I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

26 – Fall of the Allied Forces 1

An entity responsible for one of the three Great Demon Lords.

Torukan.

At this moment, he felt anxious as he held his position.

“No, is there still no contact? Where the hell did Rorkine go?”

“I-I’m sorry. We’ve sent people several times, but we still haven’t received any clear news.”

“Ugh…”

Feeling frustrated, Torukan gritted his teeth.

Odhir, known as the strongest among the three Great Demon Lords.

His death brought great chaos and fear to the demons and their subordinates.

The unity of different races turned out to be stronger than expected, and there was fear that even they might be in danger soon.

Furthermore, the news of the gathering of the allied forces of different races caused even greater anxiety.

In such a situation, instead of actively joining forces, Demon Lord Rorkine disappeared, leaving behind only a message that there was something to do.

As a result, Torukan, who practically ended up being solely responsible for the demons and the Demon Kingdom, could only ponder on how to deal with the approaching enemies near the borders.

“Just the number of enemies alone is nearly thirty thousand… And their leader is the high wizard who supposedly defeated Odhir. How am I supposed to deal with these guys…”

Despite pondering over it repeatedly, Torukan couldn’t come up with a sharp plan.

That’s when…

“Well, well… Torukan seems to have many worries, doesn’t he?”

“….Huh?”

Suddenly, a familiar presence was felt.

Immediately after that, revealing herself from the darkness…

A female demon wrapped in a crimson robe.

At the sight of her, a mix of intense anger and joy briefly appeared on Torukan’s face.

“Rorkine! Where the hell did you go? After sending so many people, you suddenly disappeared without even a trace, and just a moment ago…”

“Ah, sorry, sorry… It seems like our timing was slightly off. Don’t get so angry. Even though it may not look like it, I’ve been quite busy lately, having to leave home frequently.”

“Kuk…”

Rorkine muttered an apology that didn’t seem sincere at all.

In response, Thorcan wanted to say a few more words, but he suppressed his anger and spoke in a cold voice.

“Well… fine. We don’t have time to fight each other now. Rorkine, do you have a rough idea of the situation? An allied force led by those who defeated Ordin is invading this land. What should we do about it?”

“And what would you suggest?”

“Isn’t that why I’m asking? I know very well that I don’t have any grand strategies or tactics!”

“Heh, alright then. Since I’ll kindly help you out, we can easily crush those guys if you just listen to me.”

Thorcan shouted with an irritated voice.

To which Rorkine responded with a somewhat affectionate smile on her lips.

“…Really? They are the ones who even defeated Ordin, yet you believe we can win?”

“Of course. Do you think I’ve been doing nothing but fooling around until now? Even though I may not show it, I have thoroughly investigated those so-called great sorcerers.”

“I… see. If that’s the case, then I’m relieved…”

Thorcan showed a slight hint of doubt.

Rorkine licked her lips with a red tongue and spoke in a sticky voice.

“Don’t worry, my little brother… While Lord Ordin died due to his overconfidence, I am different from him. The moment I set foot here, the fate of those scoundrels has already been sealed. You just prepare to savor the taste of those who enter your mouth.”

“…Hmm, understood. And don’t do anything disgusting because it’s creepy. You keep doing things like that, and you’ll stay a spinster who can’t even get married…”

“Shut up, little brother. I can easily rip off your head before the Union does.”

With that remark, the sticky atmosphere turned savage as Rorkine showed a stern expression.

While displaying their heartwarming (?) affection for each other, Rorkine unfolded a map she had prepared in advance.

Revealing the location that would become the tomb of the Union army…

*

When faced with an unbearable situation, there were only two choices.

One was to give up and retreat quietly, ensuring that no greater damage would occur, even if it meant personal loss. This method could prevent the situation from escalating into a major disaster.

And the other choice was to proceed with the work with a mindset of “how bad could it possibly get?” This belonged to those who either had vague confidence in themselves or were afraid of suffering losses and forced themselves to continue working.

From a group’s perspective, the former option was generally preferred.

However, when faced with such a situation, most people…

If people without any ability were to make decisions about the future…

Unfortunately, it was the latter.

Because they didn’t want to admit their own incompetence,

They had enjoyed things until now and didn’t want to lose what they would enjoy in the future,

And their selfish… or rather, cowardly actions.

As a result, it led to a catastrophic outcome.

Right now,

In this moment…

*

“Whew…”

“Ugh…”

“…”

“Hey, everyone, cheer up! Why are you all so down?”

The hero Veolf spoke with a powerful voice.

He was known for defeating Odir, the strongest of the three demon kings,

And he was the commander-in-chief leading the Allied Forces.

He continued to encourage his three comrades, who had worried faces.

“Don’t worry, we don’t need to, anyway. When one demon king dies, their forces shake greatly. All we have to do is lightly trample on those who are in chaos.”

“Well… But Veolf, even if we say that, can we handle it among ourselves? Our master is no longer here…”

“Rokia.”

At that moment, Brutal spoke with a cold voice.

Hearing that, Rokia could only close her mouth while showing an anxious expression.

“Don’t bring up that filthy traitor. Even without that guy, we are strong enough.”

“That’s right. Even though we don’t have that woman, we have Veolf, don’t we? There is no need to fear because our skills are said to be on par anyway.”

“Well… even so…”

Despite the words of her comrades, Rokia couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

Regarding this, Veolf spoke in a rather kind voice.

“Besides, there are tens of thousands of Allied Forces under us now. Most of the fighting will be done by them, and we just need to command lightly and reap the rewards.”

“That’s right. After all, we didn’t come out here to hunt down demon kings, did we? What they want is just to take advantage of this opportunity and crush their momentum. We fight just enough, gain accomplishments, and then leave.”

“That…is it?”

“Yes! So don’t worry, if you keep trembling like that, it will only demoralize the soldiers.”

“I’m…sorry… I…will be more careful from now on.”

With a weak voice, Lokiya reluctantly agreed.

However, observing her like this, including Veolf and others, they were secretly harboring a sense of unease no less than hers.

On the surface, it seemed like they were comforting Lokiya, but in truth, it was no different from the inner dialogue each of them had with themselves.

They knew too well.

If by any chance a Demon King…or a powerful demon equivalent appeared here, they would have no means to resist…

And especially, Veolf, who was well aware of the truth, even more so than his comrades who held high expectations for him, felt the same.

“This is driving me crazy… Why do they keep comparing me to my master? Don’t expect that from me in that way!”

Because he possessed skills one step higher than his comrades, he was aware of that.

There was an enormous gap between him and his master.

But even so, he couldn’t say this fact out loud.

Just as his comrades couldn’t reveal the truth to the people, he too had to maintain a facade of strength.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to handle the current situation.

Under his command, marching into the territory of demons,

In the position of a commander who had never experienced such a thing before, responsible for tens of thousands of troops, he couldn’t possibly overcome this situation…

“It’s okay… There’s nothing to worry about… The fight will be taken care of by the others, and even if a formidable opponent appears, the Demon King level won’t come. As long as we don’t touch the Demon Castle, there won’t be any problems… So…”