Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 519

The path had been cleared.

The Allied Forces would soon notice the intervention of an unknown power, but not yet. There was no need in preparing the way too far ahead, since clearing the path too early would only result in other monsters moving in to occupy the space. Therefore, until the Allied Forces commenced their next advance, there was still some time for our units to spare.

‘I should check the situation in the Allied Forces’ camp.’

Heinrich von Schwartz was going to be assassinated, but the exact timing of it was unknown to me. Therefore, I had to monitor the movements within the Allied Forces’ camp.

Although I could obtain information from Sarkegar, who had already infiltrated the camp, I wanted to confirm certain things with my own eyes.

There were many things I wanted to see for myself. It wasn’t just the issue surrounding Heinrich. I wanted to see how the ones I knew from the Temple were doing, how they had changed, and what was going on with Ellen.

The other four warned me that it was too dangerous, but I could do what Sarkegar could to some extent.

I couldn’t transform into a beast, but I could certainly transform into a different person.

The Allied Forces were vast, so vast that disguising myself as one of them and wandering around the camp was not difficult.

From humanity’s perspective, in this war, there was no fundamental need to take special measures against espionage. After all, the enemy consisted of monsters that couldn’t communicate. Since the enemy always engaged in frontal assaults, there was no espionage or surprise attacks. Therefore, there was no such thing as a war of information.

Vertus would know that I wasn’t a danger, so there was no need to be wary of my forces. They might even have designed things to make it easier for me to see what was going on if they knew that I was watching them, although that seemed a bit of a stretch.

I appeared near the Allied Forces’ camp dressed as an imperial army officer. Harriet had teleported me there.

“This is incredible...” I said.

Even though I had heard about it, seeing the enormous scale of the Allied Forces with my own eyes left me speechless.

If an emergency arose, I could escape using a teleportation scroll, and if there was no such emergency, Harriet would be waiting at a designated location to take me back to Edina at the appointed time. I had until the next day.

“Your Highness, do you remember your rank and affiliation?”

Sarkegar was beside me, posing as my attendant.

“Lieutenant Lindel, Training Instructor of the 4th Training Command, 1st Legion of the Empire,” I replied.

Of course, it was all fake. The department existed, but there was no such person as Lieutenant Lindel.

The reason for impersonating an officer was so that ordinary soldiers wouldn’t point fingers and question who I was.

The reason for being affiliated with the Training Command was that it was one of the departments with very few officers present in this Allied Forces’ camp. Training Command was responsible for training recruits that were brought in through recruiters in the capital and then deployed to the army, along with necessary supplies, via mass teleportation. As such there was little need for many of them to be in the camp, but that didn’t mean they were entirely absent.

With a smaller presence and fewer officers with the main army, the chances of someone saying, “I don’t know you, even though you’re an instructor,” were very low. Other officers would find it plausible if I claimed to be just another instructor.

This plausible disguise would allow me to wander around the camp without interference, and had been recommended by Sarkegar, who had grasped the situation around the camp in just two days.

However, it seemed that even this was an unnecessary step. There were so many soldiers and officers in the camp that not everyone would recognize each other even if they belonged to the same army.

Sarkegar’s role was to keep an eye on the overall situation of the Allied Forces. The only thing I wanted to confirm with my own eyes was the situation in the Temple Royal Class section of the camp.

***

Sarkegar was diligent in his duties. I knew he would handle it well, but in hindsight, I had given him quite an unreasonable task. I had sent him into the Allied Forces’ camp, which was essentially enemy territory, to gather information without any basic knowledge or preparation, just because he could shapeshift and disguise himself.

Yet, in just two days, he had not only grasped the layout of the whole camp, but also devised a plausible identity for me to use as a disguise since I couldn’t transform into a beast or insect.

However, him doing his job too well was a problem in itself. If he could gather information so perfectly even when thrown into enemy territory without any preparation, it would raise expectations, and he might have to handle even more difficult tasks in the future.

‘What does it mean to have an outstanding subordinate...? Doing a good job ultimately means being assigned increasingly difficult tasks, doesn’t it? If being outstanding makes it more dangerous for yourself, wouldn’t it be better not to be outstanding?’ I pondered.

The camp was so noisy that even if Sarkegar and I talked normally, no one could eavesdrop.

There were shouts from various parts of the camp, accompanied by the shrill ringingof weapons being forged.

—Move! Move quickly!

—Emergency assembly! 4th Platoon, gather!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Whoosh!

“They seem fairly busy,” I said.

