Executed Necromancer – Chapter 20

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Chapter 20 – Invasion (3) / Wrong Choice

　

　

　

　

　

　

After that, the Demon Lord’s army continued its invasion.

Like an unstoppable wave, they marched on, attacking and destroying villages and towns along the highway.

Sometimes, they fought against the soldiers of the neighboring lords.

　

“Demon Lord, a scout has reported that an army is approaching from the east. Judging from the banners they have raised, we believe they are from the neighboring territories.”

　

At Wilhelm’s words, Ewaldt replied, “I see.”

Then he looked at me.

　

“Command of the army is now in the hands of my Queen. It would be easy for me to crush them, but that would be boring. This is a great opportunity to go on a rampage, so I will leave it to Rachel’s plan.”

　

Wilhelm looks at me.

　

“Wilhelm, how far do you think the army will get?”

“If we continue as we are, in another three hours they will be positioned above the valley ahead of us.”

“That’s not good.”

　

They would be able to freely target our Demon Lord army from above as we marched along the valley below.

　

“Then let’s stop the army just before the valley. Either way, it’s dangerous to go through the valley at night. Besides, an ambush is best carried out at night.”

“Do you mean to use the transportation strategy again?”

　

I shook my head in response to Wilhelm’s question.

　

“No, this time we will use a different strategy.”

　

And so we stopped the army just before the valley, and as Wilhelm had predicted, the army of a neighboring lord was waiting above the valley, hoisting banners with their family crests on them.

We’ll need to face them in order to get through the valley.

After Rodolphe, Hilde, and Wilhelm arrive, I spread out the map and explain the plan.

　

“This time, I need everyone to step forward.”

　

Here’s the plan.

First, the lycanthropes will disguise themselves as humans and infiltrate the army.

Then, they will sneak up on the enemy wyvern troops and mix alcohol into the water the wyverns drink.

Meanwhile, the Succubus Squad, Wilhelm’s Dragon Squad, and Rodolphe’s Werewolf Squad will each approach and wait nearby to avoid detection.

The Succubus Squad and Rodolphe will take charge of the troops on either side of the valley, leaving Wilhelm in charge of the highest position, where the commander was most likely to be.

　

“The Succubus Squad will use their captivate(charm) spell and have them kill each other, Rodolphe will meet up with the werewolves and launch a surprise attack, and in the confusion, Wilhelm and the others will eliminate the commander.”

　

Conveniently, our opponent has split into three groups.

Even if the commander’s unit holds the high ground, Wilhelm and his subordinates can fly, so they should be able to attack from above in one fell swoop.

　

“You can push them off the cliff if you want. If there are any survivors, I’ll have zombies and skeletons below.”

　

And so, the nighttime surprise attack was carried out.

The result was a victory for the Demon Lord’s army.

By deliberately placing zombies and skeletons at the bottom of the valley, Hilde, Rodolphe and their subordinates were able to move into the forest while their attention was focused on the valley floor, and the lycanthropes who had infiltrated earlier succeeded in intoxicating the wyverns.

Soon the armies on both sides of the valley were ambushed by a force of succubi led by Hilde and a force of werewolves led by Rodolphe.

Hilde and her companions used their charms to manipulate the humans into killing each other, while Rodolphe and his companions engaged them in battle.

However, Rodolphe and his men seemed to have made good use of lycanthropes who could disguise themselves as humans, and just as the humans had set up a defensive formation, demons suddenly appeared from among them, causing great confusion.

As the two armies fell into a melee, Wilhelm’s dragon forces attacked the remaining army from the sky.

　

“There wasn’t much of a response.”

　

Wilhelm said.

It seemed that both armies had noticed the strange behavior, but before they could act, they were attacked by Wilhelm and his men. Moreover, the wyverns were too drunk to be of any use, and there were not many mages, so it seemed that they were almost completely overrun.

With nowhere to escape, some of the humans had no choice but to head down the valley.

It goes without saying what became of them.

By the time the sun rose, the lord’s army had been annihilated.

　

“It’s good to see the Undead Legion growing.”

　

The more zombies and skeletons there are, the better.

This means relying on the power of numbers, but since each individual is weak, it is necessary to crush them with numbers.

　

“I’m happy when Rachel is happy.”

　

Lord Ewaldt kisses my cheek with joy.

　

“Aren’t you going to cut loose, Lord Ewaldt?”

“Oh, I’d love to, but I’ll save such trills for the Royal Capital.”

“Oh dear, the Crown Prince and Saintess Yuri are my prey, okay?”

　

Because I want to take revenge on the Crown Prince and Saintess Yuri myself.

　

“I know. What about the Duke Family?”

“What should I do? While arrogant about being the descendants of the Saint, they can handle Holy Attribute Magic reasonably well, so it would be a bit troublesome if they were to weaken the demons.”

