Chapter 281

Chapter 281

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 281: Land War (2)

The neighboring lord was expected to initiate a territorial war, so we must act quickly.

It was a fact that we had fewer troops than they did. Therefore, we must act thoroughly to overturn this disadvantage.

“Saintess. From now on, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you’re practically the acting lord. Please manage the territory well.”

“I understand… Haa. Just the thought of being separated is making me depressed already.”

“What can we do? I’m the general, after all.”

For now, I was the Demon King, and the Saintess was my subordinate. However, at this moment, the one who could manage the territory better was not me but the Saintess.

So, I would leave the Saintess as the acting lord while I, as the general, must lead the troops. At this rate, I was not a Demon King but more like a Demon General, huh? Somehow, that name gave off the feeling that I’d love beef.

Anyway, I needed to lead the army to the border and prepare for battle.

“I’m counting on you. I’ll spoil you when I return.”

“Ahh…”

As I stroked her ear and spoke, the Saintess, with dazed eyes and a flushed face, held my hand.

Her loyalty was through the roof.

There was nothing to worry about.

“Then, let’s go.”

After saying goodbye to the Saintess, I led my soldiers out to war. It was nighttime. We had already finished all preparations for marching during the day. Since it was a monster army, moving at night was the best.

Unbeatable.

This was the first time we were engaging in a full-fledged war outside, but we had always been like this. From the first battle onward, we had accumulated experience by steadily winning.

If we achieved a great victory in this war… then yes.

The possibility of world conquest would become even more certain.

Of course, as someone from modern times, to win against the numerous ruthless medieval lords who had fought countless wars, I needed a cheat code.

—Bwoooong.

And that cheat code was something like a map hack.

“Demonic Art: Pixie Flight.”

Could we really call this a border?

After all, that lord belonged to the same country, so calling it a border felt a bit off. But shortening it to “territory boundary” just didn’t sound right. It was awkward to say.

Let’s just call it the border.

Anyway, upon arriving at the border, I used pixies to perform a flight. And not just any flight—one with elegance. The pixies carried a chair with ropes, allowing me to survey the terrain from above.

“Demon King! You’re too heavy!”

“Guess pulling with just four of you is too much. Alright. I’ve seen enough. Let’s go down.”

“Okay!”

At my command, the pixies slowly lowered me.

“Whew. This is the power of the Demon King.”

“So, how was it? The terrain.”

“Well, it looks good. I like that the territory is divided by the mountain range.”

This place was the northernmost part of Baron Pakel’s territory.

Further north was Baron Helson’s territory. The border was divided by the mountain range, and from the sky, I could see that there were roughly two paths that could be used.

Of course, I needed to check other areas, but based on Vanessa’s suggestion, it was likely that they’d use this route to move their troops.

“Let’s see. There are definitely two usable paths for marching. Vanessa said they’d probably use this route, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Territorial wars are nothing new. Baron Helson has frequently used this path.”

“I see.”

That meant there was a high probability they’d use it again.

“So, how do we win?”

“Yes, well…”

After carefully reading the terrain, I got a rough idea of how to fight.

A path cutting through the mountains. This was the key area to target. With hundreds of troops moving, a supply route was bound to form.

There was no way a carriage could pass through the unmaintained mountains. So they’d likely use this path.

Knowing the path the enemy would take, and with mountains on both sides, I needed to make use of this information.

On the plains, there was no chance of winning. The decisive battle must take place at this narrow pass.

“We’ll set traps in this pass and station troops on the mountains on both sides. Additionally, we’ll place more traps on the plains ahead.”

That was the basic plan.

We’d unleash all our forces when they passed through the path.

“Indeed. But if we fail to annihilate them here, we’ll allow them to advance. From here to the southern fortress, it’s all plains, making ambushes or surprise attacks impossible. We won’t be able to stop them.”

“That’s a valid point.”

But that was a battle between humans.

“However, our army consists of diverse species.”

In my invincible Kyuse army, there were many special units made up of monsters. Pixies, Fallen Angels, Dryads, Kobolds, and even Lamias.

“Gyuil.”

“Yes! Kobolds are awaiting orders!”

“Don’t you want to dig?”

“We’ve been itching to dig! Yes, sir!”

