The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World

The enemy soldiers were still on the other side of the collapsed bridge.

No matter how grudged they looked, there was a deep valley carved by the river between us. It was our victory and we managed to escape.

On our side, the people, who were densely laid out into the forest, began to disperse gradually, and the very compacted state was being eased.

‘It’s going to be difficult to gather the refugees now. But it’s over already.’

“Do you want to raise a war cry?” (Liao)

Liao asked.

“Is it something like ‘Hey, hey!’? (Yuri)

‘It’s too much work.’

“No, there are enemies here, so why don’t you make a proclamation?” (Liao)

‘Like we’ve won or something? It may be better to do it. The fact that it’s history that we have won. Although we’ve had a hard time, I won’t feel good if we were told that we are running like a losing dog.’

“Well, it’s fine if you don’t want it.” (Liao)

“No, I’ll say it.” (Yuri)

“Is that so? Well then, use this.” (Liao)

Liao handed over a loudhailer. It was made of copper or something and it had a conical shape like a megaphone.

He had hung it on the saddle of his Galloping Bird since the time we met again. He probably bought it in Reform, but I had never seen it used. It was hung there all the time.

‘Is it finally the time to use it?’

“Sorry, let me borrow it.” (Yuri)

Then, I received a loudhailer.

—

‘Now, what should I say?’

I thought for a moment, and assembled the text.

When I tried to do so, it seemed to take an enormous amount of time. I wouldn’t be able to convince myself unless I sat at my desk the whole night.

While thinking about it, the enemy was probably getting bored.

‘It can’t be helped to go for ad lib. Alright.’

“Hey Crusaders!! You’ve been working way too hard to go up north, aren’t you!?” (Yuri)

‘First, I have to make fun of them.’

“I am Yuri Hou! Since I’m a bit short of hands, it wasn’t a fair war, but I want to think that this strange strategy is a part of the art of war!!” (Yuri)

I followed.

“This victory is the best gift to my first army!! Well then, be careful on your way home!!” (Yuri)

I concluded and declared it arbitrarily.

“Alright.” (Yuri)

‘Well, that should be good.’

“Uhm… I don’t understand a thing at all.” (Liao)

Liao said while looking discontented.

‘Well, it doesn’t make sense to say it in Shan.’

Anyhow, a man with a strangely fleshy purple cloak appeared on the edge of the bridge.

‘Is he the supreme commander of the army? Is it not the female Knight who put a cloth on the face and interacted with me? The purple color seems to be the color for nobles on their side. If the superior dressed plainly, the subordinates wouldn’t wear purple. As I expected, he should be the supreme commander.’

‘Could he be Epitaph Parazzo, the pope’s nephew? I suppose so. It’s hard to think that he would command such a penetration operation locally.’

‘Then, that woman who is wearing purple… is she his mistress? I don’t know. Should I collect information later?’

While thinking so, I looked at them closely, and…

“Shoot him to death!” (Epitaph)

I heard a voice from the side of the valley.

The man next to the man dressed in purple, raised a bow, and pulled it while aiming at me.

“It’s dangerous!” (Liao)

When Liao grabbed my cloth, the arrow had already been fired.

However, it wasn’t a sneak attack. Since I was looking at it from the point where he held the bow, I could escape it normally, but then, I thought it could hit someone in the back if I avoided it. Before the arrow hit someone, it was repelled and a metallic sound echoed.

The tip of Dolla’s broad-bladed spear repelled the arrow like a shield.

“Goodness, I guess they are fired up because of that joke.” (Yuri)

‘I wonder if he is fired up because of the proclamation earlier.’

“That’s not the problem. Anyhow, be careful.” (Dolla)

Dolla said.

‘I helped you a moment ago, you know. I mean, I also had a gun and I supported you. Since I’ve spent time preparing it earlier, why don’t I shoot it?’

I opened the gun lid and checked the inside of the pan. I thought the gunpowder had spilled when I was jumping and bouncing, but most of it was still there, and it remained still.

I held the gun and aimed at the man in purple.

Immediately after holding it, the surroundings noticed it and pulled the man’s shoulder and clothes in a hurry. However, the man looked stubborn and didn’t move.

‘That’s it, fire! Here comes the lead bullet!! With this scary gun, I’ll look like a Yakuza!’

‘That’s the feeling. Wait, is it different? No, it’s not a Yakuza. But I am courageous.’

‘Well, it’s not a distance that I can aim at him well, so it’s probably going to miss. Perhaps, the enemy used a bow and an arrow instead of a gun because he is an expert, and it has a higher hit rate. In exchange, the velocity is slow, so it’s not difficult to avoid.’

While thinking so, I pulled the trigger after correcting the error. The matchlock went off. The gunpowder exploded, and the roaring sound that occurred next to my ears made it numb.

I missed it. The bullet went to the side of his head, hitting the one next to him.

‘If I could make a cartridge with ammo, incorporate the mechanism to fire continuously, I can correct my aim right away. It’s not the same as correcting errors by reducing the size of the muzzle.’

‘As expected, the muzzle loading is sluggish. It’s going to be a problem in the future.’

‘Anyhow, one shot from that side, and one shot from this side. By the time I want to give another shot, the other side would probably have withdrawn. I can expect it.’

“You better run away! Pull your soldiers before our arrow comes!!” (Yuri)

I shouted loudly. Then, I turned my back on the battlefield.