Birth of a Demon City

by Hyougetsu

  Considering their names were so similar, I’d thought that was a possibility, and it seemed I was right.

  “Baltze has always spoken highly of you, Sir Veight, so I am glad to finally make your acquaintance.”

  It appeared Kurtz hadn’t been granted a title by the Demon Lord, which meant he was just an average soldier. From the looks of it, he was more brains than brawn, so it had probably been smart not to promote him too far. If Dogg or the like picked a fight with him, he’d be flattened in seconds. However, I could tell from my subsequent conversation with him that Kurtz was a valuable asset. Chances were, the Demon Lord knew how important Kurtz really was, too. He was probably just as necessary to the army as I was, if not more.

  I invited Kurtz back into my office, and we discussed the specifics of the Demon Lord’s gunpowder over some of my prized green tea.

  “Dragon’s Breath is a very powerful weapon, but it is also very difficult to handle, making it inefficient to use.”

  I was hoping to create muskets with Kurtz’s gunpowder, but if I let on how knowledgeable I was about guns, the Demon Lord might grow suspicious again. Besides, it was entirely possible he was already in the process of developing guns.

  “However, I was able to create a much more stable mixture of Dragon’s Breath that we were able to use in various weapons.”

  Oh, are we getting guns after all? I leaned forward, and Kurtz proudly held out a small spherical object. Looks like I was a little off. We’ve got bombs, not guns.

  “This is one of our newest inventions, the Dragon’s Jewel.”

  “Oho.”

  “It uses metals of various properties.”

  So a frag grenade, basically. Impressive.

  “Red, blue, yellow, green...”

  “Wait, what are you talking about?”

  Kurtz smiled and said, “By burning the different metals, the jewel will create different-colored flames. Then by adding a primer, you can explode those multicolored flames in different patterns.”

  Wait, so the demon army’s newest weapon is fireworks? Though it was rather disappointing to hear we didn’t actually have weapons, the fact that Kurtz was able to develop fireworks meant his engineering skill was the real deal. Besides, there’s still a way to put those fireworks to use.

  “If we launch these into the sky, we can use your Dragon’s Jewels to relay messages to units far away.”

  Kurtz looked up at me in surprise.

  “You’re absolutely correct. But how did you realize that so quickly?”

  “I figured if the Demon Lord sent these to us, they had to have some kind of utility. It was really just a guess.”

  Dog whistles could only be heard by werewolves and canines, but signal flares would be understood by everyone. And these were both faster and much more visible than smoke signals. They could also be seen at night. They might not be guns, but I’ll still gladly take these.

  “That’s a truly amazing invention, Kurtz. I suppose I should have expected no less from the esteemed Baltze’s older brother.”

  “You flatter me. At any rate, I see you’re every bit the shrewd general my brother said you were. You figured out the value of these Dragon’s Jewels with a single glance.”

  I wouldn’t really call myself a shrewd general, but it did feel good to be praised.

  “By the way, I spotted a number of armed humans manning the gates earlier. Who were they?”

  Kurtz had likely seen some garrison soldiers. It was probably rare to let defeated enemy troops remain armed in your city.

  “They’re the Meraldian soldiers who were stationed to Ryunheit.”

  “WHAT!?”

  That was the first time I’d heard a dragonkin scream.

  “Wait, wait, calm down.”

  “M-My apologies, sir. But aren’t they our enemy!?”

  Oh yeah, I guess that is how most demons would see it.

  “They surrendered when we took the city. Now they’re working independently to maintain order in Ryunheit. You can think of them as neutral guards now.”

  “Neutral, you say...”

  Disbelief written all over his face, Kurtz looked out of the window, observing a group of soldiers. They were armed with swords and short spears; more than enough equipment to harm dragonkin or canines, if they so wished.

  “Are you sure it’s alright to leave them roaming around like that?”

  To be honest, I wasn’t sure myself, but since the werewolves alone weren’t enough to patrol the whole city, I had no choice but to trust them.

