows…! Got it!”

Serinu responded with a determined expression to Vera’s explanation.

“Even if you wear armor and fly, they can hit your wings. Therefore, it’s recommended to use a shield that covers the entire front…”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Hmm… so…”

Serinu continued to listen to Vera with a very serious attitude, almost with a glint in her eyes. It seemed Vera was a bit overwhelmed by that gaze.

“Wait, Serinu. Let’s postpone aerial reconnaissance for now.”

“Why not!”

“It’s dangerous. We need to see and assess the elven archery properly first. Pixie reconnaissance comes after that.”

Serinu was burning with a sense of challenge, but this was my first time fighting elves. Unlike the dark elves, these elves have a civilization level similar to humans. Therefore, thorough preparation is necessary.

Of course, Vera knew well, but I preferred to see things for myself.

“Good idea. It’s best to confirm everything firsthand.”

“Then, Nekri?”

“Ah, yes! It feels like I’m being called after a long time!”

“Hehehe, indeed.”

—Tot trot trot.

Nekri approached with light footsteps.

“And the Queen too!”

“This Queen is to scout?”

“You’ll be punished if you don’t.”

“I will.”

“Then, Nekri? Select swift dark elves, and with the Queen and the great warriors, scout the enemies. Serinu! Follow the dark elves and scout carefully!”

“Got it!”

Although the dark elves’ civilization level was low, that didn’t mean their physical abilities were lacking. My soldiers, who had gained experience until today, were akin to special forces.

They were specialized in reconnaissance missions.

“Alright, Nekri? The mission is simple. Reconnaissance. Check the enemy’s size, unit formation, appearance, and equipment level. And if possible, capture a prisoner. I believe you will do well today, as you have always done.”

“Understood!”

Nekri answered energetically.

“Then, reconnaissance begin!”

As soon as I gave the order, the dark elves moved. It was a bit dangerous, but with Rexabella, there was nothing to worry about.

The dark elves returned after completing their reconnaissance.

According to the report, there was a small skirmish to capture an enemy elf. Rexabella swiftly kidnapped one, knocked him unconscious, and was bringing him back when arrows flew. Of course, it was nothing for Rexabella.

“Well done. Having a prisoner makes information gathering easier. Let’s put him to sleep for a moment. Nekri? Report.”

“Reporting!”

Nekri immediately reported.

“The enemies are mostly male soldiers, and their equipment is generally wooden armor with leaves attached like fur.”

“Hmm? Such peculiar armor?”

“It’s armor worn by high-ranking elven warriors. It’s less protective than iron armor but lighter.”

“I see… Nekri? Weapons?”

I listened to the report.

It seemed they had elven assault teams wielding two-handed swords, cavalry riding muscular war deer as big as horses, infantry armed with shields and spears, archer units, and even those with staffs.

The unit size was at least one battalion, as far as identified.

We couldn’t go deeper because they had set up a camp, so we couldn’t confirm accurately, but they wouldn’t have just sent one battalion, so it’s safe to assume they have at least a regiment.

“Hmm… Mother? Please explain the enemy unit types.”

Vera would know this well.

“Those with greatswords are the assault teams. Dangerous ones who manipulate mana. They specialize in breaking through infantry formations, so caution is needed. The deer cavalry are just ordinary cavalry that are slightly better at mountain terrain. And those with staffs are spirit users. All three are highly trained special forces. Be careful.”

“Wow.”

Their special forces were quite formidable.

Those with greatswords were in charge of breaking through infantry formations, the deer cavalry were excellent hammers, and they even had spirit users.

But what did spirit users do?

“What about the rest?”

“Archer units, infantry, and auxiliary troops. Nothing special except that they are skilled in archery. Elves are generally stronger than humans, but their numbers seem small. The special forces are what you need to watch out for.”

“Understood.”

I got the gist of it.

“Then, next question. How powerful are the spirit users exactly?”

“Similar to human battle mages. But more threatening. They command spirits. They order the spirits to fight.”

Orders, huh.

“Human mages have to chant and cast spells themselves to use magic. Naturally, they become vulnerable then, but spirit users don’t have that. They are free because they make the spirits do it.”

“Oh, such an advantage?”

“They also have the advantage of commanding multiple spirits. Be careful of the magic the spirits use.”

“Understood.”

I called Serinu for a moment.

“Serinu, we used spirits too, right?”

“Yeah. We used them in the village and dungeons. But human facilities are better than spirits.”

That was why we didn’t use spirits. It seemed the spirits the elves used were more advanced than what we used.

