Dungeon Overlord: Monster Girl Harem!-Chapter 106: Demons... eh? Quite Tough.

The Black flame consumed the forest in a blaze, Leonhardt's fire burning so hot it melted through the earth, leaving a gaping hole of molten rock, while the ember trees seemed to absorb the heat and become larger.

However, to Leonhardt's surprised, the demon male flung back, sizzling with smoke pouring from his face... as the black exoskeleton bubbled and rippled down his cheek, revealing his blue flesh underneath.

A thick scent of burned meat, salty and a little sour, rose into the air. Devi stared at Leonhardt in shock.

"W-what? How can my exoskeleton..."

"Tough bastards, aren't you?"

—Tyrant Accel

Leonhardt's body flashed through the air, dashing towards the demon in retreat and grasped his face again, before slamming him into the ground. The earth shook, and an explosion of rock erupted upward as Devi let loose a scream.

"Argh! My skin!"

—Cinderflame.

WOOSH!

Leonhardt's eyes were cold, filled with vengeance as his black flames surged into the air, each burst of Cinderflame digging the demon's face deeper into the searing hot magma, bubbling with molten temperature.

"ARRGH!"

The demon desperately tried pushing himself off the ground, a huge force almost knocking Leonhardt back, but the bubbling liquid flame only served to char and melt the demon's hands as he screamed again. His gaping mouth screamed in agony before Leon filled it with another dose of cinderflame.

—Cinderflame

Leonhardt cast the spell over and over and over... until his mana ran dry, his eyes flickering with a dull red light.

***

Time became strange and distant for Leonhardt.

Once he flew out of the dungeon, he cast Tyrant Accel four times and upon seeing the demon taunting and stepping on Gobomir's face and he snapped.

"What happened..."

He found himself in a deep crater, his hands tingling with a slight pain, something soft and sticky almost fused to them.

"What's this blue stuff? It smells disgusting... Yuck!"

Leonhardt tossed the fleshy blue remains and dragged himself out of the hardened molten rock that formed around his shoulders, almost smothering him completely.

He stepped out of the deep crater and looked around, noticing his clothes had vanished, their burned remains lingering in the crater.

"Oops, I seem to need some fire-proof clothes."

"L-Leonhardt?!"

A voice sounded from the forest. It was a familiar yet slightly distorted voice. "Zafira?"

It might have been the first time he saw her in this form... a few inches taller than him, black exoskeletal armour, but a more feminine shape—he couldn't forget those curves.

Zafira rushed to him, holding a black cloth, wrapping it around him as she snorted hot air from her nose holes, and gazed down at him with warm, golden eyes.

"You went too far. The amount of mana you used almost polluted the atmosphere!"

"Haha, I will need to ask for a new set of clothes..." Leonhardt's eyes narrowed as he looked into Zafira's eyes and scratched his cheek. "I also hope the goblins are okay..."

"So... what exactly happened?"

"Eh?" Zafira's shocked voice made Leon tilt his head.

"Uhm... I only remember being angry and then everything became blank."

He couldn't help but scratch his cheek with a smile.

Leonhardt fastened the cloth around his body and released it was actually the robe that Zafira sometimes used as a blanket and carried her sweet scent.

"Well..."

Zafira then looked at the crater and gasped. Her eyes widened as she looked back at Leonhardt with eyes that seemed shocked.

'When did he become this powerful?'

To her eyes, Leon was weaker than a goblin a short time ago.

Before he could speak again, this time it was Gobbolas and Gobomir who appeared, both of them limping and wrapped in bandages. Leon covered his nose because they stank of antiseptic and medicine, but the fact they survived made his chest thump.

'I see... they're okay.'

That's when he realised the cause of everything and turned to Zafira.

"Those lizards, where are the?"

"Those cowards?"

Gobbolas muttered before he hammered his chest with a fist. "We caught them Master!"

"That's right! Gobomir caught them all after the demon died!"

"Gobomir Protected!"

"We knew Master would save us!"

The goblins all cheered, but Gobomir stayed quiet.

His eyes contained a different light, a deep faith, a deep gratitude.

