The Dark Elf Problem (Part 1)
"For starters, keep them alive as long as possible. Let's squeeze out every bit of information we can. Vanessa, it seems you have a knack for interrogating prisoners. Can I leave this to you?"
"Understood. I'll handle it. But if the Dark Elves die in the process, that's out of my hands."
"Yes, that's unavoidable."
It’s good to see her taking such an active role. As I watched her with a satisfied smile, Vanessa caught my gaze and immediately looked away, her face flushing red.
"Do-don't get the wrong idea! They're Dark Elves, after all... and since this is a matter directly tied to our safety, I'm just doing my job properly!"
"Did I say anything? What exactly do you think I'm misunderstanding?"
"Ugh! Stop asking such strange questions!"
Strange, my foot.
"Understood. I'll leave it to you, then."
With the prisoner interrogation delegated to Vanessa, it was time for us to hammer out a plan. I scanned the dungeon officers gathered before me and spoke.
"Based on the information we have so far, it seems our expansion has brought us into contact with Dark Elf territory. That’s likely why they sent warriors to investigate us."
It was suspicious that I felt caught off guard despite being somewhat on alert, but I decided to let that slide for now.
"Buril, bring out the confiscated weapons."
"Keruk! Wait a moment, My King!"
Buril scurried out and returned, holding the seized weapons aloft.
"Look at this. They're made of iron. The craftsmanship is quite decent, too. This is proof that they have proper facilities."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right. Their iron-working skills are pretty good. Seems a bit better than what our Pixies can do."
"It’s not quite at the level of a master blacksmith, but... Reika, wouldn't you agree?"
"Well, I suppose. It’s fairly well-made."
I turned to the Lamia.
"Julia, is this the standard of Dark Elf technology?"
"It varies from community to community, but given this quality... I would say it is quite high."
That meant these came from a large village, a city, or perhaps a kingdom. She added that the Lamia Kingdom could produce items of similar quality, which was interesting.
So, were these made in a place like a Dark Elf kingdom?
"Julia, do the Dark Elves use spirits?"
The Pixies had the technology to run small-scale iron smelters using spirits to extract low-quality iron. Even if it was low quality, it was still better than using stone tools. Did the Dark Elves use something similar?
"Yes, I believe they do. Though the Lamia are unable to manipulate them."
"Good. Let's summarize."
Summarize.
"There's a high probability that a fairly large Dark Elf city or something similar has become aware of our existence. If that's the case, they'll be much trickier to deal with than the humans who don't know a thing about us."
It looked like a full-scale war was inevitable.
"Keruk. My King. If they are tricky opponents..."
"We have to eliminate them, one way or another. We must crush them."
I’ve always thought that this jungle cannot be divided. With humans or angels potentially invading in the future, we cannot afford to share this jungle with other races.
To survive, we must conquer them.
"From now on, we designate the Dark Elves as a hostile race. Our top priority is their total annihilation. If such a race exists, they must be wiped out, no matter what. Understood?"
If I could claim the female Dark Elves in the process, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
"Keruk! Understood, My King!"
"Ohhh... As expected. I can see the true capacity of a Demon King."
Buril shouted his response, and Julia clasped her hands together, visibly moved. I’d have to halt our expansion for a while and prepare for war.
The next day.
As soon as I woke up, Vanessa came to report.
"I'll tell you only what I heard. You can make your own judgments."
"Of course."
"First, I was able to learn the exact purpose of their scouting mission."
"Oh!"
Vanessa continued her explanation.
"It seems they were under the impression that the Lamia here were an inferior species."
What? Inferior species?
"Why is that?"
"Because they saw us acting alongside Goblins. They judged us based on that fact. They thought we were Lamia who had fallen so far that we were consorting with Goblins."
"Ah."
Lamia are a race consisting only of females. They seek strong males to produce fertilized eggs, but for typical Lamia, being pushed out of their territory usually means settling for an Orc at best.
But what if they couldn't even manage that?
There was a possibility they might consort with Goblins. Such Lamia would be treated as the most inferior and weak among their kind.
"They let their guard down because they thought we were weak Lamia. They believed that a group like that would be easy to take down."
"That makes sense."
If they were under that delusion, I could understand. How foolish. They must have been planning to cut off the Lamia's heads and take them as trophies. This is why information is so important... Wait.
