On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The war didn't only happen in one place; the Antares Army was also attacking the territories that Layland liberated. The main focus of the war was, of course, Brontes Dukedom, the biggest and closest territory to the capital.

Neroel and Celia were there to lead the Dukedom's army to fight the Antares Army. The fight wouldn't be an easy one since the number of soldiers that would fight alongside him was severely limited--most of them were sent to the main war and the small independent territories.

Despite so, Neroel was still sure of his victory. He had Celia with him, who had a superb healing ability. Limited as it was the number of soldiers he had, with her healing ability, they would still be able to fight even after being heavily injured. Added to that, luckily, Paladins and Priests were also not involved in this battle.

"The enemy's general is Warlord Benedict Evilas. He was one of my father's disciples and I know well about how capable he is," to each of the military unit commanders, Neroel said. "Avoid him at all costs. Your goal is to kill as many people as possible, not to die heroically."

The military unit commanders nodded their heads in agreement. In normal battles, it wasn't unusual for the subordinates to sacrifice themselves for their commanders, but it couldn't be allowed in this battle; they needed to maintain the number of the troops, so they had to let Neroel face the enemy's general himself.

"Some Elite Knights are also fighting in this battle but I hope none of you falters. Even though you are merely Dukedom Knights, you are elite too. There is not much difference between the Kingdom's Elite Knights and you. They are just slightly more talented than you but many have less experience than you."

Neroel used to be the youngest Warlord alive before his father's betrayal. He had spent a lot of time at the palace, learning from the best Knights and Swordmasters. He knew what kind of people that were mostly recruited by the Kingdom. Those who had talent and rarely lost.

It was one of the reasons why his father was still the best Swordmaster despite the unstoppable emergence of rising stars that were more talented than he was. Since they had never been on the losing side, they were reluctant to lose even if it was for the sake of their growth.

Because of that, they lacked experience. Still, with their talent, they could learn new Techniques and integrate more Spells into their combat; even without the experience, their sheer talent helped them win the battle most of the time.

Neroel didn't say anything about that, though. He wanted to make the Dukedom's army feel confident and doing so would only kick their morale down.

"Let them taste the power of the people who have roamed the world more than them. Don't worry about Benedict or getting hurt. Celia and I will take care of these problems."

"Understood!"

"Then, go organize your soldiers."

The military unit commanders got out of the meeting room, leaving Neroel alone. He heaved a sigh of relief and then slumped into the nearest chair.

"Not a good appearance to show to your subordinates, isn't it? Everyone is looking up to you, you know?" a woman said as she entered the room.

"Is it finished, Celia?" Neroel asked as he turned his head to the right.

"Yes...but, as I said, we can't rely on it too much. The amount of Holy Power I can use to power it is not limitless. I hope we will only have to use it when it is necessary."

What Celia and Neroel were talking about was the Holy Relic that she had, which would allow her to temporarily make the Elite Knights of the Dukedom immortal within a limited time. She had been storing her Holy Power inside it, which would then be used for that purpose.

It still didn't mean that the Elite Knights would be unkillable, though. They still needed to be careful since they would still die if their hearts or heads were destroyed.

To prevent the Elite Knights from getting reckless, they kept the existence of the Relic a secret; they wanted it to be a surprise both for their allies and their enemy. Of course, it would be better if they didn't need to use it at all since it would heavily burden Celia.

"Very well. Let us do our best."

Standing up from the chair, Neroel walked out of the room, followed by Celia. They got out of the city hall and then stood before the 15,000 people that would fight against the 25,000 soldiers of the Antares Army.

Neroel didn't say anything but Celia raised her staff into the air. The tip of the staff shone brightly in gold, grabbing the attention of the people before them.

"May the right prevail!"

"Oorah!"

The people cheered as the light shone brighter. Their spirits burned brightly; they didn't even register the march to the battlefield due to their excitement. The moment they saw the enemy's army which wasn't far from their Dukedom--the moment they were given the order, they fearlessly charged forward.

