Chapter 211: Path to Conquest Opens

Just a glance was enough to make the heavy desk shudder again.

“Wha—”

“Lirinel…?”

“Bald, baldy!”

…….

Something felt off.

“You tied your hair up…!”

“Ah.”

No wonder the legion commanders were staring more intently than usual. It must have been because of this.

……But wait, it wasn’t just me who had changed, was it?

Settling into my seat, I finally took notice of the legion commanders’ appearances. It seemed they’d all decided to drop the pretense of looking ‘human-like’ and were now openly embracing their demonic features.

Lirinel had her tentacles, usually wrapped around her neck like a scarf, now flowing freely. Myers, the Commander of the 12th Corps, had swept back his bangs, revealing the third eye on his forehead. And Idelia had all four eyes on her cheeks wide open, something she usually kept hidden.

‘……Come to think of it, even the demon servants I passed in the hallway were openly displaying their demonic traits.’

What was this? A declaration of war?

There shouldn’t be any reason for that yet.

‘Guess it’s best to just ask.’

Leaving it unaddressed might lead to misunderstandings, which would be troublesome for everyone.

I stopped tapping my fingers on the desk and looked up at Lirinel. Her eyes, already fixed on me, sparkled as if she was eager to hear what I had to say.

“Lirinel.”

“Yes, Sir Deon!”

“Your tentacles are out today, aren’t they?”

“Yes! Sir Deon, I heard you said you’d accept us just as we are!”

……Did I?

“Who said that…?”

“Myers did!”

“It was so touching to hear~”

Develania, with her hair tied back, grinned, waving her hand with fingers spread wide. My gaze was drawn to the gills behind her ears and the webbing between her fingers.

Come to think of it, she rarely spread her fingers like that in front of me. I knew she had webbing between her fingers, of course, but seeing it now, it was almost unbelievable that she could handle thread with those hands, especially since it was her primary weapon, not just a secondary one.

Deon, after observing her hand, turned his attention to Myers. The moment their eyes met, Myers froze, stiff as a statue. Given how little they’d actually spoken, figuring things out was easy.

The only time we’d spoken recently was back then.

‘Looks like our little chat during tea time really got around.’

[Sir Deon is human, so we should be mindful that our appearances might be unsettling to him….]

[Doesn’t really bother me.]

……But still.

After a moment of internal agreement, I tilted my head in confusion.

‘I don’t recall ever saying anything negative about demon appearances.’

If it were just timid Myers and his overzealous adjutant, I might have dismissed it. But knowing that most demons were being cautious, I had to consider if I’d said something in the past. The conclusion? Nope, hadn’t said a thing.

Common sense dictated you wouldn’t comment if someone was fat or thin, too tall or too short, right? Demon appearances were in the same vein. Only someone utterly lacking in common sense would make such remarks.

“When have I ever said I would discriminate against demons?”

“No, it’s not that… but when you first arrived at the Demon King’s castle, your face would always stiffen whenever you saw our… ‘unique’ features….”

“Ah.”

I get it.

That was probably because I was terrified. I’m used to it now, but let’s be honest, demon appearances are objectively scary.

Especially when I was powerless. It would have been weirder *not* to freeze up in terror.

Well, thinking back to those days, I guess it was better if they misinterpreted my reaction as ‘disgust’ rather than ‘fear’….

‘So, that’s why most of them, except for those with features they couldn’t hide, went out of their way to conceal their true forms.’

No point in explaining now. That would mean having to explain *why* my face had stiffened back then. Deon decided to just change the subject instead.

“When will Lord Demon King be—”

“Speak of the devil.”

……Talk about coincidence.

Everyone stood as the doors opened and the Demon King entered. He scanned the room, spotted Deon who’d arrived on time, and sat down with a faint smile.

A simple gesture to sit was all it took for everyone to move in unison, and silence descended. The Demon King, resting his elbow on the armrest, chin propped on his hand, began to speak.

