Hierdan paused for a moment, then nodded.
And then he simply left to continue commanding the yakshas.
Once they confirmed that the eldest son of House Wardanaz was gone, the Death Knights cried out in horror.
-Don't tell me you devised this stratagem without telling us!?
We needed to make the evil god lower its guard. Are you saying I should have explained everything to our allies first? Experienced knights like you couldn't possibly say something this foolish, so clearly the reason is that sense of exclusion from not being able to participate in the battle...
-No!
The knights indignantly denied it. Of course, the Yaksha King was not one to back down at such a response.
Seeing you react emotionally only makes my guess seem even more likely.
-......
No one could defeat the Yaksha King.
Agree with him and it ended there. Deny him, and it ended with, 'You're denying it, so I must be right.'
An invincible king!
The Death Knights whispered among themselves.
-Lord Hierdan isn't going to try to assassinate him, is he?
-No. Even if he does, he'll do it after the expedition is over. He knows how to separate public and private matters.
-Then I suppose it's fine.
The knights exchanged meaningful looks and nodded.
In truth, the Yaksha King was neither their master nor their friend. Even if someone assassinated him, they did not think they would be particularly sad.
The Skull Principal might be a little sad, perhaps...
Have you decided to accept it now?
-Ah. Yes. That's right. As expected, Your Majesty is truly discerning.
When the Yaksha King addressed them, the Death Knights answered quickly. A few of the knights even rubbed their palms together ingratiatingly.
That sight once again plunged the Yaksha King into curiosity.
There had to be some reason they were behaving in a way they normally never did...
-Your Majesty! Come to think of it, what new magic did the successor obtain?!
The Death Knights shouted desperately.
It had been an improvised question meant to change the subject, but unexpectedly, it was not a bad one. The Yaksha King showed interest.
Most likely Microcosm, Dunamis. Considering the situation he would be placed in, that has the highest probability.
This wise king of the yakshas possessed the insight to predict what lay ahead from fragmentary information alone.
Considering that the disciple of Osu had once learned from the insane duplicate, and that the disciple of Osu would reject the evil god's offer...
The magic most likely to awaken was probably Microcosm, Dunamis.
-......
-...Uh, isn't that magic rather dangerous?
The Death Knights were flustered.
Unlike Microcosm, Basilios, Microcosm, Dunamis was dangerous magic that could easily kill the mage using it if handled incorrectly.
A double-edged sword that forcibly pulled possibilities from the future.
But the Yaksha King was coldly confident.
The disciple of Osu can control it sufficiently.
-...You do have a sound reason for saying that, don't you?
The knights looked at him as though pleading, 'Please, just convince us somehow.'
Surely he was not simply saying that the disciple of Osu could control it because he was the disciple of Osu?
Did I not just give you the reason?
-What?
I said the disciple of Osu can control it sufficiently.
-......
The Death Knights seriously began to think that Hierdan might assassinate the Yaksha King after this expedition was over.
That eccentric old bastard really has lived long enough!
***
The heavily armed yakshas waited for Hierdan's command with burning eyes.
Every one of them was a monster boasting formidable strength, yet they were prepared to obey the orders of a complete outsider.
Loyalty to a wise king naturally extended to one entrusted with that king's authority.
"Yakshas of the Seventh Golden Mountain, listen. Capture the Tower of Heart-Thirst before this flame goes out. If you fail to capture it, you will be punished."
Because Sanguros had only recently awakened to a sense of self, flaws showed in the way it managed its domain.
A dimensional domain ought to be arranged efficiently in preparation for enemy attacks, but Sanguros had placed various structures around without order, almost as though showing off its power.
These structures and the dead guarding them were, in the end, all formed from the evil god's power.
No matter how much one tried to flaunt them, being attacked would ultimately result in a loss. The fact that Sanguros had failed to account for that revealed the unstable psychology of the evil god.
In truth, the most efficient strategy would have been to devour everything within the domain and increase Sanguros's own strength.
