The border between the demon world and the human world, which was a place of caution even before the war, became more tightly monitored after the war broke out.
Although it was not possible to close all borders due to the limitations of the troops that can be operated, it was possible to monitor them day and night so that if something happens, higher-ups can be immediately notified. Therefore, the imperial soldiers, who were always paying attention to the border, discovered a group of troops who had escaped under the cover of darkness and immediately reported it to his superiors.
Emperor Elpidius, who immediately noticed where they were going, the country of Shanguk, which was an ally and was being targeted intensively by the Demon King's Army.
"It's reinforcements from the demon world..."
The king of Shanguk, who had cut off communication, muttered calmly.
"It looks like the Demon King has no intention of ending this war."
Otherwise, there would be no need to push support back into this place that was showing signs of becoming a moderate standoff.
Likewise, his voice seemed calm but a little worried.
"This is support on a situation where news that a demon has been summoned in the Empire has just arrived. It is likely that the demon was utilized."
"I agree with what you said. Moreover, considering that they sent general troops, they must have a lot of confidence in his abilities."
The regular troops were in fact just a sidekick to fill in the numbers. The key was probably the 'contracted demon'.
"If they have that level of confidence..."
"It would mean that the demon that signed the contract has at least a general level."
"Are we sure he's not a Corps Commander?"
"It's not that there is no possibility at all, but..."
Yeonhwa, the king of Shanguk, who had been quietly looking down at the communication device, raised his head. He made eye contact with Saerin, who was looking at him with worried eyes.
"... I can only hope not."
"..."
"Now then, let's predict the movement path."
She clapped her hands and pointed to the map on the wall. At the same time, Saerin's gaze, which had been a bit serious, also moved.
There was no conversation about how to respond if the enemy was a Corps Commander.
If it is difficult to deal with a Corps Commander who is subject to various restrictions, how could they deal with a Corps Commander who has legitimately come forward and reduced his restrictions through a contract with a human?
Even if there was a hero with the fragments of a warrior, they were not a common being to begin with, and the former Emperor Eduardo promised exceptional treatment and swept away all talented people, so there were no talented people left in the country.
Therefore, she implicitly put aside uncertain and uncomfortable topics and kept her eyes on the map. Her finger touched one spot and gently drew a line along the street.
"The guys knocking on the gate right now took this route."
Saerin nodded and spoke.
"And there were various traps along the way."
"That fact was most likely reported to their superiors."
"Yes, so the movement route of this reinforcement troop is..."
Yeonhwa took his hand away from the map and looked back at Saerin. The two people's eyes lit up at the same time, as if they were thinking the same thing.
"It'll be the same."
"It'll be the same."
A satisfied smile appeared on Yeonhwa's lips.
"Why do you think that?"
"It's the fastest, most well-polished, and they'll think most of the traps have been destroyed with the advance force moving."
"That's right."
Do you know why the name of the country of mountains is 'Shanguk[1]'?
The country is located in a mountainous area. Although it was not surrounded by mountain ranges like Esperanes, there were enough mountains to impede traffic, so the king of a country that is not self-sufficient has overcome the opposition and concerns of numerous subjects in the past and built a road to make it easier for the upper class to travel.
It would be a very good attack route for the demons.
"But there's something they overlooked."
There's no way he didn't keep in mind that this road could be used as an attack route by enemies. This was the reason why the subjects opposed it in the first place. A well-paved road is designed to trigger a trap if an unauthorized person uses it. Therefore, messengers or merchants using that route had to contact them in advance and take steps to temporarily stop the trap's operation.
They can check and manage whether a trap has been stopped or activated within the castle they reached along the way.
Yeonhwa raised the corners of his mouth.[2]
"In the first place, the trap isn't a one-time thing."
It's not a one-off thing.
When the trap is triggered, arrows are fired and rocks roll.
That's not everything, but anyway.
All stored arrows and rocks are not consumed in that single activation. After consuming a certain amount of arrows and rocks, the trap stops working until the next trigger.
That's it. If you touch the device just a little bit, the exit from which the rock rolls will change and the direction the arrow will aim will change. This means that memorizing the location of traps is useless.
"It was aimed at reinforcements following during the war or when the enemy retreats, but this is how it is used."
As expected, it was a good idea to design it this way even though it cost a lot of money.
A trap like this won't be able to do anything to the 'contracted demon', but it will be enough to cause enough damage to the regular troops.
"More than that, the problem is that 'contracted demon'..."
Should they also find and eliminate the contract demons?
Hoping that the number of reinforcements from the demons would be greatly reduced when they arrived, Yeonhwa began to think about the level of skill of the demon that had been contracted with and how best to deal with them.
***
Hell, the Commander of the 8th Corps, who had been summoned to the human world and moved to join the troops departing from the demon world, was now going through considerable hardships.
Crash.
An ominous sound was heard, and arrows rained down from somewhere. Hell quickly pulled out a spear from the weapons strapped to his back and struck down the arrows, using magic to create a temporary shield in areas that were out of range of the spear. Although the restrictions were reduced perhaps because it was the human world, the magic power was drastically reduced.
Then, after going a little further, rocks and burning logs came rolling down from both hills. He tried to block them with magic, but later realized that magic could not be used, so he took out his shield, stood in front, and struck them away. Nevertheless, more people died than before.
It was devastating.
'Deon... said he believed...'
Hell sat down on the spot. If it weren't for his encouragement, he would have wasted a lot of time until he recovered.