“It seems the elves use more advanced spirits than that. Have you seen them?”

“Hmm… I don’t know about that.”

“Is that so? Okay. Got it.”

We needed to look into spirits in more detail.

Well, after listening to Nekri’s report and compiling it, I had a rough idea.

One company of special forces.

Three companies of infantry, archer units, and auxiliary troops.

In total, it was a battalion-sized force combined from four companies. Apparently, this was the basic elven organization. Considering that this much was identified, there was definitely more.

“Then, let’s interrogate the prisoner. Nekri? Bring him.”

“Yes!”

Nekri immediately brought the elven prisoner. He was a blond male with a large bump on the back of his head. Our Queen must have given him a good whack.

—Splash!

“Kheh!”

As water was splashed on his face, he sputtered and twisted his body.

“Wake up, you bastard!”

“Aaaah! Save me!”

“If you want to live, you’ll tell me everything you know!”

—Whoosh!

As I threatened him by creating a fireball in my hand, he let out a “eek” and answered.

“Anything, anything! I’ll cooperate, so please spare me!”

Was this guy really that easy to talk to?

“Mother, please handle the interrogation. You’ve interrogated elves before, right?”

“Rather than doing it myself, I gave the orders. Understood.”

Vera immediately began the interrogation. It wasn’t anything special. She just slapped him a few times and asked a lot of questions. But this terrified elf just screamed and answered everything.

“The information doesn’t differ much from what the scouts gathered. The information’s reliability is high.”

“Is that so?”

The basics of information gathering are to investigate directly and to interrogate prisoners. Of course, trusting only one method is a sure way to get blindsided, so you need to gather information through various means and then verify the accuracy.

The prisoner said similar things to what we found out, so the information’s accuracy was high.

“Oh, and there’s a larger force behind the identified units. What our scouts identified is just the vanguard.”

“As expected.”

This was useful information.

I listened to more of Vera’s report afterward, but since this guy was just a low-ranking soldier, he didn’t know any core military information. Still, this much result was sufficient.

“The elven vanguard is currently stationed on the mountain next to the enemy castle. Since there’s a castle nearby, encirclement is impossible. Moreover, the rearguard is beyond that mountain.”

This was very tricky.

“Understood. Let’s plan the operation.”

Elves were probably as skilled in mountain warfare as we were. If they had taken positions on the mountain next to the castle, attacking them would be foolish. We’d suffer heavy losses climbing up.

So, there was only one way.

Attack the castle to shake things up and make the elves on the mountain come down. Then, we could either eliminate the elves who came down or climb the mountain and seize the high ground when they descended. Since the enemy rearguard was beyond the mountain, quickly seizing the high ground and preparing was crucial.

After planning the attack, I joined Vera’s forces. We had been continuously merging forces on the way here, resulting in a large army. However, they were currently struggling against the well-positioned elves.

Proper siege was impossible.

“We greet the Lady of War!”

Anyway, Vera’s subordinates paid their respects, and Vera praised them and discussed the situation. After hearing the situation, Vera skillfully gave orders and redeployed the troops.

“It seems we need to divide the Demon Lord’s army into two. One to support the siege, and the other to fight the elves.”

“Let’s do that. Ah, then who will play the anvil role?”

“My subordinates will. As we siege, the elves will come to interfere. They’ll withstand the onslaught, so Kyuse, you lead the troops and attack the elves from behind or the side as they come down, or even climb the mountain and destroy their command center.”

“Good idea.”

That sets the framework for the operation.

“Hehehe, having an army is so convenient, isn’t it? Is this what having the Lady of War’s backing feels like? It’s so reassuring.”

“I find your monster army even more reassuring, Kyuse. They can do things that human armies can’t.”

“That’s true.”

As we were talking,

—Flap flap.

An Evil Eye came to visit after a long time. It was sent by Karuti. Recently, Karuti had been busy, and I didn’t need her reconnaissance reports, so I canceled them.

But if it came at this timing, it must have something to say.

“Ah, Karuti! You came!”

“Yeah! I wanted to help! I looked around the mountain in front! There were a lot of elves!”

“How was it? Any terrain issues?”

“No. The Demon Lord’s army can climb it without difficulty. There weren’t any particularly rough terrains.”

It was smooth, huh.

There would be traps, though.

“Alright. Thanks for the recon. We’ll climb carefully. Anyway, Karuti? Do you have any news to tell me?”

“Yeah! You’re planning to capture the Elven Empress, right? I wanted to help with that!”

What?