(Meanwhile The Demon King)
Anos flew through the skies on Drogo's back, as the two enjoyed a quiet ride through the clouds while Anos thought about the next plan of action for the Demon Army.
Anos had expected the human kingdom to implode upon itself after his attack on one of its biggest cities, however, to his pleasant surprise the human kingdom seemed to be more resilient than what he gave it credit for.
According to the shamans, who spied on human lands through crystal balls. Not only had the humans managed to hold onto their lands, but they had also managed to subjugate the elves living in the dense forest, suppressing them through sheer military might before they had a chance to rebel.
Unfortunately, this suppression of the elves opened up a way for other humans to rebel against the crown, however, as far as the Demons were concerned the entire Empire was still ruled by humans with there being no change in the ownership.
"I don't know how to judge the strength of humans…Drogo.
On one hand, we faced next to no opposition from the nobles in the city we attacked.
They were all as weak as an ant. However, then there was that man in the black hood, who nearly managed to kill me with his dagger and killed several of my loyal subjects.
If the human side has several men like him, it will be difficult to defeat them" Anos said, as he spoke about his worries to Drogo, who listened intently.
"If all you seek is destruction, then the two of us alone can destroy the entire human Empire.
However if you seek to conquer and subjugate, your army must become powerful enough to do so.
If your army is incapable of holding onto human lands that you conquer, or is unable to maintain order.
All your effort that went into conquering will be for naught" Drogo said, as he did not give the answer that Anos seeked, but gave him the right direction to ponder about.
"I know…. My armies have underperformed massively against the humans.
Us demons….we are faster, stronger, superior to humans in every way, but unfortunately we are not as intelligent.
Those weapons of war that the humans produce, the tactics that they deploy, if we could learn those we would become unstoppable, however, my foolish tribe doesn't understand that–" Anos said as he let out a deep sigh.
"If I could do so without any stigma attached, I'd appoint human generals to lead the Demon Army into war, however, the prideful and foolish high demon's would never accept it.
A species that glorifies death in war is doomed.
And unfortunately our fighters seek an honorable death more than a prosperous life" Anos complained, as Drogo chuckled at his words.
Anos was probably the only Demon in the realm who saw both the merits and flaws of Demons, while everyone else in the land were convinced that they were the strongest species in the universe.
Most demons, took more pride in their race than they did in their achievements, and this social environment had created a social stigma where the demons were not ready to mix with anyone but the demon race.
They were not ready to exchange for human technology, they were not ready to learn archery from the elves, or craftsmanship from the dwarves, which was the singular reason behind them not reaching the heights that they could have.
If only the demons were a part of an Empire like the 'Unity' Empire, they could have truly fulfilled their legacy as the strongest race in the universe, however, their own foolishness prevented them from reaching that stage.
"All races are accepted in the unity empire, all but the demons….
This is what the First Human Emperor said, and I don't blame him for doing so, for all we do is destroy.
There is not one cultural aspect about the demons that's worth taking pride about yet we are convinced that we are the best" Anos said, as he looked towards the sky in shame.
"So what do you intend to do about it Anos? As their king, how will you lead them to the correct path?" Drogo asked, as for a while Anos remained silent, before finally gathering his words.
"After we conquer the human lands, I'll slowly integrate them into our society.
Those who have talent amongst the humans won't be slaves but free men and warriors like that black robed man will be military generals amongst our ranks.
The human emperor may have rejected us, but I won't reject them.
I'll accept humans under my rule and give them rights and punish those demons under me who break my law.
It will take time…. Perhaps a couple generations before the stigma is reduced, but one day, I'll truly make the demons the greatest species in the universe" Anos resolved, as Drogo chuckled listening to his words.
"That's a noble pursuit. I approve of it" Drogo said, as he felt proud serving a master with such noble ambitions.
With him by his side, winning or losing the human war was never a doubt.
If they truly wanted, they could fly into StrongHaven tomorrow and kill the human emperor, however, Anos had different ambitions than just destruction.
As a visionary leader, what Anos seeked was transformation of the Demon Society and the only way for him to achieve that goal was to conquer human lands the traditional way.
If the Demon Society was to change, he needed to bring in new social elements into their world and integrate them into their society, as without the injection of fresh ideas and culture, the current Demon Society was doomed to implode sooner or later, when a powerful leader like him died and created a leadership vacuum.
—-----
/// A/N - Chapter 2 of 4 for the day. I hope you enjoyed it.
If possible, please keep voting for this book with GT's.
This month we have a real shot of finishing in top10 and I'd really appreciate it if we can. ///