NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Nahun’s plan this time was to spread false rumors in the human realm to lure adventurers. To achieve this, he manipulated the minds of the captured humans, turning them into pawns.
When it was time to send the manipulated humans back as planned, Nahun made one request to Lin.
“Make sure to send the last one to Soter City of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Understood.”
Nahun was well aware of who was in Soter City. Among the forces in the human realm that appear in Ebel Queen Maker, there were some troublesome adversaries.
One of them was Adelbert Granz, the Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild in Soter City. He was not only the Guild Master but also the most outstanding assassin currently active. With quick judgment and sharp insight befitting a professional assassin, he was a significant obstacle in Nahun’s plan.
Thus, Nahun purposely sent someone to Soter City at the latest possible time. He intended for things to be in such a situation that even if Adelbert noticed something suspicious, it would already be too late to respond. And Nahun’s plan hit the mark.
Before Adelbert could contact other guilds upon sensing something strange, other guilds had already dispatched adventurers to the Demon World.
Baruna, who was positioned on a high hill, let out a small laugh as he watched the enormous number of adventurers spilling into the entrance of the Demon World through various portals.
“… So many are pouring in, Daejeong.”
“It seems Nahun’s plan has succeeded.”
“Every time I see him, I realize how impressive he is.”
Lin chuckled. Even Baruna, who initially disliked Nahun, had come to acknowledge him over time. Lin warned Baruna.
“For Nahun’s scheme to succeed, we must do well. So don’t get too excited, Baruna.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Baruna similarly lifted his spear, and behind him, the elite soldiers of the formidable Fourth Legion, the strongest force in the 72nd floor, all readied their weapons.
“Heard that? You all need to do well. Capture as many as possible alive.”
“Yes!”
“Begin, Argol.”
As Baruna issued the command, a dark shadow loomed from the sky. Something fell above the heads of the swarming humans.
Boom!!
“What…?”
In an instant, several adventurers were crushed and lost their lives. Overwhelmed by the sight, the adventurers held their breath, staring at the massive statue that had dropped among them. Among them, an adventurer with an A inscribed on his epaulettes, who had considerable experience, shouted in shock.
“G-gargoyle!?”
“By the lord’s command, eliminate the intruders.”
As the giant gargoyle Argol spread its wings, the adventurers were swept aside by the force and stumbled. The formation they had established broke down, escalating the chaos.
Observing the situation closely, Lin raised her hand. As she extended her arm forward, the legion soldiers stepped out and brandished something.
That massive object was a type of launcher that allowed them to fire items using magic power. More specifically, it was a net launcher. There was no need to explain why it was brought out.
“Fire!”
Fwomp! Bang!
Using the magic power of the legion soldiers as fuel, hundreds of nets were scattered across the sky. The nets that spread in the air fell down, covering the adventurers below.
“Ugh!”
“What’s happening all of a sudden…!”
“A net!? What is this…?”
The sudden fall of nets confused the already panicking adventurers even more. Many adventurers found themselves immobilized, trapped like fish caught in nets.
Realizing this, Lin drew her sword.
“Charge!”
Lin rushed down the hill first, followed closely by Baruna. The legion soldiers followed them in an orderly manner.
Their movements were devoid of any unnecessary gestures. The way they moved as if they were one body resembled the legions from the era of the former Seir von Debata.
Awaiting on the opposite hill, there were also some individuals, originally soldiers of Citri, who had now become soldiers under Seere.
They were newly formed into a legion by Nahun’s decision, following Lin’s advice. They had become the ‘Fifth Legion’ under Seere von Debata.
Leading the Fifth Legion was Epsilon, who had originally commanded the troops dispatched to the 72nd floor. The deputy commander was Zeta, noted for her exceptional skills at Epsilon’s recommendation.
On the opposite hill, Epsilon witnessed Lin leading the legion soldiers down. Immediately, he drew his sword and pointed it at the adventurers below.
“Capture them all!”
“Honor!”
Upon seeing the demon soldiers appear suddenly from both front and back, the adventurers, already confused, began to panic even more.
