Chapter 178 - 14: A Powerful Enemy Attacks

Chapter 178: Chapter 14: A Powerful Enemy Attacks

Leaving one’s familiar territory requires enormous courage.

This was true even for a Demon.

If he hadn’t been on the brink of death, he never would have left his home and family to come to a completely foreign place and pledge himself to a Lord he had never met.

The Demon prostrating below spat out a name through gritted teeth: "It’s because of Lilia!"

Hammond: "...Lilia?"

"Because of the tyranny she has imposed on the Red River!"

’...Tyranny?’

A glint of interest flickered in his crimson eyes.

With Hammond’s tacit approval, the refugee Demon began a fierce tirade, denouncing the utterly unreasonable and draconian laws Lilia had decreed.

No hunting newborn Demons.

No slaughtering humans for sport.

Demons under the Red River Territory were absolutely forbidden from fighting and killing one another.

No unprovoked brawling was allowed within the territory. Even when conflicts did arise, taking a Demon’s life was absolutely forbidden...

The list went on and on.

While there were also many statutes to protect her subjects, for a Demon with a natural thirst for slaughter, these prohibitions were like chains tightening around his neck.

"That woman is an out-and-out tyrant!"

The Demon roared in anger. "We merely expressed a bit of our dissatisfaction, and she took it as a challenge to her authority! All of my companions were struck down and killed by her!"

"From the incident to the execution took a mere half hour!"

"Half an hour!"

Even now, the Demon couldn’t help but shudder uncontrollably as he recalled the scene.

A seemingly small, delicate girl descended from the sky. His companions were completely powerless to resist as she trampled them to death!

After killing them, she even had her subordinates dig out their Demon Cores without a change in expression and ate them right then and there!

As if she were eating a snack!

If he hadn’t left on an errand and failed to return in time...

He was afraid he would have ended up as a meal on her plate too!

"She kills those who resist, kills those who break the rules, kills those who defy her, and kills those who disrespect her!"

The Demon roared, a trace of fear hidden in his voice. "If that’s not a tyrant, then what is?!"

Hammond raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

He chuckled and said in a low voice, "A tyrant, indeed."

’Though, by that standard, ninety-nine percent of the Lords in the Spirit Realm are tyrants.’

Hammond was more curious about something else.

’That Lord named Lilia actually demands that the Demons under her rule not kill each other or hunt humans?’

Just imagining it, Hammond knew how difficult that must be.

’If Demons could be restrained by a few paltry laws, they wouldn’t be Demons.’

’According to this fellow, she’s been using an absolute iron fist to keep her subjects in line...’

’Interesting.’

’But so stupid.’

’Even if those Demons submit to her on the surface out of fear, they could betray her at any moment.’

’Just like this one kneeling before me.’

’But...’

’To think my neighbor is such a darling idealist. For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

’An opportunity to swallow the lands around the Red River whole.’

Hammond could easily imagine how much resentment Lilia’s subjects felt toward their Lord. If he were to appear now at the head of an army, he could definitely topple her rule and easily pocket vast swathes of land.

At this thought, Hammond’s gaze toward the Demon below softened. "I understand the situation."

"Rest assured. The Spirit Realm has no need for such a cruel Monarch. I will make her pay for her arrogance."

Having received his promise, the Demon departed, overjoyed.

Hammond mulled it over for a moment, then pulled out a sheet of letter paper.

’Both the paper and pen were things they’d brought back from the Human World.’

’He had to admit, the things these humans made were cheap and effective.’

’Humans were so weak, their screams so pleasant, their blood so sweet.’

’Even the things they created couldn’t help but draw his admiration.’

’With so many merits, wasn’t it only natural for humans to be hunted?’

’They could only blame themselves for being born the perfect prey.’

Hammond wrote his conversation with the Demon on the paper, word for word.

He called a subordinate in and handed it the sealed letter.

Hammond Territory was vast, making it the most renowned power in the vicinity. This was precisely why the refugee Demon had thought of him first.

But above Hammond, there was an even more powerful Lord.

He was the king who ruled them all.

That Lord rarely concerned himself with matters around the Red River, for it was the birthplace of Demons—the "mother" of all Demons.

He believed that no matter how chaotic the outside world became, the region around the Red River must retain the most primitive law of the jungle.

It was nature’s choice.

If Hammond were to make a move against Lilia, he would inevitably, if briefly, bring the Red River into his sphere of influence.

A matter of such importance naturally had to be reported to that Lord.

The messenger Demon departed swiftly.

The Commanders of his Demon units were summoned.

Hammond had always been efficient. After a brief consultation with a few of his Commanders, thousands upon thousands of Demons were assembled.

The massive army marched out from Hammond Territory, advancing toward the Red River in the east!

...

When Ronan rushed into the room shouting, "This is terrible!" Lilia was looking over a registration report submitted by her subordinates.

’Having been a human Lord for so long, the chaotic state of her territory’s administration made her feel the phantom itch of an old obsession.’

So she had suspended her plans for expansion and thrown herself completely into developing the territory.

’And the first step to developing the territory was to figure out just how many people... ah, no, how many Demons she had.’

But just as she was halfway through the task, Ronan brought bad news.

The Lord of Hammond Territory to the west was personally leading a Ten Thousand Demon Army, and they were approaching the Red River.

Lilia certainly didn’t believe they were just passing through or asking for right of way.

’It seemed the rapid development of the Red River Territory had finally attracted the attention of the neighboring powers.’

Lilia, however, was not particularly flustered.

’This day was bound to come.’

Compared to her composure, Ronan’s reaction was rather unsightly.

The Little Demon, not even the size of a palm, buzzed around the room like a headless fly. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"Hammond is a veteran Lord! I’d heard of his fearsome reputation back when I was just born!"

"Hammond Territory is terrifyingly powerful! It’s not just their numbers; their overall quality is on a completely different level from a power like ours that’s only been developing for a little over half a year!"

"He sent a Ten Thousand Demon Army right from the start, and he’s even leading it himself! That proves he’s serious—dead serious about annexing us!"

"What do we do... what do we do!"

TAP.

A pen tapped its head with perfect precision.

The Little Demon’s movements froze.

"Calm now?" Lilia asked casually.

"...Calm now."

"Good."

Lilia set the register aside. "What do we do? We either surrender or we fight back."

"Isn’t that how we’ve gotten through this past half year?"

The Little Demon: "But... it was always others who had to make that choice before."

"It’s all the same."

Lilia rose from her seat. "Whether it’s them or us, it’s still war."

’If you’re going to annex others, you must be prepared to be annexed yourself.’

Truth be told, however, Lilia was quite curious.

’Curious as to whether the power she had built in just over half a year could truly stand against Hammond Territory.’