Chapter 174 : Chapter 174

Chapter 174 - Foreshadowing (2)

To be honest, holding a key position in demon society was not an easy task.

Unwavering cool judgment before subordinates at all times, intelligence not to be swayed by all sorts of slander and intrigue, and outstanding combat power.

These three were basic, and above all, it was most important to possess absolute dignity so that subordinates would not even think of backstabbing you.

In that respect, the resurrection of none other than the great lord of demons and the invasion of the material plane was an excellent opportunity to solidify such a position.

“...Hm.”

In that sense.

The reaction of Gabial, the 1st Corps Commander, who was currently stroking his horn in front of the gate from which the King of Flies was being summoned, was probably not one you could find easily.

Stroking one's horn meant that one was suffering from some extreme anxiety.

“Adjutant.”

“Yes.”

“Am I seeing things right now?”

“...First, could you please tell me what Your Excellency is seeing?”

Thinking in terms of sequence, that would be correct.

Gabial nodded and opened his mouth.

“It seems an ancient dragon, at least a thousand years old, is tearing open a gate and coming out.”

“I can see that clearly as well. Fortunately, Your Excellency has not gone mad.”

“...”

I would rather you told me I had gone mad.

A dragon, especially an ancient dragon that had lived for a long time, was one of the most powerful beings in the material plane.

Why on earth did something like that suddenly tear open a gate and appear?

“Wait. In the first place, our goal is to harvest human souls. A dragon should have little interest in human affairs. There is a chance it has simply appeared here out of curiosity about what is happening...”

[Hear me, demons who have invaded the material plane.]

The dragon's declaration, which rumbled heavily, cut off Gabial's attempt to spin his wheel of hope.

[I advise you to immediately cease your invasion and return to your dimension.]

“...From the looks of it, that doesn't seem to be the case.”

“...”

I know that, you bastard.

Gabial barely swallowed the urge to strike his adjutant and continued.

“Then let me ask one more thing.”

“Speak.”

“I also see elves emerging, clad in an unusually high-quality array of armaments.”

And it wasn't just high-quality; the goods they had were far superior to the equipment supplied to his own forces.

Did they procure a large number of dwarven blacksmiths from somewhere? They were a fantastical race whose technological prowess was unparalleled, and he himself had tried to contact them several times, only to be chased away each time.

‘...There’s no way a human in the material plane could entice them...’

As he was thinking that, the adjutant beside him cut him off coldly.

“Yes. You saw that correctly as well.”

“...Hm.”

Gabial’s stroking of his horn quickened slightly.

It was a situation where it wouldn't be strange if his surrounding subordinates started to find it odd, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

“...Fine. An ancient dragon and a very well-supplied elven army. It will be a bit tough, but we should be able to handle them somehow.”

The demon legions that had emerged from the dimensional rift caused by the King of Flies' summoning numbered at least ten.

Two legions would be assigned to the ancient dragon alone, and that unusually fearsome elven army would also require about two legions.

Nearly half of his forces would be lost, but it was still a worthwhile exchange.

In the first place, no matter how well-organized the human armies were, they were nothing but flies. One legion would be more than enough to wipe them out.

“Your Excellency! Additional gates are opening!”

“...”

Damn it all.

Now what?

As Gabial turned his head, stroking his horn as if to break it, he saw knights in colorful armor slowly descending from the sky and forming ranks.

They were beings Gabial knew well.

“...The Round Table? Why are those bastards here too?!”

“Your Excellency. Your dignity is crumbling in your speech.”

So what.

Am I in a position to care about that right now?

He managed to hold back from spitting that out with his last ounce of self-control, but he couldn't help but point at them with a flushed face and let out a roar.

“This is a violation of the pact! The Round Table are the ones who maintain the balance between each dimension; taking one side is forbidden in principle!”

“...That is true. However, it seems they have played their hand well this time.”

“What?!”

“The one holding command is not the Guardian of the Round Table. A reply came from the Round Table stating that there is no problem as they are following a human's command.”

“...”

What kind of nonsense was this now?

It was a blatant act of self-deception.

“Those bastards, they must be confident they can handle the aftermath...!”

“This is a guess, Your Excellency,”

the adjutant replied with a gloomy, expressionless face.

“Perhaps they think that if they completely crush us here, there will be no need to handle any aftermath.”

“...”

Was that how it worked?

Gabial gritted his teeth and quickly did the math in his head.

Even so, if he mobilized all remaining legions, he could somehow block the Round Table and everything else.

Although the initial plan to invade the entire material plane simultaneously would be thrown way off course, considering the number of demons to be reinforced later, it wasn't a completely lost cause yet...

“Your Excellency! Additional gates are opening!”

Gabial fainted.

***

“...Ah, excuse me. Could you please bring some more chairs?”

There were so many of them.

Even after gathering and seating only the most important people from each faction, the space was so packed it was insufficient.

