Demanding Six-Tenths of All Territory?!
They must have had screws loose in their heads — and not just any kind, but the kind that fall out like holes in Swiss cheese. If that went through, the Plains Faction, Agares, and Gamigin would each end up with a 4:3:3 territorial split. It was simply not an acceptable negotiating position. The other side wasloating like they'd won the first battle!
"……."
I fidgeted with my left hand.
After I'd "gifted" my middle and ring fingers to Barbatos, I had a habit of fidgeting with the stub where they'd been cut off. I could have healed them using my Demon Lord regeneration, but I deliberately left them alone.
A reminder that I could lose everything in an instant if I let my guard down. The wounds served as that reminder. I recalled the moment I'd been ambushed in the Demon Realm, plunged into chaos and terror. Compared to that, right now there were no assassins here, no blades or magic flying back and forth.
Stay calm.
"……Currently, the forces that make up Lady Agares's army are mostly independent Demon Lords. The ones who gathered under the Crescent Alliance Army have no center of gravity or ties of their own — they're held together purely by Lady Agares's natural charisma."
"Hm?" Gamigin tilted her head. "What's this sudden talk?"
"I'm saying they're extremely vulnerable as a group."
Even a vagrant mob can hold together when things are going well.
A group's true strength or weakness only reveals itself when danger strikes. There are countless cases of rebel armies surging forward as if they'd topple the nation, only to crumble when the first counterattack sent betrayal rippling through their ranks.
"Lady Agares's martial power is truly the Demon Lord among Demon Lords, enough to shake heaven and earth — but in other words, her entire army depends solely on her personal strength. Right now, having won, they're happy enough. They're all buzzing with excitement over the spoils they'll divvy up. But what happens the moment they suffer a single defeat?"
In this regard, the Plains Faction was unmatched.
Despite losing the first battle, Barbatos had retreated and immediately reorganized her forces. Not a single one of the nineteen Plains Faction Demon Lords had surrendered to the enemy or deserted.
On the contrary, Big Sister Beleth had been explaining the battle situation to me while growling, "Next time, I'll smash Agares's right arm to pieces!" It was astonishing enough that a defeated army had reformed in one piece, but their fighting spirit hadn't dimmed — if anything, it was blazing hotter than before.
"Lady Gamigin. What do you think is the most terrifying army in the world?"
Gamigin twirled a strand of her blonde hair as she answered. "Obviously an army that keeps fighting back like cockroaches no matter how many times you crush them."
"Precisely."
Anyone who'd actually commanded troops from a general's position would answer the same way. An army that attacks again as if defeat meant nothing. I guarantee there's no enemy more terrifying than that.
The Plains Faction was exactly that kind of army.
Barbatos was an ideological leader and a military commander — in other words, the most dangerous breed among all types of leaders. Only fanatics gathered around her. They stained their minds and hearts with ideology, moving as a single mass of killing machinery.
"The Plains Faction will keep rising again no matter how many times they're beaten. To ultimately defeat the Plains Faction, you'd need to annihilate them literally to the last person."
"Hm. You think Agares can't do that?"
"Honestly, I don't know." I held up both hands and gave a wry smile. "But can you guarantee it? That the independent Demon Lords won't suffer a single defeat?"
Gamigin didn't answer and simply gazed at me. A smile hung at the corners of her lips, but it was merely a smile to maintain silence.
"Unlike the Plains Faction, the independent Demon Lords would be shaken by a single defeat. Barbatos would never let that opportunity slip by."
Barbatos was perhaps the greatest tactician in the entire Demon Lord army. She would lunge like a wolf and never let go of any weakness in her opponent.
"Lady Gamigin, fundamentally, this civil war is disadvantageous not for the Plains Faction but for Lady Agares."
"Agares is at a disadvantage?"
"Yes. Lady Agares cannot afford a single defeat. It's an exceedingly perilous gamble."
Gamigin crossed her legs. She wore white linen robes like an ancient Greek, and as the fabric slipped, her thighs were prominently exposed.
"So? The higher the stakes, the greater the risk — that's obvious."
"What I'm saying is, right now is when Lady Gamigin is worth the most."
I put on a relaxed smile. "Once the Plains Faction wins, you'll never again have the chance to negotiate from such a valuable position. Lady Gamigin, when the civil war ends, I promise you two-tenths of central-northern Habsburg. Please join forces with our Plains Faction."
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that won't work." Gamigin laughed out loud. "It sounds impressive, but it's not very convincing. You're saying Agares keeps her army together on charisma alone? Fine. But to put it another way, the Plains Faction lost to that very person~."
It was clear Gamigin had no intention of entertaining the offer.
I'd thought that offering a reasonable slice of territory might win her cooperation, but it seemed the alliance between Agares and Gamigin was firmer than I'd assumed. Perhaps they'd even used magic to make betrayal impossible.
I spoke. "I gave you a fair warning, Lady Gamigin."
"And I made you a clear offer. Dantalion."
The two of us stared each other down with smiles on our faces.
The second negotiation ended without result.
I decided it was time to deploy my ace in the hole.
Negotiations collapsed!
