Chapter 328: From Instruction to Report (4)

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Coming back from the Evil Gods’ den proved to be no problem at all.

Loren wanted to report to Yuri immediately, but Luxuria was insistent that they should visit his place as well.

Loren was not sure how Luxuria would react if he honestly told him that he did not want to see the abode of Lust, regardless of whether they had time for it or not. He turned him down politely, and Luxuria gave up at once, though he didn’t seem to be satisfied.

“Why don’t you visit my place? You even visit Gluttony’s fancy room!”

“Lust, if you mention that again, you won’t get away with it.”

“Ah… I went there. It was a nice place to take a midday nap.”

“Sloth, you too, mention it again and be ready to…”

While Loren was watching the Evil Gods, not quite sure whether they were bickering or just fooling around and wondering if he had to intervene himself, Lapis, who was standing beside him, tugged him lightly by the sleeve.

“Loren, should I make my room fancy and pastel too?”

“Where did that even come from?”

“It’s a sly flirting technique, where one uses the gap between the ordinary and the private space to increase the charm. I didn’t think Gula would do such a thing.”

“Hey, Lapis-chan. Won’t you have a talk with onee-san in the dark?”

“I can’t believe you would use such a method after coming here, you sly Evil Fox! Dirty Evil God!”

Loren, seeing Lapis and Gula arguing with each other, realized that it was unlikely for them to come to an agreement at this point, so he pulled out the greatsword on his back and thrust the tip into the ground. He asked Shayna to intimidate them with the aura of the King of Death, and for some reason, even Nig, who had been clinging to Loren’s shoulder, also raised his forelegs as an act of intimidation.

The Evil Gods and the demon fell quiet, even if only on the surface.

“Let’s get to the commander now, guys.”

“That’s alright, Loren, but we’re in a city.”

“So what?”

“If you spread the King of Death’s aura here, I’m sure there will be all kinds of trouble among the residents…”

Loren realized what he had just done.

It was true that the two girls in front of him would not show such a strong reaction to the presence of the King of Death, but it was a different story when it comes to the ordinary citizens. If they were unlucky, they might even faint or suffer some other kind of accident. Loren thought it was a little too much, even if it was to keep the others quiet, but he could not do anything about what he had done now.

“If you don’t want to repeat that, just come along quietly.”

“The Commander is going to be very angryyy~ with you.”

Lapis said while looking at the quiet townscape. ‘And whose fault, was it?’, Loren inwardly cursed at her as they set off for the military facility where Yuri was expected to be waiting for him.

When they finally arrived, it was at the scene of a fire.

“We’re getting reports of people passing out in one part of town after another.”

“What the hell is going on?! Get a medic down here, NOW!”

A stretcher was being carried out, and soldiers were moving left and right to contact doctors and healing practitioners.

Feeling the eyes of the others fixed on him as if they had something to say, Loren walked through the scene, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, and proceeded to the room where Yuri was supposed to be.

Perhaps it was because Yuri had informed the soldiers of the situation to some extent, or perhaps because of the chaos, but they arrived at the parlour without being stopped by anyone. When Loren opened the door, Yuri, sitting on a chair, greeted him and the others and immediately made the following remark.

“What are you doing? You’re causing all kinds of trouble here.”

Not much time had passed since the incident at the church. Yet, Yuri’s tone clearly implied that he believed Loren was the cause of all the commotion.

“Are you spying on me somewhere?”

Loren replied, not knowing whether to be surprised or appalled, while Lapis looked at Yuri suspiciously and asked him.

“Who on earth are you, Yuri? What do you know about Loren?”

“Well, I don’t really have anything to hide, but…”

Yuri glanced at Loren’s face and, seeing that he did not seem to be bothered, continued.

“I think we should talk about such things in a calm and relaxed manner. So, let us discuss your next commission.”

“Don’t you want to ask us about countermeasures against the Evil God of Wrath?”

“I guess I’ll have to leave that to you. I have faith in you, Loren.”

“That’s what you call leaving things to chance.”

Loren glanced at Yuri, who patted him on the shoulder with a cheerful smile, with half-lidded eyes, but Yuri brushed it off with a smile and spread a map on the desk.

“I’m sorry to be so sudden about this, but I’m going to have you go here. It is the main battlefield.”