“So, shall I eliminate them?”

“By all means, but Lord Ewaldt, would you really dirty your hands personally?”

　

Lord Ewaldt nodded.

　

“Indeed. Eliminating potential threats is only prudent. Besides, they must atone for their cruelty toward my precious Rachel.”

　

　

　

　

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“What the hell is going on?!”

　

With a thud, a fist was slammed on the table and my shoulders jumped.

In the conference room, every look turned to me was full of reproach.

It was the first time since I was born as Yuri Aizawa that I’d ever seen such eyes on me.

Rufus, who was by my side, hugged me protectively.

　

“Father, please calm down.”

“There’s no way we can calm down after this! Not only has the Arendt Front collapsed, but Fort Alphadia has also fallen?!”

　

Rufus’ father, the King of the Kingdom of Inglith, is trembling with rage.

In his hand was a map of the continent.

There were several red crosses on the highway from the Arendt Front to the Royal Capital.

　

“Not only that, but the city of Eschtlath and the surrounding villages have been destroyed by the Demon Lord’s army!”

　

The Demon Lord’s army is heading straight for the Royal Capital.

In the original “Sacred Fate(Seiun)“, there was a scene where the Arendt Front temporarily collapsed and the Demon Lord’s army invaded, but it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

In the original story, Fort Alphadia never fell, and it was unthinkable that they would invade the villages and towns beyond it.

That’s why I predicted that Fort Alphadia would not fall.

The King and the others felt at ease with that.

But by the time they realized it, the Demon Lord’s army was almost upon us.

　

“Then let’s ask for support from the neighboring countries. They should be aware of the advance, so they will send personnel to aid us immediately.”

　

Rufus said, and the King shook his head.

　

“I have been asking for that all along! But all the neighboring countries have turned us down!”

“Impossible… Why?

“It seems that demons have appeared in the neighboring countries as well. Due to the demons rampaging around the country, personnel have been allocated to dealing with them…… It seems that even among those damned demons there are some who are using their heads.”

　

I thought that was impossible.

As depicted in the original work, demons generally only ever charge forward.

This is because they are confident in their own abilities and they are not very smart.

So no matter how strong they are, the human side can deal with them if they take the right measures. That’s the way it should be.

As I stood there in shock, one of the senior executives glared at me.

　

“Speaking of which, I’ve been hearing some strange rumors lately. Apparently, Saintess Yuri is in league with the demons.”

　

My mind went blank at those words.

　

“What was that?! Who would say such nonsense?!”

　

Although Rufus spoke in a furious tone, the executive who said it replied without any hesitation.

　

“For example, rumors like ‘The prophecy was wrong in order to give the demons an advantage’ or ‘Saintess Yuri is not actually from another world, but from this world and is lying’ are circulating as if they were facts in the Royal Capital and the surrounding towns and villages.”

“Oh no, I was summoned from another world! I’m sure everyone here saw me appear through the summoning ritual!”

“Y, yes, indeed we were present.”

　

The executive nodded at my shout.

But I could see doubt in the faces of the other leaders.

　

“Besides, I’ve been helping you all, the human army, with my prophecies up until now!”

“That’s right. If Yuri were on the side of the demons, she would have acted sooner to give the demons the upper hand.”

　

The leaders exchanged glances as Rufus and I spoke.

One of them spoke up.

　

“A few months ago, you had the Duke’s former daughter, Rachel Sheringham, executed. What about that? As a descendant of the First Saint, the daughter of the Duke of Sheringham should have mastered Holy Attribute Magic. Wasn’t it premature to execute her?”

“Apparently, the former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham had studied and mastered all of the Holy Spells passed down through the Duke family. She was also able to weaken demons, it seems.”

“Yes, what a pity.”

　

And that made my face flush.

Regardless of the matter of becoming the adopted daughter of the Duke of Sheringham, as the Saint, I’ve been receiving holy magic training from them, but the lessons are so advanced that I can barely keep up.

Although I managed to perform some basic recovery magic, my Holy Sanctuary expansion, which weakens demons, only covers a radius of three meters, and even then, it’s pathetically faint.

In the first place, it’s still early in the original story, so the main character, Yuri, shouldn’t be able to use magic very well yet.

But the Demon Lord’s army attacking this early? That never happened in the plot.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even speak when they said out loud that I wasn’t strong enough as a Saint.

　

“But Rachel had Dark Attribute Magic. She was the one who was in league with the demons!”

　

The executive tilted his head at Rufus’ words.

　

“I heard that in the end, no evidence of that was ever found. And she never confessed, either.”

“Come to think of it, why did we decide to execute that young lady?”

“I’m sure the Saint claimed that the former daughter of the Duke would eventually bring harm to this country.”

