Dungeon Defense (WN)

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The other party had finally played his card. The Kakola Archduke knew instinctively that this was the fork in the path that led towards victory or defeat.

‘The card he’s playing is intimidation.’

The Archduke thought to himself. Intimidations are something that look incredibly threatening from the outside……however, in essence, they are nothing more than negotiations. He wants to gain something. He wants to make me give something.

‘In other words―they aren’t actually planning to conquer the demon world.’

If he was really planning to conquer the demon world, then there would be no reason for him to go out of his way to threaten me like this. There are two things I have to figure out right now. ……Does the other party have the strength to subjugate the demon world? This is the first thing I have to find out. If he doesn’t have the strength to do it, then this is a bluff. A bravado.

‘And in the very slim chance that he does have the strength to pull this off?’

The chances are slim, but it should still be considered. In this situation, things will become a bit harder to handle.

The other party has the strength to conquer the demon world but he hasn’t done it. Why? Because there is something more beneficial than conquering the demon world. What could be more beneficial? What benefit could be greater than the demon world as a whole? This has to be pinpointed…….

The Kakola Archduke displayed a troubled smile.

“Haha. Your Highness, you must be teasing this humble one. I am rather weak-willed compared to my position, so I cannot help but be surprised if Your Highness says something like that.”

“Why would I tease you, Archduke?”

“Then, are you being serious?”

Dantalian’s smile vanished.

He nodded seriously.

“Archduke, there is something that you should know. I never lie.”

“I apologize, but my humble mind is unable to comprehend this.”

This rookie is rather eloquent, the Kakola Archduke thought to himself. This guy is skillfully controlling the atmosphere around them. If a rookie aristocrat were in the archduke’s position, then they would have probably been immediately tricked.

However, the person here right now was one of the 26 archdukes of the demon world. A person who reached the peak after surviving the endless battle of the fittest all throughout hell. He has never been tricked or deceived before.

The Kakola Archduke’s passion as a politician was burning. Most Demon Lords are simply people who got their positions through sheer luck. They have never fought with monsters before. Do you know how terrifying an orc’s fists are? Do you know how scary a lycanthrope’s teeth are? Do you think you can beat someone who was able to survive all of that on a daily basis!?

―O weakest Demon Lord, let us fight a swordless battle!

The Kakola Archduke brought his hands together as he spoke.

“Even if the Crescent Alliance currently has an advantage, this is still the initial stage of the war. They have only conquered a portion of the Habsburg Empire. Putting aside half the continent, the Crescent Alliance has yet to conquer even a quarter of the continent. To talk about the subjugation of the demon world now……. I apologize again, but this does not seem realistic.”

The Kakola Archduke was certain.

Humans and demons are sworn enemies. There’s no way that humans or demons would bow their heads to each other simply because some land was conquered. The humans will revolt heavily. It is overwhelmingly more difficult to bring stability to a region than the act of conquering it.

The Crescent Alliance currently has not even conquered any land. Having an advantage didn’t mean that they could relax. Saying that they would conquer the demon world during this situation would be ridiculous.

Dantalian examined the Kakola Archduke’s expression before chuckling.

“Why does our Demon Lord army have to conquer the entire continent?”

“……Excuse me?”

The Archduke furrowed his brows.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh dear. It seems you are misunderstanding something greatly.”

Dantalian laughed as if he found this to be humorous.

“The Demon Lord army is not a single entity. You are also well aware of this fact, are you not, Archduke?”

“If you are referring to the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction, then this humble one is aware of that as well. Nonetheless, are you saying that is related to our current…….”

“I am not referring to the factions. Archduke, this is more fundamental than that. There are high-ranking Demon Lords and low-ranking Demon Lords in the Demon Lord army. Is that not so?”

Dantalian’s gaze looked as if he were testing the archduke. How deeply do you know about this? That was the mood he was giving off.

The Kakola Archduke had a bad feeling, but he nodded anyway.

“We concluded that the reason why the Crescent Alliance has failed for the past 2,000 years was because of the low-ranking Demon Lords. You cannot say that this is unrelated to you, the archdukes of hell, right?”

The archduke froze for a brief moment. Don’t tell me, does this guy?

The instincts that the archduke had trained for the past hundreds of years were starting to ring the alarm bells in his head. How much does the man in front of him know? Has he come to a hasty conclusion? Is he trying to peer into my mind? If not, then……. Dang it, no. Wouldn’t this hand the initiative over to him? The Kakola Archduke concentrated on not letting his expression falter.

