chapter 195

Maxium recovered his consciousness two days later. In the meantime, I settled in the mountain, keeping watch, as I sensed some demons sniffing around. They were probably not the ones that chased me. I assumed they were searching for Maxium.

“What happened?” I asked Maxium as soon as he woke up.

He was already dead; he did not need time to recover.

Maxium slowly got up and sat. “I was attacked unawares.”

“I know that, but I don’t get it. I know you are a good commander. You probably noticed some signs before the attack. Or did I overestimate you?”

All the soldiers were wiped out. Maxium alone survived. No matter how strong the demons were, not many of them could surpass Maxium. I could not even guess who did this to Maxium.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. I was incompetent. However, if I may say, there was no way Count Arentu could ambush me in normal circumstances.”

“So it was Count Arentu…”

I knew him. He was quite the strongest one among counts, so he was pretty famous in my previous life. He was under Ufa’s command and grew largely in his military force.

Maxium slightly raised his head. “Yes,” Maxium’s eyes flashed as he confirmed. “However, there was a strange being next to him. He had very strong mana of the moon. He was a wizard who can transform the surroundings into night.”

Maxium had said about the moon before he lost consciousness. I was actually quite curious about that. It looked like that wizard was the one who hurt Maxium badly.

“I want to know everything.”

“He can turn a field into the ‘Space of Night’. Then, that space becomes isolated from the real world. You won’t notice it until it came close enough. Also, the wizard can use invincible power inside that space. Of course, he will not be as strong as Your Majesty…”

In short, Maxium did not foresee the attack because of the wizard’s skill. Maxium slurred towards the end of his tale, trying hard to recall everything that happened.

‘I guess that wizard was really strong,’ I thought, frowning.

It was strange that a wizard that used the majestic power of the moon appeared this time. Another strange point was that if Ufa had such a strong being with him, he would have an advantageous position in the fight against Ariel. However, as far as I knew, they were equally matched.

Also, if there was such a wizard, I would have heard about it already because I had ordered Krithli to send many familiars all over the world.

“Ufa might have a reason not to mobilize the wizard,” I assumed.

The Wizard of the Moon had never led an all-out attack yet. Ufa probably had to use it already unless he was underestimating Ariel, but he did not. It meant there was a reason that he had to hide this wizard. Perhaps Ufa had tested the wizard’s power on Maxium first.

“Ufa, what have you done?” I rubbed my temples lightly as I thought.

There was a possibility that the Wizard of the Moon was the one who had entered the realm of transcendence. He might be able to use his power under special conditions. I was not sure if Ufa had summoned the wizard or attained a special achievement. Anyway, mobilizing the Wizard of the Moon was certainly an unexpected move.

“Is that all you’ve found out?” I asked.

“Arentu controlled that wizard. He will be always next to Arentu until he finds and kills me.”

I would find that wizard once I found Arentu. However, the ‘Space of Night’ that Maxium mentioned troubled my mind. Maxium hadn’t noticed until he got close to the wizard. Would it escape my detection, too?

“There is nothing as difficult as the unknown,” I told myself.

I was having second thoughts about this situation. I could ignore this issue, but I wanted to balance the power between Ufa and Ariel because I wanted to win by default when they fought against each other. I wanted to handle only one of them, the one who would survive.

However, if Ufa had such a strong force on his side, it would be harder to stop him later. If Ufa was resolved on keeping the wizard’s existence a secret so he could use him later to war, then he would be able to achieve an overwhelming victory against Ariel. It would be very difficult to get rid of him by then.

I should nip this case in the bud before it grew worse. However, if I did this, I would have to handle the wizard first as swiftly and as quietly as possible.

“Maxium, we need a plan to get rid of that wizard quietly. At the very least, I want to fight against him…one-on-one.”

I wasn’t really good at strategies. It was because I rarely facilitated them. This used to be a problem in the past, but now I had the idea that I could entrust my monsters that were good at them. Maximum was quite reliable in that aspect.

Maxium didn’t answer and thought about what I had said for a while. Then, he spoke seriously, “I think I can do something, but I will need a strong military strength.”

I briefly answered, “I can’t give you a lot.”

Even if I would like to reinforce his troops, I could not. Bringing the monsters over here was the problem. Ufa’s demons were surrounding this area and were monitoring.

It was fortunate that I had come here with only two bone dragons and two chaos soldiers. If I came here with more, then it would have been difficult to stay undetected.

“I don’t need a lot of numbers,” Maxium emphasized. “Quality is more important.”

“Then, it’s a simple matter. Follow me.”

We were in the cave. I led Maxium outside and slowly released my mana as we walked down the mountain to find my monsters. Soon, we arrived at a thick forest and found the monsters I had brought.

“Are they…?” Maxium uttered, surprised.

“They are bone dragons and chaos soldiers. Will they be enough?”

