Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 147: Interlude - Cardinal Worl______________________________________________________________________
- Hinata Sakaguchi -
She grunted softly as she continued her katas. It had been a day since Felix came and visited, and his reappearance had reignited her urge to train the basics.
He didn't do anything intentionally, but when he came, he asked Saeko about her progress. He was genuinely proud of her as she detailed all the things Saeko was doing and all the ways she was learning, whether it was combat related or not.
She hadn't received such praise for quite some time, but of course that was not the primary reason for her returning to the basics.
No, definitely not.
Her 'real' motive was to work on coming up with a 'final finisher' attack as Felix called it. It was meant to be her greatest attack, and one that would be capable of finishing off all her enemies. Even ending a fight that she was struggling to finish.
Felix had told her about his Hollow Purple, which he had only used in combat once. He also said he had no idea how much more powerful it had gotten as he grew in strength, but the way he spoke about it made it seem like he was actually nervous to use it; it was simply that powerful. Others had similar attacks, even Arnaud; attacks in which they put their all into.
She hadn't had a chance to create such an attack after evolving, but now that her energy had mostly stabilized, there was no better time.
The purging of the Western Church's officials was still occurring, but she was on call while the rest of the Paladins handled the majority of the work for now.
Saeko was with Luminous at this moment as well, so Hinata didn't have to worry about her. She, of course, had been invited, but rejected saying that she wished to train.
It wasn't as if she forgot her dream after all. Getting to the level that she required would not just occur on its own. No, it required much training, and a good bit of luck as well.
Felix and Rimuru were the exceptions, not the rule, when it came to growing in power. She knew that more than others due to her sheer breadth of experience.
It took Chronoa centuries and the awakening of two Hero's Eggs to grow to her current level of power. Yet Felix had more EP than Chronoa now, and he had not even been in this world for half a decade yet.
Rimuru was also far more powerful than his initial EP would suggest. The both of them were monsters, unlike her, so she'd have to work harder to catch up.
For now, her objective was to find a way to mesh all of her varying abilities to make them flow together in one powerful attack.
Her abilities were rather versatile. From Nemesis to Fortuna, it would be hard to focus both of their powers into her rapier for one attack, but she was still going to try to do so.
Her idea was to use Fortuna's predictive abilities, imbue it into her blade which would allow her rapier to almost become sentient and react to her opponents moves. Then she would concentrate all of Nemesis' sub-skills into her rapier as well, increasing the attack output and penetrative power.
That along with a coating of spiritrons, similar to Melt Slash, would make for a rather powerful attack.
Melt Slash was capable of even killing True Dragons should it fully envelop them, so it would do rather nicely for her ideas.
Usurper would have to be left out of this combination due to it not being potent enough. Despite her attempts, she couldn't seem to push it to the next level, despite Felix's partner's words about the Skill almost being ready.
But it was a lot more difficult than it sounded. Her control over spiritrons had improved vastly thanks to Felix's teachings as well as advice from Luminous. Now she could use Melt Slash without relying on praying or Luminous, simply by manually controlling the spiritrons to mimic the effects of Disintegration.
However, maintaining that control while channeling her two Ultimate Skills was a whole different thing. It was much harder to maintain her focus on controlling the spiritrons whilst channeling her two Ultimate Skills, she simply did not have the calculation power to do all that without training, and so that was what she needed to work on.
Of course, part of the problem was her inexperience with her Ultimate Skills. She may have been compatible with them and they were born from within her, but all things considered she had only possessed them for a rather short period of time.
More time was needed for her to understand the complete ins and outs of her Skills, but she may not have time for that, and so she was brute forcing creating this technique. She could buy more time for herself by using the training domains Felix created with accelerated time, but Felix could only maintain them in his capital city. Part of her wanted to leave her progress as a surprise for him. If she trained there, Felix would be 100% aware of each and every one of her movements.
It was childish, but she had accepted that she still had a childish side to her.
That wasn't all she needed to work on as well if she wanted to clear the next obstacle on her path. Her next big goal was to win a rematch against Veldora, and this time with her own power.
In the past she sealed Veldora, but that was using Chloe's enormous power, not her own. Not to mention that Veldora was far weaker than the current one.
It was only right that she fought Veldora next. One foot in front of the other, so long as she kept doing that, progress was being made and she would be satisfied.