He responded.

“I have been unable to follow what Your Highness has been saying since earlier. The reason why the Crescent Alliance failed was because of other Demon Lords?”

“Oh? Well, fine. You invited me to a luxurious ball today. I will graciously forgive a bit of your rudeness since I managed to see some rather cute young ladies.”

Dantalian’s tone was filled with enjoyment.

“People often say that conquering the human world is the wish of demonkind……but demons that do not wish for the human world to be conquered also exist. Can you guess who those people are, Archduke? No. It is fine if you do not answer this. I have a rough understanding of your position, after all.”

“…….”

“It is the low-ranking Demon Lords and the archdukes of hell.”

The Kakola Archduke felt his sweat building up between his fingers.

“If the continent is conquered, then there will be no more human rulers as solely Demon Lords reign as monarchs. However, 72 monarchs is too much. The Demon Lords that had cooperated until now will try to put forward their respective authorities and fight one another. Naturally, only the strong, high-ranking Demon Lords will survive.”

Do you understand, Dantalian asked.

“Low-ranking Demon Lords do not wish for the continent to be conquered. On the contrary, those Demon Lords can only maintain their lives and positions if the human world exists. Well, I am the weakest Demon Lord. There is probably no one more trustworthy than me when it comes to this. Although this is something that you already know.”

“…….”

The Kakola Archduke’s expression became stiff. The other party was currently denying the meaning of Demon Lords himself. By attacking himself, he’s preventing the Archduke from saying anything in retaliation. ……What is happening. How am I unable to grab the initiative? The Kakola Archduke started to become anxious.

“You are being too modest. This humble one knows better than anyone else that Demon Lords have devoted themselves to the Crescent Alliance regardless of their ranks.”

“Devoted? They devoted themselves?”

Dantalian chuckled lightly.

“Sure. They were definitely devoted.”

Dantalian then paused for a moment. The silence squeezed the Kakola Archduke’s nerves.

The Archduke realized that the other party’s speaking ability wasn’t simply at the level of being able to ‘trick amateurs’. He doesn’t always go on the offensive even if he has the chance to do so. He knows that not attacking is occasionally more effective.

If Dantalian denied the archduke’s words just now, then the archduke could’ve mentioned the names of the low-ranking Demon Lords who devoted their lives fighting for the Crescent Alliance throughout history.

This would have broken Dantalian’s point apart. Or, at the very least, it would have ruined his momentum. However, Dantalian simply acknowledged this in an off-handed manner.

“It is true. Even if you only look at the 2nd Crescent Alliance…….”

“Do you intend to give me a boring lesson on history? You can stop. I only wish to talk about the current Crescent Alliance with you.”

Like this, the archduke was unable to avert the direction of the conversation.

The Kakola Archduke’s palms became sweaty.

“This is not an issue for only the low-ranking Demon Lords. The archdukes ruling the demon world……if the human world is united under the Demon Lords, then this would be a problem for you guys as well. The Demon Lords have stayed in the human world until now under the pretext of conquering the continent. However, what would happen if the humans are wiped out?”

“…….”

“The Demon Lords will naturally turn their line of sight toward the demon world. Soon after, your rule will come to an end. Am I right?”

“If Your Highness thinks that way, then…….”

The Archduke shut his mouth slowly.

This was the only response he could give. If the Archduke agreed, then he would give space for the Demon Lord to intervene in the affairs of his territory. If he disagreed, then he would be committing treason against the Demon Lords. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. This idiom came to the Kakola Archduke’s mind.

“Both the low-ranking Demon Lords and the influential people of the demon world do not wish for the domination of the human world. It makes sense that the Demon Lord army had struggled this much for the past 2,000 years. It is quite pathetic.”

Dantalian shrugged.

“However, the high-ranking Demon Lords are not idiots, so if the same scenario repeats itself over and over again for 2,000 years, then it is only natural that they would piece things together. They will realize that a group had been acting against the Crescent Alliance in secret.”

“…….”

“Well, I will not mention the identity of that group. Not only do I only speak the truth, but I am also magnanimous. My throat is feeling parched.”

Dantalian took out a flask of water from his person and drank from it. He brought a flask with him even though he knew he was coming to a ball. This meant that he was always cautious of being poisoned.

