Dungeon Defense (WN)

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The incident happened half a year ago.

A Demon Lord’s mark was discovered on Riff’s corpse, the adventurer party leader. Dantalian and Lapis carried out a long meeting regarding this. The Demon Lord and the half-succubus came to the agreement that every group that is hostile towards them or could potentially become hostile must be weakened.

The two exchanged whispers in the Demon Lord room with a cavern ceiling.

“In our current state, we cannot determine whether it was truly Belial who had sponsored Riff or if this is one of Paimon’s shrewd tricks. In the worst-case scenario, Paimon may have done this herself.”

“That is correct.”

Lapis agreed impassively.

“Most importantly, the issue is that Sir Dantalian has become more conspicuous than necessary. The first Demon Lord in history to personally kill another Demon Lord. ……Many people could be uncomfortable about your existence.”

“I will have to turn the eyes of the Demon Lords and demon society away from me. I might as well use this opportunity to also crush the factions that could potentially become hostile towards me. Make them believe that I am not worth being concerned over.”

This was the instant the Crescent Alliance was instigated by only two people.

“Sell the black herbs to only the humans in high society. We should be able to profit and also create a larger rift between commoners and nobles if we do this.”

“I will circulate a rumor that demonkind had caused the Black Death and another rumor that the human nobles had spread that initial rumor to cover up for their mistakes.”

Due to the people’s trust in their nations plummeting because of this unprecedented plague, the monarchs of each nation sent out their troops under the pretext of ‘getting rid of the Demon Lords who are the source of this curse’. All for the sake of redeeming their people’s trust.

Each army had at most 2,000 or 5,000 soldiers, but once every nation started to mobilize an army of that size all at once, the people of demonkind couldn’t help but be worried that ‘those human bastards are planning to invade us’.

In order to counter this, the Demon Lords decided to fight back. Their plan was to strike before the human armies. Once a Demon Lord from the Plains Faction fell in battle while fighting against the humans, the Demon Lords became more concerned.

Up to this point was the first step.

“In all respects, this Crescent Alliance expedition will be a defensive war. We are acting under the notion of striking them before the humans can go on the offensive. Therefore, excluding Barbatos’ Plains Faction, there is a high chance that the other Demon Lords will only play on the edge. They will do the bare minimum before stopping.”

“At that point, Your Highness Dantalian will join the Plains Faction. You will then breach the side that is being managed by the Plains Faction as fast as possible. ―This will make the monarchs of the human nations anxious.”

The Plains Faction was assigned to the Habsburg Empire. This wasn’t a coincidence. Dantalian told Barbatos to be assigned the Habsburg Empire at all cost and that is what Barbatos requested of Rank 1 Baal.

At the moment when the Crescent Alliance was being formed, Baal and Barbatos had this exchange:

‘Rank 8 Barbatos.’

‘I was starting to get angsty waiting for you to call on me. It’s obvious where I’m going to go, ain’t it?’

‘I am appointing you as the commander of the 6th legion. Advance towards the Habsburg Empire. I shall allow you to command the entirety of the Plains Faction.’

The destination had already been agreed upon between the two Demon Lords.

Just as Dantalian had planned.

The 6th legion of the Crescent Alliance was sent towards Habsburg. Here, Dantalian copied the tactic that was successful in <Dungeon Attack> and triumphantly got through the Black Mountains. ……The news that a few thousand monsters managed to get through the Black Mountains in only four days shook the humans more than it did the demons.

“Spread a new rumor immediately after this. Tell people that the Demon Lord army is not slaughtering the humans in the land they conquer but are instead giving out black herbs for free.”

“You must actually do so.”

“Ah. Of course I will.”

For starters, Dantalian avoided facing Margrave Rosenberg in battle. He persuaded Barbatos to conquer the newly acquired territory without shedding any blood. Additionally, not only did he hand out black herbs to gain the people’s trust, but he also subjugated the monster tribes nearby. The commoners voluntarily raised Barbatos up as their new earl.

News that the Demon Lord army had gotten through the Black Mountains at an unprecedented speed and the fact that they were even accepting people as their citizens impacted human society. The 6th legion of the Crescent Alliance didn’t think too much about this, but this was an immense threat to the monarchs of other nations. 

Their public sentiment had already dropped to the lowest point it could possibly reach due to the Black Death. It didn’t matter whether the provider was a Demon Lord or not, the fact that someone was giving out black herbs was like finding an oasis in a desert for the people whose sons and husbands were dying.

Until now, all of humankind from emperors to slaves would unite in order to fight against the Crescent Alliance. However, it has become difficult for them to rely on this unity this time.

The hostility between nobles and commoners was stronger now more than ever before. Commoners and slaves revolted as they demanded black herbs while the nobles suppressed them mercilessly. Something like ‘for the sake of protecting mankind’ didn’t work at all in this situation.

