Rweche allied with the Taehon Kingdom. They promised protection and support with supplies.
And there was a border in the Taehon Kingdom. This was the borderline that Deon personally used.
As they were advancing toward the Empire, where most of the territory was in the north, he thought the border connected in the South was of no use, so he remembered it but pushed it to a corner of his head, but now he thought he had the chance to use it.
"... Before that, Dvelania."
"Yes Deon... Demon."
"You can call me whatever you want here. More than that, do you know the personality of that Rweche general? As far as I know..."
"Stiff, right?"
"I think I heard he was strong."
Also.
"There is a border in the Taehon Kingdom. They probably know that, but since we're busy knocking on the gates of the Empire, we're neglecting them, so they're probably letting their guard down. A week after I finish the warning to the human world, the 5th Corps is to go over there and engage in the so-called 'fighting.'"
"... Me?"
Oel, the 5th Corps Commander who was sitting quietly, looked at Deon in surprise.
"Yes. You can be as active as you like. Of course, do as much as you can without overdoing it. If you have more time than you think, you can just eat Taehon itself."
Since the goal was to conquer the human world anyway, there was no big problem if she conquered it first.
Well, that wouldn't happen.
The Demon King, who had been quietly observing the situation until now, raised his hand, perhaps because the great power of the 5th Corps was moving.
"Can I ask for a more detailed explanation?"
"This is an attack by the '5th Legion', which is not an ordinary army, so the small kingdom of Taehon would be helpless. The king of Rweche, who has already made a promise of alliance with the Empire and Shanguk, he must not be shown to be neglecting his promise, so he will most likely squeeze in his troops to send support."
"I guess so."
"Some of the troops have been sent to the Empire, and some have been sent to the Taehon Kingdom, so Rweche's defense will be considerably weakened."
The Demon King, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head slightly.
"... You plan to attack Rweche before the Empire?"
Because he had already predicted what Deon would use to warn the human world, a doubt was naturally expressed in his eyes.
Fortunately, Deon shook his head as if his prediction was wrong.
"No. Didn't I say we need an example?"
In order to do so, Rweche must be the first country to break the alliance and the last country to collapse.
"If we maintain an offensive against the Empire and send an appropriate number of generals and troops to attack Rweche, whose defense has become weak, the king will become desperate and request support from the Empire and Shanguk. They cannot withdraw the support they sent to Taehon, a vassal country that promised protection, so they will contact their allies."
Since the number of troops in the Demon World was not infinite, if they were lucky, they would be able to send troops that could barely breach a castle, but they could provide enough of a threat. In general, demons look scary, so it is difficult to guess their skills just by looking at them with the naked eye.
So, even if that were not the case, the king of Rweche, who had become sensitive due to weakened national defense, would be as shocked as a rabbit just by the fact that demonic troops came to the castle.
Deon touched the corner of his mouth.
"He will request the return of the support he sent or request support from allies..."
"From the perspective of the Emperor who received support, it would be difficult to safely return the support received, and even if that were not the case, it would be even more difficult to send support to a country with a shortage of troops. Even if they send them, it's obvious that they will be discarded troops just to show off, and since Shanguk is not a kingdom with a lot of troops to begin with, even if they send support, it will not be much."
"Yes, more than anything, the Emperor drove the support troops into Paras Territory, where the fiercest battle took place. If the damage to one's own citizens can be reduced through the blood of other citizens, it is a monarch's duty to do so. So, it is one thing to withdraw the support troops again, and even if you send other troops from your country to replace the supported troops and send them back, a lot of time will already have passed after all the procedures have been followed."
Rweche could not just sit back and wait for that gap of time.
"In the end, the king's younger brother, the 'general', will personally step up and stop it."
He was said to have a strong personality, so even if the king tried to stop him by saying it was dangerous, he would come out in the end. After understanding, the Demon King had a happy smile on his face.
"I'll lend you Dvelania."
"Thank you."
Dvelania would be able to easily cut off that head.
Since they were brothers who could not live without death, the king must have lost his mind. He will become extremely sad, frustrated, and eventually angry.
That anger would be directed towards the Emperor who took all that was given to him but did not give back, or anger towards the two monarchs who sent clumsy troops just to show off.
Since the alliance would become meaningless, of course he would break it.
'The important thing here is to never attack Rweche when they aren't allied with other kingdoms.'
If they attacked and occupied it, other allies in the human world will unite even more strongly.
But what if the demon realm never attacks Rweche?
'There will also be kingdoms that try to break the alliance.'
In a complex situation like the present, they should not feel reassured that they have other kingdoms as vassals.
Especially if it was not brought into submission by force, but through twisted agreements.
They became vassals for the security and benefit of the country, not for losses.
"Good."
The Demon King clapped his hands a couple of times as if to brighten the mood.
"Then we will proceed as our general commander says, and the meeting will end here."
"Thank you for your effort."
"And, Deon."
As the Corps Commanders left their seats one by one, Deon, who was standing up holding the cube, paused and looked back at the Demon King.
"Do you know? That the restrictions of demons disappear when dealing with 'heroes' or 'those with the fragments of heroes', whether they come through borders or contracts?"
"..."
... He informed him late on purpose.
The hand holding the cube gained strength.
