Chapter 452

Edina Island's main port city and capital, Lazark, had only one small warp gate. Even shortly after the incident, Reinhardt and his people arrived and began to deal with the situation on a large scale. Elerys arrived in Lazark and fearfully destroyed the warp gate, while Liana summoned lightning to sweep away the monsters in the vast area. Reinhardt, Olivia, Le Ruin, and Galarsch focused on eliminating the monsters in Lazark. Despite the situation being resolved fairly quickly, the gate incident left an indelible scar on Lazark. Many buildings were burning, and the streets were filled with corpses. The gate incident caused fear and confusion among people. It was difficult to deal with the monsters properly in the midst of fear and panic, and even if they did, significant damage was inevitable. There were no powerful wizards or combat troops stationed at locations where small warp gates were installed. Even though they responded on the first day, Lazark suffered significant damage, and it would not have been much different elsewhere. Cities with powerful wizards and knights stationed there were inevitably equipped with large warp gates, and the number and size of monsters that emerged were also enormous. Liana and Olivia were speechless at the sight of Lazark, which had become a living hell in just one day. Even if it was done to save Reinhardt, this was an incident caused by the minions of the Demon King. Elerys, who had operated Akasha with her own hands, could not say anything after seeing the depth of her own sin. The situation in Lazark was somewhat sorted out, so they gathered in front of the main gate of Angel Capital. Baliye, Elerys, Le Ruin, Galarsch, Olivia, Airi, and Harriet and Liana were all there. Everyone was looking at Baliye quietly. Elerys, who had operated Akasha, could not lift her head. However, there was no sense of despair in Baliye's expression, who had become the starting point of all this, even though everyone was feeling miserable and helpless, even though it was not their fault. The Demon King seemed to have no concern for such things. "Since Lazark has been sorted out, we don't have time to waste. It seems that we can handle the monsters coming out of the small gate ourselves... Airi, how many islands have small warp gates installed in the archipelago?" "Saint Louis, Port Lambs, and Greenwind." "Okay, then let's divide into three groups. Elerys, take Liana and confirm the coordinates of Saint Louis and go there. Port Lambs will go with Thursday's Gaju-nim and Senior Olivia. Greenwind will be taken care of by Friday's Gaju-nim with Harriet, who will return soon." The plan was to divide the troops into three different ports that could be considered major cities in the small Edina Island. The Demon King's judgment was that only two people from those present here would be enough to deal with the situation caused by the small warp gates. "We have to move quickly. If the monsters destroy the city and escape, we may have to fight a tedious cleanup battle." Baliye gave only brief instructions about what to do next, as if there was no time to spare for contemplation on the tragedy that had occurred. Although it seemed like the attitude a leader should have, it also seemed excessively cold. But an order was an order. Following the Demon King's command, the road vampires began casting spells. As the situation was still dangerous, those hiding in Angel Capital watched the rescuers beyond the main gate in silence. Baliye did not even glance at them. Although it was his role to save them, once they were saved, they were no longer his concern. "Airi." "Uh, yes...?" Airi still didn't know what was going on. Baliye spoke only about what he had to say. "Let's go to the Edina Palace." "The palace...? Why?" "From today on, I'm going to be the king here." It was as if he had decided it, so it would be so. Baliye seemed too indifferent about everything. Translation: Just like the current Demon King doesn't express any of his feelings about anything, Ellen, who considers himself the culprit of this situation, didn't have any different thoughts. Similarly, the knights of Shanael who hunted the last giant monster arrived where Ellen was. "Ellen... why did you help the Demon King escape?" Sabiolin Tana asked Ellen. Ellen looked at her quietly. Until now, he had been too busy dealing with the situation to be questioned, but now he had to speak up. Ellen helped the Demon King escape. There were no casualties, but his actions may lead to another future war. However, Ellen did not make any excuses or rationalizations for his actions. He did not say that it was because they did not trust the Demon King that this happened. Ellen himself did not trust the Demon King either. "Are you going to arrest me?" "...." "You can't do that." So Ellen explained the reality to the Empire, not the reason. He was not just an ordinary sword master, but a sword master with two relics. In fact, Ellen had killed more monsters today than anyone else, except for Sabiolin Tana. He had slaughtered piles of powerful monsters that could turn a whole village into ashes in just an hour, not the smaller monsters that came out of Edina Island. It was impossible to treat Ellen as a criminal when only one person was missing. If everything was settled, the Empire should be grateful for Ellen's cooperation. "Please tell me where I should go. There are many dangerous cities." Ellen felt a sense of responsibility for this situation. "And if there's an awakening potion, please give it to me." That's why Ellen had no intention of resting. There was no time to be sad or