Volume 10 Chapter 14 (2/2)

What a friendly kid.

”To celebrate your kind's inauguration, I'll now buy some [Maelstroms]. I think two will do for now.”

I had expected the new monster to be useful for defense, but now that I have seen it in action, I was certain that this little thing was a weapon instead of a shield.

The problem with the Darkness Dragons and also the Tempest Wyverns was that their huge size could prove to be disadvantage in tight dungeon rooms. A lot of the times, before asking if the space was wide enough to let them fight, we had to ask whether the space was wide enough to let them just pass through.

Obviously, such wouldn't be an issue to the Nevans. Even if the ceiling was set too low, they could still contribute a lot just by perching themselves to an ally's shoulders and becoming an artillery battery that fired off magic attacks.

”Wow, you're so generous, your majesty.”

”Uh, thanks. Though truth be told, I wouldn't really mind making one more if we had at least one other angel on our side. Especially if that angel had something to offer in terms of defense so that the Nevans' [Kin of Angels] could be used more effectively. I guess I'll just try to aim for one the next time I make a monster.”

Currently, our attack force was solid. It was now time to improve our defenses.

I could buy new dungeon rooms using the remaining DP. It could get expensive, but just adding a room full of traps can bolster our defenses a lot.

”Oto-san, do you already know what kind of monster you're going to make next?”

”Just a vague idea. If I use an imitation of the [Holy] medal I used to make Raph and [Creation], I think high-ranking angels are guaranteed to show up as possible results, but I'm not sure about everything else. I don't know what to use for the third medal or which specific monster I want.”

”Well, it'd be really handy if we had someone like Rozelitte!”

”Ohh, Rozelitte… yeah, her powers are quite helpful.”

Thanks to Kuina's words, I remembered about Rozelitte, the angel that Stolas had lent to me before.

She had the ability to communicate telepathically to any and all monsters that belonged to the same army as her even if they were in different dungeon rooms.

Moreover, she also had a seemingly unique skill that unconditionally boosted all the stats of all her allies within the same dungeon.

Her own stats weren't high, but in terms of supporting the entire army during a fight, she was probably the strongest monster there was.

As such, I wanted someone like her.

Though it might be impossible to get the angel herself, I could negotiate about getting a [Wind] medal as well as an imitation of the other medal she used for Rozelitte. Combining those with [Creation] should give a monster that had similar abilities as her.

”Thanks for that great idea, Kuina. Alright, let's buy another [Maelstrom]. Assuming that Stolas's army will find more value out of the Nevans than us, offering Stolas the monsters produced by the third [Maelstrom] on top of my [Creation] medal should be enough to convince her to hand over her medal and also reveal what the other medal she used for Rozelitte was.”

Stolas's basic strategy was to make Rozelitte lead the defense force while a copy of Rozelitte via [Omnipresence] led the attack force.

In other words, be it offense or defense, the Nevans' [Kin of Angels] would always activate.

Through our previous deal, Stolas was receiving some of my Darkness Dragons in exchange for some of her Tempest Wyverns. There was no question that the Darkness Dragons were powerful, but because her side didn't manufacture bombs or had a monster that could strengthen monsters of the [Death] or [Darkness] attribute, she was unable to draw out their full potential.

On the other hand, drawing out the full potential of the Black Bird Nevans should be easy for her.

”But your majesty, aren't you offering too much? …you know”

”Not at all. I mean, I'm pretty much bribing her into giving me her trump card. There's no way that'll come cheap.”

If anything, I was worried that she would ask for more. Because then, I would gladly pay it. That was how much I wanted Rozelitte's abilities.

Moreover, she was my ally.

I wanted her to have another S rank monster besides Enlil.

Until I graduate from being a new Demon Lord, I could produce four more [Creation] medals.

My plans were:

To give one to [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas.

To give another to [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove.

To make a new angel-type monster.

And the last one, I was going to give to [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. Provided, of course, that I could confirm he was truly an ally.

”Kuina also thinks it's a fair deal. If the deal succeeds, Avalon will get stronger again!”

”Yeah, and it's not just us that's going to get stronger. Stolas's side as well. I really want this deal to come through.”

While we were talking idly like that, a large, white bird with a letter attached to its leg flew to me.

Because it wasn't the blue bird Stolas and I were using to communicate with each other, it was unlikely that the letter came from her.

I received the letter and then began to read it.

”…Marcho did warn me that the enemies were moving. Is this how they intend to get their pretext to wage [War] on me?”

Belial wrote that the anti-Procell alliance has attacked him simply for joining my faction. Despite doing all he could to fight off the hordes of monsters making their way through his dungeon, he feared it would not be enough. As such, he was asking for my assistance.

The enemy side has made an interesting move.

Until we have graduated from being new Demon Lords, we were protected by a rule that prohibited older Demon Lords from initiating an attack against us.

However, Belial wasn't a new Demon Lord and was thus fair game to them.

If I helped Belial and attacked them, they would be given the justification they needed to be able to attack me without repercussions.

On the other hand, abandoning Belial was not really an option for me.

It wasn't that I thought abandoning an ally in these circumstances was unforgivable, it was that if information of me abandoning him spread, all hopes of getting others to form a faction would be lost.

”Kuina, it's sudden, but we're going to go to Belial's dungeon. We mustn't give the enemies the justification they need, and I have just the plan. So, go tell Duke to prepare 10 Darkness Dragons within 15 minutes!”

If the enemy was going to make use a bizarre tactic, then so shall I.

I planned to help Belial in such a way that the enemies wouldn't gain the pretext they wanted. It wasn't without risk, but the most I stood to lose were the ten Darkness Dragons.

”Roger! I'm off!”

…Belial… Time to see if you're really an ally.

My strategy was based on the assumption that Belial was an ally.

I wanted to believe he was one. And so, we were taking such a risk.

Alright, here we go, off to save a friend.