Chapter 155

Chapter 155 – Start of the War (4)

The Demon world started their invasion into the human realm.

The Demon King’s army crossed the ocean of Zestbar, and they took down several minor countries in the west.  It was a flare that signaled the start of the war.  However, if one looked more into it, all of the small countries without a significant military force had united under the empire of Zard.  They had already moved their military force and civilians out of their lands.  The only thing razed was their lands.  They suffered no other losses.

“The war has begun!  It is as the hero had predicted!  It is as stipulated in Article 10, section 1.  All nations of the human realm shall stop their conflict against the other races.  All fights amongst humans will come to an end.  An alliance will form between all the nations of this continent!”

The emperor of the united empire of Zard had cultivated a close relationship with the heroes.  He knew very well how terrifying the Demon King’s army was.  He was a smart man.   He quickly gained cooperation from the magicians and various merchant companies.  He was able to establish an information net, and he urged each country to join his alliance.

“The heroes embarked on a long journey to defeat the Demon King themselves.  We have to  make sure that we aren’t dead weights to the heroes.  We have to do our best to stop the Demon King’s army!  I speak in the name of the holy nation of Paladia!  All priests in this continent will serve in the war!”

“We cannot forgive the humans, yet our future will disappear if we don’t cooperate with the humans.  The World Tree has spoken to us.  This isn’t for the forest or the Elves.  We have to take up our weapons if we want the history of all species to continue!”

The holy nation of Paladia and Elves of the Eternal Forest joined Zard early on.  The balance of power on the continent had already tilted towards the side of the alliance.  When the rise of the Demon King’s army became known, many countries had thought about taking advantage of the situation.  However, they didn’t have much choice, but to join the alliance.

“An alliance?  What a foolish idea!  If we participate in the war, my country will be grinded into a nub!”

“I’m not saying that we won’t fight the Demon race.  However, my nation produced the current heroes!  Naturally, we demand a treatment that rivals what we have brought to the table!”

Of course, not all nations were able to free themselves from their own greed.  Nations with power refused to join.  Then there was the kingdom of Diaz, who was located in a region that would be relatively unaffected by the invasion of the Demon King’s army.  They wanted to use this opportunity to replete their forces.  Their power had diminished.  It was thanks to the civil war that had lasted for several years.

The new king, who had been chosen by the nobles, didn’t possess any power.  The nobles had gotten used to the newly found peace.  They were consumed by greed, and the nobles wanted to keep their puppet king.  Even if the riches they gained couldn’t last forever, they wanted more.

The one to end this matter was none other than Silpennon.

“Class and name?”

“My Class is the crown prince.  My name is Silpennon.”

“······what?”

Silpennon’s rampage started from the gateway of the capital.  He took off his hood as he revealed his red hair.  He also held a Crystal of Blessing in one hand.  In front of the eyes of the guards, he quickly changed his Class from Thief to Prince of Diaz.

“C…crown prince!?”

“No.  I’m sure he passed away during the rebellion…..”

“Report this to your superiors!  Tell them the lost legitimate heir to the throne is back!”

Mage Deyus’ Loudspeaker spell was active, so Silpennon’s voice spread across the entrance.  It spread far and wide.  The Communication spell worked faster.  It was used to inform the leading members of the kingdom about Silpennon’s return.  The nobles were enraged.  They quickly gathered their forces.

“You were the true heir to the throne, but that was true couple years ago!  The current king also has a legitimate claim to the throne.  Currently, he is doing very well after assuming the reins of the kingdom, yet you want to bring him down!  Your attempt to reclaim the throne is inappropriate! It is merely a form of rebellion!  Capture him!  Let’s execute him!”

“Silpennon, you are a rebel!  You are our enemy!  You are no longer part of the royal family, so we have to behead you!”

Silpennon waited until they could gather enough soldiers.  This wasn’t just a simple showmanship.  He didn’t want to waste time by going to multiple locations to fight.  It would be annoying.

