Taking Qual and winding their way around the defensive checkpoints of the Northern humans, they spent another month on the road. Three months had passed since Nanoda left the 'Love and Peace' New Demon Association stronghold.
Just as they were about to reach the stronghold, a figure popped out from the bushes.
"Wuwuwu, I'm sorry! Our new home is gone!"
A disheveled Aura wiped fake tears from the corners of her eyes, clinging to Nanoda's thigh as she wailed. She was terrified that Nanoda, in a fit of rage, might order her to slit her own throat.
Having stayed with Nanoda for so long, Aura already knew that Nanoda was a fellow with a heart as soft as a human's; if she acted miserable enough, she would likely be forgiven.
"Where is your dignity as one of the former Seven Sages of Destruction of the Demon King's Army?"
Qual felt he was starting to look down on Aura. Crying and sniveling like a human—what kind of behavior was this? However, he also became curious about how Aura could display such a rich variety of expressions.
"Eh? You are the Sage of Corruption, Qual? You're actually still alive?!"
Aura was somewhat astonished. Just where had Nanoda dragged this titan from? Back in the day, this Qual wouldn't even give face to Schlacht, acting willfully to push the battle lines forward just to experiment with Killing Magic.
"Hmph, this old man was merely ambushed and sealed by cunning humans. They could do nothing else to me."
White smoke puffed from Qual's mouth, and his expression turned ferocious, startling Aura.
"Alright, what exactly happened? Where are your soldiers?"
Separating the two who were starting to bicker, Nanoda frowned. she hadn't expected the accident of having her base stolen to occur.
"Just a few days ago, a group of human troops arrived... We couldn't beat them. Only myself and Aura are left, along with Hafleet, who fled during the chaos."
Linie, clutching her injured arm, also walked out slowly from the side.
"Now our stronghold has been occupied by them. Those damnable guys not only have elite knights but also several powerful Mages. Hmph, if my Magic of Obedience were available, it wouldn't be their turn to be arrogant," Aura added from the side.
Nanoda now felt some regret. Because of her orders, Aura couldn't harm humans. Otherwise, with Aura's strength, the stronghold wouldn't have been lost so quickly.
"Sorry, I bear some responsibility for this matter as well. Aura, I am now amending the order that you cannot harm humans. In moments of crisis, I allow you to think of ways to subdue humans, but you cannot kill them casually."
"Alright, now let's think about how to retake our stronghold."
Nanoda patted Aura's head, signaling her to relax. She then turned her head to look at Linie on the side.
"Linie, how is your injury?"
"Nothing serious. I'll be fine after a few days of rest, Lady Nanoda."
Linie nodded slightly.
"King, let me simply use Killing Magic to blast them to pieces."
Murders intent radiating from him, Qual lifted his leg, preparing to leave.
"Stop. You are not permitted to act without my orders."
Hearing Nanoda's command, Qual hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stopped.
"This old man... obeys."
Witnessing such a rare scene, Aura immediately leaned into Nanoda's ear and whispered softly, "What did you do? How is he so obedient?"
Feeling the faint fragrance from Aura's hair, Nanoda spread her hands, indicating that she didn't know either.
"Let's scout for intelligence first. Do you have any relevant magic we can use?" Nanoda asked everyone as she gathered them together.
*
"His Imperial Majesty is really too much. Why do we have to take such a long detour to launch a sneak attack? Wouldn't it be better to just crush Gaderia head-on together with Mannier's army?"
A man wearing silver armor with gold trim and carrying a ruler-shaped heavy sword on his back yawned in boredom. He was the commander of this unit, named Zari.
Beside him, a Mage wearing oval glasses and a green robe, holding a brown-black wooden staff, smiled and offered a word of advice.
"If those small titled clans on the frontier found out that His Majesty the King wanted to actively eliminate them, it would be troublesome."
"Vincent, you're a Court Mage at any rate. Instead of enjoying blessings in the palace, why did you come along with the troops?"
Vincent pushed up his glasses and spoke somewhat mysteriously.
"Supervising someone with a violent temper like you is one reason. The most critical reason is that His Majesty lately dislikes Mages wandering in front of him. Some Court Mages have already been beheaded by him; taking refuge is the second reason."
"Hmph, you're a cunning guy too. However, why would there be a Demon Race stronghold here?"
Zari reached out and touched his stubble; he didn't like these clever types.
"Hahaha, who knows? But isn't this even better? The script has already been arranged: Gaderia colluded with the Demon Race to commit crimes; Earl Mannier actively dispatched troops to crusade against them; subsequently, Gaderia was betrayed by the Demon Race and annihilated; Earl Mannier's army recovered the lost territory. And we... we are those betraying Demons."
"It's the idea of those insidious fellows in the palace, isn't it? I am merely executing orders."
Zari looked displeased. He still preferred fighting wars against the Demon Race. Trampling those arrogant alien races always brought him a sense of accomplishment.
"I'll go tell the soldiers to rest well first. When Mannier and Gaderia have fought to a stalemate, that will be the time for us to move out."
Zari waved his hand impatiently, signaling Vincent to leave quickly.
Vincent left the military tent and walked quickly toward the house that originally belonged to Aura. A Mage and a knight were guarding the entrance.
"Lord Vincent."
Seeing it was one of the two leaders, the two bowed in greeting.
"I need to use magic to inspect whether there are any traps left by the Demon Race here. Do not disturb me, and don't let anyone in."
Vincent waved his hand and pushed the door open to enter.
After closing the main door, Vincent licked his lips. Very skillfully, he walked to an empty room and reached out to press a brick on the wall. A small hole immediately appeared in the ground, with stairs connecting to an underground bunker.
"Heh, Zari, that fool who only knows war. The treasures hidden by those Demons will all be mine!"
Vincent walked down slowly, igniting a flame in his hand for illumination. Looking at the resplendent gold and jade before him, he couldn't quite suppress the excitement in his heart.
Clatter.
He seemed to have stepped on something underfoot. Vincent looked down.
It was a gorgeous golden scale. The only flaw was a scratch remaining on the beam.
"Eh? Where did my Scales of Obedience go?"
After receiving permission to use the Magic of Obedience for combat, Aura was surprised to discover that the Scales of Obedience she always kept at her waist had vanished into thin air. Without the enhancement of this exclusive magic item, Aura would be unable to fully release the Magic of Obedience.
Nanoda, who had just had Qual detect the enemy troop disposition within the stronghold, was covered in black lines of frustration.
"How do you drop the ball at the critical moment?"
"Ehe."
____
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