2nd Rank Has Returned - 2nd Rank Has Returned chapter 292

292 – Belated-5

The current emperor did not oppose the battle with the Demon King.

Not only did he not experience a large-scale war, he was not a person who considered war meaningless and tried to avoid it.

Rather, because he did not take lightly the teachings of the previous kings, he did not want to exclude Leonardo, who was the vessel of the devil.

However, apart from that, the idea of charging at the Demon King right away could not be easily pursued.

“This is too much to ask!”

Regardless of the emperor’s own opinion, other ministers showed active opposition.

“It’s too risky a plan to leave as is!”

One of the conditions, one day departure, was a factor that held them back.

In terms of the ‘common sense’ they adhered to, the suggestion to go on a campaign immediately on the same day as the attack felt unreasonable.

“Of course, defeating the demon lord is something that must be done, but apart from that, now is the time to focus on stability and recovery.”

The logic of the opposition ministers was not illogical.

There was a lot of damage to the imperial palace, and there were quite a few victims.

Some ministers here were hurt because of that.

“To ask for so many dragon weapons… Even thinking about it again, it is a very unreasonable request. “I beg you to reconsider once again.”

However, the existence of political elements in their intentions could not be denied.

As soon as we found out about the dragon’s request for the weapon, one of the things we did was to ask for it thoroughly.

“…Isn’t this a matter for the imperial family to decide right now?”

First Prince Alex opened his mouth softly and firmly silenced them.

The inner thoughts of the ministers were revealed to him in a shallow way, but beyond that, this decision was not limited to the imperial family.

“…The magic tower lords are here now, so let’s gather their opinions. “The investigation had already ended arbitrarily.”

The second son, Regulus, also had no choice but to support his older brother’s opinion.

Leonardo’s judgment was that he had been greatly benefited since his time at the Magic Tower, and as a wizard, it was definitely worth listening to the opinions of the new Red Tower leader.

“I see you arrived just now.”

The first people to enter the conference hall were the magic tower owners.

From the White Tower Master who had just cured a person with healing magic to the Black Tower Master who had to rely on a prosthetic body to rise due to his own physical condition, everyone sat in the conference hall.

[Sorry for being late. After the last incident, the coordination of the artificial body was disturbed, so it took some time.]

The Black Tower owner, who had barely opened his voice with a magic tool, was in a weaker state than Leo, whose spirit was being eroded by the demon lord.

Because he originally had a weak constitution, he reached the point of having his body transplanted into a prosthetic body, but the damage from the mental aspect due to the last attack by the devil was also significant.

“My prayers were very weak and could not help much. “It’s just shameful as a success story.”

The group that came right after the Magic Tower was the temple.

Unlike other times when there was conflict with the Magic Tower, the temple, led by Seonghwang, was expressing condolences and prayers for the victims who could not be treated.

Hostile fanatics and extreme priests had already been excommunicated and excluded for a long time when Leo was Raynald.

[It’s okay. The body has already survived sufficiently.]

The healing power of divinity was not a very meaningless treatment method for Bernan, who had a prosthetic body installed in his body to the extent that it was difficult to even describe it as a physical body.

Even coming out in this situation was quite difficult for him as a patient.

Nevertheless, the reason he came out was simple.

“…Everyone is gathered together.”

This was because Leonardo, who was in worse physical condition, was going directly to the battlefield.

As soon as Reinhard arrived, led by Leonardo and Ariasviel, the meeting began.

***

On the surface, the topic of the meeting was , But for Reinhardt, the inside story was quite different.

If we delay for a long period of time other than this time, the materials and support needed to subdue the demon lord will eventually decrease in inverse proportion.

The trembling gaze they were giving him now and the opinions they had expressed so far were sadly proving this.

“Sir Leonardo, don’t you think this is an excessively unreasonable request?”

The representative of the opposition party ended up explaining at length the factors that necessitated the extension of the period.

From recovering the imperial family to treating victims, boosting soldier morale, and supplying supplies.

Without touching the fact that Leonardo was the devil’s vessel, they were able to logically explain the basis for placing a moratorium on the period.

“I see. It’s definitely not wrong. “It’s reasonable.”

Even in his collapsing mental state, Leo calmly listened to the story.

“Then, leave a little leeway during the period…”

“If the enemy wasn’t the devil.”

Nevertheless, their story was not worth accepting.

Even when they faced the Demon King directly, they were not clearly aware of the extent of his existence.

“At the point when you have to subdue the demon lord, you will have to realize that all of your common sense until now does not apply at all.”

That’s why the first round ended so complacently.

“…It’s not like we don’t know that. But that’s why we need to prepare more thoroughly…”

“Will the Demon King just rest without preparing?”

It may be the other way around.

“While we are preparing, the Demon King will prepare an even bigger air attack than now. “Not just us, but other areas where there are civilians.”

Rather, they were so afraid of the unknown that they had no choice but to rely on their shallow common sense.

By denying reality.

“It is uncertain whether you will even be meeting here tomorrow.”

No one can easily come up with a solution or make a statement.

In the first place, they also changed their common sense because the lie that there was a princess in the imperial family was true.

It would not be surprising if something even worse than that occurred; rather, it was a problem that needed to be prepared for.

“The devil is still growing stronger. “I’m sure you all can actually feel it.”