She was Human; she'd made plenty of mistakes and she would likely continue to make more mistakes, but she'd still try to make the best choices she could. She'd wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, she'd continue to put one foot in front of the other despite her screw ups. That was being Human, and being Human was her greatest strength.
But now what she wanted to do was at least successfully create this technique, though that was looking less and less likely as she continued to practice.
She was currently only using one blade despite having two main weapons now. That was mostly because she just wished to practice this new move. In combat, she would be using both blades, and she had been adjusting her combat style to account for that as well.
She narrowed her eyes, breathing steadily as the sun dipped toward the horizon. Her blade moved in deliberate arcs, faster now, her mind working through every possibility, every variation of flow between Fortuna and Nemesis. Something that Fortuna itself assisted in due to its nature.
A new slash formed, one different from the Melt Slash. It wasn't ready yet, but it had a name in her mind. Judgement Severance. She was sure it would intimidate her enemies sufficiently.
It would be a single strike that embodied her divine foresight and the vengeance of Nemesis. A blade that could pass judgment on even the strongest foes.
"Again." She muttered to herself, steadying her stance and focusing her energy.
She activated Fortuna, her eyes were likely glowing faintly as the various probabilities for an infinite number of local events materialized in front of her eyes.
She focused, trying to fuse that predictive insight into her next motion. Then came the surge of Nemesis, she focused the vengeance-focused skill onto her rapier.
Then she slashed forward. The ground in front of her cracked slightly, steam rising from the scorched slash mark left behind. She hadn't put even 1% of her strength into the slash, so not much damage was done to the surroundings, but raw power was never the point.
She could tell, her performance wasn't quite right; it lacked cohesion and she felt her control slipping at the last moment, but it was closer than the last attempt.
She hadn't included the Melt Slash aspect just yet, as that felt like putting the cart in front of the horse. First she would master fusing the abilities of her two Ultimate Skills, then she would worry about including the Melt Slash aspect.
She still had a long way to go.
And that was only one aspect of her training. She had something else she wanted to focus on as well: the Information Particles.
When she was awakening as a True Hero, she had faintly sensed the movement of some odd form of particle whilst speaking to Felix's partner. His partner had called these Information Particles and seemed rather surprised at her ability to perceive them.
After this she began to look into them more, even asking Luminous who was also faintly familiar with them thanks to Twilight Valentine's research which Luminous once had access to.
Information Particles were the most basic unit of this universe. They made up everything and they were the foundation of everything as well.
They were particles that stored information, and modifying this information was one of the most absolute methods of fighting according to what Luminous read in Twilight Valentine's notes.
Luminous herself had been attempting to familiarize herself with Information Particles for ages, but had only been moderately successful thus far.
Upon looking deeper, she realized that she already had a Skill that passively influenced Information Particles directly, and that was her Unique Skill: Usurper. It dealt with Skills primarily, and modifying these was a direct act of invoking Information Particle manipulation, and so she had decided to further study this phenomena.
She had a feeling that mastering the ability to manipulate Information Particles was something required of her should she wish to fight in the so-called 'big leagues'.
- Tatsuya Kondou -
He took a sip of the wine his new maid, Eva, served him as he went over the files she brought him.
She was awfully competent help. She was wasted on someone of Clayman's potential.
"Hmm, interesting." He murmured out loud.
He was currently going over reports about the status of the primary hidden organization that dwelled within the criminal underworld of the Eastern Empire: Cerberus.
It was led by Yuuki and his companions, but it became free for the taking recently due to its leaders actions, or rather lack of actions. Kondou could not confirm it, but he believed them all to be dead now.
So he quickly took control of the hidden organization, which was not difficult at all. All it required was some threatening to the people higher up in the hierarchy to establish himself as its hidden leader.
He had Eva be established as its vice head of sorts, as she would manage its day to day operations. He had no fear for her trust due to his Skill controlling her.
It was rather amusing that he did not have to make many moves at all to gain complete control of the Eastern Empire's blackmarket, as Cerberus ran it all.
"Excellent work, Eva. Continue to report what you deem important to me. Begin making moves on nobles in the Western Nations to weaken them for the Eastern Empire's attack. Try to be subtle."
Eva merely nodded as she accepted the papers back before bringing up another small stack.
