The Lizardmen's Swamp
We marched, quite literally.
Thud, thud.
It was a proper march for a company of the Demon King’s army. Seeing so many soldiers walking in perfect formation filled me with a strange sense of satisfaction.
"Not bad."
It wasn't particularly difficult. Our gear wasn't heavy, and unlike humans, monsters could easily forage for food in this dense jungle. Sure, it made us slower than a pure, focused march, but what can you do? Every advantage has its trade-off.
"Where on earth did you acquire such military knowledge? Did they teach you this in the Demon World you lived in?"
As we marched, Vanessa asked with a suspicious glint in her eyes.
"Of course. In the hellish Demon World, every man serves two years in the Demon King's army."
"I knew it!"
Vanessa nodded with a grave expression, as if everything suddenly made sense.
"Creatures like these are living in another world, and humans aren't even prepared...!"
An unidentified enemy was preparing to invade the human world, and no one had a clue. That was what Vanessa was worried about.
"Th-that's right! Demons are just legends...! That's what everyone thinks! There's no way they could be prepared!"
At that moment, Irene suddenly startled herself, clutching her head and shouting.
"If things go on like this, the demons will invade the human world! If powerful, evil demons descend upon us, every woman in this world will become a sex slave to those demon warriors!"
What.
"Kyaaaa! Each demon keeping dozens of human women...! Oh my god, oh my god!!! They'll be trapped in rooms full of lewd tentacles for days! No! For years! They'll be sexually tortured for eternity!!!"
I’m going to lose my mind.
"Irene? Do you want to get hit?"
As if to express my inner thoughts, Reika approached Irene and raised her fist. It seemed she treated her just as roughly back at the convent.
"No, why do you keep trying to hit me! Did you turn into a demon like the others just because you grew horns, Reika!"
"You're the same, you bitch!"
"Aack!"
One pull on her ear and she was subdued. Even a lewd woman like that could handle dark magic easily, so why am I the one struggling?
"Phew."
We continued our march in that relaxed atmosphere. There wasn't anything in this jungle that could pose a threat to us, so a little looseness didn't matter.
"Ma-wang-nim. Sharan still doesn't have any milk."
"Oh, Sharan. Have you been waiting this whole time?"
"Shaa."
"It's okay. It'll come out soon enough."
Reika’s constitution had changed because of what I did to her. If that was the case, Sharan could easily follow suit.
"I'll fondle you a lot more from now on. I want to drink Sharan's milk, too."
"I want to give Ma-wang-nim milk quickly."
"Hehehe, I can't wait to suckle, either."
As we were having that conversation, I felt a gaze piercing me—Reika was glaring at me. But when I turned to look, it seemed I was mistaken; her expression was perfectly neutral.
"Sister Reika?"
"Get lost."
"Yes."
I wanted to ask for more, but... ah, this. Fruit just doesn't have that sweet, creamy flavor.
"Anyway. Serineu, do we just keep going this way?"
"Yeah. Oh, but we're going to stop by our old home on the way."
"If it's on the way, that's fine."
Let's go.
When we arrived near the Pixie village:
"Gurak."
"Gurak-rak."
Standing in front of the village was a Hobgoblin.
"Those bastards?"
It had been a long time since I’d seen them. I hadn't seen a single one since I recruited Muturi, the ultimate loner of the Demon King's army. It looked like they had occupied the Pixies' empty homes.
"Oh, oh?! That guy!"
"They must have taken over our house!"
"Taking someone else's property as they please...!"
The Pixies were outraged at the sight.
"Those bad guys! We have to kill them all! Let's go quickly!"
"Wait a second."
"Why!"
"We don't need to waste our strength when we're on our way to fight the Lizardmen. Let's finish our objective first. We can punish them later."
"Ugh...!"
As if convinced by my words, Serineu clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth. Then, she nodded.
"Okay. The Lizardmen come first. I guess we'll just have to let them slide for now."
"Right. That's it."
When you have a task at hand, it's not good to get distracted. Besides, there was no need to cause a scene here. If I could successfully subjugate the Lizardmen, I could likely do the same to the Hobgoblins.
"Subjugation."
The reason a Conqueror is a Conqueror is simple. A Conqueror conquers; he doesn't annihilate. Killing everyone isn't the only way. If you can conquer, you must conquer. If I continued to subjugate the forest tribes and grow my power, then yes—I would be able to stand against the humans.
"Alright, everyone. Let's bypass them. Serineu, lead the way again."
"Got it."
As we marched, bypassing the Pixie village, the sun began to set.
"Establish the encampment!"
"Keruk!"
"Keureureuk!"
Having had plenty of experience digging into the ground, setting up camp was a breeze. We leveled the ground, dug drainage ditches, and snapped off tree branches to make pillars, with Sharan’s help to quickly assemble the roofs.
"Now, Im-sung-ah!"
"Keureuk?"
"I'll pair you with Vanessa, so go get some food!"
"Keureureureuk?! Work with a human?! Keureureureuk! Mo-wang-nim! I hate that!"