“Diaz is the kingdom of heroes!  We are the country that supports and backs the heroes more than any other nation!  You are refusing to form an alliance in the name of profit.  The current leadership of Diaz doesn’t deserve to be called nobles!  They aren’t fit to be called citizens of Diaz!  The king is being controlled by his subordinates.  That is not what a king is supposed to be.  The nobles aren’t true subordinates.  These delusional individuals will be beheaded in the name of the true king of Diaz!”

Silpennon had first entered the capital a week ago.  At that point, he realized the entire army of Diaz was hostile towards him.  Even the regular citizens of Diaz would try to avoid a fight if given a choice.  It seemed it didn’t matter if one was a noble or a regular subject of this nation.  None of them possessed any backbone.  It really was a wonder as to how the heroes had been produced from this nation.

However, Silpennon was undaunted.

“Leseti, you have to make sure I don’t get hit by an arrow that is shot from far away.  Hold up your shield.”

“Even if it is a lie, you should at least pretend to worry about my safety, your majesty.”

“Aria, this is the moment when you will debut as a holy priestess.  Will you be able pull it off?”

“Can you see my power?  Am I showing it properly right now?”

“Yes, I can see it.  ······let’s go.”

“That guy doesn’t even talk to me anymore.”

“Be quiet.”

It was a party made of five members.  However, each and every one of them were extremely impressive.  They timed their advance to the movement of Diaz’s army.  The five of them engaged the army that was coming from the capital.

“Capture him.  That bastard is rebelling against….  Koo-huhk!?”

“They are stronger than I thought.  Let’s surround them first…  Kahk!”

“They are breaking through!  Our defensive line is falling apart!”

The party had only five members, yet the concentrated might of Diaz’s army couldn’t stop them.  The soldiers were attacking with the intent of killing Silpennon’s party.  Silpennon’s party was charging through the army with crushing force.  However, they weren’t seriously wounding anyone. Silpennon’s party looked awe-inspiring as they overwhelmed their foes.

“How can this be······.”

“I…is his majesty perhaps a hero too?”

“T…this makes no sense.  But….he is strong!”

“Jeez.  Stop repeating lines from the ‘250 Phrases That an Extra Would Say When Wanting to Interfere with the Main Character’s Life!’”

Deyus was equipped with Artifacts.  He placed a Debuff on several thousand foes all at once.  Leseti used a simple Shield Charge.  She sent several dozen soldiers flying each time she swung her shield.  The one to stop the long distance spells and arrows was the Dark Elf archer.  It was the ‘great’ merchant Mycenae.

It wasn’t a job befitting her station, so she grumbled from start to finish.  Even as she complained, her eyes were sharp as she worked on her task.  At this moment, she was slowly working towards the price that would be paid to her by Artpe!

“Everyone!  We will stop the Demon King!  If Diaz want to continue to remain as the kingdom of heroes, we need your help!  We need your help to continue the history of this continent!  Please throw down your weapons and listen to what we have to say!”

The last to join the battlefield was Aria.  She advanced forward as she spread her holy energy towards the humans.  It was a simple display, yet everyone couldn’t turn their gaze away from her.

“This overwhelming amount of holy power…..  Holy priestess!  She surely is the holy priestess!”

“The holy priestess is with his majesty!  W…we cannot attack him.”

“This is all wrong.  No, we are the ones in the wrong!”

If one wanted to convince ignorant people, one needed to show power that was visible to the eyes.  One needed to make a display of one’s power.  From a young age, Silpennon had been close to the highest power in this land.  He was well aware of what was needed to dazzle his people.

“As expected, you are good at coming up with petty tricks.”

“Leseti, are you on my side or are you on their side?  You can tell me the truth.”

Silpennon’s party possessed overwhelming martial prowess, and the holy priestess was displaying her holy powers.  It made a big impression on the soldiers.  They dropped their weapons of their own accord.  The leaders of Diaz thought Silpennon had been acting high and might after acquiring a bit of power.   The sight in front of them made them flabbergasted.

“T…this can’t be.”

“Stop him.  We have to stop that bastard.”