"Also monitor the nobles of the Eastern Empire. Deal with them if needed." He said as he began to read through the papers.
The nobles of the Eastern Empire may have served the Eastern Empire, but they prioritized themselves above all else. It wasn't uncommon for them to make moves in the dark that contradicted Emperor Rudra's intentions.
Usually it was his job to take care of that, but Eva and Cerberus would make it more efficient.
"Hmm, it seems Granbell has failed then."
The Eastern Empire had known Granbell was planning something. He wouldn't just completely withdraw from society for no reason. Kondou had suspected the attack on Tempest during its Founding Festival was due to Granbell, and that clearly was not as successful as Granbell hoped it would be. It seems Granbell doubled down on his intentions.
The attack on Ruberious seemed to be well planned, at least according to the report he was reading.
Granbell had tamed many Monsters that should have run rampant, destroying civilian life and distracting the Paladins.
He even made use of his pet Insectar for the attack. And yet it seems he still failed. He couldn't get a detailed report on why exactly Granbell failed, as none of his informants were in the city at the time of attack, but even this was enough to tell him something went catastrophically wrong with Granbell's plan.
In fact, his attack strengthened Ruberious rather than weakening it, which was likely his initial motive.
Granbell's fate was unknown to Kondou himself, but Emperor Rudra seemed to write Granbell off completely, and Kondou was sure the Emperor had a reason for that.
Meaning now, nothing was contesting Rimuru Tempest and Felix White's control over the entire Western Nations.
Luminous Valentine also ruled there, however she was in an alliance with the other two Demon Lords, and would likely work together with them to counteract the Eastern Empire's influence, making it harder to invade.
Before, despite Granbell's control, the Western Nations were still somewhat fractured. Bureaucracy would stall the process allowing the Empire to gain a foothold in the Western Nations before the other countries would finally act. Now that was less likely.
All in all, as time went on, it would likely continue to get more and more troublesome to take over the rest of the main continent, but there was nothing to be done at this point.
The mortal armies of the Eastern Empire were being prepared as quickly as they could, but acquiring enough rations for a global conquest was no easy feat.
Initially, the plan was to wait a few more years to decades to invade, but the Emperor said that the West was growing too strong too quickly, and so he wanted to deal with them while they were weaker than they had the potential to be, which is why the plan was sped up.
He sighed at how troublesome things were becoming. At least as time went on, the Eastern Empire's own military grew stronger as well due to the experiments. Then there was the information from Cerberus which detailed other new avenues of experiments to attempt.
He got to the last paper of the pile that detailed how Ruberious was making use of the chaotic times to purge some of its more unpredictable elements. There was nothing unusual about that, so he handed the stack back to Eva, who had another stack prepared for him.
His eyes narrowed as he went over the information. This information was more… concerning. It was the report from Mark, Shin, and Shinji detailing what they had found in Tempest.
They had sent the report relatively recently, but he was only getting to it now due to everything that was happening in the world.
Not to mention his biggest concern, Gadra, who still had yet to report back, which was highly unusual for the man.
Gadra had always been easy to predict and always accomplished the tasks assigned to him with efficiency. His skills made the latter simple, and his desire for revenge made predicting him simple as well.
But this was the first time in which his actions, or rather lack of actions, were concerning.
Even his students had managed to report back in a more timely manner, though they had missed their last few scheduled reports. That, aligned with Gadra's actions, painted a somewhat clear picture about what happened in Kondou's mind.
Either they had turned traitor, or they had been found out. There was no other reason why they would have missed their scheduled reports.
That was rather unfortunate. Shinji, Mark, and Shin were powerful Imperial Guardians with potential and useful Unique Skills, while Gadra was the court mage.
He had told Gadra to stay hidden, so either he pushed too much or Demon Lord Felix's people were far better at counter espionage than he had been led to believe.
Now he would have to report these findings to Emperor Rudra who was already mourning the loss of Damrada. Damrada was never close to Kondou, but he could appreciate Damrada's efficiency and the help he had offered to the Eastern Empire over the centuries.
Damrada was a pivotal individual in the Eastern Empire's history, and for that alone he would have Kondou's respect.
They had yet to replace him in the Single Digits. The next runner up did not desire the position as he did not defeat Damrada, and the others were too weak to be the second-in-command of the Single Digits.
