Lake Kingdom.
In the deepest darkness of Sector 10, and especially in its core,
where evil rises like clouds of darkness, the center of malice.
The place where the Demon King resides-
King's Castle.
However, the usually quietly seething Demon Palace was now noisy and chaotic.
And for good reason, it was under invasion.
Boom! Thud...
The forces densely surrounding the castle relentlessly bombarded it. The barrier encircling the castle held but vibrated violently.
"Argh!"
Cromwell, the second in command of the Nightmare Legion and the leader of the demon guards, trembled with rage as he repaired the barrier.
"That damned dragon dares...!"
The ones attacking the castle were none other than the Black Dragon Legion.
Led by the commander of the Nightmare Legion, the king of the black dragons- Night Bringer.
The black dragons, cloaked in tight black scales, circled the castle, spreading their wings and pouring down black flames.
"..."
With her disheveled black hair fluttering, and his golden dragon eyes gleaming, Night Bringer was commanding his kin from afar as they fiercely attacked.
Cromwell, from inside the castle, glared at Night Bringer.
"To actually start a rebellion, you're truly a mad dragon..."
The other commanders of the Nightmare Legion who had only talked about rebellion did not compare in action.
Night Bringer had truly raised her flag against the Demon King and had actually invaded.
And before the overwhelming power of the Black Dragon Legion, the other legions were continuously defeated.
Eventually, they were pushed back to the castle, forced to defend it and engage in a defensive battle.
"If only the King of Kings wasn't absent...!"
Cromwell glanced inside the castle.
The King of Kings- The Demon King was once again in seclusion.
From selecting monsters to invade the human world to designating dark events blessed by the King of Kings, everything was dumped on Cromwell before he vanished again into the nightmare to search for 'that person'.
After the fall of the grand sorceress White Night, Cromwell personally selected the legions for the five invasions of the human world. But now, even that had reached its limits.
The Black Dragon Legion declared rebellion and invaded the castle, and the demon guards, the direct escort of the Demon King, had to fight the black dragons at the forefront.
Cromwell was incredibly busy.
Her primary goal was not the destruction of the human world but the safety of the Demon King, making the battle against the black dragons more urgent than the invasions.
However, she could not neglect the invasions either.
Thus, Cromwell made a decision.
To subcontract to another underling.
"Sir!"
A demon guard ran up to Cromwell, saluting and shouting.
"The legion commander you summoned has arrived!"
"Let them in."
Shortly after, a small demon scurried into the audience chamber of the castle.
The nervous demon, swallowing dryly, was small and frail. Its body was red, and two horns protruded from its head.
With a pair of small wings on its back and a long tail characteristic of demons protruding from its buttocks.
An Imp.
Among the demon kind, the smallest, most insignificant, and also the most cruel legion. It was the imp lord 'Lowe' who led the imp legion.
"Di-did you, call for me, Sir?"
Imp legion commander Lowe saluted Cromwell with a tense face.
Cromwell was the strongest demon commanding all demon legions lurking in the Lake Kingdom.
The power of a demon kind is shown by the size of their horns, and Cromwell, possessing large and beautiful antler-like horns, was an absolute powerhouse.
As an imp subordinate to Cromwell, it was only natural for Lowe to hold both respect and fear for her.
"Yes, Lowe."
And then Cromwell issued an utterly nonsensical order.
"From now on, until the King of Kings returns, I entrust you with full authority over the invasions of the human world."
"What...?"
Lowe, who had been listening dumbfoundedly, suddenly jumped in shock.
"What?! What do you mean, all of a sudden? An invasion of the human world? And full authority, you said?!"
"As you know, I'm already overwhelmed just fending off the Black Dragon Legion."
Cromwell crossed her arms and sighed deeply.
"But the invasion of the human world is the wish and command of the King of Kings... It's something we can't neglect. Hence, we need someone to take over the overall command in my stead."
"I, I understand that... But why me of all people..."
"Well, you're one of the smartest among our kind."
The praise was appreciated, but regardless, this was a separate issue.
Lowe tried to refuse in any way possible, but Cromwell didn't listen further and approached Lowe, handing him something.
The Royal Scepter.
An object symbolizing the royal authority, used by the king of the Lake Kingdom. Cromwell just handed it over to Lowe.
Standing there dumbfoundedly with the scepter in hand, Cromwell turned around sharply.
"The related materials have been organized. Just pick them up on your way out. Now, I'm too busy with the battle against the black dragons to stay."
"Wait, just a moment! Please wait, Cromwell Sir! Don't leave me like this! Cromwell Siiir!"
As Cromwell waved her hand dismissively, the gatekeeper demons approached from both sides, lifting Lowe and carrying him outside.
"..."
Standing at the entrance to the audience chamber, Lowe stood dumbfounded.
It was a basic rule here to follow orders without question. But even so, was it really okay to hand over such a heavy responsibility so casually...
Creak. Creak.
Then, Cromwell's adjutant carelessly dragged something over.
It was a cart filled with documents.
Thud!
After dumping the cart of documents in front of Lowe, the adjutant pushed up his glasses and said indifferently.
"These are the records of the last thirty invasions of the human world."
"Ah...?"
"Take a good look at this."
Then, he sharply turned away.
Lowe reached out desperately.
"Wait, wait a moment, please!"
"Yes?"
The adjutant turned back to face Lowe, who was almost pleading.
"Even if you say to refer to it, I don't understand what exactly I'm supposed to do... How would a minor demon like me, who has never been involved in an invasion of the human world, know anything about it? Could you give me some advice? What exactly am I supposed to refer to..."
"Ah, it seems you've misunderstood my words."
The adjutant lazily gestured towards the cart of documents.
