In the dark forest, Keita sat down on the ground.
The smell of fire and smoke still remained in his nostrils. His heart ached when he thought back on the burning village.
“Canila. Are the villagers safe?”
The place he was in was too dense with trees to see, but Perlei was only about two kilometers away. And so it didn’t take long for Canila to answer.
‘…Yes. They are fine. The fires have died down. And the Seer’s military supplies have been wiped out.’
‘Mission accomplished then. Good work.’
“Yes…”
While remaining invisible, he had set fire to the warehouses of the Hero’s army, just as the assault squad had attacked. One wrong move, and he would have been spotted and killed by the knights or monsters.
“By the way, is Fi alright?”
‘He contacted me earlier. They are fine, and were able to escape while destroying only the supplies.’
Keita was relieved to hear that his friend was safe.
“Still, will it really be alright now? What if the Hero’s army loses…”
‘There is no need to worry about that. The Demon King’s army is just barely getting by. Now they are at a level where they can fight decently, that’s all.’
Currently, in both fighting force and strategy, the Demon King’s army led by Berganda was at a disadvantage.
The Dragon God’s strategy was to balance the forces while weakening the Hero’s army without causing any casualties, thereby keeping the strength of both armies evenly matched.
‘And now the village of Perlei is saved in the truest sense. Right now, the monsters are withdrawing.’
“Really? That’s a relief…”
There was one more reason that they went with this strategy.
The demon general himself had not believed it would succeed. He had used Sheto as a messenger in order to know for sure when it did fail.
The assault squad was meant purely as a decoy, while a separate force of four thousand was scheduled to attack Perlei at midnight.
As the Hero’s army was burdened by the villagers, a greater tragedy was prevented. But even so, there was a feeling he could not shake away.
“Can we really win by doing things this way?”
‘Of course. That being said, this is only the first step.’
“Then what are we going to do now?”
‘Defeat the Seer’s Hero, and as the Demon King’s army is drunk by that death, we catch them off guard and take down Berganda.’
He gulped.
Defeat the Seer’s Hero. In other words, erase all of the miracles affecting the army.
“But if you do that, Berganda and the Demon King’s army will…!”
‘But they will hardly come out unscathed after clashing with the Hero’s army. We will target them while both armies are in the middle of battle.’
Said the Dragon God, and Keita was silent.
The Demon King’s army was always on the brink. Unless they continued to recruit asault squads and ground down their own troops with risky strategies, they had no chance of winning.
‘We must make sure that the Demon King’s army is worn down fighting the Hero’s army. And the Hero’s army, in turn, must use their advantage to crush them in the field. It will be during that very moment, that our chance for victory will arrive.’
And Sheto must also grasp victory from a situation where he had no hope of winning.
By luring the Hero out into the battle field, and depleting the Demon King’s army.
‘And you, Keita. You are the decisive arrow that will be used against both camps.’
“…Huh?”
‘You do not understand? Sheto has not spoken a word about you to Berganda. And while Furukamuto may think you are a nuisance, he cannot spend any power towards hunting you down now. You are someone who can silently take down the enemy without being spotted. That is what you are.’
The invisibility spell he had used on impulse, and the role he had taken simply because he was asked to. Suddenly, it gained meaning and significance.
The moment Keita realized this, his body began to shake.
“Wh…why is it me!? After all… Sheto…was supposed to defeat Berganda and the Hero…!”
‘The only way to end this battle with minimal casualties is to kill both generals. And it must be done at the same time. And your power will make it possible.”
“Ah…ah…”
Keita’s knees began to shake. The Dragon God’s idea was insane. When the battle begins, and both leaders lower their guards…defeat both of them.
And Keita would have to kill on one side.
Bonus chapter courtesy of Photo! Thank you so much!!