Relying on the Empire alone, it was simply impossible to kill the Demon King. In fact, if it were only them, they couldn't even defeat the demon race. In the future frontal battlefields, when they wanted to reclaim their positions and lost territories, they still had to rely on the Hero of the South charging into the demon race's hinterland to sever their supply lines.
Without other human nations and the emergence of a large number of heroes, the Empire itself likely wouldn't have had much of a future. But once the former threat was no longer a threat, those who had once helped them naturally became the new threat.
Even back then, leaving aside the fact that Frieren and her companions had saved the world, Serie had also stepped out after hearing Flamme's will, teaching human magic and continuing Flamme's previous work.
So is killing demons destined to end with the fate of "the rabbit dead, the fox mourned, the birds gone, the bow put away"? Sure enough, the so-called great contributors, only those who die early truly get to retire with honor. Live too long, and you're bound to run into unpleasant things. Thinking of that pitiful future, Ash couldn't help but feel sympathy for what were probably the last two elves in this world who were about to be stabbed in the back.
But in a world that, whether in the past or the present, loved using its own nation's children as cannon fodder, this kind of thing happening, honestly didn't surprise him that much.
And the longer one lives, the higher the probability of encountering unpleasant things. After all, you can't expect every generation of emperors to be normal, or to remember what others have done for their people.
Still, this was only one of the reasons he wanted to make a move on the Empire. It was something Schlacht had mentioned in passing while explaining the future situation. The main reason was, before arriving at Aura's place, he had passed by a battlefield where two countries were already clashing.
The Empire had always harbored ambitions of restoring its former glory, and as a result, it was highly aggressive toward other nations.
This, in turn, caused the other countries to harbor deep hatred toward the Empire, and when the Empire was attacked, they did not hesitate to strike from behind.
From above, the two armies were already tangled together, fighting so fiercely it was hard to tell them apart.
All kinds of arrows and magic flew across both sides' formations, making for a truly spectacular scene.
But what was worth mentioning was, on the snowy ground of the northern continent, around the main battlefield where the fighting was taking place, there were also large numbers of frozen, severed limbs scattered about.
And more eye-catching still was that among those corpses, there were quite a few children.
"Who would've thought that while they're fighting us at the front, they're also fighting their own people at the back? Humans really are both interesting and savage," While watching the scene of humanity's internal war from midair, Aura's gaze unconsciously fell upon the corpses of children who still had weapons clenched in their hands. She asked in confusion, "Ash, if I remember correctly, human children shouldn't have any combat ability, right?"
"They don't."
"Then why are so many children armed?"
"Probably to exploit people's sympathy, thinking the enemy wouldn't strike at kids. And using war orphans and other kinds of orphans as expendable resources also eases the food pressure within the country, probably."
"I see. I've learned something," Aura nodded in sudden realization, but she still didn't quite understand why he had brought her to this battlefield, and couldn't help asking, "So what are you planning to do?"
"Because the thing I hate most is meaningless waste of life. And now, I'm going to completely put an end to this behavior."
Staring at the center where the two sides intermingled, Ash muttered words she couldn't understand. After telling her to wait here and not move, he dropped toward the ground in a free fall.
Faster and faster.
The people on the battlefield didn't notice the two of them at first. But as the color of the sky began to change, the soldiers instinctively glanced upward, and their expressions froze all at once.
Because, a blazing meteor was tearing through the sky, wrapped in purple lightning, falling toward the ground, their direction.
"A m-meteor! It's a meteor!"
"Sh-shoot it down! Hurry, shoot it down!"
"R-run!! Run!!"
The already chaotic battlefield descended into total disorder.
Many who feared that "celestial phenomenon" only screamed and fled for themselves, and wherever you looked it was a mess, with no discipline left to speak of.
And all the magic that tried to intercept it, just like before with the undead legion and the demons' spells, was completely twisted and shattered.
Then, the next moment—
BOOM!
With a deafening roar that seemed capable of tearing space apart, time itself felt like it froze.
The ground at the very center of the battlefield was instantly swallowed by the meteor's devastating impact. Sand, flames, and lightning filled the sky, intertwining into a chaotic, apocalyptic scene.
The soldiers at the center of the battlefield, faced with this sudden calamity, appeared so small and helpless.