  “They’ve pledged their services not to the Meraldian Senate or their gods, but to the people of Ryunheit. I have faith that they won’t start a fight in the city.”

  “I’m afraid I still don’t understand...”

  His worries were to be expected, but he’d get used to their existence soon enough.

  Ryunheit was now home to werewolves, canines, dragonkin, vampires, and humans. While the werewolves were an aggressive lot, they swore absolute obedience to me and thus didn’t harm anyone. On the other hand, the canines were perfectly amicable. Kurtz’s dragonkin were all rational, intelligent types, and vampires weren’t really any different from humans, except that they liked drinking blood. When I saw humans and demons of all kinds mingling together in the streets, I felt the exhaustion of the past few weeks melt away.

  Though Airia’s workload had increased, the amount of tax revenue she was bringing in had also risen, so she should have had no complaints. The real issue now was the conquest of Thuvan. Since the northern armies were on the back foot, us southern forces needed to achieve something. Unless we started racking up a string of victories, the demon army’s morale would plummet. Demons only followed the strong. And while the Demon Lord himself boasted strength rivaling a demigod, if the army looked weak, it would lose the respect of its soldiers. People would start to desert. Master should be dropping in today, so I may as well report to the Demon Lord.

  “Unfortunately, we lost another city to Meraldia’s forces.”

  Having given my report, I was once again eating lunch in the officers’ mess hall with Baltze. He looked more worried than when I last saw him. While picking at the grasshopper stir-fry he’d ordered again today, he sighed. I never thought I’d see the Azure Knight, the first regiment’s pride and joy, look so defeated. Then again, I suppose he didn’t need to keep up appearances for his men here.

  “We can’t get the different races in the second regiment to cooperate. They keep operating independently, each competing with the other to bring home the greatest achievements. And because our supply lines are in tatters, Meraldia’s able to isolate and overpower squad after squad.”

  The Demon Lord had modernized his army by introducing supply trains, but it wasn’t enough to solve everything. Because of how rapidly the situation changed at the front lines, the second regiment’s generals were in charge of battle plans there. And in the second regiment, people like Dogg were considered skilled strategists.

  “Apparently, the second regiment’s been so hard-pressed that they haven’t even had time to send a general back to report. I’ve been serving as a liaison between the Demon Lord and the second regiment in the meantime, but it really hurts having to bring him bad news over and over.”

  As he finished eating, Baltze pulled out a small paper bag from his pack. He poured a small pill-shaped rock into his hand and swallowed it whole. When he noticed my curious gaze, he said, “Oh, this? I’ve been suffering from stomach aches recently, so I got this gastrolith from the army doctor. It hasn’t been doing much, though.”

  I guess this is what fantasy stomach medicine’s like.

  “You have my sympathies, Sir Baltze.”

  I was starting to grow pretty close to this dragonkin. Guess I need to work hard for the sake of my worrywart friend over here, too.

  “I promise the third regiment will conquer all of Meraldia’s southern territories. The situation in Ryunheit has calmed down now, so if you would like
, I can help take Thuvan.”

  Baltze stretched his arms over the table and tightly gripped my hands.

  “My lord is expecting great things from you as well, Sir Veight. Please bring us some good news so I may have something favorable to report to him for once.”

  Poor Baltze really had it tough.

  It appeared the Demon Lord and Gomoviroa had held a secret council after that to discuss how the third regiment would conquer Thuvan. They’d decided who the commander of the operation would be as well, and my life got a lot busier after that. Ryunheit was the closest city to Thuvan, which meant it would serve as the invading army’s forward base. I started by ordering the canine soldiers to begin building extra barracks outside the city’s western gate.

  “The incoming army’ll be tired from their long march! All they need is somewhere to take shelter from the wind and rain! It doesn’t need to be fancy or anything, just get it done fast!”

