Chapter 319: Unexpected High level――

"Oraaa!!"

"Die!"

"You die!!"

"Aaaaah?"

"Aaaaaaahh?"

It"s a common sight in the Nameless Kingdom. Training, hand-to-hand combat, mock battles, whatever you want to call it, it"s just a way to vent. If it weren"t for this, those who have too much energy might start a silly fight. Today, however, the fighting was even more intense than usual. The reason for this was quite simple. A person who is not usually seen in the school was there to observe. In order to show him the best part of themselves, everyone naturally put their whole body into it. That person was looking down on the trainees from the top of a hill overlooking the training grounds――Yuu.

"Kaaaa!!"

A man from the fallen demon tribe swung his hammer down with tremendous speed.

"d.a.m.n it!!"

A male beastman swings his battle axe up, swearing at his opponent as the hammer approaches his head. It was a killing blow for both of them. As a result of the heavy metal colliding with each other at high speed, a lot of sparks scattered. The male beastman was the one who lost.

"Tsk"

The beastman clicks his tongue at the man who is trying to push him away with a smile on his face. Instead of trying to force the beastman to compete, he uses the force of the squeezing hammer to jump out of the spot while spinning sideways like a top and escaping the crisis. The hammer, having lost its target to be crushed, was shot straight into the earth, its tip buried deep into the earth as it rolled up the earth and sand.

"Hoo. You escaped well, didn"t you?"

"Haa~? What is a fallen demon who is proud of only his strength?"

In another place, a fallen demon man and a male beastman were fighting and in another place, two beastwomen were fighting. The large number of beastmen and their hand-to-hand combat with other races were conspicuous. Then there were those who were confident in their skills, challenging the skeleton knights to a fight. There"s no signal to start, no bulls.h.i.t, like in the mock battles held by human knights. Their eyes meet, their shoulders collide. The match begins abruptly. However, there was one strange thing about the scene of this match. Almost no one was challenging the demon tribe. There was a reason for this. The fighting power of the demon race surpa.s.sed that of other races. They want to show Yuu that they and by extension their race, are capable. Who would like to see them lose in front of the king? Inevitably, the demon tribe"s matches would be against their own kind or against skeleton knights.

A man from the demon tribe walked leisurely forward. The people of other races around him pretend not to see him and watch him walk away with a look of disgust. They were not offended by this. The man walked to the place where the skeleton knight was waiting as usual, but today there was someone blocking his way.

"Are you sure?"

The man from the demon tribe asks while holding his spear. The beastman, the wolfman Taran, spits on the ground instead of speaking. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Aaah? Don"t talk to me from above"

The demon man muttered inwardly, 「You"re young」 and kicked the ground lightly. From the perspective of Taran, the jumping performed with almost no knee bending and only ankle power would have seemed to have been used by a demon man in floating magic.

"Shhh!!"

The demon man who closes the distance to Taran shoots a thrust. It was a rigid thrust that could not be imagined from a light jump. A roaring sound similar to the roar of a carnivorous beast is emitted from a spear that approaches while scooping the air. How was the unarmed Taran going to respond? The demon man looks closely with his eyes wide open.

"Gaaa!!"

Taran"s roar drowns out the thrusting sound. Taran steps his right foot forward as he approaches the spear in a spiral. The spear mercilessly scoops out Taran"s left flank, which is in a half-body position. The skin and flesh with Taran"s hair scattered in the air. However, the wound is not fatal. With no pain, Taran shoots his right fist at the demon man"s face with a vicious smile. The demon man flips his body into the air with a fist striking with murderous intent and lightning and hesitates at a short break. The demon man who landed on the ground had no expression of his initial leeway.

"I thought I could have killed you with that"

Taran, wearing lightning from his elbow to the tip of his hand, looks back. Taran can also use Yuu"s active skill 『Magic Fist』.

(Although it is incomplete, does he use the same skill as Odono-sama? Despite the current blow and hesitation. This numbness is......)