Their armor and weapons were utterly useless before this bizarre "meteor." Their bodies were easily torn apart, turning into arcs of blood scattered all around, like withered leaves swept up by an autumn gale, bleak and desperate.
Firelight illuminated every face, carving fear and despair into them with brutal clarity.
And farther away, the soldiers who had been knocked over by the shockwave finally saw the meteor's true form as the dust cleared, and realized it was actually a man wearing a black cloak and a mask.
Before they could make sense of the situation, several dark purple spheres of light appeared beside the man.
"Killing magic," He slowly raised his hand, and the spheres instantly turned into purple beams, sweeping across the remaining soldiers.
Whether they were soldiers of the Kingdom or the Empire, before light-speed attacks, their armor, shields, and bodies were all like paper.
Hundreds, even thousands of soldiers were effortlessly torn apart by this killing magic. The blood sprayed through the air like blooming flowers, dyeing the surroundings red.
And across the entire battlefield, not a single person could stop that constantly moving, humanoid natural disaster.
What had already been a living hell became, in the blink of an eye, a massive free-for-all slaughter.
Wails, screams, and the roar of flames intertwined, forming a tragic symphony of the end.
The armies of both sides, attempting to rush in from afar, were forced to halt their fighting and temporarily retreat under the intimidation of that overwhelming power.
Making people without power fight was something that, no matter how you looked at it, was completely unnecessary. To enforce that principle, he decided to use this incident to deliver a warning to the nations, letting them know that someone would punish such behavior, and that it would only ever end in loss.
.
.
.
Only after delivering a devastating blow to the Empire's and Kingdom's battling forces, forcing both sides to abandon the fight and retreat, did Ash temporarily stop his attacks.
But it was only temporary. He then strolled across the battlefield as if taking a walk, and while the soldiers continued to retreat in panic, he arrived at the location of the Empire's high command.
Magic gathered between his hands, and the beams of killing magic instantly swept over the command tent responsible for directing the battle. He then quickly turned and went to the Kingdom's side, doing the same thing.
It was amid the chaos on both sides that he finally stated his purpose to the defeated remnants.
After killing the commanding generals and leaving a scene of devastation behind, he simply departed with several officers in tow.
After having Aura control those officers and extracting the information he wanted, he attacked the mansion of a nearby Imperial noble. With a casual motion, the soil and rocks of the earth were compressed and gathered, rising into the air in the blink of an eye.
Then, in the next instant, a massive sphere the size of a castle obliterated that mansion with unstoppable force.
After that, leaving behind words declaring it punishment, he silently moved with Aura, who was forming new scales from gathered mana, to another noble residence nearby to test the control.
If their will was too strong, they would be discarded. Fortunately, their will wasn't strong at all.
As nobles close to the central regions, they preferred elegance and indulgent lifestyles over displays of force. As a result, they offered no resistance and were easily manipulated by Aura, allowing Ash's first step of his plan to proceed smoothly.
That's right. From interfering in the war until now, none of his actions had been meaningless.
The deterrence on the battlefield was a display of power, but the actions against the nobles were what truly instilled fear in those responsible for conscription. Yes, those who died were the manipulated officers, the ones who had ordered the conscription of child soldiers.
Aside from trying to eradicate child soldiers and fulfilling, in his own way, the contents of the contract he had made with Frank not long ago, Ash was also using these high-profile actions to cover the quiet insertion of stakes into human society.
After all, his goal wasn't just the Demon King, but control over the entire world. The Empire was simply too troublesome, so he could only start by planting a few noble stakes.
That was why he left Imperial territory and turned his spear toward the Kingdom.
Although the royal capital here was protected by a barrier left behind by Flamme. It could be said that even now, that thousand-year-old magical barrier was still the greatest reliance of every nation against the demon race.
Even though they didn't understand its principles, and even Frieren herself didn't understand it, they could still use the remaining control methods, relying on internal personnel to operate it, allowing residents to enter and exit normally.
And this allowed Ash's highly deceptive appearance to directly breach the barrier from the inside. He manipulated the barrier and let Aura follow him inside.
"Even though it's not my first time in a human city, a royal capital with a barrier like this is really a first for me. You're quite capable, you know~"
Inside the carriage, Aura quietly pulled open a small gap to observe the surrounding streets, then lifted her leg and kicked him, who was playing the role of coachman up front.