  It was a pretty cruel thing to say, but I didn’t have the resources or manpower to make something better on such short notice. According to what I’d heard, kentauros would make up the bulk of this attack force. Half-human and half-horse, they were basically centaurs, which I guess is what kentauros meant.

  At any rate, they were a troublesome lot, mostly because each one required a room the size of a stable to house, which meant no place in the city was capable of lodging them. And we need to take care of 500 head of them... Actually, wait, they’re a sentient race, not beasts, so I probably shouldn’t call them that. This was why I was rushing to build new barracks as fast as possible.

  “Sup, boss. So this is where you were.”

  The resident werewolf blacksmith, Jerrick, walked up to me. Shirtless and covered in sweat, he proudly held up a horseshoe.

  “Kentauros’ hooves aren’t the same size as regular horses’ so I had to make new ones from scratch. You think this’ll do?”

  “Don’t ask me...”

  I took it from him anyway, but it’s not like I knew anything about kentauros anatomy.

  “I trust your skills, though. I’ll leave it to you.”

  “Alright then, I’ll get back to work. You better not schedule me for any patrol shifts.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  After he left, Fahn came up to me.

  “Veight, what do kentauros eat? Hay?”

  “Well, their upper halves are human, so I don’t think they do, but...”

  With demons you could never really tell, though. It was entirely possible they did just eat hay. I’d asked Fahn to prepare twice as much food for each kentauros as a normal human would eat. I doubted their appetites could match those of werewolves, but they probably still ate a lot.

  “What do I do? We don’t have that much meat lying around.”

  “Pretty sure us werewolves are the only ones that are hung up on meat. Just get some dried fruit, and bread too.”

  “Gotcha, I’ll get right on that.”

  Fahn hurriedly ran off. Since each race had different customs and a different biology, providing for them was a Herculean task. While we were running around trying to get things ready, one of the canine guards came up to me.

  “There are people approaching the southern gate, sir! About fifteen hundred of them!”

  “F-Fifteen hundred!?”

  “They appear to be cavalry!”

  That’s odd. There shouldn’t be that many kentauros. I ordered the canines to halt construction and had them take refuge inside the city. What the heck is going on?

  I rushed over to the south gate and ordered it closed. Once I was done, I howled to my werewolves to assemble. Upon hearing my emergency summons they all dropped what they were doing and rushed to the south gate.

  “Veight, today’s the day the kentauros arrive, isn’t it? What’s there to be worried about?”

  “Yeah. Besides, no enemies would be coming from the south.”

  They may have thought it a needless worry, but I just wanted to be safe. Caution was what had saved me during the Thuvan incident. And while it was definitely hoofbeats that I heard in the distance, I couldn’t rule out that they weren’t human cavalry. As they grew closer, though, I realized they really were kentauros.

  Their upper bodies were clad in armor, while their lower halves, about the size of ponies, were left bare. They looked rather gallant, dashing through the plains like that. Though that didn’t change the fact that there were way more of them than I’d been told. They lined up in front of the main gate, and a kentauros on the smaller side stepped forward. They were armed with a short spear and a shield, the latter of which they whirled overhead to announce their presence.

  “Hear me! I am one of the third regiment’s Vice-Commanders, Firnir the Swift Gale! Open the gates and let us pass!”

  Surprisingly, it was a woman’s voice that rang out. Firnir was the name of the general who I’d been told would be coming, so that part at least fit the report. I jumped off the ramparts, my worried werewolf companions following behind me.

  “I’m Veight, another of the third regiment’s Vice-Commanders. This is the first time we’ve met, right?”

  The kentauros girl nodded happily.

  “Yep, it is! I’m no mage, but I also consider myself one of Master Gomoviroa’s disciples! Nice to meet you, Vait-o!”

  “Y-Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

  I can already tell this girl’s going to be a handful.

  After our initial meeting, I escorted Firnir and the other kentauros to the western forest.