Hold on.
"Wait, does that mean..."
"Hmm?"
"They don't know much about us?"
"If their words are to be believed, yes."
"I don't think a prisoner on the verge of death would lie about something like that."
Unless they were highly trained special forces, I didn't think a Dark Elf living in a tribe or kingdom in the jungle would be capable of such deception. Besides, why would they? If they had the mental capacity to lie, they wouldn't have let their guard down in the first place.
"That's my take on it. I'll remain cautious, of course, but it seems almost certain they know nothing about us."
"If that's what you think..."
"I'll follow your lead. Regardless, you did well. Good job."
I reached out and patted Vanessa’s head. Her hair was incredibly soft.
"..."
Vanessa froze for a moment.
"Haa!"
She suddenly pulled away, startled.
"Why are you so surprised?"
"I'm going back to continue the interrogation!"
"Are they still alive?"
"They won't last through the day."
Well, that was to be expected. A Lamia spear had pierced their torso. If it had been a female Dark Elf, I might have injected my essence and used various spells to heal her, but there was no need to do that for a male. It wouldn't work anyway.
Anyway.
"They know nothing about us, huh."
Then it was worth attacking. Based on what I'd learned while playing around with Julia, neither the Lamia nor the Dark Elves were familiar with the tactics I used. Even if they had some level of civilization, they were ultimately living like savages.
Just like the Roman legions conquering the barbarians.
"I shall do the same."
Then, first, let's start with reconnaissance.
"Julia, we're going to conduct reconnaissance."
"Of course, that would be for the best. Shall I find out where the Dark Elves are located?"
"Hehehe, you're quick on the uptake."
"It is only natural. As you said, we must annihilate the Dark Elves. Hehehe."
"Ah, but even if we annihilate them, we'll be taking the females as prisoners."
The captured Dark Elves were, in fact, quite good-looking. Not as good as me, an Incubus, but they had the classic, attractive features of their race.
The females would surely be the same. Sexy and curvaceous, no doubt.
"Understood. You certainly have a weakness for women."
"The more women I take, the stronger my magical power becomes."
The magical power gained from ravishing women was far greater than what I got from killing monsters and draining their essence.
"Hehehe."
Thinking of all the Dark Elf women who would become mine made me feel good. I felt like some corrupt aristocrat. A wicked ruler waging war just to take savage women for himself.
But that was exactly who I was.
There was nothing to be ashamed of. What was I supposed to do, ignore the fact that it helped me grow? It was no different from training to increase one's strength.
"Understood. If we see any female Dark Elves, we will capture them all."
"I'll praise you, so come here."
"Yes."
I stroked the head of Julia, who had immediately lowered her posture.
Swish, swish.
Seeing her tail wag was a pleasant sight.
"Ah. If it's reconnaissance, we want to go too."
"Serineu?"
"If we watch from the ground and the air, it'll be more accurate. We'll go with the Lamia."
"Wow! You've really started thinking that far ahead!"
"You're always singing songs about 'recon, recon.' If you emphasize it that much, we can understand how important it is. Plus, we know that reconnaissance gives us the advantage."
"As expected!"
They weren't just going to look around like the captured Dark Elves. Systematic operations and reconnaissance! That is what will lead us to victory!
"Then I will explain the unit organization and the operation outline. Listen carefully."
After finishing the preparations, I sent out the scouts. It was an elite reconnaissance team composed of Lamia and Pixies.
"The rest of you, raise the alert level by one stage. The possibility of others attacking us has increased significantly."
"Keruk! Understood!"
I'd have to tell the Lizardmen to be careful if they came by. As promised, they had been sending one messenger a day.
So far, they were doing well by the lakeside. But I didn't think they could beat the Dark Elves. I had to get them prepared.
"Shaa. My King. Can we beat all the Dark Elves?"
"Of course. If we have the information, we can beat anyone."
With elite infantry and powerful cavalry at my disposal, what was there to fear? My opponents weren't trained soldiers, but 'warriors.' Warriors might be overwhelming in individual combat, but in group warfare, soldiers always win.
In war, a warrior cannot beat a soldier...!
"Alright, then! Hobgoblins and Sharan! From today, stop making household goods and produce only military supplies! Understood!"
"Shaa!"
"Grak. Understood."
We needed more weapons and armor.