Chapter 176: Clouds of War (1)

“The magic cannons have been completed in the quantities you requested, and we have over 300 war golems, Your Lordship.”

“As expected, you are fast. And what about Gidantium?”

“Gidantium’s production is practically finished as well. Only the final verification remains.”

The Overlord nodded with satisfaction.

“As expected of you, First Lord. Thank you for your hard work.”

Three years have passed since the Hero announced the Demon King’s resurrection.

The Santea royal family, led by the hero, strongly proclaimed the formation of an anti-demonic coalition in preparation for a demonic invasion.

Upon hearing such news, the nations under Santea’s influence naturally expressed their intention to participate, and even the neutral countries, which had maintained ambiguous stances, did the same.

The beastmen and the elves of Adessa also joined the alliance.

Regarding the horrific invasion perpetrated by the former Emperor of Santea, Grandios, in the Great Forest, they had not yet reached a consensus among themselves.

Nevertheless, Adessa had put that aside and forged an alliance with Santea for the time being, not raising their voice against the fact that the previous emperor had harnessed the power of demons.

Such was the terror that the Demon King instilled in them.

It all began with the sudden emergence of the Demon King and the demon invasion several decades ago.

They hadn’t forgotten the mistakes of the past when the entire continent was devastated without proper countermeasures.

The appearance of the hero miraculously repelled the invasion, but everyone knew that the chances of such a miracle happening again were slim.

To prevent annihilation, everyone felt the need for thorough preparation and cooperation this time.

And, as expected, Calderic also declared without any opposition that they would join the alliance according to the Overlord’s will.

This was a great surprise, even to Santea.

The person whom they thought would be the most challenging to persuade turned out to be even more compliant than the neutral countries.

Thus, a coalition of all the continent’s powers, with the exception of Altelore, was quickly formed.

However, the demons, in contrast, have shown no particular movement even after three years since the announcement of the hero.

Currently, the continent was like a frozen plate that could crack at any moment, with each faction sharing information and preparing for a war that could begin at any time.

“Your Lordship, why do you think the demons have not yet invaded?”

The first lord, the Wiseman, asked. The Overlord stroked her chin and replied.

“Well, it’s probably because of the hero. The hero’s physical condition is not normal, right? It seems to be getting worse over time, and that would favor the demons.”

“Instead, the allied forces are fully prepared, and they have had enough time to strengthen their alliances.”

“The demons probably consider the hero as an even greater variable. And, in fact, that’s true, isn’t it? Without the hero, the war would probably flow overwhelmingly disadvantageous for us.”

Glancing at the Overlord, who answered nonchalantly, the Wiseman opened his mouth again.

“Your Lordship, you should know better than anyone what I value most.”

“Hmm? That’s right. You’re the First Lord who’s been with Calderic since the beginning, and you love this Calderic more than anyone, right?”

The Overlord smiled, looking at the Wiseman. The Wiseman did not smile at all.

“Even I, who has been a Lord since the previous Overlord ruled over Calderic, have never been able to catch a glimpse of the true feelings you harbor within, Your Lordship.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“…Your Lordship, since the hero announced the resurrection of the Demon King, is it just my perception that something has changed in you?”

The Overlord that the Wiseman knew was someone who sometimes made indecisive decisions, but for the most part, she ruled Calderic reasonably and steadily.

However, from the time the Demon King’s resurrection began to cloud the continent, he felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

Outwardly, nothing had changed. It was just a gut feeling, one might say.

The Wiseman felt like the Overlord didn’t care about anything anymore. It was a gut feeling.

“Nothing has changed, First Lord. It’s just needless worries.”

The Overlord said with a smirk.

The Wiseman stood up from his seat.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“Sure. I won’t see you off.”

As the Wiseman left, the Overlord remained alone, burying her back in the chair and closing her eyes.

“…It’s almost time.”

A faint smile appeared on her lips. Unlike before, it was a genuine, pure smile without a hint of pretense.

***

Kwaang! Kwaaang!

With each clash of their swords, shockwaves reverberated through the surrounding ground, and bushes flew into the air.

I watched from a distance as the two fiercely clashed.

The Mad King’s sword strikes were relentless and merciless like a raging beast, but Asher showed no signs of faltering and continued with solid defense.

“Hah, quite impressive! Then try blocking this!”

The Mad King roared, emitting a crimson aura and increasing her speed.

In response, Asher used her special ability, her entire body turning snowy white.

The red and pure white auras collided relentlessly, gradually turning the forest into ruins.

Even though the Mad King was now giving her all, Asher didn’t yield easily.

Kwaaah!

The two soared higher and higher in the sky, continuing their fierce battle. But ultimately, Asher couldn’t completely block the Mad King’s attack and crashed loudly onto the ground.

Following behind, standing on the edge of a cliff, the Mad King smiled with a greatsword on her shoulder.

“Each day, you’re growing fast. Still, you’re not good enough for me, White Moon Tribe’s little brat.”

“……”

“What’s with that look? Are you trying to give me a dirty look with your eyes?”