He couldn't deny that it was important information, but how could he like it when the Demon King played around with it and waved it around like this?
A low voice came out between clenched teeth.
"Thank you for the information."
What. Oh, and."
"..."
"I understand, but take the medicine in moderation."
This wasn't even worth answering.
Deon quietly touched the corner of his mouth and then turned his back.
...
The first thing he noticed as soon as he came out was Ed, who was having a war of nerves with Dan, and Ben, who was looking at them pitifully... and Dvelania, who seemed to have been waiting for him to come out.
... Yes, Develania had something to say. Did the Demon King say that he would combine the information that he had researched on his own with the information that Dvelania had researched and hand it over to him? So, after seeing it, he told her to listen.
'Well, there was something I ordered for her anyway.'
Since he could hear all the information at once, there was nothing to lose.
When Deon spotted her, he gestured to Dan and Ed, who were approaching quickly as if they had started a fight, to step back for a moment, and then faced Dvelania.
"What happened to what I asked you to do?"
There were two pieces of information he needed to hear from Dvelania.
At first, he only asked for information about 'what the Duke values most', which he had ordered through the Demon King right after his last visit to the Empire, but Deon then gave a personal order and ordered that this be given the highest priority.
'The recovery of Cruel Hardt's body.'
The location was roughly known. He told her to go and check to see if Cruel's body was there and to retrieve it.
However.
"... Why are your hands shaking?"
"That..."
It was ominous. His fingertips felt cold.
It was clearly an order that would not be difficult. It was an order that didn't take very long.
"... Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I ordered it, but there hasn't been any news about it until now."
"... Sorry."
"It's okay. I had expected that it would be difficult to safely retrieve the body. Is that really why you couldn't tell me until now?"
"..."
Deon silently clenched his fist in the continued silence.
"... Surely you were able to recover the body?"
"I'm so... so sorry."
"... It's okay."
Yeah, he expected this, too. This was not surprising news.
Deon lightly wiped his face and adjusted his expression.
"I guess that's not all. If that were the case, there's no way you would be shaking like this."
"... His head."
"...."
"His head has been cut off..."
Ah.
As the news was more devastating than expected, he was unable to control his expression and raised his hand to cover his face.
"Are you okay...? I'm really sorry..."
"No, yes. Yeah, I'm okay."
"..."
"Really."
Okay. It should be okay.
Dvelania was a demon with a high rank as Commander of the 2nd Corps. He shouldn't overthrow his image of 'authority' by showing unsightly agitation here.
After a long moment of silence, Deon managed to control his broken expression and lowered the hand that was covering his face.
"You said his head was cut off. Then what about the body?"
"There are also signs that someone else took it..."
"... I see."
'Someone else' probably meant someone different from the one who cut off his head.
"Was there a time difference?"
"It appears that someone came and took the body about three days after cutting off the head."
"..."
Deon put his trembling hand into his pocket and took out a uniquely shaped cigarette.
He didn't know about the body, but he thought he knew who cut off the head and why.
'Those bastards who tried to kill me and my brother that day.'
Their original purpose was to kill him.
Since they lost him, they would need proof that they definitely killed Cruel, the traitor and saboteur. So... So...
'Fuck.'
Deon finally stopped thinking and put a cigarette in his mouth while swearing under his breath. Ben, who was standing at a distance where no sound could be heard and glanced around with anxious eyes, came rushing over with his eyes wide as if he had discovered this.
"Demon! What are you doing with your body in that state?"
"..."
"Eat this, instead!"
As if he couldn't see the absurd expression on his face, Ben took the unlit cigarette out of Deon's hand and handed him a pill full of the smell of grass.
Dvelania exclaimed a little.
'What happened to his liver?'
Demon... Deon had become more difficult to deal with since he became seriously ill. He had changed to the extent that almost everything that made him up had changed.
A dignified demeanor and noble tone of voice. A high-pressure atmosphere where even the occasional hemoptysis was sublimated into elegance. The almost perfect attitude with no flaws was like a thick wall to all the demons.
How dare he easily approach someone who seemed to be sitting on that high throne? She felt guilty even making eye contact.
Whether Dvelania was shocked or not, Deon glanced at Ben when he felt the feel of the pill in his hand. He could tell what it was without even looking at the familiar smell that could be felt even from a small distance.
"It's a sedative."
A medicine made from fairy herbs.
This was a medicine he had already taken several times. One of the ffects was outstanding, so Deon put it in his mouth without saying anything and waved his hand to tell Ben to go away.
Surprisingly, it was Dvelania who caught Ben, who kept glancing back and forth, unable to take his steps as if he was worried.
"There is no need to get bitten. You want to ask me about the first task you asked me to do, right?"
"... Yes."
"It's still vague... I need a little more time. When I gather more information, I will combine it and give it to you all at once, would you allow me to do so?"
"Sure."
There's still time left.
Dvelania bowed her head, expressing gratitude for the gentle affirmation, glanced at Ben and walked away.
Dan and Ed, who were watching Ben from afar with anxious eyes, notice that the conversation was over and quickly approach him.
Ed pushed away Dan's face with his hand as he opened his mouth and said "Master" as if he was calling hi and opened his mouth.
"De..."
"Demon!"