“Yes, the higher-ranking combatants are not as busy, but there is an enormous demand for weapons to arm the lower-ranking soldiers.”

“That makes sense...”

Master-class combatants could use Aura Blades, and high-ranking combatants had high-quality weapons, such as enchanted ones.

The longswords that had automatic restoration functions, the ones that Ellen and I used in the Dark Land, were considered high-grade weapons. Such fine weapons were naturally more durable, and would be able to take more damage in battle.

Lower-ranking soldiers had no opportunity to wield such weapons, and were relegated to wielding relatively inferior weapons.

Therefore, even if they survived a battle, their equipment would inevitably be damaged. As a result, the camp had to mass-produce countless weapons, from the moment the blacksmiths set up their forges until they had to tear them down again.

Spears, swords, bows, and arrows...

Clang! Clang!

The camp was filled with the sound of weapons being forged and bellows being worked, and I also caught sight of blacksmiths working with reddened faces.

Seeing firsthand how much manpower was required for war and how many non-combatants—who were arguably more important than combatants—had to be involved made it all the more real.

War wasn’t just about swords and spears, but seeing the bustling camp of the Allied Forces made it feel like the war was right in front of me.

I was also playing a part in this war, but we were a small group that could return to Edina, our headquarters, at any time. This army was so large that only a very limited number of people could move long distances via mass teleportation.

Most of them wouldn’t be able to return home until the war ended, and strictly speaking, many had already lost their homes.

If I focused, I could hear the conversations around me.

—At least we’re not starving. That’s something, you know.

—What does it matter if we die tomorrow?

—Have you ever been so hungry you wanted to die? I’d rather be here now.

They said that soldiers were the safest during wartime. Some preferred serving now because it meant escaping starvation, while others feared the inevitable shadow of death.

I could feel the war on my skin. It was like feeling the people’s hatred, fear, and hope on my skin.

I heard conversations in which I was cursed, while Ellen was praised. Some worried about whether it was possible to sustain this army until the war ended. There were also conversations among officers about what would happen to humanity if this army were annihilated.

—What if the Demon King attacks us now?

—No matter how strong the Demon King is, Dame Tana and the Hero are both here. How could he attack us? He’d have to be crazy...

—Don’t you know the Demon King slaughtered dozens of Swordmasters in the capital?

—But he lost to the Hero in the end. He was stabbed in the heart. The Demon King might already be dead.

Stories of past events had spread and been distorted, either elevating my might beyond its true extent or diminishing it. I walked through the Allied Forces’ camp with a wry smile.

“Talk about vast...”

The Allied Forces’ camp was colossal, packed with many people, and full of varied conversations. There were not only casual conversations, but also the sound of subordinates being reprimanded, something that one would expect in such an army.

There was also a curious sight.

—Woooow!

Some soldiers exclaimed in admiration. I never expected to see such a sight in the midst of war, especially one so bleak.

Bark! Bark!

—I told you, I’m good with dogs.

A soldier was making a scruffy brown dog perform tricks, getting it to sit and stand, while other soldiers looked on in amusement.

“What...? There’s a dog here? Is it a military dog?”

Judging by its scruffy appearance and how it obviously was a mixed breed, it couldn’t be a military dog. Moreover, this wasn’t a war where military dogs would be useful.

“It seems that surviving wild animals are drifting into the Allied Forces’ camp. Or perhaps humans are deliberately bringing them in when they find them.”

Just as humans somehow survived by hiding away in some unseen corner, so did other animals.

“As you can see, the commanders seem to think it boosts the soldiers’ morale, so they don’t say much. There are quite a few units like this, though not many.”

Perhaps these animals had been rescued, or perhaps the animals had sought out the humans on their own, thinking they would protect them.

—Whoa!

The soldiers exclaimed in admiration at the dog’s simple tricks.

The survivors were protecting these surviving animals.

It was just one dog. They would feed it, the soldiers in that camp, whether it was a platoon or a company, would continue to take care of that dog.

That dog had no role in this war, yet they would cherish it.

It was ultimately meaningless, but because it was meaningless, it was precious.

Sarkegar watched the scene quietly.

“Your Highness...”

“Yeah?”

“I wished for the destruction of all humans,” Sarkegar said quietly as he watched the soldiers smiling at the dog, “but this... wasn’t what I wanted.”

Since they had broken us, Sarkegar wanted to break them too. That was what he wanted.

He was seeing what a broken humanity looked like.

A scruffy stray dog... How was that stray dog different from humanity?

Sarkegar’s thoughts seemed complicated.. It wasn’t about forgiving humanity or anything like that. But seeing these shattered things, he couldn’t simply hate them anymore. It was inevitable that he would feel emotional.