Kondou sighed as he went over the report Shinji, Mark, and Shin had sent him from Tempest. It was the only report they had sent from Tempest before seemingly going AWOL.
He quickly glanced over the information they sent about Tempest that he already knew of. He knew that their capital city was surprisingly advanced for such a young country. He knew about all the otherworlder technology they had managed to recreate.
Even their military might was not unknown to him for the most part, which was why he was more curious about Azeroth, Demon Lord Felix's territory, as he knew far less about it than Tempest.
What interested him the most about Tempest was the report he had received about The Dungeon. Gadra's belief was that it was the creation of the legendary Fairy Queen Ramiris as it shared similar properties to her Labyrinth.
Shinji had reported things that Kondou already knew of as he had paid off Adventurers to gather information for him as well, but Shinji had a better eye than most, so his feedback was valuable.
His primary interest was in the resources The Dungeon seemed to be able to provide; floor loot as Shinji had called it. He wasn't interested in this for himself, but for the Eastern Empire as more resources were always required due to their expanding nature.
He sighed again. It seemed he had quite a lot of work ahead of him, but that was what he signed up for when becoming the Darkness of the Empire.
- Emperor Rudra -
Rudra lounged on his throne as he waited for the imperial conference to begin. This one was about the invasion plans as that time was quickly approaching.
He couldn't afford to wait much more now. He was in a time crunch. With everything occurring, giving Guy more time to strengthen his pieces would mean trouble for him.
Ever since he had made the order, resources were quickly gathered, both naturally and through forcefully taking them from their vassal nations. Of course, he left them enough to survive on. He wasn't that cruel, but the extra that they would trade for money was all taken to prepare for the war. His troops would need food and water to sustain themselves, after all.
The initial invasion force would be filled with the Imperial Guardians as well as the normal troops. He already had his eye on a few people he believed would evolve into Sainthood during this invasion.
Mai Furuki. Calgurio Heath. Perhaps even Gradim ,who possessed a Demon Lord Seed, would Awaken into a True Demon Lord, which was something Rudra was dearly hoping for.
Each were the Generals of their respective divisions for a reason. They all held the potential to become Spiritual Lifeforms and fight in the realm of what most may consider gods.
He had sensed a massive surge of power of two individuals on the Ice Continent as well, Rain and Misery no doubt, so he needed as many of that class that he could get since that bastard Guy somehow spontaneously gained two more True Demon Lords.
Gadra believed that Mai Furuki held potential, and he would agree as Space was a powerful element if wielded properly. It was one he himself specialized in, in fact. He had acquired Uriel, Lord of Vows for a reason, and his spatial mastery was one of them.
Perhaps if she succeeded in this invasion, he would mentor her as he did Granbell. This invasion would be the start of his first true move against Guy, but he would still fit in time for Mai if she proved to be worth the investment, just as he did with Granbell.
At the thought of Granbell he felt the familiar pang of loss. He knew his old disciple was dead, as despite his betrayal, they did share a soul connection. It was no soul corridor, and it had eroded, but it was enough for him to feel the demise of his disciple.
Yet another loss on the long list of his personal losses. And that wasn't even his greatest loss recently. He had felt as if a piece of his soul was lost on that day, but that wasn't possible.
At least Granbell went out happy, he could feel that much through their soul connection. They may have had their differences, but in the end Rudra still wished for his student to be happy.
He looked around the room, even as his visage was hidden by a curtain. The military officers were tense, and the less that could be said about the civil servants the better.
There were nearly 200 people assembled in the conference room. The Generals of each of the military departments as well as Kondou who was remaining hidden were among those numbers.
Then the Imperial Guardians were also neatly lined up, awaiting his orders. He was rather satisfied with what he had built up over the years. He had doubted his methods some times, but he was glad that the harsh culture of the Eastern Empire had inspired the growth he was seeking.
Each Imperial Guardian could give a good fight to a Demon Lord Seed at minimum. And due to the constant competition he had fostered between them, they were always growing for fear of being replaced and losing the privileges they had grown used to.
He looked to his side where his partner was usually situated, but that spot was empty today. Velgrynd was not here as she was taking care of other things around the Empire. She was still the Marshal, so she had her own duties that she took seriously. Usually that meant being with him, but due to the upcoming invasion, she had more to take care of.