The demon man looks down at his spear. There was a crackling sound from the spear that left a slight Shiden. In the previous offense and defense, Taran was trying to grab the spear with his left hand while releasing his right fist. The demon man had sensed this and quickly pulled back the spear, so it was not taken away, but in doing so, he had been struck by lightning through the spear. His body became numb from the effect.

(Odono-sama"s teachings are to be feared)

The demon man moved around Taran with his circular footsteps and Taran turned his body to match.

(How could a normally shallow beast be transformed into such a warrior?)

Before coming to the Nameless Kingdom, this demon man had wielded a spear against numerous demons and various races. As for the beastmen, he had never been defeated, let alone struggled. However, he judged that Taran, the beastman that he had been fighting with, was not to be trifled with and considered him to be an opponent of equal or higher rank, so he carefully closed the distance.

(I know his aim)

The demon man stabbed the tip of his spear into the ground. The two of them clashed with each other in their killing and fighting spirit. The s.p.a.ce begins to distort due to the dense clash of energy. The demon man noticed that those who were engaged in hand-to-hand combat around them had stopped to watch the battle between Taran and him. The first to move was the demon man. He leapt up with his spear and unleashed a stab. The tip of the spear, which had been stuck into the ground, rolled up the earth and headed for Taran like gravel.

"You"re not thinking straight!!"

Even with the dirt in his eyes, Taran kept his eyes open and never took his eyes off the spear. He said he could win as long as he could grab the spear.

"Guu"

A cry of anguish escaped from Taran"s mouth. At the same time, a red stain appeared on the ground from the blood that had spilled from Taran"s left shoulder. It was not enough for him to grab the spear. He couldn"t even touch it. If he hadn"t tried to duck, what would have happened? More than anyone else, Taran understood. The demon man read Taran"s aim and switched his attack from power to speed. When Taran tried to keep his distance, he was met with a series of tremendous thrusts that would not let him do so. It was not the air-gouging thrusts of earlier. It was a sharp thrust that cut through the air.

"Y, You!"

Taran managed to grab the spear――no, he tried to touch it with his hand while wearing lightning, but the spear pulled back so quickly that Taran couldn"t even touch it. While watching, Taran"s body is shaved and his whole body hair is dyed bright red.

"Da......d.a.m.n it......"

It is no exaggeration to say that the victory or defeat has already been decided. Still, Taran"s fighting spirit is increasing rather than diminishing.

(It"s a brilliant fighting spirit)

The demon man praised Taran in his heart while holding his spear without being careless.

(That"s why I can"t afford to lose. The fallen demons contribute with their blacksmithing skills, while the deprived people contribute with their medicine and decoration skills. In contrast, the demons and beastmen can only be of service to Odono-sama by hunting and fighting. Not good. That"s why I, a demon, can"t lose to a beastman who is suffering from his specialty)

"Zeezeee....... What"s up? Ah? Do you feel frightened!!"

The b.l.o.o.d.y Taran provokes, but it"s clear to everyone that it"s a bluff. If he kept his distance and bought time, Taran would eventually lose consciousness from blood loss. However, he didn"t deserve such an unseemly victory in front of Yuu"s eyes, so the demon man opened his legs wide and held up his spear.

"Don"t worry. I"ll put a end to this"

"He, Hehe....... That"s a strange coincidence. I was just about to put a end to it myself"

It was the demon man who moved first. This is because he has no spare capacity to do unnecessary things for Taran, who is extremely exhausted. Taran was just waiting for that moment to shoot his last blow.

"Haa!!"

The spear technique 『Three-step Thrust』, an unstoppable thrust was launched from a distance where the spear could reach and Taran"s fist couldn"t. Taran, who can"t avoid even with a normal thrust, makes a terrifying decision.

"Guooo"

Two of the 『Three-step Thrust』 pierce Taran"s left shoulder and upper arm. If you don"t evade, just eat it. Taran, who was pierced by defenselessness, opens the eyes of the demon man slightly. The last thrust was to the torso, which was the hardest to dodge.

