I Gain Infinite Gold Just By Waiting-Chapter 234: Episode 3-3_Invasion (2)

2.

Things in this world did not always go the way you wanted.

“So this is how you prepared to hunt a dragon?”

For Kim Buja, this was a development that went far beyond his expectations.

He had predicted that the demons would eventually show their true colors. Since the Armed Forces had colluded with them, they would obviously throw everything they had into ending the war. And when the human who had contracted with them was on the verge of death, the demons would have no choice but to reveal themselves.

That was as far as his predictions had gone. After that, his plan was to have Lerbel take care of the demons that appeared and put on a neat little show to bring the war to a close. It wouldn’t have been difficult. No matter how many troops they had, the Armed Forces that had sided with demons could not be allowed to remain, and once the dragon who had slain those demons stood before them, they would have no choice but to surrender.

But the demons’ plan went beyond that. Kim Buja had been thinking within the bounds of common sense, while the demons had already decided that once their presence was exposed, they would not look back.

Or perhaps they had made that decision precisely because he had appeared in Cassius’s form. A dragon had broken the rules and intervened in the affairs of the middle realm. If that caused their plan to go awry, they would simply charge forward without a second thought.

It might even have been a golden opportunity for them. A chance to kill one of the few dragons left on the continent. If they could eliminate one of the very few beings they needed to be wary of, the odds of their invasion’s success would skyrocket.

That was why they had done something this horrific. Even with their power restricted, the demons had no trouble slaughtering the ordinary soldiers, and in the end, Arhel—the heart of the continent and the capital of the Empire—became the place where the gate to the Demon Realm opened.

The surviving Allied soldiers had either already fled or moved toward Arhel for the sake of the continent’s peace.

The demons who had crossed through the gate were in no hurry. They didn’t care about a future moment when human strength might be gathered. All that mattered was maintaining the foundation that allowed more demons to keep coming through the open gate. Fortunately for them, no one was charging in to close it. Their only real opponent, Lerbel, had been forced to retreat to Arhel under the onslaught of monsters, and the battlefield was already too much of a blood-soaked madhouse for anyone to spare a thought for the gate.

And so they were able to see it.

The army of demonkind.

“The Demon King approaches.”

And the Demon King himself.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

[Invasion]

▶ Grade: Chapter 3-3

▶ Objective: Defend Arhel from the demonic invasion! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

▶ Reward: ???

Only then did he finally check the gold mission, and he let out a long breath.

’So this was all planned from the start.’

Could he have stopped it? If he had checked earlier? If he had told Lerbel, more clearly and more insistently, to make sure the demons couldn’t escape, couldn’t offer sacrifices?

Maybe they could have stopped it.

But he didn’t waste time regretting the past. For all he knew, the Chapter might have changed, or things might have unfolded in some other way. At least up to this point, the Chapter had progressed as a Chapter. Unless he did something big enough to rewrite an entire Chapter, he was just another piece of it.

He chose to take comfort in that. He had been caught off guard and blindsided, but this, too, had been foreseen.

Instead, he focused on what came next.

“Are there any other dragons?” he asked Lerbel.

Her answer was negative. “The few dragons who remain will find it hard to intervene. Some may have sided with them. Some may be in hibernation. If time allows, they might come to help, but for now, it is difficult.”

In other words, for the time being, he and Lerbel would have to face the Demon King’s army alone.

In terms of sheer numbers, they were fewer than the Armed Forces, which had once numbered over a million. At most, two hundred thousand? If they gathered Arhel’s forces and the survivors from the Armed Forces, they might be able to match that number.

But the quality was different. Even if the demons couldn’t use their full power here, their forces included the Demon King. Lerbel herself had been forced to retreat to Arhel to escape the swarming demons.

Kim Buja turned his head and looked inside the city. Countless people were watching, their eyes full of fear. No matter how hard they tried to think positively, the darkness that covered the world made it impossible.

“Kkyuu.”

Even Hwangdo seemed to sense just how dangerous this moment was, letting out a low whine in Lerbel’s arms.

Crack!

Silence. A tiny sound shattered it.

KRA-BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, darkness and crimson flame collided right before his eyes, and he swallowed hard. The Demon King’s attack had come so fast he could barely perceive it. If not for Lerbel, it would have hit him dead-on.

He met the Demon King’s gaze. The figure was over three meters tall, with eight wings and three horns. The massive spear in his hand radiated such power that it seemed no one could ever hope to defeat him.

“Lerbel.”

His calculations were quick. His decision was faster. Having weighed the war’s outcome, Kim Buja called out to Lerbel in a grave voice.

“Hold them off for a bit.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He simply leaped down from the city wall.

As he did, the sounds reached him.

GRAAAAH!

ROOOOAR!

The howls of the demons were as wild as the beasts they were. There were no formations, no ranks—just a mad rush, a stampede of predators racing to be the first to reach the humans and tear them apart.

Lerbel didn’t hesitate for a moment. She hurled herself over the wall and out into the field to meet them.

“Kkyuuuu!”

