Makai Hongi

Chapter 177

○ Miralda’s Army – Independant Unit – Dyle

I am Dyle, the Rock Lion.

The leader of this independent unit under General Miralda.

We had participated in the battle against Demon King Janius by guarding the rear of the main army.

I now looked at the battlefield, which had started to become quiet, and let out a sigh of relief.

Apparently, it had ended in our victory.

Demon King Janius’s army had been quite impressive, as it had been led by Fonval, the Dragon Eater.

They outnumbered us, and in spite of the fact that they would have rushed to attack us, they had proper equipment and well-trained soldiers.

Clearly, they had been waiting for the right time to attack Tralzard’s lands.

As for this chief, Fonval, he was Janius’s Corps Commander.

A huge four-legged beast with a big mouth.

The outside of his body was so hard that it might as well have been iron. The protection around his neck was especially tough, and could repel the fangs of a dragon.

On the other hand, it was said that they would not let go once they bit you with their great jaw and sharp fangs.

It was with this weapon that they tore out the throats of dragons.

But even after the battle started, Fonval was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps it was because of this, that we were able to push the enemy back, even though we had fewer men.

Things moved especially quickly once General Miralda joined in.

If they continued that way, then victory was all but assured.

But that sentiment didn’t last long. Because the situation changed suddenly.

Fonval’s corps, which had been hidden up until now, had finally appeared.

As we were behind Miralda’s army, we couldn’t tell what was going on.

But we could hear the noise, and knew that something had happened.

From what I heard later, General Miralda had left orders and then headed out alone.

While it was to hunt down Fonval, it still seemed reckless.

Dragons were strong. And they were big.

Most other races would tremble when they saw a dragon in their original form.

And when dragons fought, it didn’t matter if the people around were friend or foe. The battlefield would be strewn with bodies of the dead, like moments after a disaster.

This was why General Miralda avoided turning into a dragon.

But this time was different.

“…So, that’s a Flying Dragon.”

I had heard someone mutter.

The General had turned into a dragon and headed towards Fonval.

She had risen suddenly into the sky and then shot back down.

This was likely in consideration of her men.

Had she flown right through them, the shockwaves alone would have caused so much destruction.

Of course, we did more than just watch.

We had to fight the enemy that came through the forest and attacked us from behind.

However, the battle ended before we even finished fighting.

This was because the battle between General Miralda and Fonval had become more intense.

Even a Corps Commander could die easily if caught up in a battle between Lesser Demon Kings.

That’s how big the difference in power was.

From what I heard, when it came to battles between Demon Kings, even Lesser Demon Kings could die in the aftershock. There was always someone stronger.

I hoped that I would never have to witness a fight between two Great Demon Kings.

In any case, getting too close to the General when she was fighting would mean your death.

And so we had no choice but to run, but on the way, I sensed a suspicious presence.

Now that I think about it, there were probably other groups that were spying on the battlefield as well.

This one just happened to be close to us.

It was bad luck. For both sides.

And once I called them out, they gave up and revealed themselves.

As for who appeared—it was the leader of the Wild Hunt, Nehyor the Vampire and the rest of his company.

Nehyor was Golan’s former superior. He had recently been working in the dark to the west.

According to the rumors, Nehyor’s name was already on the Tablet of Control.

In other words, he was a Lesser Demon King, just like General Miralda.

Nehyor admitted to lighting the fire that led Demon King Janius’s army here. And then he set his Ghost Generals on us.

They were powerful enemies. Ghost Generals were not an enemy that you could defeat without magic.

…And yet, Golan seemed determined to do it.

Even Nehyor had said that they had been chosen specifically for Golan.

At first I wondered why he was so cautious over a mere Ogre…but then I remembered what Golan had done to the Makaras that were borrowed from the General.

Perhaps Golan was the type of person who made the impossible possible.

My own battle against the Ghost General was evenly matched.

All things considered, perhaps my opponent was slightly above me.

However, I was able to use my experience in battle to gain the upper hand and win.

I hadn’t served as General Miralda’s Corps Commander for years without learning anything.

When I looked to see how the others were doing, I saw that another of the Ghost Generals had been taken down by the Reapers, who used ‘One-hit Kill.’

It was their special ability.

I had been told that it was the reason that Reapers were persecuted, so it was odd to see them use it here.

In fact, if I were their superior, I would not want subordinates who could kill others with a single ability.

After all, it could be used for Gekokujyo. Only the thing that would await you was just a merciless death.

Golan seemed to have them under complete control, and that was very odd.

But he would surely die the moment that they went against him.

Speaking of Golan, he was still fighting the Ghost General alone.

Which was a surprise, as I had expected him to be a clump of meat at that point.

Not only that, but he seemed to have the advantage.

There were Vampires lying on the ground, so they must have helped him in some way, but the fact that he was still alive now showed that he was no ordinary Ogre.

It made sense now that Nehyor had been so cautious towards Golan.

Was he really an Ogre? It was when I thought this that his movements suddenly changed.

His physical abilities were suddenly something that shouldn’t have been possible with an Ogre’s mana level. And the last hit…

—I couldn’t see it.

Even with my eyes, I could not even see the after-image.

“So, you are saying that Golan cut Nehyor, the leader of the Wild Hunt, in half?”

“Yes. There’s no doubt about it.”

General Miralda returned after the battle.

After losing their leader, Fonval’s army scattered and fled back to their own country.

The Pain Serpent had been crushed under Miralda’s weight. It lay dead on the battlefield, its guts hanging out.

As for the Evil Djinn, it had been annihilated by Minish’s magic.

Similarly, Halm had carved up the Twin Beast with its hyena and wolf heads.

The death of all these was what brought the enemy army to its knees.

Minish was currently leading soldiers and chasing after the retreating enemy.

Minish had magic that covered a wide area, which meant it was easy for her to accidentally hit her own men.

But that wouldn’t be a problem now, as she was at the head of a pursuit battle.

At least, I told myself this.

And then there was General Miralda, who crushed Fonval the Dragon Eater.

And she had done it without taking much damage at all.

Apparently, he had actually managed to tear off a bit of her elbow, but she had already healed by the time she returned.

Dragons were filled with vitality and could do such things easily.

And so I had to explain what had happened to the General. But I was having trouble when it came to Golan.

After all, describing to her what I saw was just not good enough.

It was something that was too fast for a Rock Lion to follow. So how could I explain it?

“And how is Golan now?”

“He has yet to awaken.”

“…Hmm. Your explanation does not tell me much.”

“I thought it would be the case.”

I didn’t expect her to understand.

In the Demon World, a person’s strength did not change that easily.

“There are reports of Nehyor killing a few other Lesser Demon Kings. And yet Golan cut him in half… Is something happening that exceeds our imaginations? I have never heard of such a thing happening.”

“In any case, I will leave Golan like this until he wakes up.”

“Yes, that would probably be for the best. I am going to head west. You should stay here for a while.”

“I understand. Please be careful, General.”

“Mmm. I will be leaving many behind, so I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.”

The wounded would be left here.

General Miralda would not even be taking half of her men.

I too would heal my wounds here and wait for Golan’s recovery.

Perhaps I’ll be able to understand what happened if he regains consciousness.