(I knew you"d aim here!!)

Taran said, stepping into a fist-pumping stance to stab him. But the final stab didn"t come where he wanted it to. It suddenly changed its trajectory from his torso to his left thigh. This is a spear technique called 『Meandering Thrust』, a technique where the thrust is released while undulating like a snake. The demon man changed the last part of his 『Three-step Thrust』 into a 『Meandering Thrust』. The spear pierced Taran"s left thigh, which was thick and well-trained.

"I knew what you were aiming for. With this――nuu!?"

The demon man tried to pull the spear out of Taran"s thigh, but no matter how much effort he put into it, the spear didn"t budge. Taran holds the spear in place so that his thigh muscles are tightened and sewn together.

"Idiot....... My win――"

This time Taran was in a surprising turn. Suddenly, the demon man spins his body at high speed while holding his spear. The spear technique 『Teijinkou』 is a technique in which the five bodies are integrated with the spear and a.s.saulted while rotating, but it was activated with the spear stuck in Taran"s thigh. Result――Taran"s left thigh popped and his left leg was flying in the air.

"My win――"

A fist strike like a bolt of lightning struck the face of the demon man who was convinced of victory. He rolls on the ground as if he were bounced off by a large monster.

"――Gunuu....... Zu, Zuhii......mihe......taka"

He kicked the ground, repositioned himself and held his spear, but the front teeth of the demon man shattered and his jaw shattered.

"Chance? P......Poor loser......don"t say it......"

Taran"s complexion had turned earthy due to heavy bleeding. Moreover, because he stands only on his right foot, his standing is uncertain and swaying.

"Yes. That"s it! You"ve lost"

The owner of the voice was a woman of the deprived people wearing a robe. Beside her are people wearing similar robes. These are the treatment team. Healing those who are injured by hand is also good training for the treatment team.

"Who lost!!"

"Did you forget the rules of this place?"

"Ugh......"

Although anything is possible in hand-to-hand combat, it goes without saying that if both sides don"t admit defeat, they will end up in a dead end. Therefore, one of the few rules is that if the treatment team stops, the match will end at that point.

"d.a.m.n it!"

Taran cursed at the back of the man who raised his spear toward the hill where Yuu was. As it is, the demon man doesn"t look back or heal his wounds, but leaves in search of the next opponent.

"Heal quickly!"

"What? How dare you talk to me like that? In the first place, why should I heal the wounds of that....degree? You there. Yes, you should heal it. Here, pick up the leg that fell over there"

The girl from the deprived people, who was named by the woman, hurriedly picked up Taran"s left leg and started to heal it.

""If you hadn"t stopped me, I would have won!"

"What was winning? I"m a demon, I don"t fly, I didn"t use magic"

"Y, You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I wasn"t doing it――nugaaaaa!?"

The deprived woman picks at the wound on Taran"s left shoulder. It"s not sure if it"s to get rid of the body hair that"s lodged deep in the wound, but it looks like she"s having fun with it. The pain was so intense that Taran"s eyes went white and he was blowing bubbles. Even if he wanted to escape, he couldn"t move because the bones and nerves of his blown left leg were being reconnected.

"I can"t move. I wish I could have gutted him anyway. That way, I could show off my skills to the king"

"What!!

"Kyaa. Mou! You spit on me! Shut up and let me heal you. I almost became a member of the king"s laboratory. I"m sure they can cut up and dissect as much as they want in the lab. Wouldn"t that be wonderful?"

There was no one here, including Taran, who agreed with those words.

---------------------------------

"Later called Emperor"

"Emperor"

"The man they call the emperor is one of the seven......seven......uuh"

"Followers"

"With seven followers, he established a kingdom in the south. The great King of the West"

"King of the Beasts"

"In the name of the King of the Beasts, the country was named Deri――"

As Namari sat on the gra.s.s, struggling to read, Yuu taught her how to read from the side. This is because the characters in the book are more difficult than the ones Namari usually reads.

"You"re getting better at reading difficult characters, aren"t you?"

