A knight in plate armor is running at full speed, spear raised. How much strength would it take to catch it with your bare hands and throw it back without causing any damage?
The answer is set.
"What the heck. Don't people here feed their horses enough hay? It's so light."
You just have to be strong enough to lift a white horse that looks to weigh over 800kg with one hand. And if you can subdue a struggling horse by pressing it down… .
"Those damn guys… threw the guard captain away…!"
"Damn it! Get on me now!"
"What? You idiot bitch! How is that possible!? Didn't you see that I just flew a few meters!"
"Then you want us to stay still? If we do that, we'll all be hanged! You know what happens if you run away while your superior is injured!"
As expected, they are humans. With their leader gone, they are running wild like that. It's like looking at a hungry monkey. They are uncivilized beings with only a lot of numbers.
"Do you know what you've done!? The person you just hurt is the third daughter of Baron Arin, who rules this city! Murdering a nobleman won't end with hanging! I'll find your entire family and… ."
"Hmm, I guess he's not dead? I didn't throw him hard."
Oh, maybe it was because she was wearing plate armor… The body of the noble girl who had flown away was still moving. Still, I wonder if there were any cracks in the bones all over her body.
Besides, human nobles are physically stronger than commoners. That woman is said to be the daughter of a baron, so she should have better resilience than ordinary people.
"Shut up! You rude criminals! Hey, get locked up now!"
"What is a capture… . By the way, is this the lord's order?"
"That's right!"
"Is that so? Then I will go and do it."
"Yeah, I'll be back soon Valley."
Dozens of soldiers raised their spears. It seemed like a well-organized encirclement. I leapt forward in one breath and leapt over their heads.
With a few head-butts and a few runs here and there, the encirclement was broken through in an instant. The soldiers were yelling at me to catch me after I disappeared for a few seconds, but it would be difficult to ignore Sloan.
Let's find out how well prepared the lord of this city is for assassination. If anything, I'd like it to be that bastard of Lichtes.
I'm confident I can kill you so brutally.
***
The city's lord, Baroness Elquite Arin, is a lucky woman.
If things had been as they were, she would not have inherited the city, because she had three greedy older brothers, each with their own power.
She was about to spend her life in a convent or be sold to be the wife of a lord in a nearby city. The world changed. Her brothers were all transformed into weak beings.
This means that even those powerful forces have become weaker. Baron Arin has armed her handmaids and has them revolt.
She openly assassinated her weakened brothers and took over the succession. There were some who were dissatisfied with the process, but she proved it with dignity.
'Now, finally… I can do what I want.'
She was not an incompetent woman. On the contrary, she was more capable and intelligent than my brothers.
As soon as he took office, he reformed many outdated policies and made the city wealthy.
In addition, they hired a large number of wizards and created convenient potions using herbs growing in the nearby forest.
He also founded an adventurer's guild, subdued the monsters that were swarming nearby, and sold the byproducts to make up for the lack of funds. He used this to develop the city's farmland, allowing him to produce more food.
'I don't want to die.'
But one day, shocking news came.
That cruel demon lord declared that he would attack this city. Why? I thought that I wouldn't be attacked because I was in the rear…
'It's not my fault.'
I just want to live in peace. A blissful old age where I can live in luxury with the taxes of a wealthy city and eat whatever I want…
So, her selling the city to the Demon King was more of a survival instinct. She didn't want to work hard to revive the city and then die in vain. Of course, she felt a little guilty about selling the city that her ancestors had protected for generations…
In a way, isn't it a matter of protecting the people of Yeongji? It would be impossible to handle a skeleton army of over 100,000 people.
"Hello."
The lord, who had been thinking like that until he saw the valley coming in through the window, was unable to say anything.
Should I call the guards? That's not right. If you answer wrongly here, you'll get your head cut off first. The dagger in that little man's hand is not a toy.
And how could he approach the lord's residence without making a sound? He is not human. He is not a metaphor, he is truly not human.
"Good judgment? You said it without even opening your mouth. That's right."
"… ."
"Ah, you can answer. Of course, just don't say useless things. You can tell that much, right?"
The Baron nodded slightly and opened his mouth with difficulty.
", who are you?"
"Who am I?"
Valley felt joy welling up inside him. How many times had the humans been rude to him? He should be afraid like this.
[Now I see that you were a blind man. Do you still not know who I am? You lowly mortal!]
"Huh, huhuh…! You, you!"
