Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

Chapter 867: The Kraken Slayer

Meanwhile, off the eastern coast of Grigor, a massive array of stone walls, wooden pillars and cannons appeared along the high coastline overlooking the ocean below.

"More! Give it a heave!"

A group of demon warriors carried massive planks of wood in piles of ten on their shoulders while running up the battlement walls.

Along with the cannons, there were two massive weapons resembling Balistae, or harpoon launchers. Each is several metres high, with tightly wound metal fibres and countless men working on it.

"Hurrae it up, you lazy bastards!" A small dwarven woman with striking ginger hair shouted at the demon knights, while beside her, an older dwarf rubbed the back of his head.

"Y-Yes Ma’am!" The poor demon warriors shouted back, redoubling their efforts under the watchful eyes of their dwarven taskmaster.

"L-Lun... can’t you tone it down a bit?" Logan tried to calm his lover.

After they moved to Lumeria with Asmodeus, she was granted a rather high status, and thanks to her background with the Bronze Blade Merchants’ guild, she soon settled and became a well-known figure in the middle-upper ranks of the empire.

"Don’t try to stop me, lovey! If we don’t keep an eye out, these bastards will slack off!"

"I know, but..." He glanced at the warriors, a little conflicted.

On one side were his buddies who drank ale with him after work ended, the other... his new lover, the woman who awoke his passion for crafting once more.

’If not for Lun...’ His eyes focused on the huge weapon... ’The Kraken Slayer would never have been born...’

The thought made his chest tighten.

It wasn’t merely a harpoon launcher.

The main frame had been forged from layered black iron, Bronzeblade alloy and monster bone treated with demonic Mana until the surface looked like dark glass. Thick metal fibres wrapped around the firing arms in several spirals, each one etched with tiny runes that glowed dull orange whenever the wind from the sea struck them.

A normal ballista threw wood and iron.

The Kraken Slayer would throw a pillar.

’I have to thank that lad too... Asmodeus... His Majesty.’

If not for Asmodeus granting Logan all permissions on naming the newly created items, he wouldn’t have been able to seduce Lun by granting her family’s name to the ore he managed to develop.

A pillar designed to pierce through scales, flesh, barriers and whatever unnatural curse wrapped around Leviathan’s body.

Of course, that was only if the damn thing didn’t explode first.

Logan swallowed.

"Lun..."

"What?"

"If the left tension wheel slips again, half the cliff might vanish."

"Then don’t let it slip."

"That’s not how engineering works."

"It is when you’re scared enough."

Logan stared at her.

Lun planted both hands on her hips, her ginger hair whipping wildly in the salty wind as she glared up at the weapon, which had personally insulted her family.

His future wife was an amazing merchant and also skilled at maintaining weapons of all types, but when it came to the intricacies, she was a little blind.

"Listen, lovey. We built this ugly bastard because your hands are steady, your brain is better than you pretend, and your emperor gave us every rare material we asked for without fainting at the price. So stop looking like a widow at your own funeral."

"I’m worried about the recoil."

"Hah... then use that noggin’ of yours to deal with it?"

Before Logan could answer, a dry cough sounded behind them.

The cough wasn’t powerful or rude; if anything, it was gentle and soft...

Yet somehow, it cut through the noise of shouting demons, grinding wheels and hammering dwarves.

Logan turned.

Alan stood near the inner wall with one hand wrapped around the silver head of his cane. His blond hair had lost most of its colour, fading into a pale ash that matched the sickly tone beneath his skin. Dark veins crawled up the left side of his neck, vanishing beneath the collar of his coat before reappearing along his jaw like cracks in old porcelain.

The former hero looked thinner than the last time Logan saw him.

’This is the hero of the continent?’

Despite being from the mainland, there were stories about a cursed prince...

A handsome young man who fought for revenge for his lost love and family, and to desperately protect his homeland.

That was Alan’s legacy.

"Y-Your Grace!? Can you be up... careful this place is full of dirt... dust and....."

