Chapter 216: Demon King’s Secret

Hmm... talking to that prince feels like pushing against a curtain or trying to drive a stake into a swamp. The prince is starting to creep Qiu Nuoya out a little. He could not help feeling a bit sorry for Shangguan Wan’er.

"Still, why do we need both the Divine Sword and a dragon? Is there some particular reason?"

"I suppose the reason is that they have successfully stopped the Monster Stampede in the past. There have been three confirmed Monster Stampedes throughout history. This will be the fourth. According to the legends, each time, the Divine Sword found the Hero, who then stopped the Stampede with a dragon by their side..."

"That’s the first I’ve heard of that."

While the prince spoke enthusiastically, Viktor calmly interrupted him.

"I cannot speak for the first Stampede, but there were no dragons during the second or third Stampedes."

"Uncle, you’re saying that as though you actually witnessed them..."

"I did witness them. I was dragged onto the battlefield without question during both the second and third Stampedes, so I know that much for certain. Ah, though I was still quite young when I was first sent to the battlefield, so I was not actually fighting on the front lines."

Really...

"At the very least, during the battle a hundred years ago, I never saw a dragon even while I was on the front lines. In fact..."

"In fact?"

"Beyond this point, the military issued a gag order regarding the information, so I am not sure whether I am even allowed to discuss it. I do not know whether that order from a hundred years ago is still in effect either..."

"That’s fine. Go ahead. I give you permission."

Viktor nodded once at the prince’s words before continuing.

"A hundred years ago, during the Monster Stampede, it was a single masked child who brought the chaos to an end. The kingdom’s army was almost completely wiped out, utterly helpless against the swarm of monsters. In the midst of that chaos, a single child descended into the middle of the monster horde and subdued the rampaging creatures as though controlling them. Once every monster had been brought under control, the child declared himself the Demon King and left."

"The fact that an entire nation’s army had been overwhelmed and defeated by a horde of monsters controlled by a child caused complete chaos among those at the scene, so a gag order was imposed. The child had also said that he would not harm our country as long as we did not threaten the Demon King’s territory. Yet because of that gag order, the information was never properly conveyed to the people at the top... Or perhaps it was conveyed, which only made things worse. Either way, our country continues to send troops to defeat the Demon King every year, almost as though it were some kind of annual tradition. Of course, they are easily repelled every time."

"The Demon King was a child...?"

"If we look at it simply, perhaps it was a change of rulers. Even so, that was already a hundred years ago. Apparently, the lifespan of demons varies depending on the amount of magical power they possess, so by now, the Demon King has probably grown into a fine adult."

Qiu Nuoya remembered that Viktor had often made strangely favorable remarks whenever the subject of the Demon King came up. He had even once said that peace in this world was maintained thanks to the Demon King’s mercy.

Now it made sense. Viktor had said those things because of what had happened a hundred years ago.

If the Demon King who currently ruled the Demon King’s territory had once been a young child capable of controlling an enormous horde of monsters, then after a hundred years of growth, there was no denying that his power could be even more overwhelming now that he had reached adulthood.

Perhaps that was precisely why Viktor held the Demon King in such high regard. Despite possessing such tremendous power, the Demon King had never attacked their country and instead confined himself to repelling the armies that were sent against him.

"That is why I have never heard anything about needing a dragon to defeat the Demon King, and I have no idea where that idea even came from."

"What!? That’s ridiculous! From everything we’ve heard so far, it was your father who told us about this. He said that we needed a dragon’s roar to repel the Demon King and stop the Monster Stampede!"

Shangguan Wan’er cut in, looking completely unconvinced.

"Are you saying we were dragged into all of this based on something that has absolutely no evidence behind it?"

"No, I would not say there is absolutely no basis for it."

"What? What do you mean?"

"What I told you was only about what happened a hundred years ago. Three hundred years ago, when this country was founded, there was indeed a Hero who fought against the Demon King’s army while wielding the Divine Sword Velikorya. It is also true that a dragon stood by his side."

"So if my father was referring to repeating what happened back then, then there was no lie in what he told you. Whether things will actually unfold the same way as they did back then is another matter entirely. However, considering that the current Hero has already refused to wield the Divine Sword, I believe it would be wiser to accept that things are already different from how they were back then."

Qiu Nuoya could not help but agree. Viktor was completely right.

Thinking that doing everything the same way will inevitably produce the same result was simply foolish. Times changed, and circumstances changed with them. Expecting the present to be exactly the same as three hundred years ago was unreasonable in the first place.

"Then what are we supposed to do now!? The Monster Stampede is practically upon us!"

"For now, why not simply do what you can and see what happens?"