Sanguros had no useful retainers or subordinates, so summoning dead into the domain only for show did nothing to strengthen its forces.
Vanity.
The vanity from the days when it had been worshiped would become this evil god's weakness.
-Understood!
The yaksha forces who received the blue flame immediately departed.
Now that the order had been given, they would continue attacking with the violence characteristic of their race until the tower collapsed.
Once they disappeared, Hierdan gave another order.
"Yakshas of Bukseungcheo, listen. Follow the yakshas of the Seventh Golden Mountain, but do not let yourselves be seen. If they fall into a trap, reveal yourselves and counterattack."
-...Yes!
The newly ordered yakshas were bewildered, but obeyed for the time being.
It was the loyalty they had sworn.
The remaining yakshas cautiously asked.
-Your Excellency. May we ask one question?
"No. Yakshas of Sujeongta, prepare to advance."
Hierdan refused firmly.
Of course, he could have explained it kindly to these yakshas as well.
Among the yakshas gathered here, those from the Seventh Golden Mountain were the most arrogant and violent, and because of that, even if given orders, they were the most likely to make mistakes.
If so, the correct choice was to send them to the Tower of Heart-Thirst, a strategic point in the domain that was easy to counterattack, then have the most seasoned yaksha forces from Bukseungcheo protect them.
At least until the expedition ended, the yaksha forces of the Seventh Golden Mountain would probably become more cautious out of embarrassment alone.
"Yakshas of Sujeongta, destroy the Hall of the Red Altar. The evil god is obsessed with that place, so a great deal of its power remains there. You must destroy it before it notices."
-Understood!
Once the yaksha forces from Sujeongta departed as well, only one group remained.
Hierdan looked at them and spoke.
"The reason I prevented the yakshas of Sujeongta from asking questions is because they are unreliable. But you yakshas of Great Iron-Wall Mountain may ask questions. You are the finest yakshas of all."
-!!!
The final group of yakshas was overjoyed.
Even arrogant and violent yakshas found it difficult to remain unaffected by praise like that.
Was this not praise from the commander personally entrusted by their king?
-It is truly an honor! Those bastards from Sujeongta have always been cowardly and full of useless talk.
"I think so too. You yakshas of Great Iron-Wall Mountain are the most reliable and powerful. That is why I will entrust this to you. Destroy the Blood-Mist Grave Basin."
-If we fail to destroy it first, you may call us bastards from Sujeongta!
Hierdan nodded.
These yakshas were fairly easy to handle.
The yakshas from Sujeongta were weak to authority, so if he refused to answer any questions and simply overwhelmed them with dignity, they fell into line.
The yakshas of Great Iron-Wall Mountain, on the other hand, were the vainest of all. If he praised them for being different from other yakshas, they would wag their tails on their own.
"If all the other yakshas were like those of Great Iron-Wall Mountain, this expedition would be much easier. Great Iron-Wall Mountain is the best, and the yakshas of Bukseungcheo are second."
-The bastards from Bukseungcheo are fairly useful too.
The yakshas of Great Iron-Wall Mountain were pleased once again.
They were not on particularly bad terms with the yakshas from Bukseungcheo, and since they themselves had been chosen as the best, there was no reason to become angry.
Later, when they met the yakshas from Bukseungcheo who had followed the Seventh Golden Mountain without explanation, it might be good to pass along this praise.
'Done.'
Hierdan was convinced that he had completely brought the four groups of yaksha forces under control by making them restrain and deceive one another.
-But Your Excellency. It seems you have a younger brother. Wouldn't it be better if we went and guarded him?
"My brother can take care of himself, so you need not worry. Go and destroy the basin."
-Yes! Understood!
Once the final group of yaksha forces departed, Hierdan fell into thought for a moment.
It was not that he had never considered bringing Lee Han here as the yaksha suggested, but now that the expedition was underway, he could not act however he pleased.
Of course, that did not mean the Yaksha King's stratagem disgusted him any less.
Manipulating his younger brother however he pleased.
