227
Support Forces
“What about the capital?”
Pulpouts pressed his forehead hard and asked Nova.
“There is still no news.”
Nova, whose eyes were darkened, answered in a subdued voice.
‘Still no news?’
Pulpouts bit his lips.
I have been trying to get information about him since the day of his coronation, but nothing much has been found other than the story that the capital was burned down.
I heard that the system was disrupted when the headquarters of the information guilds that had been gathered in the capital collapsed.
‘Are you saying that the Information Guild didn’t prepare for the case where the capital collapses?’
I couldn’t help but sigh at the stupid behavior. Even if the capital had collapsed, it was a bit strange that there was still no news. It was clear that some kind of force was at work.
‘It may be that there was pressure from the royal family.’
If the story had to be covered up, it was clear that the damage to the royal family was greater than expected. Pulpouts’s liver grew cold.
I had my doubts, but when I sent Aaron, the capital really burned down.
Fullfoot’s head was in a state of confusion. It was as if his head was going to burst just from managing the nobles of the East that had been summoned to Cassadic, and it was extremely frustrating when even news from the capital was blocked.
‘If the royal family is shaken, there is no reason to tie them up···.’
The reason Pulpouts, a mere baron, was able to gather the nobles of the east was thanks to the trick of plotting a rebellion.
If the imperial family collapsed, its foundations would certainly be shaken.
The rebels had also retreated to the capital, leaving only a small number behind, so there was no power to suppress them all at once.
If there was no longer a need to be mindful of the imperial family, there was a high possibility that he would turn to poison.
It was better to succeed than to fail. After all, I was tied to the rebels, and I had invested a lot in that.
They had no choice but to make big bets to survive, and that only increased the risk.
And more than that-.
“······Do you think Aaron would have done the same?”
Pullputs asked, fiddling with his pipe.
Nova licked her lips for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. She didn’t say anything, but it was enough of an answer.
It was Nova who had come up with plans for the coronation when news of it was blocked.
Now he could no longer ignore it. Wherever Aaron went after leaving Cassidy, something big had happened. This time, Aaron was headed to the capital for the coronation, and the capital was on fire.
‘That’s what Aaron said.’
However, even though it was his own reasoning, he couldn’t believe it. How could he burn down the capital by himself? It wasn’t something that could be done simply by force.
Fullfoot had a rough taste.
“There must be a reason.”
At that moment, Nova defended Aaron with a firm voice. Pulpouts looked into Nova’s eyes for a moment and nodded.
There was always a reason. I was worried about Vivian, but I heard that it ended well.
First, we had to focus on what Fullfoot could do now.
“Let’s increase support for the upper part of Aaron. Just in case-.”
at that time-.
“Baron Fullfoot. Let me talk to you for a moment.”
The door opened violently and a very angry nobleman came in. Behind him were Adela and Adolf, holding swords.
It seemed that they were unable to stop the nobles who were pushing forward, as Fullfoot had ordered them to avoid armed conflict as much as possible.
‘Aaron, come back quickly.’
Fullfoot got up from his seat, feeling very tired.
Of course, what would change if Aaron came, but there was something Aaron could not measure.
Do you know what else?
Where will we get so many soldiers like at the top?
Pulpouts suddenly felt a chill and shivered slightly.
It seemed to be because the window was open.
***
‘It’s slower than I thought.’
Swallows muttered as he looked out the window.
It could not be helped because the carriage was so large, but it felt like the coachman and his escorts did not bother to speed up.
‘How did you prepare the Gray Tower?’
Reinforcing the walls of the capital was one of the tasks of the Tower, so the Swallows knew very well how strong and thick the walls were.
But there’s a hole in it -. No matter how gray the tower was, it was clear that it had been prepared for quite some time.
Even if it was a rooftop castle, it wouldn’t have been easy to get over it if it was discovered that a hole had been drilled into the outer wall. The fact that they had prepared while taking on such a risk-.
‘···I guess I knew it in advance.’
Swallows shook his head. Even so, the face of the Matapju was subtly different from usual.
“The guys who escort me are not mercenaries.”
At that moment, Dylan sniffed the bridge of his nose. Swallows held his nose at the musty smell coming from him.
