Chapter 40: War Commences! And a Sudden Development!?

《Gedalt Bridge》. That was the only bridge connecting the『Gabranth』 and 『Evila』 continents. And at this very moment, from both sides of the bridge, the 『Gabranth』 and 『Evila』 glared at one another.

“Those bastards. I was sure that they would deploy their troops to our side already…”

The person who muttered that was 【Beast Kingdom, Passion】’s King, and the one serving as supreme commanding officer of the country’s forces: Leowald King. His gallant mane flowed in the wind, as his sharp lion-like eyes stared at the other side of the bridge.

He had acted under the assumption that the 『Evila』 would station their troops on this side to prevent them from crossing. But it appears he was mistaken

“Damn, if only they were on our side of the bridge, I would make mincemeat out of them.”

The person saying this with a regretful expression was the seond prince, Lenion.

“As expected of war. Not everything will go as planned…”

For a different reason than Legion, the first prince Leglos also had a regretful expression.

“Father, what should we do? They’ve positioned quite a force on that side. I believe it would be best to wait and see what move they will make.”
“Yes, this is still within expectations. We’ll keep to our initial plan. First… we’ll use that.”

Upon those words, the people surrounding him gave off dangerous smiles.

“Are the preparations ready, Yuhito!?”

Upon calling the name, a man in a white lab coat appeared behind him.

“Nyohohohoho! We’re ready whenever you are! Let’s confirm the results of my research to our hearts content! Nyohohohoho!”

His hair was unkempt and his coat was worn out. The man wearing spiraling glasses and giving off a generally dirty disposition gave off a loud laugh.

“Good, then release the first 《Decaying Legions》!”
“Nyohohohoho! Crouch, do it!”

A black panther Beast-man with his entire body covered in black stood before everyone.

“Understood-nya.”

He placed his arms on the ground in front of the bridge.

“Now, it’s time for work-nya. Come out-nya.”

The bracelet on Crouch’s arm gave off a dubious light.

Zuzuzuzuzuzuzuzzuzuzuzu…

The shadow around his feet gradually increased in size. And from then, the shapes of monsters began to form. However, those were no ordinary monsters.

Various parts of their bodies were eroded away, and their skin was festering. A smell of decay enough to break one’s nose permeated the air. But the monsters’ eyes did give off a sense of life along with a red light.

Monsters endlessly poured out of the shadows. And with a casual pace, they start spanning the bridge.

“Nyohohoho! Go forth! My immortal zombie legions!”

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At that time, on the other side, having seen the 『Gabranth』’s movements, the soldiers reported to the one who requested Demon King Eveam to put him in that position: 《Cruel》’s 《Rank 2》, Marione.

“I see, I see. So they began moving. Those filthy brutes, I’ll send them to oblivion!”

Bloodlust, powerful enough that even the soldiers on his side trembled in fear, surged through his body. Both his wife and child had been killed by the 『Gabranth』. For that reason, he had an insatiable rage directed at the beast race.

The reason he personally asked to participate on the front lines was because he believed it would allow him to slaughter as many Beast-men as possible.

“… Marione-sama”
“Oh, what is it, Chugay?”

The one who suddenly appeared behind him was a man called Chugay. On his head was a single, long horn. Like a mask, his face never showed a change in emotion.

“It seems they’re employing monsters as their front-line. What course of action do you wish to take?”
“Hmm, from what I’ve heard, one of their researchers discovered a way to get monsters to fight for them.”
“It appears that was true. There are some Rank S monsters among them.”
“Hmm, did they think they could do anything with some measly Rank S’s?”
“I believe they are disposable pieces to elicit a reaction from us.”
“That means that there’s a high possibility they have much stronger monsters with them. Hmm, those beasts desperately scrambled for power due to their declining forces. They gained some unnecessary knowledge.”

He clicked his tongue in an annoyed manner.

“Marione-sama.”
“Hmm?”
“Please grant me, Chugay, a part in this. Let me determine whether the forces those filthy beasts put together will be a threat or not.”

Upon receiving those words, Marione laughed.

“Fine. But stop at the monsters. The Beasts will… be killed by my hand.”
“Understood!”

Chugay vanished into thin air.

“Watch closely, damn brutes. I’ll exterminate every last one of you.”

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“How’s the situation?”

As Leowald posed the question to Yuhito, he laughed as he responded.

“Nyohohohoho! It appears they only sent one person! But he seems to be quite a skillful! Nyohohohoho!”
“So they’re going to engage us in the middle of the bridge. What’s more, with one person? Who is he?”
“I used my precious Zombie-chans’ eyes to observe him. It seems they sent Chugay!”
“Father, I believe Chugay was Marione’s subordinate.”

Leglos commented, and Leowald opened his eyes a bit wider.

“I see, so one of the 《Cruel》 is in command.”
“They’ve already sent out the Demon Lord’s personal fighting force, the Cruel. What’s more, Marione should be 《Rank 2》. For such a person to be on the frontlines… is there a reason?”
“Nyohohoho! Based on my research, he harbors a great hatred for Beast-men!”
“So that’s it, he want to reap our lives with his own hands… that’s probably his intention.”

Leowald’s words were right on the mark.

