episode_0005
by fnovelpia
Verdia and Durin sat across from each other at the table.
The atmosphere was breathtaking. The southern ruler’s daughter was completely broken and looked like she had been crushed by Durin.
“……”
Before she was sent to the Demon King’s Castle, she was one of the best warriors. To succeed his father, he killed all his rivals and beheaded another warrior who challenged him. A time when the glory that bloomed in struggle shone brightly. Perhaps because it was time to die, it passed before my eyes like a ray of light.
“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t come to my senses for a moment and did something like this… this made no sense…”
Verdia was repeatedly apologizing with sunken eyes. Her final obsession with life turned her into a doll. Although the outcome was already decided, it was the final struggle of someone who could not finish his life as a warrior.
“So, one more chance……”
“Not interested. What I want to hear from you is a different answer.”
“Your Excellency.”
“There is no reason for you to be called Excellency.”
Durin cut off Verdia’s words as if they were not worth hearing any more. At that moment she could feel it.
It’s already over.
Verdia’s hand fell abruptly. Tears continued to fall down my cheeks.
It only shows ugliness and ends up going like this. I should have died earlier. I can’t believe I have to show something like this just to hold on to my short lifeline one more time. I could no longer bear the humiliation rising along with the humiliation.
The last candle for Verdia’s life was extinguished. As my hope disappeared, I was able to look more at ease.
“Then, I would like to meet my end as a southern warrior. Please give me a chance to commit suicide with my own hands.”
“What do you want to say?”
“I will face the end with honor. Please give me that opportunity.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Durin’s red eyes flashed. But Verdia was not afraid and jumped up from his seat. And without hesitation, I fell to the floor.
“Sorry. I can’t believe I’m talking about fame without even knowing fractions. Please just execute me right here. I won’t even make a request.”
“That’s what it said.”
Puheap. Sfranczes, who was standing next to Durin, could not hold back his laughter. It was a rude act to do with a high-ranking demon by his side, but Durin did not stop him.
Verdia’s face brightened. Now I feel like I would rather die. I felt like I felt the shame I would feel for the rest of my life in just an hour, and I was on the verge of turning away.
“I don’t want your life.”
Durin gave an answer full of ridicule.
“Did you think I would take my life to vent my anger? I’m not free enough to do such useless things.”
“Yes? then. What happens to me…”
“The place where you will die is no longer here, but on the battlefield. If you come to the castle, fulfill your purpose and die. Considering the money I’ve spent on food, I’ll probably be serving for a long time.”
Verdia trembled at those words. The moment when I was preparing to die. It was Dongajul that fell on her like sweet rain. The last chance to prepare for the end as a warrior. It was also a moment when shame could be wiped away. Verdia cautiously opened his mouth.
“….Is it okay if I survive?”
“Warrior Verdia has no value. However, as a daughter of the South, I have some advantages. The purpose of four years is exactly that.”
While saying that, he got up from where he was before. He stood in front of Verdia, who was lying face down.
“I would like to ask if I can still contact my father. Do you feel your feelings for your daughter?”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t be here. He must have already died.”
“Yes. The head must have been cut right away. Like those trees in the garden.”
“Southern’s daughter died at that moment. I am an abandoned body. Not a warrior or a noble, just a southern barbarian.”
In the face of death, which he faced several times, Verdia was able to organize all his previous emotions. As a demon, not a hostage, she was speaking in front of Durin. The trembling and fear suddenly disappeared.
He just calmly told Durin.
“So, I will leave everything to you. Please dispose of it.”
“Barbarian Verdia. I will make you my legionnaire. You will be assisting me on an expedition in the near future, so you just need to prepare until then.”
Verdia slowly raised his head. I was faced with Durin’s power that seemed to burn the world down.
“By expeditionary force, do you mean the southern part?”
“I’m going to cut down your father. Resistance to sex is not tolerated.”
“Do as you wish. However, I don’t know what help I can be to you as a barbarian.”
Instead of answering, Durin drew his sword.
-Clink!
And then he threw it in front of Verdia as if he had thrown it away.
“We will clean up all traitors from the land who rebelled. Don’t let me raise my head again.”
“Are you planning to establish the authority of the castle?”
“You will be the leader. Unite the survivors. And if you swear to obey the castle, I will consider you as having fulfilled your duty.”
Obedience, not loyalty. This meant that, unlike other lands that maintained their independence, they would be completely incorporated into the province’s sphere of influence.
“I said I wanted a different answer. Would you like to join us? Barbarian Verdia.”
Everything Durin said has been decided. It was a disposition to the South, not to Verdia. This means that he will clean up all separatists, including his father, and lay a new foundation on that land. Durin’s sword fell on the floor and was right in front of Verdia.
The last use left for her. Being an influence of the castle in the south that is about to change.
“I will follow.”
There was no choice.
Verdia carefully held the sword with both hands. He answered by holding it up as if offering it to Durin.
“The South will soon be yours.”
…….
After sending Verdia back to the living room, Durin moved non-stop. I was planning to meet Ludmila, who was waiting in the king’s hall, and talk about the expedition.
“I finished it quieter than expected.”
Ludmilla welcomed him with a noble smile. Just a few hours ago, he was busy glaring viciously, but now he had completely relaxed. Even if it was only superficial, the satisfaction given by the Demon King’s seal was that powerful.
“After sitting on the throne, he became very evil.”
“You are strange. I’m thinking of giving up this position and going outside. Me indeed. I don’t understand?”