"Hey, hey. You need to get used to this. Even if she's human, if she's part of our family, she's on our side, you idiot."
"Keureureureuk! Family...! Okay! I'll do it, Im-sung!"
"Hehehe, good."
With Vanessa tagging along, I didn't have to worry even if a monster the size of a wild boar appeared.
"Ugh...! To think I'd be on an operation with monsters!"
"We don't know what might pop out here, so please keep a close eye on the Imps."
"Damn it!"
The Imps immediately set out to forage. We just had to finish the camp and prepare for dinner. We’d eat, wake up in the morning, and then continue the march.
"Supply. Supply is everything."
It’s obvious, but if I were to engage in a full-scale war, local foraging would be nearly impossible. I needed to produce and stockpile food no matter what.
That meant I had to create farmland, grow crops, and store them in warehouses.
"Shit."
Even the Demon King's army can only function if they eat. Our unit size wasn't that big yet, and we didn't have any professional enemies threatening us, so it was fine for now. But once we started fighting humans in earnest, we had to be prepared accordingly.
"I need a castle, not a dungeon..."
"Ma-wang-nim? What's a castle?"
"Ah. It's... it's like a house made of stone walls, not a cave."
"Shaa... Sharan likes anywhere as long as I'm with Ma-wang-nim."
"Me too!!!"
But how was I supposed to secure farmland? If the entire human world was my enemy, it would be an impossible fight. And although I didn't know much about them, there were also things like angels.
Without support from the Demon World, this game felt unwinnable... well, for now, I had to do what I could.
I spent time lost in such thoughts.
"Keureureuk! Mo-wang-nim! We're back!"
The Imps who had gone to forage returned.
"The human caught a big pig! It's a pig-woman!"
"Who are you calling a pig-woman! You rude little black thing!"
"I have a higher rank!"
"You little!"
It looked like Im-sung completely looked down on Vanessa. But in terms of rank, Im-sung was actually higher.
The knight was just in a special position.
"Vanessa-nim. You shouldn't hit Im-sung."
"But he insulted me!"
"I'll comfort you separately later. So please, forgive him."
"Co-comfort me separately?!"
"You're a beautiful woman, Vanessa-nim, so please be the bigger person."
"Kuh! Fighting won't do any good, so I'll let it slide! I certainly don't want any comfort, so don't get any funny ideas!"
"Yes, yes."
Good.
"Alright, everyone! Let's eat! Buril! The Imps caught the food, so you guys cook it!"
"Keureureureuk! Understood! Wang-nim!"
The Goblins immediately prepared the meal. It was simple, but it was food.
"Fufu, seeing this, it feels like we're on a picnic."
Lumika, standing beside me, laughed and grabbed my wrist.
"Now that you mention it, it does feel like that."
A picnic with my subordinates... would a day like that ever come? A day where we could all take a vacation together and enjoy ourselves without a care in the world?
"..."
I don't know.
After camping, we woke up and resumed our march. Moving in that manner, we soon reached the Lizardmen's habitat.
"A swamp?"
The place where the Lizardmen lived was, unsurprisingly, an unpleasant swamp.
"Ugh... look at how dirty the water is. I don't like it."
"Hehehe, such a neat freak."
Lumika was a water spirit, but she didn't like just any water. She liked clean water.
"Well, the trees are pretty dense, too. Serineu. Can you find the Lizardmen's home from here?"
"Hmm... I don't know the exact location... I think we'll have to find it ourselves from here on."
"Then we'll just have to find it. I'll set up a base here, so get the Pixies ready for deployment. We'll move in pairs for reconnaissance."
"Got it!"
Because the ground could be treacherous, I had to send the Pixies, who could fly. I immediately formed a group with Serineu.
"Alright! Pixie scout team! Stay safe! Don't let your guard down, and don't forget to keep an eye on your surroundings!"
"Yeah!"
"Charge valiantly!"
"Chaaarge!"
Whoosh!
The Pixies answered cheerfully and flew up into the air.
"Alright, everyone. Let's wait for the Pixies here for a bit. Buril, don't put your feet in the water. Keep a close watch on the surroundings, okay?"
"Kerurung... Wang-nim. Something feels ominous here."
"I feel it too, but if it were truly ominous, the Lizardmen, who are on par with the Satyrs, wouldn't be able to live here. Just be careful of the water."
"Keureureuk! Understood! Wang-nim!"
Could there be crocodiles or something?
Well, as long as we were careful not to go near the water, we’d be fine.
As we waited for the Pixies:
Kyaaaa!
A scream from the Pixies echoed from the distance!
"What! Everyone! Prepare for battle!"
Could it be that the Lizardmen had appeared?!
I looked in the direction of the scream!
Whoosh!
Two Pixies were flying toward us in a panic!
"Pixie! What happened!"
"Ma-wang-ah!"
The Pixie pointed behind her.
"Over there!"
Over there?
"It's a fucking huge frog!"
"What the fuck!"