I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37

 

Early morning.

 

Hundreds of soldiers and knights, along with a group of mages, marched toward Dark Mage Sevian’s dungeon.

 

The woman following behind on horseback, Melissa’s face was full of fatigue. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night.

 

As she clutched her throbbing head each time the horse jolted, a group of people soon approached her.

 

“It’s an honor to meet a senior from the Green Magic Tower, Lady Melissa.”

 

Despite his polite tone, there wasn’t a trace of respect in the lips of the man wearing the red robe.

 

What could be felt instead was tremendous confidence. And contempt.

 

“Have you heard the story by any chance? This Dark Mage named Sevian who’s our target for subjugation… We thought he was just some wanderer, but it turns out he’s from a Magic Tower.”

“So what?”

“Where was it again? I don’t think it was Blue. Was it Green? Do you know, senior?”

 

Melissa, whose expression had already been poor, twisted her face even more as she asked.

 

“What might our junior from the Red Magic Tower’s name be?”

“Silobel Om. As the direct disciple of my master, Elder Handro Om, I inherited his surname…”

 

Melissa sighed as she listened to his boastful explanation.

 

Those from the Red Magic Tower were always like this. Their pride in their Magic Tower and master exceeded normal levels.

 

‘Of course, it’s the first Magic Tower established by the First Hero’s companion, so it’s understandable…’

 

Thinking of them as descendants of the legendary Archmage made it not incomprehensible, but from the perspective of dealing with them, it couldn’t help but feel annoying.

 

Moreover, this time it went beyond simply being annoying – he had definitely come with the intention of getting on Melissa’s nerves.

 

But unfortunately for Silobel, this wasn’t Melissa’s first time dealing with a Red Magic Tower mage. She knew well enough how to handle them.

 

“Ah, that old man Om. Did you say he became an elder? How is he? Is he doing well these days? Nothing hurting anywhere?”

 

At her indifferent questioning voice, the man’s face turned the same color as his robe.

 

“Are you insulting my master right now…!”

“Hey, Silophone.”

 

Right after the cold voice was heard, the horse the man was riding began to struggle. Melissa spoke to the man who was desperately trying to calm the horse while barely hanging on without falling.

 

“It’s good to respect your master, but remember who you’re in front of right now. Even your master wouldn’t dare raise his voice like that in front of me.”

 

At the same time, the man’s body froze solid.

 

It wasn’t because of the content of Melissa’s words. It was because of the tremendous pressure bearing down on both the man and his horse. At the same time, he could recall.

 

Why the woman before his eyes came to be called by the nickname “Witch.”

 

“…I won’t forget this incident.”

“Yeah, sure. Remember it for a long, long time!”

 

The man who had been glaring at Melissa for a moment with his mouth shut turned his horse around. The other mages who had been following behind him did the same.

 

Melissa chuckled as she watched them, then immediately hardened her expression.

 

‘It’s good that I have one less thing to worry about, but… Tsk.’

 

Her gaze turned somewhere.

 

“What on earth are those things thinking?”

 

Since leaving the castle until now. No, even before that, continuously following them while maintaining a certain distance. Those emitting a strange aura that was hard to detect were elves.

 

It seemed the lord was unaware of the elves’ stealth.

 

It wasn’t just the lord. The Red Magic Tower mages who had just been making a fuss also seemed equally oblivious.

 

The elves’ movements, whose intentions were completely incomprehensible, were one of the causes aggravating Melissa’s headache.

 

Even if they didn’t seem to show signs of immediate attack, she didn’t know how long that would last. The possibility that they were targeting a weakened moment after the subjugation couldn’t be ignored either. While there was every possibility they could act as a dangerous element, Melissa didn’t inform the lord about the elves.

 

‘Well, I’ll just have to be careful.’

 

As long as it wasn’t the Tree Guardians stationed in the Great Forest, elves weren’t beings she couldn’t handle. Considering her relationship with the lord had already become awkward due to the failure of the previous subjugation, he probably wouldn’t believe her even if she told him.

