CH 19

[RAAAHH! You still haven’t driven the humans away!?] (Orc King)

[Your Grace! I’m afraid their morale is higher than ever. If they push through our troops any further…] (Orc A)

[We, the all-mighty Demon King’s army, would lose to some human army? Impossible! There is no way in hell that we of the Demon King’s army—… that I could ever be defeated!] (Orc King)

The Orc King, the leader of a battalion stationed at a certain battlefield, roared in anger from inside his camp.

As a group, the monsters exhibited tremendous power, but the humans used that against them, and reduced their number at once.

The orcs, who were the immediate subordinates of the Orc King, were almost completely wiped out.

The rest of the battalion were monsters the Demon King put under his responsibility, but there were already less than half of them left.

They were at a complete numerical disadvantage, and if they fought any longer, they would find themselves outnumbered and in extreme danger.

[Keep moving! We must charge forward! Drive them off with all your might!] (Orc King)

The Orc King let his anger get the better of him, gave his orders, and wasted the monsters’ lives by throwing them into the fires of war in vain.

The humans’ ingenious formations and military strength drove the Demon King’s army into a corner, meaning that victory on this battlefield was as good as theirs.

———However, it was then that an unexpected element appeared.

The half-human, half-demon magic swordsman, and the strongest soldier of the Demon King’s army.

Accompanied by the goblin Goburoku, he arrived at the encampment of the Demon King’s army, and looked around the battlefield with bulging eyes.

[Y… You’re…!] (Monster A)

One of the monsters gasped.

Goburoku stepped forward and explained why the man who used to be part of the goblin unit was now here.

[…His Majesty sent us a message. From here on out, the magic sword soldier Sebek will assist you in battle.] (Goburoku)

[W-What!? What’s the meaning of this!?] (Monster A)

[Our army is struggling on every battlefield.  So we’ve been dispatched to turn the situation around.] (Goburoku)

Sebek yawned as if to show his disinterest in their conversation, and took a long look at the human army that was gaining momentum.

And all the while, he was trying to figure out which group was their main force, and where he should attack them from.

[A message from His Majesty!? Telling that hybrid to assist us, you say!?] (Orc King)

The Orc King rocked his giant body as he walked toward them.

He let out another angry roar as he glared at the creepy ex-human, who did not even take notice of him despite being the commander of this battalion.

[I don’t need him!! I don’t need the help of this lowly hybrid who’s neither a monster nor a human! We’ll turn things over in no time!!] (Orc King)

[…Remind me again who’s the major loser who can’t even run this joint without working the “lowly hybrid” to the bone?] (Sebek)

Sebek, who was gazing at the battlefield, immediately spat words of contempt at the Orc King, and everyone around him froze in place.

The Orc King’s mouth was agape at his remark, and he was trembling in fear.

[I don’t care either way, there are plenty of other battlegrounds where I can play instead. …But, if you use me here, I can turn the tables in one go. This’ll be your win, and the Demon King will praise you. …But if you kick me out now, you’ll lose to the humans and die. It’ll be game over for you.] (Sebek)

The Orc King’s face turned red, and his breathing was heavy.

He was torn between his pride as a high-ranked monster and his responsibility as an executive to ensure victory.

After spending the past while glaring at Sebek in silence, the latter suddenly shouted out loud.

[TIME’S RUNNING OUUUUUUUT!!!!] (Sebek)

With his eyes wide open and a smile across his face, he gave him a stiff look.

And with that same expression on his face, he pointed toward the battlefield.

The Orc King came to his senses and looked in that direction.

The human army was closing in on them.

The monsters who were fighting on the battlefield had been annihilated.

Blood drained from the Orc King’s face.

He was so caught up in his emotions that he completely averted his eyes from the war situation.

The humans were approaching the Orc King’s military camp while shouting war cries like they were cheering.

O… Oh no…! How could I lose myself like that…!? What a disgrace!

The Orc King glanced at his most prized weapon, a giant ax.