  “There are no facilities suitable for housing you in the city, so I had my men prepare a new barrack here. It’s only large enough for five hundred people, though.”

  “Huh, why’d you make it so small?” she asked sulkily.

  I sighed and explained, “Because that’s how many people you said would be coming in your letter.”

  “Oh yeah. Truth is, I was only supposed to bring five hundred, but everyone said they wanted to come along, so... Ehehe.”

  Don’t give me that! Left with no other choice, I told the canines to set up tents for the other kentauros. It wasn’t much, but I couldn’t just let men of the demon army sleep out in the open. This would have to do.

  “Lady Firnir.”

  “I’m younger than you, so you don’t have to be formal with me or anything,” Firnir grinned childishly.

  Is a cute, innocent girl like this actually capable of commanding an army?

  “Alright then, Firnir. Listen up. We’re not some disorganized mob, nor is this army a charity. You have to report things accurately, or you’ll cause problems for others.”

  At my rebuke, Firnir straightened up and saluted.

  “Yes, sir! I promise not to make the same mistake again!”

  Good, she’s more diligent than she looks.

  “So please don’t get mad at me, Vaito.”

  “Could you stop calling me that?”

  Afterwards, I escorted Firnir to my office in the viceroy’s manor. Firnir’s hooves didn’t do the manor’s carpet any favors, and everywhere she passed turned into quite a mess. I’ll need to apologize to the maids later. But first, business.

  “The invading army will consist of your fifteen hundred kentauros, Melaine’s three hundred Wax Corpses, and a thousand of Master’s skeleton soldiers, correct?”

  “You’re not gonna participate, Vaito?”

  Seriously, stop calling me that. It’s embarrassing.

  “I need to keep the werewolves here to defend Ryunheit...”

  I doubted the garrison would rise up in revolt, but that was no reason to leave the city unguarded. No way I could move my werewolves in this situation.

  “Don’t you have the two thousand bone spears Master lent you?”

  “I can’t send those out either. I need them to defend the city.”

  Firnir smiled cheerfully and replied, “It’s fine, even if Meraldia does send soldiers, it’ll be to defend Thuvan first.”

  I looked over th
e map on the table. As Ryunheit was a trading city, it had roads connecting it to all other nearby cities. That made it easy to invade, but hard to defend. However, Meraldia was focusing most of their efforts on the northern front, which meant they didn’t have many soldiers to spare for the south.

  “Still, it wouldn’t be wise to let my guard down.”

  Seeing my reluctance, Firnir leaned forward and said, “Vaito, conquering Thuvan is essential if we want to take control of the southern front... The future of the war depends on it. We absolutely cannot fail, so please lend us your strength.”

  Her gaze was surprisingly serious, and I nodded without thinking.

  “I-I guess you’re right...”

  “Besides, if we take Thuvan, Meraldia will focus their efforts on taking it back, so Ryunheit will have a buffer city protecting it.”

  Firnir reverted back to her cheerful demeanor. However, that austere expression from earlier had been burned into my memory. Moreover, she made a valid point. It appeared she hadn’t been appointed vice-commander just for show; she clearly had a good eye for strategy.

  “Firnir, can you command Master’s Bone Spears?”

  “Nope!”

  “Guess that’s that, then.”

  Firnir’s face fell at what she thought was a blunt rejection. But then I stood up and patted her on the back.

  “I’ll have to lead them, so ask Master for permission for me to go.”

  Firnir’s face lit up again and she leapt forward and hugged me.

  “Thank you so much, Vaito! You’re the best!”

  Seriously, please stop calling me that.

  ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

  —Firnir’s Diary—

  I met Vaito for the first time today. He’s a vice-commander in the third regiment, just like me. Or wait, was he actually an adjutant? Well whatever, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, Vaito’s apparently a really strong werewolf. Master told me that he easily beat that famous general from the second regiment, Dogg. I’m pretty sure Dogg was supposed to be one of the strongest guys in the second regiment.