My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 134 The "Deal" with the Demon King

It wasn't until they burst out of the spatial rift that these giants in golden armor realized they seemed to have been left behind by the enemy.

So they quickly switched modes.

The expression on his face seamlessly switched from the fierce and frenzied excitement of battle to the gentle and warm smile of a normal priest.

They've truly mastered the art of face-changing.

Frum sighed: "How come your Holy See's paladins are still like this after hundreds of years?"

"By the way, where is the Chaos Brotherhood's Sword Guard Commander and his men?"

The blond man in the lead said apologetically, "I'm sorry, esteemed Ms. Flam."

"We were almost able to catch him."

"But at the last moment, a bright light suddenly flashed in front of us, and when we came to our senses, we were already back here."

Frum didn't say anything, but looked somewhat regretful: "Is that so?"

"Well, maybe it's a good thing for you guys."

"After all, the opponent is a genuine nine-ring legendary swordsman, and his strength is not weak."

"If that guy hadn't known it would take a lot of time to deal with you, he probably would have already taken action against you."

After saying that, Flam was also somewhat surprised: "But the Holy See actually sent three eighth-ring hero-level paladins and seven seventh-ring transcendent paladins as support this time?"

"That's quite a generous gesture."

"By the way, what's your name?"

Upon hearing this, the blond, muscular man bowed to Flam before speaking, "I am Gawain Langut."

"Currently a high-ranking paladin of the Holy See."

"Just before the Empire sent out its request for help, my colleagues and I were on our way to Blackthorn Territory."

"Hmm? What are you doing in Blackthorn Territory?" Flam asked curiously. "There shouldn't be anything here that would attract your attention, right?"

"Ah, I heard that there is a wraith causing trouble here. These seven brothers have just been promoted to high-ranking paladins, so I thought I would bring them here to train."

As Gawain spoke, a hint of regret remained on his face: "It's a pity that we discovered the terrifying storm that had been lingering around Blackthorn Territory had dissipated halfway there."

"Other warriors must have gotten there first."

"What a pity, it seems we'll have to wait for another time to witness this legend of slaying the dragon."

Nash: “…”

Silently stopped wriggling inside Roland's clothes.

Roland patted his chest pocket, not getting involved in the conversation between Flam and the paladin named Gawain.

He simply told Mash to drive the tank back and pick up the remaining wounded soldiers.

Mashu was happy to accept it, since she hadn't seen anyone who had learned it yet, and she couldn't find anyone to show off to for the time being.

Roland silently stood in front of Cellinina, then led Kalia and Cellinina away from the scene first.

Frum didn't care too much. Although the trouble in Blackthorn Territory was resolved for the time being, the real trouble was not over yet.

The second prototype.

Without a doubt, the Demon King's Hand prototype that appeared in Blackthorn Territory and fought against Kephas was not the same one that Roland and Iluvia had previously defeated and taken a gauntlet from.

Add to that the seemingly endless army of familiars and the unpredictable spatial teleportation...

Fram thought there might be more than three prototypes that had escaped.

Before escaping the seal and before the first mass-produced machine appeared, the first prototype that broke free should have already completed a lot of work.

If Roland's spells hadn't been specifically designed to counter these familiars, this war wouldn't have ended so easily.

"Ughhhhh, why are there so many troubles lately?!"

Frum grumbled somewhat irritably, then left the paladins behind and followed Roland into the city.

The Viscount's residence.

This building, situated high in Blackthorn Territory, is arguably the only one that has been preserved intact.

Since Viscount Paxson had never had a partner, nor any children or designated heirs, the mansion was effectively ownerless.

And coincidentally, this place became the meeting place and rest area for the commanders of the various reinforcements.

The other soldiers who were still able to move were helping to clear the ruins and rubble of houses in the streets and alleys, as well as to move corpses.

The town, which had briefly become a battlefield, has now fallen silent once again.

A light rain began to fall from the sky, perhaps due to the magical storm earlier.

But the rain did indeed dilute much of the blood and gunpowder smell in the city.