She would usually use her Extra Skill: Parallel Existence to manage all these duties, but now she was checking on the Hell Gate that led to the Daemon Realm that resided in his territory.
The Primordial of White, Blanc, had claimed dominion over it, but some time back the energy around it faded, as if the Hell Gate was destroyed from the other side, making the one on his side a mere ornament.
However, it recently had begun gathering energy again, as if it were preparing to connect to another dimension once again, and so Velgrynd went with her primary body to investigate.
He had asked Minaza if she knew anything, since as an Insectar from another dimension, she had more experience with dimensional travel, but she unfortunately had no answers for them.
He had dispatched a promising Imperial Guardian to go along with Velgrynd, so hopefully they would find some answers.
Sometimes he wondered if he should have accepted Velgrynd's offer back then. Soon after Rimuru Tempest and Felix White became True Demon Lords, Velgrynd had offered to go and kill them for him.
He had refused as that would agitate Guy earlier than he was prepared for, but perhaps he was too cautious back then. Now those two had likely grown into powerhouses Guy would be making use of against him. Felix White more than Rimuru Tempest as Rimuru Tempest did not have many feats that could be used to evaluate him.
But it was useless to linger on what ifs, he knew that better than most.
Now Rudra was treating Felix White as a True Dragon-class being. If even a fraction of what Kondou had learned was true, then it was safer to overestimate the Daemon rather than to underestimate him.
That was why he would be paying the Daemon special attention. He even planned to use Velgrynd and Kondou against him. Even one of those two would be considered a trump card of his Empire, each with a powerful Ultimate Skill. It showed his seriousness that he was willing to use both of them on a single individual, reducing the other fronts of his war during that period of time as a consequence.
He was also considering sending an Imperial Guardian he felt held potential with those two. The same Imperial Guardian that was currently with Velgrynd. There was a chance that he may even evolve to Sainthood during that clash if Rudra was lucky.
He, Velgrynd, and Kondou had already come up with a general framework of a plan for how they would deal with the biggest threats on Guy's side, Rimuru Tempest, and all the other Demon Lords.
Tempest would be dealt with using some of the other Single Digits when the time came. The initial war was only going to be the first round, a round meant to force evolution, so he would not be using his real pieces at that time.
He glanced at the Prime Minister who was sitting in front of the curtain, notifying him to begin.
The imperial conference quickly began as preparations and whatnot were discussed as well as military might and the potential losses they may face, but those were minor topics.
This meeting was meant to be the time and place they would discuss their plans for this invasion, but he already knew what he wished to do. This meeting was only a formality to see if any others had valid ideas that could be incorporated. Other than that, he would always have his way.
He quietly listened as the discussions continued.
"First of all, under what pretext would we start this war?" Someone asked.
"What a stupid question." Another retorted. "We will invade because it is what the emperor wishes, simple as that."
"Is that possible?" Another asked hesitantly.
Those were the primary questions that were being discussed between those who wanted to attack directly and those who wished to take a more cautious approach.
Then there were the civil servants who wanted to do it the right way by launching an official notice of invasion that included recommendations of surrender and the pressure of threats.
He already knew what everyone in the room was thinking. They knew that if he really wanted to, he could order the war right now and they'd be able to do nothing to stop it. But since an imperial edict had not been given, they still had some leeway.
The discussions continued. Many people brought up the Demon Lords that they would face initially due to two of them bordering his Empire.
Most believed that the other Demon Lords would not get involved as the public believed they were all in competition with each other. While this was true to a certain extent, Guy would interfere to make them all unite against them. It was what he had been preparing for for centuries.
Once an initial agreement was reached, they began to discuss military force.
"Where is Gadra?" General Calgurio of the Armored Corps asked. From what Rudra knew, Gadra and Calgurio were once friends, but that relationship soured.
"Gadra is… indisposed." One of the Imperial Guardians spoke, likely merely serving as a mouthpiece for Kondou.
Calgurio pursed his lips. "Hmm, I see. His magic may be outdated, but his skills will prove useful in this war."
"Then what of Veldora?" Another officer asked. "The Evil Dragon dwells in Tempest."
He paid special attention to Mai Furuki as he was rather curious about her, but she and her second-in-command had remained silent thus far.
Her Unique Skill enhanced her spatial affinity, so it was no wonder he was so interested in her. She had the potential to become one of the strongest Single Digits if properly invested in, and she had been incredibly loyal so far.
