Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 309

309: A World Where Humans Live

The dragon’s speed, even with the wooden crates, could traverse this continent in two days.

We flew at a high altitude, with Rebecca and Samarkand’s illusion magic deployed, albeit weakly, and we remained in stealth. We had to land to camp, but it was a high peak, with no signs of human life, though not as high as the Lital Mountains. From there, we flew over the sea, further reducing the chances of being detected.

Leaf, too, flew with all his might, and we arrived at the edge of the continent.

A grassland, bordering a deep forest. There were no human settlements nearby. And since we had approached from the sea, the humans probably hadn’t noticed us yet. I had been a little worried that there might be a small fishing village that wasn’t on the map, but that hadn’t been the case.

As I watched the dragons land the wooden crates with a thud, Lital-sama spoke.

“I’m sorry, but I’m sending the five dragons back.”

“Yes, that was the plan.”

If we could count the dragons as part of our forces, that would be ideal. But dragons were a rare species. In Earth terms, they would undoubtedly be on the red list. There were probably less than two hundred of them on the entire continent. And… many would die in the coming battle. The dragons had a proper place to use their lives.

The five dragons took off, ascending straight up. In the cloudy sky, nearing twilight, they disappeared into the dark clouds. An altitude that would allow them to take the shortest route back, without considering the terrain, or the living beings below.

We watched in silence as the five dragons disappeared into the sea of clouds, and then Lital-sama broke the silence.

“If it comes to it… I, too, will stand on the battlefield.”

Liz’s expression was a little troubled.

“Lital-sama? As I have said to the Lord of Disease, you are a commander. It is the duty of the soldiers to risk their lives. Please do not make a mistake.”

Liz had a point. But I interjected.

“Liz, it is precisely because she is a commander that she must sometimes stand on the same battlefield.”

“That’s a line that only those with the proper skill can say.”

“Yes, ma’am…” She was absolutely right.

This time, too, Liz had seriously tried to leave me behind. If it hadn’t been for the necessity of me as the commander of the Black Hound Barghests, she would not have allowed me to accompany them.

The attack on Wessphia, where I had been on the offensive, was… a different matter. The situation was descending into a chaotic quagmire, and it was difficult to grasp the enemy’s strength. We didn’t know if we could continue to choose surprise attacks and night raids. And above all, the reliable force of ‘one Dark Knight from the Litalside garrison’ was not here.

Lital-sama chuckled at our exchange.

“Your vice-commander is quite frank.”

“Yes, she is a proud vice-commander, who says what she must.” And I smiled at Liz, and a sidelong glance was returned.

“I’m not being fooled.”

“I have no intention of fooling you. …I don’t have the skill, so I’ll be quiet. I’ll do as I’m told. But I, and my power, are needed on this battlefield.”

Liz sighed.

“To have to call on Master… is the end of the world.”

“The world has long since ended.”

This was a world where humans and demons were engaged in a war of extermination between different races. And that war was about to end. The end of a war of extermination could only be the extinction of one of the races.

Samarkand and Rebecca went to the wooden crates, and Lital-sama also moved.

“Well, I shall help as well.”

“Lital-sama, yourself?”

Her long neck bent, and her golden dragon eyes looked at me.

“…Do not treat me as if I am so fragile. I have no freedom to fly the skies as I please, no freedom to choose my battlefield…”

“Ah…” Her sad tone made me start. This person was, perhaps, more important than His Majesty the Demon King.

But how many had stood beside her? Even I, who was her equal in rank, had only met her once. The First Army was the smallest in number. Led by her vice-commander, Crado-sama, it was a unit with only a few communication personnel, a particularly unusual unit in the Demon King’s army. While the vector was different, it was similar to the Sixth Army, a small unit with a special role given to its leader.

“I just want to… stretch my wings a little.”

With her words, the scales around her mouth twitched. This was probably a mischievous smile.

“…Coming from a winged race, that’s very convincing.”

…Surprisingly mischievous?

“Then, from the dismantling of the wooden crates. —Samarkand, Lital-sama will be helping. You will be her support.”

“Yes.” Samarkand’s eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly suppressed his surprise and nodded.

Lital-sama scratched the steel chains and fittings with her claws, and they were scraped away with a crunch, as if they were butter. She repeated this, and the wooden crates were easily dismantled.

“As expected of Lital-sama. Then, please continue in that manner.”

“Yes.” Lital-sama nodded and began to open the wooden crates one after another.

I had wanted to get our knights out of there as quickly as possible, and we didn’t have the time or the manpower to spare—so to treat the leader of the dragon race, the supreme commander of the First Army, like a heavy machine was probably permissible.

“Um, Master… she’s a very important person…” Liz whispered in my ear.

“I know, Liz. But you know. Just because you’re important… doesn’t mean you want to be put on a pedestal.” I replied, in a normal voice.

“That’s right. …I may have been happiest when I was flying through the sky, following my instincts, without any wisdom. But once you know, you cannot abandon them…” Lital-sama finished her dismantling and turned around.

“And it is not someone else’s problem. A world where dragons can live… will not exist in a human world.”

Lital-sama was the leader of the dragon race. But we were comrades. Comrades who had gathered under the banner of the Listrean emblem, the ‘dragon with a serpent’s tongue.’

The death knights who had emerged from the wooden crates nodded with a grand gesture and spoke.

“Yes, this is the first time I have had the pleasure of meeting Lital-sama, but I do hope that you will get along with our master.”

“Our master, despite her ability to act as a heartless monster, is as delicate as a glass figurine.”

“Indeed. It would be wonderful if you two, as fellow supreme commanders, were to get along.”

“She is a lonely and troublesome person, but please take care of her.”

“…You guys. Do you know the word ‘rank’?”

Harken and the others, my death knights, were saying whatever they pleased. I glared at them.

The characteristic laughter of a skeleton, the rattling of its jawbone, filled the air. The laughter of the wraiths also mingled… honestly, when was it that I had wanted to work in a place full of smiles?

“Hehe… I’m glad you’re so adored.”

And the laughter of the undead was joined by the laughter of a dragon, like a distant thunder in a dream.

“—You all.”

At my serious tone, the laughter stopped. And though their positions were scattered, they straightened up. If I do say so myself, their ability to switch gears was quick and perfect.

“We will start with the smaller nations, in order. I would like to rendezvous with the field operative units tomorrow, but even if we cannot, we will begin our operation. The remaining enemy forces are still unknown. However, we are running out of time.”

Our forces were scarce, and our time was limited. And yet, the forces I had at my disposal were a little… excessive… for this region of small, clustered nations.

“While we search for the dragons that were once under the control of the Dragon Knights with the Black Hound Barghests, we will engage in a war of attrition. We do not need to eliminate every last one, but we will eliminate their organized resistance and completely crush the possibility of supplies or reinforcements. That is all.”

They all nodded in unison.