7th Demon Prince Jilbagias' Chronicle of Demon Kingdom Toppling-Chapter 172: Melody of The Battlefield

BGM: A Splash of True Colors – Throttle Up![Wuthering Waves Boss Theme]

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――Evaloti’s westernmost point, Niburn Fortress.

「It's begin…」

In the central chamber of the fortress, the Hall of Prayer, a female forest elf spellcaster twitched her long ears.

True to her nature as a sun-loving forest elf, she had healthy tanned skin, but her sunken cheeks—likely from stress and heavy responsibility—gave her a worn-out appearance that could hardly be called healthy.

「… Let's do what we can do.」

A similarly weary, slender-faced elven male spellcaster responded with a drawn-out voice.

Beside him, an elderly elf—despite being of a long-lived race—with deep wrinkles etched around his eyes, nodded in silence.

At the Niburn Fortress, which was expected to become the fiercest battleground in this battle, three "Guides", almost the highest-ranking elf spellcasters, were stationed. They were elite among the already magically gifted forest elves, with abilities comparable to high elves.

「…」

The elderly elf took a fresh tree branch from the chest pocket of his robe.

When the slender-faced male elf spoke something to the floor, the stone pavement cracked, revealing the earth beneath it.

The elderly elf swiftly inserted the branch there, and when the female elf spellcaster gently extended her hands, pure, clear water gushed forth from her palms.

「～♪」

The female elf spellcaster hummed a tune as she poured the water, as if watering a houseplant with a watering can.

A carefree and gentle melody, like a lullaby, completely out of place in such a tense situation――

「～～♪」

Swaying gently, humming in a low voice, the slender-faced male elf matched the tune. His finger movements, tracing shapes and patterns, resembled that of a conductor.

「…」

And in harmony with their singing, the elderly elf passionately danced his fingers in the air as if plucking the strings of an invisible harp.

A vortex appeared as if the space itself was torn apart――

「…!」

The priests standing quietly in the corner of the Hall of Prayer felt their whole bodies bristle. Even the humans, said to be insensitive to magical power, could perceive it as if they were touching it with their skin――

The high-ranking forest elves weave magic.

「「「【Myth Reenactment, Sacred Tree Sprouting(Mitologia Replica, Sancta Nativitas)】」」」

The spellcasters chanted in unison, and the branch emitted waves of warm, sun-like light. It spread outward, piercing through the walls and ceiling, reaching endlessly beyond.

The pillar of light released from the fortress sprouted beautifully, growing into a translucent, radiant great tree with lush branches and leaves. In response, similar glowing great trees also sprouted from the other five fortresses.

A giant tree shining brilliantly, dispelling the darkness of the night――

At all six fortresses surrounding Evaloti, pillars of light modeled after the 【Sacred Great Tree】, said to tower deep within the Elven Forest and radiating the awe of the gods of light, were deployed. Those pillars resonated with each other, forming a large-scale barrier that repels evil curses and deflects malevolent forces――

「Thanks…!」

Gazing up at the shimmering, aurora-like membrane of light unfolding overhead on the walls of Niburn Fortress, Sword Saint Hessel offered a heartfelt prayer of gratitude.

Thanks to this barrier, there was no need to fear the demon race’s hexes or the night elves’ arrows. When Hessel shouldered his greatsword and stood up straight, arrows from the night elf hunters immediately rained down, but the moment they touched the light membrane, they spiraled erratically as if mischievously deflected by invisible fairies, flying off in all the wrong directions.

The surrounding soldiers also cried out in awe and stood up on their feet.

（… Now, how long can we hold on?）

Once again, Hessel looked up at the glowing membrane of light and the radiant great tree overhead—his eyes shimmering with feelings that could only be described as pure "Prayer".

「Ok guys! The spellcasters have done their part and worked their butts off. Now it’s our turn, right!?」

In response to Hessel’s rallying cry, the soldiers shouted back with a resounding “Yeah!”

