Chapter 288: Demon King, Capture Plan

Faltima. It is the holy city of the holy country of Jardalk and is also the holy place where the G.o.ddess of light, Irigamit, is said to have descended. There are other important facilities such as the Jardalk Palace where the Pope lives and the saints and saintess, but there was another important facility.

It is the headquarters of the main office of the Anti Devil Ministry of Defense Grand Schutzer, that is, the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Knights of Jardalk.

"I want you to stop there!"

At the entrance of the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Knights, which was created in the image of a five-pointed star, the knights who act as gatekeepers stop the man who tries to enter without saying anything. The muscles of the man"s body were bulging enough to be convinced that he had trained every corner of his body. Yet he is tight enough to make agile movements possible.

"Look"

The man shows a piece of red paper to the gatekeepers.

"There"s no doubt about it"

"Undoubtedly a subpoena issued by the Holy Knights Headquarters"

"If you understand it, just dismiss"

"Excuse me"

The man, who has a rough wording, goes straight to the building where the headquarters is located.

"Isn"t it the current 『Holy Fist』Dross? He is so rough"

"It seems that he was recalled from the front line without any explanation"

"The front line......is it the fort that monitors one of the three great devil kings 『Sadem of Nothingness』on the border with Hameln? Is it okay from such an important base?"

"I wonder what it is. Something is strange today. Before Dross, there were three people of 『Three Swords』? Look. The one coming from there is the brigade leader of the 9th Brigade. Behind him. It is the captain of the 4th Battalion. He is also a master of bows and he is said to have bow skills which are as good as the 『Three Great Archers』"

“............No way, is there war?”

"It"s not"

"Why can you say it?"

"It"s unusual for so many faces to gather at the headquarters on the same day, but there"s surprisingly no movement of soldiers, right?"

"If you ask, there are no large-scale movement orders for soldiers."

"That"s it. Let"s do our job faithfully"

"Yes, I understand"

With that said, one of the gatekeepers shrugged his shoulders and returned to his duties.

The 13th Operation Conference Room of the Anti Devil Ministry of Defense Grand Schutzer. About 100 people were seated in the conference room.

"Barash-sama, Barash-sama"

A young knight is trying to wake up an old man sitting in a prominent place on the stage of a semi-circular conference room, but he has no sign of waking up at all.

"*Snoring*......Naa? Grandma, is the meal still there?"

"Barash-sama, you"re asleep? If it"s a meal, don"t you just eat it in the morning"

"Mumu? Houka......was that so? Um, I remembered. I"m still out of focus"

Barash pats his knees once and nods to the young knight many times.

"Then, say h.e.l.lo to everyone"

Everyone in this room, including the 『Holy Fist』 Dross, had the strength to be called being a mighty warrior. If you are a small or medium-sized country, you will be welcomed with the treatment of a knight leader. It was such a human resource.

"Um, I know. First of all, it"s good to have me 『Iron wall』 Barash here and make me wait"

It was Barash that opened his eyes and intimidated the surroundings.

"No No, I"m sure you kept me waiting. We waited until you woke up to sleep on the stage. Did the old man, who was even said to be the shield of the Holy Country Jardalk, past his prime and won senility?"

To Dross"s words, laughter leaks from those around him who are staring at Barash with sharp eyes.

"It"s about time we got down to business. It"s not like we have such a face together and we have a tea party together, do we?"

Dross glances at the faces of those around him. From those who only know their names to those who have actually made arrangements, all that Dross knows for sure is that not all are half-hearted.

"Umm......munyamunya......suu......"

"Old man!!"

"Hauu!? Don"t suddenly make a loud voice. I think I almost pa.s.sed away in the other world"

"I"m still on the front line with my subordinates"

Frustrated Dross complains to Barash.

"I"m the same"

"You are still good. How important is my fort?"

"It"s not a joke. This is a call while engaging with a devil!"

Dross is followed by others.

"Hey? I was called for no reason or explanation. I wonder if the other guys are similar? Everyone is telling the old man to explain. That"s understandable. Explain! Look at them, it"s going to be a rampage if it"s not a very good content"

Dross whispers when he sees the faces of those who are murderous.

