What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?

Although demons often kill each other, and the weak are ruthlessly trampled on... they are sometimes ignored, which is better than having to fight humans directly.

Of course, humans are not much different, often killing each other and ruthlessly tormenting the weak. However, demons are more likely to be prey to the strong, while humans are more social... It's just that the twisted aspects of demons are more varied in their ways of tormenting the weak.

Perhaps neither of them sees the other as quite normal, but—at least they don't have the energy right now to discuss such questions that only philosophers or sociologists ponder.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Ten - Parting Ways - Unexpected Military Service

Thanks to Ash's hornless nature, their journey north went surprisingly smoothly.

The herd of beasts traveled alone through the jungle. Ash drove the carriage and sat at the front as the driver, while Aura, hiding in the carriage, acted as a young lady, dressed like a Middle Eastern woman, with her head completely covered.

"Ugh, so boring, Ash, tell me a joke." Aura's complaint came from the carriage, but he retorted without thinking, "Don't bother me, I'm reading a book."

"A new book? What's so interesting about human history? You're really strange."

"I don't want to be like you, ignorant and incompetent." He occasionally gave the horse a couple of tugs of the whip, but his gaze remained fixed on the books he had recently bought from town, studying world history.

Aside from Aura, who occasionally paid attention to him and chatted with him when he had nothing to do, he also discovered something interesting in the ancient history book that was yellowed and almost weathered and given away for free as a bonus.

"...Five hundred years ago, humanity was born, and everyone could learn magic... The Great Magician Vlame had an even stronger master, who was even considered the magician closest to the goddess... The Great Magician Celia?"

Carefully flipping through the already tattered books, he felt as if he had discovered a long-forgotten and extraordinary being. He sighed inexplicably, "...If only I could learn from this person. Five hundred years ago, Vlame's magic was already far ahead of this era. Celie must be much stronger, right?"

"Those two couldn't possibly be teaching demons, could they?" Aura poked her head out from behind, rested her chin on his shoulder, and poured cold water on his enthusiasm without any mercy.

"...It was just a casual remark. Five hundred years have passed. Nobody even knows if Celie is still alive, right? By the way, your horn is poking my temple. It hurts a bit. Please don't stick it against me next time."

Ash can only feel regret for the legendary magician, whose description is only given in a single sentence.

If he had someone to teach him, and if he were the world's strongest mage, perhaps he wouldn't need to hide in these deep mountains like before, and the tragedy of that village wouldn't have happened, right? — He would often think this way after reading this book.

This is just a sigh, after all, time travel is basically wishful thinking.

For quite some time afterward, the two continued their journey at a leisurely pace, pondering together how to find a peaceful place to continue their magical research.

.........................

The air was quite cold and slightly damp in the early morning when the sun had just risen above the horizon.

On a desolate road that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance, a lone carriage slowly made its way out of the country... just as it was about to leave... a group of fully armed soldiers were guarding the border not far away.

"...Because during wartime, it's not allowed to leave the country freely?" Ash was somewhat troubled, and Aura's voice came from behind him: "Should we just kill them?"

"...Don't take action unless absolutely necessary. What if there are troops nearby?"

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say." Aura gave up arguing immediately.

Ash also got off the carriage, looked at the soldiers who surrounded him, and took out money from his pocket, intending to bribe his way through, but... things took an unexpected turn.

This group of soldiers wasn't like usual, easily dismissed with a little money. Instead, they wanted to take him away and send the seemingly young Aura back home.

The situation on the scene could only be described in one word—labor conscription.

During times of war, it's perfectly normal to conscript people for hard labor or as recruits, which made him understand why there was practically no one else on this road... because the locals all knew that soldiers were blocking the way to conscript men!

What to do? Take them out? Or follow them first and then find a chance to escape? Leave this place peacefully? — He hesitated for a while, then shook his head slightly at Awula, who was peering at him from a distance, and was taken away with Awula watching him go.

The two were forced to part ways at this moment.

Although Aura was troubled for a moment, she still chose to temporarily detour, leaving this war-torn country and continuing northward, because...

"Anyway, it's Ash, there's no way he could just die so easily~" With that thought in mind, Aura left without any worries.

Because Ash was absent, she had to avoid human habitation and take longer routes through the forest.

Whether Ash was lucky or unlucky was unclear, he was taken directly to the recruit camp and did not become a laborer to build fortifications.

Even when registering information, he mentioned that he knew magic and even gave a live demonstration, which successfully made him a battlefield mage and gave him seemingly decent treatment.

In the military camp, most of the country's magic was open to him, making him realize that he didn't seem to need to go north anymore. He simply stayed in the military camp, studying magic day and night.

Such days lasted only a month before he was issued a military knife and robes and joined the troops to march towards the enemy country.

That night.

