The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 3 - Chapter 43

CHAPTER 43

The Ex–Demon Lord and the Ancient Battlefield, Part I

The handful of days in the Frontline City of Aether passed in the blink of an eye, and we finally arrived at the night before the attack.

“Well then, as we discussed… I have special sorcerer’s equipment for the two of you.”

We were in one of the rooms of Lydia’s manor. As I spoke to Ireena and Ginny, I looked at the desk immediately next to me. On the round, wooden desk were two sets of magical items…

One pair of deep-crimson leg armor.

A golden spear.

And azure bracelets.

These were all quickly prepared for them. To be frank, the girls’ battle experience would do them no good here. If they messed up, they’d be no better off than a three-year-old. That was why it was crucial that they have magic armor and equipment to raise their strength in battle.

“Hey, Ard! We put these red ones on our legs, right?! What kind of magic armor is this?!” Ireena asked, eyes sparkling. She seemed to like the designs. It had been worth staying up late to think it through.

Internally pleased at Ireena’s reaction, I began to explain the effects of their fittings.

“This armor not only grants the wearer increased mobility, but it also allows the ability to fly. It does more than helping you run faster on land; this can propel you high in the sky, making it possible to fight in all dimensions. The basic concept is to have the enemy at our mercy using multidimensional maneuverability.”

“Hmm? Flying around sounds lovely!”

“Running at a high speed is a concern for me personally… How fast will I be able to run?” asked Ginny.

“Ah, yes. Well, even at the minimum speed, you’re guaranteed to travel at the speed of sound.”

““Th-the speed of sound?!”” shouted the girls, eyes wide.

Of course, this blew past the standards of the present day, but in this era, traveling at the speed of sound was just a matter of course.

“This is a magically endowed spear used for fighting. There is a mechanism that allows you to cast lightning magic when you pour magic into it. As for its effectiveness… Well, one shot can annihilate about three hundred people.”

““Th-three hundred people in one shot?!””

“Last are these bracelets, which will always detect the vitals of the wearer’s body. If you are fatally wounded, its technique will revive you within an instant.”

““R-revive you in an instant?!””

These two were always in unison at times like these. Just like sisters.

“Th-that’s hard to believe. However…”

“He is Ard, after all…”

They looked at me as if they were falling in love all over again, and I felt a streak of bashfulness.

…At any rate, we were ready.

And with that, the following day arrived. It was early morning when we met up with Verda’s army and headed toward our destination.

Marches hadn’t changed at all between past and present. The infantry was on foot, while the officers and cavalry sat atop fine Dragorses.

As the name stated, a Dragorse was a mix between horse and dragon that was categorized as a type of monster. However, they were intelligent and fond of people, making them one of the very few monsters who were able to cohabitate with humans. With their quick wits, they could walk long distances without faltering, respond to an individual situation, and even cast magic. They were invaluable assets only given to those in the army’s top ranks.

Ginny, Ireena, and I were thus marching on foot.

“…I really would call it nonsensical. The ancient world, I mean,” Ginny clarified, running beside me and sighing in resignation.

This march was no doubt the cause of her grievances.

As previously mentioned, the march remained constant in past and present. But yet…it was still undeniably different.

In the modern day, it’d take you a few days to get to the battlefield, no matter how close. But here in the ancient world, as long as it wasn’t too far away, you’d arrive at the battlefield in only a few hours.

That was thanks to the large difference between the speed of the infantry and the speed of the cavalry.

Dragorses had survived to modern day, and they were several times faster than the average horse. However, thanks to the decrease in magical essence, the species’s power had largely diminished. The ancient Dragorses, which thrived on dense magical essence, were scores faster than their present-day counterparts.

Furthermore, modern people didn’t stand a chance against even basic infantry… Indeed, while no one in existence could run as fast as a Dragorse, their speed was still phenomenal.

Kicking up dust, the troops pushed on at dizzying speed. Anyone would find such a march intense. For someone from the present day, like Ginny, it must have been a maddening scene.

Still…I was sure that participating in this crowd was a curious sensation for her.

Ireena and Ginny were racing by at the speed of sound with the crimson magical leg armor I had given them the night before.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha! I’m one with the wind! Ah-ha-ha-ha!” Ireena chuckled.

“How would one describe it…? It feels as if I’m in a dream…,” said Ginny.

Responding in their own unique ways, they continued to kick off the ground.

In any case, the magical equipment gave them the power to adequately fight in this era. They wouldn’t be lagging behind your most average foe, at least. Since these two were honest, hard workers, there was no worry they’d fall under the illusion that the great power they’d received was their own.

Speaking of concerns, Ireena was one of them.

“By the way, Ireena. Did you sleep together with Lady Lydia last night?”

“Yeah! Did you know? Lady Lydia isn’t just manly; she’s really cute, too! She woke up in the middle of the night and—” Ireena raved about Lydia without any more prompting.

I continued to smile superficially.

