Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 637

Two days after the fall of Wallon...

“At this rate, we’ll have all units restored within five days.”

In the underground laboratory beneath the Temple’s university magic department, Cristina nodded slowly as she observed the Immortals. Their bodies, damaged from the battle of Wallon, were gradually being repaired.

The terrifying aspect of the Immortals wasn’t their combat prowess, but their ability to automatically restore themselves.

They were like golems, machines that, when damaged, could be reactivated after undergoing repairs. Their true strength lay not in their combat power, but in their capacity to continually be resurrected.

They were an army that could not die.

Among them, the only living being was Ludwig.

Ludwig had naturally participated in the battle of Wallon as a member of the Immortals, his face concealed by a helmet and guard.

While all units possessed exceptional combat power, Ludwig was particularly unique.

To withstand the dark magic infused in his arm, Ludwig had to endure even more potent dark magic procedures that were usually reserved for chimeras. This inevitably made him stronger than the other Immortals. By surviving the unbearable, he had gained strength beyond what the other Immortals possessed.

The base of his transplanted arm was a critical junction, but what truly mattered was Ludwig’s ability to endure the influence of dark magic.

Since the battle of Serandia, the Allied Forces had only engaged in one more conflict, but Ludwig, who was part of the Immortals, found little time to rest.

Fighting alongside tireless, undead soldiers meant he was constantly deployed to more and more battlefields.

Occasionally, he suffered seizures due to rejection reactions, but his condition after the battle of Wallon was relatively stable.

“Ugh...” he groaned, sitting on one of the laboratory’s experiment tables.

Ludwig gulped down a dark red liquid from a crystal bottle while covering his mouth.

“Ugh! Ugh!” Ludwig groaned, his face contorting as he fought back another wave of nausea.

After a moment, he managed to swallow the bitter liquid and let out a deep sigh.

Even Ludwig, known for his remarkable stamina, had been worn down by countless grueling battles, leaving his eyes looking hollow and tired.

Beside him, Louis Ankton and Anna were carefully assessing his physical condition.

The concoction Ludwig had just forced down was an alchemical potion designed to stabilize his body and ease the rejection reactions.

“Cristina,” he gasped, trying to steady his breathing while covering his mouth, “the potion works, but... I’m sorry, why does it have to taste so awful?”

He wasn’t having a seizure from a rejection reaction; he was gagging from the stabilizer’s awful taste.

He shivered. “If it were just bitter, that would be one thing... but it’s... The smell... the taste... It’s like my tongue is rotting...”

Despite being able to endure pain that would have killed an ordinary person from shock, even during the rejection seizures, Ludwig found the taste of the stabilizer unbearable.

Ludwig’s already pale complexion worsened from the stabilizer’s horrid taste, but Cristina just shrugged.

“It doesn’t actually have to taste so bad,” she said.

Ludwig blinked. “Huh?”

“I made it that way on purpose.”

“What?”

Ludwig was taken aback, and Louis and Anna, who were checking on him, also looked shocked.

To think that it was intentionally made to taste so awful!

“If it were enjoyable, you’d keep craving it. I designed it that way so you’d only drink it when absolutely necessary.”

Ludwig considered that statement.

“Is it harmful to the body?” he asked.

“It can’t be beneficial.”

While the stabilizer kept Ludwig’s body from collapsing or rejecting the transplanted limb, it was also inherently risky.

“Even if it’s alright for now, drinking it often is definitely not advisable.”

Hearing Cristina’s explanation about deliberately making it taste bad, Ludwig nodded though he still looked a little bewildered.

“By the way... people saw the Immortals in this battle. Is that okay?” Louis Ankton asked cautiously, broaching the subject with care.

Up to this point, the Immortals had operated in secret, but this battle had exposed them to the entire Allied Forces, and the atmosphere within the camp was growing increasingly tense because of it.

“The situation will get complicated, but that’s not our concern,” Cristina replied.

Politics was the realm of those who played political games, after all.

“Cristina, if people find out the truth about the Immortals, things will get really... complicated,” Louis insisted.

“Complicated is good,” Cristina said, her gaze fixed on the ports in the distance through which the Immortals undergoing restoration work could be seen.

“When things get complicated, those who were hiding will start to crawl out,” Cristina mused.

“Ah...”

“If everything settles and they stay hidden, we’ll never find them. But in the chaos, they’ll begin to show their faces.”

Cristina wasn’t interested in politics or how the present situation was unfolding, but she understood that chaos brought with it opportunities. And when opportunities arose, those eager to seize them would appear. Among them would be those who had hidden themselves away and were impossible to find. That was all she needed to know. There was no need to know more.

Those who caused chaos. Those who exploited chaos.

“We just have to wait for that.”

And those who waited for everyone to gather in the chaos.

The Gate Incident was nearing its end, and everyone was looking toward it with different thoughts.

“Let’s head back soon.”

There was no reason for them to linger in the automated facility. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

In the end, everyone shared a common goal.

Until that goal was reached, they would stick together.

***

Humans were conspiring with the Demon King.

As the Allied Forces advanced toward their next destination, the commanders found themselves locked in a tense battle of nerves, all while maintaining a strict veil of secrecy.

“How can this be possible?” some argued passionately. “We must find and bring swift justice to these traitors of humanity and their conspirators.”

“The Empire’s new weapon is too dangerous,” others countered. “While those who have allied with the Demon King pose a grave threat, it’s equally perilous to blindly support the Empire’s actions.”

Some voices expressed disdain for both sides, while others remained silent, swallowing their words.

