NOVEL NEXT Chapter 553
Chapter
553. If You’re Gonna Eat Poison
【Last Time on This Series】
Odigos: “Don’t think, feel.”
Liliana: “Uwaaan…!”
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“Fire it—!”
At the command of the commander, the lined-up human soldiers on the wall pulled their triggers in unison.
It was a dwarven-made mechanical bow. The sound of the bow quivering echoed repeatedly, and arrows that resembled short, chunky darts whizzed down upon the Demon Lord’s army.
Most arrows aimed at the demon race warriors were thwarted by magic or protective spells, but due to the downward angle, the projectiles had considerable force. Some demons were injured, while ogre soldiers had their arms blown off along with their clubs, and cat-like beastman soldiers were mercilessly shot through their bodies, sinking into pools of blood—
“I hit it!”
“Yes! Serves them right!”
“Just suffer and die…!”
With a look of fear on their faces, the soldiers taunted the retreating demon race warriors, who were shielding their wounds.
These were arrows that utilized their past battle training—saturated with dwarven-crafted poison. Even if the wounds themselves were minor, the dark creatures wouldn’t be able to detoxify and would gradually suffer.
“Uh-oh, I touched the arrows…”
However, the soldiers handling them were also at risk since they weren’t amateurs when it came to poison.
“Seriously?!… Well, as long as it doesn’t enter my body directly, I should be fine for a few days.”
“I’ll just get detoxified before I pass out!”
“Either way, if we keep this up, the demon race will trample us!”
“Haha! Let loose! We’ve got enough material to spare in the underground!”
The dwarf blacksmith warrior on the wall also laughed somewhat recklessly. The toxic waste produced during forges had once been discarded haphazardly, leading to severe pollution and causing wars with the forest elves. Now, it was standard practice to seal it in containers and bury it deep underground.
However, with the existence of healing spells usable by the dark folk, the dwarven coalition had no choice but to utilize poisons.
…It was a bitter decision. Dwarves, known for their crafting skills and often captured as prisoners, risked earning the wrath of the demon race by using poison, which might worsen their conditions. Moreover, as craftsmen passionate about weapon making, relying on poison was fundamentally improper, a line they wished to avoid crossing.
But to halt the invasion of the Demon Lord’s kingdom, it was paramount to systematically reduce the numbers of the demon race, which had a lower birth rate.
“Seems like nothing can be planted around here for a while.”
“Ah well. It’s better than the country going under…”
While staring at the countless arrows embedded in the ground, the blacksmith warriors murmured. Hearing this, a forest elf archer grimaced and began shooting arrows earnestly to prevent soil contamination, thinking, “If I can take down a demon, I won’t need to use poison arrows.”
“Great, keep that up! Second squad, forward!”
Completely oblivious to the complicated feelings of other races, the human commander continued issuing orders. The soldiers who had finished shooting fell back, and the next soldiers, fully loaded, lined up with their mechanical bows.
“Fire!”
The group of mechanical bows roared. The screams of those who fell victim to the arrows echoed. While there were sporadic achievements, the sacrifices were primarily the lesser demons and beastmen. The non-biological demon soldiers were unaffected by the poison, and the more powerful demons advanced guarded by spells like “Stone Manipulation” and “Hunting Domain,” rendering the arrows unable to reach them.
“Damn it, what do we do about them…?”
Glaring at the group of demons lounging comfortably within the barrier, a soldier bitten his lip while holding the mechanical bow. However, he carelessly leaned too far over the wall, failing to notice a demon soldier gearing up to unleash a cursed fireball below him.
“Watch out! [Divine Thunder!]”
“Whoa!?”
The dual-wielding swordsman nearby intercepted the fireball with sparkling silver lightning magic. The two magics collided in midair, resulting in an explosion. The sticky dark flames scattered at the bottom of the wall.
“Ah… thank you, brave hero.”
“Oh no, I’m Vanpa—uh, well, I’m glad nothing happened.”
The pale-faced soldier who just avoided certain death was met with a small smile from the swordsman, who looked as if he had survived a fierce battle, covered in dust and blood, and sporting a tattered red-black leather coat, marked with a hole in his breast pocket.
“Even though the night elf arrows have stopped, the enemy’s curses and magic are still very much active. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Y-yes.”
With a serious expression, the dual-wielding swordsman warned the soldier, who nodded repeatedly like a broken doll. The swordsman carefully looked down between the jagged gaps of the castle wall.
The Demon Lord’s army, despite suffering many casualties from the mechanical bow’s counterattacks, steadily closed the distance without making any stop in their advance—
“…Hero, the night elf’s poison arrows have completely stopped raining down.”
“Indeed. It seems after that beautiful rain of light arrows, they just suddenly came to a halt… It hardly seems coincidental.”