Namari"s expression, which had been grim as she tried to read, instantly changed to a glowing one.

"Yes!"

At first glance, it looked like a heartwarming scene between Yuu and Namari, but on the hill, there was a different kind of tension. The cause of this was――

"Odono-sama, it seems that my...subordinates have won"

A woman from the demon tribe called out from behind. This woman"s name is Nephti. She is from a different clan than Namari. Her arms were engraved with tattoos peculiar to the demons from her shoulders to her wrists and her hair was cut off on both sides and stood out with very short hair, which was a manly appearance.

"I saw it"

Nephti smiles at her cheeks with tears. The other members of the race, on the other hand, were furious. There were people of many different races here to protect Yuu. They are much more skilled than the ones playing hand-to-hand at the bottom of the hill――they are the captains of the army that Kuro created with Yuu"s permission.

"I will tell him strictly"

Then Nephti turned around.

"Be careful with people of other races"

The voice was loud enough to be heard by those behind her. A murderous intent――it was directed at Nephti, but she remained unperturbed and smiling.

"You don"t have to do that. Taran fought well, too"

"That"s very kind of you, Odono-sama. To praise someone of that level"

Gradually, Nephti closed the distance between herself and Yuu. The predator takes great care to keep his footsteps and presence out of sight so as not to be noticed by its prey. It could be considered rude, since it would be looking down on Yuu, who was sitting down, but Nephti"s mind was not on that.

(A little more......a little more Odono-sama)

At the same time as swallowing spit, a line of sweat runs down Nephti"s forehead. She is nervous. A woman who is feared to be ruthless by her family.

"Hey. What kind of nonsense have you been doing since a while ago?"

"Hahaa. Did you notice, Odono-sama? I"ve been caught in an embarra.s.sing situation"

What was Nephti doing, being so careful――

"I"m a man. I don"t see what"s so interesting about this"

As he said this, Yuu tugged at the collar of his shirt, exposing his chest. The women around him let out a short but excited 「Ooh」. The men, on the other hand, smacked the women on the head. Believe it or not, Nephti was trying to get a peek at Yuu"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s in the presence of those guarding him. She was trying so hard, so earnestly, that it was hard to imagine her in her normal state. It was so silly that the bleak atmosphere around her dissipated. But Nephti was having none of it.

(Haa? Wh......What the heck is this? Odono-sama is laughing at me. No, it"s not. You can see it. I can see Odono-sama"s, Odono-sama"s――――that. Is it possible that I"m going to die today? No, I can"t deny the possibility that I"m already dead. Any, Anyway. Anyway, I"ve got it in my mind"s eye. Can you do it four times, or even five times? I might be able to break through the limit today. No, no, no, if it weren"t for these guys in the first place............would I just kill them all? I"m sure Odono-sama will laugh and forgive me. No, I"m sure he will)

Nephti turns around. She had a very gentle smile on her face. A cold sweat ran down the backs of the demon tribe members as they looked back at her with dubious expressions.

"I have a favor to ask of you, if that"s all right?"

"Ah?"

The beastmen, who were particularly annoyed by Nephti"s att.i.tude so far, reacted sourly.

"It"s a simple matter. Why don"t you kill yourself?"

In contrast to those who were puzzled by the outlandish statement, the demon tribesmen bent their knees lightly and a.s.sumed a posture that allowed them to move quickly.

"If you don"t want to harm yourself, you can just meditate a little. It"s painless. You can trust my arm――guhaa!?"

To the sudden pain, Nephti holds her head down.

"What have you been saying just now?"

Yuu pokes Nephti"s head with a part called the spear"s tip. Even the demons nodded to agree in a place not seen by Nephti, saying that the people around them were feeling good.

"O, Odono-sama, what are you doing all of a sudden?"

"It"s because you"re being a fool. What do you think of this spear?"

In Yuu"s hand was a jet black spear.

"Is it extraordinarily sharp?"

