Chapter 236

“But, I’ll die.”

A duel with Kyuka.
I’d die if I lost. And if I won…I’d still die.

I’d be in tatters.
And his men would likely have something to say.

“It will be fine.”
“That’s a groundless statement, isn’t it?

I didn’t want any consolation.
The leader in a battlefield was usually in the center of the camp.

No matter what I did, my fate was to die.

“You must listen to the rest. This is a plan devised by Felicia.”
“Oh…?”

Felicia was Farneze’s tactician.
If this was a plan devised by her, perhaps it was worth listening to.

“While I want you to fight him in a duel, I don’t mean that you must fight until the end.”

In other words, a pretend fight?
If so, this plan of Felicia’s must be…

“Killing Kyuka isn’t your goal?”
I asked. The General’s eyes widened.

“Impressive. You figured that out with just that?”

“Well, it’s not possible for me to beat Kyuka. If you’re going to go through the trouble of setting this up, it must be to buy some time. You must have some other aim.”

“Mmm. What we really want to do is eliminate Kyuka’s bodyguards. …I’ll start from the beginning. Based on our investigations, we were able to find out how Kyuka has been expanding his forces.”

She didn’t need to tell me.
In the Demon World, there really was only one way to do this ‘quickly.’

“He continued to beat those who were equal or slightly above him. If that’s the case, it would be impossible to make the enemy submit.”
“Exactly. In other words, when it comes to battles between Lesser Demon Kings, you have to kill your enemy.”

Even if you somehow did manage to make your enemy submit. You now had an incredibly powerful subordinate.
And so what would the defeated enemy think?

If you had only barely lost, then perhaps you could win the next time.
And so they would challenge you to Gekokujyo as soon as they recovered.

Kyuka would not be able to rest easily if he had men who were almost as strong as him.

People would always be targeting his throne.
And if he continued to war, he might eventually be badly injured. That would be the perfect time for one of his subordinates to challenge him.

And then it would all be finished.
If you wanted subordinates that were as strong as you, then you needed to have the ability to beat them at Gekokujyo, regardless of the situation.

You needed to show the difference between you two.
They cannot win. Make them understand that, and yield.

In fact, Saifo and Beka had continued to challenge me even after I showed them… But we’ll not think about that.

However, Kyuka was waging war after war. He wouldn’t have time to be teaching lessons.
In other words, he must be killing these other Lesser Demon Kings.

“In that case, his lands would be expanding faster than his army. Especially since a lot of his men would be dying in battle.”

“Indeed. And so Kyuka’s army would be lacking in powerful men.”
“So, you think that if I ask to join him…he’ll find it difficult to refuse?”

“Exactly. You are an Origin with immense amounts of mana. You will be a surprise to him.”

“So, I am to seek an audience, and have our souls connected directly?”

His direct subordinate. She thought that I could be in the same class as a General.
Corps Commanders were under Generals, and it really depended on how many there were. But that’s why I would have to meet him once, in order to determine this.

I see. Yes, I was starting to think that an audience was possible.

“And after that, I want you to challenge him to Gekokujyo. And then…”
“If he accepts, the others won’t be able to interfere.”

It was hard to imagine that he would refuse to fight one on one.
Felicia…well done. The path to this duel seemed like it would be rather smooth now.

“The problem is, whether you can win or not, Golan. And Felicia decided that you cannot.”
“I agree with her.”

There was no way that I could beat a Lesser Demon King who was almost a Demon King.

“And so you will not fight Kyuka head-on. You will lure him in and then make a run for it. You can charge your legs with mana, yes? That way, you should be able to buy us some time.”

“Well, I…yes, I could do that.”

If the order was to kill him, I would say it was impossible. But if it was just to run, then I might be able to manage.

“In the meantime, we will annihilate Kyuka’s bodyguards. We will do this, with no intention at all of retreating before it’s complete.”
“But what about Kyuka’s army? Will it even be possible to face his bodyguards alone?”

“That’s why we will chase you Golan. My men are going to chase you into Kyuka’s army.”
“You want me to run towards Kyuka’s army…”

“Yes. And then Kyuka’s men will fight the men that are chasing you. They will fight for awhile, and then retreat.”
“The enemy will likely chase them.”

“And we’ll move as soon as they separate from the main camp.”
“So, the army chases them. I fight Kyuka in the main camp. And a new team is sent to target the bodyguards…I see.”

But this plan had three uncertainties.
One, was whether or not I could actually outrun Kyuka.

The second was whether or not General Farneze and the other could kill his bodyguards.
As for the third…

“What if someone interferes?”
“You mean Nehyor.”

Even she knew.
The Wild Hunt always seemed to appear out of nowhere.

There was no telling where they would come out next.
I had every intention of killing Nehyor the next time we met, but that would be very challenging if I had to do it while running away from Kyuka.

“Indeed. That’s something that I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Really?”

“Nehyor’s goal.”
“The stolen journal contained the secret to becoming an Elder Vampire… Right?”

“Yes. King Melvis talked to me about it before I left.”
I see. He was awake now, so it could be confirmed.

So Nehyor knew how to become an Elder Vampire.
“And I’m allowed to hear about this?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s nothing to keep a secret. Besides, you cannot do anything with the information.”
“I see. Then please tell me.”

“It was during my audience with King Melvis…”
The General said as she began to relate what she had learned.

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Makai Hongi