With all the nobles and governors of the territory dead, and the city garrison colonel seriously injured and unconscious and in critical condition, the de facto control of Blackthorn Territory now falls to Kefas, the director of the Inspectorate.

Fortunately, he didn't have much to do.

After the great battle, the task was simply to resettle refugees, clear the ruins, search for survivors, and eliminate any remaining enemies in the city.

Moreover, Federic, the commander of the Imperial Guard who was seriously injured but did not leave the front line and continued to fight the enemy until the end of the battle, also helped to handle some affairs.

If we disregard the casualties in this incident...

Even though Roland's strange magic intervened and secured victory in the blink of an eye, the outcome of the war was decided in an instant.

Even so, the casualties among the various reinforcements and even in Blackthorn Territory should not be underestimated.

There's no need to elaborate on the Blackthorn Territory's city defense forces.

The only confirmed survivor is Colonel Willins, and given his current condition, whether he can be saved remains uncertain.

The city hall was almost completely destroyed.

It can be said that the empire's power in this area has become merely nominal.

The casualties among other forces should not be ignored.

The Adventurers' Guild suffered the most casualties.

At this time, a large number of adventurers showed an incredible sense of responsibility, volunteering to cover the evacuation of disaster victims, and many adventurers sacrificed their lives for this cause.

The branch president, Cuban, lost his right arm, but at least he survived. I heard that he is currently inquiring with the mainland's historical research institute about whether there are any suitable prosthetics for him.

The reinforcements from the Mainland Historical Society and the city defense forces of Aslan arrived together.

They arrived at the most critical moment in Blackthorn Territory.

However, thanks to the various strange and powerful equipment the academy possessed, as well as the researchers' own combat abilities, there were surprisingly few casualties.

The only loss was a valuable magical mecha. According to current rumors, the Academy seems to be considering making partial claims against the Empire.

Forget it, this is a matter for the finance department to consider, not something I'm responsible for.

However, any forces that came to provide support, especially the various city defense armies and imperial guards of the empire, suffered heavy casualties when their officers or combat commanders were beheaded by the Chaos Brotherhood's sword guard commander.

If it weren't for the timely intervention of that paladin squad, the casualties would have been even more severe.

Kefas let out a long sigh of relief; for the first time today, he realized that he could not solve all problems with force.

Roland certainly has more ways to deal with the prototype of the Demon King's Hand than I do.

He could even sit still and eat while keeping the prototype stationary.

This might be considered the only good news in this Blackthorn Ridge incident.

At least the Empire did indeed possess a method to deal with the prototype. Thinking of this, Kefas looked at Federic sitting beside him and asked, "Have you seen Roland? Where is he?"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I did not see His Majesty Roland." Federico shook his head, then noticed that the wound on his chest seemed to have reopened, so he called the physician to stop the bleeding.

Seeing this, Kefas sighed helplessly: "Why don't you rest for a while? Once the priests from the Vatican arrive, your injury will heal quickly, and you can return to work then."

Federico shook his head: "No need, it's not a serious injury. Just stop the bleeding for now."

Kefas didn't try to persuade him further. While such an injury would be serious for an ordinary person, it wasn't a major, life-threatening injury for Federic, a warrior who was just a step away from reaching the ninth-ring legendary rank.

Once the bleeding stops, that's enough.

While Roland was agonizing over the post-war cleanup, he also began his first formal communication with the remnant soul of the Demon King within the gauntlet in his room at the Viscount's mansion.

While Kalia dragged Cherlinina away to help the people, Roland had to cherish this brief moment.

The Demon King's slightly weak voice soon came out from the gauntlet, urged on by Roland's will.

"Humans...what do you want from me?"

"Or do you want to make a deal with me?"

Roland shook his head: "Just asking some questions."

"A problem? Heh... According to normal procedure, I should reject you firmly now, but..."

The Demon King deliberately kept everyone in suspense, then said again in a low voice, "Well, you humans are quite interesting."

"Moreover, you have a very familiar aura... the World Tree, no... more than just the World Tree."

"Interesting. What makes you so highly regarded?"

"With the recognition of two primordial runes, you are indeed more interesting than other humans."

"Although you're not as interesting as that crazy woman who killed me with a single sword strike back then, you're not bad either."

