The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 265
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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 265
Boom─! Boom, boom, boom─!!
Fragmented meteors poured down from the air. Tents struck by the meteors collapsed.
The soldiers of the Amitie coalition didn’t even have time to reorganize their formation. They became a disorganized mob, desperately trying to avoid the meteors.
In that gap, the Dubbled army assaulted the Amitie coalition’s base.
Waaaaah─!
Seeing them appear with resounding battle cries, Eslon Marshu clicked his tongue and shouted.
“Magic corps!”
The mages hurriedly stepped forward. However, due to insufficient time for casting, none could properly deploy barriers. Instead, they couldn’t avoid the Dubbled army while concentrating on casting.
The mage who faced the fierce Dubbled soldier before his eyes cried out “Oh no!” and squeezed his eyes shut.
‘I’m done for─!’
But it was strange.
Even as time passed, he felt no pain. Not even his shoulder strap was cut. When the mage cautiously opened his eyes,
“Mmph?!”
A sack was slipped over his body. And the Dubbled soldier began running away, carrying the mage in the sack.
“Mmph? Mmph mmph!”
The mage struggled in bewilderment, and Eslon Marshu’s eyes widened as he watched his army’s mage get kidnapped before his eyes.
But it wasn’t just Marshu’s mage who was kidnapped.
“Wh-what?! Our mage is─”
“What are you doing to my mage!”
The Dubbled army kidnapped mages from other armies as well and fled as if on cue.
Eslon Marshu and Jonathan stared at the fleeing Dubbled army with dumbfounded faces.
‘What on earth are those bastards up to.’
They cast high-level magic like Meteor, yet instead of attacking, they kidnap mages and run away?
Eslon looked at Leblaine in the distance. She was covering her mouth with both fists and giggling.
‘Don’t tell me that crazy woman…!’
Eslon turned pale and shouted.
“Catch them! We can’t let them escape!”
But Iri swiftly headed toward Leblaine, and when Leblaine tore open a long-distance teleportation circle, they vanished before their eyes. The Meteor attack also ceased.
As the surroundings became quiet, the Amitie coalition’s commander checked on the kidnapped mages. Then he asked the frozen Paladin Jonathan.
“What was that? Why did they run away with the mages?”
“Replace the ones who were taken immediately. You must hurry!”
“What? But those are freelance mages we deliberately brought at great expense for the mock battle. They specifically targeted only those types.”
“That’s exactly why they took them. If they’re freelance mages rather than those assigned to houses with exceptional loyalty, they’ll easily defect. They took them to win them over and make them their allies!”
The commanders’ eyes widened. Just as they were hurriedly trying to raise their command insignia toward the magic tools floating in the sky for replacements,
[Dubbled replaces 1 soldier.]
[Dubbled replaces 2 soldiers.]
[Dubbled is replacing 1 soldier.]
[Dubbled is replacing a total of 5 personnel. Announcing again. Dubbled is replacing 5 soldiers─]
Bang─!!
The magical device floating in the sky for mock battle announcements suddenly exploded.
“Wh, what, what?!”
Before anyone could finish shouting, the faces of the Amitie allied forces turned ashen.
‘Without that, how do we replace soldiers?’
The pale-faced commander asked Eslon Marshu.
“What do we do now, Young Master? …Young Master?”
“….”
“Young Master, please steel your heart. The situation isn’t hopeless yet. Why do you look so gloomy?”
“…She stuck her tongue out at me.”
“Pardon?”
“She mocked me while taking our mages away!”
When their eyes met, Leblaine had pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue.
How dare she mock this Eslon Marshu? Me, the heir of Duke Marche?
Eslon Marshu let out a roaring shout.
Imperial Palace.
[She stuck her tongue out at me.]
The Imperial Palace hall erupted. Most people forgot their manners as they clutched their stomachs and laughed loudly, and even those famous for their dignity covered their mouths with the backs of their hands while their shoulders shook.
Among them, only a few had dark expressions.
Cardinal Reginald and the family heads belonging to the Amitie allied forces.
People kept glancing at Duke Marche, who had his fists clenched.
“Young Master Marshu has become quite the laughingstock.”
“Shh, His Excellency the Duke will hear you.”
Reginald cleared his throat and spoke up.
“The number of mages taken doesn’t even reach twenty. In contrast, our forces number over one hundred fifty. Please don’t worry.”
“I suppose the Marshu name becoming a joke doesn’t matter to you.”
“…That’s not what I meant, Your Excellency.”
The family heads of the Amitie allied forces looked at Cardinal Reginald with cold eyes.
“This is exactly why we hesitated to form an alliance. How could a Child of Fate from another world understand continental warfare? What can someone who knows nothing of war accomplish as the leader of a mock battle alliance?”
