The worst possible turn of events had unfolded at the worst possible time. The Guard Corps was more shorthanded than it ever had been before—they didn’t even have enough men to mount an effective defense. Yet a demon had chosen that very moment to lead a horde of monsters in an assault on the capital.
Leobolt listened to the rest of the scout’s report. The attacking monster army was composed of slimes. Normally one would think of slimes as amorphous gelatinous or liquid creatures, but according to the scout, this particular group had forms that resembled humans. On top of that, the humanoid slimes had the ability to alter their shapes and had equipped themselves with swords, spears, and bows generated from their own bodies.
The worst part of all, though, was that the slime soldiers would eventually come back to life after they had been defeated. They would regenerate over and over again, no matter how many times they were struck down. The checkpoints and strongholds on the way to the capital weren’t able to hold out against an onslaught of such enemies, and they found themselves overrun. It was the very definition of an immortal army.
The info in the report sounded all too familiar to Leobolt. When he was a child, he had loved reading heroic tales, and he had read the tale of the Great Hero of Astaroth, defeater of the Demon King, many times over. There had been a certain demon in that tale whose description closely resembled some of the info in the scout’s report. He was a slime demon named Rebirth, who possessed bizarre magical powers and was feared as the most powerful of the demon generals in the Demon King’s army.
He could make copies of himself by causing the cells in his body to divide. Those copies could change their shapes at will, and they would continually resurrect after being slain, provided his main body had magical energy to spare.
There was only one way to defeat his immortal army: finding the actual Rebirth hidden among the countless slime soldiers and destroying his magic core, which provided the energy to his soldiers. This made him a truly fearsome opponent.
Indeed, in the tales, the Hero and his party had a difficult time against the general. It was written that they were unable to finish him off entirely, and that it was all they could do to force him to retreat.
Rebirth was severely wounded in his battle with the Hero and had fled. Now, after many long years, he had risen again, and was assaulting the royal capital to retrieve the Orb of Light, which held his King sealed within.
Astaroth’s forces, on the other hand, were far from being in top shape. Half of their ace squadron, the Fifth, was no longer present, and they were short on manpower overall as well.
Still, they couldn’t afford to retreat. Retreating would mean the fall of the capital. If Astaroth fell, the Demon King would be resurrected, which would then lead to the destruction of the entire world.
They were at a clear disadvantage and faced terrible danger—but just as he realized that, a thought came to Leobolt.
“This could be a blessing in disguise for me.”
At that moment, Leobolt’s influence was at an appalling low. His actions had come under fire not only from the guards under his command, but the people of the capital as well. It was only a matter of time before someone would stage a coup d’état and oust him from the commander position.
However, if he were to secure a victory against the demon and its forces, that would give his reputation a massive boost, perhaps allowing him to regain the unifying power he once held.
On top of that, as a swordsman, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He had been given the chance to face an opponent that even the Great Hero of legend hadn’t managed to finish off. If he could slay his foe, it would be proof that he was no less than an actual hero. He would be that much closer to becoming what he had always dreamed of.
“I’ll prove to everybody how strong I truly am...”