"Shhh, it’s okay, master dwarf." Alan smiled; his tired visage faded the moment he smiled, and even Logan could admit this human was handsome. Maybe not with the burly and masculine charm of Asmodeus, but a delicate and pretty style of beauty. "It’s quite an amazing thing you’ve built, Logan."

He stepped closer to the battlements, and despite his slight limp, Alan quickly managed to scale the steps as Logan and Lun chased after him.

"Y-Your Grace... it’s truly dangerous...."

"Logan, since you’re a good friend to my little brother... I won’t take heed of you breaking etiquette, but please..." Alan glanced back as his once-vibrant blue eyes dulled slightly. "Please, at least let me live like a normal man for the time I have left..."

Alan slowly approached the two behemoth harpoon launchers.

He then touched the base and furrowed his brows before glancing back at the dwarf.

"You’re pushing the frame too hard," Alan said.

Lun frowned.

"And you know this because?"

Alan lifted the cane and pointed toward the left base of the Kraken Slayer.

"Ever since the corruption devoured most of my body and I lost any connection to the divine... somehow my sensitivity to impurities and weak points has grown stronger."

Logan’s face changed.

He hurried toward the base, shoving past two demon warriors before kneeling beside the support plate. At first glance, everything looked fine. Bolts locked in place. Runes stable and humming. The Mana flowing through the correct channels.

Then he placed his palm against the metal.

A faint vibration crawled from the depths of the metal and into his bones.

"...Damn it."

Lun’s expression sharpened.

"How bad?"

"Not bad, at least... yet." Logan grabbed a wrench from his belt. "But if we fired it like this, the left arm would release a heartbeat late."

"And?"

"And the harpoon would twist."

Lun looked toward the ocean below.

The black water rolled against the rocks far beneath them, each wave leaving a dirty silver foam behind.

"If it twists, does it still hit?"

Logan’s mouth tightened.

"It hits something... and that could be anything in the surrounding bay."

"Oh..." Lun gasped, though she didn’t understand the intricacies. She wasn’t foolish and understood it’d likely be down the ships sent by Asmodeus.

She turned at once.

"You three! Bring me two reinforcement bands and the red chalk! You! Stop staring at my hair and move those counterweights!"

"Y-Yes Ma’am!"

The demon warriors scattered.

Alan watched them for a moment, then slowly walked closer. Every step seemed full of effort to not appear weak or limited, as though he was forcing himself and demanding his body’s payment for each movement.

Logan couldn’t pretend to see him struggling.

"You should be resting."

Alan smiled faintly, raising his arms with a shrug. "I’ve rested enough."

"You look like shit, though..."

"Hahahaha! You’re just like that little bastard... But, Logan, I’ve been told these things, I am sick of them, so how about we finish up work and have a pint, eh?" Alan raised his hand, imitating the action of downing a cold one.

Logan stared at him for a moment before laughing through his nose.

"If that thing fires properly, I’ll buy the whole barrel."

"Then I’ll hold you to it."

Lun glanced between them, her sharp expression softening for barely a second before she snapped her fingers.

"Romantic drinking promises later! Fix the bloody wheel first!"

"Yes, dear."

Logan dropped back to one knee, his wrench biting into the reinforcement bolt as Lun barked orders around him. Demon warriors moved counterweights, dwarves dragged metal bands into place, and the Kraken Slayer groaned as its frame tightened against the cliff.

Alan remained beside the battlement, his smile slowly fading as he looked toward the sea.

The black water below had begun to pull away from the rocks.

"Logan... you should hurry."

"Eh? What was that, Laddie?"

Alan’s hand tightened around his cane until the silver head creaked.

"The corruption inside me is stirring."

Lun stopped shouting.

A horn sounded from the lower wall.

Then another.

Alan’s dull blue eyes narrowed toward the horizon as the centre of the sea vanished.

The whirling poor raised the sea levels rapidly, as dark clouds and stormy weather spread unnaturally, as if something had summoned it.

Logan looked at the unfinished weapon, then at the sea crawling backwards beneath the cliff.

His throat went dry.

"Lun!"

"I’m already moving."

She spun toward the workers.

"Load the first harpoon!"

There was no time to test or fix the massive weapon—it was do-or-die!