“A-guardian!?”
“Where did that many come from…!”
Especially the inexperienced adventurers were helpless against them. Among them, the ones who maintained their composure were primarily A-rank or higher adventurers.
These individuals were indeed quite skilled and experienced, thus not panicking. Most were stronger than ordinary soldiers, making them relatively difficult to capture. However, they were not a trained army.
“Hey, someone help here!!”
“Shut up! Don’t give me orders! I’m busy here too!”
These were free-spirited adventurers, not a disciplined military force. Naturally, there was no command structure. Although some quick-witted adventurers started to cooperate…
Rustle!
“I-I’m caught here!!”
“What’s with that speed!?”
Those who were doing this were comparatively few, and they were efficiently handled by Lin, Baruna, Epsilon, and Zeta. Meanwhile, one adventurer drew a massive greatsword and shouted.
“Those who can fight, follow me!”
Three A’s adorned the epaulettes of that man. Excluding the S-rank, which represented the pinnacle of adventurers, this denoted the highest rank available. An AAA-rank adventurer’s abilities could be considered on par with elite knights of a nation.
AAA-rank adventurer Joseph Rosenbach, he was among the top three crusader adventurers currently active.
When such an adventurer stepped forth, the chaotic atmosphere among the adventurers shifted slightly. Seeing this, Lin commanded Baruna.
“Handle it.”
“Leave it to me, Daejeong.”
As Baruna stepped forward with his spear, Joseph raised his holy greatsword and spoke fiercely.
“Filthy demons, will you release the captives at once!?”
“Be quiet, bug.”
In that moment, Baruna’s appearance began to change gradually. His fangs grew large and sharp, and his eyes glowed red. Joseph flinched slightly at the sight, resembling a fiend.
Asura, the race Baruna hailed from, was known among demons as a “warrior race” due to their exceptional combat abilities.
“I’ll eliminate you.”
Boom!!
In an instant, Baruna’s spear pierced Joseph’s flank. The speed of his attack was beyond imagination, leaving Joseph too stunned to respond. He couldn’t activate his protective holy blessing before being struck, mitigating any potential damage.
Blood poured out from beneath the pierced armor. Joseph felt intense pain and collapsed to the ground.
“Gah… Cough…”
“J-Joseph!!”
Several adventurers from the same guild as Joseph stared in disbelief as they saw Baruna take him down in an instant. His glowing red eyes and massive fangs brought forth primal fear.
“Ahhhhh!”
One adventurer, terrified, fled the scene. Baruna looked at those fleeing with disdain, like pests. He then issued a command to the legion soldiers following behind him.
“Make sure they can’t escape. Capture them all.”
“Yes.”
For various reasons, despite the sheer number of adventurers that entered the Demon World, they were quickly subdued by the soldiers of the 72nd floor.
#
“Good work, Lin Daejeong.”
After hearing the report in his office, Nahun clapped his hands. He had captured many humans with far fewer casualties than expected. Of course, they also gained various tools, supplies, and medicines as a bonus.
Thanks to the significant number of captured goods, the storeroom became quite full. Consequently, the execution of plans could be moved up a bit. Nahun praised Lin and Baruna as he looked at the report detailing the amount seized and the number of prisoners taken.
“We merely followed Nahun’s plan.”
“That’s right.”
“I just set the plan; it was you two who executed it, so feel free to take pride in that.”
Nahun said this and glanced to the side. It was Epsilon and Zeta, who were participating for the first time as the leaders of the newly formed Fifth Legion.
“Epsilon Daejeong, Zeta Boude.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“You both worked hard. Thank you for returning safely.”
Nahun’s words surprised Epsilon slightly. He expected to hear gratitude for following the plan well or for executing the mission brilliantly.
“For returning safely…”
Epsilon smiled pleasantly, bowing his head slightly.
“Thank you.”
“I look forward to your future contributions as well.”
Nahun sent off the four and called Cain. Cain entered the office with Seere.
“Teacher~!”