With its overwhelming destructive power, he might manage to get through this situation.

However, the humans were so full of vitality that he unconsciously flinched.

The Orc King, a high-ranked monster and army leader, had lost all will to fight.

The enemy may have been humans, but they were no small fry.

They had all the wisdom and gear they needed to subjugate the monsters.

Even if he swung his ax and charged at them, it would be impossible for him to deal with so many foes.

At this rate, the monsters would all be overrun at once.

[P-Protect me…! All of you! Die for my sake!] (Orc King)

|Y-Your Grace!?] (Monster A)

[Cover my back! I’m assigning the duty of rear guard to you all! Farewell!!] (Orc King)

The Orc King abandoned the monsters who were staying at the camp, and quickly fled.

Naturally, the desertion of their commander from the battleground threw the monsters into chaos, and all leadership was instantly lost.

[Nice! Now this is getting fun! Right, Goburoku?] (Sebek)

[Only you would think so! …Here they come!] (Goburoku)

With the exception of these two, the monsters were in disarray, while the humans rushed into the encampment of the Demon King’s army.

They pointed their spears, swung their swords, and threw fire spells at them.

While the monsters were scattering in every direction and being crushed by the enemy’s fury, Sebek wielded his magic sword and overpowered the humans.

[That won’t be enough to satisfy me.] (Sebek)

He slid past the feet of a soldier who tried to stab him with his spear, and with that same momentum, he struck him in the torso with his magic sword Apophis.

Then, he kicked the next soldier who came at him in the face with a move similar to capoeira, and sliced him in two while he was in midair.

The soldier was split in half, and in the middle of all his blood and innards splattered on the ground, Sebek rushed forward right away.

He waved his blade to hack and slash all the soldiers coming from right and left, reaping their weapons and armor along with their lives.

The way he dealt slash attacks while keeping his center of gravity low was terrifying, and even though he was their enemy, the humans found his swordsmanship impressive.

[What the hell is that magic swordsman!? Is he a monster!?] (Human A)

[Surround him! Stab him at once with your spears!] (Human B)

The spearmen surrounded Sebek with their spears pointed at him.

Normally, a sword would not have enough range to reach them.

That was the absolute theory.

Yet, in the midst of that theoretical crisis, Sebek laughed.

[How naive.] (Sebek)

Suddenly, the blade of his sword glowed pale, and as if acting in conjunction with it, so did his eyes.

The next moment, the power of the magic sword Apophis was activated.

At that moment, Sebek just stood still.

He did not move an inch, nor did he even attempt to swing his sword.

Despite this, the bodies of the spearmen surrounding him were sliced apart on the spot, as if they had been slashed by invisible blades.

Sebek smirked in the middle of those geysers of blood.

The humans who witnessed this immediately found themselves frozen stiff, and retreated step by step.

[O… Outta the way! Move it…!] (Humans)

The humans were retreating.

Afraid of a single human-demon hybrid.

However, the monsters were not victorious.

Because the Orc King turned tail and ran away.

[…I wonder if Sir Orc King is safe.] (Goburoku)

Goburoku put his sword away and walked up to Sebek.

He was gasping for breath, while Sebek did not pant even once.

[Forget that piece of trash. He’ll be killed by the Demon King the moment he makes it back to his castle anyway. …But in any case, I’ve fulfilled my rear guard duty. Let’s move to another battlefield.] (Sebek)

[…Fighting is all you ever think about, huh.] (Goburoku)

[Well, you see… I just wanna fight and kill the strongest opponent. And I also wanna die at the hands of the strongest opponent. I’m sure he exists, somewhere in this big wide world. …The Hero and his gang are a bunch of weaklings, though.] (Sebek)

[You really are an odd fellow.] (Goburoku)

[…Right back at ya.] (Sebek)

The two of them were the only ones left in this mess of a battleground.

With the wind blowing in vain, they crossed over to the next battlefield.

This fight was a victory for the humans, but at the same time, it was a reminder of the threat posed by the Demon King’s army.