The battle in Brontes started last but was the first to end. Neroel managed to splendidly defeat Benedictus in one-on-one combat and Celia did an extremely good job at fulfilling her role as the sole healer of the army.

Many people fell yet it was still an incredible victory considering the discrepancy in the number of personnel between the Dukedom's army and the Antares Army. The number of people that fell in the battle in the independent territories wasn't a lot but that was because they had enough personnel against the Antares Army.

In short, the battle to defend the liberated territories was a massive success.

....

"Good. Antares will completely be ours when this ends."

Hearing the news about the war in the territories Layland liberated from his investigation squad, a soft smile crept up Jovenus' face. Unlike the other Demon King's Generals, who were focused solely on the battlefield, he kept himself updated about the happenings outside the battlefield.

This habit of him had saved the army a lot of times. Whenever their enemy was calling a backup, Jovenus would always know; thus, they could prepare a countermeasure for the backup and still win the battle.

"Very well. I think it is time to end the battle."

"Are you going to go for the King, General?"

"Yes, I am, Kruff. By the way, why are you here?"

At the question, the friendly Orc smiled sheepishly. "I was roaming the battlefield when my instinct screamed at me. Being the coward I am, I retreated and here I am."

"Coward, huh?" Jovenus smiled. "If being extremely careful makes us one, then I am a coward too." Shaking his head faintly, he asked, "Will you join me?"

"Ah, sure. Nothing beats the pleasure of fighting alongside a Demon King's General."

The two kicked the ground and breezed through the battlefield like an unstoppable bullet train. Some dared to stand in their way but ultimately regretted their choice since they couldn't do anything as their bodies were cut or shredded to pieces.

Jovenus was keenly looking at Dulorand who was also advancing toward him. A frown adorned his face as he wondered why the King dared to do something like this. Human Kings were advised to not meet the enemy's General directly. There were exceptions, yet most of them simply lacked the power to come out on top.

Jovenus soon understood why Dulorand dared to do it. The young man running beside him--the last Hero, Mark Lane was the reason. Jovenus had heard the news about Mark but he was still baffled by his new appearance. He could tell Mark was dying but he was still amazed by how drastic Mark's power had grown.

"This is the one targeting me."

"What?"

Kruff's muttering caught Jovenus' attention. Even before Jovenus could ask anything, however, Kruff stopped in his tracks. At the same time, Mark disappeared from Dulorand's side and appeared right before Kruff. The Hero delivered a kick, sending the Orc flying.

Jovenus clicked his tongue in annoyance due to his unanswered curiosity but he soon ignored Kruff and focused on Dulorand. The King had a Holy Relic that contained Divinity with him and Jovenus needed to be careful, lest he wanted to perish ridiculously.

"Your opponent is me, Demon!"

"Kruff, you have to be on your own."

Clank!

As Jovenus and Dulorand clashed, Kruff, who had just regained his posture, skidded on the ground.

Shrrk!

He coughed up a mouthful of blood as soon as he stopped skidding and clutched his caved-in chest. He was lucky that he had a high regeneration rate; had it not been the case, he wouldn't even be able to stand at this point.

"My Instinct tells me that you are a dangerous Monster."

Quirking his eyebrow as he looked at Mark, Kruff smirked at his remark. "Really? I didn't know there was also a human like you that trains his Instinct."

"Your smirk is irritating--reminds me of that bastard Layland," Mark muttered.

"Oh? My junior's behaviour has slightly rubbed off on me, it seems."

"Junior? That bastard?" Mark frowned lightly before a smirk appeared on his face.

Kruff was instantly washed with Mark's intense hatred toward Layland. His Instinct screamed at him and he couldn't help smiling nervously.

"What a jackpot. I can kill you and rub it on his face later. His expression will be priceless, I am sure."

Kruff stopped trembling after he heard what Mark said. He channelled his Demonic Mana into every fibre of his body, causing it to grow three times bigger than its usual size. Bulging veins decorated almost every part of his body. His Mana Pressure was ten times heavier than it was before.

Looking at the unimpressed Mark, his nervous smile turned into a soft smile. The day that he had been anticipating had come.