The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 199

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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 199 76. Side Story 3 – Terrible Bastards (2)

Demons.

The very synonym of terror, possessing far greater power than ordinary humans.

However, it would be a mistake to think all demons possessed the same level of power. Just as humans each had different abilities, there existed tremendous differences between individual demons as well.

This was true for ordinary demons versus high demons. It was true for demons who couldn’t declare territory versus those who could. Even among demons capable of territorial declaration, they were divided into red, purple, and black territory levels. Notably, black territories were extremely rare cases that only those with Demon King-level power could achieve.

‘And… even among Demon Kings themselves, gaps in power exist.’

The former Demon King, Sekus, thought to himself as he looked around.

A vast expanse of land too large to even call castle ruins. Everything that entered his vision was stained with darkness.

A massive territory that no Demon King in history had ever possessed.

This vividly demonstrated the power of the Great Demon King, Neryal, who had awakened from his seal.

‘Though there’s no need to measure it solely by territory size.’

His gaze turned forward again.

No, it turned to an even higher place. He had no choice. Though seated, his opponent’s body was as large as a small mountain. Of course, the power he felt was equally immense. Sekus nodded and spoke.

“The title of Great Demon King wasn’t given for nothing.”

“You are quite useful as well. When I awakened, I found only worthless rabble, which filled me with disappointment, but this is truly fortunate. Ah, of course, the one behind you isn’t bad either. He would be perfectly suited to lead the vanguard in the invasion of the Human Realm.”

Baku, who had been standing behind Sekus, bowed his head slightly. Sekus also offered words of gratitude. Neryal let out a low chuckle and continued speaking.

“I understand your hesitation. I don’t know what happened while I slept, but the Demon Realm’s forces are quite unsatisfactory. Even the Demon God has… met his end, they say. It’s natural to be worried.”

“…”

“But look. At my power.”

Zzzzzzzzz-

As he clenched his rock-sized fist, terrifying demonic energy manifested.

“At the power of the subordinates who awakened with me.”

With a snap of his fingers, magical images bloomed in the air. The high demons in the images were demonstrating excellent skills while devoted to training.

“And at the strong bond firmly formed between myself and these subordinates.”

Unlike his previous two statements, Neryal showed no action to prove the bond between himself and his demon subordinates. However, his eyes were filled with confidence.

And neither Sekus nor Baku dared to deny his words. They had felt it during their day-long tour of Neryal’s territory. That Neryal’s final statement was the truth.

“Yes, now I ask again.”

Grrrrrrr…!

The Great Demon King Neryal, who had been sitting on the Jade Throne, rose from his seat. A thunderous roar echoed as if a mountain was rising from the earth. The overwhelming presence that seemed to look down upon all things was an added bonus.

Soon, heavy and serious words flowed from his mouth.

“You stalwart ones, lacking nothing to become my right and left arms.”

“…”

“For the upcoming conquest of the Human Realm, will you join your will with mine?”

A majestic atmosphere. A solemn and grand situation like the beginning of a story that might someday become legend.

Neryal had no doubt that the two heroes would kneel before him.

But he was mistaken.

Words of refusal flowed from Sekus’s mouth.

“I must decline.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I have no such intention.”

“…You too?”

“My elder brother’s will is my will.”

“…”

Baku, who had been standing silently behind, also expressed his refusal, and a deep silence fell over the audience chamber.

‘What the hell are these bastards doing?’

Neryal couldn’t understand.

Even before his seal, he had possessed sufficient power to conquer the Human Realm. If not for the sudden injury during his training, their lands would certainly already be in his grasp.

Yet seeing his current self, far stronger than before, they showed such a reaction?

That’s when it happened.

An ear-piercing alarm sound began echoing from the edge of his territory.

Beep- Beep-

– Lord Neryal! Intruders! Hu, humans! Humans have invaded the territory!

“What? Humans?”

– Yes! Five Sword Masters who appear to be knights, at a terrifying speed…

“…This is absurd.”

Neryal shook his head in disbelief.

It was beyond absurd to the point of being unpleasant. No matter how weakened the Demon Realm’s forces had become, for weak human bastards to inversely attack them.

Of course, he knew that Sword Masters were quite strong.

But that was only within the Human Realm. Just as demons weakened when ascending to the Human Realm, humans also couldn’t display their proper strength in the Demon Realm. In other words, those bastards were trying to break rocks with eggs.

“Handle it yourselves.”

He commanded while suppressing his anger.

He wanted to move personally. He wanted to vent his frustration on behalf of the underestimated Demon Realm, wanted to explode in rage.

But more important than that was persuading the formidable beings before him. He was a capable ruler who could distinguish between what was important and what wasn’t.

‘I won’t force them to submit. I won’t oppress or suppress them. I’ll show a more dignified appearance so they’ll willingly follow me of their own accord. I’ll show a solid appearance. I’ll firmly imprint that the Demon Realm I lead is no longer weak.’

While harboring such thoughts.

The tightly closed door of the reception room opened.

And four beings displaying beauty that transcended species and a man with a fierce expression revealed themselves.

“Huh?”

“Right?”

“He looks stronger than I thought.”

“Then would he be weak? They say he’s half of Sekaros. You’re not even worth a single punch. So…”

“Stop talking nonsense and get back, you lost at rock-paper-scissors.”

“…”

Neryal stared blankly at the five humans for a while.

He couldn’t understand how the bastards who had been at the entrance of his territory just moments ago had already reached here, nor what his subordinates had been doing in the meantime.

But what he understood least was the content of the conversation they were having.

‘Rock-paper-scissors, what are they talking about?’

However, when the fierce-looking man who claimed he had won stepped forward alone and drew his sword, and the other four humans stepped back to take the position of spectators, everything began to make sense. Crack, he ground his teeth. Pop, thick veins bulged at his temples.