Seere dashed toward Nahun and naturally reached out to sit on his lap. Nahun lightly lifted Seere and seated her on his knee, then spoke to Cain.
“Cain, start leaking information to the merchants of the Demon World.”
“Understood.”
“And you see the number of prisoners listed here?”
“Yes.”
Nahun pointed at the number of prisoners written in the report, 672.
“Select 200 of them with high resale value.”
“Yes?”
“Send the rest back.”
Cain looked puzzled.
“What do you mean? You’re not intending to use all the captured humans as pawns, are you?”
Cain was recalling how Nahun had manipulated some humans’ minds for use as pawns during this plan. However, Nahun shook his head.
“No, that’s not the intention.”
“Then why would you send back the captured humans?”
“It’s not just returning them. Managing them all would be difficult if we held onto them, and we don’t know how humans will react. We need to make the first move.”
Nahun smiled.
“We’ll extract what we must.”
“…I hate to say this, but do you intend to negotiate with the human nations?”
“I am.”
“Absolutely not!”
Cain shouted, causing Seere to pout. Upon seeing her expression, Cain flinched and lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn out of shock.”
“Why is it impossible, Cain?”
“May I speak?”
Seeing Cain’s demeanor more cautious now, Nahun encouraged him to speak freely.
“Go ahead.”
“Though Nahun is greatly expanding our influence, I believe it is premature to take action against the human nations.”
“What do you think the countries we should avoid confronting are?”
“…The Holy Kingdom, the Empire, and we should be cautious of the Northern Alliance.”
The Holy Felix Kingdom, the only religious nation among the human nations, the Bismarck Empire, which had proclaimed itself an empire, and the Northern Alliance formed by the seven northern castles. These were powerhouses within the human nations in the Ebel Queen Maker universe.
Nahun was satisfied with Cain’s accurate assessment and replied.
“Should we then avoid negotiating with them?”
“That would be correct.”
“You’re mistaken, Cain.”
“Yes?”
Both Cain and Seere, who had been listening, tilted their heads.
“Instead, we should firmly negotiate with the great powers.”
“W-what do you mean? If we provoke them…”
“Don’t worry; they won’t summon their armies.”
Cain looked puzzled by Nahun’s absolute confidence. As Seere, whose curiosity was growing, raised her hand, she asked Nahun.
“Why?”
“The larger the country, the more cautious its ruler becomes, especially as they bear the responsibility of protecting their citizens.”
Nahun stroked Seere’s head as he spoke.
“Therefore, they won’t be able to ignore our demands. If they do, they’ll lose the trust of their citizens.”
“Is that really so?”
“Of course. You must always keep this in mind when governing the Demon King Castle. A Demon King must prioritize maintaining their influence above all.”
Seere blinked, seeming to understand or not, and nodded. Cain bowed his head as he listened to Nahun’s words.
“Then I will follow Nahun’s wishes. I will narrow it down to about 200 individuals with valuable merchandise, regardless of their origin or status.”
“Do that. And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
In addition to leaking information to the merchants and classifying the useful products from the captured humans, Nahun had one more request for Cain.
“Call the blacksmiths from the 72nd and 70th floors.”
“The blacksmiths?”
“Yes. Select those with good skills.”
“Understood.”
While Cain didn’t know what Nahun was planning, he accepted the orders without questioning further. Once Cain left the office, Seere asked Nahun.
“What are you going to make?”
“I’ll be making merchandise to sell.”
“Hmm?”
Among the items captured from the human adventurers were not only simple tools but also quite a few high-quality weapons.
Born with magic power, demons had the convenient weapon of magic. Thus, it was natural for humans to have weapons of superior quality compared to those crafted in the Demon World, where the quality of weapons was relatively low since they relied solely on physical weaponry for self-defense.
Therefore, Nahun planned to teach the blacksmiths under Seere’s command.
He intended to analyze the captured weapons and have them produce weapons of similar caliber. The intention was to engage in the business of selling the crafted weaponry while simultaneously replacing the worn weapons of the soldiers under Seere.
Nahun smiled as he advised Seere.
“There’s always something to learn from the enemy.”