Of course, it was a difficult and rough process to escape, but even so, isn’t the smell too strong?
“···If you’re not a mercenary?”
“Look at the hands holding the reins. They all look the same. They must have been trained in a group somewhere.”
Swallows turned his gaze to the sharp remark that did not match his. Their postures were really similar.
“Oh, but you know that guy from before? The one-armed guy.”
Dylan quickly lost interest and changed the subject.
“He’s the Gray Tower Lord. He helped Vivian Youngae with her work. However, I don’t know much about him. All I know is that he’s the actual leader of the Tower Alliance.”
As Swallows spoke, it was only then that he remembered the Magic Tower.
The capital was in such a state, so there was no way the castle tower would be intact.
Swallows hurriedly got up and sat down again. There was no way he could go back now. He took a small piece of paper out of his bosom and pressed it down.
‘The signal is going.’
It seemed like there were some survivors. The wizard was a selfish being to begin with. He would not have thrown himself into that chaos while his mana was tied up.
‘You’ll hear from me later.’
Swallows nodded. Most of the buildings in the capital had collapsed. When they escaped, there were no tall buildings in sight, so the tower must have collapsed as well.
The capital will be in disarray for a while before it can be rebuilt.
‘I just built a tower in Cassidy.’
Swallows nodded slightly. Of course, there were other locations where the Magic Tower branch was located, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea to designate it as Cassidy.
First of all, Vivian and Kanna were in Cassadic, and Baron Pulpouts also supported them.
“But why are these guys going so slowly? Hey! Over there!”
Dylan immediately knocked on the window and called out to the man who was escorting him nearby. The man did not respond.
Dylan didn’t give up and kept singing, even putting his hands together to his mouth and making strange sounds.
Just as the Swallows were covering their ears from the noise, the one in the lead approached.
She was a woman with sharp eyes and a very fierce impression. Her impression was not good, but she opened her mouth with her eyes even narrowed.
“It’s noisy. What is it?”
It was a cold, sharp voice that matched her appearance. Dylan asked back without paying attention.
“Where are you going now?”
“It’s Cassidy.”
The woman answered lightly. Swallows was slightly surprised that the destination had already been decided. How far had the gray tower master expected it to go?
“It’s my house. But why is it so slow?”
“Don’t worry. If you make any noise, I’ll cut your mouth off, so keep it shut.”
When Dylan hurriedly covered her mouth, the woman turned around. Then Dylan lowered his hand and moved his tongue from side to side.
“I don’t know what their intentions are.”
“I feel good. I’m definitely going to Cassadic.”
The basis was a feeling, but Swallows clicked his tongue slightly at Dylan’s confidence. Even if he was suspicious, he didn’t really have a choice.
“And don’t worry, you can just ignore it. I’m Dylan, the ‘master of the sword’.”
Swallows turned their gaze to Dylan’s confident words that followed.
It seemed as if he really thought he had defeated the master of the sword. Of course, it was true-.
I shook my head as I thought about him.
The most important thing is-.
‘Aaron is rising.’
Swallows muttered as he looked at Aaron across the way.
The thing wrapped around the shell looked just like a pupa. It looked like a caterpillar before it became a butterfly, so I wondered what would come out of it.
How long did it take? The blocked mana moved. Swallows simply cast a spell to wash Dylan and himself, and cleaned up the inside of the carriage as well.
Dylan asked why he was acting so strangely, but the smell of the thing made his nose hurt, so he endured the pain and used his magic.
While I was spending time like that, it got noisy outside.
When he checked outside, he saw that some people who looked like a mess were approaching. Judging from their weapons and their eyes, they were clearly in a hurry.
After exchanging some words with their escorts, they knelt down toward the carriage, looking like knights swearing their oath to the king.
Those who showed piety naturally joined the procession. Starting with him, there were quite a few who joined in the same way.
‘···They tried to inflate the numbers. There are more people who escaped from the capital than I thought. Did the gray tower do something?’
Swallows narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding procession.
At first there were only six escorts, but now there were more than twenty, and the number was growing.
As their numbers grew, the Swallows felt the burden.