"Where are you going to kill each other? We"re always ready. Or did the great people in our home country finally raise their weights and embark on the subjugation of the Demon King? Then I"m a big cheer――"

"That"s right"

To Barash´s words, the noisy room calmed down.

"――Finally? Finally! The day has finally come to subdue the Three Great Devil Kings!!"

Dross"s body quivered. Not from fear, but by warrior tremors.

For those who belong to the army of the Holy Country of Jardalk, the subjugation of the Three Great Devil Kings is a long-cherished wish. The owner of Grimm Castle, 『Supreme Ruler Dorim』, located west of the Holy Country of Jardalk and the reasons why large-scale military operations are not carried out against these three great devil kings are repeatedly voiced by non-military members. The higher the number, the more mysterious it was for many years. Moreover, there is no explanation from the Pope for that. It was unbelievable for Irigamit believers who believed that destroying the devil was their supreme mission.

"――But the opponent is not the Three Great Devil Kings"

"What"s that"

At a stretch, power is released from the shoulders of Dross and those around him. The reaction was great as expected. There is already an air of wanting to break up and go home.

"Your opponent is Yuu Satou"

"Yuu......Satou? It"s a name I don"t know"

"Did you read the list of 『Calamity Seeds』?"

"Don"t look at it one by one. I"ve been fighting at the forefront for years now. And with 『Calamity Seeds』, I"ve destroyed three or four. I finished them all with one shot"

With that said, Dross points his fist at Barash.

"Hmm, a blow. As expected of the nickname, 『Holy Fist』. By the way 『Three Swords』, can you kill all 3,000 soldiers alone?"

Three men called that nickname look at each other with a pondering face. Eventually a man opens his mouth.

"It depends on the conditions. Even if you say 3,000 soldiers, the strength depends on which country the Knights are in"

"Then what about the First Navy Knights of the Marinma Kingdom?"

"Then I know it very well. I"ve been instructed by General Trisen, who leads the First Navy Knights. He was a very good man and his army was well trained. According to rumors of the wind, he died in an unexpected accident"

"The 3,000 soldiers of the Navy"s First Knights, led by Trizen, who is quite skilled, have been killed by Satou"

When they heard Barash"s words, no one was afraid. Anyone here is proud to be able to do the same.

"If the story is true, it"s horrible"

Contrary to words, the man remains calm.

"But there"s something weird about it. Even if you"re an average general, don"t you think about withdrawing if your army"s damage exceeds 20%. I don"t think General Trisen is that stupid"

"It"s a simple story. They fought on the sea because they"re the Navy, right? In addition, Satou is not an vanguard but a rearguard"

A woman who sits in the seat dignifiedly mixed with men interjects from the side.

"Indeed. That"s a possible story"

"It"s half right and half wrong. Satou also uses high-level magic, but the First Navy Knights of Marinma Kingdom are all killed in close quarters""

"Hyuu～. That"s scary"

The woman mentioned earlier plays like a clown. But Barash was neither frustrated or impatient. Here are the fierce among the fierce people that the Holy Country of Jardalk is proud of. It was understood that there was no way that there was no shake and the sense of crisis by the story of this level. However, they only think that it is necessary to tighten it when the talk is advanced.

"Dross, do you know our food self-sufficiency rate?"

"Old man, what do you know about it?"

"It"s stupid. Not only fighting, but also head training"

Barash"s words make people other than Dross laugh.

"I"ll omit the details, but the food self-sufficiency rate of our holy country, Jardalk, is by no means high. Most of it is imported from other countries, especially from the Republic of Set and the Udon Kingdom"

"What does that have to do with Satou?"

Dross, who was scolded by Barash and laughed at by everyone, asks while being disappointed.

"Satou communicates with many influential merchants, including one of Hameln Eight Coins Victor l.u.s.tig, who is also said to be Benjamin Gochester"s right-hand man"

Someone muttered 「Craving Victor」. Everyone was starting to listen to Barash"s story.