Neryal roared in fury.

“You damn bastards! Don’t tell me you plan to face this Lord Neryal alone!”

“Yeah. That’s the idea.”

Despite the thunderous shockwave that cracked the floor and shook the entire Demon King’s Castle, the humans showed no signs of tension. Rather, they seemed excited. The man who stepped forward, Bumer Simpson, rushed forward as if unable to contain himself and said.

“Let’s have some real fun for the first time in a while!”

“Insolent fool…!”

Neryal’s expression hardened.

Before his words could even finish, the human had reached right before him, his sword falling with tremendous power. Warning signals rang frantically in his mind.

Flames that could only be seen in the depths of the Demon Realm. No, a sword strike even hotter and more fierce than that!

The Great Demon King who had awakened from his long slumber had no choice but to give his all regardless of his dignity.

“This… crazy…”

Kuuuuung!

After about an hour of fierce battle, he had no choice but to lose consciousness and collapse to the floor.

“Uggggh, it hurts. And it’s exhausting. Whew!”

Thud!

Of course, his opponent Bumer Simpson wasn’t in perfect condition either. The blade of his sword had chips here and there from blocking Neryal’s fists, and his body was battered from enduring the continuous outpouring of demonic energy.

However, what mattered was that in the end, he had achieved victory against the Great Demon King without anyone’s help.

A mere human, in the Demon Realm, and in the very depths of the Great Demon King’s territory at that.

‘Moreover, there are three more like him, and among them, Lumian is…’

“Whew.”

Sekus, who had been silently watching the fight, shook his head.

In a way, it was a natural result. The friends of the being who had defeated the Demon God more than 20 years ago couldn’t be ordinary. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that these five gathered here were the strongest five in human history.

He looked at the five humans and said.

“Thank you for showing mercy, heroes.”

“Well, it’s Sekus’s request after all. But is it really possible? To reform this guy?”

The hero among heroes, Lumian Calard, stepped forward as their representative to respond.

Just before arriving in the Demon Realm, they had received a request from Sekus to ‘spare the Great Demon King’s life.’ He argued that if they simply showed the Great Demon King the difference in power, everything after that could be resolved through peaceful means.

‘The Demon God who was trapped in the bonds of corruption is already dead. There’s no longer any need for humans and demons to fight.’

For demons, the lands of the human realm were utterly useless. They couldn’t properly display their power there, nor was it suitable for living. The reason countless Demon Kings had coveted the human realm until now was simply because of the Demon God. They had merely been swept up by his influence and controlled like puppets.

Sekus said.

“Though the Demon God’s aura is strong since he hasn’t been awake from the seal for long, given enough time, purification is definitely possible. You know this too, don’t you? Currently, there’s no one in the Demon Realm who covets the human realm. They have absolutely no interest in it.”

“Hmm.”

“And this guy, except for the fact that the Demon God’s aura hasn’t left him, is truly excellent ruler material. He’s perfectly suited to govern the chaotic Demon Realm after the Demon God’s death. Please, I beg you to consider our circumstances, hero.”

Hearing his words, Lumian and the other heroes discussed with serious expressions. Sekus waited calmly for their thoughts to converge.

And after a moment, Lumian, stepping forward as representative again, answered.

“…Since our Patron Deity also seeks coexistence between the human realm and Demon Realm, following Sekus’s words would be right. We’ll do as you ask.”

“Thank you. For considering the Demon Realm’s circumstances.”

“Thank you, hero.”

Sekus and Baku, showing clear smiles, secretly breathed sighs of relief.

The world after Demon God Javarik’s death was truly a mess. Though he was a corrupted being, when the god died, the entire Demon Realm became unstable, and unknown monsters began appearing everywhere through dimensional rifts.

Therefore, the two did their best to protect ordinary demons. They had no choice. With the Demon God, the Sons of the Demon Lord, and the high-ranking demons of the 108 Families all massacred, there were few beings in the entire world with the power to drive away the monsters. They spent twenty hectic years without a moment’s rest. As a result, they gained much greater fame and respect than during their Demon King days.

However, being free-spirited and fun-loving by nature, they had absolutely no intention of playing the role of the Demon Realm’s guardians forever.

‘That role, from now on, I hope Neryal and his subordinates will take care of it.’

It would definitely be possible. Sekus thought.

Though it was only for a day, the Neryal he had experienced was truly a decent fellow. If they could just erase the unnecessary Demon God’s aura and help him come to his senses, he would become a true ‘Great Demon King’ better than any previous Demon Kings.

‘After that, we’ll go back to living happily like before. Traveling, sleeping lazily, playing with women, playing with women, playing with women…’

Hehehehe, after seeing off Lumian’s party, Sekus and Baku shared stories about their rosy future with sinister smiles. More than 80%, no, over 90% of it was about women, including succubi.

But there weren’t two of them. Looking closely, there were three.

Cal Krone, who had quietly separated from the party without anyone noticing, joined the conversation.

“Can you include me in that too?”

“…?”

“…?”

“You said it yourself. That humans and demons no longer need to fight. You’re dreaming of a life where the two races coexist peacefully without any conflict, and you said it would definitely happen.”

“That’s… right?”

Sekus nodded with a bewildered expression. Baku still looked confused.

Cal Krone grinned at the two and said.

“When the Demon Realm stabilizes to some extent, call me through a familiar. I have great interest in love that transcends races.”

With those words, he left.

Baku, pondering Cal Krone’s light but definitely not empty request, said quietly.

“He’s much better than that stuffy Lumian.”

“That’s right, he’s a man who understands refinement.”

We definitely have to call him. The two muttered, threw their heads back, and burst into loud laughter.

And once again, time passed.

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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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