Dungeon Defense (WN)

th.

“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.”

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“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.

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“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.