Chapter 64: Two Schemes (5)

Lapis went down the list of names on the piece of parchment with her finger.

“As you can see, the number of Mountain Faction members increases as you go lower in rank. This is not a mere coincidence. The weaker the Demon Lords are, the more likely they are to put their Demon Lord Castle in places where there are monsters and no humans.”

It was as Lapis pointed out. There was a relatively equal balance between Mountain Faction, Plains Faction, Neutral Faction, and those that weren’t a part of any factions among the top 20; however, the number of Mountain Faction members increased drastically beyond Rank 20.

It was clear what this meant.

“These guys do not wish to fight the humans to the utmost extent.”

“That is correct. Ever since the expedition of the 7th Crescent Alliance, Their Majesties have been extremely reluctant to go to war with the humans.”

In <Dungeon Attack>, the Crescent Alliance referred to the alliance between Demon Lords. Demon Lords formed large-scale armies in order to conquer the human race several times throughout history. There were many times where they achieved a certain degree of success, but the result was always the same.

The failure of the expedition.

There were several reasons for this. The biggest issue was the fact that the alliance of Demon Lords had a whole seventy-two monarchs. People say that too many cooks spoil the broth and this was exactly the case.

Despite having an army of monsters that are much more powerful than humans, the Demon Lords of the Crescent Alliance would get defeated one by one by the humans’ strategies or due to inner discord time and time again. According to the game, there were even times where the humans did nothing and the Demon Lords dispersed on their own. Seriously, it’s impossible for this to not be a pitiful story.

“Due to the constant failure of the Crescent Alliance expedition, the Mountain Faction, which had no more than 2 to 3 members a thousand years ago, instantly became a group with almost a majority of the Demon Lords under its affiliation. During the 7th expedition 150 years ago, they say that a majority of the Demon Lords refused to even participate.”

“How unbefitting as Demon Lords!……is what I want to say, but.”

I smiled bitterly.

“If you consider the gains and losses, then that’s a natural choice to make.”

“I agree as well.”

As a merchant, Lapis agreed to this matter of factly.

Why would someone spend a massive amount of funding just to go on an expedition that is destined to fail? Especially when they’re going to lose due to their allies and not their enemies. Even if it is a Demon Lord’s duty to lead demonkind to the human world, there is a limit to pouring water into poison.

This isn’t the only problem.

Each time the expedition of the Crescent Alliance failed, demons, the race seen as monsters from the human’s perspective, were killed off en masse. Every time this happened, the strength of the human forces would increase drastically. The Demon Lord alliance ended up helping humans.

The other races that used to be on the Crescent Alliance’s side a thousand years ago, like the fairies and dwarves, have started to declare themselves as permanently neutral for the past hundred years. The Demon Lords were greatly enraged by the other races leaving; however, it was hard to, in reality, cope with the humans’ retaliatory wars that would follow the Crescent Alliance’s defeat. With this justification, the Demon Lords had no other choice but to calm their rage.

Because if you were to draw out the true meaning behind the other races’ statement,

‘Aren’t we the only ones that keep incurring losses because you Demon Lords are constantly losing stupidly?’

It was this.

Demon Lords couldn’t possibly lift their heads before the other races that had participated and made sacrifices constantly from the first Crescent Alliance to the seventh. The other races weren’t bad, it was the Demon Lords that were bad. They incurred the losses on themselves and lost the trust of the other races.

The Demon Lord forces became exhausted.

Demonkind gradually lost hope in the Demon Lords.

Even the helpers in the human world who had been supporting the demon armies turned their backs on them.

For instance, Ivar Lodbrok, the chief of the Keuncuska Firm who had a personal route in <Dungeon Attack>. She became disappointed in the Crescent Alliance’s pointless expeditions and ended up betraying the Demon Lords before joining the hero’s side. Near the latter half of the game, the Demon Lords form the 8th Crescent Alliance in order to retaliate against the hero as a last resort; however, due to the internal conflict caused by the Mountain Faction led by Paimon, they were defeated. As the last Demon Lord on the surface was wiped out, the Crescent Alliance never managed to obtain a victory for their side.

In the end, a majority of the Demon Lords recently began to strategize ways to defend their bases. The Mountain Faction did so voluntarily while the Plains Faction had no other choice.

Therefore⎯⎯.

“Their Majesties in the Mountain Faction are fundamentally extremely passive.”

Even if they are the faction with the highest number of Demon Lords, they rarely ever mobilized their armies.

“As Your Highness could tell from the way Her Highness Paimon went out of her way to start political strife with you, they may go on the offense aggressively, but they do not do so with force.”

I understood what Lapis was trying to tell me. I nodded.

“Political strifes have always been a battle of justifications. Paimon, their supposed leader, lost to me a short while ago. The justification to attack me had disappeared. They wouldn’t directly enforce violence until a fair amount of time had passed.”

“This one agrees. We do not know whether he is truly the culprit or not, but……would this not contextualize the reason why Rank 68 Belial had supported Riff’s party?”

Hm.

Ths situation was like this.

The group that I’m temporarily hostile towards is the greatest faction among the Demon Lords. If I were to fight them on my own, then I wouldn’t last a day. However, they are strategizing incredibly passively and do not have a justification to attack me. Even if that Belial guy had a big enough grudge to cause me harm, he couldn’t act in a way that would leave evidence back to him.

In other words, there’s no way that I would come under great danger.

What a happy occasion.

Does this mean I could relax and slowly build up my defenses? I can flatter Barbatos’ Plains Faction appropriately, ask Marbas of the Neutral Faction to mediate, and extend my influence leisurely while destroying my enemies’ schemes and the adventurer parties that approach me, right?

‘No.’

I denied this firmly.