　

All eyes were on me.

Except for Rufus, everyone else’s eyes were filled with doubt.

Even without being told, I understood the meaning of their gaze.

　

…Am I being suspected……?

　

They believed that I was the one who was in contact with the demons, and that by executing Rachel, a descendant of the First Saint, I was acting to give the demons an advantage.

　

“Th, that’s right! Eventually, when the Demon Lord is resurrected, the former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham would have offered her Dark Magic to the Demon Lord, and because of this, the Demon Lord completely regains his power. The former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham was dangerous!”

　

That’s what the original Rachel had done.

　

“Doesn’t that mean Rachel would have resurrected the Demon Lord?”

　

Rufus looks at me with a surprised expression on his face for some reason.

　

“Yuri, you said in your prophecy that Rachel would be involved in the resurrection of the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord was sealed by the First Saint. As I understand it, only a pure maiden who is a descendant of the First Saint can break it. Could Rachel have conspired with the demons to resurrect the Demon Lord?”

　

Rufus stares at me and I reply “Huh?”

　

…A pure maiden who is a descendant of the First Saint…?

　

Looking back, in the original work, it was certainly never depicted that Yuri was the one who broke the seal of the Demon Lord.

Although the story goes that Yuri says she will break the seal of the Demon Lord, and she does succeed in doing so, there are no detailed descriptions of the scene.

Come to think of it, why did Rachel follow her when she went to break the Demon Lord’s seal?

When I was playing the game, Rachel interrupted Rufus and Yuri while they were talking, so I thought for sure that she was just there to get in the way.

　

「…… Maybe you need Rachel to break the seal ……?”

　

…… If that’s the case, then what I’ve done is…….?

　

I instinctively cover my mouth with my hand.

　

“Saintess, you look pale. Are you okay?”

　

I shook my head in a panic at the executive’s words.

　

“I, it’s nothing.”

　

The fact that I’m trying to break the seal must never be known.

　

…… If that gets out, maybe …….

　

I shudder to think what would happen.

I accused Rachel of being in league with the demons and had her executed.

What if I’m judged as a traitor too?

　

“That’s right, the Duke of Sheringham’s daughter was trying to break the Demon Lord’s seal.”

“I knew it. There’s no other reason why she was connected to the demons. Executing Rachel was the right thing to do.”

　

I realized that my body was shaking.

Rufus held me tightly, but that didn’t stop me from shaking.

In order to enter the Demon Lord route, I planned to unseal the Demon Lord Faust.

But even if I said it was for the sake of peace, no one would believe me in this atmosphere.

On the contrary, just like Rachel, I would be accused of having ties with the demons.

The king opens his mouth.

　

“We don’t have time to talk about the former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham right now. What matters most is how to stop the demon invasion!”

　

I looked up and saw the king staring at me.

　

“However, Saintess Yuri, I do have my doubts as your prophecies continue to fail. I will have you placed under surveillance for the time being, and restrict your movements.”

“Father!”

“Rufus, you are not allowed to meet with Saintess Yuri. If you believe that Saintess Yuri is not in league with the demons, then there should be no problem with her being watched. Until the suspicions are cleared, I will not allow Saintess Yuri to meet with anyone.”

　

Even when I was told to stand down, I couldn’t move.

　

…… this is weird. Why are things different from the original?

　

It’s still early in the game, the demons should be struggling on the Arendt front, and the main character, Yuri, should be training and deepening his friendship with the capture targets.

The Arendt Front was supposed to collapse in the second half.

As I stood there in a daze, a female knight came in and pulled me away from Rufus.

　

“R, Rufus ……!”

　

My outstretched hand couldn’t reach Rufus.

Then I was taken out of the conference room and back to my assigned room.

After that, the female knights were at my side all the time, and I realized, even if I didn’t like it, that I was under surveillance.

　

…… Why is it different from the original?

　

When I think about where I went wrong, the words of the leaders from earlier came to mind.

　

…… Is it because I did something that wasn’t in the original story…?

　

Was it a mistake to have Rachel executed?

At this rate, I can’t afford to take the time to go to the Demon Castle and break the seal on Faust.

The Kingdom of Inglith may be defeated by the demons.

But because of the fact that many of my prophecies have been wrong and the rumor that I’m in league with the demons, I can’t make any rash moves.

　

…… What should I do?

　

Do I really need Rachel to break the Demon Lord’s seal?

Even if that was the case, Rachel was no longer with us.

A vague sense of anxiety crept up from under my feet.

The King said that the Demon Lord’s army was fast approaching, yet there was no help to be expected from other countries.

I guess the only thing we can do is use the country’s military, but for some reason, I feel extremely uneasy.

　

…… I wonder what will happen to this country.

　

The anxiety never went away.

　

　

　

　

　

　

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