CH 112

Chapter 112 – A Commander!?

“It burned nicely.”

Melk prodded the beached kraken corpse with her paw to make sure that it was dead.

As this was our first time seeing a kraken, it was also our first time seeing a dead one.

Perhaps most of its body was made of water, as it now looked like it was just skin.

“Still, Ymir…that was a surprise. I didn’t know that dwarves could make such things.”

“Surprise is an understatement! I can’t believe you were on board while carrying such a thing!”

Celes said angrily.

Ymir then approached her and patted her on the head as if to calm her down.

“Do-don’t be so upset. It’s made so that it won’t explode immediately after lighting it.”

“Well, it’s true that we must be careful with it. Tell the dwarves that they should store such explosives in a safe place underground.”

“Very well…we will be careful.”

“But it really is a powerful weapon. Could you share some with me when we return? I would like to have a few in my magic workshop.”

“Of course!”

Ymir replied cheerfully.

And while Celes was still fuming, she muttered, ‘You better be careful.’

Well, it really was a dangerous weapon.

But if they were launched like ballista or trebuchet ammunition, they would be very powerful… About as powerful as high-ranking magic.

Just then, Iria asked me,

“What will you do with this kraken corpse?”

“The tentacles…appear to be edible.”

I noted this as I saw crows and eagles swoop down and peck at them.

Besides, they smelled rather like roasted squid right now.

So perhaps we could eat them like squid or octopus.

Of course, I would have to do a more thorough check first.

“I’ll store some in magic workshop so we can take it back with us. It can be freezed and preserved. As for the rest of the body, the fangs could be used as blades. And if there is any poison in them, they might have some use.”

I said as I started to gather parts of the kraken.

However, things started to get uproarious again.

“This presence…”

“It’s the Shield Shells from earlier.”

What then showed up from the sea, was the Shield Shells that had attacked us earlier.

However, the Shield Shells kept their distance and waited as if to see what we would do first.

“They aren’t attacking?”

Earlier, they had all retreated at once, as soon as the kraken appeared.

And now, it almost seemed like they were waiting for someone’s instructions.

Just then, Asuha returned from the sky.

“Sir Joshua! The boat from the west is now on the west side of the island.”

“They’ve landed?”

“Yes… And there are people that I’ve never seen before. They have long tails like lizards.”

“Then perhaps they are lizard men. In any case, let us go and see. Everyone, continue to guard the area.”

I said, and then headed to the west.

It was highly likely that these were the people who were controlling the Shield Shells.

In that case, instead of fighting the Shield Shells, it would be better to either hit the head that was controlling them or see if we could solve this problem by talking.

The Shield Shells did not try and stop us, and opened a path for us to go through.

And so we arrived at the west side of the island. There, we saw a ship on the beach, and green lizards that walked on two legs…Lizardmen. There were about fifty of them.

Lizardmen were aquatic monsters that had served the demon king for many years…but as for their origins, they were a mix of human and demon, just like other demihumans.

The Lizardmen noticed us as we came down from the mountain. And so they all raised their spear and bows.

As we approached, one of the Lizardmen shouted something.

But then a different one shouted admonishingly, and then walked towards us.

This one was especially large. And since his words had silenced the other Lizardmen, he must be the commander.

The Lizardman stopped in front of us and glared as he opened his mouth.

“Human and demihumans… Was it you who defeated the kraken?”

“Was that kraken your subordinate?”

“So it was you who defeated it…”

And then he fell into a defensive stance, as if suspicious of us.

“Do not misunderstand us. We are not looking to fight against the Demon King army. If you leave us in peace, we will not continue to fight.”

“Those words… You must be from the Fendel Alliance that defeated the Bish orc army?”

“We are.”

The moment I answered, the air around the Lizardmen seemed to change. And one of the Lizardmen shouted.

“Chief! Run away!! We will deal with them!!”

At the same time, a volley of arrows flew towards us.

However, they were all cut down by Iria’s blade.

And before anyone realized what had happened, her blade was pointing at the throat of the Lizardman chief.

“If you move any more, my blade will also move.”

The Lizardmen shuddered when they heard her voice.

And then the chief opened his mouth.

“Pardon my men… All of you, lower your weapons. They appear to want to talk with us.”

Upon hearing this, his subordinates slowly lowered their weapons.

And then the Lizardman said,

“I apologize for that. However, you are the talk of the Demon King army now. After all, you defeated Bish’s army.”

“That was with the help of Bayron and the weretigers. We do not wish to be overestimated like that. And we do not wish to fight against the Demon King. Of course, it is the same with humans.”

“I see… However, we have practically declared war on you already. I suppose this island used to belong to the Fendel Alliance? And we have come to reclaim it.”

So that’s why they set the kraken and Shield Shells on us?

No, he said ‘reclaim.’

In other words, he was talking about the demihumans that lived here.

Like that child, who must have lived by the underground lake.

It would not be wise to tell them now that we had nothing to do with them.

And so I would continue the conversation as if we were acquainted.

“We do not care for revenge… But, where did you send them?”

“They did not even have decent weapons. After a little fighting, most of them escaped to the east. Though, my superiors wanted the kraken to kill them all.”

“In other words, you were merciful?”

“Yes. We have our own feelings regarding this great expedition… It is no wonder someone like Bayron ended up leaving.”

There was something like dissatisfaction in the Lizardman’s face as he spoke.

This time, there was something different about the momentum of the Demon King army’s advance.

And they were controlling the Shield Shells and kraken who did not have much will of their own.

Kyuby, who had claimed to be a spy for the Demon King’s army, had also been manipulating the Minotaurs. They were using very different strategies compared to before.

After all, they were now calling it an expedition.

On the other hand, it seemed like we would be able to negotiate with these Lizardmen.

And so I continued.

“Forgive me for repeating myself, but we of the Fendel Alliance really do not wish to fight the Demon King Army. Even if the rest of the army does not, if you and your men withdraw now, we will not pursue you. Now, tell me what you intend to do.”

“We also just want to live peacefully in our homeland by the sea. But…we cannot go against the orders of our superiors in the Demon King army.”

“Then perhaps we can negotiate with the Demon King? We have not received an official declaration of war. Could you not return now, and tell them that we wish to talk?”

“With the Demon King…? But…”

The Lizardman had a conflicted expression.

Perhaps there were power struggles being waged within the Demon King army.

“In any case, even if you show your back today, we will not do anything.”

I said, and then one of the Lizardmen in the back shouted.

“As-as if we can trust you!”

“Silence! Do you still not understand? These are the people who defeated the kraken. If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already.”

The Lizardman we were talking to shouted angrily. And then he turned back to me.

“We will take your word for it then… By the way…”

“I am Joshua. And you?”

“Olto. The chief of the Oluan tribe of Lizardmen.”

The Olto turned away from us, and he and the others retreated cautiously to their ship and boarded.

Olto then cried out from the deck.

“Joshua. As for negotiating with the Demon King… I will do my best. But I can make no promises.”

“I know. If you have anything to tell me, send a bird with a message.”

Olto nodded.

And then the ship with the Lizardmen sailed away to the east sea, taking the Shield Shells with them.