The fact that Margrave Rosenberg was chased out of his territory without being able to put up a proper fight drove in the nail. His massive army of 30,000 soldiers shrunk to 10,000 soldiers in the blink of an eye. It was revealed that, excluding the knights, conscripted soldiers didn’t intend on being loyal to their nation.

Finally, all 12 nations came to the same conclusion that, throughout its 2,000 years of history, this 8th Crescent Alliance was the most dangerous.

Up to this point was the second step. 

“Now the most important part is what we must do in order to cut down both the Demon Lord army and the human army’s numbers…….”

“Yes. We will have to completely focus both sides to a single place.”

A non-stop all-out war!

Dantalian hoped for both sides to receive major blows so that he could buy enough time for his own growth. In order to accomplish this, both sides have to ‘frantically’ pour out all they are capable of.

Give the Demon Lords the idea that they will lose if they cannot get through this location.

Give the humans the idea that they will be annihilated if they cannot protect this location.

What must be done to accomplish this?

“If they receive news of the Crescent Alliance’s arrival, then the humans will want to go to war before the Demon Lord armies can invade their nations.”

It’s not like every nation shares its borders with the Demon Lords. Excluding the Kingdom of Teuton, the Habsburg Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Moscow, the other nations are far away from the demon territory.

If the Demon Lord army wants to invade the Frankish Empire, then they would have to conquer the Habsburg Empire first. Fortunately, the Frankish Empire wanted to intercept the Demon Lord army in Habsburg instead of their own territory. They wanted to do this before the Habsburg Empire could fall. War does severe damage to the land they take place on. It was much better to fight on another nation’s soil than their own.

The Frankish Empire, the Batavia Republic, the Kingdom of Brittany, the Kingdom of Castile, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, a total of 5 nations immediately mobilized their troops as soon as the fortresses on the Black Mountains had collapsed.

Fortunately―they thought they were fortunate―they had already prepared vanguards. It was the units of about 2,000 to 5,000 soldiers they had sent out to conquer the Demon Lord castles before the Crescent Alliance was formed. Those nations first dispatched these vanguards of theirs before urgently putting together their actual armies. 

Each unit marched all the way to the borders of Habsburg. They sent a request to the Habsburg Empire to allow them to march through their land.

However, both the crown prince and the third imperial princess denied their requests. The crown prince did so for the sake of monopolizing all of the achievements, while the third imperial princess did so for the sake of using this opportunity to form an armistice with the Demon Lord army. ……The other nations were bewildered. They didn’t know the exact situation, but they weren’t being allowed in even though the Demon Lords had invaded!

Dantalian was certain.

“If there is a justification, they will surely enter Habsburg without permission.”

“That is correct, but how do you intend on creating a justification?”

“There is a reason why I went out of the way to select the Habsburg Empire.”

I grinned.

“Currently, there is a fierce political battle happening between the imperial prince and princess in the empire. There is a high probability that the royal family will step forward in order to gain more military power if a war were to occur. To lords, wars are both a crisis and an opportunity to legally take over military control.”

“……I understand.”

Lapis nodded.

“Be it the imperial prince or the imperial princess, you can create a justification if you manage to capture even one of them.”

“That is correct.”

The battle in Austerlitz broke out while the mental battle between the Habsburg Empire and other nations was becoming more intense. The crown prince had personally appeared and, as Dantalian predicted, the imperial army was completely defeated.

One of the key factors in the battle of Austerlitz was the fact that the Demon Lord army hadn’t utilized any mounted soldiers. In truth, Dantalian and Barbatos had prepared a separate detached force in case they missed one of the enemy’s leading officers. The detached force was sent around the battlefield to intercept any of the officers that tried to retreat. However, this became unnecessary as the crown prince was easily captured.

This made everything simple.

While Barbatos was resurrecting her immortal army and the other Plains Faction Demon Lords were drafting from monster villages, Dantalian sent a message to all other nations. A video of the crown prince was captured in a magic sphere and sent.

– I am Rudolf von Habsburg, the rightful ruler of the Habsburg Empire and the one and only heir to the sacred throne. It pains me to say this, but my empire is currently in imminent peril. Thus, I, Rudolf von Habsburg, send out a request to the rulers of other nations in the belief of your love and friendship for mankind…….

It was a request for reinforcements.

The crown prince had already been killed and was now nothing more than a doll that was revived by Barbatos’ black magic. However, this wasn’t discernible through a magic sphere. No, even if it was discernible, the rulers of other nations probably didn’t care.

The other nations, who were afraid that their nations would be the next to fall after the Habsburg Empire, cheered once they received the message. The document that was sent along with the magic spheres had the crown prince’s undeniable stamp on it. They knew that the current ruler of the Habsburg Empire was now Elizabeth the Third Imperial Princess, but it didn’t matter. They got their hands on a justification!

Dantalian had cleverly sent the message to the Habsburg Empire’s margraves as well and not only the rulers of other nations. Mostly, the margraves who had sworn their loyalty to the first successor of the throne responded immediately. They acted as guides as they marched together with the armies of other nations.

