Volume 10 Chapter 20 (1/2)
Three days after Duke's group set off on a campaign to conquer the [Insect] Demon Lord's dungeon, they had safely returned.
He had just given me his written report.
”…I guess it's no surprise that there are some casualties. He is a Demon Lord with an A rank medal, after all.”
”I beg your forgiveness for squandering your war potential, my lord.”
”No, don't worry, you did just fine. Losing only 6 Avalon-RItters against such a formidable enemy is a great feat. If anything, you should be praised.”
According to his report, their losses consisted only of: 6 Avalon-Ritters, tens of golems, and about 200 resurrected monsters and humans.
Each of the Avalon-Ritters' performance would be equivalent to an A rank monster's, and even an S rank monster's for the short while that their [Burst Drive] was active. Clearly, the Avalon-Ritters by themselves were plenty strong. Plus, the three knights, Kuina, and Duke were there as well.
So, quite frankly, to have 6 of them be destroyed despite my overwhelming attack force, the enemy was much stronger than I gave him credit for.
”It seems you've had a bit of fun yourself.”
”…yes, my lord. I deemed it necessary to go to the frontlines myself in order to support them. Here is an extra report regarding the enemy's elite monsters. It is my hope it would prove useful in improving Avalon's strength further.”
I had schemes and plans, but so did other Demon Lords.
Despite having an A rank medal, the [Insect] Demon Lord did not get conceited. He prepared all sort of things against those that wanted to harm him. Given that, I could learn a thing or two from him.
”Once we're done, go and see Aura for a medical exam. You've activated [Berserk] for such a long time. Some aftereffects might be present. It's better to be safe than sorry.”
”Understood, my lord.”
”Oh, by the way, did you bring back the broken Avalon-Ritters?”
”Of course. We have already delivered it to Rorono-sama's workshop. According to the Dwarf Smiths, their twin golem cores are safe, so it'd be no problem for Rorono-sama to restore them.”
”That's great to hear. I'd hate to permanently lose 6 Avalon-Ritters, after all. And did you manage get suitable replacements for the lost undead monsters?”
”Yes, my lord. The enemy had many strong monsters, some even stronger than those that we lost. After all, among them were monsters that were able to take down the Avalon-Ritters. And that's before I resurrect them and strengthen them via my [Enhanced Resurrection]. So, in the end, we have a better undead force now. Those that I couldn't resurrect right away were placed in cold storage.”
Duke, just like always, was so cunning.
If he wound up collecting stronger units than those we lost, losing those units wasn't an issue at all.
”Then, let me ask again: Duke, did any of my monsters die?”
”Many were wounded, but none have lost their lives, my lord. I have understood that you wanted to avoid deaths as much as possible, so I too made that a priority.”
The thing I hated the most was monster death.
For that reason, Avalon's general strategy began with making use of the golems as well as the resurrected monsters and humans as shields.
There were interesting points in his reports, so I decided to ask him about those.
”Nevertheless, cooperation among the enemy Demon Lords really is fragile, isn't it? For not a single reinforcement to be sent to [Insect] Demon Lord's dungeon, unbelievable.”
”I think the enemies' alliance is almost non-existent at this point.”
If the enemy Demon Lords' alliance was working the way an alliance should, the [Insect] Demon Lord would have focused on defense and stalling, waiting for reinforcements from the other Demon Lords to arrive. And when reinforcements do arrive, they could then pull off a pincer maneuver with the [Insect] Demon Lord's forces.
It was possible the others wanted to attack Avalon while we were busy with conquering the [Insect] Demon Lord's dungeon, but even then, they would still be willingly letting the [Insect] Demon Lord die.
In either of those cases, the anti-Procell alliance was an alliance only in name.
”Thank you. I now have a better grasp of things. Duke, after you've been examined, go back to your home and give yourself a nice, long vacation.”
”As you wish, my lord! …or so I'd like to say, but a long vacation, my lord? Wouldn't it be more prudent to attack another Demon Lord as soon as we have resupplied?”
”Yes, that indeed was the plan.”
After resupplying our attack force, we had planned to send them out to attack another before any of them could fortify their defenses further.
Such tenacity to do whatever was necessary was thankfully a trait present in my monsters.
”Was? Is there a reason it isn't anymore?”
”…this morning, the anti-Procell alliance has submitted a request to settle. This request was passed through [Law] Demon Lord Baal and then through Marcho. Baal seems to hold the greatest power after the three strongest Demon Lords, but more importantly, he's also a close friend of Marcho. That means that we can't simply ignore this request.”
If the enemy Demon Lords presented such a request to me directly, I would have instantly turned it down, but now that an important figure was involved, I had to at least listen.
”Do those Demon Lords have no pride? They have ganged up on my lord, a new Demon Lord, and when their defeat is clear, they go to such a person for help? How shameless!”
”One could argue that life is more important than pride…but that's neither here nor there. What matters is that [Law] Demon Lord Baal is apparently a fair mediator. The terms aren't so bad; I might even accept. Do you want to take a look?”
I handed Duke the papers where the offers were written.
The contents of the papers would suggest that rather than requesting for a settlement, they were begging for their lives.
The first point was that for the anti-Procell alliance be disbanded at once.
Next, all participating Demon Lords on their side shall make a [Blood Pact] and promise to not cause me any harm from now on. It was no simple verbal promise, it was a contract that bound their souls to the promise through magic and the power of blood. If they were to violate their promise, they would be crippled, or even be killed.
And then, as compensation for all the troubles that they have caused me, all the original medals they would make for a full year starting from next month shall be forfeited to me.
According to our mediator, there were four Demon Lords who presented themselves as members of the anti-Procell alliance. This number was consistent with our own findings.
So, for me whose [Creation] medal needed another Demon Lord's original medal to work, receiving almost 50 original medals was quite a boon.
”…it looks like this agreement will one-sidedly benefit you, my lord.”
”It certainly does. Killing a Demon Lord or crushing their crystal would grant me the ability to select their medal as a given month's medal, but this deal will give me their medals directly. Moreover, they're willing to make a [Blood Pact] to not harm me, but are only asking for me to make a regular declaration saying I won't harm them. I mean, I get that they're desperate, but it's as if they're taking things too lightly. After all, I could just ignore that declaration and end them once they've given me all those medals.”
Then again, if I were to do such a move, I would gain an unfavorable reputation among Demon Lords. Once that spread enough, I would be isolated even more.
Nevertheless, I couldn't help but wonder why such a risky proposal came from their end.
”If I may be so bold as to share my opinion, could it be that this whole deal is so that you would lower your guard? Or could it be so that they could earn some time?”
”Both possible at the moment. What do you think we should do?”
”I think we should play along. If their goal is to make us drop our guards, we'd just have to be continuously vigilant. If their goal is to stall, we would have gained so much more strength than they would have.”
I was in agreement.
Time was our ally. Rather than fear it, we could utilize it.