I’ve never been such a pushover that I would allow those hostile towards me to do whatever they please. If they messed with me, then I have to pay them back by twice the amount. If I can’t kill them, then a critical injury. If I can’t cause a critical injury, then I’ll bite their leg. Tolerance is a luxury only granted to the strong! The weak cannot show generosity to their enemies. There’s no way to know when the enemy they released would come back after having gotten stronger, after all.

My enemies are passive?

‘Lucky me.’

I chuckled in my head.

If the other party is going to be on the defense, then I will gladly push from my end.

“……If you do this here, then…….”

“No, if you consider the Francia Empire’s tendencies…….”

“Understood. By actively spreading rumors…….”

I had a long discussion with Lapis about what to do from now on. As one of the best players of <Dungeon Attack>, I possessed a massive amount of information. I know the weakness of every human faction. While receiving advice from Lapis about the matters I don’t know, I devised a strategy that was satisfyingly perfect.

“……Your Highness Dantalian is truly a terrifying individual.”

Lapis let out a sigh after our marathon discussion.

“No one else could devise a scheme as grand as this. Who could possibly imagine that all of this originated from a single person’s brain.”

“If it succeeds, that is.”

“This one could not possibly dare to give a guarantee, however.”

Lapis looked straight at me.

“I can bet my life of 200 years that Your Highness Dantalian will succeed.”

“How assuring. That’s right, even I believe that I will be the person who will get the last laugh.”

“Then I will immediately return to the demon world and execute the first plan.”

Lapis got up and bowed to me respectfully. Even though her affection was at 50, be it the past or now, she has always been firm about etiquette. I strangely felt a sense of security seeing her unchanging mannerism.

“On another note, Your Highness, what will you name this operation as a whole?”

An operation name, is it?

I wondered if something like that was even necessary, but I also felt like going along with the mood and playing along with Lapis. I uttered the name that came to my head.

“Let us call it Operation Minerva.”

The scheme began.

* * *

Rank 8 Demon Lord Barbatos’ Dungeon, commonly known as 「Palace of the Dead」.

Barbatos was sitting on a throne made of stone. She was observing the cute antics of her undead monsters with an utterly bored look on her face as usual. After she got involved with Riff’s party, nothing interesting happened in her life ever since.

“Aah⎯⎯. It’s fine, it’s fine.”

She waved her hand apathetically.

“It still isn’t interesting. Hurry up and go away.”

The undead monsters groveled in apology before slowly disappearing from Barbatos’ sight. Including this reaction, she was bored with everything. Only alcohol and sex could slightly relieve her boredom, but she wasn’t in the mood for alcohol or women today.

Within the palace where only Barbatos lived and breathed, she talked to herself.

“Damn it. Did they not find the proof yet……?”

Uugh, Barbatos grabbed her hair with her hands.

A month has passed since she watched Riff’s adventurer party get destroyed before her very eyes. She had heard no news about Dantalian taking any sort of action since then. Barbatos felt uneasy. ……Did he perhaps not find the proof? No, there’s no way. If he were that much of an idiot, then he wouldn’t have been able to crush that Paimon bitch. Maybe he got scared and is cowering in fear? He didn’t appear like a coward. Rank 68 doesn’t seem like that bad of a match! If he’s a man, then he should show some backbone!…….

“Ei, fuck. Whatever.”

Barbatos let out a sigh.

If Dantalian wasn’t able to figure anything out or wasn’t taking any actions despite having found out, then that’s as far as he can go. There’s no value in placing any hopes in him.

If it’s for the sake of her goal, she would do anything, by fair means or foul.

Therefore, she’s used to betraying others.

She’s also used to being betrayed.

“…….”

Barbatos swept back her white hair.

“……It’s probably like that this time as well.”

This wasn’t anything particularly new, Barbatos muttered as if to convinced herself.

“Haa, then I’ll have to wait a long ass time again until a useful fellow appears…….”

“Your Highness⎯⎯Barbatos⎯⎯Your Highness⎯⎯Barbatooos⎯⎯.”

A dreary voice filled the Demon Lord chamber.

Immediately after, a pale ghost rushed out from the floor. Of all places, it had surged out from right next to Barbatos’ feet. Barbatos, who had just now entered a state of remorse, was startled.

“Ah, dear fuck!”

Your Hiiiighness⎯⎯there is something I must tell⎯⎯.”

“Hey, you son of a bitch that deserves to get a pole impaled through their ass!”

She shouted angrily.

“Did I or did I not tell you to enter through the main door when you want an audience with me? Fu⎯⎯uck, if I told you this so much for the past 500 years to the point that it’s piled and piled up like a mountain of earwax in your ear canal, then you should have understood this by now!”

“My sincerest apologies⎯⎯but there is something I⎯⎯.”

“What is it!? Fucking hell, if it isn’t important, then I’m going to actually send you over to the other side this time!”

“It’s⎯⎯Iiiiit’s⎯⎯.”

Barbatos placed her hand on her flat chest. Phew, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Even though Demon Lords are the most superior race and have the innate ability to survive even if their hearts were to stop, that still didn’t make it a good feeling. Especially for Barbatos who once had her heart pierced by a warrior during the third Crescent Alliance expedition.

Nevertheless, the news brought to Barbatos by the ghost messenger made Barbatos completely forget about the feeling of one’s heart stopping.

“His Highness⎯⎯Dantaliaaaan⎯⎯is heeeereee⎯⎯.”

What?

Barbatos froze.

“Dantalian came to visit?”

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I should have announced this sooner, but I’m going to slow down a bit because my finals are basically next week. And since my finals are next week, my professors have decided to roll out a bunch of assignments all at once so we can finish those quickly and focus on studying for the exams. I’m actually going to die. I’ll try to at least do like 500 words a day if possible, but don’t hold me on this.