Furthermore, he displayed his flask now of all times. What did this mean? His action showed that he suspected the possibility of the Archduke trying to poison him. He was wordlessly denouncing the archdukes for aggravating the Crescent Alliance’s constant defeat.

The Kakola Archduke felt the back of his throat become dry. This is a lecherous man? There’s a limit to nonsense. This man is a warrior, a warrior who places a sword next to his headrest even when he sleeps at home.

“That is why we came to a decision. We will push the assault on the human world aside for now. Let us first clean house.”

After saying that much, Dantalian broke out into a laugh as if he couldn’t hold it back.

“Is this not hilarious? Even though we split into factions when faced against humans, our common enemy, we joined forces when faced against our fellow Demon Lords and demons. Surely, even the Goddess knows how to make jokes sometimes.”

“……Your Highness has been saying ‘we’ for a while now, but who exactly are you referring to?”

The Kakola Archduke couldn’t hold back his curiosity as he decided to ask this. He felt as if this was a question he shouldn’t have asked, but he couldn’t help himself.

Dantalian met the Archduke’s eyes directly. The Archduke felt a chill go down his spine.

“Baal, Barbatos, Paimon, Marbas, and Gamigin. These are probably the most significant cooperators.”

The Archduke gasped.

This cannot be possible! Are you telling me the Rank 1 Demon Lord, the leaders of the Plains Faction, the Mountain Faction, and the Neutral Faction, and the highest-ranking unaffiliated Demon Lord―are you telling me that they are all working together!?

This meant that the big shots from each respective group participated in this discussion. In other words, a majority of the high-ranking Demon Lords had formed an alliance!

“What? Does this sound unbelievable?”

Dantalian smiled bitterly.

“That is understandable. They fought so desperately until now, after all. But think about it. How angry do you think we were when we found out that the reason we fought so desperately was because of some completely unrelated third-party?”

The Kakola Archduke refused this with all he had in his mind. This is a lie. He has no proof. This is nothing more than a threat.

“Do you think that I have no proof?”

“……!”

Dantalian grinned.

“You most likely heard about how Paimon lost all of her magic in order to save me half a year ago. The leader of the Mountain Faction sacrificed herself to save a low-ranking Demon Lord of the Plains Faction. Have you never thought that that was strange?”

“That’s…….”

“Why do you think the factions that worked separately until now had gathered at the Habsburg Empire? In order to keep the Mountain Faction in check? And yet, the Mountain Faction did not receive any sort of punishment. Do you still not understand why Barbatos, the person who despises the Mountain Faction more than anyone else, conceded?”

Dantalian smirked.

“How soft. O Archduke of Kakola, you are utterly soft. You do not even know the reason why the Rank 1 Great Demon Lord, Baal, has yet to fully participate in the Crescent Alliance.”

The Kakola Archduke couldn’t hide his anxiety now. What was he talking about? Great Demon Lord Baal should be taking care of the Frankish Empire. He wasn’t going to move until the pathway known as the Habsburg Empire was cleaned up sufficiently.

However, if you think about it……Francia’s imperial army is currently participating in the battle within Habsburg. It wouldn’t be strange if Baal moved. Was there some sort of motive hidden under this? An intent that even the archdukes of hell failed to notice?

Dantalian’s words fell like a bolt of lightning on the panicked Kakola Archduke.

“It is for the sake of preserving our forces. Our forces to subjugate you―the archdukes who rule the demon world.”

The subjugation of the demon world.

They have to clean up their inner rooms before they can conquer the continent. Baal was preparing for this sake. It wasn’t only Baal. Once a section of Habsburg is dealt with, the Plains Faction, Mountain Faction, Neutral Faction, and the unaffiliated Demon Lords will also participate―.

‘This was not an empty bluff……!’

The high-ranking Demon Lords were genuinely preparing to conquer the demon world.

– Do not underestimate him.

The Kakola Archduke finally realized what the other archdukes were warning him about. The other archdukes did not lower their guards. They made the same amount of preparations as he did. And yet, they were still played with. No, they were hunted.

This wasn’t an issue of lowering your guard or not. A predator and a prey……the other party had already finished all of their preparations to tear this side apart. Don’t underestimate him. Do not even think for a second that you are on the same level as the other party. This was what the other archdukes were warning him about!

The Kakola Archduke felt his vision become hazy.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This came out pretty quick and I couldn’t think of anything to say here, so uh, I hope you guys are having a good April.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter? Oh no this might be the shortest TL note. 

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