Iraq.
Several hundred strong soldiers stood in salute.
Like a well-oiled machine, they who were once peasant farmers and herders now stood in disciplined attention, silently waiting for any command of their new commander.
Said commander admired the troops' formation and order from behind a familiar black mask.
With eyes battle-hardened and ready, one need not be a drill instructor to tell that each and every man and woman was determined to bring their best to the fold. But their gear was obsolete. Uniforms and weapons are outdated to the point of being antiques of the Cold War era. Yet, so long as it could help do the job, it would suffice. Until they secure means to obtain modern equipment or start manufacturing it themselves, the earnest pieces at the ready would be sufficient enough to topple the current corrupt order.
It was a fine start in the eyes of the Demon Emperor.
"They will do for now." His lover and partner in crime nodded, pleased with herself to see the fruits of their labours in Afghanistan. Oda Nobunaga did not bother to hide her face like her beloved one was doing. Instead, she was standing next to Zero, observing the, at the moment, finest of their first army.
These men had spent the last decade fighting for their homeland. For many, that was half their current life. Their forefathers off foreign invaders, then their parents endured the greed and corrupt ambitions that tore their home apart. Now, each and every man, woman, even child would offer their hopes and dreams to bring peace under the banner they believed in.
"We've come far," Lelouch muttered under his mask with a sigh. "It was within expectations, but it was still an honest pain to unite so many bickering fools. More so those blinded by tradition and oh so willing to kill their own for it…"
It proved difficult with the many different groups caring little about the lives of their fellow countrymen. Tribes often had rivalries, but when the relationship web was littered with enclaves that hated their immediate neighbours enough to betray them on the spot, a few heads had to be cut and replaced. Covertly 'elected' leaderships took quite a while to divert old hatreds in other directions, but they had to. The fighting itself and ending the civil conflict wasn't hard, both he and his queen had had enough experience in warfare to manage such. Swaying people to his whims without Geass though… that was a challenge.
A welcome one, for sure.
"Come now, darling! Is that any way to honour the sacrifice these people made for their home? Turn that tired frown upside down."
She wasn't supposed to be able to tell, under the mask as he was. But she could. And he chuckled a little for it.
"True. Those that stand here have willingly shed blood and beliefs to recreate a better world. Those who sacrifice more than their lives but their way of life itself deserves real respect." Lelouch muttered aloud as he spied the expressions of the many young and loyal he'd picked up along the way. Some were still older than he in his former life, yet they were no less determined in the face of struggle, in the face of war. Once, they looked at him with disdain and distrust due to being an outsider. Now though, they looked up to him with a burning fire, a passion ignited by the miracle he carried out to earn their allegiance. Capitalizing on that, and noting the nervous few still mixed among the crowds, he raised his voice and cried out. "Raise your heads! Raise your hands! All of you! Soldiers, citizens! Young and old! You who wish for freedom, you who've gathered together for the sake of rebuilding your nation, rejoice! For it is due to your works, your efforts, your hopes and faith in me, that victory is near! The rise of your nation, your home, on a global stage, has already begun!"
Their cheers resounded in his ears. The same cheer they bellowed when they, under his leadership, fell Kabul within hours of the fight starting. After which, the new government was announced to overthrow the old.
Many were in disbelief that their oppressors and the weak-willed were removed instantly and without infighting. Many were still so when the replacement remained strong and demanded the end to all fighting, not turning into another dictatorship looking to establish an exclusive hegemony over them. To anyone from beyond the borders, it would appear to be about time for another regime change. But to the common man who'd lived through the previous decades, it was a miracle when all of the groups obeyed and laid down their arms to ratify the newly established country.
Of course, it need not be said that everyone in power, over tribes and formerly radical groups, as well as those of the new government, were deeply in their pockets. Despite portraying themselves as acting advisors, behind the scenes, the former emperor made sure the current leaders of Afghanistan knew who it was that held the real power. He made sure to impress upon them who it was that held their peace in the palm of their hands.
As the result of their test run, Lelouch and Nobu secured themselves a puppet state with a good amount of resources that can be used in the future. That said, Lelouch had no intention of robbing the country of their prosperity. The people here deserved a better future, one he and Nobu would inadvertently provide for them.
Nobunaga didn't care too much, leaving the paperwork to her beloved. Lelouch wasn't all that deterred, though. Having to write down the strategies for the new Afghan government to ensure any possible scenario will be accounted for, served as an avid review of his former tactics with Britannia.
Tried and tested as his methods had been before, things might not develop the same way in this poor and disadvantaged country.
Britannian-Japan had the adage of experiencing both the Pacific War and his Zero-Requiem Britannian Conquest. The Middle East of this world may not be ready for it, but that only fueled his resolve to make it so. This once war-torn nation will be the first among many that will be saved by Demons from hell, being made into their subject yet prospering as a result.
"You hear them, Lulu?" she whispered lovingly into his ears after dismissing the still-cheering army and retiring to their quarters. "They love you."
"No. It's more apt to say they love the ideal I represent." Unmasking himself in the privacy of his temporary office, the young man smiled wryly as he took a seat and leaned back against it. "Their passion is shared by my ambition, hence they cheer. So long as we continue to benefit them, they will do so."
"And yet, they're loyal," Nobu interjected hopping into his lap and embracing him before play-biting his ear. "You saw it in the young ones' eyes. Even the older generation, cynical that they were before. Loyalty born of witnessing a miracle serves only to amplify the fire that burns within. I should know. My fire only burns stronger for you."
"What may be the norm for you isn't the same for them. Unlike you who took the fate of her homeland in your own hands, I'd simply given them back theirs."
And that was only after making them endure conflict after conflict, with death at their backs as the only repercussion of failure. It somewhat worked for the Black Knights in their early months, but it was largely more effective for those who'd always done so yet failed to achieve true success.