It was hard to summarize the feelings we experienced in one word. We could only describe the scene we saw in one sentence.

“A broken humanity smiles at a dog, trying to forget what they’ve lost by seeing what remains.”

We passed by.

***

“It’s so damn far in,” I said.

“Given the size of the army, it can’t be helped.”

The Allied Forces’ camp was so vast that it took ages just to reach the area where the Temple forces were stationed.

There was a reason why some officers rode horses within the camp.

Of course, I could run faster than a horse if I sprinted, so I didn’t need a horse. But it would be very awkward to explain how a mere training officer in the Allied Forces could sprint through the camp at superhuman speed.

Since the Temple personnel were considered an important piece of the Allied Forces, the area reserved for them was located almost at the center of the camp.

Finally, after quite a bit of walking, we reached the area of the camp where the Temple forces were stationed.

The Temple’s student population exceeded a hundred thousand, and a significant number of them had been conscripted into the forces.

Therefore, even though this force was composed of students, it was still considerable, and even if most of them couldn’t use Mana Reinforcement, the combat power of the Temple students still surpassed that of ordinary soldiers.

These students had been trained in the use of weaponry or majored in magic.

The Temple forces were hardly inferior compared to the main force of the Allied army. In fact, they suffered much fewer losses than the armies of many of the surviving vassal states.

Moreover, the enormous number of weapons from the Temple’s armory in the hands of the students also boosted the combat power of the Temple-trained combatants.

Sarkegar and I entered the section reserved for the Temple’s forces.

Naturally, the people coming and going, regardless of gender, were much younger on average compared to other areas of the army camp.

These students, regardless of status, had been educated in the same environment. Moreover, many had lost their homes, and countless others had lost their countries. Status had become meaningless.

Many territories had been erased, even when it came to the territories that the imperial nobility used to hold. Therefore, the idea of status was now truly meaningless. They were all student soldiers, and they were all equal.

“Even in this environment, they’re still holding classes,” Sarkegar said.

I nodded. “I’m not surprised.”

The teachers were serving in the army alongside their students, and they conducted not only combat-related classes, but also occasionally held classes related to general education.

Although the students were not made to take exams, it was a way of demonstrating that humanity hadn’t been annihilated yet.

Even if they couldn’t frequently conduct classes to educate the students for the future, they still tried to.

The same would be true for the Royal Class as well, although the Royal Class, which was even more important to the war effort, had little time for such general education.

The Temple had not been entirely erased. As long as there were students and teachers, education could still be provided. It was as if they were declaring that education wasn’t confined exclusively to the Temple.

Seeing all this left me feeling a sense of despair, but Sarkegar and I continued walking.

At the very center of the Temple camp leading to the Royal Class camp, I encountered the obstacle I had expected to face.

“A barricade...”

The Royal Class camp area was surrounded by a circular barrier.

I had already been informed of this before Sarkegar had begun to gather his information.

“As I mentioned, access to the Royal Class camp is under strict control,” Sarkegar said.

“Yeah... It seems so.”

“It appears too many people have tried to catch a glimpse of Ellen Artorius from afar, and some even attempted to infiltrate the camp.”

This was also something that did not exist in the original story.

In the original, Ludwig was the master of Alsbringer, while Ellen was just the hero’s sister. Once that was revealed, their fame skyrocketed, but it did not create this need to restrict access.

Was this also because of me?

Because of my existence, Ellen’s fame as my adversary had grown exponentially, and as a result, she received more attention from the rest of the Allied Forces than before. Moreover, her achievements during this Gate Incident were surely significant.

It seems she had even been stalked.

In the end, the army had to set up a barricade around the Royal Class camp, and soldiers were vigilantly keeping an eye out for unwelcome guests at the entrance.

Harriet had entered Ellen’s tent through teleportation. She probably hadn’t even passed through that entrance.

This identity I was using was useless. The barricade clearly stated that unauthorized personnel were strictly prohibited from entering, so no one could enter without a valid reason.

“I’ll go in,” Sarkegar said.

“...”

Sarkegar could enter the Royal Class camp by transforming into something other than a human.

I couldn’t do that, but Sarkegar could.

I already knew that.

Up to this point, I had been able to see everything with the exception of the Royal Class camp. That wasn’t entirely meaningless.

Bringing Harriet with me and teleporting into the Royal Class camp now would be absurd. Even if I made it inside in this form, I would still be an unauthorized person entering the Royal Class camp.