"Satou has already eliminated the faction including Finance Minister Balue, who has dominated Udon Kingdom from the front and back and controls more than 20% of the merchants, including the royal capital of the Udon Kingdom! If the sales channel from Udon Kingdom is blocked, we will naturally rely on Set Republic, but we all know that most of the food we purchase from that Set Republic goes through Hameln. Let"s make a calculation by scholars and if we keep pace, Satou will affect 50% of the Udon Kingdom in 10 years and 40% of Hameln"s trade area in another 10 years. Can you understand what this means? If we keep going like this, our holy country, Jardalk, will dry up like a fish that has landed and we will lose even before we fight Satou. Is it still possible to say that Yuu Satou is not a big opponent? Is it okay? Yuu Satou is a different type from any ferocious devil that you have dealt with so far or vicious people""

There was no one to tease Barash.

"It seems that you"ve finally come to understand the significance of the matter. Then-open the envelope in front of you"

Several envelopes were numbered in front of everyone. This is to facilitate the meeting without giving extra prior information.

"What......that"s it"

Dross murmured unintentionally. The information contained in the material was so unusual that he couldn"t help but mutter.

"This is the skill information that we currently know about Yuu Satou. There are more than 40 pa.s.sive skills, more than 40 active skills and more than 10 unique skills"

"Dragon magic!? What do you mean? And I think most of the skills are far from being comparable to top-notch users"

"It"s not a joke. Did the people above leave such a thing unattended until now?"

"They didn"t leave it alone. Archbishop Stella was in charge of surveillance, but was confirmed dead"

"Has she been killed by Satou?"

"There is a lot of potential. Well, I wonder if everyone is beginning to understand how threatening Yuu Satou is? Open the next envelope"

The following material contained information such as Nina, Russ and Kuro.

"Goblins――rank 7!?"

"Wait. A humanoid undead rank 8!!"

The rank of monsters is an indicator of strength, but humanoid monsters are often regarded as dangerous by all countries because they often have intelligence.

"This is an unmistakable fact. The goblin called Kuro is expected to reach rank 8 in the near future. The undead individual called Russ is rank 8. Again, there isn"t much time to rank up. You know how terrifying the high-ranking undead monsters are, so much that anyone here doesn"t need to explain?"

"What is this meat goblin or strong dragon? And with a huge monster, I don"t know what it is."

"Um. I"m wondering, I"m very aware of it. But one of the informants is a young child, so I"d like you to forgive it"

Barash, who knew everyone would point out, apologizes.

"Hey, old man! What does capture mean!!"

"Idiot! Who said you could open the next envelope?"

"Guu....... Still, isn"t this capture strange?"

"I think it"s strange. Why are you capturing a devil that should be destroyed?"

"Capture is like a beast, isn"t it?"

"How good would it be if Yuu Satou was a beast? Well, open the next envelope"

The following material described Yuu"s fighting style and where to carry out the operation.

"Bueruko Basin――Zinba Kingdom? It"s a country I don"t know much about"

"We"re catching Satou here, right?"

"Why did you choose this place?"

"I would like Barash-dono to explain why he shall be captured before that"

"Okay. I"ll answer what everyone is wondering. First of all, when it comes to capture, we have no other choice"

"I don"t understand what――"

"Listen silently. There must be a continuation, why should we capture it without killing it?"

"Um. That"s right, there"s a reason why Satou can"t be killed. The meat monster, strong dragon and big devil mentioned in the material there, but one of them is known. The old Devil King who was sealed in 『Devil"s Prison』 is one pillar"

When they heard Barash"s explanation, everyone"s doubts continued to grow. In the first place, it was the first time for them to hear that the Devil King was sealed in 『Devil"s Prison』.

"I"m sorry for being an inexperienced genius, but was the Devil King sealed in 『Devil"s Prison』in Udon Kingdom?"

"That"s what I"m saying"

"I haven"t even heard of such a story, even rumors?"

"That"s right. It"s much older than the Holy Calendar and it"s a story that can only be told by word of mouth. It says 『Tenma demi-G.o.d disturbs the world. Eight dragons who couldn"t see try to subdue, but they don"t have the ability to destroy. Don"t unseal the Tenma』"

"Eight dragons, you mean the Eight Dragon Kings?"