Asher stood up silently and bowed her head to the Mad King.

“Thank you for your hard work, Fifth Lord.”

“No, but this brat…”

Seeing the Mad King’s discomfort, I approached the two and said, “That’s enough, Fifth Lord.”

The Mad King snorted.

“What did I do? It’s not like it’s my fault she always loses, but her attitude is still so arrogant.”

Well, you provoke her with your childish behavior. Would Asher act like that if you didn’t?

Perhaps because of what happened in the Great Forest, the Mad King had started visiting my territory occasionally.

And somehow, this led to these occasional confrontations with Asher.

It’s good for Asher’s growth, so I didn’t stop the Mad King from visiting.

【Lv. 94】

The sparring with the Mad King wasn’t entirely ineffective.

Asher’s level had risen to 94 in just a few years.

She had already completed the trials in the Ruins of Cabollisa, so there were no remaining obstacles. I knew she had the talent to reach this level, but her growth rate was faster than expected.

With her current abilities, she was not far from the level of a Lord.

“Oh, I’m hungry. Let’s go back and eat. Seventh Lord, how about going to the Great Forest together after eating?”

“Why to the Great Forest?”

“The Overlord asked me to deliver a message to them about forming an alliance. It’s such a bother to act like a messenger.”

The Mad King said while clicking her tongue.

Although she complained, her lack of refusal showed that she hadn’t completely turned away from Adessa since the Emperor’s incident.

Before I could respond, Asher immediately intervened and said.

“Sir Ron has other duties to attend to later.”

“Huh? What kind of duties?”

“He needs to visit the First Lord’s territory to receive the equipment. I guess he can’t accompany you to Adessa.”

It was the equipment that Asher was supposed to receive, made from the ore obtained from the First Lord’s last journey to the demonic land of Octea.

We’d just gotten word from the First Lord that it was finished.

The equipment, crafted by the best blacksmith on the continent, known as the Wiseman, would significantly boost Asher’s power.

The Mad King left with a disappointed look on her face after she finished eating her meal.

As Asher and I prepared to depart for the First Lord’s territory, I asked her, “Asher, do you dislike the Fifth Lord?”

“No, not at all. I appreciate the frequent sparring matches that she provides for me to improve.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s just that every time she visits the castle, I feel like she’s giving Sir Ron a hard time…”

Certainly, the Mad King always asked for this and that whenever she visited the castle, which was a hassle.

Asher seemed displeased with that.

I smiled and mounted on Ti-Yong’s back first.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

The Demon King had been resurrected, and three years had passed.

During that time, many things happened, but there were no major incidents.

After the Demon King’s resurrection, the hero announced it to the entire continent and quickly formed an anti-demon coalition, preparing for a demon invasion.

It was only natural that the countries under the influence of the Santea joined the alliance, and even Adessa participated.

The thing I was most worried about was how the Overlord would act, but surprisingly, the Overlord also willingly participated in the alliance without any opposition or conditions.

I still didn’t know what the Overlord was plotting.

However, for now, it could be said that the entire continent’s anti-demon coalition has been formed.

But the demons are still surprisingly quiet.

Even after several years, the demons remained motionless, not showing any signs of coming out of Altelore.

The reason, of course, could be easily guessed.

Because of the hero.

If the demons had launched a full-scale attack immediately after the Demon King’s resurrection, it wouldn’t have been strange. However, it seemed that they had chosen a more cautious approach.

The demons regained their full power with the resurrection of the Demon King, while the hero, the only one who could stand against the Demon King, would become weaker over time.

Thanks to this, the alliance had more time to prepare for war, but no matter what, the biggest threat to the demons was the hero.

If the current situation continued, the advantage would be with the demons.

One way to deal with the situation was to attack Altelore first, but that meant fighting within the demon territory, so it was also disadvantageous.

Sooner or later, you’ll have to make a decision, hero.

Since that incident, I had been in periodic contact with the hero.

Currently, the hero was focused on training Kaen.

While all the conditions for inheriting the Holy Sword were already fulfilled, it was said that there was a need for Kaen to become a little stronger to inherit the power without any problems.

If the demon invasion had started immediately, she would have inherited the Holy Sword right away. However, given the time available, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Over the past three years, I had never gone to see Kaen even once.

Of course, Kaen didn’t know that Ran and the Seventh Lord were the same person, so there’s no problem with facing her.

However, I chose not to go see her. It was just because I didn’t want to.

I only received news about Kaen from the hero, knowing that she was growing well.

Someday, we would meet again.

At that time, I didn’t know how I should face Kaen.

Shoooo.

After about half a day’s journey, we arrived at the First Lord’s territory.

We slowly lowered our altitude as we approached the First Lord’s Castle and its massive forge in the distance.

“Welcome, Seventh Lord. And Asher Gronhilde. It’s been a long time.”

The First Lord, the Wiseman, came out to greet us at the entrance.

“The equipment is complete, as you requested. Let’s go inside.”

After exchanging greetings with him, we stepped into the forge, which was blazing with heat.