The Battle with the Devil’s Forces

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I asked the young dwarves to lead the way as we traveled up the tunnel.

 

While they were young, dwarven youths all have great beards, making it difficult to know their age.

 

They navigated the dark tunnels without hesitation.

I was very thankful for that.

We continued through it until we saw a light up ahead.

The lanterns remained lit.

We would be using them again shortly.

 

The entrance of the cave was unsurprisingly guarded, and they sprang on us as we boldly walked out.

 

Surely they could not lose to pickaxe wielding dwarves?

 

Such convictions must have been strong in Eligos’s monsters, but they would regret their mistake in the afterlife.

 

Indeed, the dwarves were armed with nothing but pickaxes, but Saint Jeanne had a sword.

 

A holy sword, in fact. And she cut through the monsters with the famous blade, one after another.

As for me, I had great magic.

Its overwhelming firepower burned through their defenses.

Perhaps we had made too great a spectacle of their annihilation, because we soon saw that an army of reinforcement was coming from the town.

I calmly made an estimate of their number.

 

“One, two, three. Hmm. Nearly all of them.”

 

“You are very quick, Demon Lord.”

 

I replied lazily to Jeanne’s approval.

 

“I had my familiar confirm it earlier. …Yes, their leader is there as well.”

 

A man in a questionable robe was there.

It was Sharltar, the Necromancer.

My purpose in this battle was to annihilate his army or to kill him.

It was either or both.

That was what was needed to free the dwarves now.

And so I gave the order.

 

“Alright. All of you, pull back. But do not make it too obvious. Slowly. We do not want them to suspect a trap.”

 

I said. But they were not suited for subtlety. They felt frantic in their first battle. There was fear.

 

They wouldn’t even have to act as they retreated.

We just had to pull back.

We just had to lightly engage with Eligos’s army as they chased us.

It was really just Jeanne and me who were fighting.

And the young dwarves watched us.

 

“A legendary Demon King and the Saint of Gold are fighting together.”

 

They said with a sigh.

I suppose they meant Jeanne.

She did have blonde hair and her white robes evoked a sense of holiness.

I packed as much power as I could in my fists, so as not to fall behind her.

 

As we drew back, Jeanne paid me a compliment.

 

“Impressive, Demon Lord. So it’s not only your mind, but you are a first-rate fighter.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Imagine if we had children together. They would be the strongest ever.”

 

“…”

 

Well, this was all rather sudden.

…I remonstrated her that she should protect her own virtue, but she smiled back.

 

“Of course, I intend to. No man has ever touched this skin. However, if it was God’s will, my virtue will be easily discarded. And I would bear your children. If that is God’s will.”

 

I prayed that her god was not a madman and that these words would not enter Eve’s ears.

We continued to retreat until we reached the open cave.

 

The dwarven chief, Gottlieb was there.

And so were the miners he led.

They were armed with pickaxes and spears.

 

“You have very precise timing, Demon Lord.”

 

Gottlieb said with a rough but amused voice.

By his attitude and words, I understood that the tunnel was complete.

Then the only thing to do was to lure them over here.

When the enemy forces swarmed in here, I would cause the entrance to explode.

 

While I bought them some time, the dwarves would escape down this tunnel. Then the rest of the explosives would be ignited, burying the enemy in the rubble.

 

This was my plan.

But would it work?

 

I looked at the faces of the dwarves around me. I could see that my fears were unfounded.

 

They all had the faces of warriors.

They had the air of Heroes.

Even a Demon Lord would have trouble defeating such men.

That is what I thought.

 

I felt a strong trust in them as we entered formation.

A close-packed formation.

Shields up, spears extended.

They stood together at one point and would thrust their spears out.

This formation was known as a phalanx.

It was a favorite of the conqueror, Alexander the Great, from that other world.

 

He invaded countries from Europe to Asia with this strategy and built a world empire.

 

The good thing about this strategy is that it increased your will to fight and instilled a sense of unity.

 

While they lacked training, it was perfect for these brave dwarves.

While this area was quite open, it was still essentially an underground tunnel. It was better to stay close than to scatter.

In any case, it felt like the perfect thing to do.

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