Hehehe! Ludmilla covered her mouth and laughed. If you look at what he’s doing, he’s acting similar to the Demon King who took office three generations ago. Did he just read that and not do the work he was asked to do? That was what Durin thought, but it was a waste of time to say anything else.
“So you came here because you had something you wanted to say. What’s going on?”
“You already guessed it, right? I want to know the most urgent movements of traitors.”
“It’s still okay, though. The South is leaving faster than expected.”
Ludmilla clapped her hands. A shaman who had been waiting like Durin’s Sfrancese appeared holding a large scroll.
“ Let’s talk together while looking at the map. I know the southern part to some extent because it’s urgent, but I don’t know the rest in detail yet.”
“I was not able to receive it from the shamans.”
“We just got organized.”
Ludmilla spread the scroll on the center table. A map of the demon world was drawn on the wide spread brown leather. The Demon King’s main bases and resource production sites were indicated through symbols such as blue circles and squares, while hostile forces were indicated in red. The entire southern part of the map was glowing red, confirming that it was completely out of the area of influence, while the rest was a gray area. Durin noticed the current situation.
“The situation is worse than I thought.”
“On the surface, only the South defected. But actually, things are not that bad in the North or West either. It looks like everyone on our side has been imprisoned or exiled.”
“Is the eastern part okay?”
“The tendency for separatism is at least low here, so as long as autonomy is guaranteed, there will be no major problems. It was also the only place among the warlords that asked why the Demon King disappeared in the first place.”
“If that’s the case, I’m glad… Isn’t there something more important than that?”
Durin’s gaze turned to the northeastern part of the map. Between the northern region, where frosty winds blow, and the western plains, where wide grasslands spread out. A barren land made up of sticky swamps where no one except ethnic minorities leads the tribe.
“Are the angels motionless?”
“Why isn’t there one? I guess a detachment is already circling the border. It’s because the warlords are the problem right now, but it’s not easy here either.”
Ludmila sighed and said. As she worried, the greatest danger within the Demon World was not internal enemies such as warlords, but angels. Troops sent from heaven to monitor us were stationed in that barren land. The swamp, which was already difficult to access, was being filled with divine power instead of demonic energy, transforming into something almost resembling a sanctuary.
The Demon King, who was always suffering from civil war because his power could not be gathered in one place, had to squeeze in all his troops to drive out the angels. Occasionally, they gathered together a good army and attacked the garrison several times, but most of the time, the results were not good. Even heaven immediately took revenge.
A representative example is the last warrior’s invasion. A portal was opened in the human world and a warrior was sent there to demonstrate force. Since such cases usually occurred on a small scale, a detachment had to be dispatched to drive them out, or the devil himself had to deal with them directly. In the recent invasion of heroes, the worst incident in the history of the Demon World was a disaster that occurred in a similar manner.
“The northern and western warlords must have felt threatened. First of all, those two are keeping the angels in check, so they won’t be able to come down right away.”
“Isn’t it insufficient?”
“I don’t think the quality of the active troops is that good. It seems to be at a level that can be easily dealt with. However, the angels may suddenly send their main force. You should be careful.”
“It would definitely be a big deal if the Archangel suddenly moved. I’m glad they haven’t made any moves yet.“
“Because the Demon King followed the hero, there is a high probability that he will cross over to the human world. It was as if the devil had suddenly fallen into their garden, creating an unbelievable emergency. It will be just as crazy there as it is for us.”
“But they can be taken care of quickly.”
“I’ve been watching for about a month. At that level, there is a high possibility that it will not be a matter of organizing, but preparing for war.”
30 days. It was an ambiguous time that could be said to be long and long.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t do it. It was a very precious time given at this point when the fate of the Demon World was imminent. Durin did not want to let this go to waste.
“The available troops right now are the Royal Guard and the Demon Beast Corps. Excluding the minimum number of troops left for the defense of the castle and the troops that will be deployed for security management, there will be about 800.”
“800? Isn’t that too little? If we just drafted the garrison soldiers over there right now, we could send 3,000.”
Ludmilla asked while tilting her head. Durin responded by shaking his head.
“The quality is too poor. The southern warriors have a powerful army that is considered the best in the demon world. If you send a decent amount of Orc troops, they will just be annihilated.”
“Wait a minute. for a moment. That means…”
It is no match for regular units.
“I plan to lead my soldiers. A large number of troops will be drawn from the garrison’s elite regiment to make up the number, so you just need to know that. That would be enough to eliminate all traitors within a week.”
“Can you do it? As you said, the South is the land of warriors. It can take a lot of time.”
“You have to do it no matter what.”
The number of advanced soldiers determines victory or defeat. Just as no goblin soldier, no matter how well trained, can defeat a heavenly knight. In particular, it was of great importance in the South, where such elite soldiers were plentiful.
“The traces of the devil have not yet been properly captured. In the current situation, we must achieve results quickly before anxiety increases.”
“You’re saying you’re looking for something to turn your attention to, right?”
“We will start the groundwork in earnest tomorrow. You too will have to prepare your mind.”
Durin’s fist, which was on the table, gained strength.
It was a warning of the bloodshed that would blow in earnest.
“How much are you going to kill me this time?”
“All. The first southern devils who showed disturbing movements will be erased from the castle.”
“Isn’t it excessive? There will be plenty of room left to use.”
“You are soft, Ludmilla.”
Durin’s spirit became more vicious than before. Ludmilla took a step back without realizing it. An energy that even a high-ranking demon could not withstand radiated from him.
“This is how you deal with devils.”
His face hidden behind his helmet.
It seemed like there was an eerie smile drawn there.
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