"Refer to it. Just bear with it."
"...Ah."
Not refer as in consult, but bear with it...?
"Well then, I must go to face the black dragons."
And with that, the adjutant walked away with an air of importance.
As the adjutant disappeared and Lowe alternated his gaze between him and the heavy cart of documents, he unwittingly began to wipe away tears that sprang up, muttering to himself.
"This damned life of a demon is truly sorrowful..."
But what can he do?
Whether it's a sloppy job or a mess, if he's told to do it, he must.
Sniffling, Lowe started dragging the cart, which was bigger than himself, and began crawling back to his lair.
Boom! The sound of the black dragons' bombardment continued behind him, and the castle trembled but held firm.
***
Cromwell's assessment of Lowe wasn't far off.
Among the demons, the imp, known for its cunning mind, was not too bad in terms of intelligence.
Lowe had read the records of the last thirty attacks until he could recite them by heart.
Having believed he would never be called to march, he had paid no attention until now, but after studying hard, he quickly caught up with the situation.
"..."
Lowe pondered.
His given task was not to directly command the battlefield.
He was only to select the legions for deployment and decide on the dark events, the Demon King's powers, in his stead.
It was a task he could have done carelessly. But Lowe knew well.
'If I really do it carelessly, I'll be the one to catch hell later.'
Of course, Cromwell, who is fundamentally generous to her subordinates, would understand Lowe's situation, having suddenly taken on the task.
Even if he selected poorly and messed up big time, at most he would get a scolding.
However, Lowe wanted to do well if possible.
Among the demons, the weakest. Always ignored and despised, the minor demon imp.
A pitiful race that had lost its ambition and desire for success, relegated to just assisting other demon kinds.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to change their circumstances?
Lowe deliberated. He deliberated again and again.
Which legion could catch the humans off guard?
Which dark event would effectively set the human world ablaze?
And so, a few days before the thirty-first attack was to commence,
Lowe cautiously entered the base of the Scarecrow Legion.
The Scarecrow Legion was currently using a 'farm' that had become ruins as their base.
This place, once the base of the plague-bringer Raven, was now utterly devastated by disease and exuded an eerily ominous atmosphere.
"Hiieeee... it's scary..."
As Lowe trembled in the ominous atmosphere, suddenly, a face covered with a burlap sack popped in front of him.
"Ahng? What's this, a little bug?"
It was the Scarecrow Legion's commander, the Oldest Scarecrow.
"Waaaaah!"
Frightened, Lowe trembled as the Scarecrow Legion's commander spoke in a menacing voice.
"Get lost right now, you rat! Be grateful we scarecrows have too fine a taste to harvest the likes of you!"
The surrounding scarecrows all clutched their bellies and laughed in a weird, eerie manner.
Lowe was scared, ashamed, and angry, but eventually gritted his teeth and yelled back.
"I, I am acting with the authority of the King of Kings!"
"What?"
"Scarecrow Legion! By the name of the King of Kings, I command you to march!"
Realizing the royal scepter Lowe was holding was genuine, the Scarecrow Legion's commander scratched his burlap sack.
"Ahng? What nonsense is this? Isn't the order of deployment already set? It's not my turn, right?"
"..."
"And the King of Kings told me before. The current human commander has such a strong mental defense that my fear won't work on him at all... So there's no need for me to deploy."
"That's why, it's a 'surprise' attack."
Struggling, Lowe waved the longer-than-his-body royal scepter around.
"There's an option among the powers lent by the King of Kings called 'surprise.' Using this power, we can change the order of the Nightmare Legions and start the invasion by avoiding the problematic enemy commander."
"Oh?"
"If we can avoid the enemy commander, there's no reason for the Scarecrow Legion not to step forward."
Legions that use mind control and mental status effects have mostly been excluded from invasions of the human world until now.
Because the guardians of the human world were immune to them.
However, that's exactly why it's a backstab.
Humans, trusting only in their commander and not investing further in mental defense, would find mind control and mental status effects devastatingly effective if only they can avoid the enemy commander.
The Scarecrow Legion farms victims to aim for royal ghosts. The first battle might be hard, but afterwards, like a snowball, they become stronger and stronger.
There's no legion more suitable for this 'surprise' dark event...!
"Oh..."
Listening to Lowe's explanation, a malicious smile deepened on the Scarecrow Legion's commander's face.
"Not bad for a little dirt devil."
Though the words were irritating, Lowe placed his hands on his hips and nodded.
"And, there's something you should know. Humans care for each other, but especially this commander cherishes his subordinates."
Data from thirty battles.
Within it, the behavior of the human commander - Ash, though never seen, felt palpably clear.
He cherishes his people.
Excessively.
"If you actively use hostages, you can grasp and shake their vulnerabilities."
Giggle, gigiggle, gigigiggle!
The Scarecrow Legion's commander burst into a grotesque laugh, seemingly pleased.
"Good, good, good! I shall gladly march forth, little dirt delegate! And!"
The Scarecrow Legion's commander pointed at Lowe with his long finger.
"If I end up bringing destruction to the world, I'll make sure to reserve a high place for you too!"
***
...Of course, that did not happen.
The Scarecrow Legion achieved a great victory at the forward base, but in the end, they were utterly destroyed by the returning enemy main force.
"Ah..."
Reading the new battle report delivered by Cromwell's adjutant, Lowe sighed deeply.
"We lost, woo..."
Then, Cromwell's adjutant, who had brought the documents, pushed up his glasses and whispered.
"Bear with it."
"I'm already doing that!"
Lowe held his small head in his tiny hands and pondered.
How could he possibly bring down this impregnable fortress that all sorts of world-renowned monsters had challenged and failed to conquer...?
--TL Notes--
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