The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits - Chapter 210



EP10. The Falling Twilight

The decision to use the capital as bait was not something I simply thought of and decided on my own.

Rather, the decision was made only after much discussion with Peria. Peria was the master of the empire, and it would have been impossible to hand over the capital, the heart of the empire, without her permission.

I absolutely had to find a way to lure the enemy out. I thought that if this standoff continued, we would definitely be the ones to lose. The reason was that the situation was polar opposites to the Demon King I had faced in the past.

In the past, when dealing with the Demon King, the Demon King had to attack us first, and the one who felt frustrated by maintaining a standoff was the Demon King. Thinking back now, it was only natural. If the Demon God didn’t like the current situation, then of course he would want to change it first.

But now, things are different. It can be said that they are quite different. The Demon King of Arrogance does not necessarily need to act hastily. After all, if he has the power to see the future, it is natural to choose the right choice, so he can just stay still and attack at the most accurate time.

On the other hand, the allies have to make desperate efforts not to expose any gaps in order to avoid giving away that exact time zone, and maintaining such desperate efforts is incredibly uncomfortable. In the first place, maintaining such a state for a long time is virtually impossible.

So what should we do? Even if the enemy’s superior power has been reduced considerably, it is only a difference in that we can now engage in defensive battles behind the walls. In the end, if we confront them head-on, we will be defeated. In the end, if we cannot make the enemy rush toward our forces first, we will be slowly eaten away. It is different from when we faced the previous Demon King.

That’s why a bait was needed. A bait so alluring that anyone would turn their eyes the moment they saw it. And there was no bait more alluring than the capital of the empire.

The situation where the capital of the empire could burn down was extremely unstable, but everyone knew that they could not continue to fight the Demon King like this. That was why they had to come up with the most attractive bait.

However, if the bait was simply attractive, the Demon King would likely not fall for it. The Demon King had already suffered great losses from me once despite having power. He would not be so stupid as to rely on power alone.

That’s why I needed to completely deceive the enemy, have probability, and above all, a result. A result that would make them believe that if they attack now, they will definitely win. The image of the Demon King himself winning, which would be most intuitive to the enemy when he activates his power.

In other words, the idea was that he had to create a natural situation so that the enemy would not have doubts, and then show the Demon King that he would win, thereby giving him confidence, and only then would the Demon King make a move.

That’s why Feria and I chose to offer the capital as bait. To be more precise, we wanted to show them the fall of the capital and lure them into a trap.

So, all the crusaders, fairies, and paladins who remained in the capital left the capital. And, they decided to set up camp near the capital so that others would not know about it.

… In fact, there was one more reason why I had to do a short fight.

My power was not limited to the number of times I could use it, but rather the total amount of time I could use it. That was why I had no choice but to choose a short-term battle. The reason was…

‘Because it was a burden.’

Yes, it was a burden. If you make a short-term decision like this, the results will appear in the short term, and as a result, I can quickly find out what I did wrong. If that happens, the total amount of time that is set will be less burdensome.

But if I can’t make a short-term decision and time continues to pass like this. If I let the time given to me, which is less than a year, pass without even knowing what I did wrong. If that happens, I won’t have another chance. No matter what I do, if I can’t finish it quickly, the power is meaningless.

And I was afraid of it. I had taken up the holy sword, enduring all the physical and mental pain to win. But I wasn’t sure if I could endure it if that was the end for me.

That’s why I prepared to reel in the enemy, even if it was reckless. Even if it wasn’t a fish but a sea dragon, there was still work to be done.

…

Time passed like that. As the arrogant forces began to rush in, Ainzel sighed.

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“Haaah….”

The voice was mixed with a bit of relief, as well as a variety of complex emotions. It was a voice that was a mixture of tension, fear, anticipation, and countless other emotions floating around in his subconscious that even he himself was not aware of.

Ainzel looked at the scenery. They all had murderous looks. Just by looking at their appearances, it was not hard to guess that they were going crazy.

And he looked behind him. Inside the walls, people were climbing the escape route.

In fact, if he wanted to evacuate the people, he could have done so earlier. But he couldn’t do that. It was obvious to them that the empty ghost town being occupied by demons would be a strange sight. That’s why he only made the people evacuate now.

People will die. Innocent people will die because of the plan he set up. But… he already had a lot of blood on his hands. The first murder was so long ago that he couldn’t even remember it. He had already come too far to feel guilty about killing people. So he thought. If someone had to get their hands dirty anyway, he would get his hands dirty himself. He would win with the least amount of blood, and reduce the number of people who would die.

The Omani army began to move. The imperial troops were shouting with nervous expressions.

“The demons of arrogance are coming!”

“We’re all finished now.”

Ainzel looked at those who spoke like that. … They too will die. No, most of them will lose their lives. And they will not die to stop or kill their enemies, but only to give their enemies the joy of victory, and to ensure that the Demon King will see a future where he is victorious until the very end.

… I couldn’t bring myself to say it was the right thing to do. However, it was something that couldn’t be helped.

Ainzel looked at the soldiers. And then, the one who seemed to be the captain said this.

“We are not here to defeat the demons now.”

The soldiers who heard those words murmured. Regardless, he continued speaking.

“We are here to show that the Empire is doing everything it can to defend its capital. We are here to serve as an excuse, so to speak.”

Excuses. What better way to sum up their situation? After the capital was given away, the most important roles were filled by the Paladins, Elves, and Crusaders. No matter how much I thought about it, they were just ordinary humans who couldn’t win against those who had the power of a natural disaster.

“Our role is not to fight with all our might, but to pretend to fight with all our might and then run away with as much of our might as possible. Do you know what that means?”

“…”

The soldiers said nothing, but the captain continued speaking.

“Your purpose is not to kill one more enemy. Conserving your power means, in other words, protecting your own lives.”

The soldiers looked up at him.

“Live. Even if it is shameful to run away, even if you are a man whose hands are itching to take revenge on the demons, just think about living. We are buying time. However, it is the most honorable way to buy time.”

The soldier’s eyes gradually filled with confidence as he spoke.

“If you wonder why we fight this hard, look over there. It’s for the ordinary people who are leaving the capital. They may be your loved ones, or they may be carrying important things for the country. But one thing is certain: they are the ones we must protect.”

The soldiers held their breath. Ainzel also looked at the sight as if he was possessed.

“There are those out there whom we must protect. And we are here to buy them time.”

“Waaa!”

After all, what everyone had to do from the beginning was the same: survive.