A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 245



Only Noblemtl

Episode 245. The King of Demons.

“… … That’s all.”

The peacock sitting across from me looked at me like I was crazy.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do it. How could I possibly know what those crazy guys would do?”

Then the Duke looked at me as if I was the leader of a gang of madmen.

… … I have nothing to say about this.

“……therefore.”

Only after a long time did the Duke open his mouth.

It was a tone of speech that organized what he had heard step by step.

“Ashvan, you go north to the mountains.”

“yes.”

“A-class demon.”

“It’s a chin stone.”

“… … Yes. He said he made his way back after breaking through the siege of the demons that had gathered after defeating Jawbone.”

He nodded.

“It was a rough journey.”

The peacock’s gray eyes stared blankly at me.

“It looks like that.”

“We were surrounded anyway, so we made our way out easily.”

“I heard that Monde Kyung-do also went with you.”

“He’s a brave man. He never falls behind. He even cut off Jawbone’s neck.”

The Duke nodded, bringing the glass to his lips.

“A rare knight. There’s no way that Lillia would hire just anyone as her guardian.”

“Is that so?”

“I don’t know about anything else, but the third princess’s ability to judge people is far beyond that of a commoner.”

… … Is that it?

The Duke of Elsevier would say something like that.

Although Monde Kyung-do may seem like a back-alley thug and a very easy-going person on the outside, his loyalty to the princess seemed very heavy.

“And… the swordsman and the thief went to the northeast forest. They killed everyone they saw.”

“yes.”

“Even if you are like that, it sounds like those guys were planning on killing.”

He admitted it humbly.

“I think so.”

“Did I give you the request to subdue the demons?”

“Isn’t it okay if you’re safe?”

The Duke sighed.

“… … Yeah. You guys probably have your own way.”

“Yes.”

“Just be careful. You’re walking around between demons on the other side of the barrier. Do you even have two lives?”

I reassured the duke.

“You don’t have to worry. More than anything, they are the ones who value my life. If the situation is unfavorable, they will withdraw even if you tell them not to.”

“… … That’s a relief.”

The peacock tapped the table with his fingertips for a moment.

“Yeah, I understand that.”

He looked at me like I was some kind of weird monster.

“You tortured the demon with poison?”

No, why are you looking at me like that?

I told you, I didn’t do it.

The devil chuckled.

[Aren’t you their leader? You are also responsible.]

There was some truth to what the heavenly master said.

I had no choice but to sigh and humbly acknowledge Cheonma’s words.

“That’s a Class A demon? What on earth does that mean?”

A somewhat confused voice expressed his feelings.

Even Duke Guiller Elsevier, the King of the North, the stalwart defender of the North Wall, and the master of the Azure Sword, was astonished.

In some ways, isn’t it an unprecedented achievement?

Schmidt and Linda can go around bragging about this.

“Haa… That’s it.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

I knew Linda could do weird things. She was a weird girl.

However, I was also dizzy because I never thought that Schmidt would support Linda’s strange behavior.

‘Even you, Schmidt… … .’

I explained it step by step.

“Schmidt and Linda headed to the northwestern plains. They also encountered a Class A demon there.”

“I understand up to that point.”

“Linda weakened him with poison, then Schmidt beat him up.”

The peacock asked, stroking his ash-gray beard that resembled a lion’s mane.

“Is Linda the new member?”

“yes.”

“I heard about your performance in the first wave. You killed the demons with poison.”

“Yes.”

“But, is there a poison that can weaken Class A demons?”

“He said he had intended to kill her, but it only weakened her.”

“Ugh… … .”

The duke was silent for a moment.

“It’s amazing that it’s only weakened.”

“I know. It’s just that our Linda is a bit greedy.”

“hmm.”

“So, in a fit of rage, I took the guy’s blood and started manufacturing, developing, and researching the poison on the spot. Since I happened to have a suitable test subject, I also experimented on the poison on the demons.”

“… … That devil was still?”

“They made him stay still. Schmidt said he was barely able to catch his breath. It looks like they beat him so evenly that his bones were completely pulverized. He must have been a brutal man.”

“… … .”

So, they beat them to the point where they couldn’t move, and then they continued to inject poison until they died.

How is this not torture?

This is the first time I’ve seen people torture people like that.

… … There will come a day when I feel sorry for the devil.

The duke stroked his eyebrows for a moment and then asked.

“So, what was the result?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem very satisfying. Linda has been lurking around the whole time.”

“hmm.”

“It looks like the torture will continue.”

“continue?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be great if we could develop a poison that could truly kill or weaken Class A demons?”

“… … But that’s true.”

The Duke sighed.

“It’s hard to say. Is that how everyone is?”

“So Guston must have beaten them all up and run away to that mountain village.”

“… … That makes sense.”

I finished it off by collecting the three Class A magic stones that were shown as evidence of my defeat of the Class A demons, including the Jawbone.

“So, the results of the first day’s reconnaissance. We found 3 Class A demons and 53 Class B demons. Of those, we killed 3 Class A demons and 41 Class B demons.”

“… … Let me say it again, what I asked for was reconnaissance, not extermination.”

“yes.”

“It’s okay to take it a little easier. There’s no need to catch them, just scouting is enough.”

“Take it easy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Of course, it was a good thing that we took care of them because they would have rushed to the wall if left alone. But right now, reconnaissance is more important. There’s no need to overdo it. If someone gets injured or doesn’t return, it will be an irreparable loss for both Sherwood and Tudra. Do you understand?”

