Chapter 339: Scatter the Surging Demon Lord's Army! 1
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"Kukuku...... Kukakaka...... Kukakakakakakaka!!"
The First Plaza of the Ashgo Kingdom's royal capital.
This plaza, the closest of the three plazas to the center of the town, offers a clear view of the majestic royal castle, illuminated by magic lamps and shining brightly even in the middle of the night.
Gazing up at the royal castle from the First Plaza.
With his deformed hands on his hips, long bangs swaying in the night breeze.
Laughing cheerfully, swinging his tail and flapping his wings, stood a man with pale blue skin.
Yes, he is the middle-ranked commander of the Demon Lord's army, entrusted with the retaliatory attack mission on the Ashgo Kingdom!
Deogandai the Puppeteer, that's who he is!
"Now...... it begins!"
Flash!
Flash, flash!!
Around Deogandai, who laughed triumphantly, purple lights originating from teleportation magic flashed one after another, and from them, a large number of Dark Magic Wolves were sent in, as if gushing forth.
Gazing at that sight, Deogandai nodded with satisfaction and shouted.
"Watch me, humans! Watch me, higher-ups! Witness from here...... my triumphant advanceーーー!!"
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"
In unison with Deogandai's shout, the giant Dark Magic Wolves all howled!
Their volume was so great that the stone walls of the houses surrounding the plaza vibrated.
The residents of the royal capital, pale with fear, hid in their homes, holding their breath, peeking at this terrifying scene from their windows.
"Alright, Dark Magic Wolves squad, everyone's here, right!? Formation, Type 3ーーー!"
"AWON!"
Waiting for the purple light to subside, Deogandai gave instructions to the Dark Magic Wolves.
Receiving them, the Dark Magic Wolves lined up in perfect order with flawless movements.
They are, so to speak, elite Dark Magic Wolves that Deogandai the Puppeteer has painstakingly trained and raised.
They are the key to Deogandai's operational plan, and although their numbers are not that large, their strength is guaranteed.
Furthermore, despite being wolves, their high intelligence as a species allows them to understand human language and easily follow and act on these simple instructions.
"Kukakakakaaaーーー!!"
Deogandai laughed triumphantly while looking at the reliable wolf army.
"Ka......"
But his laughter suddenly stopped.
The memory of his failure in the Liheid conquest mission suddenly flashed back in his mind.
At that time too, Deogandai was full of confidence.
He never thought for a moment that his plan would fail.
Just like this, he was laughing triumphantly.
But however, what happened in the end?
For some reason, all his preparations went awry.
His trusted Dark Magic Wolves were peeled off by a mysterious girl.
He was surrounded by the heroes, beaten to a pulp, and defeated.
As a result, Deogandai's reputation within the Demon Lord's army plummeted, and he was forced to live an inconvenient daily life in his 5th form.
(Will it be okay? Will I fail again this time?)
A sudden wave of anxiety.
His hands trembled.
"Kuuun?"
A Dark Magic Wolf nearby, worried, peered into Deogandai's face, who had suddenly stopped moving.
Deogandai made eye contact with the Dark Magic Wolf.
And then.
"Kuka, Kukakakakaaaーーー!!"
He shook his head vigorously, straightened his back, and let out an even louder laugh!
(Don't be afraid, Deogandai! I can do it! I can definitely make a comeback! Even the hero isn't on this continent anymore! There's no one left to get in my way! Believe in yourself!)
Mentally, he desperately encouraged himself!
And to avoid being looked down upon by the Dark Magic Wolves, he deliberately laughed triumphantly!
He blew away his anxiety!
"Gate, open and summon him! [Summon]!"
Deogandai, having regained his composure and tightened his expression by laughing loudly, cast another spell.
Then, a purple magic circle appeared next to him, and from within it, a black, giant beetle, boasting the size of a light vehicle, emerged.
Bun, bunbun!
Moving its heavy head menacingly and swinging its five terrifying horns. This monster's name is Destroy Bunbun!
A fearsome beetle with incredible charging ability that can easily destroy human-made walls!
It's another key element of Deogandai's plan!
"Now, Destroy Bunbun-chan...... You can smell it, can't you? The sweet...... smell of honey!"
Konkon, kokon, kokokon.
Tapping the beetle's shell with a unique rhythm, Deogandai spoke gently to Destroy Bunbun.
The key to making Destroy Bunbun obey is this rhythm of tapping its shell.
This is the communication method with the super giant beetle Destroy Bunbun, first devised by Deogandai the Puppeteer in the world.
"Now is the time to take flight! Charge towards the source of the smell! Destroy the walls of the royal castleーーー!!"
"BUBUBUBUBUBU!!"
Kokokon, kon, kokon!
Destroy Bunbun, receiving instructions while having its shell tapped by Deogandai, thrust its heavy head upwards, sniffing the air as if searching for a scent, and then...... forcefully opened its back shell from the center outwards!
What emerged from within were transparent wings!
Destroy Bunbun moved its wings at super speed and started flapping them.
A violent wind blew around, and several Dark Magic Wolves were blown away.
"Now...... goーーー!!"