“Well, as you all probably know… Deon’s little vacation is over.”

The silence shifted.

It was a silence thick with anticipation and excitement, the quiet joy of those confident in victory. Deon pretended not to notice, lowering his gaze. He could feel the cube Ed had slipped him before the meeting, resting under the desk.

“With the Empire crumbling, I thought the rest would be a cakewalk, even without Deon. But things haven’t been as easy as I’d hoped. We’re struggling to break through Sanguo, and the Empire is holed up in their fortress, proving tougher than expected.”

…….

“So, Deon.”

At the sound of his name, Deon’s red eyes flicked up to meet the Demon King’s.

“What do you think we should do?”

…….

It felt like a pretty important step had been skipped.

How could he just jump straight to asking what to do, without even mentioning how things had gone while I was resting, or what the current situation even was? At least a brief update would have been nice.

‘Not that I really cared, though.’

Keeping eye contact with the Demon King, Deon fiddled with the cube under the desk. He felt it click back into its original form.

……Honestly, I’d lost interest in the Human Realm. My attack on the humans alongside the Demon King was solely for revenge. With half of that achieved and Cruel finally at peace, I had no reason to care about them anymore.

‘If it were up to me, I’d wash my hands of the Human Realm entirely and focus on something else….’

I had no desire to attack them further, nor any intention of saving them from being crushed under the demons’ heels. In short, the Human Realm was no longer my concern.

How many had died already, how many more lives would be snuffed out in the future… none of my business.

Which was probably why the Demon King hadn’t bothered to give a long, drawn-out explanation. Deon Hart hadn’t asked for one, and there was no point in offering up unnecessary details that would only breed guilt for no reason.

Deon shook his legs, splashing the blood that had risen precariously close to his insteps, as he considered his options.

‘Keeping overall command was convenient for achieving my goals, and then there was that promise I’d made to the Demon King.’

Might as well just go through the motions.

As the Demon King expected, I didn’t ask for a situation report. His earlier words were enough to paint a picture.

From what I gathered, they were trying to take down both Sanguo and the Empire simultaneously. Best to start by addressing that.

“We should focus on taking down Sanguo first while just containing the Empire.”

“Sanguo?”

“Yes. Rweche is off-limits for now, and the Empire, holed up in their fortress, will take too long to crack. Plus, there’s no telling what Sanguo might try in the meantime. So, it’s best to contain the Empire for now, crush Sanguo first, and then deal with the Empire later.”

“What’s the chance of the Empire causing trouble while we’re busy crushing Sanguo?”

“The Empire right now is too busy trying to hold itself together. With Eudoardo Deserte dead, the Emperor has changed, Duke Starbe Illuster, the head of the noble faction, is also gone, throwing their power structure into chaos, and they’ve even moved their capital. They’re in utter disarray. They won’t have the bandwidth to help other countries or even think of other options. They’ll be too busy keeping their heads down to avoid drawing the Demon King’s army’s attention.”

One might think that meant we should attack the Empire *before* they could recover…

Deon turned the cube in his hand as he considered.

‘The fact that their capital, which we *have* to take, is a fortress can’t be ignored.’

Like I said, even considering the chance of Sanguo causing trouble, if we’re not confident in taking it down quickly, it’s better to postpone.

“Have you considered the alliance between the two nations?”

“Sanguo didn’t make a single move until the Demon King’s army reached the capital and I took down Eudoardo Deserte. My guess is they either broke the alliance beforehand, or they outright betrayed them.”

Either way, the Empire isn’t going to lift a finger to help Sanguo.

Even if they’d ended the alliance amicably, the fall of the Empire’s former capital and the death of their Emperor would make a re-alliance unlikely, if only because of the awkwardness. If betrayal was the reason, then it’s even less likely.

Asild, Commander of the 3rd Corps, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand.

“If I recall correctly, you said we’d just contain the Empire.”