Yuri pointed to a plain some distance away from the city, where they currently were. It seemed that the forces deployed there were the main forces of both the Empire and the Kingdom.

“This is where the two armies are supposed to meet the day after tomorrow.”

“Head-on?”

“Yes. The main forces of the two armies will meet head-on without any tricks. It’s called a decisive battle.”

“I don’t get it.”

It was Lapis who raised doubts about Yuri’s confident words.

Yuri looked at her as if asking what was that about, and Lapis pointed a finger at him with clear suspicion in her gaze.

“Isn’t it strange that someone who went from being the leader of a mercenary group to a general of a country like you would choose a simple clash without a plan?”

“I appreciate you thinking so highly of me. Of course, there is a reason.”

Yuri, unperturbed by Lapis’ question and accepting it as a matter of course, began to explain the reason.

“If we were to simply fight, we could win even if the Kingdom had twice as many troops as they do now.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t you just get it over with?”

“The reason is the existence of the Evil God that you reported. I don’t have a plan to use against someone who can burn down my troops just by encountering them.”

In other words, in order for Yuri to defeat the Kingdom’s army in a fair battle, he would first have to remove the Evil God of Wrath from the battlefield.

However, just because Loren’s team had brought the means to do so, it could not be said that they would be able to encounter the Evil God of Wrath without fail. As if they were sent out on a casual, random mission.

“For this reason, we need to create a situation, in which our opponent will surely bring out the Evil God of Wrath. Is this good enough?”

“You’re deliberately fighting head-on to ensure that the other side’s Evil God will be pulled out?”

“The Empire’s soldiers are very strong. If we just clash with them, I’m sure we’d get the most out of this situation.”

The Kingdom knew this to some extent, of course, and Yuri smiled wryly at how hard they had been working to drag out the situation.

“If our opponent realizes that they are at a disadvantage, they will bring out the Evil God in order to turn the tie around.”

“If you can take care of the Evil God on the other side, we will win without any problems. There is still a chance that we will lose the direct confrontation, though. In that case, please just leave everything to me.”

When Yuri looked at Lapis to see if she was satisfied, Lapis kept her silence and looked at Loren instead.

Yuri’s explanation had made sense to her more or less, but she was going to leave it up to Loren to decide whether they wanted to go along with the plan.

“What happens if we fail?”

Without immediately giving an answer, Loren asked Yuri. The general gave a small sniff, then tapped his finger lightly on a spot on the map that would probably be the battlefield.

“I have another plan, but I don’t want to use it if I can help it.”

If only one strategy was prepared, the situation would become fatal when it failed. Loren was well aware of this. Impressed that the leader had another plan after all, he asked out of curiosity.

“Do you mind if I ask what the plan is?”

“I can’t tell you. You never know where information might leak out.”

“That’s true.”

There was no way to leak something you didn’t know. Loren agreed that if it was a special plan for the Evil Gods, surely the fewer people knew about it the better.

“But I have a plan. So as soon as you decide you’ve failed, you start running. Is that clear, Loren?”

Yuri’s tone of voice was more like an admonishment than an order. Loren looked startled for a moment, but then a broad smile broke out on his face and he responded in a tone that seemed to say that Yuri, who was staring at him, became a little bit kind-hearted.

“I have never heard such an order before when I was in our mercenary group, Commander. Have you come to value life more because you’ve taken the position as a general?”

“It would have been better if I had remained a mercenary.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Yuri’s eyes suddenly turned distant as he blurted out those few words. Loren tried to ask him what he meant, but Yuri gently shook his head and stared at Loren’s face again.

“That is certainly an order. If you realize that you have failed, leave the place immediately. Don’t try to force yourself to do something on your own, and if it becomes hopeless, it’s alright to count on me. Remember this, Loren.”

“Oh, ah… Well, it depends on how things go, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

Yuri was being strangely commendable, something Loren had never seen before when he was a member of the mercenary group. He was more than a little taken aback, but Loren didn’t seem to care. The general then turned his gaze toward Lapis, who was standing beside Loren, and the Evil Gods at their back.

“I would like to ask for your support too.”

Yuri said and suddenly bowed his head. Luxuria and Gula looked at each other for a moment, then nodded decisively. Lapis, who still had a slightly sceptical look in her eyes, also nodded in agreement to Yuri’s request.

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