There were only four monsters, but they were all the highest grades. They had enough power to sweep off a small dungeon.

“Oh, it’s been a while since I last saw them. When Your Majesty made the Underworld, they were with you.”

It looked like the chaos soldiers recognized Maxium, too. It was not bizarre since Maxium was the knight who had assisted the Hell Lord for the longest time.

Maxium continued, “This is enough. No, actually they are more than enough for the work to immobilize Arentu and to separate him from the wizard.”

“I will leave it to you.”

“M-me? These monsters can only be commanded by Your Majesty.”

“I said I will leave them to you. You take care of the rest.”

Maxium stared at me blankly and clenched his fists. His eyes also changed. I could sense his eagerness to follow my order. Then, Maxium bowed.

“I, Maxium, will follow Your Majesty’s order.”

***

Arentu was bent on catching Maxium. Maxium had dealt with a few demons before, but Arentu was the most persistent one to capture him. Maxium thought he could use this to his advantage.

“Your Majesty, I assure you, I will settle this in a week.”

“Are you that confident?”

“If I were alone, I would not be so confident. But since I can command bone dragons and chaos soldiers, it’s as if I have millions of soldiers. How can I fail?” Maxium went on confidently. “But please, be careful, Your Majesty. The Wizard of the Moon uses strange magic. I haven’t figured out everything about him yet.”

It could be considered as disrespectful remarks, but I did not mind. The wizard had easily put Maxium in trouble. I understood that he was worried.

“There’s nobody in this world that can beat me,” I declared.

Those words weren’t an exaggeration. Frankly, I did not know how strong the Wizard of the Moon was, but at least I knew I was the strongest one on Earth before he showed up.

“I believe in you,” Maxium professed. “I will go now.”

I nodded, and Maxium rode on the bone dragon’s back. Maxium said I was the only one who could control them. But after I ordered them to follow Maxium, they obeyed him as well. It was possible because I was the dungeon master, not the Hell Lord.

“I could do some training while waiting for Maxium’s return.”

Since I entrusted Maxium with a task, I could sit back and wait for his reports. But I did not want to waste time.

These mountains were remote that no humans lived here. I could use this opportunity to review and assess my previous fights. I couldn’t pass up this chance.

As soon as all the monsters left, I found a place to focus. I did not need to wield a sword; I just need a quiet place to meditate.

***

Maxium used only one of the bone dragons and made surprise attacks to Arentu’s troops. He skillfully lured the enemy and killed them.

He could not kill many monsters at a time, but he continued to strike dozens of times a day. Thus, he managed to reduce the power of Arentu. Arentu immediately convened all his troops and chased after Maxium.

“You are good at running away!” Arentu yelled to Maxium who was already far away.

Maxium ignored Arentu and quickly fled with the bone dragon. The speed of the bone dragon was beyond one’s imagination. Once it started flying, there was no way to catch it.

However, Maxium sometimes slowed down, teasing Arentu that he could actually catch him. Meanwhile, Maxium had not yet revealed the second bone dragon.

“If you are a true knight, don’t run away from me!”

“You rat!”

Arentu was always so close to capturing Maxium, but that’s just it—close. He became very frustrated. He would either curse or sometimes talk Maxium into to having a fairly contested match, but he could not easily lure or fool Maxium.

A week had passed, and Arentu was getting more and more desperate. He selected the fastest monsters and began to chase Maxium again. He had the Wizard of the Moon with him, too. He was confident that he had enough troops. Maxium deliberately allowed Arentu to catch up with him.

“Your running ends here,” Arentu roared.

“…”

“Surrender. Then I will kill you in an instant.”

“Ha! You are not a game to me.”

“What? How dare you say such things! Look around! I caught up with you!”

A battle would soon ensue. Shortly after, thousands of monsters began attacking Maxium and the bone dragon all at once.

Arentu aimed at Maxium with the Wizard of the Moon, and the rest of the monsters followed the bone dragon and the chaos soldier. Just before they clashed, Maxium raised his sword and a golden light shot into the sky.

“Sword!”

Kuang!

As the sky turned gold, a roar was heard from far away. That was another bone dragon and chaos soldier. Now, there were two of them each, a total of four monsters. Maxium’s military strength was doubled.

Arentu had only chosen the quick monsters, so their qualities were not that good. Maxium’s power was stronger than Arentu, except for the Wizard of the Moon.

“Damn it!” Arentu gritted his teeth as he realized he was tricked. “You take care of the bone dragons. I will handle Maxium.”

Arentu initially planned to kill Maxium quickly and joined the monster troops. But things took a different turn. If the bone dragons and chaos soldiers got rid of all his monsters, he would be in trouble.

Maxium smiled as he saw the Wizard of the Moon leaving. “It is going as planned.” Half of his plan was fulfilled.