"......"
A calculator whirred rapidly inside my head.
Let's set aside my anger toward Gamigin for now. Anger could be indulged in at any time. That was how I convinced myself. So then — what could I appeal to in order to turn this situation around?
Proper etiquette and decorum? When had the Demon Lords ever cared about such things? They'd probably just be delighted that something entertaining was happening. Even now, a dozen or so Demon Lords in the spectator gallery were watching us with eager, glittering eyes.
The mediator's dignity... I could appeal to the Great Demon Lord Bael and have Gamigin attacked. That was certainly an option.
'For some reason, Bael seems to hate my guts.'
The problem was that it was unclear how severe a punishment Bael would promise.
We had justification, but Gamigin also had an excuse. Would Bael accept my argument and hold Gamigin responsible for the war itself? Or would he accept Gamigin's argument and only hold her accountable for a simple mistake? When there's an excuse to be had, a politician can wear as thick a face of brass as they please...
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke to Gamigin.
"You're asking for a full five shares of territory. Isn't that far too vast for a single Demon Lord to monopolize?"
"Sometimes you need to overindulge."
"You'll take five shares of territory and then split them evenly with Lady Agares... Isn't that your true intention?"
Gamigin laughed.
"I have no clue what evidence you're using to corner me like that~"
Truly shameless from start to finish. Anyone could easily deduce it — that she intended to tear five shares of territory away from us, which Agares and Gamigin would then happily divide between themselves.
Over the next hour or two, we fought quietly, each side probing at the other's nerves.
It wasn't a fruitless fight. At least we'd figured out what the other side wanted. There was no need to decide anything just yet. Whether Barbatos could defeat Agares or not — that alone would completely change the situation. From here on, I'd need to play it flexible.
I had a feeling it was going to be an exhausting diplomatic battle.
The moment Barbatos received my report, she resolved to open hostilities.
"All we have to do is beat that bitch Agares to a pulp, and it's over."
Barbatos was right. If the Plains Faction annihilated Agares's army, negotiations and everything else would become meaningless. We could pressure both Agares and Gamigin while holding all the justification and practical leverage.
"But they say Agares has gobbled up most of the territory. Windbonna has already fallen, and only Brandenburg and Sachsen are barely hanging on. Will it be alright?"
"Even though Agares's personal combat strength is immense, she's a blockhead."
Barbatos declared confidently over the Magic Crystal Orb.
"We need to be wary, but there's no point being scared before the fight even starts."
Barbatos immediately rallied eighteen Demon Lords of the Plains Faction. Their combined force numbered twenty thousand. Opposing them, Agares was also leading an army of twenty thousand. According to intelligence, some Demon Lords from miscellaneous factions had thrown in their lot with Agares.
"We'll crush them in a swift, decisive battle."
"...What if they ambush you?"
"A blockhead like Agares would never resort to such tricks. The only two words rattling around in that head of hers are 'head-on confrontation' and 'flanking.' Dantalion. Once a Demon Lord has lived for over two thousand years, a person never changes."
Barbatos's strategic judgment was always spot-on.
The Plains Faction chose the shortest but also the most rugged terrain to advance through. If Agares had stationed ambush forces there, the Plains Faction would have been in serious trouble. But Agares simply holed up in the territory she'd conquered and waited for the Plains Faction to come to her.
She even let the Plains Faction leisurely set up their encampment without interference.
The Plains Faction had just finished a grueling forced march. If Agares had attacked at that moment, she would have had an enormous advantage. And yet, Agares simply set up her own camp at an equally leisurely pace — outside the castle walls.
When I received the battle report up to that point, I relaxed.
As expected. In short, Agares was the same type as Brother Beleth or Sitri. She lacked strategic judgment and fought using her own overwhelming strength as her weapon. This type of commander was suited to leading an assault unit within an army, but she was not fit to command an entire force.
Just as I was growing increasingly reassured, Barbatos was growing increasingly anxious. I found this puzzling and asked her:
"Isn't this already over?"
"Not at all. This is where it really begins."
What Barbatos had meant was revealed the very next day.
That day, Barbatos's forces and Agares's forces clashed for the first time. Barbatos had divided her army into three divisions: she took command of the First Division, Brother Beleth led the Second Division, and Commander Zepar led the Third Division. It was a typical Plains Faction formation.
Commander Zepar held the center and absorbed the enemy's offensive. Meanwhile, Barbatos and Brother Beleth flanked out on both sides to encircle the enemy — a textbook encirclement-and-annihilation maneuver.
Agares's army formation, on the other hand, was absurd.
This was based on rumors that spread after the battle was over. According to hearsay, when Agares saw the Plains Faction's twenty thousand approaching, she grinned.
The second-ranked Demon Lord, known as "the Most Powerful Demon Lord," said this to her subordinate commander:
"I'm giving you these twenty thousand troops. Hold off their offensive."
"What? Then what will you do, Lady Agares?"
"I'll take a second force and smash those idiots from behind."
The subordinate commander, bewildered, pressed further:
"My deepest apologies, Most Powerful One. Our army has no troops beyond these twenty thousand. How can you possibly form a second force?"
Agares mounted her crimson wolf and declared:
"I am the second force!"
And so Agares became a tempest and charged toward the enemy truly alone. The other Demon Lords under her command were horrified, but her authority was absolute, and none could stop her.