“Right.”

“Containment still requires troops, though. Wouldn’t it be better to just attack?”

“Again, their capital, where the royals and top brass are holed up, is a fortress. That means it’s terrain designed to easily repel enemy forces.”

“I know, but what does that—”

“Terrain that’s easy to defend from the outside… well, flip that around. Isn’t it also terrain that traps those inside?”

……!

“We can contain them with minimal troops.”

Deon smirked.

Lirinel’s desk thudded as she bumped it again, and Asild fell silent. The Demon King, who’d been watching with a constant smile, finally spoke up.

“Alright, Sanguo first it is. Got any ideas on how we’re going to crush them?”

“Honestly, I think we could win just by throwing a massive force at them without any real plan. With the Empire gone, the kingdoms that became Sanguo’s vassals to protect themselves must be wavering. Keeping an eye on them and holding them in check will be a task in itself.”

That’s why you shouldn’t rely on flimsy methods like persuasion or trade to secure vassals in chaotic times. They’ll turn on you the moment it suits their own kingdom’s survival or their own safety.

The power they’d absorbed had become their poison. Deon chuckled softly.

“But if we want to add a little something extra… maybe we could trigger something to encourage their vassal kingdoms to defect.”

“Like what?”

“Like publicly announcing that I’m the Hero?”

The Demon King’s eyes narrowed, catching the hidden meaning behind my words.

“You’re planning to use that magic from your speech again?”

“Yes.”

It’s magic that projects a screen across the entire continent. Must take a heck of a lot of magic power.

The Demon King countered.

“We could just spread rumors, though. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“That’ll take too long. And rumors can get twisted as they spread.”

“Bad news travels fast, and distortions usually skew things in a negative direction. If it’s bad news from the humans’ perspective, wouldn’t that benefit us? And how long could it really take? We can wait a little while.”

“I can’t wait.”

Thunk. Deon placed the cube firmly on the desk and met the Demon King’s gaze.

“Human lifespans are short.”

“But you’re the Hero now. You’ll live nearly as long as I will, won’t you?”

“The longer you live, the shorter time seems to feel. A year to a child feels vastly different than a year to an old man. And I’m still young. Even as a short-lived human, that holds true, no need to even compare it to demons. What’s the point of a long life in the future? Time feels long *right now*.”

The more I spoke, the more the Demon King’s lips curved into a pleased smile. Deon continued without paying it any mind.

“Besides, perceived time always slows down for those impatient for it to pass quickly. I don’t know how long we’d have to wait for rumors to spread, but from my perspective, wanting to wrap things up as soon as possible, it’ll feel like an eternity. And more importantly.”

Even setting all that aside.

“Even if rumors spread far and wide, most people will just dismiss them as baseless gossip. Especially with such an outlandish claim. To end this quickly and definitively, a broadcast is the way to go.”

Slamming them with undeniable truth through a visual and audio broadcast. What could be easier or faster?

The Demon King nodded, conceding the point.

“True enough. Having you, the Hero, step into the spotlight will be a massive shock. Should make things easier to manipulate.”

“No.”

Deon shook his head.

“The one on screen will be Dan.”

“Dan…?”

“Of course, we’ll need proof I’m the Hero, so I’ll make sure to show my face on the side of the screen….”

I’ll be on screen, but I won’t be the one talking. Dan will do the talking.

The legion commanders’ expressions shifted as they grasped the meaning.

“Dan?”

“That human…?”

A murmur rippled through the meeting room. The legion commanders knew exactly who Dan was. Probably no one in the Demon King’s castle didn’t. Dan was the first human Sir Deon had brought here himself, and one of very few at that.

But still, it didn’t quite make sense.”

The path to conquering the Human Realm, a dream they had long cherished, was finally open. Taking this war seriously, most of them, unlike their race which was known to submit to the strong, dared to frown in the presence of a powerful being.

“Sir Deon…”