“yes.”

Chorus-

Are you craving a drink?

It was a peacock that filled the cup.

“Oh, maybe.”

“Something.”

“For the record, I can name the remaining two Class A demons.”

The peacock stared at me.

“Is the chin yours? Or is it Lord Monde’s?”

“It’s my work.”

“We’ll take care of it here.”

“yes.”

I watched the peacock gulp down his glass.

The duke looked at me, roughly wiping his wine-stained beard with the back of his hand.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. Is there anything else of note to report?”

“… … .”

From the first day of the reconnaissance mission, we discovered three Class A demons and over 50 Class B demons.

Things weren’t going well.

“there is.”

“Tell me.”

I explained to the King of the North the strange situation in which the rascals did not fight each other.

Why don’t these guys, who lack intelligence and just fight each other?

As if someone had ordered them not to fight.

“It’s almost as if… there’s something on top of them.”

“……above?”

“Yes. As if the king of those guys were reigning over them.”

“The king.”

The peacock’s eyebrows twitched.

The ash lion looked at me with deep gray eyes.

“Even if dozens of Class A demons swarm, the knights and I can somehow block them. The damage will be severe, but it means we can somehow block them. The North is not a place that is so forgiving that it will embrace those who are not strong.”

I listened in silence.

“But, as you can imagine, there is another situation that I am most concerned about.”

“yes.”

“The King of Demons… Does that mean a S-class demon?”

I answered honestly.

“It’s just one possibility.”

“hmm.”

The peacock let out a sigh.

S-class.

The weight of those words was extraordinary.

It had to be different.

The moment when a truly S-class demon appears.

Because the crisis that had felt somewhat superficial was quickly approaching and becoming a reality.

The level of the demon is divided according to the degree of damage the demon can inflict.

It is not a very strict standard, but the distinction has been made roughly for convenience.

F-class creatures are those that do not cause much harm to people.

E-class is at best for those who dig up crops or something.

It’s a demon that even an ordinary man can defeat on his own.

Class D are the ones who cause trouble here and there in the village.

A demonic creature that can be defeated by several men, or by a single mercenary carrying a shield.

From C grade onwards, it is difficult for ordinary people to handle.

An expert must step in. A knight or a mercenary.

A demon that can be defeated single-handedly by a mercenary holding a silver shield.

Class B are terrifying creatures that can single-handedly burn down a village.

You can fight against it with multiple mercenaries holding silver shields, or as a single mercenary holding gold shields.

A grade can destroy a city.

Even that Hydra I saw before would have broken through the walls and entered the city if I hadn’t come forward. It would have created chaos.

Is it really possible for one demon to destroy a city? Does that make sense?

There were times when I thought that.

After experiencing it firsthand, I realized that it was entirely possible.

Those things are so terrifying that they are class A demons.

You can fight against multiple gold-rank mercenaries, but only mercenaries with platinum badges can fight alone.

S-class demons are… … known to have the power to destroy a country.

Terrifying monsters that are not a natural disaster.

Legendary beasts that only appear in fairy tales.

A national disaster.

A walking natural disaster.

The eight swords of the demon world.

In short, it means that an S-class demon is a monster among monsters that can only be dealt with by several platinum-class demons gathered together.

No, I can’t even guarantee that easily.

The moment the S-class really rises, the crisis of national destruction that had felt somewhat distant and abstract becomes a reality.

It’s a terrible thing, I hate to even think about it.

I want to deny reality, saying it’s nonsense.

No matter how much you scream that it can’t be true, reality is just harsh.

What is meant to happen will happen regardless of our will or thoughts.

Because that’s the world.

So what should we do?

We can’t just sit back and do nothing while denying reality.

If such a pathetic person were a leader, I would slap him in the face.

Any leader must face the problems they would rather ignore.

We need to come up with a solution to that.

I looked at the leader of the North.

“But if a real S-class demon really appears, what are you going to do?”

Is there a solution?

The Duke answered.

His stern gray eyes remained unwavering.

“The moment you discover a S-class demon during reconnaissance.”

“yes.”

“You guys should return to the barrier as quickly as possible and report the news. Your safe return is the top priority. We need the owners of the platinum shields to defeat the S-class beasts.”

“I’m listening.”

“And, we have to somehow prevent S-class demons from approaching the barrier.”

“Why is that so?”

The Duke explained.

“The purpose of Tudra is to protect the kingdom of Maia from the demons coming from the north. It is a kind of large defensive barrier. And that defensive barrier is a barrier.”

“hmm.”

“The barrier is key. Protecting the barrier is the top priority. If the barrier falls, everything falls apart. It’s unstoppable. It’s the end. The demons will cross the barrier and invade Maia.”

“… … .”

“We can’t risk the barrier collapsing. So if an S-class appears, we’ll have to go out to meet them.”

It was a very risky thing.

It means that you will not be fighting them at the barrier, but in the middle of a white hell where demons are pouring down, in their territory.

I looked at the peacock.

“If it appears.”

The Duke nodded heavily.

“If it appears.”

It seemed as if a heavy burden was weighing down on his shoulders.

Was it with this mindset that he guarded the barrier every single day without fail?

“… … .”

I decided to share some of the load he was carrying on his shoulders.

Then my shoulders also became heavy.