The direction Agares headed was straight for the Plains Faction's Second Division — the five-thousand-strong unit commanded by Brother Beleth. Brother Beleth — what follows is what I heard from him directly — was struck speechless when he saw the enemy's supreme commander charging toward him alone on her wolf.
"That's... Agares, isn't it?"
"...On the surface, it would appear so, sir."
Brother Beleth's adjutant answered in an uncertain voice. And understandably so — what supreme commander in the world would go mad and launch a solo assault?
For a moment, Brother Beleth stared blankly into the distance. Agares was closing in with every passing second.
"Kahaha! So Lady Agares truly knows no fear!"
Brother Beleth suddenly burst into laughter.
"Charging alone toward five thousand without hesitation, like a falling blossom cast against a relentless downpour! Is this not a scene straight from myth? Magnificent. Truly magnificent, Agares!"
Brother Beleth hefted his enormous axe.
"Your resolve — I, Beleth, gladly accept it! All forces, charge!"
Led by Beleth, five thousand soldiers of the Plains Faction's Second Division roared and charged forward. Their sole target: Demon Lord Agares. And so, Agares alone and five thousand troops collided in the heart of the plain.
The first to clash with Agares was Brother Beleth. The two Demon Lords — representatives of the martial factions among the Demon Lords — swung halberd and axe at each other for twenty exchanges. But only twenty exchanges.
When Agares's halberd flashed, something soared through the air. Brother Beleth's face twisted in humiliation. Demon Lord Beleth's right arm had been severed clean from the shoulder.
It wasn't a blow that caught him off guard — as Brother Beleth himself explained, he had simply sacrificed his arm to avoid a fatal strike. He sacrificed his right arm and rolled to the side, barely clinging to his life.
"Run along and go play in a well, little brat."
Agares reportedly looked down at Brother Beleth rolling on the ground and mocked him. She apparently lost interest right then and there, leaving Brother Beleth behind as she surged toward her next target — the remaining five thousand soldiers who had just lost their commander, Beleth.
Agares erupted with indigo-colored Aura and roared:
"Graaaaaaaah—!"
Wrapped in a beast's howl, Demon Lord Agares charged. Every time she swept her halberd sideways, dozens of soldiers died helplessly. Entrails and blood rained down like a downpour.
The Demon Lords of the Second Division mobilized every Ogre they had to try to halt this fearsome foe. Twenty Ogres advanced like wild boars.
But Agares killed the Ogres with a single downward strike, a single swing. These Ogres — the Mountain Kings that had inspired terror in both Humans and Demonkin — didn't even last five minutes before collapsing face-first into the dirt. Thousands of soldiers still remained in the Plains Faction's ranks, but having witnessed this spectacle, they could hardly stand their ground.
Demon Lord Agares had descended upon the battlefield.
She tore through the carnage as though mocking the Plains Faction, as though humiliating Barbatos.
"Strategy"? "Tactics"? Those were nothing but tricks of the weak.
A truly powerful being needed neither strategic judgment nor tactical finesse. For the strong, a single spear and one's own body were more than enough.
It was as if this was meant to show the way Demon Lords truly waged war.
Agares's manic laughter never ceased, and with each peal that split the sky, the Plains Faction's Monster army trembled in fear.
Barbatos watched the whole scene with her own eyes. She spat out a curse:
"She probably jacked off with her own umbilical cord while still in her mama's womb, that bitch."
The tide was turning against them. Barbatos personally grabbed her combat sickle and shouted:
"All you fighters worth a damn, follow me!"
Including Barbatos, a total of eight Plains Faction Demon Lords charged at Agares. Barbatos personally exchanged blows with Agares, engaging her in single combat. In terms of raw combat power, she was no match for Agares, but Barbatos held her ground by employing dark magic with precision.
Barbatos's shadow knights — her Death Knights — were also mobilized. Over four hundred Death Knights took turns engaging Agares one after another. With this, a rough balance was finally struck. Agares and Barbatos traded blow after blow as the melee intensified.
This counted as Barbatos's defeat.
When the Plains Faction's commanders were pulled away in droves to block Agares, Agares's twenty thousand troops began overwhelming the battlefield. The Plains Faction was slowly pushed back. If they suffered any more casualties, things would get dire. Barbatos had no choice but to grit her teeth and retreat.
The first battle ended in the Plains Faction's rout.
Upon receiving the report, I clutched my head.
"...What a bullshit difficulty level, fuck."
Even Agares hadn't exuded that kind of power in Dungeon Attack!
What the hell was this? Was she some kind of ultimate weapon of the Demon Lord's army? Fighting an entire army single-handedly — that wasn't a feat any Sword Master could pull off in this world. Maybe if the Hero protagonist had maxed out their level, but even then, who knows!
And I had to enter a second round of negotiations with Gamigin while still processing this report. If that wasn't the shittiest luck, I didn't know what was.
Gamigin, seated at the negotiation table, was smiling brightly as always. But the meaning behind the smile was different from before. 'Serves you right. See, what did I tell you? You should've listened when I was being nice.' That meaning was written all over her face.
The moment Gamigin saw me, she broke into a wide grin.
"In exchange for coming to the table, hand over six shares of Habsburg territory~"
"......"
"Let me say this upfront — this is a super discounted price, okay~"
I wanted to kill her.