"BUBUBUBUBUBU!!"
At Deogandai's command, Destroy Bunbun further increased its flapping speed, floated into the air, and then!
From the First Plaza, onto the main street...... it began its charge at tremendous speed!
What lies ahead is, of course!
...... The Ashgo Kingdom's royal castle!
"Now, Dark Magic Wolves squad! Follow Destroy Bunbun-chan! Invade the castle through the hole he creates in the walls with his charge, and...... kill all the humans insideーーー!!"
"""AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"""
Annihilate!
The dangerous words included in Deogandai's instructions ignited the Dark Magic Wolves' evil killing instinct!
With their eyes shining brightly and drool scattering, they all howled once again!
"Follow Destroy Bunbun-chan! Everyone, chargeーーー!!"
Spreading his wings, forcefully hitting the ground with his tail!
Deogandai pointed his deformed right hand forward and shouted!
But, however!
Here!
Deogandai's evil scheme!
Was abruptly brought to a halt!
In other words, what happens is!
The first unexpected situation!
"Bubububu......?"
Destroy Bunbun, who went ahead, is not very smart.
He only understands about half of Deogandai's instructions.
"Bububu!"
So, even if he's instructed to "destroy the walls of the royal castle."
Once he senses the smell of honey from somewhere other than the target location.
His instincts take over.
"BUBUBUBUBUBUーーー!!"
He flies straight towards the honey!
"......Huh? Huh? Huh!?"
Deogandai froze, his mouth agape, still pointing forward.
Destroy Bunbun, who should have been heading straight for the royal castle, suddenly changed course at a right angle and flew towards the back alley.
The memory of his failure at Liheid flashed back!
He couldn't stop sweating!
(Why!? Why isn't Destroy Bunbun-chan heading towards the royal castle!? Could it be that Maqueterra messed up!? Eh? But all he had to do was smear honey on the walls, right? How could he mess that up!?)
His plan failed from the start, and Deogandai was panicking.
His back was drenched in cold sweat!
But, however!
"Kuuun?"
He made eye contact with a Dark Magic Wolf looking at him worriedly, and somehow regained his composure.
(That's right! I'm a middle-ranked commander of the Demon Lord's army, Deogandai the Puppeteer! An ace of the Demon Lord's army! How can I not handle such a minor accident flexibly!!)
Bam!
Deogandai slammed his rugged, dragon-like hands together in front of his chest, pumped himself up, and shouted!
"There's no need to worry, Dark Magic Wolves! My fists now possess the power of a dragon! With this power, the stone walls built by humans are nothing to fear!!"
But, however.
Just as he shouted those words and boosted the morale of the Dark Magic Wolves.
It happens.
......The second unexpected situation.
ZUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
That unexpected event came crashing down from the roof, with a deafening roar.
"Wh-What is that!?"
Deogandai, with his dragon fists ready, hurriedly turned towards the source of the roar.
There, illuminated by the streetlights, was.
A small crater that suddenly appeared.
Parts of what used to be a Dark Magic Wolf scattered around it.
And, a single girl, pulling her blood-soaked fist out of the center of the crater, releasing intense [Intimidation] towards the surrounding Dark Magic Wolves and taking a fighting stance.
"Ah."
That girl has black hair and black eyes.
She's wearing some kind of slender, jet-black, spiky armor-like garment, and emitting a jet-black haze from her entire body.
The occasional flashes of rusty red on her armor are truly eerie.
"Aaaaah."
Deogandai had seen her before.
This girl.
Time has passed, and she's grown.
Her attire has also changed.
But, however, her intimidating aura.
And her beauty.
Neither have faded.
Even if he only saw her once.
He can't forget.
There's no way he's mistaking her for someone else.
"Aaaaaaaah......!"
That girl is.
That girl is!
"Youuuuuuuuuuーーー!!"
The mysterious girl who, in the fortress city of Liheid, chased down the Dark Magic Wolves at an incredible speed, ultimately forcing Deogandai to fight a losing battle against the heroes due to their overwhelming numbers......
That's who she is!
What was he thinking, saying "There's no one left to get in my way"!
There she is!
But why is she here!?
Speaking of which, who the hell is this girl!?
Just as Deogandai started to panic again.
"GURURURURU!!"
One of the Dark Magic Wolves surrounding the girl lunged at her.
The girl nonchalantly punched it with lightning speed.
The body of the Dark Magic Wolf that was punched couldn't maintain its form with just that single blow, and it splattered into pieces of flesh and blood.
"............"
The girl, paying no attention to the life she had just taken.
Looked at the deformed demon pointing at her, as if he recognized her, and tilted her head.
Eh, when did we meet?
I don't have any memory of this, though?
She tilted her head while having such a conversation with her mind roommate.
She's a girl with truly exceptional beauty.
It must have been a very cute gesture.
If she wasn't covered in the blood of the Dark Magic Wolf, that is.
It's just bad luck for Deogandai to be attacked by Emi, but it's different for Maqueterra.
Speaking of which, he was holding a bucket of honey last time, right?
So he hasn't done his job, has he?
I think I'll describe the details of that later.
There's no big reason, though.