Vol. 13 - Chapter 785 - Preparation for Conquer Day #7 - «The Strength of Masses» 2 (Demon’s POV)

«Anyway, Director Shinnonom. Have you called this meeting just to inform us about Allen-kun's timing?»

After giving another glance at the «The Strength of Masses»—a Fiend Sovereign class demon created by Shinonom by using Rukimon as foundation—who quietly stared back at him, Kyubel turned his gaze back to Shinonom, the Director of Demon Beast Construct Department.

It's clear he didn't fancy being called to hear the same words he had already heard on the first day, since the day they gave Allen an ultimatum, and with annoyance seeping on his voice, he emphasised on the aspect of time.

"Come now, the actual reason comes next. This is something Ordo-sama must be informed of, so the calculation and feeding session is merely a side show. After all, isn't this building your idea, Kyubel-sama?"

«Huh? You displayed Rukumon's prowess to show me?»

Among the demon's ranking, the title of Supreme Commander, which was Ordo, and Advisor, which was Kyubel, were neck-to-neck in authority. As such, since the idea was conceived by Kyubel, even Ordo couldn't have been informed without his permission.

Even the demons in lab coat-esque clothes were, in a sense, Kyubel's subordinates.

"Rukimon, activate the mana aerial view. Visualise the information you'd picked from the mana sensors."

«Command Accepted, Shinonom-sama"! Initiating Mana Aerial View!»

Noticing Ordo sticking to the Rukimon name for «The Strength of Masses», Shinonom decided to follow suit. «The Strength of Masses», Rukimon, responded in a much brighter voice, seemingly exhilarated at the prospect of receiving a name.

Rukimon followed Shinonom's command, and widened all the countless eyes, each releasing a radiance that grew gradually in intensity. Like a torch, or laser points, the glow from thousands of eyes converged in the air beneath the ceiling.

The eyes gave off various hues of glow. The pure white glow dots acted as the outline, forming the sketch of the World Map. Some of the eyes also emitted yellow glow, highlighting some of the map to make them appear more prominent.

The end result was a 3D hologram-like design, like a planetarium. On the map, several places were highlighted by the blink of white and yellow glow points.

«The white color light is the map, I guess. Hmm? The yellow dots... are spread out unevenly. This should be Ratash Kingdom that boasts the job change dungeon, and their S-rank dungeon is also represented with a stronger glow. Our continent is also being highlighted with yellow.»

Ordo walked through the lane of his memory, and promptly recognised the outline drawn by white glow points were the boundaries and borders of the world's continent and its residing nations.

The illustrated map had several points where the strength of light was pale, or intense, in other spots. It was like a glimpse of earth during night from a satellite, where the number of luminous spots dictates the outlines. In a place where the population was supposed to be crowded, the light shone on them brighter, while sparsely populated regions like deserts were appearing pale.

It didn't take much for Ordo to read the map.

«On surface, there are a total of 1,267,888,830 people who harbored mana with at least 1 or more units. Likewise, the total population count of aquatic beings is 324,502,589 for the same mana capacity.»

Unlike Kyubel or Shinonom, who had only berated itself, Rukimon immediately explained the other details to Ordo, while the latter analyzed the map. Rukimon apparently had used its overwhelming intelligence to read the presence of every person, who had at least one unit of mana capacity, and pointed out at the map.

«Hey, look at our continent's coast. What is it that gives such a strong presence?!»

Ordo then noticed the presence of a being, denoted with a strong glow, as it fluttered here and there while keeping a fixed distance from «Lost Continent».

"This must be the shadow of Sacred Bird Kuwataro. It had reportedly attempted to make a breakthrough in our defense, but with no result, it's now observing from outside of the coast. It's a pity Allen has seemingly found out the shooting range from the coast is 30 kilometres.»

«Tch, I need a detailed report on it. But, I reckon this isn't what you have for me, right?»

Kuwataro's presence was a point of concern, but Ordo figured Shinonom had something more in his bag. Shinonom, too, immediately glared at Rukimon, urging it to move to the next report.

"Rukimon, filter the crowd to population with mana capacity of more than 100 units, and enlarge the Bawkis Empire's region."

«Bawkis Empire at present has 26,796,442 people with mana capacity of more than 100 units.»

«I think I understood why you called us. Rukimon-kun, now show us the map from 7 days ago, and update it with the increment of 5 seconds.»