Up to this point was the third part.

“……Your Highness Dantalian is truly a terrifying individual.”

Lapis let out a sigh after our marathon discussion.

“No one else could devise a scheme as grand as this. Who could possibly imagine that all of this originated from a single person’s brain.”

“If it succeeds, that is.”

“This one could not possibly dare to give a guarantee, however.”

Lapis looked straight at me.

“I can bet my life of 200 years that Your Highness Dantalian will succeed.”

“How assuring. That’s right, even I believe that I will be the person who will get the last laugh.”

“Then I will immediately return to the demon world and execute the first plan. ……On another note, Your Highness, what will you name this operation as a whole?”

“Let us call it Operation Minerva.”

The Keuncuska Firm played a key role in this grand plan.

There was no other group that could spread rumors and offer bribes along with messages to the leading members of various human nations like how the Keuncuska Firm could. The main issue was that even if Lapis assisted with his plan hastily and efficiently, it was a question as to whether the entire Keuncuska Firm would go along with Dantalian’s plan.

Of course, Dantalian knew that they would.

Ivar Lodbrok, Vampire Lord and the owner of the Keuncuska Firm, despised Demon Lords more than anyone else, after all!

Ivar Lodbrok met with Dantalian in secret. They had a serious conversation for a lengthy period of time. Ivar’s expression was dyed in shock at first before becoming dyed in serious reflection and ending with a cold gaze. He understood that this plan would inflict a great amount of harm to the Demon Lords.

Ivar abruptly muttered something.

“……Great Angolmois Demon Lord.”

“Hm?”

Dantalian gave Ivar a quizzical look. Ivar shook their head.

“It is nothing. I simply remembered something that happened in the past. I, Ivar Lodbrok, may be inferior, but I vow to fully cooperate with Your Highness Dantalian’s plan.”

Of course, it was also Ivar who prepared the most valuable bottle of wine in order to entice Barbatos.

In truth, this was actually all there was to Dantalian’s plan. He was confident in his plan to lure in the human armies, but he didn’t know how to bring in the other Demon Lord legions outside of the 6th legion. All he did was consider the possibility of them being chased by the humans all the way back to the Black Mountains.

Thus, once it was discovered that Paimon was planning to betray the Demon Lord army―Dantalian became excited. He was so delighted that he almost took out the rest of the wine and drank it together with Laura. How could he not? The fourth and final step was completed all on its own!

“Paimon! What a fool!”

He burst out laughing.

“You have truly been helping me from start to finish!”

Dantalian promptly leaked the information to Marbas of the 2nd legion, Agares of the 3rd legion, Vassago of the 4th legion, and Gamigin of the 5th legion. About how Paimon of the 1st legion was planning to attack Barbatos’s 6th legion. 

A majority of the Demon Lords didn’t exactly trust Dantalian’s leaked information. They believed it was absurd.

However, Rank 5 Demon Lord Marbas, whom Dantalian had raised the affection points of during the hearing that was held on the last Walpurgis Night, took Dantalian’s words seriously. Most importantly, Marbas knew a lot about Paimon’s personality. He determined that this scenario was more than possible.

Marbas stopped the march of his 2nd legion and kept an eye on the 1st legion’s movements. In truth, the 1st legion was moving strangely. The Mountain Faction may dislike war, but they were moving much too lazily. When the 1st legion finally began to move, they moved towards the Habsburg Empire and not the Kingdom of Teuton.

“……Dantalian was right.”

Marbas gulped.

It wasn’t only Marbas. The other commanders may not have taken the information seriously, but they did at least attach 1 spy on the 1st legion. The news about the 1st legion going towards Habsburg was immediately sent to the leading commanders of the Crescent Alliance.

The high-ranking Demon Lords that dominate the demon world came to a decision.

“Men, we are changing our course. We are going to Habsburg.”

-Rank 5 Marbas, Commander of the 2nd legion.

“Kyaah. Paimon, that girl. I can hear her brain churning from here. I can’t let that girl have all the fun! Let’s go!”

-Rank 2 Agares, Commander of the 3rd legion.

“We are changing the direction of our march.

-Rank 3 Vassago, Commander of the 4th legion.

“Sheesh. This has become troublesome. I’ve been feeling unlucky lately.”

-Rank 4 Gamigin, Commander of the 5th legion.

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th legions, practically all of the Crescent Alliance’s manpower had promptly changed their course towards Habsburg. They didn’t want Paimon to take all of the Crescent Alliance’s achievements.

Paimon was currently shocked by Marbas’ appearance, but if she knew that 3 other commanders were approaching her as well, then she might’ve passed out.

The countdown for the great war that Dantalian had constantly been wanting had begun.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Another chapter, another day with empty head, no thoughts. I hope you guys are doing well. I’m just trudging along. Welp, nothing else to really say.

See you guys in the next chapter.