On the opposite side of the main gate, when large-scale magic was unleashed on the wall, the entire allied forces had found themselves captivated. It was likely a legendary miracle of the forest elves—given that the surrounding forest elf archers were stunned, it might not have been part of the expected reinforcements.
However, it seemed difficult to unleash that same magic repeatedly, as now only modest light arrows and “growing branch arrows” were occasionally fired. Still, demon warriors were undoubtedly being pierced through, resulting in significant achievements.
“How do we deal with those demon bastards using the barrier?”
Uneasily, almost in a pleading manner, a soldier asked.
“…That barrier had us in trouble at the front lines too.”
The dual-wielding swordsman replied with a face like he was chewing on a bitter bug. The demons employing the barriers were formidable foes, moving in harmony with their units, who pushed forward with stone walls.
“Most magic spells are deflected. We either draw them out more to let the blacksmith warriors break through or support the weapon saint in close combat and push through—”
Boom!
A heavy mass soared overhead.
“—Or we smash them with enough power that their barriers can’t hold up.”
It was a dwarven catapult. Rocks far larger than those of adult humans crashed into the dome-shaped barrier, causing cracks to appear. The demons frantically spun around, re-establishing the barrier.
“Oh no, so close!”
“If we can hit a few more times, we might break through. You should also keep an eye out for sniping opportunities.”
“Yes! Once that barrier breaks, I’ll smash right in…!”
With fervor, the soldier kept a sharp watch on the demons’ movements.
“That’s the spirit.”
The hero also made the lightning magic crackle in his grasp as he declared, “I’ll take down all our enemies…!!” with a feral and tragic grin.
The elite demons, deploying stone walls and barriers, were finally closing in on the castle walls of the stronghold. Soon, a bloody melee would begin—
†††
—The red-hot Adamas radiated a silver aura at a relaxed rhythm.
“Finally awake, huh?”
Ainz, wiping the sweat from his forehead, sighed in exasperation. It took forever… It really took a long time. Finally, he could start reworking it in earnest—which only made him feel heavy-hearted.
Even so, the fact that Adamas had awakened brought him immense joy. As he savored that happiness, he mechanically moved his hands.
Grind, grind, grind…
“Ooh, ohh!♡ Hooooo!!♡”
“What a hassle you’ve been…”
—In Ainz’s eyes was the kind of love a parent shows towards a troublesome child, filled with affection. He had been swinging the Avalon Hammer endlessly, pouring out mana, and since he had borrowed Avalon, he now took a moment to rest his arms.
“Don’t say that. It’s my fault…”
“That is undoubtedly true, but it’s also a fact that its awakening was rocky. I’ve already poured enough magic into it to finish a lousy sword ages ago…”
Upon hearing Ainz’s words, a snort escaped him.
Squeak, squeak… grind, grind…
“My horn!♡ The symbol of my demon god!♡”
Adamas fluttered its aura. It looked confused, as if wondering, “Where is this…? Who am I…?”
Squeak, squeak, squeak…
—Damn, it really is hard. Should I put in a bit more force…?
Creeeak! Grind, grind, grind!
“Whoaahhh!? Oooohhh!!♡”
Whoa, it’s starting to thrash around like crazy… This is getting dangerous.
“Leila, I hate to ask, but could you hold this down for me? It’s a bit hard to manage.”
“Y-yes…”
A slightly strained-faced Leila tried to grip the thrashing brown pseudo-lifeform’s legs with both hands.
However, realizing it was much stronger than she anticipated, she had to resort to sitting down with all her weight on its legs.
“Is this okay?”
“Yeah, it’s much easier now. Thank you.”
Now, let’s finish this quickly. It’s just too awkward…
Squeak, squeak, squeak! Grind!
“Ooooohh!♡ Hooaahhh—!!♡”
“Ugh… that really is something…”
Barbara, propping her chin on the table, wore a sour expression.
“I can hardly bear to see this…”
“I never thought I’d witness Avalon being used like this…”
Next to her, Arthur had a distant gaze. Both Barbara and Arthur didn’t seem preoccupied with their board game; he understood their feelings…
Grind, klonk!
“Whoa!”
Oh, it’s rolling its eyes.
“Oooohhhhh…!!♡”
It was now completely voiceless, convulsing in utter ecstasy…
“Did we succeed?”
A strangely tense atmosphere hung in the forge as Ainz spoke nonchalantly, as if welcoming me back from strawberry picking.
“Yeah… here you go. I’ll return the favor.”
I handed over the transformed Avalon to Ainz.
…The demon god’s horn.
“Oop…♡”
…What am I even supposed to do with this ecstatic face and fainted demon god…?
Well then, it seems I’m Zilbagias, fervently engaged in my blacksmithing work.
The demon god’s horn has been harvested.
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“Alright, now it’s your horn’s turn.”
“Yes…”
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