'I didn't realize he was such a vulgar fellow.'
Hierdan himself had always manipulated his younger brother with such kindness and consideration that even Lee Han would be pleased.
Compared to that, the Yaksha King's manipulation was truly...
The evil god's howl in the distance pulled Hierdan from his thoughts.
An enemy's scream was a good sign.
'Time to move on to the next plan.'
***
Are you all right!?
"I'm... I'm fine."
-You've recovered to some degree. But that doesn't mean you can push yourself!
Mahuda said something decidedly unfitting for a demon.
But the situation left it no choice.
That was how bad its master's condition was.
Still worried, Perkuntra pressed further.
How did you recover? Did you have an Authority like that?
-I shared the damage with spirits and absorbed it. And with those demons over there...
......
For a moment, Perkuntra felt pity for the demons trapped inside the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons.
It was bad enough that they were imprisoned, and now they had suddenly been forced to share a mage's exhaustion and agonizing pain.
There was a very high chance that once Mahuda went back down, its own kind would savagely attack it as a traitor to demons.
You...
-I don't care. As long as I can kill undead, I couldn't care less about those vermin picking a fight with me.
"For now... did we actually escape?"
Lee Han asked with a cough.
He had pulled the spatial-movement magic he had learned forward through Microcosm, Dunamis and cast it, but he was not sure whether it had activated properly.
It seems we did escape. And something appears to be happening to that bastard. It isn't able to pay attention to us.
"Looks like something is going on."
Lee Han guessed that the Yaksha King must be doing something.
He had no idea that Hierdan had come as well.
"For now, I'll join up with the main force led by that yaksha bastard... no, the Yaksha King."
Flash!
"Student Lee Han!"
The professors appeared together with a pale-faced angel.
Apazragon looked to be in even worse condition than Lee Han, as though something had happened to it.
At first Lee Han wondered whether the angel had been attacked by the evil god, but the way it kept cautiously avoiding the gazes of the three professors made it seem almost as though...?
"Professor Garcia! What happened to the angel..."
"Nothing happened! More importantly, what about you, Student Lee Han?"
"Nothing happened to me either."
......
-......
Perkuntra and Mahuda were dumbfounded.
Was he seriously saying that right now?
He had summoned both a spirit and a demon, and traces of the microcosm were still wavering around him...
I'm not a mage, but even I don't think you should lie that halfheartedly.
-I agree.
Professor Kirmin also seemed dumbfounded and glared at Lee Han. Lee Han, however, behaved confidently.
His experience in the fortress had helped him grow.
'The professors lived more however they pleased than I thought.'
Technically it had only been one professor, but either way, it had given him courage.
Maybe he could act a little more freely too!
From Professor Garcia's and Professor Kirmin's perspectives, this was a deeply unfair conclusion.
Neither of them was anywhere near as disobedient as Professor Voladi.
"I really ought to send you straight to the punishment room...!"
The other professors would all stop it, but this time at least, Professor Garcia wanted to threaten him with the punishment room.
They had sent word telling him not to enter the fortress, yet he had gone and acted on his own anyway.
"That does not seem like a bad idea."
"?!!"
Professor Garcia stared at Professor Voladi in horror.
This person was actually saying something like that?!
Professor Kirmin and Student Lee Han also looked at Professor Voladi in surprise.
"You're seriously going to send him?!"
"Even if I go in, I can just come right back out anyway."
"Wardanaz, what is wrong with you too?!"
Professor Kirmin whispered in [N O V E L I G H T] alarm.
Was Lee Han perhaps furious because of the Yaksha King's unreasonable orders?
To think Wardanaz would openly show this much rebelliousness.
"More importantly, what's wrong with the angel?"
"I told you, nothing happened, Wardanaz."
-The mages threatened me. It wasn't my fault that the dimension shook from the evil god's rage and space became twisted.
The angel spoke quietly.
It might have been Lee Han's imagination, but there seemed to be a faint trace of hurt in its voice.
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