“And guess what? Lady Lydia—”

“I see.”

“You know, Lady Lydia is surprisingly—”

“How very nice—”

I reacted to her stories, throwing in the occasional interjection. Internally, I was wading through my thick, murky feelings for Lydia.

That moron. She wasn’t making a move on my Ireena, was she? I’d been stealthily placing miniscule magic devices in her room, just for surveillance purposes, so I could come running should anything happen, but she’d casually tossed them away each time…!

Thanks to that, I had no idea what they had talked about together. My anxiety had spiked through the roof last night, and I’d given myself an ulcer. Only a few days after reuniting, and she’d already caused one.

The woman known as Lydia was by all means my natural enemy. A sworn foe I could never reconcile with.

We’d only just run into each other again, and already, Lydia was all Ireena could talk about. Even though she’d always been with me and spoke only of me, now it was Lydia this and Lydia that.

It wasn’t like I was jealous or anything. I wasn’t the slightest bit mad about her taking Irinny away.

My motive was pure. I was simply worried about Ireena.

When will that tit-loving pervert fully try to steal Ireena…?! Depending on when this war ends, I’ll have to come up with security devices even she can’t detect!

Everything is for Ireena! I have to protect her honor no matter what! As her close friend, obviously!

…Just as my heart decided on this, we arrived at the battlefield.

We were right in the middle of the Aralia Plains. Rough and uneven terrain spread out around us, and we didn’t sense any particular threat. In fact, the scenery was tranquil and gave no indication that a bloody battle was about to take place. On top of that, Verda’s army was waiting on standby at a location far removed from where the real fighting would occur.

And so, the sense of a brewing battle was further diminished.

But—

“I-it should be starting soon.”

“I—I wonder if Lady Lydia will be okay…!”

For these two, who had never experienced a real battle before, it was apparent their response was much different. The battle had not even begun, but Ireena and Ginny were already breaking out in a sweat.

After hostilities opened far off at the front, both stopped sweating altogether.

There was one reason for that.

They could do nothing but stare in shock at the unimaginable scene of warfare before them. When faced with an almost improbable reality, most people grew calm and silent.

“…It seems the weather has suddenly shifted, and a large pillar of light is erupting… Or am I hallucinating?” Ginny questioned, observing the battle across from them unfold.

“…I guess people in this era can easily come back to life,” commented Ireena, witnessing the mangled, dead bodies brought perfectly back to life with a special-class magic circle.

Incidentally, bringing back the dead wasn’t so rare in this era. That is, as long as the spirit was still on this earth. In a battle of generals, the purpose of fighting was to deplete your opponent’s morale, so there was a high chance of ordinary soldiers temporarily dying. On the other hand, in this era, it was common sense to quickly send an enemy leader to the otherworld.

That was another difference between our time and this one. In the present day, it was easy for an incompetent leader to survive if the small fry got picked off. It was wretchedly deplorable.

“The relief squad! Call the relief squad!”

“We can’t put back together torn-off limbs! Hurry up and die!”

“Ah, leave that body there. Lady Verda wants it, so we’ve gotta give it a quick autopsy.”

It’d been a while since I mingled with the support troops, and it was as bustling as ever. Scores of staff noisily rushed to and fro, and you could hear angry voices fly from every direction.

In my past life, this had been my daily bread and butter. It made me a bit nostalgic, really—

“RAAAAAAARGH?!” rang out a shrill scream as an explosion struck our ears. It had been right at our doorstep, and Ireena and Ginny trembled with shock.

“Wh-what was that…?!”

“Hmm. It appears to be an enemy attack.”

“A-an enemy attack, you say…?!”

As the two shivered and perspired heavily, I remained calm and looked in the direction of the noise. Smoke swirled toward the sky, and we could still hear screams and destruction.

Ginny’s voice trembled. “I—I thought the enemy wouldn’t target the support troops…!”

“That’s not true. It is an established tactic to crush your opponent’s supply train and source of medical care. Our position is safer compared with the front lines, but that doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no chance of an enemy attack here,” I answered calmly in the midst of the commotion.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! I knew it, crushing worms does feel great!” boomed a bold and rough voice.

There before us was a broad man with a gang of several other soldiers. His large, muscular body was protected under crimson armor, and he appeared to be an experienced warrior. The subordinates he brought along with him were just as fierce.

“He must be the leader who set this attack into motion.” Whispering, I turned to Ireena and Ginny, “Well then, let us be off.”

No answer. They must have been overwhelmed by this demon’s astonishing power. Well, there was no way around it. According to their knowledge, demons couldn’t compare with these.

That said, from my perspective, that demon wasn’t terrifying at all. Of course he wasn’t.

There was no way anyone given the job of taking out the support troops had any sort of awesome power.

“It’s not the same as meeting the Demon Lord…but a win is a win, I guess.”

The warring emotion bubbling within me manifested as a smile.

After so long, a fight with a real demon stood before me, and I felt a resurgence of exhilaration.