I have the means to annihilate those brave men while they are here!
"What? !

　The other Four Heavenly Kings were bewildered by the single word released by Zebiantes.

''What are you suggesting?　If we've come this far, isn't it time for our Four Heavenly Kings to sally forth on their own?
It's so sweet. It's sweet as blueberry sauce with lots of sugar.

　Bezelia, who was looking at the side, thought, ''That's annoying.......''

''This Lasperda Fortress is a defense facility built to keep the brave from entering the demon tribe's territory. That's why its function is half as good as it could be!
"Function?
''It is richer and more solid than any other fortress due to the devices that the Four Heavenly Kings who have defended it have added for generations. I've studied all of their defenses!

　Mostly from Dariel.

For example, that!

　Zebiantes pointed to a magnificent view that could be looked down on from the top of the fortress...it should have been.
　Now, the fog has closed in and you can't see anything.

'What's wrong with the fog?'
'It's not a fog!　It's hidden by the fog now, but beyond the fortress, there are forests and mountains and nature galore.
Okay.
That natural landscape is an artifact of magic!
Yes?

　Both Droyer and Bezelia were amused by the outlandishness of what was said.

'What are you talking about?　We've been bunking in this fortress for nearly a year now, and all we see around us are trees and grass...?
That must have been made by magic. The Four Heavenly Kings, who predate us by a long time, built it.

　Several centuries ago.
　There was a man known as Ida of 'Heaven and Earth', the Four Heavenly Kings, who left behind a legacy of Grand Barza-class heroism.
　It is said that the great mage, who was in dire need of the ultimate in earth magic, was able to manipulate the terrain at will and even turn the desert into a forest.

''The forests and grasses around the Rasperda Fortress ... no, that's not all there is to it. Rocks, rivers, and mountains of earth were created long ago by this Ida-sama!
Oh, my God, are you serious?

　Then the next thing you know, 'Why would you do that?' The question may arise.

'Of course it's to fight back against a brave man. The landscape we create with magic can be remade with magic!

　There was a strange pedestal at the top of the Watchtower, the highest point in the Rasperda Fortress.
　Droyer, who had been in the Rasperda Fortress for almost a long time, didn't understand the meaning of this pedestal and only recognized it as an unintelligible monument that was often found in historic sites....

''Are you saying that you can manipulate the terrain by pouring earth attribute magic power into this place?

　The fact that Zebiantes revealed this is surprising.

''That's right, Droyer, you're the one in charge of the earth attribute in the Four Heavenly Kings, and you're going to control it.

　Proof over argument.
　Droyer touched the pedestal with his supple fingers, confirming the feel of the magic power flowing into it.

''This is indeed........a network of magic power is spread out over a wide area around the pedestal......?

　''Beyond the fortress and even more extensive than that.

'We can send out magical commands from here to change the terrain around the fortress as we wish, right?
That's what it's all about!

　Currently, the front of the fortress is filled with a thick fog that makes it impossible to visually check the situation.

　However, this fog is not a mere fog.
　It is a fog that contains magic power and can detect anything it touches.

　To Bezelia, who created the fog itself, the situation inside the fog was as clear as if it were in her hands.

''Then let's clean up the most obvious one first...?

　One of the three brave parties.
　There is a group of people attacking from the front of the fortress.

　It's not known to Droyer, Bezelia and the others, but it was a party led by the heroic Zester of "Hammer".

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one," he said, "the front of the fortress is flat terrain opened up to make it easier to intercept. It will be easier to advance even if the view is blocked.
"It's the fear of being pushed around...?

　But that's just because it's easy to understand for the people who intercept them........

Eeeek!

　With the fullness of time, Droyer pours earth magic power into the pedestal.
　In response to this, the big trick left behind by the great heroes of the past is activated, and the terrain, which should never have changed, changes dramatically.

　Suddenly, a crack appears in the plain in front of the fortress, and the crack widens and becomes a huge crevasse.

Bezzerian, what's happening to you?

　I ask Bezelia, the only one who can assess the situation through the fog.

''Oh........falling down.......!　The rest of the brave party fell into a chasm in the ground!　........Oh, wait a minute?
What is it?
One of them reluctantly clambered up a section of the crevasse to get out. From the way he was just about to fall, it looks like he's the leader of the party...?
I guess that means he's the brave one.

　Although he didn't end up being wiped out, Zester would have lost all of his party members before he reached the fortress.
　It would be an immeasurable amount of damage.