Picking up from the implication of Shinonom's instruction, Kyubel issued a new comment.

«As you wish, Kyubel-sama! Initiating conditional extraction from the memory field containing the past 52 years of information.»

«Six days ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 25,517,240.»

«Five days ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 25,622,217.»

«Four days ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 25,796,209.»

«Three days ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 26,029,217.»

«Two days ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 26,371,143.»

«One day ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 26,596,735.»

«Two hours ago, the number of individuals with a mana capacity of 100 units or higher in the Bawkis Empire was 26,791,102.»

Rukimon picked up the command, and enlarged the Bawkis Empire's region displayed on 3D World Map. Then, it applied the condition, and reflecting the changes, the light dots began to pop up on the map's surface at an incredible rate.

«Wait, isn't this place in the Bawkis Empire seeing sudden rising of dots?!...This, I recall it's where they'd their army's shipbuilding base. It appears they've gathered their capable people in that place to prepare for the war!!»

As the Supreme Commander of Demon King's Army, Ordo had drilled down all the strategic spots of each country. He immediately connected the link between the situation, and made his guess.

"You’re right, Ordo-sama. With the situation on both ends, to inform you of the ongoing situation is one of the primary regions.. And it's not just a navy port, even the S-rank Dungeon has been seeing a surge of adventurers by units of 10,000 every day. I have also confirmed many more magic ships making trips to blacksmith's villages to balance supplies of weapons. The other nations are confirmed to follow the trend, increasing the number of workers from other towns to build weapons, or dispatching their workforce to Bawkis Empire."

«They're completely in the momentum of war. Allen should have spurred other nations to make a move, so we should expect them to use warships, too.»

As one of the army members, Ordo saw through the attempt of Allen with the given information.

"You're correct. Our army has more or less recovered, and is prepared to be dispatched. So, what should be our next move?"

«......Hmm. We have the option to crush the enemy's plan right now while they're in the unknown.»

Shinonom implies they could throw wrenches into Allen's plan right now. Ordo didn't immediately make a response, his thoughts circling around their army's military strength, and the influence the attack on the naval port might bring.

«What did Rukimon say?»

"If I take into account the subsequent aftermath, the probability to recommend a surprise attack is 23%. Rukimon has only gone through a 500 billion calculation, but nary a single possibility has deviated far enough.»

«I guessed it.» (Kyubel)

«Hmm? What are you trying to say? Do you mean we may end up at disadvantage with the surprise attack?» (Ordo)

«Yes, we would lose our initiative if we do that. In contrast, they're currently expending their entire resources and manpower, plus the time, to prepare for this war. Wouldn't it be far worthwhile to let them complete that, and then clap them back in a counterattack, turning all their hopes and dreams into despair? It should plant a fear to never ever challenge us, again.»

Kyubel spilled a smirk behind his clown's mask.

«So, that's what you've been aiming for. It's far more efficient to break their spirit, than their fangs, to the degree they will never raise their gaze at us, huh. But, there's no way we can crush them unless we somehow know their plan. Are you trying to imply, you have managed to figure out where they would be coming from after learning about warships?»

"Your military prowess is incredible, Ordo-sama. You've guessed it right. I believe we had only continued to fail in our plan because the Demon King's Army underestimated Allen."

The Demon King’s Army had confronted Allen on many occasions.

1. During the Rosenheim invasion, they had been unable to secure the corpses of 10 million people.

2. They'd have the founder of Evil Doctrine help them collect human souls, but they'd only succeed in saving 1/10th of the designated count.

3. Demon King's Army were routed back from their base at the Central Continent.

4. They'd tried to revive Evil God in the Prostea Empire, and even led an invasion against Divine Realm, but Allen would show himself and threw a wrench in their plan.

«You're not wrong. We have let Allen and his team be a nuisance enough. Anyway, why are you bringing up this point?»

"Rukimon has recorded every strategy Allen had used against us, and combed through them to understand about him."

«Woah! So, I presume you know what Allen's plan is?»

"Bullseye. Besides, our thoughts have been further reinforced after tracking Allen's summon's reconnaissance, and the warship's situation."

«You should already know this, but, just to be assured, you have 'predicted' it, right, Director?»

«Absolutely.»

«Yes. We've been almost done with guiding Allen's conquest. And, we also have prepared a solid countermeasure to deliver the final nail. You will witness soon how we lead Allen by his nose.»