"What of Veldora?" Calgurio scoffed, causing Rudra to sigh. If there was one negative about General Calgurio, it was that he was short sighted and did not see the vastness of heaven and earth.
The memories of the failed attack against Veldora from 300 years ago had faded, as those who were long lived enough to remember were not here. Gadra would have opposed the plan as he remembered just how powerful Veldora was, but he was not here either.
Rudra did not know what happened with Gadra. He had read Kondou's report, but he could believe that Gadra would betray him, no matter how much another betrayal hurt.
Gadra's reason for joining him was revenge. The Luminaries had already been killed, with the final one, Granbell, being killed recently as well. Rudra could only assume Gadra realized this and so he no longer had any reason to devote himself to the Eastern Empire.
"I have assured you all many times, the counter measures we have developed against Veldora will deal with him. With our new weapons, he will no longer be a threat." Calgurio declared confidently.
Rudra allowed him to live in his delusion as it made accomplishing his goals easier. Calgurio had the highest potential to become a Saint in this invasion, facing threats far greater than him was a sure-fire way to cause an awakening in someone like Calgurio. It would be even better if many of his men died in front of him as well, such despair was often fuel for evolution.
"As for Demon Lord Rimuru, we have the Imperial Guardians with us for them, plus our superior weaponry." Calgurio declared with pride.
They began discussing the possible routes for invasion. It was already decided that the Armored Corps would be invading Tempest, and the Mixed Corps would be invading Azeroth, something Mai seemed oddly excited about. She attempted to hide her feelings, but she was far too young to deceive him.
The primary route they would use against Azeroth was the Valley of Death, which was connected to Azeroth and was large enough to allow armies to pass through. Shield generators would have to be deployed to deal with any attacks, but that was fine.
Some were worried about invading two Demon Lords at once, but they had no choice. If they only attacked one, then the other would come to the other's aid, making them face the forces of two Demon Lords either way.
Better they face two Demon Lords on their own terms.
It was already established that Calgurio's army would invade Tempest, meaning the Magic Beast Corps would be attacking the West with some assistance from the Armored Division. The topic of discussion now was just how they would get to the West.
Some people mentioned attempting to ally with the Dwarf King to better accomplish their goals, but that was quickly ruled out. The man was a Champion and was from a family of Champions. He would not sell out his allies.
"It is foolish to think a man as great as the Dwarf King Dwargo would sell out his allies." Gradium, the Beast King of the Eastern Empire retorted. "He is a master swordsman and a man of great honor." Gradium said with approval.
"His predecessors were champions as well, and he is exceptionally skilled. His companions are also famous champions. They would be tougher opponents than the newcomer Demon Lords." Gradium stood up and began pacing around the room, his presence unconsciously leaking and intimidating the lesser individuals present. "No, we will need another plan for my Magic Beast Corps to successfully make it into the bounds of the Western Nations. Gazel Dwargo is a threat to be dealt with after that."
There were a variety of Beastman that lived in the Eastern Empire, and Gradium ruled over them as the strongest among them, and as one with royal lineage. His second-in-command being a Harpy of royal lineage with potential as well.
Most of the civil servants seemed to shiver as he gazed at them. He had a reputation for being the second strongest in the Empire, though that was completely false. Gradium could not face even the weakest Single Digit.
"Hmm, Gradium is correct, even with this," Calgurio said as he raised his hand, showing off a new type of gun. "it will be difficult to deal with a man of the Dwarf King's caliber."
It was rather tragic how much his people were underestimating the Demon Lords they would be facing. Saying that a weak Saint would be more trouble than two Demon Lords who had Awakened was a tragedy, but one of his own making.
If people became too informed, it would be harder to control them, and in his game against Guy, control was necessary.
He had fallen far from the pure ideals he had once believed in. Reality had a way of disappointing people, but he believed the ends justified the means in this case. The world would have peace. All would be equal under him, with him as the absolute authority. He would judge everything impartially, and that was the foundation of Rudra's peace.
At Calgurio's words, everyone seemed to be interested in the weapon, and to a certain extent Rudra was as well. It would allow the fodder of his armies to survive a little longer and increase their chances of survival.
He may have been sending them to their deaths, but that didn't mean he wanted them to die. They were simply means to an end, meant to help expand the quality of his armies by sacrificing quantity.