This is the true value of Lasperda Fortress, the Demon King's army's pride and joy...!

　Droyer, who was living in the present, was overwhelmed by the great gimmick that his great predecessors had created.

'The ground around the fortress and all the natural objects on it were created by magic, so they can be manipulated and changed as much as possible with magic. That means it's like there are traps all around the fortress!

　No part of the gap.
　And there's no need to plant it or collect it.

"Well I didn't know anything about it until now. I've been guarding this fortress and nothing about this fortress...?
'Droyer-chan, you don't have to feel down about it. Everyone makes mistakes.

　Bezelia, watching from the side, felt terrible discomfort at the fact that Zebiantes was acting as a comforter.

''No, we were too unlearned. Although we were chosen by the prestigious Four Heavenly Kings, we relied only on the size of our magic power and didn't learn anything about what battle is all about.''
'That's just the way it is, the guys before me retired without teaching me anything.

　At a certain point in time, all four of the current Four Heavenly Kings and the previous Four Heavenly Kings were replaced at the same time.
　This was quite rare in the history of the Demon King's Army, and usually one or two of the four would be replaced at different times, and information would be shared between the senior and junior members.

　However, if all of them were replaced at once, information would not be shared and there would be a break in the sharing of information.
　It was good to say that this was one of the reasons for the struggles of the current Four Heavenly Kings.

''No........that problem should have been addressed as well. ........If only that man had been here.

　There is only one being in the minds of the Four Heavenly Kings.

　Dariel, the Four Heavenly Kings' assistant.

That magic-less but extremely capable man must have drilled all the tasks of his predecessors into our heads. Our predecessors gave up their seats all together because they believed that Dariel would teach us everything.......

　However, the succession was not done well at all.

''Bashversa fired Dariel immediately...!
He really didn't know what to do.
But didn't you agree with me?

　As an aside, Droyer is still using his subordinates to search for Dariel's whereabouts.
　To have him return to the position of Assistant to the Four Heavenly Kings.

　I'm sure Zeviantes knows that, but I'm going to keep quiet for a while now because I'm enjoying being a warrior with the strange plan given to me by Dariel.

　Back to the story.........

The number of enemies has decreased at once, but there are still some left. Let's take them out crisply for sure.
'So the next easiest thing to clean up is a group of people spying on the high ground...'

　What Bezelia grasped through the fog was the party of Altamir, the 'bow' heroine.
　She was good at long-range attacks with her bow and arrow, and she inevitably wanted to secure a spot with a good vantage point for sniping.

　The small hill she climbed there was also an artificial terrain composed of magic.
　It collapsed easily as Droyer channeled his magic power, and the party led by Altamir was buried in the dirt and sand, unable to move.

''Ah, another one has escaped.''
"A brave man is very stubborn...

　He also spotted Pigaro's party of heroes from The Sword advancing through the forest and manipulated the forest terrain to disable them one by one.

　The complex terrain made it difficult to manipulate, but by working with Bezelia, who could read the situation with precision through the fog, he was able to capture each one of them without fail.

''Droyer-chan, you were able to capture them alive properly?
Yeah, they're just restrained so they can't move but why do you care if the human side lives or dies?

　Droyer doesn't have a bad taste for murder, but he can't think of any reason to dare to keep his enemies alive either.
　And yet, there was something uncomfortable about the stance of Zeviantes, who seemed even worse than Droyer, trying to keep his enemy alive by force.

''Eh........?　Because I'm nice?　So kind as Our Lady is, you want to save your life, don't you?
"...and...

　Both Droyer and Bezelia are painfully aware of the blandness of that line.
　They had no way of knowing that behind the unnaturally compassionate Zebiantes was an instruction from Dariel to 'keep it out of human death as much as possible'.

''But the only people who also fell for this demonic trap were his cronies. The brave men and women who mattered were successfully escaping.
"As expected, the name of a brave man is not a noble one. But if we let him get lost in the fog and track him down slowly with a trap...!
No,

　As a matter of fact, just continuing the current offensive would certainly get the victory to the demon tribe's side.
　But there was a spirit that did not approve of this.
　A noble spirit that seeks a more meaningful victory.

If there's only one of the brave men, any more arrests would be foolish. Let the Four Heavenly Kings themselves sally forth and defeat it head-on!

　Droyer, who was now the official leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, declared.