“If it’s just Chugay, the monsters should be able to hold him off, but what should we do?”
“I’ll go forward.” (TL: Uses Ore-sama)
“Lenion.”
“I can’t laze around forever. Someone needs to open the way, right?”
“Wait a second, Lenion, there’s no reason for a prince to set out yet.”
“Aniki, this is war. If you want to win, you’ve got to use whatever you’ve got. Luckily, my 《Binding》 is perfect for use in open places like this.”

Lenion glanced at the bridge that extended in a straight line.

“Also, if they’re just monsters, it doesn’t matter if I drag them into my attacks too, right? Well, perhaps the soldiers would be satisfied if they were to die by my attacks.”

Looking at his ferocious smile, Leglos thought to himself, ‘If his heart was just a little warmer, Lenion would be a better prince than him.’

Based on ability, Lenion’s was higher. In the Beast-man world that put strength over all else, the next king would have been him. Regrettably, his personality was not one that was well liked.

He was too militaristic, and he didn’t care for the people. He would be a disgrace as a King.

“Oy, Old Man, whatcha gonna do? Can I go out?”

Hearing Lenion’s words, Leowald thought for a second.

“… Understood. But wait for a second.”

As he said those words, the soldiers who were observing the bridge raised their voices.

“What’s wrong!?”

Leowald shouted out, thinking that perhaps the other side had made some drastic movements.

“Ah, no, something from the other side…”

Upon the soldier’s words, everyone redirected their gaze.

“What do you mean by something…?”

They concentrated their attention on the other side of the bridge. And above it, two items were floating in mid-air.

“What… are those…?”

That was the question on everyone’s mind.

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“What’s going on!?”

Marione’s angry voice cried out. The reason for this was that unrest was breaking out among the soldiers, and the camp was getting noisy.

“Did something happen to Chugay?”

That was what came to his mind. He had left taking care of the monsters to him because he asked. Could it be that he lost?

“N-no…”

The soldier’s faces are pale. Some of them have blank expressions. It’s as if they saw something they couldn’t believe.

“All of you! If something happened, explain it!”
“Y-yess!”

Marione’s wrath returned them to their senses. They kneeled before him and explained the events that had transpired. And upon hearing their words, Marione’s expression gradually stiffened.

“What do you mean!?”
“Hii!”
“Why did something like that!?”
“I-I-I Doooooooon’t Know!”

The soldiers desperately responded, but nothing entered Marione’s ears anymore. His mind was in disorder from the words he just heard.

He turned his eyes to the space above the bridge to confirm it. There were definitely two things there.

(W-why… what does this mean…?)

He grit his teeth, and he murmured to himself.

“Why are those two people here…?”

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Both sides had noticed the existence of the two objects. They were both enquiring as to what their purpose was. The objects floated to the very center of the bridge and stopped.

Both of the objects were, as the 『Evila』 side surmised, people. The first had beautiful golden hair and was lighly clad in red armor. It was Eveam. The second had blood-red hair and was wearing pitch black armor. It was Aquinus. Both of them had sprouted large wings from their backs.

Both of them turned their eyes to the battle below, between the zombie monsters and Marione’s subordinate, Chugay. Chugay noticed their presence and was dumbfound that the existence he was fighting to defend boldly wandered onto the battlefield.

“Fall back, Chugay!”

Eveam said as such, but Chugay had no idea what was going on. His mind could not keep up with the sudden development. He never heard that anything of the sort was set to happen, and even though she was accompanied by 《Rank 1》 Aquinus, for the Demon Lord to nonchalantly come out was just reckless.

“If you don’t want to get involved in this, step back.”

In an indifferent voice, Aquinus spoke, but to Chugay, Aquinus wasn’t his master. He didn’t take orders from him. For him, Marione was the one deserving of being 《Rank 1》.

So he honestly did his part by defying Aquinus’s orders. But seeing his immobility, Eveam angrily shouted at him.

“Just move it already! The Demon King is ordering you here!”
“Y-yes!”

Even he couldn’t defy the Demon King’s words. If he did, then the responsibility of his actions would fall to Marione. But still, this place was left to him, so he was a bit dissatisfied with leaving without an explanation.

“I’ll leave explanations to later. Just get out of here quickly! Also relay my command, let no one else get close to here!”

He understood not the intent of Eveam’s words, but an erratic situation was playing out before him. He determined that he would have to report it to Marione, so he sprouted wings from his back and departed.

“Are you ready, Aquinus?”
“Yeah.”

And the two lowered their backs and drew their swords. For some reason, those blades found themselves lodging into their wielder’s left arms. From their cut arms, a large amount of blood flowed. The blood dripped steadily towards the ground.

“Let me ask again. You’re sure about this, right?”

Aquinus inquired, and while Eveam’s face was stiff, she responded in a strong voice.

“Yeah, I’ve already decided it.”

She lifted up her bloody left arm, and above her head, a large magic circle manifested. Her blood was drawn towards that magic circle and dyed it red.

Aquinus flew up higher than that circle and held his left arm towards the ground. A similar magic circle appeared before him. The two circles were separated by exactly 30 meters

Aquinus’s blood was also absorbed into his circle, and his circle turned red.

All of a sudden, a sound like that of the earth rumbling sounded out. The clear sky suddenly became clouded with dark clouds, and lightning began racing across it.

In-between the two circles, a black mass was brought forth. Black lightning surged around it, as it gradually got larger.

And from both sides, people began to realize exactly for what purpose the two had appeared.