"You know? I had Mauno make one for Machupi, but he refused, saying he already had a spear. Even though this one is stronger than the flying dragon spear I mentioned earlier"

"He must have known his place. I"m surprised that he had the heart to be ashamed of not being able to be of use to Odono-sama"

"What is it? Are you on bad terms with Machupi? Oh, yeah. Did you lose to Machupi before?"

In the past, some demons heard rumors about the Nameless Kingdom and demanded that half of the territory be given to them in exchange for protecting the country. Machupi, in a fit of rage, knocked them down without question and the chief who led the demon tribe was Nephti. With Yuu"s permission, Machupi went to the outside of the island to talk to Nephti, but of course, it was not going to be a simple discussion. Machupi won the battle against the demon tribe, including Nephti, all by himself. What kind of discussion took place after that? Along with Machupi, the demon tribe led by Nephti moved to the Nameless Kingdom.

"The other day, thanks to the crystal created by Odono-sama, I was able to get a third job. Now I won"t be defeated by such an inexperienced person"

"Hee"

Nephti gets angry at Yuu"s reaction, which seems to be less interesting.

"The third job is the 『Heavenly Demon Spearman』. It"s a job unique to the demon race"

"A unique job, that"s great"

When Yuu praised her, Nephti"s face, which had been sinking, suddenly lit up and she smiled.

"You look different like a dog. I had heard that you were more unsociable and uninterested in men"

Nephti turns around slowly, like a broken tin doll, giggling. It"s a bit of a horror story. Her eyes are like, 「Who? Who told Odono-sama something superfluous?」 , none of the demon tribe members looked away. If they behaved strangely here, they would not know what kind of complications they would face later.

"It"s not that I"m not interested in men, odono-sama. It"s just that there has never been a man worthy of my love"

Finally, she muttered, 「But not anymore」.

"Hmm. Well, that"s okay. Here, I"ll give it to you"

"Are you sure?"

"You"re a captain now, aren"t you? I gave it to the others when they became captain, so don"t hesitate to take it"

Nephti knelt down in front of Yuu and reverently held out her hand.

"Hey"

The hand was not on the spear, but on Yuu"s hand holding the spear. Furthermore, their fingers are entwined and clinging together.

"I"m sorry about this. Any kind of punishment――"

"Just take it quickly"

"Haa!"

As soon as she holds the jet-black spear, Nephti loses power from her body and is about to collapse.

"Are you surprised? The spear is made from the horns of a black dragon, but it"s cursed. It"s also because Mauno makes a strong spear, so the horns of the black dragon are concentrated. Thanks to that, the black dragon"s horns that were there are gone"

Yuu laughs like a child with a successful prank.

"What is the black dragon"s horn used in this spear......"

"Hmm? Yes, its the same as my sword"

A strong gaze with jealousy from the surroundings is poured on Nephti"s back. In response to that, Nepthi stands up with a fearless smile.

"Uhii. I"ll definitely show you how to master this magic spear"

(When Machupi handed over the flying dragon spear, he said the same thing. Even though he hates it so much, Machupi and Nephti are similar......)

Nephti took advantage of the situation to take a position beside Yuu and began to chat with him.

"Nephti, do you know? In the past, before the bald great sage created the job changing crystal, the only way to get a job was to wake up naturally, like you. If that were still the case today, you would have made a name for yourself as a strong man"

"Huhuu. I"m glad to hear that. I have to thank the great sage for that"

"What"s good about it?"

"If it hadn"t changed, I wouldn"t have met Odono-sama in this way"

While watching Namari"s study, Yuu says, 「You"re a strange person」 as if surprised. However, even Yuu"s expression was like a reward for Nephti.

(Nuhuhuu. Today is really a wonderful day. It"s a good thing that the dark elf is not around to interfere with my relationship with Odono-sama. The only drawback is all the other flies around me. If only they"d minded me and killed themselves! Yeah. What a bunch of b.a.s.t.a.r.ds)

"Odono-sama, when I become proficient with this spear, I plan to challenge Kin-dono"

"You"d better not. You should not do this. Kin was a famous knight before he became an undead and now his exoskeleton is covered with one of only twelve golden armors in the realm, so he is very strong"

"So there"s no shortage of opponents"

"And since I"ve equipped him with the armor I got in the labyrinth, he might be stronger than ever"

"I hope so"

What is it that motivates Nephti so much? Yuu was not sure what else to say, so he said, 「Do what you want」. Then Nephti replied happily, 「Yes!」.