“So...”

The soldiers from the Spirit Realm. The Dragonkin and Elves. The Demon Hunters. The Mages of the Magic Tower. The Climbers from guilds who had weaknesses I could exploit.

The Climbers dispatched from the Martial Arts Alliance. The Knights of the Round Table.

Hmm.

“...And everyone else. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“...”

“...”

Gazes flew from all directions as if to say, is that all you have to say after gathering such a tremendous group? But I deflected them nonchalantly.

So what.

You were all beaten by me and forced to come here, weren't you?

“...Strictly speaking, we are soldiers dispatched under the pretext of ‘protecting the royal family’.”

“So, have you passed the test of the World Tree?”

“...”

The representative from the Spirit Realm grumbled that, but was immediately defeated by my reply.

“...Junior. What is all this?”

Kim Kang-in, from the side, looked around with an expression as if his soul was about to leave his body and spoke.

“What on earth is all this...?”

“These are the connections I’ve built up until now.”

“...Junior.”

“Yes.”

“If I remember correctly, it hasn't even been two years since you acquired your F-rank Climber license.”

“Oh, has it been that long?”

“...”

Kim Kang-in pressed his temples and continued.

“So. You're telling me it took you less than two years to gather all these incredible people?”

Now that he mentioned it.

Did it really take two years? That was a bit sad.

Was I past my prime now...

“...”

“...”

Ignoring the stares that looked at me like I was a madman, Seo Ah-in came forward and unfurled a map on the makeshift table.

I looked at her with a quizzical expression.

“What are you doing?”

“...? It’s a map of the surrounding terrain. Didn't you gather everyone to talk about strategy and tactics?”

“No.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in rolled up the map with an expression that said, of course, that would be the case.

“I was wrong to try and understand a madman with common sense...”

“...”

Quiet, you.

“So, the reason I've gathered you all at once is simple.”

Cutting to the chase, let's get to the main point.

It wasn't a story that needed to be dragged out anyway.

“It's for a warning.”

“...?”

What warning?

Expressions that seemed to say that spread like smoke, but.

I continued in a flat voice.

“Don't hold me back.”

“...”

“...”

A heavy silence settled over the area, but I paid it no mind and continued.

“You are all nothing more than extras gathered to set the stage for my awesome performance. Don't try to show off, and please follow my instructions thoroughly.”

“...”

“...”

Why.

What.

If you have a problem, fight me.

If you're confident you can win, that is.

***

“Ah... My king...”

In a dark basement.

In the center of the room, a black sphere was slowly pulsing.

The black fog of corruption scattered throughout the city was all flowing out of this black sphere, but Raven looked down at it with an ecstatic smile.

Her one and only king. Her true lord.

Even though he hadn't fully revealed himself, he was already having such a wide-ranging effect. Once he manifested in this world in his true form, he would surely swallow the material plane and still have room for more.

And if he devoured all the human souls, the best energy source for demons, that littered the material plane, he would be able to reign eternally.

“Just a little, just a little bit more...”

As Raven muttered that and stroked the sphere, she heard the sound of someone approaching with urgent footsteps.

It was the adjutant of the 1st Corps Commander, Gabial.

“I have news to report. Is it a good time?”

“...Hmm.”

To interrupt her private meeting with her king, if it was for a trivial matter, she would have to kill him horribly.

As Raven thought this and nodded for him to speak, the other party opened his mouth in a blunt voice.

“You would surely be angry if it were a trivial matter, so this is timely. It is incredibly important news.”

“...What is it?”

“We are screwed.”

“...?”

“Originally, the Corps Commander should deliver this message himself. But he shows no sign of regaining consciousness, so I have come in his stead. Well, his fainting is understandable given the situation, so it can be overlooked.”

What on earth did this mean?

As Raven blinked with a dazed expression, the adjutant shrugged and waved his hand grandly.

Illusion magic. He intended to show the current situation outside in real-time.

And within the magic the adjutant created.

“Aaargh!”

“Save me! Save... Aaargh!”

Was the demon legion being miserably crushed.

“...”

“...”

Huh.

That’s strange.

Considering the power gap between demons and the material plane, shouldn't it be the demons attacking humans and eliciting such sounds?

The scene reflected in the magic was as bizarre as watching a gazelle in a safari beating a lion with its bare fists.

“...What is this?”

“Our forces being crushed.”

“I can see that, but how did this happen?”

“We are being annihilated by a force gathered by a single human.”

“...”

Kim Gyu-sik.

Was it him?

As Raven clutched her throbbing head, the adjutant continued in a blunt voice.

“Ah, and there’s a message from them.”

“A message?”

“Yes. They said we have about 20 minutes left, so we should get things in order by then.”

“...What is it that has that much time left?”

“Wouldn't it be the remainder of our lives?”

“...”

What.

Kind of situation.

Is this.

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