The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King Chapter 26

The Sprawling Underground Town in the Mines

The dwarven chief, Gottlieb, guided us towards the place of refuge.

We passed hidden doors, secret entrances and holes both vertical and horizontal.

There were many traps along the way, and just as many dead monsters that were killed by them.

"This is our backyard. I doubt there is any Demon Lord who can conquer us on our own soil."

Gottlieb boasted while touching his great beard. But he also continued,

"However, such a favorable fortress is nothing without food. The Necromancer who works under Eligos realized this. And they have been trying to keep us locked down here by force."

"Necromancer?"

"A lieutenant of Demon Lord Eligos. Sharltar, the Necromancer. He is the one who led the attack on our lands."

He said bitterly.

"At first, he said that he wanted to negotiate. He said that he would buy our ore for double the price that the humans were paying. We were very happy to hear this, but when I met with him again, swords were directed at me."

"What cowardice."

I am not a sentimental person, but I didn't see myself as cruel or shameless.

It is sometimes necessary to fool others, but such cowardly methods would not be beneficial in the long run.

Possessing the dwarven lands by tricking and defeating these simple people would be a short-lived conquest.

They would surely revolt, run away or disperse.

Of course, this Sharltar figure might be the type to wipe out the dwarves completely. But such acts of violence would be known by others.

Once word got out of Demon Lord Eligos's vicious and cowardly methods, those races that are not demons will want to stay away from him.

Food, ore, and weapons were often sold by humans.

Only a foolish Demon Lord would think that you can continue to fight without replenishing your supplies.

So I must see this Eligos as a fool.

In the long run, he is not a Demon Lord that I need to fear.

But what about the present?

Dwarven lands were attacked, and the residents were turned into zombies. Much of the ore had been taken as well.

It would be best to assume that his army had been greatly strengthened.

What would be the best way to defeat such a Demon Lord?

This was quite the dilemma.

I wondered about it, and it was while I was wondering, that we arrived at our destination.

It was a lot larger than I had expected.

And surprisingly, looked very much like a town.

"From here you will see the underground city that our ancestors once lived in. Now it is the home of the miners."

"I see. But it is quite dark down here."

"Us dwarves can see well in the dark."

Gottlieb said.

Though he did light some lanterns once we reached the town square, as he knew it was difficult for us.

I looked up at the lights in the lanterns.

I was not magic, but real fire.

But how did it work?

Asked the Saint, Jeanne.

I answered for Gottlieb.

"It is likely using a gas that rises from the grounds below. A gas lamp."

Is that right, chief?

I asked him. He looked a little surprised, but said, 'yes.'

"You are very knowledgable. Not only powerful, I see."

"I did little but study in my past life."

Gas often collected underground, and people used them for lamps instead of having the gas removed. Humans would draw pipes leading up to the surface even, but that was obviously not necessary for the dwarves.

"The gas rises up endlessly, but it has been stopped for now. We don't know when Eligos's army will discover it."

"There is no need to worry now, old man. I and the Demon Lord are here."

Jeanne said with a confident smile.

It was comforting in a way, but we would not be winning if we fought conventionally. And so I offered to explain my ideas to the chief.

"Chief. Allow me to tell you about my plan. It is not the most conventional way, and I am afraid that a single mistake could have grave consequences. Do you understand?"

"We will die of hunger if we do nothing. I would prefer to die trying to get out."

Other dwarves had gathered around the lights now, and they were visibly weakened.

Their stout frames seemed to be concave and their muscles diminished.

But more than anything, there was also new life that had been born recently. These dwarven babes were suffering.

As the mothers were malnourished, they could not even feed their children.

"If this continues, it won't be long until we are all dead."

He stated.

Gottlieb's voice expressed great pain.

Saint Jeanne must have felt pity for them. She began to share the dried meat that we had.

Even Eve had a heart, in spite of being a demon.

She gave away some cookies that she had brought for us to eat.

When she returned,

"Forgive me. I have given away food that was yours."

And bowed.

"No, I would hardly want to eat anything here. We are not starving, and who of us hates to see the smiles of children?"

The dwarven children had thin beards, but still looked quite charming when eating the cookies that they had received.

There was something precious about children, regardless of what race they were from.

Furthermore, in spite of being starved for food, the children shared the cookies in equal portions amongst themselves without fighting.

There was even a brother who gave his younger sister his entire portion.

It was hard to remain idle after seeing such a sight and it made me restless to get out of this present situation.

And so I had Gottlieb and the other young dwarven men gather around.

We needed to talk strategy.

Whenever young dwarves gather together, it can be expected that drink will soon be poured.

For the dwarves enjoyed their drink, regardless of their situation.

Even if they were to die tomorrow… No, perhaps it was because they would die tomorrow.

That was their style.

It was not my style or something I could imitate, but I could meet them halfway.

And so I asked my maid, who was now pouring Jeanne some tea, as she could not drink alcohol.

"Add some liquor into my tea instead of sugar."

Eve was always prepared for such sudden orders.

"Certainly. Master."

The dwarves shared some of their rum with me, and it was poured into my cup.

The smell of the black tea and rum combined to create a fragrance that was hard to describe.

But what I will say, is that it was the most rewarding thing to drink after a horrible battle and journey through a winding, dark labyrinth.

My only wish was that I would be able to taste such a delicious drink again, once we had driven away Eligos's army.

Chapter end