The atmosphere in the entire mage corps was quite oppressive, because many of them, like him, had been forcibly conscripted into the army and forced into this war that was not of their own volition.

Ash and his three newly acquainted companions, being mages, received some preferential treatment; even during marches, they didn't have to walk but stayed together in the carriage.

Of course, the main reason was to conserve their energy so they could play a greater role on the battlefield, but...

"I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die...!" The young female mage sitting opposite Ash was huddled in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, her face full of gloom as she kept repeating the same words.

If you look closely, you can see that her body is trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman sitting next to Ash on the outside kept gently stroking a letter with her thumb... Ash knew her and therefore knew that it was a letter written to him by his daughter.

There's nothing strange about it. Most people on the battlefield rely on their family or lovers for support and hope to survive in this hellish place. It seems that even in another world, it's the same.

Meanwhile, the old man with a long beard across the street was holding a wooden goddess statue and praying incessantly... But after spending time together, Ash knew that he was not a believer in the Goddess of Creation, but was just trying to curry favor at the last minute.

Whether last-minute cramming will be effective or not, the upcoming battlefield should provide the answer.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years From Now On: Chapter Eleven - The True War

Compared to his teammates, Ash seemed the calmest.

Although the war and hatred here do not belong to him, and he is truly just a passerby, at least now... even if he is unwilling, he has been drawn into the war.

He had already experienced the small-scale wars in the forest and villages where the strong preyed on the weak, which was much better than what these people who were also drawn into the conflict had gone through.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his composure that he became the leader of the four-person team in the carriage.

"Ha... I hope this war ends soon."

Or would it be better to find a chance to leave this godforsaken place? — He concealed the latter part of his true thought and slightly lifted the curtain of the carriage.

Outside the carriage window, the vast, snow-covered plain stretched as far as the eye could see, and the distant forests, like emeralds inlaid on the white earth, reflected the faintly glowing sky.

During the tedious march, time seemed to have flown by into daytime, but Ash was unconsciously mesmerized by the beautiful scenery outside the window.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of snow, but unfortunately, the sound of horses' hooves pounding the snow ruined the scene.

After a long while, at the end of the boundless snowfield, the quiet streets of a small town appeared before him, yet they seemed exceptionally desolate.

As the army gradually approached the landscape, the dilapidated houses and recruitment notices everywhere filled his field of vision, instantly making him feel bored.

"It's already daytime. We should be at the front lines soon after we finish eating," he muttered, closing his eyes.

It doesn't usually snow in the southern countries, but this place is located on a plateau and is covered in ice and snow all day long. What the two countries are fighting for is control of this snowfield.

.......................

Not far from the town, in stark contrast to the previous beautiful scenery, were two armies lined up in neat rows.

However, the enemy's front-line troops appeared somewhat disorganized, but... that seemed to be understandable.

Because at the very front were a group of children, averaging no more than ten years old. They were both boys and girls, with lifeless eyes and carrying long swords. Clearly, they were the frontline cannon fodder and psychological shields.

Image: "Child Soldiers", Location: "Images/1720600130-100409035-111875587.jpg"

"...Don't their parents have any objections? Aren't they afraid of causing a riot? Or are they all orphans?" Ash couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The middle-aged woman who had been sitting opposite him in his squad a while ago wore a complicated expression upon hearing this: "What parents? These are all war orphans..."

"Really? Then we're doing alright here?"

"...Pretty much, but we still have some resources left, though it's hard to say what will happen in a while. So, Captain, if I die, could you please take care of my child? I don't want my child to suffer the same fate..."

"Wait a minute, we've only known each other for a month, and you're saying this?"

"...But right now, Captain, you seem the calmest, so..."

"Is it only me who can ask for this?" He nodded silently, but couldn't help but sigh, "Even if I leave this war, I won't stay here, so I can't accept your request."

"...You're really going too far. Even if you're just trying to comfort me, you should at least agree to it now."

“I don’t like lying, so you’ll have to figure out how to survive.”

After that, he ignored the middle-aged woman with a mournful face and focused intently on preparing for the impending conflict.

After a brief reorganization, the sound of war drums began to echo across the open fields, and the army began to march out in neat formation, raining arrows down on the enemy's vanguard.

The mages followed closely behind, their wands flashing as they began to conjure powerful spells.

In this somber atmosphere, Ash mingled among them, symbolically playing his role by throwing fireballs at the dense crowd.

It turns out he just wanted to take advantage of the chaos, do a half-hearted job, and find an opportunity to escape... But the reality was more severe than he imagined.

Just as the two armies were fiercely engaged in battle, a cavalry force that appeared out of nowhere suddenly charged out from the flank, like a sharp sword, piercing through the support troops protecting them, and charging towards them with swords raised in the dust.

Magicians of this era generally use magic very slowly, and they are especially lacking in means to deal with sudden attacks, which is why they were given sabers in the first place.