Chapter 126
『It is His Majesty’s solemn command.』
“…I accept the order.”
The connection ended. Hillen Cargill let out a deep sigh.
‘A mountain beyond another mountain.’
Balancing between the Demon King and the Empire was already enough to make his head burst—
and now Hilderan had interfered.
Hilderan’s involvement itself was not bad in general terms.
Hilderan was also a great power. For the sake of retrieving their kidnapped crown princess, the support they would offer would not be small.
Their participation would clearly increase the chance of subjugating the Demon King.
But.
From Hillen Cargill’s position—as a subordinate of the Demon King—the loss outweighed the gain.
‘They could simply send an envoy, but they insist on coming through me.’
Perhaps they wanted to use his personal relationship with the Third Prince to smooth negotiations.
But at the same time, it was a sly attempt to firmly brand him as Hilderan’s hero.
Hillen didn’t want that at all.
But unless he planned to sever ties with Hilderan completely, he couldn’t openly refuse.
‘And if Hilderan joins in and they actually succeed…’
If things fell cleanly into place, that was one thing—but the Berze he knew was not a clean, simple Demon King.
If the Heroic March succeeded, and Hillen was on the verge of death…
Would Berze just let him go?
Honestly—he didn’t know.
‘The best-case scenario would be…’
The Heroic March succeeds, and before the Demon King can do anything to Hillen Cargill, his head gets cut off.
But that chance was extremely low.
‘I should talk to the Third Prince first.’
For now, he could only follow the flow.
And it was better to speak with the prince he knew than to report directly to the Emperor.
‘I’m supposed to be a hero who killed two Demon Kings, yet there’s nothing I can choose for myself.’
He erased his complicated expression and stepped outside.
As always, like Hillen Cargill.
***
Barely two weeks had passed. The Empire displayed terrifying momentum and completed the search party’s formation in an instant.
They secured cooperation from Dormunt, Korzenn, and Hoten, and dispatched imperial search units to each nation under the leadership of imperial royals.
An astonishing speed.
“The Empire’s drive is impressive.”
“As expected. His Majesty himself is concerned with this matter—not for succession, but for… other reasons.”
Hillen looked puzzled, so Martin whispered softly:
“You’ve already guessed it, haven’t you? That it’s highly likely the Flame Demon King is not the true culprit.”
“…You think so?”
“A matter-of-fact statement. What black mage confesses about the Demon King they contracted with? Their souls are collateral—everyone knows that.”
“Then why…?”
“Because it doesn’t matter. Whoever the Demon King is who tried to manipulate the Empire, His Majesty is more offended by the Demon King who still hides his Tower after all of this.”
“…!”
“See? It worked out well, didn’t it? Using this as justification, the Empire pulled support from the three kingdoms and the Hero Guild. They will find the Flame Tower—without fail.”
It was confidence—no, arrogance—born from believing that once they found the Tower, they could deal with the Demon King whenever they pleased.
And no one could say that confidence was wrong.
Hillen’s heart pounded.
Because he felt they might actually find the Tower.
“Finding the Flame Tower is the first priority. The true culprit will be dealt with afterward.”
Meanwhile, the search party advanced quickly toward the Kingdom of Korzenn. Daphner Philian joined midway.
“How did you persuade Sir Daphner Philian?”
“I did not persuade Daphner himself—but my elder brother, Prince Floyan.”
Searching was very different from the Heroic March.
Success or failure was unpredictable, and since the focus was on reconnaissance rather than combat, the search party was far weaker than the forces deployed in a Heroic March.
And the target of this search was the Flame Tower—
a place that had already defeated both Hillen Cargill and the Kingdom of Acan.
And it lay within Ergest, the most dangerous mountain range on the continent.
Failure was more likely than success.
Most imperial royals were unwilling to shoulder that risk.
They preferred to join later—after concrete results were achieved—because in the end, the only thing that mattered was who took the Demon King’s head.
Yet the Third Prince showed initiative because he was desperate.
If he endured all the risk and succeeded, he would gain far more than anyone else.
And the Second Prince, though uncertain the Tower could be found, supported the Third Prince by hiring heroes like Daphner Philian and adding them to the team.
There was no reason for the Third Prince to refuse.
Though he would have to share some credit, regardless of whether they succeeded or not, the continent’s greatest ranger—Daphner Philian—was someone he had to accept.
“I understand.”
Hillen nodded and approached Daphner. Since they’d be working together for a while, it was best to strengthen their rapport.
“Good to see you again.”
“Likewise. But where is he?”
“He?”
“His name was… Pale, I believe. The one with red hair.”