Disguising myself as a member of the Royal Class and entering was also a stretch. The Royal Class camp wasn’t that large, so it could lead to a crazy situation where two instances of the same person would be seen in the same place.

Sarkegar could enter without being detected and confirm who was inside.

In a secluded spot between tents, Sarkegar prepared to transform.

He could transform into a bird and fly in.

Having come this far, though, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

I wanted to see how everyone had changed. How everyone was doing.

Even though I knew it would only be painful.

There were still things I wanted to see with my own eyes.

“Sarkegar,” I said.

“Yes.”

“I’ll do it.”

“... Sorry?”

The image of soldiers smiling at the dog came to mind.

“The entry restrictions apply only to people, not animals.”

It was the people who were controlled, not the animals.

The presence of animals wouldn’t be considered suspicious in this environment either.

“Can’t I do it?”

“Your Highness...”

“No, I mean, I can at least try.”

I would be able to enter if I took the form of an animal.

I had never tried it before, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.

***

Sarkegar’s ability allowed him to transform into an insect or a drago, but I had never tried it.

An animal’s body and a human’s body moved differently, and there was also the risk of not being able to return to human form, which made me hesitant to even attempt it.

So, while I could transform into a human or demon form, I always tried to maintain at least a humanoid appearance.

Now, though, disguising myself as someone else and entering was impossible.

I wasn’t going to rely on secondhand information from Sarkegar. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. There would have been no need for me to come if I wasn’t going to see it with my own eyes but hear about it secondhand.

Sarkegar seemed doubtful about my sudden declaration to transform into an animal, but I was certain I would be able to return to normal. If not, I could use Self-Deception or Incantation or whatever.

There was no reason for me to be unable to return to my usual form after transforming into an animal, causing everything to go awry. There were contingency measures like Achievement Points for such situations.

So, in a blind spot in the Temple camp, where no one could see us...

Meow.

I turned into a cat.

Why a cat you ask? fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Well, cats are small, and even if I got caught while sneaking around listening to conversations, they’d probably let it slide because I was cute.

People tend to be more forgiving if something is cute.

If I turned into a dog, there was a risk of suddenly being leashed, which would be dangerous. It was also more difficult to stay hidden.

The items and clothes I carried didn’t fall to the ground.

I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Sarkegar’s ring had some sort of storage function, just like how Sarkegar did not become naked when transforming from an animal to a human.

The ring hung on my ear invisibly, like a piercing.

However, there was still a problem: it wasn’t easy to move my limbs.

How should I put it?

It’s hard to describe, but rather than moving my limbs, it felt like I was operating a machine I’d never used before.

It was like having to pilot a fighter jet even though I’d never flown before. Or maybe it was more like a mobile suit?

No, I’ve never piloted either, so it doesn’t really matter what I compare it to...

Brrrr...

I felt so useless.

My limbs wouldn’t move as I wanted them to. They weren’t even really human “limbs”. All four legs of mine wouldn’t move as I wanted.

I couldn’t even walk! Was my brain signal human-shaped, and unable to sync with the cat’s limbs?

And how did one even extend one’s claws?

Did I need to upload some kind of cat limb operation manual into my brain?

I was just standing there trembling, lifting my right front paw and then my hind leg, like a cat with Parkinson’s disease, unable to move forward.

Thud!

In the end, I couldn’t even stand properly and toppled helplessly over onto my side.

Brrrrr...

I just lay there on my side, trembling, unable to move properly.

‘Is it really this difficult? How has Sarkegar managed it all this time? If moving as a cat with four legs is hard, how does he manage to move as an insect, and how does he handle being a creature with wings?’

Meow!

Even though Sarkegar could still speak while in a different form, I couldn’t make any sound other than meowing.

“...”

Sarkegar quietly looked down at me as I lay on my side, trembling.

‘Why are you making things difficult for yourself?’ his eyes seemed to say.

Swoosh!

Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, Sarkegar transformed into a cat like me, but slightly larger.

Meow!

Hop! Hop!

Sarkegar hopped in place as if to say, “Try following me.”

Pop!

‘Why is my tail going up?’

The adult cat Sarkegar looked at me quietly and then shook his head.

‘You can’t do it. Give up. Return to normal.’

That was the message conveyed by his head shake.

‘No, I managed to transform, even though I don’t know how. I just don’t know how to operate it yet! Isn’t there a manual for this?’

Meow, meow, meow, meow!

I meowed incessantly, and Sarkegar stared at me for a long time.

Then he started tapping my paw, as if trying to teach me something, step by step.

I honestly had no idea what he was trying to teach me.

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