“Jonathan will come up with a solution.”
“After my son becomes a laughingstock following Young Master Marshu?”
Reginald fell silent, and the allied family heads burst with anger.
“You must clearly convey this to His Holiness. The honor of my family and heir falling to the ground cannot be compensated by anything.”
If prestigious families were defeated by Dubbled not individually but as an alliance, the aftermath would be considerable.
At that moment, the gazes of Duke Amitie, who had been silent all along, and Theodore Dubbled met.
As Theodore’s lips curved upward, Duke Amitie spoke.
“Have you forgotten chivalry? Don’t mock children who are fulfilling their responsibilities just because you have the upper hand.”
“Don’t worry. The mockery was directed at you.”
Duke Amitie’s expression finally crumpled.
* * *
I stared intently at the mages kneeling before me.
“Betray them.”
“Even though we’re not bound to any family house, we still have our integrity. If we break our prior contract for money, who would seek us out again?”
“I’ll give you ten times the amount.”
“We’ll annihilate the Amitie coalition forces for you!”
The mages prostrated themselves flat before me. I looked at the money-blinded mages with a pleased expression.
‘This is why I like greedy people.’
They’re so easy to handle.
I left behind the cute greedy ones who were burning with enthusiasm, saying things like ‘Should we start by firing meteors at their camp?’, and gestured to Iri’s vice captain.
“The Amitie coalition’s numbers are bothering me. We need to disrupt them.”
“Will you attack them?”
“No, just stir things up. Without engaging properly.”
“Even if we engage properly, we have good odds. We have you, Young Lady. If you step forward─”
I glanced at the recording stone floating in the air, then lowered my voice considerably.
“That won’t work.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll break if I’m attacked even once.”
“What?!”
This was Rain’s body hastily modified to resemble me, so it’s even weaker than the original Rain. On top of that, I use magic every time I speak to talk properly. In other words, this already fragile body is under additional strain.
Rain can be repaired if broken, but in this current state, restoration would take considerable time.
‘If that happens, it’ll be revealed to the whole world that I participated through a doll.’
Combined with my leave of absence from Odis, they’d easily figure out that something was wrong with my condition.
‘If they investigate and discover I’ve become a child, I’m doomed.’
There are people who know I became a child, but there was no evidence. If I grow back up and flatly deny it, there’s nothing they can do.
But if evidence emerges…
‘The shrine will pretend to worry about my condition and do all sorts of things under the guise of investigation.’
They’ll either manipulate the investigation results to declare I summoned a demon, or turn me into an obedient real doll somewhere my family can’t reach.
That was why I didn’t participate in the mock battle with Rain’s body from the beginning.
The vice captain gulped nervously.
“Then what should we do?”
“Don’t worry. I have a method.”
“How do you mean?”
I whispered with a truly villainous, wicked smile.
* * *
A few hours later, at another barracks in the Dubbled camp.
Mina was trapped inside a barracks separated from Leblaine. A faint light rose from her bound wrists, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
‘Just a little more. Just a little more…’
Mina gritted her teeth. Soon, with a snap, the rope around her wrists broke.
‘Controlling divine power is harder than I thought.’
It was more difficult to burn the rope little by little without others noticing than to burst out with power all at once.
It was like the difference between a child spilling water all over the floor and carefully pouring water into a small cup with control.
‘That’s why Leblaine said that. Even though my divine power is stronger, I could never beat that girl.’
If she hadn’t visited the past with the gentle god’s power, she wouldn’t have been a match for her, just as that girl said.
Mina got up and looked around the barracks where she was imprisoned.
‘Now I need to escape, but the barrier is incredibly strong. Isn’t there some good way?’
“Huh?”
Looking closely, there were supply sacks scattered around. Peering inside, she could see thin wooden pieces that looked like fortune cookies packed inside.
“Jonathan, what are these?”
“Supplies. A mock battle is a virtual war preparing for actual war. Supplies are essential in war. However, since we can’t waste precious resources, we use these as supplies.”
“Ah! I think I learned this at school. An army with cut supply lines is defeated.”
“Yes, soldiers must break these at regular intervals, and any soldier who fails to break them for more than a day is eliminated even if their shoulder strap isn’t cut.”
Dubbled had hastily moved their base in preparation for the Amitie alliance’s attack.
With limited manpower, Dubbled couldn’t create two barriers this strong.
Since they were just building the barracks, they had temporarily set up a barrier and placed both herself as a hostage and the supplies together.
‘They never imagined I could untie the ropes myself. Leblaine doesn’t know I visited the past.’
At most, she probably thinks I had a dream.
‘If I burn all these supplies, I can turn the tables.’
Flames burst forth from Mina’s hands with a whoosh.
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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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