「That’s the spirit! Since I’m all fired up too, I'm gonna give it my all defending this place, so watch me!」

「Just don’t get too fired up and “Demolish” the castle walls along with everything else, okay!?」

One of the soldiers chimed in with a teasing smile on his face, and Hessel laughed as he shot back, “You idiot!”

―― Hessel the 『Frontline Demolisher』, that was his moniker.

He was not exactly the kind of man suited for defensive battles, but that was precisely the reason why he shone in the chaotic melee.

That was exactly why he was assigned to Niburn Fortress, the fiercest and most chaotic battlefield.

「I’m always paying the closest attention! Don’t get too mesmerized by my delicate swordplay!」

「Who gets mesmerized!?」

「Have you ever gone a single time without breaking something?!」

「Shut up!! …Here they come!」

Even Hessel, who had been joking around, tightened his expression at the sight of beastfolk and devil soldiers swarming out from the makeshift defenses beyond the barrier of light.

The soldiers’ faces stiffened into tense expressions as they raised their ranged weapons, readying themselves.

「Ready your arrow!……… FIRE!」

At the captain’s shout, a sharp, metallic "Swish" sound echoed multiple times.

Many of the beastfolk soldiers attempting to scale the castle walls got shot down by the arrows without even a moment to dodge, falling into pools of blood.

To think that a cat-like beastfolk soldier, practically a bundle of reflexes, would be taken down so effortlessly. Moreover, a devil soldier who seemed to be casting some kind of ward was shot straight through the chest, scattering magical power as they exploded.

I couldn’t hear anything, but I felt a wave of unrest spreading through the enemy ranks.

「Wow… The dwarf are awesome.」

Watching the soldiers loading their next arrow in a hurry and starting to use a strange crank mechanism that they turned with their feet, Hessel muttered in admiration.

The soldiers were holding metal crossbows mounted sideways and fixed in a cross shape onto separate wooden frames.

Apparently, it was invented last year by dwarves. Because of its shape, it’s tentatively called a “Crossbow”. Along with reinforcements from the Holy Religion, a few prototype mass-produced units were delivered. Since the quantity was limited, they’re mainly deployed only at Niburn Fortress.

It had a complex mechanism and structure, maintenance and production were difficult, and reloading takes an incredibly long time, so even if demons or night elves were to get their hands on them, they probably wouldn’t bother using these things.

Moreover, when push comes to shove, the night elves could save more time by relying on their pure physical strength while the forest elves could simply use their magic to easily shoot powerful arrows one after another.

However, if you look at it from another angle, it means that humans, with enough effort and time, could shoot arrows comparable to those of night elves. Naturally, if these were aimed at humans, they'd be a serious threat, but since they were already troubled by night elves' arrows from the start, the outcome didn’t really change.

「With this, maybe they’ll at least think twice before launching their a——」

Just as Hessel was about to say that, a second wave of beastfolk soldiers burst out from the makeshift defenses.

「――Damn it, those guys treat life so damn lightly!」

Hessel muttered a curse involuntarily and gripped his greatsword tighter.

The battle had only just begun.

†††

Good day, I wanted to say something, but Jilbagias is currently running at high speed.

Do you know what the most important thing in war is?

That is the ability to run properly and steadily.

To fight, first you had to move. Having your powers placed properly in "where" they’re supposed to be, and "when" they were supposed to be there, that was what really matters. Not everyone was a prince who could be politely chauffeured by carriage to the battlefield; that kind of luxury was rare.

And no matter how strong a warrior was, it was meaningless if they couldn't be "there" on the battlefield.

That was why warriors had no choice but to run on their own two feet.

「Incoming.」

Kvirtal who peeked out from behind the bushes muttered so.

Clanking loudly in their noisy armor, the eight demon warrior troops under my command kept running along the paved road.

――It is a semi-underground tunnel that cuts through in a semicircle, half-surrounding the royal capital, Evaloti. Reinforced with sturdy stone walls both physically and magically, it allows for safe passage.