 

‘If Ator had been here, the story would have been different…’

 

The lord couldn’t ignore the prince’s words, but more than that, given Ator’s personality, it was obvious he couldn’t just watch such a situation unfold. Perhaps he would have been making a fuss about having to meet the elves first before encountering Sevian.

 

Melissa’s expression softened slightly as she thought of the prince who always brought troublesome incidents with him.

 

Though she had met him and joined the Dawn Order, this life was quite satisfying. Progress was faster than when she was cooped up in the Magic Tower doing nothing but research, and like this time, she often had opportunities to observe the magic of other high-level mages, even if from different schools.

 

‘The ancient dungeon exploration last time was really thrilling.’

 

When she discovered traces of dragons that had vanished from the world in the distant past, she felt like she had become the protagonist of a story. But Melissa’s reminiscence didn’t last long.

 

“Halt! We’ll rest here for a moment.”

 

When they faced a vast forest ahead. The knight leading the way shouted loudly. Immediately after, several people began to move.

 

* * *

 

“Phew, now I can breathe.”

“Squad Leader, aren’t you tired?”

“It’s bearable.”

 

I replied to my guard members’ words and settled down on the ground.

 

“You look young, but you’re completely a man, really.”

“I saw when we were washing last time, and Squad Leader was a real man among men.”

“Don’t lie, Billy. You never washed with me.”

“Well, that’s just how I talk.”

 

The guard members burst into laughter at Billy’s joke. True to someone who was conscripted after working in a theater troupe, he was popular for his good speaking skills.

 

But the mood quickly sank.

 

“Just a little further ahead is the Dark Mage’s territory. We’ll depart in an hour, so everyone prepare thoroughly until then!”

 

It was because they were reminded of the current situation by the Knights shouting as they walked around.

 

“We’ll die soon. Did everyone write their wills? That Dark Mage isn’t an ordinary guy, they say.”

“It’d be fortunate to die by the Dark Mage’s hand. I’m planning to die from exhaustion.”

“Hey, you too?”

 

The soldiers’ complaints were considerable since they’d been woken before dawn and had been moving for hours. It wouldn’t have been like this if they’d been informed in advance. The Knights and other key commanders seemed to know, but even I, as Squad Leader of Ten, was only told we’d be departing within a few days.

 

‘It’s probably because they don’t have high expectations for the soldiers.’

 

In battle against a High-rank Dark Mage, soldiers who can’t handle mana don’t have much room to excel. Still, the reason they conscripted troops on such a large scale was probably to prevent the territory’s security from deteriorating while existing forces were deployed for subjugation. Just speculation, though.

 

Evaluating as a Dark Mage, it wasn’t a very good idea.

 

Commanding large-scale undead, handling poison and curses… Even offering corpses and souls as sacrifices – most dark magic has characteristics well-suited for dealing with large-scale forces.

 

I didn’t know what type of magic the guy impersonating Master handled, but most of the soldiers would likely die meaninglessly or even become the Dark Mage’s power instead.

 

“Let’s eat something first. They say even a ghost that dies after eating looks better, don’t they?”

“…Is there such a saying?”

“Of course.”

 

Though I’d seen many souls so far, I couldn’t confirm whether eating affected the soul’s condition significantly.

 

‘If I observe carefully from now on, could I discover meaningful differences?’

 

Since Soul Magic was no different from the foundation of my power, new discoveries about souls would certainly help improve my abilities overall.

 

I took out a small notebook from my robe pouch and noted down the thought I’d just had. It was my own research journal I’d made after discovering Master’s grimoire.

 

“Squad Leader, please rest. I’ll make it really properly.”

 

The guard members said as they took out supplies from their packs.

 

One of the good things about unintentionally becoming Squad Leader of Ten was exactly this. Though they were guys who didn’t listen well at first, after a simple sparring match, for some reason they tried hard to impress me, making things comfortable for me.

 

Of course, most of what they did were things that wouldn’t matter much if I did them myself. I’d always been confident with menial tasks, and now that my strength and stamina had greatly improved after passing the first trial, it goes without saying.

 

But having someone else handle bothersome tasks was… more convenient than I’d thought. The feeling of becoming lazy in real time. I understood why Master had me manage the dungeon right after taking me as a disciple.