"Hel is doing well enough right now. If magic is not able to be used, it means that you are within the range of the magic suppressor."
That means there is a castle nearby.
"I mean, we're almost there. Why don't you try a little harder?"
How far would he have traveled to move forward with those words as comfort? At a time when everyone's nerves were looking upward, not knowing what would fly at any moment, the ground sank in.
And what he saw were various old and broken weapons and sharply carved trees stuck in the ground below and pointing sharply upward.
'I'm sure a trap will be recycled once...'
Thought Nine, the 8th Corps Commander's adjutant, as he escaped the eerie floor, clinging to Hell's side.
He heard that the previous troops had passed through this road, but as if they had reinstalled the traps, all the traps along the road were operating properly.
... Maybe it wasn't a one-time trap.
'Well, it's a well-paved road like this, so it would be difficult if there wasn't this level of defense.'
He understood... but the problem was that their troops had been greatly reduced by this. He felt the arm holding him tremble. Nine sighed softly. A swear word suddenly came out.
Damn Shanguk.
'Why did you create a trap so meticulously that it... killed our troops and caused an uproar?'
While Nine was spouting all kinds of curses inside, Hell, who had lost his voice in a trap a while ago and was left stranded, looked around blankly at the troops under his charge, with Nine at his side.
At first glance, the number appears to have decreased noticeably compared to when they started. His head fell heavily.
... Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
'If I had moved alone...'
He would have been able to use his unique ability to quickly reach his destination without any major problems.
At the very least, it would have been better than now even if he had only had to take one person with him.
Hell, who unconsciously thought of the troops following him as a burden, was so startled by his own thoughts that he quickly began blaming himself.
"As expected... I was the problem..."
"No, Hell. This was something that could not be helped."
Nine was accustomed to comforting his superior.
"This is the limit of regular troops. It's just the 8th Corps, and they're not particularly elite."
"No... I should have paid that much attention and taken care of them..."
Maybe it's because he's not good enough... That's difficult...
He could faintly hear a gloomy voice that seemed to be digging into the ground. Nine, who was still held by his side, touched Hell's arm that lowered him to the floor, then looked back at his superior.
"If you're having a hard time, how about leaving the leadership to me?"
"... Yes?"
"I will follow with the troops, so Hell can go first."
"...!"
Hell, who looked up at the opportunity to throw off his heavy burden, paused as if something was holding him back. His head slowly shook left and right after a short silence as if he had lost the momentum that seemed to give an affirmation at any moment.
Contrary to expectations, a firm voice returned.
"No. Then what if you die?"
Nine's expression changed strangely.
"... I won't die that easily."
"You almost died in a trap just a little while ago..."
"That's because I was careless. I didn't pay attention to the ground."
"..."
If he went ahead like he said and Nine let his guard down one more time, then he would die helplessly. Hell, who was looking at his lieutenant with his mouth closed, slowly opened his mouth.
"Deon said he trusted me."
"..."
"I have to take responsibility and take them to the end."
"..."
"I."
Nine closed his mouth in an unusually decisive manner.
... It's good to be motivated, but what should he say about. this?
'Deon, your statement that you trust him... I think it had a very strong effect.'
He felt like the breathtaking feeling would backfire at any moment.
Suppressing a sigh that threatened to escape at any moment, he called out to someone who was not here, and eventually nodded, unable to overcome the stinging gaze as if urging him to answer.
"All right."
***
"Like all fields, spearing may seem simple at first glance, but if you dig deeper, it divides into numerous branches, making it complex and vast. The more you know, the more you see."
Huh.
The Demon King, who came to the training ground with Deon according to his promise to teach him weapon skills, lightly swung his spear.
"If I were to explain the spear simply... it would be about blocking and thrusting. There are two types of blocking: striking outward or pressing inwards, and stabbing... I don't have to say it, you know that, right?"
The first weapon he decided to teach was the spear.
There was no particular reason. He just heard that one of the weapons in the training ground was available. Since Deon didn't specifically choose the type, there was nothing to worry about.
"More than anything, it is important to retrieve the spear. Due to the nature of the stabbing motion, it exposes the biggest gap when attacking. If you do not retrieve it in time, you will receive a counterattack that can directly lead to losing your life."
"..."
"Remember. The stabbing and retrieving are all one movement. The movement is... like this."
Whoosh. The spear pierced the side of Deon's head and fell back.
If it weren't for the warrior's eyes, he would have only seen an afterimage. With his movements so agile and clean, Deon scanned the spot where the spear had passed, then raised his gaze and saw the Demon King.
He was smiling shamelessly.
"Did you see it?"
"..."
Instead of answering, he reached out for the spear the Demon King was holding. He obediently handed over the spear, and Deon, who accepted it, adjusted the spear's handle a few times as if measuring its center of gravity, and at some point, whoosh, it pierced next to the Demon King's head.
"Like this?"
"..."
The Demon King followed the movement and soon turned to face the red eyes facing him.
Bright red eyes hid between bent eyelids, as if waiting for their eyes to meet.
[1] The characters for this are the traditional Chinese characters, 山國, pronounced shan guk in Korean (shan1 guo2 in Chinese). The direct translation is mountain country. 山 means mountain and 國 means country.
[2] By the way, Yeonhwa is referred to with female pronouns in the translations, but the first time Yeonhwa appeared in the text, three were male pronouns, so I've been using male pronouns since. Sorry if Yeonhwa is actually a female character!