If it were humans, digging a tunnel like this would take hundreds of people working in the span of several weeks, but with just a few dozen Corvut clan members, this kind of job could be done in a matter of days. Truly, those strong in magical power were something else…

They were so good at digging tunnels that ever since the Demon King Conquest War began, any fortress without a ward extending underground had become outdated and unusable.

「Have you found them?」

Suppressing the uneasy feelings inside, I forced myself to appear calm and asked.

「Yes. There're four of them.」

Since the official name was unknown, it was tentatively called the 4th Fortress, but in any case, Evaloti was surrounded by six fortresses. Considering that the western side (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Fortresses) faces the Demon King army’s territory, the majority of the defensive forces were concentrated there. Naturally, our “1st Army” was also assigned to the western side.

…Huh? You’re wondering why we didn’t concentrate our attack on the weakly defended fortress?

We didn’t, you see. Because if the demon race stooped as low as probing for weaknesses of mere humans, it’d be a disgrace to our kind, that was the reasoning behind it.

So yeah, if the demons themselves took the frontline from the start, I wouldn’t complain. But instead, the ones thrown first to wear down the defenses were beastfolk squads, devil soldiers, and goblin troops. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for those expendable foot soldiers getting wasted like that…

Well, those matters aside.

I, Viscount Jilbagias, just a low-ranking rookie, got assigned to the south and north areas, which were likely to have thinner defences, because I’m treated as 2nd or 3rd army.

Nevertheless…

I also peeked through a gap in the wall and gazed at the towering tree of light growing on the fortress.

……【Mitologia Replica[Myth Reenactment]】, was it? It's been a while since I saw one.

『A most flamboyant magic, indeed.』

That stuff had to be cut from a branch of the sacred great tree in the Elven forest and brought here before it withered, so apparently it couldn’t be used just casually.

For the elves to use six of them… It seems the fall of the Defteros Kingdom was quite inconvenient for the Forest Elves…

『Wherefore?』

There were still a few small countries in between, but I think the Demon Kingdom was gradually approaching the Elven Forest.

What happens once they arrive at the borders is clear, right?

『Methinks the night elves shall most likely host a fiery revelry~』

Yup.

「Your Highness. That's the fortress.」

Kvirtal halted, then pointed at the fortress with his finger. He didn't even break a sweat despite running at full speed. His breathing was as steady as before, quite the contrast to the three idiots who had already been drenched in sweat.

「…」

I made a full circle and, feeling numb, gazed upon the destination. A stone fortress shrouded in a shimmering veil of light, like the aurora—

It seems the attacks by beastfolk and devil soldiers had already begun.

「――It’s a waste of time just standing here watching. Let’s go.」

I let my magical power surge through my entire body as I spoke, transforming Adamas into a Spear-Sword.

… Human soldiers' corpses tumbling down from the fortress could be seen every now and then.

I won’t let that happen. Not on my watch.

That kind of wasteful thing.

「… That one is mine.」

Hearing my growling, strained mutter, Kvirtal muttered, "That's reassuring".

「Then, let us proceed, Your Highness. I may have scared you a bit during training… But the battlefield is truly exhilarating.」

Kvirtal and his subordinates, who said that with a smile, were unmistakably high-ranking demon warriors.

Yeah, I figured as much.

You demons who only hunt weaker prey…!!

「I guess that's something I can look forward to.」

I too laughed ferociously, no longer bothering to hide it――

「【Our Name is Jilbagias Reiju】」

A sensation like my body was swelling to many times its size overwhelmed me.

「【――I am the one who will bring about the end of my mortal enemy!】」

“Ugh…” Alvar and the others let out strained, intimidated voices, as if overwhelmed by the pressure.

「That’s the spirit. Now, Your Highness! Welcome to the battlefield!」

――『Welcome』?

I should be the one who said 『I'm back』.

Ignoring the laughter of the demons, I leaned forward from our base.

I plant my feet firmly.

Ah, damnably nostalgic.

The battlefield of humans and demons.

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