What--what?

　The roar and shock forcibly dragged him back from sleep and he leapt up from his simple bunk.

　Garnett, who was asleep next to me, was already ready for battle, and was alert and alert to the signs outside the tent.

''An enemy attack?　No, and the way it looks: ......
'What happened at ...... in the direction of the Demon King's Castle?'

　We nodded to each other and jumped out of the tent.

　It was still dim outside, just a step before dawn, and the rock ceiling was just beginning to regain its faint brightness.

　There was no sign that the encampment was under attack, but soldiers, knights, and the adventurers in charge of the defense were busily running around, calling out for people not to leave their tents until it was safe to do so.

　He stopped one of them and asked him what on earth had happened.

'Well, we don't know the details yet!　But it seems that the dragon-dodging wards surrounding the castle town have been broken!
What ......!

　In the castle town of the Demon King's Castle, there is a refuge camp for dwarves and a garrison of the Golden Fang Knights' siege force.

　The loss of the wards surrounding it means that the dwarves and the knights are under threat from the dragons.

　This is clearly a bad situation.
　Even though we have completed the siege in a way that confined the Demon King's army to the castle, we will be attacked from behind by the wild threat of dragons.

''The white wolf. As I recall, the dragons here are .......
Yeah, it's basically diurnal. It's time to start flying around looking for breakfast.

　If the warding stone was destroyed and lost its effectiveness, then a quick [Restoration] request would undoubtedly come flying in.
　But even if we make preparations to leave after that, it's too late.

　In order to finish all preparations before being called, Garnett and I retrieved it back to the tent and hurriedly prepared our equipment.

　And just as we were finishing our preparations, a voice called out to me from outside the tent, "Luke-dono!

'Luke-dono!　My commander wants me to talk to you!
Okay, I'm coming!

　I leave the tent and jump on the horse that was prepared for me and hurry to the ruins of the castle town with the knights escorting me to the ruins.

　I'm not a good rider and I'm being ridden behind Garnett, but the knights are wearing armor, so it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of weight and speed.

''Hey, Golden Fang!　What's going on here!
'There's still a lot of confusing information out there!　But I'm sure all four of the castle town's boundary stones were destroyed at the same time!
At the same time?

　One of the knights replied to Garnett's shouting question without hiding his irritation.

　It seemed that the cause of the irritation was clearly not Garnett, but this unusual situation that had suddenly arisen.

''The Demon King's Castle should be completely surrounded and thoroughly monitored!　Check for any ambushers or anything else!　And fortify the warding stone!　And yet you were taken by surprise and destroyed!　And at the same time!

　Garnett sows all the doubts at once as he is swayed by a horse running at full speed.

'I say we haven't caught up with the current situation!　And with a very small group of scouts, there was the possibility of hiding out!
''Golden Fang's troops aren't skilled enough to be beaten by such numbers!　If you're dealing with a demon general, you might as well--

　Garnett gasped at his own statement, and then bit down on his back teeth bitterly.

'--that's it. There's no doubt about it.
What?

　When I looked over my shoulder for a detailed explanation, Garnett replied in a voice that the other knights could hear.

''Surely, the Demon King's army decided to siege the castle with the Demon General out of the castle!　If we're acting in small numbers, we can hide out undetected, and if we're as strong as the Norsemen, we can break through the wardstone defense force!
''So that means the current Demon King's Castle doesn't have the best forces!
'Maybe!　That's a hell of a lot of f*cking courage, Demon King!

　The Demon King's army destroyed the castle town and locked out the dwarves, and then voluntarily retreated to the Demon King's Castle and took up a siege.
　It was after that that the Golden Fang Knights besieged the Demon King's Castle.

　The thorough siege by the Knights made it impossible for them to send their men out of the castle without being noticed.

　Even if they had planted an ambush squad before the siege, it was extremely difficult to escape the eyes of the careful searchers, and the only possibility of hiding was an extremely small group of people or acting alone--

(But Garnett's hypothesis could fill that gap!)

　The four demon generals, who were orders of magnitude stronger even alone, would be forced to hide outside the castle before they were besieged and attacked at any given moment.

　This would certainly allow them to sneak through the Golden Fang Knights' warning net and deliver a powerful blow.

　But no matter how you look at it, it's a high-risk, high-reward tactic.

　As long as this was a strategy to incubate Demon King Gandalf and the highest force defending the Demon King's Castle, the defense would have to be significantly reduced.

　In other words, Demon King Gandalf was even willing to risk his own life in this operation.

''Golden Fang!　Do you have any news that a replacement for the demon general you took down has been selected!
'This is confidential, but I'm releasing it under my authority!　We have information from the dwarves that suggests the demon general was revived!　I want you to consider the possibility of re-engaging with Demon General Norsuli!

　Demon General Norzuri - the moment he heard that name, Garnett blatantly clicked his tongue.

　Once, Garnett and Sakura were defeated by the Ice Norzuri.

　Although I was barely able to defeat them with my own hands, that was a giant killing after a miraculous series of coincidences.

　There was definitely no chance of it working again against Norzuri.

'Don't worry, I won't lose this time. I won't lose this time.
I'm counting on you.

　He said this in a whisper and put his hand on Garnet's shoulder.
　Garnett accelerated his horse in response.

'Lord Luke of the White Wolf Forest!　Where we're headed is where the battle is already over!　No sign of the attackers!　Please [repair] the boundary stone as soon as possible!
I understand!　We'll take care of it!
Let's go, white wolf. Let's go kill this demon king!

　Less than a minute later, they arrived at the small base that was defending the boundary stones.

　The small base was overrun by countless huge rock spikes protruding from the ground, and all of the ground structures had collapsed, leaving the large, shattered boundary stones completely untouched.

　With Garnett's deft reins, I slipped through the knights and soldiers, jumping over the wreckage of the base's structures to reach just before the boundary stones.

　I jump off my horse as I roll off, and Garnett dismounts quickly as well.

　I tap the porch to activate the magic stone's magic power automatic supply mechanism and pour the magic power of 【Restoration】 into the shattered boundary stone.

　Following the shattering process in reverse, the large boundary stone sits in its original place in the blink of an eye.

　And a wave of magical power that drives away even the dragons is emitted, letting all the soldiers know that the function has been completely restored.

''Alright, next!''

　The next moment I left the side of the warding stone and ran towards Garnett, the ground under my feet vibrated so violently that I almost fell down unexpectedly.

''Guh......!''
Look out!　The white wolf!

　Suddenly, Garnett rushed in and pushed me away, and I rolled on the ground in a hug as it was.

　Immediately after that, a huge 'arm' poked out from where I was a moment ago and grabbed the thing from the ground.

''Kaka. I've failed. There were some very clever children.

　Shaking the earth and blowing away the wreckage of the base, a giant clay figure emerged from the ground.

　It was indeed a giant clay figure controlled by one of the four demon generals of the Demon King's Army, the Earth Vestry.