But if they could survive, then he would be happy.
Rudra raised his hand, and levitated the gun out of Calgurio's hands towards him.
"Wha-!?" Calgurio jumped in surprise before realizing what happened. "I apologize." He said as he sat back down, embarrassed.
As the handle of the gun landed in his hand, he quickly looked over it.
"It is known as the spell gun, my Emperor. It is the most recent invention of my division." Calgurio declared with pride.
Rudra didn't respond as he almost immediately understood the mechanisms behind it. It used magic stones as an energy source, using this energy the magic circle engraved into the gun barrel would activate.
It was a weapon that allowed anyone to use magic-like abilities. Rudra wouldn't mislabel what this gun did as magic as Calgurio was eager to do. It was a mere replica of what true magic could do.
Those who were truly versed in magic would scoff at it, but it was good enough to increase the survivability and power of his military, so Rudra would give it his stamp of approval.
This gun in particular would fire a lightning strike straight through the barrel, which would be powerful against most below the Demon Lord Seed level if used properly.
"Impressive." He finally sounded out as he floated the weapon back to Calgurio.
Calgurio's eyes lit up in excitement at his praise. "Thank you, my Emperor!"
At his words, many began to eye the gun with even more greed. He imagined that Calgurio's Armored Division would be making quite a few military contracts once the war was over. Many would want that technology for their private forces.
Calgurio went on to say that even the imperial magic sabers were also improved in their efficiency. The sabers worked on the same principle as the spell gun and was one of the small magic weapons with weapon-strengthening magic applied.
Gradium merely looked at the weapons before scoffing and slouching back into his seat. Some of the Imperial Guardians glared at him for the disrespect, but did nothing as he did not order them to do so. The Imperial Guardians were obedient to him above all else. Without his order, they would do nothing.
"With otherworlder technology, my army has improved by ten times compared to the level it was at previously. With the grace of His Imperial Majesty, we shall successfully take Tempest." Calgurio declared to the room.
Now that the initial plan had been established, everyone began going over all the information the Eastern Empire had on its enemies.
Kondou had made the information he had gathered available to everyone, though of course no one knew he was the source of it.
"Hmm, this Dungeon could prove useful to the Eastern Empire's interests." Calgurio murmured out loud, with many voicing out their agreements.
Rudra knew that Kondou had sent three Imperial Guardians on a spy mission to Tempest, though they also seemed to either go AWOL or get captured, just like Gadra seemingly had.
"There are legends that anything can be sent into the Dungeon as it is a creation of the Fairy Queen. It would be detrimental if the entire capital city of Tempest was sucked into The Dungeon." One of Kondou's mouth pieces voiced out.
"Hmm, that is concerning indeed." Calgurio hummed. "The threat of The Dungeon cannot be ignored then. This report also states that The Dungeon holds vast resources that can be used to strengthen our armies. It is my earnest desire that you leave the matter of Demon Lord Rimuru to me, my Emperor." Calgurio said as he kneeled.
Indeed, The Dungeon did have rather high quality weapons according to Kondou. An entirely new variant of weapon, in fact; weapons with cores that could be swapped out for different effects.
Silence reigned for a few moments.
"Hmm. Very well." Rudra responded.
Calgurio's eyes lit up with satisfaction at his words. Rudra could easily see through Calgurio. While he was a patriot through and through, Calgurio also had other motives. He wished to prove himself and his Armored Division, to show everyone that they were the best the Eastern Empire had to offer.
Some more plans were made as the discussions continued. Alternate routes to Tempest were discussed, and eventually a plan to deal with Tempest was created, though it would likely be modified as time went on and as new discoveries were made.
"Now we must discuss the other fronts of this war." Calgurio said as he looked to Mai. "Since the Emperor has decided that your division will be responsible for dealing with Demon Lord Felix, we will do all that we can to assist you." He said, speaking on behalf of everyone in the room.
For the first time in the meeting Mai spoke. "Thank you General Calgurio. I am inexperienced so I would appreciate that." She said with a small smile.
Rudra allowed an amused smile to form on his face. Oh yes, Mai would become someone quite powerful if she played her cards right.
She knew just what to say to deal with Calgurio and everyone else's ego.
Calgurio preened in satisfaction at the respect in her tone of voice.