Agares immediately moved her army. Deep down, she'd never been fond of negotiating, so when Gamigin brought her the news, she was elated. Agares was confident of victory.
"The Plains Faction are nothing but all flash and no substance."
From the very start, she'd been displeased that Barbatos was singled out as the preeminent warmonger among the Demon Lords. In Agares's view, tactics were nothing more than a game for the human species. For Demonkin, war was nothing more than sweeping everything away with overwhelming force.
Meanwhile, Barbatos once again sought to exploit every possible terrain advantage.
First, she seized the high ground, making it so the enemy would tire quickly when charging.
Having learned from the previous battle, Barbatos had prepared a dedicated unit specifically for dealing with Agares. It was an elite force consisting of Barbatos and Beleth among nine Demon Lords and four hundred Death Knights — truly the most lavish assembly the entire continent had ever seen.
Zepar pointed out worriedly, "If Your Excellency takes on Agares personally, who will command the entire army?"
"You command it, Zepar."
And so, a battle unlike any before or since took place, where both armies' supreme commanders threw aside their command duties and clashed directly in person.
Despite the shock of their previous defeat still lingering, the Plains Faction held their own. The armies led by the Plains Faction were units that had seen continuous combat for hundreds of years without rest. In terms of quality, they surpassed Agares's forces.
"You little brats! Let's have some fun today too!"
But Demon Lord Agares had power more than sufficient to overcome any quality gap.
Agares rode her crimson wolf, tearing across the battlefield without rest. Barbatos threw everything she had at Agares, but — as if to prove that her rank of second hadn't been won through a lucky bet — Agares single-handedly held off all nine Demon Lords and four hundred Death Knights.
"That brainless bitch… doesn't she ever get tired!" Barbatos gasped for breath and snarled.
The battle had already been raging for six hours. In that time, Barbatos had poured out more than half of her mana reserves. As her mana drained rapidly, it induced dizziness and nausea, and before long she was wracked with cramping pain in her innards.
Barbatos wasn't the only one in bad shape.
Beleth had lost an arm in the last battle, and today her left arm was severed twice more. She recovered the damaged parts with tremendous regenerative power, but the fatigue only compounded. As Barbatos and Beleth began to tire, Agares grew even more ferocious.
"Is it over already? When were you parroting nonsense about the Demon Realm's grand ambitions, and now you're collapsing from exhaustion like this? How pathetic, you Plains Faction wretches!"
Agares laughed from the center of the battlefield.
"Life is relative! Above every strong one is someone stronger, and below every weak one is someone weaker! And because people don't even understand that simple, clear truth, whenever they think they're even slightly strong, they pretend to be the strong one!"
Agares swung her halberd.
"And so anyone can pretend to be the strong one! They can speak like the strong, think like the strong, and craft gestures and mannerisms like the strong. But a truly strong person is on a completely different level!"
Caught in the gale, three Death Knights were killed in an instant. The Death Knights had been filling the gaps left by Barbatos and Beleth's inability to cover everything, but their numbers were being depleted at an alarming rate.
Agares erupted in roaring laughter as her Aura flared. "I feel truly alive when I crush vermin like you who pretend to be strong! Barbatos! Realize just how powerless you are!"
"Your top hole's just as loose as your bottom one, you bitch." Barbatos bared her teeth and readied her war-scythe once more.
That was the moment.
"——?"
Agares, mid-swing with her halberd, flicked her gaze aside. Was she deliberately showing an opening to lure her in? Barbatos thought. But Agares was never one for such "tricks."
In truth, Agares's expression was growing more and more twisted. Barbatos first secured a safe distance, then turned her head to follow Agares's gaze.
On the far side of the hill, hundreds of banners were waving.
The superior physical abilities of a supreme Demon Lord allowed her to recognize the banner's design despite the immense distance. They were not Agares's banners. Nor the emblem of any independent Demon Lord. Barbatos immediately realized what the design meant and, just like Agares, twisted her face into a scowl.
"…Sitri?"
A goat with three horns.
Rank Twelve. It was the emblem of the one who now led the Mountain Faction after Paimon's downfall.
Sitri had come with five or six Mountain Faction Demon Lords in tow.
Perched on a mountain goat, she gazed down at the battle raging below the hill. Her eyes swept across the field, appraising which side was which.
"My, my. Agares is leaving herself wide open."
She had once made a promise to Dantalion. In exchange for saving Paimon, she would grant any two wishes.
The first wish had been to provide financial support. And a few days ago, Dantalion had secretly revealed the second wish to her.
The wish was to join the Habsburg civil war and assist Barbatos.
He was asking her to help her lifelong rival and nemesis, Barbatos.
An ordinary person might have hesitated. But Sitri agreed without a moment's hesitation. Even though the Mountain Faction Demon Lords protested, Sitri unilaterally raised an army. It was a very simple reason.
Because it was a promise.
For Demon Lord Sitri, that reason alone was enough.
Sitri raised her right hand.
"All units, let's politely and kindly rape Agares."
She wore a cheerful smile, looking as though she could grant Dantalion's wish with ease.
"Anal is my specialty, after all."