As I felt something block my transfer, I overloaded the inhibitor and forced my way through.
As expected, they placed countermeasures in the area.
It was a well-known fact that the current Demon Lord made heavy use of long-distance transfer.
However, there wasn’t much point in setting up such a countermeasure.
Because of the difference in power, such a thing could still be broken through even if they were carefully placed.
It was a power move afforded by the Demon Lord.
When our scenery changed, it was a meadow at night.
We were transferred to a place where we were blocking the highway.
The Demon Lord’s Army was lined up behind me.
Nobody was swayed by the transfer.Everyone who was involved was already used to it.
There was a huge city surrounded by walls not far ahead.
There were many layers of barrier and protection magic installed on it, there was also a building that stood taller than the outer walls.
This is the capital of the Magic Kingdom.
It would be faster if we transferred directly inside of the city, but I refrained from doing so this time due to its inherent risks.
Once a close-quarter fight occurs, the Magic Kingdom’s Army would likely surround us from all sides.
If it were to come to that, the Demon Lord’s Army would suffer considerable losses.
It was a development that ought to be avoided.
Considering that I needed to transfer the army of ten thousand to a safe location, the outside of the city was just the right spot.
It would take some effort, but the price we have to pay would also be lower.
It was less likely to fall into an unexpected situation.
The strategy this time was simple and clear.
First, the Demon Lord’s Army was to advance and invade the capital.
They were to attack the Magic Kingdom’s Army in a distance where they wouldn’t be surrounded and turn all victims into undead to add further chaos.
Meanwhile, Logan and I are to move separately from the army to search and reclaim the mystical stone.
Then, I would try to meet John Doe who was hiding somewhere.
According to the investigation result, he was inside the city .
I didn’t hear any news regarding him trying to escape.
The only problem would be that I couldn’t detect where John Doe was.
His magic power was on the level of a common human, just an ordinary person who lacked any peculiar characteristics.
It would be different if I ever met him in person, but it would be hard to pinpoint him out of the huge number of people who have similar amounts of magic power.
I had no choice but to ask spies to help search for him.
I knew his approximate location, so I could only pray it wouldn’t take too much effort to find him.
At that moment, a loud noise rang from the capital.
A red light was blinking on the outer wall.
Apparently, it was an alarm to inform them of an enemy invasion.
It seemed that the Magic Kingdom had sensed our arrival.
There were weapons installed on the outer walls separated which began to operate.
Those were magic cannons.
Those were long-range weapons installed on the imperial city as well.
It seemed that it was also developed in the Magic Kingdom.
Considering they were allied nations, it would be easy to replicate them.
The magic cannons turned and aimed toward the Demon Lord’s Army.
I detected rapidly increasing magic power.
They intended to greet us with cannon fire.
Grom who stood beside me unleashed his killing intent.
He spoke to me in a whisper.
“Demon Lord-sama.”
“I know. I’ll deal with it.”
Immediately after that exchange, the magic cannons fired toward us.
Multiple shells approached us at high speed.
The Demon Lord’s Army stirred behind me.
It was so powerful so it was natural for them to raise their voice.
I waved my finger and deployed a net of magic power on the trajectories of the shells.
The net bounced the shells back to where they came from.
The scattered shells exploded into the capital, breaking the protection magic in some places.
There were holes opened on the walls, and the Magic Kingdom’s Army suffered a direct hit.
It was quite a disastrous sight.
“As expected of Demon Lord-sama! Those people of the Magic Kingdom must be surely panicking by now.”
Grom praised me here and there.
He was proud of it as if it was his own achievement.
It was his loyal retainer attitude as usual.
Regarding the magic cannon, I already knew they were installed via spies.
We took the cannons used for interception when we invaded the imperial capital and analyzed them.
Those things were easy to deal with.
I told Grom while pointing at the capital.
“Do not fear. I’ll stop all the bombardment. Advance.”
“Hah! Certainly!”
Soon after, the Demon Lord’s army marched forward.
The Demons’ subordinates didn’t retaliate using their magic.
It was because they were aware it would only be blocked by the protection magic of the outer walls.
It was time to preserve right now.
The command system of the Demon Lord’s Army was very thorough, so nobody did involuntary actions.
It was the result of Henry’s training.
On the other hand, the magic cannons stayed silent.
They were aiming toward us, but there was no sign of it being fired.
Perhaps they understood it was likely to be used against them.
“…Fumu.”
I paid attention to those magic cannons.
Their magic power was stable, and their barrel didn’t turn red.
The magic cannons I took from the imperial capital had defects where they would turn red after every single shot which left them unusable for some time.
Meanwhile, those magic cannons installed on the Magic Kingdom had overcome that shortcoming.
Henry came forward to the main gate of the capital.
He asked me as he turned to bow.
“Commander, can I surprise them for a bit?”
“Very well, I’ll allow it.”
“Alright, thanks.”
Henry happily held his bow and immediately fired.
The arrow he fired pierced through the protection magic deployed around the capital.
It went inside one of the barrels of the magic cannon as if it was being absorbed into it.
The magic cannon lowered its barrel and stopped operating.
By using my perception magic, I found out that the operator inside of the cannon was shot to death.
To be capable of sniping things he was unable to even confirm visually, as expected of Henry.
Under the same conditions, even I wouldn’t be able to do such a delicate and precise attack.
After that, Henry incapacitated the magic cannons one after another using the same method.
He also sniped down soldiers who lurked above the outer wall on the side.
Then, the remaining magic cannons hurriedly fired.
It seemed as though they judged that it was bad for them to stay idle.
I redirected the incoming shells in the same way as before.
“It’s Neck… I’ll… mow… necks!”
While we were fighting from a distance, Doldar suddenly roared.
His figure turned hazy and began to run in a flash.
Doldar narrowed the distance at tremendous speed and ran up vertically on the outer wall.
As he reached the top of the wall, he used his axe to mow down soldiers and magic cannons one after another.
He apparently couldn’t restrain his impulse.
It was dangerous considering it was him, but it should be okay to just let him be as long as he didn’t attack allies.
Doldar wouldn’t lose in close combat against those soldiers.
I would just disturb the Magic Kingdom’s army from a distance.
“I’ll show my ability now.”
After advancing to a certain distance, Grom blatantly moved forward.
Perhaps he felt like contributing after seeing Henry and Doldar’s actions.
He imbued miasma to his magic power, molded it into a black fireball and fired it.
The black fireball smashed the tightly closed main gate, pierced into the city, and caused a big explosion.
A number of screams and cries raised, making fuss within the flame.
“Fuhahahahahaha! Did you see that, Demon Lord-sama! This is my power!”
Grom laughed in a good mood.
He was delighted as he saw the flame burning high.
He was more excited than usual.
“Ah, well done.”
I gave him some light praise.
He might get too excited and make a mistake controlling his power if I praised him too much.
This should be enough for him.
The Demon Lord’s Army advanced as they gained a path to enter.
There were no longer any attacks coming from above the walls, and I heard Doldar’s cry sometimes.
He should be going around and decapitating enemy soldiers.
Or perhaps they were too busy retaliating up there that they had no leisure to care about what happened below.
When I thought I could just invade as it was, I detected a high-power magic reaction from beyond the burning gates.
Multiple figures came out from the capital.
They were a unit composed of dozens of golems.