Annoyed, he grabbed her ankle and tucked it under his arm, not bothering to say anything.
After resting with his eyes closed the whole way, when they arrived at the entrance to the royal castle within the capital—
"Who goes there!"
At the entrance, a line of knights in heavy armor drew their weapons in unison when they saw the strange carriage that didn't stop even after reaching the castle.
The "coachman" merely glanced at them. An invisible impact kicked up dust and paving stones, and in the next moment their legs left the ground, and like fish slapped by a wave, they were all slammed into the wall.
The tightly shut castle gates, along with the magic attached to them, were almost completely useless. They burst apart like paper under the purple light of killing magic. [T/N: Killing Magic AKA Zoltraek]
Ignoring the guards who hurriedly gathered in panic, the carriage leisurely continued toward the castle that served as the palace.
Raids at other times might have been difficult, but overreliance on a thousand-year-old barrier meant that the Kingdom's main forces and elites were either fighting demons or fighting the Empire.
The Kingdom's upper echelons never could have imagined that the ancient barrier they were so proud of would be breached.
As a result, there were barely any capable forces left in the capital. And so, Ash decided not to let this opportunity pass, choosing to replace the king and make this country his own, planting a crucial piece for all future plans.
———
[The Palace, Audience Hall]
While the king and nobles were in an emergency meeting discussing the abnormal situation reported from the front lines via magical communication, the doors were suddenly pushed open.
A soldier in heavy armor stumbled in, barely running a couple of steps before dropping to his knees, shouting in panic,
"T-this is bad! Your Majesty! Intruders! There are intruders!"
"Intruders? Wha—"
Before the king on the throne could finish, he already saw two "people" step into the audience hall. His pupils shrank sharply.
"Guards! Seize these t—"
Before his words could fall, Ash raised his hand without warning and swept it outward.
BOOM!
A powerful repulsive force sent the soldiers who had just rushed forward flying back even faster, cutting off the king's voice mid-sentence.
"Y-Your Majesty!", A great noble, face deathly pale, looked at the king, who was trembling like someone battered by a freezing wind.
"Y-you… who are you?"
Facing Ash, who looked around eighteen, somewhere between a boy and a young man, the bloated king, already over seventy, struggled to suppress his shaking, trying not to show fear and hoping to buy time, but—
"You can rest assured and go. From here on, I'll take your place and protect the Kingdom, keeping the people safe from the Empire and the demon race," Ash glanced over these upper-class figures and had no intention of conversing with them. After casually announcing this, he gestured for them to look at Aura.
The moment they noticed her horns, they all sucked in sharp breaths. Aura showed no mercy at all and directly took out the scales.
At once, everyone thought of that bizarre and domineering magic that existed only in rumors. They scrambled and crawled, trying to flee, but the moment the scales appeared, it was already too late.
"Obedience magic," With a malicious smile, Aura uttered the chilling incantation.
Everyone's bodies stiffened instantly. All of their magic power was placed onto the scales at once, and the result was—
Despair!
At least, despair for them.
Under the effect of obedience magic, the pampered royals and nobles were unable to offer any resistance at all.
The only exception was the bishop who bore the goddess's blessing. He collapsed to the ground and died without warning at the very moment control was attempted.
"So I really can't become a hero, huh?", Looking at the royals and nobles kneeling in no time at all, Ash couldn't help thinking of Frieren, who should have been setting out on her journey, and muttered softly,
"Though I honestly can't envy Frieren and those companions of hers anyway."
It wasn't sour grapes. Based on what Frank had once revealed, that party had once merely used impolite wording when meeting a country's king, displeasing him. The hero and the dwarf were bound and forced to kneel, only one step away from being executed.
Despite having the ability to break out by force, they never resisted the king's authority. And if becoming a hero meant being forced to accept the shackles and restraints imposed by kings who represented the law, he would rather not be a hero at all.
Compared to following rules, when he had the ability, he preferred to make the rules himself.
So he truly wasn't envious. It just felt like, occasionally playing the role of a hero might be interesting.
That was why he decided that once things here were settled, he would go find Frieren and her cheerful companions to hang out for a while, because—
"When I was young, I also wanted to be a hero," Looking at the kneeling king, he couldn't help but voice that sentiment aloud.
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