“You mean Lord Pale?”
“Yes, him. Aren’t you both members of the Red Hawk?”
“No. He simply assists me separately.”
“I see.”
Not wanting the conversation to drift toward Berze, Hillen quickly changed the topic.
“Thinking about it, back then we spoke only about my situation. I didn’t know you were also searching for the Tower at the time. Had I known, I would’ve asked you much more.”
In the past, after failing to find the Tower, Daphner Philian had sought out Hillen Cargill—the other failure.
Hillen had cooperated with him then, but had not heard much of Daphner’s own insights.
“If you still wish, I can tell you now.”
“Please do.”
With Hillen’s approval, Daphner pulled a map from his coat.
It contained the landscape of Ergest that he had explored and documented himself.
“I daresay I have traversed almost every part of this region.”
He pointed out section after section of the mountain range. Hillen suppressed the twitch in his expression with near-superhuman restraint.
‘…He passed the place where the Tower stands?’
His finger passed precisely over the Tower’s location.
“You mean you did not find the Tower in these areas?”
“For now, yes.”
‘The Tower is definitely there. So how did he fail to find it?’
It made no sense.
For it to make sense, only one possibility remained—
It made no sense.
For it to make sense—
‘The Demon King must have hidden something.’
Could a Tower even be concealed?
He had never heard of such a Tower.
Between the Empire and the Demon King—
Hillen’s wavering heart tilted slightly toward the Demon King.
Their discussion continued.
***
After all the detours, they returned once more to Hotenwalk.
Among the cities of the Kingdom of Korzenn, it was the one closest to Ergest. Naturally, any ascent of the mountains would begin here.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Beloff Korzenn, commander of the White Weasel Order and representative of the Korzenn Kingdom.”
The White Weasel Order was one of Korzenn’s most renowned ranger units.
They had bases not only in Hotenwalk but across the northern cities—exploring Ergest, subjugating monsters, and scouting the wilds.
Korzenn had gathered its best to search for the Tower.
“I did not expect to see the Second Prince of Korzenn here.”
“Finding the Demon King’s Tower is a duty we cannot avoid. Naturally, I take part.”
And not only him: one knight order, two mage battalions, and—aside from the Brown Weasels—two more ranger orders.
Three hundred elite troops stood ready, proving just how much they wanted to find the Flame Tower.
And desire quickly turned into action.
Only three days.
After resting briefly in Hotenwalk, the unified search party set foot into Ergest.
***
Search operations began simultaneously across all three kingdoms.
Berze could not monitor every region.
But Hotenwalk was different.
Hillen Cargill and the Red Hawk were embedded in the search party—his eyes and ears.
And Berze would pour most of his attention into Hotenwalk’s group.
Because it was the closest to the Tower—
and because Martin Jespine, his target, was there.
“The Third Prince has arrived in Hotenwalk.”
The scale was no joke.
Three hundred Korzenn soldiers, plus another three hundred from the Empire. Among them, fifty heroes—including Daphner Philian.
These were not ordinary soldiers.
Knights, rangers, magicians—specialty classes.
More dangerous than the Acan search party Cain once led.
“If Sir Daphner is here, isn’t that actually good for us? He already came this far before, confirmed nothing was here, and left.”
“That would be the best-case scenario.”
Normally, no one searches the same place twice.
But Berze couldn’t be complacent.
“There are two things we must accomplish.”
First, prevent the search party from approaching the Tower.
Second, separate the Third Prince from the group so Kaede can meet him.
“Easy work.”
The dwarf snorted through his nose.
“With the mana cannons, we can bombard them and scatter them in panic! Prince? Noble? Under a rain of cannon fire, status means nothing! When faced with death, humans scatter instantly!”
“Rejected.”
The Third Prince was not weak, but neither was he overwhelmingly strong. Against the barrage of hundreds of mana cannons…
He would not drift away from the group—
his organs would drift away from his body.
“Avalanches! Let’s trigger avalanches!”
Ernan shouted.
“We’ve already triggered many. Unless they’re fools, they will have prepared countermeasures.”
Acan had already blocked avalanches skillfully.
“Then we trigger one too big for them to handle—something grander!”
She crossed her arms. Four elves stood behind her in the same posture.
The water spirits they had summoned mimicked the stance perfectly.
“We shall show you the power of a dark spirit mage.”
“If the avalanche is too large, it’s no different from the mana cannons.”
“With spirits, we can quickly locate the Third Prince buried under the snow.”
“Not bad.”
Berze decided to keep Ernan’s suggestion in mind.
