I have studied this world's history.
In the past, there have been plenty of wars here and there. At any time frame, at any place, and for any reason.
But, it has been over hundreds of years since this continent saw any large-scale war.
The latest war that happened is from over five hundred years ago, between the kingdom Mazino and Veldonia. But that was merely caused by a territorial conflict, and it was never a completely one sided battle.
The war ended in a stalemate, and both sides signed a treaty to a truce. It was not that large of a war to begin with, since it was only a territorial conflict between two kingdoms.
And ever since then, there has never been a single conflict that happened between the kingdoms on this continent.
Until… now.
The demons have come from the east, and they do not come peacefully. They are the kingdom whose existence is equivalent to the strength of all the other kingdoms combined, and they are not here to talk.
Their amount was threatening, but the true power comes from their individual talents. Demons are, by blood, more adept in magic than any other race. Humans, elves, dwarves, demi-humans, none was able to rival the level of talent that the entire demon race owns. Their amount was indeed much larger than any other kingdom, but this talent that they have within their blood is what makes them impossible to face alone.
Certainly, there are those from the other races that have a better talent in magic than a demon. However, it doesn't change the fact that those people are geniuses from their own races. Compared to an elite from the demon race, they are much lower in terms of talent score.
And finally… the most elite demon there is.
The Demon King.
Leader of all demons.
Genius among geniuses, even by the standard of the demon race.
Alone, he took down both the arch-mage and the headmaster without sweat.
Alone, he took the sword of the war god from our continent by force.
His army, which consisted of only two hundred men, completely annihilated our alliance troops of over three thousand.
Alone, he is powerful.
In addition, he obtained the strongest weapon in existence.
Ultimately, he is the leader of the most powerful kingdom in the continent.
He is… the most dangerous man alive.
That is why, we will need a well thought plan to take him down.
We must take him down… Whatever the cost.
Or we'll lose.
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Chapter 186 –War
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The people here in the throne room then began discussing the plan.
The three main generals, Hod, Valon, and the Knight General, had already set up the plan. The king is merely filling the Axelons about the details while answering some of the questions that were thrown.
I purposely didn't join in and kept my head to the right, where no one was there. I was still listening to the entire thing, but I just do not want to be in it at all.
After a while, everyone began to feel that I am being alienated by them, and they are feeling rather discomforted thanks to that.
Oh, I don't know? Maybe because I am??
The planning ended, and the king began discussing some extra stuff, like the defeated demon squadron leaders that happened last night.
Two of the squadron leaders had been defeated, and the king praised the arch-mage and the teen boys for that. They only mentioned that it was because I had killed all the other demons beforehand, and that I had healed them to get them back to their two feet.
The king then turned to glance at me, and I noticed that the attention had arrived back on me. I turned my gaze back at him, and now he is forced to ask his question since I am now looking straight at him, waiting for him to speak.
The king then half heartedly asked me about how did I kill the squadron demons by myself, and I merely answered:
"Hmm? I don't know. Obviously I wouldn't know, right? How does one kill a demon? I'm merely a healer, so I wouldn't know."
A rather… informative answer.
Noticing that I have gone cranky, the king decided to move on. Everyone else also felt bad for me, but there is nothing they can do.
It's not their fault, and I'm sure they also don't mean it in a bad way.
But, damn... This felt… really painful.
The conversation ended, and the meeting was changed into a party. The servants and maids brought in tables filled with snacks and meals. Maybe to bring our energies up by feeding us tasty meals.
They also had ice cream that they bought from Hod's restaurant, so that's what I took. I didn't even wait until the king allowed us to take the food and just yoinked the glass away, which made a lot of people facepalmed and jealous.
Apparently everyone else also wanted it, and all thirty glasses of huge chunks of ice cream ran out immediately.
During the party, Fran and Cane tried to cheer me up, but I told them I won't mind it much if they just kill the demon king. Arfius and Jonus then joined in, and we discussed some things.
I talked with Fran about the weakness from the demons. I know about this information after remembering and reanalyzing my battles with the demons at the academy over a year ago.
They can only use magic, and they are pretty terrible on close ranged battles, or anything physical. Only a very select few are capable in close combat, and they are probably ranked higher. Knowing that, Fran quickly nodded in understanding.
Close range combat… is something Fran is absolutely capable of doing.
While we were talking, the headmaster came to our group. His face seemed quite serious, and his eyes were staring silently towards me.
The two of us then went away from the others as we talked in private.
"I'm… sorry, Rize."
He said to me as we walked outside the throne room. It's unclear where we are going, but we just needed some privacy for now.
"It's fine. There's nothing you could have done anyways."
"I could have not told him about your healing magic. But the queen, she recognized your name--"
"Hey, don't blame the queen. Besides, I need you to promise me."
"… Promise?"
I nodded at him seriously, and I told him about my secret backup plan. We arrived on the balcony that is near the throne room, so we decided to stop and talk more here.
"I… thought about this during the meeting. It was something I would never have wanted to happen. But if it does, I hope that you can do something about it.
If things go wrong... If things turned south and everyone was in danger... You know what to do."
The headmaster pondered for a while about what I meant, but he could tell from my grim tone.
"… because at that point, everything would be meaningless. If the Axelons were defeated, your only option is… to save everyone else…"
I stopped mid sentence and let out a sigh. There is no better way to say this… but I had to say it. I turned my firm expression back to him, and I said it with as clear of a voice as possible.
"Teleportation. Use it to save everyone. Use your damn life force if you have to.
I want you… to put your life on the line to save everyone else."
Hearing that, the headmaster looked very shocked. He understood the weight of this request, and the importance of success if it does go that way. And whatever happens after that… he knows very well.
So, he nodded heavily.
"… I see... I understand. You have my word."
I nodded at him, and I turned around. We both then returned to see everyone else at the throne room from the opened door not far from our position.
Arfius, Jonus, the arch-mage, especially Fran and Cane.
I don't want to lose them... No matter what.
The two of us returned to the party. Cane asked me what the two of us were talking about after I walked to them, but I simply said it's just some academy stuff.
Obviously, that was a lie.
At least now I am sure that the headmaster will save everyone if things go sideways. But if he teleports everyone, he himself might have to stay behind due to the lack of energy.
Teleporting just one person from one end of the desert to another definitely depletes your magic energy, even if you are an advanced elven mage who has lived for hundreds of years like Veneo. Teleporting multiple people on the battlefield, especially when the distance is that far, it can kill you if you weren't careful.
Meaning that the headmaster will have to sacrifice himself if he wants everyone else to stay alive.
But… I just hope it doesn't come to that.
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The party ended, and everyone went back to the bases.
I excused myself and told them to go ahead without me using the carriages, because I can just fly there later. I had to stop by at my house to check on a few things.
I left it for so long, and I'm sure there's probably dead rats rotting somewhere.
Apparently all the food ingredients in my fridge have rotted due to the magic crystal running out of energy. I threw them all out and cleaned the fridge. I also cleaned some areas of the house that got really dusty and filled with spider webs because I left it for two months.
While I was cleaning up, a person knocked on the door.
I opened it to find the prettiest princess.