The evil aura emanating from Valley's body… Although he is infinitely weak compared to his compatriots, he is strong enough to oppress an ordinary human.
'Ah. I'm tired… It's been a while since I've had any energy. I'm anemic, right? I guess it'll go away on its own by now…'
Valley slowly walked around the office. It was pretty good. It was so tragic that I thought it would be a tragedy to kill someone in a place like this.
"Ma, Demon King…."
"Wow. You know I'm the Demon King?"
"No, of course."
Valley is weaker than the Demon King's direct subordinates. Therefore, the magical energy it emits is also weak compared to them.
But this woman was so afraid of the Valley in front of her. Just as a leopard is smaller than a lion, it doesn't mean it's weak. Valley is also capable of slaughtering an old human.
"Then you know why I came here."
"Of course! In just a little while! This city will be yours, Lichtes."
"Aha. So the Demon King you pledged your loyalty to is Lichtes?'
"Huh? Oh, is there something I don't know about?"
I had a guess. The reason he showed up was…. I guess it was to eat this city. I happened to arrive in this city and dragged Uruk Heizen into it.
What a coincidence. How can things not work out so well together? In any case, the plan must go ahead.
Lichtes' specialty is that he can easily raise troops as long as he has living creatures. Since the climate is cool now, he will be able to preserve an army of the dead with their muscles and nerves still intact for a long time.
'You could say this city is ruined.'
It's a bit odd to say this, but it's arrogant to try to survive when two demon lords are after you. Valley stopped and burst into laughter.
'Besides, I'm also in danger.'
Lichtes III does not consider Valley as his own people. Neither does Uruk Heizen.
Up until now, they've just left it alone because there's a rule that says you shouldn't 'directly' harm your own kind. If they had the chance, they'd probably be so aggressive that they'd even try to kill weaker demon lords.
For the Demon King, killing his own kind is special, so there is no reason not to do it.
'You're bragging about how lucky you were to kill a few people.'
Valley, who recalled the time when he was in the Demon World and countless Demon Lords were killing each other, was overcome with an inferiority complex. Lichtes was just too lucky. Really.
"Well… . Great One, what should I do from now on? Richtes hasn't said anything yet."
"Uh, well? That's not the point. There's another demon lord targeting this city. Of course, not me."
"What, what is that…!"
Valley actually doesn't want this city to collapse. If it does, the human front will have great potential and Sloan may be destroyed before it can grow.
If that happens, we can say that a weak demon lord like Belly is finished.
"You don't know, do you? Everyone in this city thinks you're a great person. Think about it a little more! Haven't the greenskins been increasing in the forest lately? Why have goblins appeared in the complicated waterways?"
The answer is to send troops through the waterway. Lichtes must have sent Lich to stop that. Valley guessed as he smiled wryly.
"There probably isn't much left? At most two days… . Tens of thousands of legions will arrive in a day at the earliest. Greenskins who eat human flesh!"
"Ugh… ."
"What would happen then? The walls of this castle are high, but I doubt they could hold off an army of tens of thousands. And even if they did… It would be harvest time soon."
The Baron shook his head. Would Lichtes really help him? The odds were slim. The city was certainly worth taking, but if another Demon Lord declared an invasion, he would likely back out.
"Me, what on earth am I… . For what… ."
"You worked hard for nothing."
"I, I've finally settled in. Why? It can't end like this! Nameless one! What should I do?!"
If you came here just to make fun of me, it would have been enough if things had happened.
Baron Arin instinctively sensed that Valley had come to offer him something. This was where his competence as a lord came into play.
"You have two choices. The first is to just get eaten by the greenskins."
"… You could just say one thing."
"Wow, that's right. The last one is 'right now' Sloan announces that he's a warrior and declares to the soldiers that he'll fight."
Her face turned pale. To reveal that Sloan was a warrior would mean to disobey Lichtes' orders.
'But we don't have much of a choice. I don't know why this guy supports a warrior who is clearly his enemy…!'
There was only one way for her to survive. After declaring Sloan a hero, she had to raise her morale as high as possible and repel the enemy.
Besides, if you refuse this…. Valytics will kill her, because she's useless.
"I will follow your words."
"Okay, we can communicate well. And don't ask useless questions."
The Valley was just fun. Now Sloan will gradually build his reputation as a warrior.
Then, like moths to a flame, your own kind will flock to destroy your reputation.
Valley just needs to take advantage of the situation. He chuckled.
And if I had known that the seven Demon Kings would appear in front of the castle the next day, I wouldn't have done that.