The Swallows tried to avoid eye contact because the determination they showed was quite heavy.
Dylan, unlike those Swallows-.
“Is there anyone who can cure the king? The king wants to eat meat!”
I started to get more excited and started to squeal.
They treated Dylan well because they knew he was the first one to run to the Demon King.
Dylan then continued to proudly declare that he was the son of the King of Demons.
Everyone nodded, as there was not an inch of hesitation in that voice.
Unlike the Swallows, who had complicated feelings, Dylan picked a few people and spread them out around.
To let everyone know the king’s procession.
He spoke so solemnly that it gave me goosebumps. However, it seemed different to them, as they all moved busily as if they were in charge of something important.
“Now I’m going to have a lot of puppies.”
Dylan twitched the corners of his mouth in a half-hearted imitation of Aaron.
‘Can I leave it like this?’
Could it be because Aaron was lying down? I hesitated for a moment because he looked like he had lost his temper, but soon shook my head.
It was Dylan anyway.
Even if you do it, how big of an accident will you cause?
It didn’t take long for me to regret thinking that.
dripping.
Swallows clicked his tongue slightly as he watched Dylan’s expression become solemn at the sound of the knock.
“Come in.”
Dylan spoke in an uncharacteristically low voice. Then the door opened and the sharp-tongued woman appeared.
“This is Count Albratha.”
At the name of the bigger guy than he had expected, Swallows sat up straighter without realizing it.
However, Dylan nodded slightly. Then the woman frowned slightly and stepped aside.
“I am Count Albrata. I have come to deliver the Archduke’s message to the King of Demons.”
As the stern-looking count tried to get into the carriage, Dylan stopped him with his hand.
‘···Are you crazy?’
Swallows were shocked to see Dylan daring to wave at the Count. Dylan, however, was calm.
I couldn’t see Aaron, who was surrounded by a shell, but my opponent was a count. I needed to be a little careful.
“The king did not permit it.”
“······You didn’t allow it?”
Swallows felt dizzy and tried to stop him, but Dylan’s face was determined.
“I see, are you feeling okay?”
Whether or not such a firm stance worked, the Count unexpectedly took a step back.
“He is still recovering.”
“Okay. This is called saripul. It’s a good herb for recovery. Just grind it up and mix it in water and drink it.”
The count said, handing me a luxurious box.
“Understood, Count Albrata. I will be sure to convey your precious name.”
Dylan, who had received him, nodded solemnly and assured him. The count then stepped back with a satisfied expression. Swallows’ eyes widened at the smooth flow.
As the door closed, Dylan blew his nose and opened the box.
“Hey, is this okay to eat?”
“······It’s a remedy. It’s more effective in reducing pain than in recovering.”
It was a familiar medicine to the Swallows. It was hard to obtain, but he gave it to me in such a bundle. As expected of a noble.
“Saripul? It looks tasteless.”
Dylan grumbled and pulled out his dagger, chopping up some sari grass with the back of it.
‘Put that precious thing away······.’
Swallows clicked his tongue slightly. But his skills were not ordinary. It seemed like he had ground it up a lot and turned it into juice in an instant.
“The wine that the Marquis’ brother gave me… Ah, here it is.”
Dylan took out a fancy bottle of liquor from the pile next to him and smiled brightly. He then opened the cork, poured in the crushed ingredients, and shook it vigorously.
‘That precious thing… Oh my…’
I was dizzy at the sight of him shaking a bottle of wine worth over 3 gold coins indiscriminately. However, there was no time to stop him.
Dylan mixed it thoroughly and carefully poured it onto the torn area around Aaron’s mouth.
He seemed a bit irritable and out of his mind, but he was also very sincere when dealing with Aaron. He was a really strange guy.
“Dylan is the crown prince. Dylan is trustworthy. Dylan is-.”
It was a bit strange that I would stick to Aaron and recite strange spells whenever I had time.
Still, it was a pretty good trip home.
at that time.
Open the path of the king who brought down the empire.
A now familiar song rang out from outside. Unlike before, it wasn’t sung by just one person.
Dylan then stood up and leaned against the window. Swallows, who turned his gaze accordingly, coughed softly.
