3 bar menu

Chapter 284 part 1

When the reply from Arkrest Kingdom to the official letter from Mundus Carnus was delivered, Demon Lord Yaheim was in such a fabulous mood that surprised those around him. As he sat in a chair in his office, he handed the letter in his hand to Zarhamera standing beside him.

This room had been used for generations by their ancestral leaders who had moved from the demon realm to the earthly world. Naturally, it was imbued with the magical powers and spiritual energy of those great ones before them. Ordinary folks would not be able to set foot into this place. Even if assassins were to enter this room, the room would sense their hostility and bloodlust. Any intruders would suffer immense oppression, while the master of the room would be alerted to their presence. 

「Heh heh, Zarhamera, read this.」　

Light spilled out from the large windows and the glistening chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Yaheim was grinning so sinisterly that even the light illuminating himself would be frightened away.

「You’re snickering with such glee again. I’m sure things are going as you planned.」

With all the guards and servants outside the room, Zarhamera adopted the tone and attitude of an old acquaintance rather than his usual demeanor of a stern prime minister. 

Zarhamera reverently received the letter from the lord whom he had sworn his allegiance to. The speed at which he finished reading the letter was faster than one could even count to one. As expected, the letter related news that would please this friend of his—someone he had spent more time with than his parents.

「The language is civil, but the sentiment is one that challenges us to act if we’ve got the guts. The kingdom has responded in a manner to your liking.」　

「Ineed. I heard that the kingdom has a long history of peace, but it seems to me that some very determined individuals are at the helm. The Romal Empire isn’t afraid of us either. They made not a squeak and faced us with composure. Even so, they seemed ever ready to leave behind a pile of corpses if necessary. If I had known this would happen, I might’ve been more entertained if I had switched our strategy from advancing westward to moving southward earlier.」　

「Even though demons like us would share in such amusement, please put yourself in the shoes of those who work for your entertainment.」　

「It’s more of a pain to deal with someone like you, with your stern facade but hidden heart of glee, than me and my blatant expressions. That being said, my source of insight…」　

「What is it, My Lord?」　

「In view of the warnings from Vengitta and Quince, as well as the state of the delegation, is it not necessary to make changes to the invasion plan?」　

Yaheim’s words had been laced with childish glee thus far, but his eyes narrowed slightly when he broached the subject of the heartfelt advice of his trusted confidants. It was a habit that he rarely exhibited, surfacing only when faced with decisions concerning his kingdom or his race.

「Is this about Perri, the head of the delegation, and several delegation members who were in direct contact with Baroness Christina Almadia Bern falling into a state of useless delirium? It’s hard to believe the idea spoonfed to the doctors and everyone else that there was no bewitchment or hypnosis involved, but a result of being enamored by overwhelming beauty. It’s even harder to believe that Vengitta and Quince were severely affected as well. Christina has that young girl who attacked you with her, so let’s just assume she’s a goddess of beauty or something.」　

「That girl’s vicious bloodlust and combat abilities are gorgeous to me, but she isn’t lovely enough to be a vessel of a goddess of beauty. Just as there are individuals whose souls cannot be crushed by gods, there can also be monsters who take on the faces of humans in this world, like the living doll Vengitta and the ancient demonic insect Quince. But Vengitta would certainly be sulking about this.」　

Yaheim scowled at this man who had the audacity to yearn for Lenia as his wife. It was rare for him to do so, but he had done it because he knew how paranoid, troublesome, and nasty Vengitta could be, and he bore genuine pity for Christina. 

Zarhamera had a reputation for being cold-hearted, cool-headed, and stern. Even so, he pitied Christina, despite her being the leader of their enemy. 

「Vengitta is a living doll imbued with the will of her creator. A puppeteer who has created a living doll of her caliber won’t be half-hearted about it.」　

「Vengitta is obsessed with beauty and created to seek out more beautiful creatures. It is understandable that she cannot ignore the significance of her own existence. It is hard for me to share her standards of beauty, so I’m stumped by her obsession with the beauty of her opponents. Well, her twisted nature may just make her perfect to be one of the six demon generals.」　

「Your Lord, may you refrain from stating that the six demon generals were chosen for their twisted natures? Instead, Vengitta and her doll troupe possess combat abilities fit for the six demon generals.」　

「Don’t you and I both pity Bern’s baroness because Vengitta is fixated on her in this manner? Even Quince gave up on reeling her in midway. If we take Quince’s report at face value, she is likely to express even greater obsession despite knowing nothing about Baroness Christina besides her name and her reputation. That’s truly worth pitying.」　

「She might dissect her alive, freeze her in ice to prevent deterioration, or even make a replica. Well, we have not met Baroness Christina in person, so it’s hard to pinpoint what will happen…」　

「It’ll be a pleasing mistake for me even if that obsessive Vengitta is blown to bits. If Vengitta and her doll troupe are crushed, it’ll be the first time one of the six demon generals is defeated ever since I became the demon lord. It is unbecoming of a lord to rejoice at the appearance of a powerful enemy when a key military force is crumbling, but I am follower of a god of war. I can’t help but be pleased with such entertainment.」　

「It seems to me that it is far more terrifying to catch your eye than Vengitta’s」　　

Zarhamera’s sigh was so heavy that the floor seemed to crack under it as it left his mouth.

　＊　

As mentioned many times, Arkrest Kingdom had been preparing for battle even before the envoy of Mundus Carnus arrived to announce the start of the war. Both parties who knew nothing of each other’s forces ascertained the protocols for each other’s surrender, ceasefire, and truce, as well as the treatment of prisoners of war and non-combatants for the upcoming war. Once that was done, all that was left was to holler for victory and march forward into the future. 

The nobles of Arkrest Kingdom viewed Galois as the key defense in the north, considering that Galois was originally built as a fortress city. Moreover, another fortress had been hastily built on the uninhabited land to the northwest of the Barony of Bern.

This was different from the large number of strongholds built by Christina and Dran as they pleased. The fortress was meant to be used jointly by all the lords. Despite the availability of materials, the construction of this fortress was still ongoing due to time constraints. At the moment, it was functioning as a goods depot. 

One of the main reasons for the hasty construction of the fortress was the low capacity of the Barony of Bern to serve as a military base despite expectations of the barony to become the front lines. 

Despite Bern’s constant development since the past year, progress had largely been from its economy and population growth. The military strength of Bern has increased significantly, but they still lacked the rations and facilities to station an army of 10,000 troops. It would be hard for Bern to feed and prepare such an army for actual battle. Hence, Fort Jogan was built separately from Galois, the final base for northern defense in the kingdom. 

Naturally, the invasion of the demon lord’s army was not restricted to the Barony of Bern. Each of the lords left forces for defense in their respective territories, ensuring that not all the kingdom’s northern troops were concentrated in Fort Jogan. 

Arkrest Kingdom was approximately shaped like an oblong rhombus, with the Barony of Bern at the northernmost area. An invasion from the Dark Wilderness would be impeded by Mores Mountains and Ente Forest, making an invasion from the north to the east impossible. 

An invasion route from the north to the west would thus be likely. For the nobles of the western regions considering an invasion of the Romal Empire, the invasion by the demon lord’s army caught them completely off guard. In their eyes, they were facing a truly troublesome situation.