The Executed Sage Reincarnates as a Lich and Begins a War of Aggression
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Frozen Ink
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 115: The Sage Reviews the Progress of the Demon Lord’s Army
The next day, I went to a vast site on the outskirts of the capital.
There were exposed patches of dirt scattered along the grassland.
There were depressions in various places and there were also noticeable traces of fire.
A wooden structure stood tall a little ways away.
This place was the training ground dedicated to the Demon Lord’s Army.
With the increase in personnel, the training ground within the capital became too cramped, so a new training ground was built in response to Henry’s request.
Here, they could train under situations that were close to actual battle, and various terrain settings could also be replicated with magic.
Since this location was surrounded by a barrier, there was no need to worry about any collateral damage.
The soundproofing was also perfect, and the consideration for the surrounding environment was thorough.
“Hohou, this is amazing. I see why the soldiers are highly trained.”
The person who spoke next to me was Diella, the previous Demon Lord.
She was really energetic for some reason.
It seemed that she was satisfied physically and mentally by fighting Grom last night.
Diella was as battle crazy as Henry was.
She observed the surrounding area in a curious manner.
I suddenly asked Diella about something I was curious about.
“Did you not think of building this kind of facility during your generation?”
“I wasn’t in a situation where I had the luxury to train my subordinates. If only you gave us such leisure, I might have done so.”
The Demon Lord looked at me from the corner of her eyes.
I felt a hint of reproach contained in her tone.
“…I won’t apologize for that.”
“Of course you won’t. You also had your own duties then. It was not my intent to complain .”
Diella shrugged it off as she laughed.
Apparently, she said meant for that previous comment to be a light joke.
She didn’t care about what happened in the past.
It seemed she was enjoying her new life.
There were times where she reminisced about the past like earlier, but she wasn’t serious about it.
On the contrary, she seemed to enjoy seeing my reactions regarding that matter.
I had no way to know back then, but it seemed Diella had this kind of personality.
“Regardless, with your capabilities to create this, building my house should be no trouble, no?”
“Do that on your own. I’ve already provided you with the material for it.”
I immediately shot back that reply to her.
At the moment, Diella was living in the Previous Demon Lord’s Territory.
That land, which had been polluted by miasma, was purified through the destruction I wrought with forbidden spells.
Nowadays, it wasn’t that much different from any other land.
She lived modestly in that land.
She seemed to have no intentions of joining the Demon Lord’s Army, and simply kept her stance as a neighbor.
It must just be her own way of doing things.
Even so, it seemed she was currently experiencing many inconveniences in her life there.
The fact that she often visited the Demon Lord’s Territory was proof of that.
“Nu, how ruthless of you… If only a certain Sage didn’t destroy my castle, I could have just lived there as is…”
She once again glanced at me from the corner of her eyes.
Apparently, she referred to the event where I blew her castle away using high level magic.
That was the best solution I could come up with back then.
I never imagined that the Demon Lord herself would complain to me about it a dozen years later though.
As we were having such an exchange, the Demon Lord’s army began to line up in the distance.
They quickly moved in formation and attacked their target.
Countless firing sounds echoed.
As Diella saw that, she squinted her eyes to observe it.
“Those things look like canes, but what kind of weapon is that?”
“Those are guns. One could shoot lead bullets with it to attack the enemy. It is similar to an advanced version of the bow.”
The guns I’d stolen from the Magic Nation were further improved into unique weapons through further revision.
Their firing rate and accuracy were improved, and they were currently practical enough to be used in actual combat.
Mass production had already started.
Even within the Demon Lord’s Army, a unit specialized on it was also created.
Diella observed the scene of gun training.
She stroked her chin and expressed her opinion.
“Looking at that, it would appear to be an anti-personnel weapon. The magicians are likely to dislike them.”
Her observation was correct.
The guns were likely to become a weapon that functioned as magician killers in the future.
Not only could they accurately attack their target at distance and without need of chanting, they had no need for long training like that of a bow.
Anyone could learn to use it as long they knew the basics of operating it.
Weapons that were as versatile as this were rare.
Behind the gun corps, another new weapon emerged.
Diella raised her eyebrows as she tilted her head.
“That appears to be… an iron carriage?”
“That was a weapon known as a tank. By making use of rays of magic power, they destroy their target from a long distance. It can neither be blocked nor avoided by ordinary magic.”
I explained it to her.
That was also one of the weapons we’d stolen from the Magic Nation.
Its feature was to unleash a powerful ray of light from its cannon.
We still didn’t have that many of them, but we were planning to make specialized units for them in the future.
“To think that you developed such a vicious weapon, It appears that your sagacious knowledge lives on.”
“It wasn’t something that I’d thought of. I simply took the things that a modern engineer had invented.”
Both of those weapons were inspired by John Doe.
His talent had undoubtedly made a great leap in human civilization.
Although I had a compelling reason to do so, I had plucked the bud of such a possibility.
I had no regrets, but I would never forget about such a fact.
Diella observed for a while, before suddenly turning to me.
Then she asked.
“Why do you show me these things now?”
“It’s just part of sightseeing. I wanted to see it since it finally took shape.”
Diella and I have one thing in common: being a Demon Lord.
We might have been enemies in the past, but currently, out relationship was something more like a senior and their junior.
Her opinion would be useful to me.
Although the sightseeing part wasn’t a lie, my real motive was to hear the opinion of the previous Demon Lord, and whether she has any valuable insight.
The Demon Lord’s Army was still developing.
By knowing things we could improve, we could become even stronger than we were at this moment.
Diella, who likely understood that, laughed as if she was astonished.
“You are quite dedicated… By the way, may I also use that?”
She pointed toward a tank.
I was curious why she’d focused on it since a while ago, but it seemed she was curious about it.
She was getting restless and had a hard time composing herself.
“You can. Do you want to try it?”
“Ooh! I definitely want to try it!”
Diella raised both of her hands euphorically.
It was a child-like reaction.
It was truly innocent.
Looking at her at this moment, it was hard to imagine she had once been the Demon Lord.
We moved toward the Demon Lord’s Army, which was still in the midst of training.
Although the subordinates were surprised to see us, they still continued on with their training.
They suppressed their nervousness and continued to attack their virtual enemies.
Henry came from among them and walked toward us.
“Hey, Commander. What are you doing here today?”
“Diella wants to try the tank. Can I ask you to explain to her?”
“Aah, okay. Just leave it to me.”
Henry immediately agreed.
On the other hand, Diella reported her situation with slight anxiety.
“I have only ever used spears, can I really do it?”
“Anyone can do the basic operation.”
Henry answered her in a cheerful tone.
He urged Diella toward the nearest tank.
As I looked at them, Diella looked back and shouted.
“Hey, Dwight! Why aren’t you coming? You should also join us.”
“…I’m good.”
“Why is the Demon Lord being so reluctant? Doesn’t the archer also think that’s strange too?”
Diella said so as if my response was so unbelievable.
Not only that, she also asked for the opinion of Henry, who stood beside her.
Henry placed his hand on his waist as he pondered for a bit, before his lips curled back in a ferocious smile.
“You’re right. I’m sorry to ask you so early, Commander, but why don’t we play for a bit? I also want to shoot guns for a bit.”
“…Okay then.”
Looking at their expectant gazes, I nodded reluctantly.
I intended to just observe them, but it couldn’t be helped.
I was the one who decided to guide her.
It should be okay to go along with her for a bit.
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