Roland was speechless.

Why is this demon king's personality so strange?
This doesn't seem like a normal person...

No, this isn't a normal person!
But the other party's answer confirmed Roland's guess.

The Demon King himself did indeed know about the Primal Runestone.

After all, the answer was known to the rulers of the royal court, so it was impossible for the Demon King not to know it.

"Hehe, are you trying to ask about the Primal Runestone?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know either. Or rather, the remnant soul you are currently speaking to doesn't know any more information."

The Demon King's androgynous yet profound voice lingered in Roland's ears: "This is not a lie. If you want to know the answer, you only have two choices."

"First, it's also the last thing you're likely to do."

"That means finding the prototype of its thirteen Demon King hands and gathering my remnant soul together. To put it simply, it's about resurrecting me."

"Hehe, but I don't think the importance of this answer is so great that you would have to do this."

"Then there's only the second method left."

"You will know the answer to everything when you fight your way into the Northern Demon Realm and arrive at the Supreme Sanctuary of the Royal Court."

Roland paused for a moment, then silently swept both methods into the trash can.

Then, before Roland could speak, the remnant soul of the Demon King inside the gauntlet spoke on its own initiative.

"Human, if you would be willing to give me a little basic trust."

"I want to make a deal with you."

"If you help me accomplish this, I promise to give you all the magical knowledge within this remnant soul, how about it?"

Roland shook his head: "Making a deal with the Demon King? I don't have that kind of ambition."

"And knowledge of magic?"

Roland silently took out the large green ball given to him by the World Tree: "Do you think what's in your remnant soul is as much as what's in here?"

Demon King: "..."

Seeing the Demon King remain silent, Roland sighed: "As expected, how much can a wisp of a soul contain?"

"However, you can tell me what you want me to do for you."

"If the interests align and it does not harm the human community, I can consider it."

The Demon King laughed, his soft laughter echoing through the room: "You are indeed much bolder than I thought."

"Don't worry, it's absolutely in line with your interests, and even with the interests of humanity."

Roland was somewhat surprised by the Demon King's words.

Could it be that even you, Demon King, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, have betrayed the Demon Clan?
What's the point of the demons playing then?!

Knowing that things were not simple, Roland chose to listen patiently.

The Demon King slowly revealed his purpose: "I want you... to help destroy all the prototypes."

"The prototype of the Demon King's Hand?" Roland countered.

"Otherwise, what other prototypes would there be? I don't recall leaving behind that many things."

"Why?" Roland countered, "What good would it do you to destroy these things?"

The Demon King immediately replied, "Don't worry, this really won't do me any good."

"I just can't stand seeing other remnant souls lost in the three hundred years."

"They actually chose to cooperate with the madmen of the Amnesty Council... Ha, utterly depraved."

Roland had heard Flam mention the term "pardon society" that the Demon King spoke of; it was the old name for the Chaos Brotherhood.

Roland was somewhat surprised by the mockery of the other remnants of the Demon King's soul, but upon reflection, it wasn't so unexpected.

After all... the glorious scene of the Demon King's army and the human alliance joining forces to annihilate the Chaos Brotherhood is still fresh in our minds!

"Alright... I will provide you with methods to track the prototypes, as well as methods to interfere with their spatial teleportation."

"As for whether to do it or not... that's entirely up to you."

"Sigh... Is this brief period of lucidity about to end again?"

"..."

The Demon King's remnant soul suddenly fell silent.

Or rather... they've started talking nonsense again.

Although he had reverted to repeating the same pattern, two strange spells did appear in Roland's mind.

Its structure is completely different from that of human magic.

After checking the system, Roland learned the names and functions of the two techniques.

[Original Tracking: Binds to a wisp of soul energy, permanently locking onto the target soul's location until the target soul completely dissipates.]

[Spear of Boundaries: Consumes a massive amount of magic power to condense a spear capable of tearing through space.]

[Upon release, it can disrupt the stability of the current space or directly destroy the target space.]

[This can unleash a slash that cuts through space, but performing this action will consume a huge amount of magic power again.]

(End of this chapter)