“Then dig as I command!”

“Yessir!!!”

Gyuil, who used to complain when digging tunnels in the dungeon, was now craving to dig because he hadn’t had any proper work since coming to the castle.

“Yesss!!!”

“Yesss!!!”

The Kobolds, thrilled to dig again, let out a loud roar. Digging was in their nature. They could dig faster than a trained human.

“Sharan, you have work to do too.”

“Shasha! Sharan will work hard!”

“Haha, good.”

Sharan’s strength would come in handy, and with Lumica around, there was no need to worry about water supply for the troops.

“We’ll start construction here. Buril, help with the work.”

“Kreek! Yes, sir!”

As I commanded my subordinates, I mentally mapped out the strategy. With the forces I had, crushing the enemy wouldn’t be difficult.

Hundreds of troops?

Even if they lost just a tenth of that, it was no different from a crushing defeat. Our army could easily manage that. As I envisioned the battle, I set traps and devised the plan.

Based on all my experiences, I analyzed the situation and devised a way to secure victory.

“Brother Kyuse. Baron Helson’s army is preparing to march. They’ll probably start soon.”

“Soon, huh.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t gather more detailed information.”

“I didn’t expect that much anyway.”

“It’s fine. Just keep watching them like that. Knowing which path they’ll take is already a big help.”

“Okay!”

In the meantime, I had scouted the border areas and prepared everything along the routes they might infiltrate. I had set traps, and we had established defense positions. We also ran mock drills several times.

All of my soldiers were veterans.

They could handle that level of training.

“Hmm… but it feels a bit off to only play defense like this.”

Come to think of it, they were the ones trying to attack us, and we were just defending. Thinking about it, my pride was hurt, and I even felt anger boiling up.

There would be times when we needed to strike first.

However, we didn’t have experience in that. While we had subjugated monster tribes, we had never attacked an enemy lord’s territory.

Good. Once this war was over, we should start training for that as well. We’d need to practice attacking enemy territories directly.

But a frontal assault would be too much… I guess we’d need to rely on special operations?

“Ah.”

My Dark Elf special forces.

What if I used them for sabotage in the enemy territory? Those swift and strong Dark Elves could sneak into their facilities under the cover of night and set the stables on fire. Even that would be a huge advantage.

If we hit them with such a raid right before the war, it could devastate their combat strength.

Ideas were flowing. Though we didn’t need it right away, I should record these ideas whenever they come to mind.

“Brother Kyuse? What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking about strategy.”

“As expected! Brother Kyuse, you’re an amazing general! You have the qualities of a leader!”

“Hahaha, just stay here for a while. You’ll see, everyone ends up like this.”

“Yeah! Mother, the Duchess, is also very proud of you! She said she’d like to talk to you again soon!”

“Well, I’ll have to.”

I chatted with Karuti like that.

“But, Brother Kyuse, do you have a plan for after we repel Baron Helson?”

“That’s actually the biggest issue.”

I had already envisioned the victory. With my strategy and the exceptional abilities of each unit, we could win. We had the potential and the odds in our favor.

But what if we completely crushed Baron Helson’s forces?

Sure, it would be a victory, but taking my army all the way to occupy the castle? We were still lacking the skills for that.

At the moment, managing two territories simultaneously seemed incredibly difficult. It was physically impossible.

“I’m still thinking about it. Occupying is hard enough, but even if we do, ruling over it would be another problem.”

When I consulted her.

“Brother Kyuse. Then.”

“Hmm?”

“Negotiate.”

Karuti said.

“Negotiate?”

“Yes, demand compensation. Baron Helson will likely be captured, so demand a ransom. Running a territory costs a lot of money. Likewise, expanding your power requires a lot of money too.”

“Just demand money, huh.”

That would certainly be easier.

“But if we do that, I feel like I’ll get stabbed in the back later.”

If I let the enemy live, it was only a matter of time before they betray me. Or I could imagine other nobles swooping in to seize the empty territory… If someone else took advantage of that situation, not only would I be upset, but the bastard who took over Helson’s territory could become a future threat as well.

“Being a Demon King is really a lot of work.”

“It’s always like that, Brother Kyuse. You have to think about all these things to become a great king.”

For now, let’s focus on the battle.