Then another princess raised her hand.
“Chimera. Destroy. Exterminate.”
“We are not exterminating them!”
“Not the prince.”
“You mean kill everyone except him?”
Lavinia nodded.
“There is one enormous flaw in that idea.”
“What?”
“You haven’t even finished making the chimeras.”
“……!”
They hadn’t even completed the golems yet.
The chimeras—naturally lower priority—were nowhere near completion.
“And let me make this clear: we must not inflict excessive casualties.”
Maybe it was complacency, but he couldn’t ignore the scenario where the Third Prince accepted persuasion.
Major losses would only weaken Martin’s position.
“Monsters.”
“We will use monsters to attack them.”
Right now, Kruutu and the Fuer Orcs were furiously mapping out monster territories in the mountains.
“Then… Cher?”
“You want to use Cher to capture him?”
“Yes. Fast.”
“That’s even worse.”
Cher was the signature chimera of Lavinia Acan.
If Cher appeared, it would reveal Lavinia’s presence.
Then Acan would no longer be engaged in a simple princess-retrieval effort: the kingdom would officially join the Heroic March.
A catastrophic outcome.
Jespine and Acan were hostile—but humans united when fighting a Demon King.
“To inflict minimal casualties and separate only the Third Prince… This is difficult.”
Ernan groaned.
“My lord Demon King.”
Elena, who had been quietly listening, raised her hand.
“…Um.”
“What is it?”
“Why not just go yourself?”
“Me?”
“He’s an imperial prince. Isn’t it normal for the Demon King to kidnap him?”
“Unfortunately, not this time.”
Normally, it would be possible.
But Daphner Philian was there—the hero most sensitive to demonic power.
Even a slight leak of mana would be detected.
“And besides, he has met me in my Pale form. He recognizes my presence.”
Whether he approached as Berze or as Pale—he would be discovered.
“But there’s an even bigger problem: not only Daphner but Hillen must be able to detect me.”
In the Hapstline gorge, no one noticed Bairif. Even Hillen didn’t truly notice—but as a hero who slew two Demon Kings, he had heightened perception.
To justify that narrative, Berze had acted in a detectable way then—
and now that justification had become a trap.
“What about using magic?”
“You haven’t properly learned magic yet.”
“I don’t mean me—I mean Lady Charlotte. She’s a sorceress with six inscriptions.”
“It would not work.”
Kaede voiced the opposition.
“The Empire respects knights more, but their magical forces are not weak. The mage unit accompanying my brother is the Platinum Shield Mage Battalion. They specialize in defense above all else.”
Every member possessed four inscriptions.
Their commander had six.
It was a force worthy of the Empire’s reputation.
“Too much.”
At that moment, Lavinia spoke again.
“Just all.”
“You mean—trigger the avalanche, then send monsters, then kidnap the Third Prince? Not separately, but all at once?”
“No.”
“Including the mana cannons too? Since, as Kaede said, they can protect the Third Prince sufficiently?”
“Mm.”
Lavinia nodded vigorously.
“…How exactly do you understand those tiny fragments of speech?”
“How could you not understand? It’s simple.”
“It is absolutely not simple.”
“For someone calling himself a dark elf, your language-interpretation ability is lacking.”
“Does it not strike you as strange that her words require interpretation at all?”
Berze ignored Gordon’s grumbling.
‘Not bad.’
Separately, none of the plans worked.
But if they struck like a storm—
wouldn’t cracks inevitably form?
‘And if even that fails to create an opening, I can just step in myself…’
Good.
“Then we’ll proceed with that.”
“Good?”
“Yes. It’s a good idea. Well done.”
Lavinia extended her hand.
“Demon King.”
“You think acquiring the Demon King’s by-products is easy?”
Lavinia stared steadily at Berze.
For a moment, he nearly gagged at the intensity of her anticipation.
But thinking about it—
if he gave her tiny bits at a time and continued making use of her, the benefit would be enormous.
Lavinia’s value was tremendous.
“If this succeeds, I’ll give you one scale.”
“Scale?”
Berze released mana.
His human-like skin rippled, and black scales rose to the surface.
“Waaah…!”
Her hand shot out, but in that instant the scales faded back into skin.
“Give.”
Like a golden goblin whose treasure had just slipped away, she looked ready to cry.
“I said I’d give it if this goes well.”
Lavinia’s gaze swept across everyone present.
She folded her arms and fixed them with the sternest expression she could muster.
“Do. It. Well.”
One word at a time—crisp and sharp.
She pointed two fingers at her eyes, then slowly aimed them at the entire room.
She was watching.