“…That is definitely true.”

As a Cheongtap owner who experienced the devil’s attack, I strongly agreed with this claim.

The power of the Demon King was even stronger than when he joined forces with the enemy tower lords and made a surprise attack, so much so that even the demon lords were briefly possessed.

Denying this was not confidence, it was just arrogance.

“…Even so, the damage to the current state and morale of the military is serious. “Our Red Dragon Knights also suffered a lot of damage and are yet to recover…”

“Are you that afraid?”

Just as the Red Dragon Knight Commander was about to make an emotional protest, Leonardo cut off his snarky remarks with harsh words.

“If we follow that logic, there is no one who is not afraid, and no one is not harmed. “No one would feel happy going to the battlefield.”

The leader of the Red Dragon Knights seemed offended by the harsh words and was unable to come up with a proper rebuttal.

Thanks to the temple’s elite personnel coming here, they were treated quickly, but even Reinhardt’s knights suffered considerable damage.

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The decline in morale was something that Reinhardt also had to bear.

“…Apart from being afraid, all the soldiers are afraid. Essentially…”

As the story did not go as expected, the Blue Dragon Knights quickly looked at Leonardo.

It wasn’t expressed in words until the end, but there was only one thing that that gaze meant.

“Does that mean that my companion has been corrupted by an ‘ugly being’?”

The person who brought out a cold chill from the silence was Leo’s companion.

“Do you have any idea of the weight of those words?”

Unlike other times, they were smiling with narrowed eyes, but the small chill seen between their eyes and mouth was enough to freeze them all.

＜…Ah, Aria. First, calm down.＞

Leonardo carefully delivered the whole message to Aria, looking a little trembling.

If it had been any other time, he might have been happy because Lara cared about him.

Leo was afraid deep in her heart that the ‘ugly being’ she had just spoken of might be inside the sacred sword she was holding as if it were about to be crushed.

＜…Okay. Because there is nothing wrong with Leo.＞

Is he the devil who breaks his own spirit at every moment?

Or maybe she was Black Aria, who shared a night experience that even she couldn’t remember.

It would have been nice if he had clearly stated the subject, but Leo didn’t have the time or the emotional space to do that right now.

“…I’m not suspicious, but I think it’s a matter that needs to be judged objectively.”

As Arya’s cold life subsided, they soon sought to secure safety in the name of rationality.

It was cruel, but some people, apart from gratitude, also had a selfish desire to secure their own safety along with utility.

“Can you at least explain why you know so much about the Demon King?”

Now it was almost like an interrogation under the guise of an explanation.

Now, some people were focusing on how to take the lead in politics rather than focusing on subjugating the devil.

“…Leonardo Jeoktapju, I would also like to hear an explanation about this.”

However, there were some who simply asked questions about Leonardo’s condition without any such intentions.

“How is it possible to have so much knowledge about the enemies there?”

Even in Prince Alex’s opinion, Leonardo’s knowledge was excessively vast and heterogeneous.

Since Leonardo was the only one who knew the location of the Demon King, he could not simply dismiss this situation as an accident.

After looking at the faces of the two Ariaspils for a moment, Leo finished his silence and opened his mouth.

“…I think there is someone more qualified to explain that matter than me.”

Even looking at the current situation, it was impossible to talk about regression.

Moreover, if we talk about regression, there is a possibility that we will have to somehow convince Aria that she needs to multiply into two people.

For now, I had to choose the safest option.

“There is a suitable person… Who is that…”

[First Sage.]

Soon, a soul appeared at the spot.

“Tongue, wise man! “You’ve appeared again!”

The first person from the imperial family to react was Prince Regulus.

With Regulus’s skills, he could not see the spiritualized sage, so to his eyes, it would have seemed as if the sage had suddenly descended again.

Other people were equally astonished.

Most people, except for the magic tower lord and Reinhardt, were shocked by the sudden appearance of the wise man.

{Can you understand the first saint’s explanation?}

At the same time, when he saw the first saint who worked with the wise man, he looked at them without even having time to scream.

There were a few people who already knew, but not many people knew that both the first wise man and the saint had appeared here.

{This is my first time meeting the emperor of this era in person. May God’s grace be with you.}

“How… How…”

And the person who was more shocked than anyone else was the emperor who was at the center of the meeting.

“You guys…”

He looked more shocked than when he was deceived by the devil.

[Before that, I will ask you as a wise man.]

The wise man calmly asked his own question first, as if he did not care about the emperor’s complexion.

[Since when did the imperial family have the right to appoint a wise man? I want to ask about that first.]

“…That…That…Thing…!”

The emperor could not answer properly.

As an old man, he didn’t have the talent to deal with the two most secretive and fearful figures since the imperial family right before his eyes.

“…Woe, Emperor, first of all, about this…”

“Shut your mouth…!”

The emperor sharply criticized the minister who had not yet grasped the situation.

“Do you know what kind of people they are…! “Are you playing around with your mouth?”

It was a remark closer to being polite to save the emperor’s life rather than protecting his body.

The atmosphere of the meeting was so chaotic.

The good news is that those two alone were more of a fear to the emperor than the devil, so he was quickly persuaded to agree.

Leo wondered what kind of demonic spirit existed during the time when the hero Ruben existed.