“Send the knights!  They are just louts that’s dirtying the throne’s authority!”

Of course, nothing would change if the knights were sent out.  In fact, the knights were the ones that were capable of properly recognizing the power of Silpennon and the holy power of the holy priestess.  The knights asked for forgiveness right on the spot, and they swore fealty to Silpennon.  The knights bolstered Silpennon’s force, so the actions of the nobles had the adverse effect of bolstering Silpennon’s claim to the throne.

Unlike the nobles, the knight fought at the front line.  They knew which figure was at the center of history!

“The king within the palace isn’t the king.  The king is here!  He is the oldest son of our previous king, and at the same time, he acquired power on his own!  He is a hero trying to face off against the Demon King!  Everyone follow his majesty Silpennon!”

“Soldiers!  The only sin you committed is not being able to recognize the true king.  It isn’t too late.  If you have eyes, you should gather under his majesty’s flag!”

“Oooh-ohhhhhhhhhh!”

Silpennon’s plan was extremely effective.  It started from the moment he entered the gates to the capital.  It continued until the moment he reached the palace.  He had turned his enemies into men enlisted under his banner.  His own martial prowess and Aria’s assistance allowed him to accomplish this.

“It seems my people finally recognizes their true owner!  What are you bastards going to do about it?  Are you going to run away with your tail between your legs?  Or will you bark at me like a mutt, who can’t recognize its owner!”

“Ah-ooh.  He is so cool······.”

“What did you say, Aria?  Would you mind saying that again?”

“Unni!  Shhhhhh!”

In the end, Silpennon was able to enter the palace without shedding a single drop of blood.  When the nobles realized their defeat, they had tried to make an early retreat.  However, Mycenae and Deyus did well in capturing all of them.

Those that needed to be killed were killed.  Those that had to be captured alive had been captured.  The kingdom of Diaz boasted a very bloody history.  The amount of blood shed by Silpennon was extremely small when compared to the bloody history of the past.

“I’ve already contacted my company.  They are stopping any remnant of the rebellion from running away.  You can be at ease, and go do what you have to do.  Ah.  Her is the Video Transmission artifact.”

“You really are quite meticulous······ Do you want a position in Diaz?”

“If you are able to give me Artpe-nim as compensation, I might think about it.”

“The entirety of Diaz won’t be enough to buy him…..”

“Oh.  You are well informed.”

He left behind Deyus and Mycenae to clear the remnants of the rebellion.  Silpennon took only Leseti and Aria to the palace.  Since no one was attending the king, the king could only wait on his throne.  He waited for Silpennon to come searching for him.

“······ha.”

At one time, Silpennon had thought his ascendance to the throne was a given.  That was why Silpennon let out a bitter laughter when he saw the current king, who looked to be thrown haphazardly on top of the throne.  Silppenon asked him a question.

“How does it feel to sit on the throne?  You don’t want to get off of it?”

“I······ I had no choice.  You know what I’m talking about, right?  At the time, Diaz would have been a mess if I didn’t ascend to the throne!  I had no choice······ They required this of me!”

“I know.  You aren’t guilty.  However, you refused to think for yourself.  You had no will of your own.. ······even if you are a puppet, you sat on the throne.  You should have thought about the people.  You should have thought about the country.”

“······I am embarrassed.”

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“······I won’t kill you.  However, even if you are alive, you won’t feel as if you are still amongst the living.”

On that day, a new king rose to the throne of Diaz.  He was a 16 year old king, and his martial prowess put him on the zenith.  He also received support from the holy priestess.  He was praised as being the strongest ruler since the kingdom of Diaz was established.

As the new king, he unified his kingdom.  He worked to repair his kingdom, and he demanded his army to built up as soon as possible. In return, king Silpennon gave the soldiers Dwarf-made weapons.  This also had the effect of elevating Diaz amongst the eyes of the allied nations.

This was how the alliance of the human realm was completed.

The outer lands of the human realm had been empty.  The Demon King’s army left behind the empty land to invade the inlands.  This was when the war with the Demon King’s army truly started.