"Indeed. From the oral tradition, we know that the eight great dragon kings could not be destroyed even if they were all out. From the contents from the informant, the remaining meat monster and strong dragon are of the same rank or you can guess that they have similar powers. Well, how? Satou follows these mighty three monsters. The problem is that even if you kill Satou, these three monsters are together. It is very likely that they will be released rather than being destroyed. Did you understand a little? If Satou was killed and these three monsters were left unchecked, the three great demons would if you"re not good at it, they could become the Six Great Demon Kings!! This is the reason why you can"t kill Satou. We have to capture Satou and keep the Holy Country Jardalk responsible for sealing him forever"

The person who was standing sits down as if his whole body was weakened.

"Are we alone trying to make this big role a success?"

"Hmm. That"s impossible"

"I"ll call my subordinates right away. Old man, that"s okay, isn"t it?"

Dross descends to the stage and squeezes into Barash.

"There"s no need for that"

"What are you saying――ah! No way, my subordinates have been rea.s.signed in the last few months......"

"Did you finally notice? Your main subordinates are already heading to the site"

"I"m worried about that alone. And will Satou come straight to the Bueruko basin?"

"Don"t worry about that either. This plan has been underway for more than a year, and 30,000 soldiers are waiting in the Zinba Kingdom or surrounding nations for orders now, using each route in platoons of no more than ten people. Only the Set Republic may have noticed this move, but they still don"t know its purpose or location. And the role of luring Satou, who is the most important role, to the Bueruko basin was taken over by the hero"

Everyone was convinced after hearing the word hero. The existence of a hero is such a thing.

"But can we hide that many soldiers in the Bueruko basin?"

"Don"t worry about that either. There is only one of the three saintess――"

"N, No way"

For some reason, Dross gets excited.

"――Theodora-dono offered to cooperate"

"My bride!!"

"Idiot, be careful of your speech! It"s not strange to be imprisoned for irreverent crimes against the saintess, such as the bride!!"

One of the "three swords" hurriedly closes Dross"s mouth.

"So, which hero is the one who played that important role?"

"『Pandora"s Hero』"

"I was surprised. According to the material, if Joseph could intervene, 『Pandora Hero』, Theodora-sama and 『Great Sage』 are added here, it would be a legendary return"

"Joseph? It"s not a big deal for such an old man. Now he"s an old hero"

Dross swears with both fists. Then, when the last envelope is opened by Barash"s order, each person confirms the detailed contents of the operation.

"The hero will arrive in Comer City, the city of Satou, in a few days. We will soon leave the Holy City. With 30,000 soldiers to siege Satou and 20,000 soldiers to capture him. Hit! Capture with a total of 50,000 soldiers per Satou!! This operation is a mission comparable to the Walpurgis cult and the subjugation of the 『Devil King of Calamity』――no, it is a holy war! The name of 『Calamity Seed』 Yuu Satou is 『The Seventh Tenma of Jet Black』! This is because there are many similarities with the Sixth Tenma who fought in the Second Holy Devil War! Did you understand? If so, all the materials should be incinerated! No way, there are no weak people who are afraid of this place!!"

"Respond!"

"The existence of humankind is in our hands!!"

"Respond!!"

"Justice is――"

"Being with us!!"

"The Holy Country of Jardalk――"

"Justice! Justice!"

"We are the children of the G.o.ddess of Light, Irigamit. With the power of justice"

"Be the one who destroys evil!!"

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

A man was running through the woods north of Comer City.

"Where did you escape?"

"He shouldn"t be able to escape so far! Although the other person is in-law, the son of Archbishop Stella, our hands should be familiar. Don"t be fooled by the smell and traces of blood!"

"I know"

Dozens of men say so and disappear from the scene without sound.

"They are persistent"

Hiding behind a tree, Ansgar Foddo sits down, holding his flank.

"d.a.m.n. They used a nasty poison......I can"t detoxify it from a while ago"

Ansgar looks up at the sky with a greasy sweat.

"He, Hehee. What am I doing? I"ve fulfilled my promise with that d.a.m.n old woman, so I should leave it alone. Guoo......!"

Ansgar stood up with all his might and he just started walking toward Comer City.