From beneath the platform, Rukimon's assured tone echoed.

What they had predicted was not how Allen will come barging in, but how Allen is going to act. After verifying the reports and current situation, they'd have the forts notified to keep up the obstacle. In short, they'd been deliberately putting obstacles to give Allen an illusion of direction.

«That's great. I must inform the Great Demon King about this!! Hmm?»

«Huh?»

«What?»

«What was that?»

Like a parrot, Kyubel tilted his head at Ordo's remark. Shinonom and Rukimon displayed a similar gesture.

«......I am saying, with Rukimon, shouldn't we be able to gain this victory even more efficiently? I told you earlier it has the memory of the last 50 years.»

Ordo was aware they'd an immovable wall named Rukimon, one of the Six Heavenly Demon. As the top executive, it was natural. Then, he also had information from Kyubel, so as soon as he had stepped into this building, he had immediately guessed who Rukimon was.

Nevertheless, he also hadn't known much about Rukimon either, so the revelation of its abilities unsurprisingly stunned him.

A command of the advisor was a must follow for the Demon King's Army. No one can overturn this, neither Ordo, nor anyone else with their authority.

«I understand it's overstepping our boundary a bit here, but the silence must be kept. The stage has been set, and the cast is ready. We can't risk any changes in the strategy as of now. And as a matter of fact, I had personally requested the Great Demon King to turn Rukimon into Fiend Sovereign, so it's not like we're keeping our lord out of the loop. We have lost three of the Six Heavenly Demon, leaving us with three empty seats. Regardless, the upcoming battle hinges more on the 'trump card' we have.»

They had led many invasions and assaults whether by Ordo, or now deceased Ramonhamon, and while results weren't entirely in line with their desires, they'd managed to secure the core aspect at the very least. They'd managed to figure out the bottom line through the help of Rukimon forecasted strategy

Albeit, as the planner of the strategies, he had often had to make tough decisions, too. Kyubel quoted in a dramatic manner, followed by a shrugging gesture.

«Well, you have a point. The list for the next Six Heavenly Demon's position was quite fine, but if we're doing that, then it would be much better to focus on Rukimon.»

Ordo nodded, agreeing on this aspect. There was a limit to how many Fiend Sovereign there can be, and now that they'd lost 3 of their Heavenly Demon, they'd these ten days to decide their next candidates.

"So far, our invasion on the Central Continent has managed to get us the elites of other races, and finally have our test product. The same strategy had also allowed us to gain fruitful results this time."

«I am not a test product. I am Rukimon...»

Rukimon immediately grumbled in retort as Shinonom quoted him as a test product.

«So you've been researching fused intelligence even before the inception of Rukimon. This would make it, even before 50 years I guess?»

"To be precise, this research's trials are even older than that. As a matter of fact, I learned Rukimon is the 8th test product. In that essence, I am also not the first generation Director of Research either."

Ordo couldn't help but subconsciously gulped back his saliva when he learned fused intelligence research had been a thing of the past.

«I had kickstarted this project to trick the gods. But, we're not going to hold back anymore. This time, we are going to decimate any and all hope of Allen and his supporters so much they would never dare gaze back at us from their despair.»

Kyubel asserted himself strongly. He was absolutely intent on driving their opponent to the abyss this time.

«I understand. Then, I guess we're pretty much set on our strategy.»

«Yup, that’s what we have discussed. I noticed you're about to go berserk for no update, so the entire purpose of this is to inform you that we're already making solid progress. Speaking of, Director Shinonom, I believe we still have some to finish all the setup to face Allen and his team, right? This is a pretty fine time to inform our Supreme Commander.»

"Right, I almost forgot. Please follow me to the research facility of Ultimate Demon Beast Construct for better explanation."

«Wait, is that what I think it is? The Ultimate Demon Beast Construct is finally completed?!»

"Indeed, I really would like you to see for yourself."

«Alright, then, the rest of you. Keep your eyes on Allen-kun's trick and make sure to thrash all his attempts of infiltration. Remember, either you succeed, or you will be the next meal of Rukimon.»

"Eeek?!"

"What!?"

"N-Nooo!!"

A series of shrieks escaped from the demons, who had been working on the touch panel all this time, when they heard Kyubel's threatening remark.

Meanwhile, Kyubel himself followed after Ordo and Shinonom, entering another facility.