 

‘Just from taking the position of Squad Leader of Ten, it’s like this – what was it like for the Demon Lord?’

 

I thought of Simone, who would have even sacrificed his life for the Demon Lord. The other demons probably weren’t much different from him. Thinking that way, I could understand a little why people obsess over power.

 

“Squad Leader, stop sleeping and come try this. I made it, but the taste is absolutely amazing.”

“This is thanks to your skill? You just threw everything in and boiled it.”

“Tsk. You can say that because you have no understanding of cooking.”

“Don’t waste your energy for nothing.”

 

I mediated the guard members’ quarrel, and the moment I put a spoonful of the completed stew in my mouth, my eyes widened.

 

“It’s delicious?”

“See! Squad Leader knows good taste too.”

 

Watching the happy soldier, I felt complicated.

 

After combat broke out, protecting just my own life wouldn’t be difficult.

 

One of the magic spells the Demon Lord taught me, and deception magic that no one had seen through so far. With that, naturally slipping away from a chaotic battlefield would be easy.

 

But if I escaped that way, I couldn’t guarantee the lives of the guard members laughing in front of me. If the subjugation failed, they’d die as is, and even if it succeeded, their survival chances wouldn’t be that high.

 

Originally, I wouldn’t have cared about such things. But perhaps I’d grown attached after living together for several days. I didn’t want to let my first subordinates die.

 

“Listen while you eat.”

“Hm? Squad Leader, what are you trying to say with such a serious atmosphere?”

“Hey, Squad Leader is speaking, so just listen.”

 

“When combat starts, charge orders will be given immediately.”

“…Hmm.”

 

No matter how powerful a Dark Mage the opponent was, annihilating this many troops wasn’t easy. In other words, it was a strategy to exhaust the Dark Mage’s mana in advance before the Knights and other mages entered combat.

 

“We’re really going to die.”

 

The briefly brightened atmosphere became gloomy again.

 

“We’ll pretend to charge from the rear, then fall back again.”

“Is that possible? If we run away, the Knights won’t just let it slide.”

“Just trust me. I have a way.”

 

The guard members seemed anxious, but soon each nodded their heads.

 

“Well, the Squad Leader did seem to have connections with high-ranking people.”

“High-ranking people? Ah, you mean that Recruitment Officer. Then we can rest assured.”

“Recruitment Officer?”

 

I didn’t quite understand what the Recruitment Officer had to do with anything, but what mattered was that the Guard Members were convinced.

 

Now I could naturally use Deception to withdraw from the battlefield, then watch that Dark Mage’s battle from a distance. This was the first time using Deception on so many people. However, it didn’t seem impossible.

 

“Pack up! We’re departing soon!”

 

Just then, at the Centurion’s shout from afar, the Soldiers grumbled as they packed up.

 

But there was no need for that.

 

A massive explosion occurred where the Centurion had been standing. The Centurion was caught in the explosion while still in his standing position and was blown apart.

 

“It’s a Dark Mage!”

 

Someone’s shout upon grasping the situation.

 

The Knights who had been chatting leisurely drew their swords and stood guard, while the Mages began chanting spells.

 

“Did you all come to help with my experiment too?”

“Sevian!”

“Hmm? Well, well, the Lord of Andril came personally. What an honor.”

 

The Dark Mage gradually revealed himself from the forest.

 

A deeply pulled hood. And six things protruding through the robe…

 

“Count, I’ve been greatly indebted to your territory all this time. I’m grateful for it.”

 

The moment I saw that, my heart pounded violently.

 

Master’s undeniable Secret Magic. But what was more certain was a voice I had never once forgotten.

 

“Master…?”

 

The murmur that escaped my lips disappeared, buried in the chaos of the battlefield.

 

“Charge!”

“Kill him! Whoever kills the Dark Mage will be made a Knight of the territory!”

“Squad Leader, what should we do now?”

 

However, as if responding to my voice… The Dark Mage pulled back his hood.

 

“What is this…”

 

The identity of the Dark Mage who had been impersonating Master was Master himself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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