"I have already come up with a plan of attack with the assistance of my advisors, but I would be more than happy to adjust based on everyone's recommendations." Mai said to everyone.
He could visibly see how everyone's opinion of the girl soared higher and higher. Most liked being sucked up to.
Something had changed in Mai. Before she was an Enlightened, and one with low chances of Sainthood, yet something had changed within her that made her seek out strength in a desperate fashion.
But Rudra didn't care for her reasons. So long as she fought for the Empire, then he was happy to have such a good seedling.
In the end, Mai shared that she planned to attack through the Valley of Death, using shield generators and magicule disruptors that would make it difficult for most mortal individuals to sense the approaching army, but those were mere assurances should things go wrong.
The true plan she came up with was to connect the ends of the Valley of Death with a portal, bypassing it entirely and create a direct passage to Demon Lord Felix's territory, making the operation far safer.
She would create a large enough portal for her entire Mixed Corps to go across with minimal casualties, at least at the start.
It was a good plan, similar to his and Velgrynd's plan for their true invasion. They would transport the air ships of the Armored Division to the Western Nations after the initial invasion of Tempest and Azeroth.
During this, one of Velgrynd's bodies would remain with him on the airship, while her strongest body would be sent along with Kondou to surprise attack Demon Lord Felix. He would personally keep Demon Lord Rimuru busy with an offer to speak directly.
Demon Lord Rimuru was an idealist from what he had learned, similar to what Rudra had been in the past. Rimuru would not reject the opportunity to speak directly with the leading part of his enemy, if only to attempt a more peaceful resolution, even if that was impossible.
Teleportation was not utilized enough when it came to mortal wars.
"Hmm, that is a well thought out plan. The powers of teleportation will be a great advantage." Calgurio praised.
Mai bowed lightly. "Thank you, General."
With that, some more minor things were discussed, such as how much more resources would be needed to launch the invasion, how many troops would be dedicated to each front, etc.
The invasion would be launched in a little over half a year.
As the meeting wrapped up, Rudra closed his eyes, once again attempting to access the link between himself in Damrada.
He knew that the results wouldn't change, but he couldn't help but dream. Of course the results did not change, as expected. There was no connection between them anymore.
Before he had a connection with Damrada through the Alternative he had granted Damrada through Michael, Lord of Justice, but with that connection gone, that left only one possibility in Rudra's mind.
No one should be capable of getting rid of the connection. It was deep, on a soul level. Perhaps only Velda himself could have done such a thing, otherwise an extremely complex understanding of the soul would be required to remove the link between them while keeping Damrada alive.
While Rudra hoped that was what happened, he truly doubted it.
That means that one of his oldest friends was dead. Another friend lost, yet again. It seems all he was capable of was letting those close to him die.
Damrada's death hit him the hardest compared to most of the losses he had suffered. Perhaps only the loss of Velda and his sister, Lucia, could surpass the level of pain he currently felt.
Damrada was one of his closest friends. He had truly believed in Rudra, in his dream, and in who he was as a person. Even when Rudra began to doubt himself, Damrada never did.
Now, all Rudra could do to honor his closest friend was to succeed, to make all the sacrifices they made worth it. That and avenging Damrada's death, for whoever had slayed him would suffer under Rudra's hand personally.
It was hypocritical to be angry at the loss of a friend, when he had caused the same feelings in an uncountable number of people, but emotions were never logical. He knew that better than most others.
Rudra would keep putting one foot in front of each other, keep moving forward, because he owed it to everyone who believed in him, and because despite his many mistakes, that was what made him Human.
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. This one is a full on cardinal world interlude, to see what some of the bigger players are doing now.
Hinata is locked in, perhaps it seems a bit odd how much I'm emphasizing the amount of training everyone else is doing, but Felix and Rimuru are outliers, as I've tried to emphasize in the chapters themselves.
Most need to train an absurd amount to actually even get as strong as an Enlightened, let alone higher, and so Hinata needs to train a lot more if she wants to accomplish her ambition and I don't want that fact to just be forgotten due to how broken Rimuru and Felix are.
Then we get to see what's going on in the Empire. They're becoming more informed on what's going on in the world, and beginning to plan their invasion.
This was meant to give you all a better look at the Empire and their plans and whatnot, so hopefully that objective was accomplished.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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