In the absence of the Emperor, Louise von Schwartz quietly observed as the influential figures from various regions gathered in the Kernstadt military headquarters tent to debate these pressing issues.

These influential figures sought a focal point amidst the chaos. And since they were unable to rally under the Emperor, whose power had grown dangerously unchecked, they turned to Louise as an alternative.

There was noise-canceling magic in place, and their conversation remained confined within the tent.

The Emperor had uttered words that should never have been spoken in a crowded setting. Too many ears had heard, and too many mouths were ready to spread the tale.

Rumors of collaborators with the Demon King within the Allied Forces, and the revelation that the mysterious army at the Battle of Wallon was composed of fallen war heroes, would soon ripple through the ranks.

The secret was bound to escape its confines. The world would soon learn of the Empire’s madness and the existence of numerous traitors to humanity.

And Louise was one of those traitors.

She watched as some argued for caution, others clamored for the execution of the Demon King’s collaborators, and a few silently observed the unfolding drama.

Not everyone was needed, after all.

“What do you think, Commander?”

Though many commanders from other armies were present, only one person in the tent truly held that title: Louise von Schwartz. She led the largest army.

All eyes turned to Louise von Schwartz, who was, for the moment, the second-in-command of the Allied Forces. Her words carried immense weight, which was why they sought her counsel instead of the Emperor’s.

They were animals, caught off-guard by the sudden downpour, huddling under the nearest shelter. They knew the great tree, the Empire, that had protected them for so long, was now rotting and on the verge of collapse, so they gathered under the still-standing shade of Kernstadt, whispering among themselves.

The Demon King, the Emperor, and the Empire... The tent was abuzz with speculation.

The various commanders debated how the traitors to humanity should be punished, though their voices were filled with uncertainty and doubt.

Louise closed her eyes, feeling the weight of their attention on her.

“Hmm...”

The Emperor had made his move.

“I...”

It was a sign.

A sign that she, too, needed to make her move.

“I support the Demon King.”

The room fell silent, as if her words had turned everyone to stone.

Despite the gravity of the moment, Louise found their stunned expressions rather amusing.

***

Everyone was eagerly awaiting Louise’s words, hoping for her analysis of the current situation, her predictions, and her guidance on the path humanity should take.

They were looking to her for direction.

They wanted to know if the Empire had a future. They sought her stance on the collaborators of the Demon King. They wondered whether immediate action was necessary.

Those were the discussions that they anticipated. They yearned for insight, for predictions, for a vision. In their minds, it was inconceivable that the military commander of Kernstadt would ever support the Demon King.

No one had foreseen that she, of all people, would be a collaborator.

“What... do you... mean?”

For a moment, everyone in the tent stood in stunned silence, unable to utter a word. When they finally found their voices, that was all they could manage.

“It shouldn’t be hard to understand. I am the Demon King’s collaborator that you were all wondering about.”

This even more shocking revelation caused the other commanders’ faces to go from pale to ashen.

Supporting the Demon King was one thing, but openly declaring oneself as his collaborator was another. Moreover, it wasn’t just anyone making this claim. It was the military commander of the second-largest army, second only to the Empire, who had boldly announced her allegiance to the Demon King.

No one in the room dared to stand up and demand that the traitor to humanity be dragged out and hanged.

The only thought that echoed in everyone’s mind was, ‘Since when?’

Could it be that Kernstadt, of all territories, had been in league with the Demon King all along?

How had no one realized until now?

Those who had been loudly demanding the Demon King’s collaborators be punished now wished they could swallow their words and disappear.

The once-angry expressions of the commanders gathered in the tent slowly shifted to expressions of fear.

They had been demanding that the Demon King’s collaborators be punished, right in front of one of those collaborators who wielded far more power than they did. It was only natural for fear to take hold.

Louise surveyed the room, her voice barely above a whisper. “Do you think I’m the only collaborator?”

Without anyone noticing, the great nation of Kernstadt had already fallen into the hands of the Demon King. What made them think it was just Kernstadt? Could they even imagine how many other powers had already fallen under the Demon King’s control without them even realizing it?

In an instant, Louise had quelled the chaos, only to stir up a new wave of uncertainty. With just a few words, she had planted a different thought in the minds of those who were unsure about how to handle the Demon King’s collaborators.

What would their course of action be if the collaborators were truly the majority? Wasn’t it right to consider joining them in order to survive?

Louise held back the full truth. She didn’t mention that the Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods had already pledged their allegiance to the Demon King, or that Grand Duke Saint-Ouen had done the same.

She did not reveal everything. There was no need to.

“Think carefully about why I said this myself. Where does my confidence come from? Why did I choose to support the Demon King?” she said.

Instead of laying everything out, letting people imagine the worst would lead them to conjure up fears far greater than reality.

Fear has a way of magnifying itself.

“Those who share my will, stay. Those who don’t, leave. But know this—I cannot promise my doors will remain open next time.”

Just as the fear tied to the Demon King’s name once gave rise to a reputation far darker than his actual power, this time, the fear rooted within them would drive them to their knees of their own accord.

“I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Ten minutes was an incredibly short window to decide the fate of the world. Yet, the ticking clock only heightened their anxiety, and the suggestion that this might be their only chance drove them deeper into fear.

Implying there might not be another opportunity was almost like forcing their hand.

After those tense ten minutes, there were indeed some empty seats in the tent. Some commanders had left. However, more seats remained occupied than were empty.

“...”

Ultimately, even when anger and hatred were at their peak, they still crumbled in the face of the overwhelming desire to survive.

Louise couldn’t feel entirely satisfied with the scene before her.