Chapter 159: Age of Tyrants (9)

Five days later, the legions arrived at the imperial capital of Habsburg.

“…….”

The Demon Lords could only fall into silence as they passed through the tall gates. They were stepping foot in the capital city of Habsburg for the first time ever. They were looking forward to a glorious and joy-filled victory; however, all that was left was black smoke.

There was nothing there. They couldn’t even see a single animal. The sharp smell of smoke left by the flames dug deeply into their noses. The Demon Lords set up a rough encampment above the razed city grounds. Barbatos looked around at the city with a forlorn look on her face before her eyes suddenly opened wide in realization.

She hastily spoke to the other Demon Lords.

“This is a tactical retreat. Damn it.”

“They deliberately retreated?”

Gamigin furrowed her brows as she spoke. She had been covering her nose with a silk cloth ever since they entered the city. Her voice was muffled because of this.

“Do you remember the 5th Crescent Alliance? Agares. You were in charge of Moscow at that time.”

“It was the Kingdom of Kyiv back then and not Moscow.”

The ends of Rank 2 Demon Lord Agares’ mouth twitched as if she were displeased.

“Why are you bringing up someone’s bad memories all of a sudden?”

“They’ve already been doing it during this war, but the humans carried out a scorched earth policy back then as well. It also happened to be winter. You went through all sorts of effort to get to Kyiv, but there was nothing left by the time you got there.”

“So you’re saying the Habsburg Empire abandoned their capital as a part of their scorched earth policy?”

Agares brought her hand to her chin. She would always have a smile lingering on her lips, but she now looked serious. Barbatos continued speaking to the other Demon Lords.

“See? The imperial tombs were all emptied. They basically disassembled their imperial palace and took it with them. They probably intend to move their capital. Fuck, this is our last chance. We have to send out our elite soldiers to pursue them.”

“This is our last chance?”

Marbas asked back.

“What do you mean, Barbatos?”

“Those imperial bastards are trying to pick up their entire capital and move it elsewhere. Do you think their people would nod obediently and follow along? I’m sure that they forced them to move. Their public sentiment must have taken a severe blow!”

Barbatos got worked up.

“They’re retreating while trying to console those people. They’re probably moving at a snail’s pace. This is the moment we can bring this empire down. If we pursue them and bite their asses, then the entirety of Habsburg will become ours! Now then, comrades. Let’s raise our flags and attack them now!”

‘So?’ Barbatos looked at the other Demon Lords.

“…….”

“…….”

Barbatos’ brow twitched. This wasn’t the response she wanted.

“What? Do you think I’m wrong? Then say it.”

“Barbatos, the 2nd legion is satisfied with capturing the capital city of Habsburg.”

Marbas spoke carefully.

“The best tactic is a bloodless victory. We managed to take over the most reputable city in the center of the continent without shedding a single drop of blood. Is there a reason for us to needlessly pursue more battles?”

“Mhm. I agree.”

Gamigin chimed in.

“From what I can tell, this means the higher-ups of the human army turned their backs toward their people. Wouldn’t we gain a psychological advantage if we just leave them be?”

The other Demon Lords nodded. A fierce look appeared on Barbatos’ face once she saw this.

“……Hey, my close comrades. What are you talking about? I’m starting to doubt my ears right now. Let me explain it to you guys one more time. If we work together to pursue them now, then we could erase the Habsburg Empire from the map entirely. They’re hastily retreating while also trying to cumbersomely take care of their people.”

“About that.”

Agares chuckled.

“Unless they’re idiots, wouldn’t those imperials be expecting us to pursue them? Hm? I feel like they’re tossing out bait and asking us to bite it. Why should we intentionally take the bait?”

“……It doesn’t matter if they’ve set up a trap or are lying in wait to ambush us, Agares.”

Barbatos barely managed to push her anger down her throat as she spoke.

“There are only two things that are important. The enemy is weak and we’re strong.”

“What’s there to say that they aren’t hiding a trump card?”

“…….”

Barbatos could tell that something wasn’t right.

Marbas, Agares, and Gamigin, the leading members of the Crescent Alliance had apathetic looks on their faces. It didn’t matter if the enemy had set up a trap since they could just break it apart with their overwhelming strength. There was no way that the Demon Lords gathered here weren’t aware of this fact.

Despite this, their minds were obviously elsewhere. In other words, they weren’t interested in destroying the Habsburg Empire.

There could only be one reason for this.

“You fuckers―don’t tell me. Do you guys not want to conquer the continent?”

The Demon Lords didn’t think the 8th Crescent Alliance could conquer the continent.

The blonde Gamigin tilted her head before speaking.

“Eeh?”

She made it seem like Barbatos was the weird one and not them.

“There’s no way our Crescent Alliance’s expedition will succeed.”

“…….”

“Seriously, you say the weirdest things sometimes, Barbatos. You should be satisfied with taking over the northern part of Habsburg. Why are you getting greedy? You’re going to get an upset stomach at that rate. Hehe.”

Agares followed up.

“If anything, this is a good thing. Since they’ve abandoned their capital, the people of Habsburg most likely don’t have the strength to strike back. If we use this opportunity to clean up the remaining areas of the empire, then we should be able to take our time enjoying our spoils of war.”

“…….”

“My 2nd legion was originally assigned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Barbatos. The only reason I joined you this far was to secure a path to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth without having to go through the Black Mountains. Since there is now no reason for us to worry about our rear, my 2nd legion will be returning to our original goal.”

Marbas continued.

“Conquering the continent is a sizable task that will require a lot of time anyway. There is no reason for us to be impatient and try to get it all done at once, Barbatos.”