depressed. There was no time to regret his actions. Just like he didn't blame himself for the disaster that would not have happened if Reinhardt had done nothing. Ellen did not choose to stop and blame himself for not trusting Reinhardt more, as it would not save himself or others from the tragedy that had already occurred. He had to make a judgment at that time. He had to act at that time. He had to save one more city, one more person. That was the only thing he could do. Both the Demon King and the hero had become stronger than before, in a way that neither of them wanted. * * * The palace of the Edina Kingdom was located on the cliffs of a high hill on the outskirts of the port city of Lazak. It was not as large as a palace, nor as elegant as the White Palace in Arunaria, the capital of the Sangtuan Kingdom. The size of the castle was closer to that of a fortress, which reflected the level of the Edina Kingdom. However, it was still a royal palace of a country. It was not a shabby size like a lord's castle or mansion in a local territory. Translation: As it was a castle located on the outskirts, it was not directly affected by the gate incident. It was not difficult to be guided inside the castle. Those who had dealt with the incident in the city and those who were with me, including Airee, seemed to have guessed the situation to some extent while walking towards the castle. Airee had been doing business in this city for quite some time, and the Angel Capital business was a project that had been carried out under the support of the royal family. Airee was my friend and the person who had suppressed a major incident that could have led to the destruction of the kingdom in just a few hours. It was strange that the door was not opening. The king I met in the audience room still had a pale complexion, and the visitors were naturally confused as they did not know what was going on. "Who are you, sir?" The royal guards. The knights who guarded the king. I examined their faces. "The people of the capital are dying like dogs, and the king is trembling and falling apart here..." The sudden outburst made not only the king but also the guards stiffen. "I won't bother with useless explanations." I used Sarkergar's ring and summoned Alsbrengur, hanging it on my shoulder. I felt everyone gasping at the sudden appearance of the demon and the soul-bound sword. "From today, all the islands of this kingdom and the Edina archipelago belong to me, Demon King Bali." Even Airee's face turned pale at my reckless statement. There was no time for persuasion or debate. I looked around. "Anyone who disagrees, come at me." It was natural that no one would willingly give up their country. The first to react was the knight standing next to the king. "You! How dare you suddenly appear and insult the king!" He came down the stairs of the throne and put his hand on his sword. "Don't draw it." "What...?" I said to the knight. "If you draw it, you'll die." "This is outrageous...!" -Swing! -Crack! The knight's sword was hit by Alsbrengur before it even came out of the scabbard and shattered like an explosion. I didn't kill him. But the knight, who lost his sword before he could even grip it properly, just looked at me with a stunned expression. "If you try anything else, it won't end with a warning." If I had to see blood, I would, but there was no need to intentionally spill blood. Perhaps he was the most skilled knight in this place, as the frozen knight could not approach me, let alone the other knights and guards. I passed the knight who was blocking my way. No knight or guard could stop me. -Squelch, squelch. I climbed the stairs leading to the throne and stood in front of the king. "Step aside." "What...?" The king just stared at me blankly at those simple words. "Step aside." No one touched me. It was because I had a hunch that my throat would be cut off if anyone tried to touch me. The king looked around, but there seemed to be no one willing to sacrifice their lives to protect him in the presence of the Demon King. It was not a matter of loyalty. It was because I was not just a simple gangster, but a Demon King. I was a Demon King who made the entire continent restless. Even a small gate incident could have destroyed the capital. The soldiers and knights of the Edina archipelago knew the name of the Demon King too well. It was not because I was a simple thug or a lawless person, but because I was a Demon King. No one knew what would happen if I started to use my powers. That's why just showing my true form was enough to stimulate people's ominous imagination. The terror of my mandate could be used as much as I wanted. That's why I could do this with just Airee by my side, without any weapons. The son of the former Baliyeon, who was an absolute being. Everyone was afraid to imagine what he could do. I watched as the king trembled and stood up from his seat. Thud. I sat on the empty throne. I didn't like the gray rock throne, but it wasn't that I didn't like it either. Sitting in the owner's seat was easy. Can it be so easy to take over a country? But it was just the beginning. Sitting on the throne didn't mean everyone recognized me as the owner. Sitting on the throne didn't make me a king. However, I made the owner of the throne stand up by himself. That was important. "Half of the world." "The owner of all the land in Darkland." "The leader of all demons in the world." "The lord of the demon world." "In the name of Baliyeon." "I promise the former kings and royals of the Edina Kingdom, who voluntarily gave up their throne, a peaceful life." That was my first royal decree.