Gobomir watched Leonhardt's rage, sorrow and anger up close as he burned his life force just to kill the demon, even when the demon died. Gobomir could feel Leonhardt's silent scream for the fallen goblins.

"My King, I will follow you to the end."

Slamming his wounded chest, he knelt before Leonhardt, causing the goblins to gasp.

To call another race your king like this wasn't something light.

Unlike humans who could betray their king, their emperor, once someone of a monster race swore to serve a lord, the same was true for the dark elves who swore to follow Leonhardt.

There was no going back for Gobomir.

[Gobomir's Affection and Loyalty have reached MAX]

[Your actions captured the heart and soul of the goblin warrior, spurring his desire to grow and earn his eternal service!]

[Gobomir has unlocked the "Goblin Knight" evolution!]

[All Goblins will have 100 extra points of loyalty when serving you or anyone you trust.]

Leon covered his face with a palm.

A sudden burst of messages seemed to have been from before he lost his mind.

There were dozens of danger and warning messages from the system AND Ifrit. That's when he realised the voice was mechanical and no longer Ifrit's voice, which made his heart flutter, skipping a beat.

"Ugh... give me a moment Gobomir, I am a little tired."

The goblin didn't move or make noise, and a group of warriors knelt behind him.

The weaklings that he had protected before Leonhardt arrived all showed reverence to him because they also saw his devotion to them. Mere goblins!

"Praise the King!"

"All Hail Leonhardt! Goblin King!"

It might have been Zafira who became the most shocked at this development because even her father, the demon emperor, struggled to make other races and monsters swear to him in this manner...

That's why the demon kingdom became an empire, because it couldn't force the other races to submit and no matter how powerful and how harshly her father treated them. Even the weakest races, like goblins and kobolds, crowned one of their own as king.

'Amazing... this is the man I chose—after all this feeling isn't a mistake.' She touched her chest, feeling the rapid beats under her palm each moment she gazed upon or thought about the black-haired chimera who stood beside her.

"Gobomir... sorry about that."

Leonhardt cleared his throat and stretched out to his faithful warrior.

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"Are you willing to follow me, into whatever battle, whatever challenge that might face us?"

"I am."

"And are you willing to lay down your life so others can live?"

"I am..."

Leonhardt summoned his black greatsword and tapped his shoulder on either side, a mimicry of a human ceremony, but he felt a sense of power flowing through his veins into his sword and then pouring into Gobomir.

"Then arise, Gobomir. From now on, you are my First Knight."

A low sound played in Leonhardt's mind.

[You have recruited a Goblin Knight!]

[All Goblins serving Gobomir have become Goblin Squires!]

[The Ember Goblins have earned the trait 'Intelligence' giving them more intelligence and reasoning power!]

Gobomir stood, his red body slowly wrapped in a black armour that covered his abdomen, shoulders and legs.

It was black like Leonhardt's hair, with glistening red runes, akin to Leonhardt's eyes. His armour grew stronger, creating plates over his chest and back with spikes coming from his shoulders.

The squires behind him, a group of twelve of them all gained a similar armour, but it looked like leather and lacked the spikes and red runes.

"Now, the first order for my First Knight. Capture the enemy dungeon master and drag them here, you can break or bend their bodies but leave only their lives. Understood?"

"Yes, My King!"

"My King!" The squires bowed behind Gobomir. It was a rather lovely sight.

"Go forth! Do well and I will grant your knight order an ordained name, one only for you!"

What made Zafira's eyes sparkle wasn't just Leonhardt's actions and words but the fact he clearly noticed the goblins watching with sparkling eyes, Gobbolas and his archers and the other younger goblins that survived.

'To make a goblin one of his special troops... other dungeon masters will mock him.'

Zafira's thoughts lingered as she watched Leonhardt's lips curl into a bewitching smile. Already fallen for his charms, despite being a succubus.

'But they don't understand... How could they understand the brilliance of my Master!'

She just regretted that for a monster to swear themselves to a master in this matter... he must be at a higher level or defeat them in a serious fight.

Meanwhile, Leonhardt just gazed at them, leaving with a smile.

"Demons... eh? Quite a tough race."