“Alright, everyone’s here! Then let’s get started right away—”
Henry’s voice drifted over from a distance.
I turned my gaze from the balcony toward the training ground. Henry stood before a line of monsters, explaining something to the group. He gestured broadly, occasionally mimicking the motion of drawing a bow. It appeared he was giving a lecture on marksmanship.
Henry had volunteered to serve as an instructor a few days ago. He was an elite archer; with his guidance, my subordinates could expect to see a significant improvement in their skills.
Long-range capability was vital on the battlefield. While archery was often dismissed as inferior to magic, the reality was quite different. It required no incantations and, with enough practice, anyone could master it. It was silent from the moment of release to the moment of impact. Unlike magic, it was difficult to detect unless seen with the naked eye. Furthermore, coordinated volleys allowed for effective area-of-effect attacks.
In certain situations, it could be far more than a mere deterrent. When bolstered by magic infusion, its power increased exponentially. It was, all in all, a highly versatile weapon.
Since many in the Demon King’s Army were unable to use magic, increasing the number of archers provided a significant boost to our military strength. While Grom or I could provide support to cover for them, relying on that indefinitely would eventually lead to a struggle. Having them master these skills now was the optimal solution for the future.
As I listened to Henry’s lecture, a knock sounded at the door.
“Demon King, may I enter?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Excuse me.”
A succubus entered the room. She was not Luciana, but rather one of her direct subordinates. The woman placed a stack of documents on the desk and promptly withdrew.
I stepped away from the balcony to review the paperwork. The reports detailed the state of our rule in various regions, points for improvement regarding life in the Royal Capital, and requests for new facilities. It was a concise summary, lacking nothing. Luciana had been in charge of creating the templates for these documents; it seemed her training of the staff was proceeding flawlessly.
Recently, the number of individuals wishing to serve within the castle had increased. There were surprisingly many who either lacked an aptitude for combat or simply preferred clerical work. Now that the activities of the Demon King’s Army were diversifying, their presence was a godsend. We could not sustain ourselves through conquest alone; we needed people to manage the finer details.
As a side note, the management of the spreading miasma was also being strictly handled. For the time being, it was being stored in the castle basement—a consideration to ensure the health of my subordinates was not compromised. However, the concentration was becoming quite high, so I would have to devise a new storage method in the near future.
I sat on the sofa and began to look through the provided documents. I had no other pressing matters at this hour, so it was best to finish the paperwork now.
(The Demon King’s Army has become quite stable...)
Nearly fifty days had passed since Henry joined my ranks. The invasion of the country was proceeding smoothly; we already controlled over eighty percent of the territory. By making full use of teleportation magic, the army repeatedly launched attacks across various regions without facing any significant resistance. Even without my direct intervention, the monsters carried out an overwhelming massacre. The resulting corpses were raised as undead to bolster our numbers.
Henry was also proving his worth. His most notable contribution was his ultra-long-range sniping with his prized bow. Watching him pierce through enemy defense magic to pick off commanders one after another made him an incredibly reliable ally. After throwing the enemy forces into utter chaos, he would lead the monsters into a melee to fully utilize his extraordinary grappling skills. None could match his raw violence, and the human soldiers were slaughtered helplessly. The monsters on the front lines looked upon him with nothing but respect. Perhaps he was even more revered than I was.
The documents also touched upon the small nations that had been destroyed. It seemed their abandoned territories had been snatched up by neighboring countries, which were now absorbing and managing the land as their own. Some nations had already occupied the mining districts and were immediately generating profits.
The arrangements were far too efficient. Such movements were impossible unless they had known this development was coming. I had initially thought they intended to exhaust the Demon King’s Army by using the small nations as sacrifices, but I was wrong. Their goal was to use my army to destroy those nations for them, allowing them to seize the territory and resources without lifting a finger.
It was truly pathetic. The surrounding nations were more optimistic than I had imagined; they completely underestimated the new Demon King. They viewed this strictly as someone else's problem. On the contrary, they had even gone so far as to use me as a tool to ensnare the smaller nations.
Thanks to the information obtained from the small nation’s leadership, I had already identified the countries pulling the strings from the shadows. Once I had conquered this land, I intended to invade them first. I wanted to shatter this absurd complacency. I would plant the seeds of ultimate despair in those fools who still felt no sense of crisis.
They viewed the threat of a new Demon King as a temporary affair. The arrogance born from humanity’s victory ten years ago was transparent. Or perhaps they possessed some secret plan capable of opposing me. There was no evidence that the world’s technology had progressed significantly during my ten-year absence, but that only applied to general knowledge. It was not unthinkable that certain countries, anticipating my resurrection, had made specialized preparations.
As an undead, weaknesses would inevitably haunt me. I was as close to immortal as one could be, but I was not an omniscient, invincible god. If I became conceited, I risked being killed. That was something that could never be allowed to happen—not when I was to become the foundation of world peace.
To that end, I never neglected my training. Because the scale of my magic was on a different level than when I was alive, I was capable of performing arts that transcended human intellect. Through constant trial and error, I expanded the scope of my power every day.
As I neared the end of the documents, I heard noisy footsteps outside the room. A presence was approaching. I knew immediately who it was.
“……”
I straightened the documents and set them aside just as the door was flung open.
“Demon King! This is a disaster!”
It was Grom. He knelt before me as a matter of course, his voice trembling as he spoke.
“I... I have a report to make...”
“What is it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
For Grom to be this flustered, the situation had to be grave. He was always dramatic, but the quality of this agitation was different. This was undoubtedly a setback for the Demon King’s Army. Had there been any such concerns recently? Nothing came to mind. If so, this was a sudden, unforeseen problem.
“U-Um... Actually, well...”
For some reason, Grom hesitated. He would start to speak, then shake his head and stop. It was rare for him to falter so much. I grew increasingly unable to guess what could have happened. Despite the curiosity bubbling within me, I waited without rushing him. It was obvious that pushing him would only make him more intimidated. It was better to wait until he could speak calmly.
After a brief struggle, he finally spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“The Hero—a Hero wielding the Holy Sword is resisting our invasion and fighting back...”