A long procession stretched behind the carriage, its end nowhere in sight.
They all looked like defeated soldiers, but their eyes and demeanor were fierce. They looked like they were going to start a war at any moment.
“Whaaaaaah-! The Prince of Demons! It’s Dylan!!”
Dylan smiled and waved to the loud cheers.
Dylan was still frivolous, but his bearing was intact. It seemed to be true that the position makes the man. Dylan’s face, which had been sullen, was strangely serious.
dripping.
There was a knock again-.
“You go out. I’m sick of nobles! I just want to enjoy my rights without any obligations! What the hell is this much work!”
Swallows coughed softly at Dylan’s candid revelation of his ugly desires.
From then on, the Swallows took turns welcoming Dylan and others to join them.
The biggest problem was the request to see the king.
We were able to compromise somewhat by having Aaron and Dylan get along well and show the somewhat normal parts of him through the window.
However, the problem was that, like a snowball rolling down a hill, the procession only grew in size without decreasing.
“I think I know why you didn’t reject the captain or the lord.”
Dylan, wearing a crown that he had gotten somewhere, touched him and smiled awkwardly.
“Why?”
“I tried it and it’s really annoying to have to ask questions like that. What are you asking me? I think you probably thought the same thing. That’s why you left that piggy head alone.”
It was a strangely persuasive statement.
Well, what more could a guy who already lives his own way need?
As I nodded, Dylan’s face brightened. He snapped his fingers as if a good idea had struck him.
“So if you go to Cassidy, Cassidy’s head full feet will take care of it, right?”
Swallows raised his eyebrows for a moment at Dylan’s excited voice.
Certainly, Baron Fullfoot was intelligent and did not have the snobbery typical of a nobleman.
He was clearly a very good lord, but-.
‘······Isn’t that too much to handle?’
Swallows turned his gaze to the window and muttered.
Boom! The King’s Road-.
Boom! Open it-.
The huge procession now seemed to have no end in sight.
Wherever I looked, there were people. Their appearances and attire were all different, but they were all singing praises to the hero with one voice.
What was a simple journey home has now transformed into the legendary footsteps of a hero.
The praise for the hero was endless, day and night, so much so that it was difficult to sleep.
Everyone raised their swords and raised their voices, singing of the fall of the empire and the birth of a hero.
How do you handle that many numbers in Cassadic?
There, the Swallows also asked the survivors of the White Tower to come to Cassidy.
I heard that due to a magical mistake at the coronation, other magic towers that were watching the imperial court decided to migrate as well. Swallows also told them about Cassidyk when they asked about his whereabouts.
‘hmm······.’
Swallows hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. It wasn’t his job to handle it anyway.
Boom! The King’s Way-!
Boom! The fall of the empire!
Then, as the song started again, Dylan started laughing as if a hole had been punched in his stomach.
He laughed so hard that spittle flew out of his mouth. The Swallows, who were watching him, also laughed along.
Anyway, it’s now completely out of their hands.
The two of them continued to look at each other and laugh.
I just laughed.
Boom! At the eastern end is Cassadick, where everyone is happy.
Despite all the chaos, Aaron’s shell remained quiet.
***
‘You stupid bastard.’
Oman clicked his tongue as he looked at the guy far below.
The guy was still doing stupid things.
Oman couldn’t understand that guy.
In the past, when Oman was locked up, he was able to come out because his status had fallen.
But even though Arrogance has lost its power now, its status has not fallen. Arrogance’s status was so high that it could not rise any higher. It was not given the name Arrogance for nothing.
Although he raised his status, that too was arrogance.
Now, in Oman, he had to face the bastard purely as his own.
That’s why the size difference was so desperate.
He would know better.
Originally, it was the law that those who were watching from below were more accurate than those who were watching from above.
For him, Oman showed a real difference with the guy.
He showed me that what he was doing was like ants trying to destroy a continent by moving pieces of dirt one by one.
If anyone saw this, they would give up because of the hopeless difference.
The stupid and foolish guy didn’t give up.
He was just quietly picking at the pieces.
Oman knew that although he was ignorant, he was actually a quick-thinking man.
