The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits - Chapter 200



EP9. ■■

Ainzel summoned the undead. Although the sight of them was enough to cause emotional turmoil, the soldiers didn’t care. No, it would be more accurate to say that they wanted to win even by resorting to such means.

It is not pleasant to fight on the same side as someone who uses black magic, especially the most terrifying of black magics, necromancy, but I have decided to endure it for the sake of victory.

Of course, there were also those who felt uneasy or repulsed by Ainzel’s blatant use of black magic and questioned him.

No matter how much the Emperor protected Ainzel by saying that he was in fact innocent, in the end, Peria was still a young Emperor who had only been Emperor for a year. He lacked the authority and dignity necessary to become a person with absolute power, so his words alone were insufficient.

And then, those who found Ainzel said to him.

“You’re going to use black magic openly!? How can we believe that a black magician would stand up to the Demon King? How can we trust you and go into danger?”

After hearing that, Ainzel closed his eyes, bowed his head, thought deeply, and then spoke.

“…You don’t have to believe it.”

Upon hearing that, one soldier became upset and grabbed Ainzel by the collar.

“What!? Is that what you say to those who must follow you for the sake of the Empire and their families!?”

“Yes, I can’t help but say that. Since I use black magic, there’s nothing I can do about the fact that I’m suspicious. That’s why I said you don’t have to trust me. However, even if you distrust me, can’t you trust the situation?”

“situation?”

“Yes, the situation. Let’s assume that I am an enemy spy, using black magic. Then why do you insist on acting as a spy and making you fight? If I were a true spy, wouldn’t it be better to make you not fight? Besides, there’s no reason to use black magic so blatantly and do something that would make you suspicious.”

“…that.”

“No, did the Demons need spies in the first place? The situation is already overwhelming for the Demons. If I were in the Demons’ shoes, I would have tried to reduce the variables rather than creating spies for no reason. Isn’t it better to solidify victory than create variables for no reason?”

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Ainzel said as he looked at the soldiers.

“You may not like me using dark magic. You may not trust me. But I made it clear that I want to win. I will do whatever it takes to win this war, and dark magic is part of that.”

The soldiers who heard that were silent. And then they thought. If one more person could live for each of those seemingly creepy bones, then that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

In this way, the soldiers came to see the undead summoned by Ainzel as tools necessary for victory, even if they felt uncomfortable with them.

“Can I help you out a little?”

Grandis asked Ainzel. Ainzel glanced at her.

“Because I can create more undead than you….”

As Grandis spoke, Ainzel shook his head.

“No, these aren’t meant to be used as power. This is enough. Besides… you already have a role to play. It’s better to stockpile up your dark magic in advance.”

Grandis bit her lip. Although she knew that what Ainzel was saying was reasonable, she was worried that he might die. That was why she wanted to give him a little more troops to prevent him from dying.

“My role in this operation is not to have a ‘strong’ force. It’s to have a ‘strong-looking’ force. I don’t necessarily need to bring more undead. I just need to make the enemy think I’m the main attacker… Yes, that’s enough.”

Grandis looked at Ainzel for a moment, then nodded.

“…Okay. Instead, be careful and don’t get hurt.”

Ainzel said with a faint smile.

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to die either.”

…

As time passed, Ainzel and his soldiers finally arrived at the edge of the territory where the Arrogant clans had set up camp.

“Now, I’ll say this for the last time. The Demon King’s followers are standing right before your eyes. Is there anyone who still has hesitation in their hearts!?”

“doesn’t exist!”

“Is there anyone who wants to run away!”

“doesn’t exist!”

“Then let’s go! If we take even one step away, our family will have to run away for a whole day!”

Ainzel, the soldiers, and the undead rushed forward together. Ainzel gathered his divine and magical powers to protect the soldiers.

And then, the person Ainzel was aiming for appeared before his eyes.

The Knight of Arrogance, Kaledar. With the Demon King virtually absent, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the strongest of Arrogance’s followers.

Judging from the way Kaledar stepped forward, it seemed that he thought the army he was leading was the main attacker. In fact, it wasn’t strange. He had brought most of the troops by scraping together the remaining strength of the empire. He bit his lip as he thought about this. Up until now, everything had gone as he wanted. What would happen next?

Kaledar and the demons rushed in and began to attack in an instant. The sound of the undead being destroyed could be heard, and the soldiers were also exposed to attacks in an instant. The number of undead began to decrease in an instant, and although not as much as the undead, the soldiers were exposed to enemy attacks and were gradually becoming victims.

Then, Ainzel discovered something strange.

Despite the obvious oddity of them targeting humans instead of undead, the demons attacked undead and humans with equal frequency.

‘Can’t you feel the difference?’

Of course, Ainzel deliberately made it seem like there was no difference between the soldiers and the undead, but that was only because the enemies knew about the undead, so they were going to be able to deal with the undead anyway, so it was a procedure to make it difficult to deal with them. It’s not that he made it so that you couldn’t tell the difference between the undead and humans.

That means, what the enemies say about the undead…

‘You might not even know.’

Ainzel laughed as soon as he thought of that. Yes, the black magic of the Arrogant Demon Tribe was completely different from the basic structure of the spells he used. Then, it could be that he had something they didn’t have. He hadn’t expected it to be necromancy, but it was quite amusing.

Ainzel secretly made sure that the soldiers suffered as little damage as possible, and on the contrary, only the undead were destroyed. On the surface, it was nothing more than a massacre, not even a fight, but considering that the targets of the massacre were undead, there was no problem. Furthermore, that was what Ainzel had been aiming for from the beginning.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Ainzel cast amplification magic on himself and shouted in a booming voice. Upon hearing those words, the soldiers all turned around and began to run away.

A small number of soldiers, or rather, the undead that seemed to be soldiers, held off the demons until the end and were all destroyed. With not a single undead left, it looked like an army that had been significantly reduced in number. In reality, the casualties were not that great. Retreating now… Yes, it would look like a retreat by a commander who was panicking after fighting with all his might and suddenly losing numbers.

And Ainzel was hoping for that.

What he wanted by exaggerating his own capabilities was not to make the enemy confused, afraid, or on guard.

At this very moment. I had designed it to inflate their capabilities forcibly, hoping to see the soldiers retreating all at once after finally receiving the signal to “retreat” from Ainzel’s throat, as soldiers who were in a state of confusion and defeat, whose sincere attacks had been in vain.

Yes, so to speak, it was to make the enemies think ‘there will be no other attacks or nothing much’ and make them move to finish off the remaining soldiers.

That was exactly what Ainzel had hoped for, drawing out the enemies, including the strongest of them all, Kaledar.

In order to make it look like a retreat, Ainzel had made an effort. For example, even the soldiers who at first glance appeared to be fleeing in disorder were already lined up in a complex formation with a fixed shape. As evidence, unlike the soldiers who were truly fleeing, the soldiers led by Ainzel did not slow down their retreat at all.

‘Now, ask. If you kill all these soldiers, you will win without having to wait for the Demon King.’

Ainzel threw out a tempting bait, and Kaledar ordered his soldiers to pursue.

‘I asked!’

Such joy was short-lived, as Ainzel now faced another challenge: surviving the hands of the demons led by Kaledar.