“……Don’t be impatient?”

Barbatos gnashed her teeth.

“You retards……. Is that something Demon Lords should be saying? An opportunity to destroy a human empire is right in front of our noses. Our mission is to wipe out the humans and gift the continent to demonkind. You guys are…….”

“Ah, ah. Who cares about that mission! It’s just annoying.”

Agares shouted.

“Go pursue that great mission on your own, you old school brat. All of the demons that genuinely wanted to take over the continent died a thousand years ago. Other than the people around you, no one believes in that nonsense anymore. Do you understand? We’re satisfied as long as we can feed the people that follow us.”

“You…… how could the rank 2 person.”

“Sorry, Barbatos.”

Gamigin chimed in with a smile.

“I also don’t want to go out of my way to incur losses. Of course, we could probably wipe out the empire if we combine our forces, but those imperial soldiers know very well that it would be the end of their nation if we attacked them now, so they would fight back that much more desperately. Hehe. If that happens, then I would actually lose the soldiers I managed to preserve while pretending to fight!”

Gamigin blew her nose into her handkerchief. 

“Mhm. Paimon’s forces decreased significantly, and you also lost a lot of soldiers because your Plains Faction fought the hardest. I’m probably in my prime right now~. Should I say that I’m happy since there’s nothing more that I can ask for~? Hehe.”

“…….”

“Oh right. This doesn’t mean that you can take all of the land in the center of Habsburg, okay? I may have conserved my troops, but we still fought together! I trust that you’ll distribute the land fairly.”

Barbatos’ hands were shaking.

“Distribute the land……?”

“Yup. Why do you think we moved our troops toward the side you were in charge of?”

Gamigin grinned brightly.

“It was hard because I had to constantly worry about when our provisions would run out. Yup, the humans weren’t idiots, so they didn’t go out of their way to engage us. What army was it? The Teuton Kingdom? They followed my legion, but when we stepped out a little, they would also step back a little. Hehe. They didn’t really want to fight either!”

In reality, it was already determined which armies would fight the hardest during the 8th Crescent Alliance. On the Demon Lord army side, it was Barbatos’ 6th legion and it was the imperial army led by Imperial Princess Elizabeth on the human side.

The 6th legion struggled for the sake of conquering the continent while the Habsburg Empire fought back desperately to protect their nation.

From the very beginning, the remaining legions of the Demon Lord army only moved for the sake of a political goal. In other words, they acted for the sake of lowering the Mountain Faction’s power since they were the greatest group within the Demon Lord army. Since they had accomplished that goal, there was no reason for them to waste more of their military strengths.

It was the same for the other armies within the human alliance. Not only did their morale drop because of the ceremonial speeches, but they had no reason to fight back actively as long as the Demon Lord army didn’t attack them genuinely either.

The human armies pillaged the villages and cities within Habsburg for the sake of consoling their military personnel. Humans stole from other humans under the pretext of a scorched earth policy and the justification of being soldiers that were dispatched to protect Habsburg. If they didn’t pillage them, then the Demon Lord army would take everything anyway. There was no reason for them to hold back.

There were similar interests within the Demon Lord army and the human army.

The other members of the Demon Lord army and the human alliance respected each other’s boundaries as if they had promised to do so beforehand while Barbatos and Elizabeth were engaging each other in battle constantly at the front. The Demon Lord army pillaged this side, while the human army pillaged that side.

Battles rarely occurred and they would also be small-scale whenever they did. They only focused on profiting off the Habsburg Empire’s soil.

The only army that paradoxically fought rather actively was the Mountain Faction. The Mountain Faction had to struggle so that they would no longer be suspected of having betrayed their kind. As a result, the Mountain Faction incurred heavy losses while wiping out the Kingdom of Brittany’s army. ……Of course, they had made a show of the battle and made it seem bigger than it was.

“That’s right. We also have the right to be given a fair share.”

Agares smiled as she spoke.

“Well, I’m not that greedy. Just give me some land that’s as big as a dukedom. It’s fine if you take the capital, Barbatos. Mm, even I think I’m being incredibly generous.”

“Ah, I would like an area near the Black Mountains if possible. I came here even though Baal told me not to. It’d be weird if I got land that’s far from the mountains. Mhm. I’d be satisfied with Brandenburg or something.”

“Oh right. The location is also important. Hm. What should I do?”

Barbatos became silent.

“…….”

Rather than anger, she felt more like vomiting.

She didn’t want to admit that these people were her equals. They didn’t have even a sliver of pride. They were a pack of coyotes that only moved for the sake of their own personal gains.

Barbatos left without a word. No one tried to stop her. Only the Demon Lords from the Plains Faction followed her.

She gave an order with an absolutely cold expression on her face.

“Prepare a pursuit group.”

“Are we going to pursue with only our legion?”

Zepar spoke carefully.

“Your Highness, I apologize, but I cannot guarantee that we will succeed.”

“Success is not something you predict. It’s something you go out and grab yourself.”

Barbatos responded sternly.

“The other Demon Lords may be pieces of trash, but, at the very least, we have to show demonkind that we Demon Lords are still fighting for their sake. That is what a monarch has to do.”

“……Understood.”

“Sons of bitches.”

Barbatos growled. She glared behind her out of the corner of her eyes.

“Fine. If that’s what you guys want, then we’ll conquer the continent at a later date! Before that day arrives, I’ll clean up all the trash that exists in the world.”

It was at this moment, the Plains Faction separated themselves from the other factions.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sorry, I finished this chapter a day sooner, but I forgot to send it to my proofreader immediately after I was done. A little delay won’t kill anyone. I think. Probably.Welp, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.