Her resolve, when she had never even considered giving up her fun before, was focused on one thing alone.

ROOOOAAAAAR!

Dragon and demon clashed.

* * *

It was a historic moment. A legendary dragon, long vanished from the annals of history, fighting demons on the continent—right in front of the Empire’s capital.

Historians risked their lives to climb the walls and record what they saw. People on the battlefield, who might be killed by a stray blast at any moment, prayed as they watched history unfold.

’Please, let them win.’

They were not just spectators. The mages poured out supporting fire without holding back, and the clerics unleashed their holy power to drive back the darkness. The saintess did the same. The Daughter of God. Her prayer was so powerful that a thin pillar of holy light pierced the darkened sky.

But unfortunately for humanity, history was not written the way they wanted.

Even the dragon, that absolute being, grew steadily more exhausted. Her wounds multiplied, the dark energy restricted her mana, and the demons’ attacks pierced through her magic. Before long, she was fighting on the ground.

It had only been an hour.

The strongest race on earth was being brought down in just one hour by the combined assault of countless demons.

Humans prayed. They begged for a miracle. Not because they loved the dragon, but because she was fighting to protect them. They knew better than anyone that if that dragon died, they would be next.

’Please win. Someone, anyone, please help that red dragon.’

Thud!

No miracle came.

God had abandoned humanity. If God had ever truly existed, He would never have allowed such a terrifying gate to the Demon Realm to open before them.

The spear of the Demon King pierced the heart of the continent’s guardian.

The corpses of demons formed a mountain, and the blood of monsters soaked the ground, but on top of that mountain, the red dragon fell.

The savage roars of the demons surged toward the capital without hindrance. They had slain the red dragon, but they were not satisfied. Their goal was not just a dragon.

The continent. The most delicious prey right before their eyes.

Arhel’s walls loomed close. There was no need to break them. For monsters and demons, getting over a wall was easier than eating a meal.

They could jump or fly.

For beings who had just hunted a dragon, the terrified humans on the walls were no challenge at all.

The real hunt—the slaughter—was about to begin.

They drooled, trembling with excitement.

They had waited for this moment for so long.

Just as they were about to rush the humans before them—

Flash!

The entire world was swallowed by light.

The demons, of course, were denied their prize.

Holy power was the antithesis of their demonic mana. It didn’t just make them flee—it physically blasted them back.

The light surged past the walls, spreading in a five-kilometer radius and pushing back not only the demons but the Demon King himself.

“Whew.”

A dome of light.

Kim Buja let out a breath of relief as he looked at the magic circle he had created by pouring in every last bit of his remaining gold.

’What do I do now?’

Given the sheer size of the area, not to mention its effects and duration, he judged that it had been more than worth it to burn through the twenty million gold he had left.

If the saintess and the Temple clerics continued to channel holy power into it, the capital could be protected from the Demon King and his forces for at least a few years, as they would be unable to use their full power within its bounds.

But that was all.

The moment anyone took a single step outside Arhel, outside the dome of holy power, they would be completely exposed to the enemy.

A pang of regret washed over him. ’Should I have saved the remaining gold to use against the Demon King?’

’It couldn’t be helped.’

He felt the regret, but not for the decision itself.

This had been the only option.

He hadn’t seen the slightest chance of winning if he fought the Demon King head-on right now.

Ignoring the enraged demons, he walked toward Lerbel, who had collapsed at the foot of the wall.

“Kyuu...”

Even as she lay dying, Lerbel cradled the sadly crying Hwangdo.

She polymorphed into her human form and looked up at Kim Buja.

“The promise...”

Her last lingering attachment was, of course, to Hwangdo, whom she believed to be her lord’s child.

She started to tell him to keep his promise, but then she seemed to recall the Demon King and his army, and a faint, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“Leave.”

She gave him the only advice that made sense.

Kim Buja nodded.

He couldn’t promise her anything right now.

He saw no other way forward; leaving was still the best option he could think of.

Of course, he had absolutely no intention of just ending things like this and running away.

The princess, the saintess, the continent itself.

To him, this continent was truly another world. To never be able to return would be a stain on the reputation and pride he had built by overcoming every adventure so far.

He walked past Lerbel’s lifeless body and headed for the wall of holy power.

A few steps away, the Demon King watched him.

Their eyes met, locking in a stare.

Then—

The Demon King suddenly snorted in derision, turned his back, and walked away.

His army retreated without a second glance.

They had realized it, too.

This wasn’t a spear that threatened them.

It was merely a shield, erected to save the people inside.

Time was on their side.

The continent was vast, and their prey was everywhere.

’So this is human selfishness? Fine. Let them cower in there and see how long it lasts.’

At the Demon King’s confident retreat, Kim Buja exhaled.

“Ha. What a smug bastard.”

When had he ever been insulted like this?

He might get beaten, but he had never once forgotten or ignored an insult.

He always found a way to get his revenge and see the game through to the end.

This time would be no different.

To do that, he first had to create an opening.

“See you next time, you smug son of a bitch.”

[You have cleared Chapter 3-3.]

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