Preparing for War! #6
"If you extract energy from humans, you can use it to open a gate to the Demon World, Kuls-oppa!"
Carti exclaimed in an excited voice.
"Kuls-oppa, you're doing great right now. If you get support from the Demon World in this situation, you'll definitely be able to do even better than you are now! Mother, the Duchess, is trying to help you as much as she can!"
Opening a gate using human energy, huh.
"Some helpful kin will enter under your command, Kuls-oppa. They're useful for gathering information and also for combat! Ah, of course, since you're putting the Saintess at the forefront, you have to be careful and secretive about operating demons. But the more demons there are down in the Middle Realm..."
"It means the demons can come down more easily later, right?"
"That's it! As expected of Kuls-oppa! Your brain works so well!"
That was how Carti laid out her plan, piece by piece.
In other words, she was saying I should secretly create the conditions starting now.
Someday, the demons must invade the Middle Realm on a large scale. I would be the vanguard, and I would build the foundation. And Duchess Kerasys, having dominated even the Middle Realm, would use that power to unify the Demon World...
"..."
I can't let that happen.
The Middle Realm is mine.
I will never hand it over to some other demons. This land is my world. How dare any demon covet it?
And above all, sacrifice humans?
I don't have any particular thoughts on that, but it's clear that if I did such a thing, I would lose the trust of my subordinates.
The executives who were originally human would never allow such a thing. Just because they became demons doesn't mean they've completely abandoned their normal way of thinking.
They are all my family.
I can't abandon my family, and I won't do anything that would lose their trust. If I go down that path, I won't be able to rule over my subordinates, let alone the Middle Realm.
As a Demon King, I cannot do that.
To reign, I need the trust of my subordinates.
"I see."
But I suppose Carti is a demon after all.
Carti was so kind, friendly, and cute, but she was born a demon. Her way of thinking is also demonic. Carti is my benefactor, but... it can't be helped. I have no choice but to lie and gloss over it for now.
I don't want to be at odds with Carti.
Likewise, I want to keep receiving her help.
But that, too, must have an end.
"Yeah."
Help.
Help, you say.
If I refuse the offer right here, Carti might stop helping me. She is my closest and most grateful benefactor, but I have no choice but to use her a little here.
"Sacrifices. I'll try if I can. But it will probably be difficult. Even if I take the Barony, it will be hard to gather the humans to be sacrificed. Besides, in a situation where I'm trying to gather humans from the Anti-Angel Faction to fight, human sacrifice? The moment it's discovered, the alliance is over. In fact, the humans of the Anti-Angel Faction might join hands with the angels to strike us."
I spun a reasonably rational and logical excuse.
No. It's actually true. Large-scale human sacrifice is bound to be noticed. The moment it's discovered, the alliance with the humans is over.
Gathering humans secretly might be possible, but... no matter how I look at it, it will take time. Because it wouldn't take just a dozen lives to open a gate to the Demon World.
"That is, of course, a matter to think about carefully. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that such an opportunity exists, Kuls-oppa."
"Hehehe, yeah. I'll keep it in mind."
But something suddenly came to mind.
"Ah. Carti?"
"Hm? Why?"
"About those sacrifices. Is it possible to use corpses from the battlefield?"
We will be fighting soon.
Naturally, there will be corpses, and if I can offer those as sacrifices, I can perform human sacrifices as much as I want. Even Reika wouldn't say anything about using the corpses of enemy soldiers as sacrifices.
Even if she objects a little, I can persuade her to that extent.
"Ah, that has a few problems. It's a bit difficult with dead bodies; I need various treatments and black magic while they are still alive."
So it means I have to do exactly what it sounds like—inhumane treatment.
"So you need to do it while they're alive. I understand."
I absolutely cannot do that.
Ah, but if I target criminals caught for maintaining public order or captured enemy soldiers, it might not be a problem. Either way, it's good to be able to get help, so let's keep it on the back burner.
"Whatever happens, I'm always rooting for you! And since this is an important time, I'll send the Evil Eye more often! The humans will be coming with angels soon, so always be careful!"
"Hehehe, yeah. Carti! I'll do my best, so you do your best too!"
"Yes! I hope we can meet again soon! Then, do your best, Kuls-oppa!"
With that as the end.
—*Whoosh!*
The Evil Eye melted away.