It was more accurate to say he provided these people with the illusion of success because, like his stint with the Black Knights and Japan, he was going to do far more than liberate a nation. He was going to use its people to his benefit.
"They will follow us as long as we keep providing miracles, feeding their delusions of fighting for the right cause." Lelouch poked Nobu's sides, stopping her from playing with his ear. But before she could retaliate, he froze her with a hand to the underside of her chin. "It's only fitting I lead them by the nose lest their selfish tendencies get the better of their fellow countrymen, no?"
"Hmph." Nobu eyed him curiously but gave in to his tickling her when he traced his fingers to just behind her ear. "The ones you picked, they aren't like some of the radicals we picked off, yes? The ones who would use religion to justify their atrocities."
For the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, using God or any religion just as means to control people was beyond tolerable. It was clear she despised people like that and her fury found its targets among the most radical groups in Afghanistan. Not even ashes remained after she was done with them. Such were the results of the twisted segments of her past and legend.
"I made a quick background check on them. Relax. Some could swing radically, but they could never betray our expectations." Lelouch pecked her on the forehead. "I cannot speak with full certainty for those who still try and push for a more secular agenda, but they'd volunteered to fight for us when they offered the decision. To stay and stagnate, or to revel in the peace their people fought so hard for. In any case, should they fail the second chance in life we gave them, sending them to hell would be as simple as snapping your finger, yes?"
"Oh, you'd like it if I did that for you, wouldn't you, darling?" Nobunaga said as she stuck her nose against his and shoved it further for a real kiss. Her breath was hot and needing, but she held back as she made to report. "Yesterday's fireworks went just as you requested. We've kept our side of the deal and I made sure nothing remained of the old fool's ivory towers."
"Good work," he rewarded her with a chaste peck on the lips. But of course, being the ever-greedy Demon King, she wasn't settling for just that. She pushed against his own lips with an eager smack. Smiling to himself, he allowed her the bonus. She did well after all.
With this, the anti-government faction was in their debt.
The dissident group of Iraq had been a thorn in the Hussein leadership's side for quite a while. Their opposition, though not much of one in recent years, had yet to be stamped out due to the people's ingenuity and the resources they managed to keep hidden from the dictator. Such talent and logistics was quite the boon he could gain from overturning yet another decadent nation steeped in oppression.
Inhumane it may be to degrade the people to nothing but resources, but he'd always been this way since gaining his resolve. In order to achieve their goal of a perfect information network in this country, he needed all he could find, be it the official face of a country or the black market that flowed beneath it.
Hurting the dictator in the worst way possible, that is to say, burning down his government's pride as well as his family, had cleared the conditions to earn the freedom fighters' trust.
'With this, the Americans may start asking questions…' Foreign powers were afoot. As any respectable world power should. 'It's only natural given they supported him from the shadows first…'
The Western powers would look idly at the happenings of the Middle East. But some of them wouldn't. It'd be best to start looking for countermeasures against the democratic powers subtly undermining their hold.
Still, with their getting rid of Saddam's spawn, Lelouch and Nobu were rewarded with several old military warehouses that were hidden from Iraq forces. Right now, two of them are planning their next move in one of the said warehouses.
"Bored, darling?" Lelouch asked when he broke away from Nobu's smooches and she returned the favour with a pout. "From that face, you're making, I can see you are. Unlike Afghanistan we can't just go guns blazing, killing everyone who is against us."
"What a shame. And here I thought to kill some time eating away at your face," she sighed disappointedly while he rolled his eyes at her coyly smirking. "Honestly, setting that castle of his alight was the most fun I'd had in a while. True, I did go a little bit overboard playing cat-and-mouse with junior Hussein, but doing so while forcing myself to stay hidden from their security cameras was dampening the excitement!"
He could tell. Due to the fact that she couldn't vanish into spirit form anymore, she had to actually start learning to fight like an assassin. It started off fun for her, learning to be a ninja and all that, but it all started to bore her when she had to get even less flamboyant with how she executed their enemies.
"Patience, my dear fire maniac. While we can't act as we did before, you will get your share of visceral combat." Lelouch turned to the map of the region that lay on the table. "Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq can be considered a regional power, even though it lost badly during the Gulf War. If we don't act carefully, a political backlash could result in destabilizing this country beyond recovery. Its neighbours will not sit idly when bordering a weakened rival."
"And we don't want that." Nobu finished, knowing that the entirety of Asia was their target. Allowing one country to become more powerful without hers and Lelouch's permission wasn't permitted. Though they ran around providing political and militaristic backing, they had no intentions of providing future targets with an opportunity to get stronger.
"Right now, we act surgically. At present, we've struck a key point in their regime's support. Slowly but surely, we'll be cutting off the head of this beast in such a way that there won't be anything left to stand in our new puppet's revolution for renewal. Taking out the current government should be left in the people's hands. Publicly, of course. In the meantime, we will need to get rid of any regime loyalists that will pose a threat. High ranking army officials, state-controlled media and means of information, and lastly, any foreign group that might act against our goals."
"Lelouch, honey, that sounds like a job for an Assassin. Don't forget my class. I am meant to spread the fires of vengeance, not hunt down tyrannical rulers from the shadows."
Lelouch caught her by surprise tickling her sides. "Then an Assassin of Vengeance. Your fires still work well in stoking the embers of revolution. Just having it made known that their regime is crumbling without naming their apparent killer works in our favour." Many may claim to have done the deed, but no one can capitalize on it better than Lelouch could. Not when he'd already snuffed out any would-be revolutionist not already under his umbrella. "Stay your hand just a little longer. We just need to make sure no one from the moonlit world is keeping an eye out our way."