So even though he must have known the situation very well, he just moved silently.
Oman felt a subtle emotion when he saw that guy.
Even those who call themselves gods tend to lose themselves when intoxicated with power.
The same was true for arrogance.
But to him, power was just a tool. It was just a way to survive.
Sure, there were times when he was threatened by the power of arrogance, but he was never intoxicated by power.
The temptation must have been stronger because it was always desperate, but he never lost confidence until the very end.
Arrogance allowed him to wield power because he liked the arrogance and confidence of the man who could even handle the power of the gods like a weapon.
True to form, the bastard surprised Arrogance time and time again.
Every time I thought I had reached the end, he always moved on to the next one.
That’s why I thought maybe he could take care of those wretched guys.
But in the end, he was just a human.
He had overcome countless crises that seemed impossible, but this time it was different.
This wasn’t just his karma.
He must have known him, but he didn’t complain at all.
‘···That’s stupid.’
He must know him, but it annoys me to see him still not giving up.
No matter how many times he tried to persuade him to give up, he wouldn’t accept it.
The flow of time was different just as the level was different.
It would only last a moment to Oman, but it would surely last countless years to him.
He closed his eyes in pride.
When you open your eyes again, the bastard will be eaten by karma.
‘That’s a bit… boring. He’s a very chatty guy, after all.’
How much time has passed like that?
Oman opened his eyes to the sound of a voice coming from below.
“Yeah, Dylan. I said I’ll let you do it. Kell, you can’t do it, y’know.”
When I looked down, I saw the guy talking to someone. He seemed to have lost his mind and was talking to himself.
A slightly larger one was pulling out two pieces at a time.
It must have been a very long time for him, but Oman frowned at the sight of him not giving up yet.
‘You stupid bastard.’
I knew it was terribly stupid, but I still didn’t give up, so that alone would be considered an achievement by other people.
But even so, it was still infinite.
‘Give up. You’ll only suffer.’
Even though I said that, the bastard pretended not to hear.
Oman muttered a curse at the terrible stupidity and closed his eyes again. Unlike before, he felt a subtle sensation.
‘If it’s him···.’
After muttering like that, he soon shook his head.
It seemed like I became an idiot because I was stuck with that guy.
How much more time has passed?
It was noisy down there.
Let’s open our eyes to him-.
“Yeah, let’s build the palace in my image. That’s okay. That’s okay-. But still, a little······.”
The bastard was twice as big as before.
It was still too small to be seen, but Oman shuddered at the thought of the effort that must have gone into it.
It was not simply a matter of will. The pain of carrying out a karma was all the more painful because I knew that the end was infinite. I had to face absolute despair at every moment in front of infinity and overcome it.
And yet he kept going. Without even a single complaint.
“Yes, I’m definitely going. On my birthday, I’m going to invite everyone and have fun. Berman, Kel, Selena, Woodra… Oh, Woodra is dead.”
Oman narrowed his eyes at the bastard’s muttering.
I could see why he wouldn’t give up.
‘Is the promise with that child so important? So much so that you’re willing to take on the infinite karma-.’
It was a feeling that Oman could not understand.
The thing was still too small to be seen, but it was clearly growing in size.
To think that I could overcome such a difference in skill when I am at my lowest level.
It was something that even Oman could not do.
‘No, rather, he is human-.’
As I looked at him, my subtle emotions grew stronger.
It was a long-held hope.
Yeah, he wasn’t the only one trapped.
The pupils of the arrogant eyes looking at the guy grew wide.
If the guy really overcomes near-infinite karma-.
‘He’ll get a name too.’
He pondered over the words that would suit the arrogant bastard.
The words ‘stupid’ and ‘idiot’ would have suited him well for being so terribly stupid, but the words that suddenly came to mind pushed him away.
I hate to admit it, but it was a name that suited him better than ‘stupid’.
‘···Indomitable.’
I strangely didn’t like the name because it was quite fancy.
From then on, Oman stared at the bastard without closing his eyes.
‘perhaps-.’
Oman didn’t speak to the bastard or convey his will, but just watched silently.
By then he was removing five pieces at a time.