"Hmm."
It would be nice to get help from the Demon World, but it shouldn't cause any problems. Trust with my family is more important than anything else.
Likewise, I have no intention of handing over the world I will rule to the demons. Mother, the Duchess? I can't treat a woman who abandoned me as a mother. This place is where my world will be.
In the end, there's no other way but for me to become stronger.
"Alright."
Shall I try some tentacle magic training?
—*Scritch-scratch!*
"Grrr! Grr! Grr!"
"It's hard! Grr!"
The Imps are climbing the cliff quickly. It's precarious, but they climbed the cliff very well. That's because their strength relative to their body weight is quite strong.
It feels like monkeys that are good at climbing trees.
"Grr?!"
For a moment, one Imp slipped and fell, but—
—*Snap!*
I had already set up a safety device.
Thanks to the rope connected to the top of the cliff, it didn't fall.
"Pixie! Rescue it quickly!"
"Got it!"
—*Whoosh!*
I immediately sent a Pixie to rescue the dangling Imp.
"Irene. Please prepare for treatment immediately. Looking at it hitting the wall, it seems to have some bruises. Pixies! Put it down carefully!"
The Pixies immediately released the rope connected to the Imp and brought it down while holding it.
"Grr!"
"Stay still, Imp."
Irene quickly healed the injured Imp. As her Dark Heal unfolded, the bruised area began to subside.
"Phew. Im-sung! Can you hear me!"
"Grrr! I can hear you!"
Im-sung, who had already climbed to the top of the cliff, answered loudly.
"Yeah! Well done! A few people made mistakes, but that's because they're not used to it yet! Im-sung, you go and comfort them and cheer them on! Look at them warmly!"
"Grr!"
Im-sung answered confidently.
"Im-sung. This time, your task is very heavy. It's a really important mission. If the Imps do well, they can inflict huge damage on the humans."
"Demon King! Just trust me! Grr!"
"Hehehe, yeah. Your brother trusts only you."
It was a very brave answer. Now that he's told it's time for him to play an active role, his morale must have risen.
He was a real troublemaker in the past, but now he has grown into someone truly reliable.
"Let's do our best. Let the injured rest. Eat something, take a break, and then let's do one cycle of climbing slowly and leisurely."
I gave training instructions to Im-sung in that way.
"Phew."
There is still a lot of work to do.
Small outposts need to be built on cliffs like this or in trees. So that the flying Pixies can live there and keep watch.
I have to prepare very thoroughly.
I will find out the enemy's location first through surveillance and reconnaissance, and then send troops there to ambush them. Using that advantage, I will launch a preemptive strike, retreat skillfully, carry out guerrilla warfare, and then switch to an offensive if they try to give up and run away.
Completely annihilating them is our goal.
"As expected, surveillance equipment is the most important thing."
All these operations were possible because of the Pixies and Carti.
"Ah, Serineu!"
"Yeah!"
"When making an outpost on a cliff, you have to camouflage it well. Because the angels might discover it while doing aerial reconnaissance."
"Got it! I'll decorate it well!"
"Good! I trust only the smartest Serineu!"
"The smartest... Yes! Trust only me!"
It would be nice if there were things like telescopes too. To monitor properly, a telescope is essential.
In that way, we prepared for battle.
I've done everything I can.
I checked what was needed during the meeting and put everything into action. I also stocked up on food properly. All that's left is to be patient and actually fight.
—*Flap flap.*
Carti came to visit as always.
"Kuls-oppa. It's starting. The soldiers and angels are advancing."
I asked about the scale immediately.
The number of human troops is similar to last time. And she said there are four angels. Four. Four, you say. Do they think something will happen with four angels?
"Be careful. They are quite strong. They can fly quickly and know how to use long-range magic. And they are trained."
"...Is that so."
The Pixies will have a hard time.
"Their goal is to find the Saintess. Because the angels are worried that the Saintess will become a focal point. They probably also intend to defeat the monster army that has settled in the jungle while they're at it."
Honestly, seeing them come like this when there's no guarantee she's even alive, the angels must think the Saintess is very important. I was convinced. As much as the enemy values her, the Saintess is important. If she just goes to the Barony, she will actually play an active role.
"Aing, I'm shy♥ To be so popular with angels♥"
"Saintess, please be quiet for a moment."