"Odono-sama, I"ve heard from Namari that he uses some extraordinary special moves"

"Undead technique. There are people in the world who can"t die just by killing them"

"Undead technique......!"

Excited Nephti――no, those who are listening around seem to be excited and remind Nephti to listen more soon.

"Did you destroy one of those foul animals with your undead technique?"

"No, I couldn"t use it at the time"

"What! Then, do you have a sword without a special move?"

"I was too weak"

"Weak?

"By the time I fought him, he was undead. Someone killed him before I did. There were slash marks from the top of the head to the tail to prove it, so someone must have killed him with a single slash"

"But that doesn"t make it any less of a feat!

"Are the demons proud of killing weak monsters? No"

"Ugh. That"s......that......"

"I"m not blaming you separately. In addition to that, it"s important to note that even though I"ve gone to a lot of trouble to create a new technique, in the end I couldn"t destroy that thing, so I can"t call it a technique"

Nephti panicked at the sight of Yuu"s depressed state for the first time. She had to change the subject somehow.

"By the way, Odono-sama thought of that technique? It"s a terrifying and wonderful technique, such as using the magic powers and MPs of multiple people together"

In the direction of Nephti"s gaze, there were people practicing the 『Holy Technique』 used by the saint faction of the Holy Country Jardalk, the holy connection horizontal formation and the holy connection vertical formation.

"It"s not me"

"Then it"s Russ-dono isn"t it?"

"Wrong"

"No way, that human――no, it"s called Lena"

"That"s not true either. I took it from the people who trapped me"

It"s as if time had stopped and everything was quiet. The only thing that could be heard was Namari"s voice reading from her book.

"Can I ask you some details?"

Nephti"s face changed and took on an evil expression.

"No"

"Why not?

"You don"t want to talk about how you were trapped and beaten up, do you?"

She no longer wanted to hide it. Nephti is angry that she can"t control her whole body. If she looks at Namari as it is.

"Can I ask Namari?"

"Do as you like"

Yuu stood up and walked away, slapping his a.s.s. Immediately after that, the beastmen who have been ordered by Kuro to serve Yuu"s side follows.

"Namari!"

"Hmm?"

Namari replies to Nephti"s call without taking her eyes off her book.

"I"d like to ask you a few questions about Odono-sama"

"But I"m studying right now"

"It"s important"

"Umm, but I――waa"

Nephti bowed her head to Namari. It was a grown woman, the leader of a different tribe than Machupi. Namari was so surprised that she let go of the book she was reading.

"That"s right. Ask"

"Yes. I understand

Nephti thanked her, but as she listened to Namari, her face grew grim and her whole body leaks murder intent rather than anger.

"Are you sure?"

A boarman spoke to Yuu.

"What?"

"I"m sure if the......king told them to get along, they wouldn"t be in such a bad mood"

"If I tell them to get along, they won"t get along. So when I"m gone, they"ll be tense again?"

"Eh? Well......I don"t think that will happen, but"

The boarman smiled bitterly and falsely replied with an indecisive reply.

"What are your plans after this?

The boarman changed the subject, as if he shouldn"t go any further.

"I"m going to check on the library and the museum. Since Hisui is nagging me to come. After that, I"ll go to Russ and Torcher"s place. You don"t have to come with me"

"I understand"

The boarman was ordered by Kuro to stay by Yuu"s side whenever he was not around, but if it was Russ or Torcher, he would be in trouble. Therefore Yuu said that he didn"t have to follow him. The boarman sighed as he slapped the back of his head, feeling ungrateful for making Yuu, the king, feel uncomfortable.