Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 75: Watchdog of Humanity (1)

The year 1506 of the Imperial Calendar. Late Spring.

A year has passed since I had fallen into this world. 1 year, it felt like a joke.  I have never been more aware of how much the concept of time flowed like water until now. I’m still far from being an old man, though.

I almost got killed by Riff’s party, I made a whole bunch of money through the Black Death, I rescued Laura, killed Jack, killed Andromalius, got caught up in a commotion at Niflheim because of it, and now, after persuading Barbatos, I circulated a groundless rumor and incited a war that would make the human world tremble in fear……. No matter how you looked at it, this is a ridiculous amount of things to fit in the schedule of a single year. Even workaholics would run away if they saw this schedule.

I wonder what would happen if I could go back in time by a year and tell my past self what the future had in store for me. Hey, you shut-in, you’re going to fall into a world that’s exactly like the one in <Dungeon Attack> and struggle desperately to survive as the weakest Demon Lord. I’d probably call myself a crazy bastard. Nonetheless, this insane thing actually did occur. My God, I suddenly want to see my mother…….

On another note, this world also has cherry blossoms. The area where our unit had set up camp was surrounded by a bunch of fully bloomed cherry blossoms. Everything appeared radiant under the brilliant cherry blossom petals that even orcs looked beautiful. Someone called out to me while I was in deep thought watching the blossoms.

“Your Lordship, Commander Zepar is calling for a meeting.”

It was Laura. She was participating in the Crescent Alliance as my adjutant. There were some people that would openly taunt me for having a human as my adjutant, but I disregarded them. I like people with talent. As long as they can keep me alive in this world, I don’t care whether they’re a demon or a human.

“I am a commander with only 50 soldiers. What meaning would there be for me to be present?”

“Commander Zepar is calling for all of the Demon Lords that are a part of the vanguard. Your Lordship should at least show your face.”

Laura smiled wryly. She looked as if she were looking at her troublemaker little brother. Oh dear, it seems Laura’s mental age is higher than mine. I did end up letting out a complaint on reflex.

Rank 71. The way I’m treated is almost tear-inducing. I may be a Demon Lord, but I only have 50 soldiers under my command. To make matters worse, a majority of them are lowest-tier golems and lowest-tier fairies. The other Demon Lords would naturally question my presence. I understand how most of them probably feel about me; however, I don’t intend to let it slide if they try to pick a fight with me. I’m a rather stingy person.

“I apologize. The number of people coming to taunt us has increased…….”

“Can we not silence them by showing them what we are capable of?”

Laura looked straight at me with her green eyes.

“I trust Your Lordship.”

Jeez, Laura sure is mature. Even though, as a human, she should be receiving far more terrible and crude comments than me. I tried to shift the conversation so we could pleasantly mock the other Demon Lords, but I ended up being encouraged instead. Ever since our bodies connected, my bond with Laura has become more stable. I felt embarrassed, so I wound up laughing at myself.

“Then, shall I go show my face?”

“Yes.”

I was assigned to the vanguard of the 6th legion which was being led by Barbatos.

Barbatos hastily organized the 6th legion as soon as the Crescent Alliance was formed. All of the Plains Faction Demon Lords worked together to quickly organize the systematic structure of the legion under Barbatos’ orders. The line of command, the military command, and sub-units were established in an instant to create a whole legion. Naturally, the first legion to advance was the 6th legion. Paimon watched us march with an unamused gaze.

The Plains Faction is a den of war fanatics and Barbatos is the head honcho of that den. They displayed to everyone how much they’ve been preparing for war. I can say with certainty that on the day the Crescent Alliance was formed, the people who cheered in the meeting room were all members of the Plains Faction.

On the other hand, the Mountain Faction was dilly-dallying. According to the rumors I’ve heard, they haven’t even established a line of command yet. Although people weren’t openly criticizing them, this was something that hurt Paimon’s pride as the commander of the 1st legion.

‘Hm. Does the 1st legion intend to go flower watching?’

The finishing blow was the words Barbatos said directly to Paimon’s face. Barbatos asked if the 1st legion intended to simply follow the path that the other legions had already painstakingly paved out. Paimon’s face naturally became red.

She glared at Barbatos fiercely, but she couldn’t retort. The Plains Faction had already secured a point through the matter regarding Belial, so the Plains Faction scored a point in the 2nd round as well. I pray that they’ll exert themselves. It’d only be worthwhile for me and my plan for a grand war if they did their best.

“You’re here, Dantalian.”

I entered the barracks with Laura accompanying me. Once I did, an old man that was seated at the head of the table welcomed us. He was the Demon Lord who was appointed as the commander of the 6th legion’s vanguard, Rank 16 Zepar.

“Yes, Sir Zepar. I am here to heed your command.”

“Mm. Feel free to wait comfortably.”

Zepar seemed satisfied with how courteously I performed my military rites as he nodded. He had a splendid beard, so he gave off a well-aged look, but he lacked a fancy side since he acted and talked prudently. Nonetheless, he gave off the strong impression of a veteran general.

‘He looks like that, but he’s younger than Barbatos.’

You can’t determine a Demon Lord’s age with their appearance alone. I sat at my assigned seat while Laura stood behind me. We must have arrived first, as there was no one else here excluding Zepar, his adjutant, myself, and Laura.

“I apologize for being late.”

“Did you call for me, Sir Zepar?”

“I am at your beck and call.”

As time passed, the other Demon Lords entered one by one. Some of them performed military rites, while the others omitted them. The former were the Demon Lords who had participated in previous Crescent Alliances. It’d be fine to call them veterans. The latter were the rookie Demon Lords who were participating in the Crescent Alliance for the first time.

The rookies babbled about how the humans were cowards and greenhorns and that the humans would run away once we showed them the greatness of the Crescent Alliance.

What fools! They’re the greenhorns. If the humans were truly cowards, then the Crescent Alliance wouldn’t have failed 7 times now. The rookies failed to recognize how pitiful our armies actually are and how terrifying the human forces are.

“……Hm.”

I took a slight glance at Zepar and noticed that he was also feeling uncomfortable. Most people probably wouldn’t notice this, but his right eyebrow was raised a bit. I was told that he had participated in the 4th Crescent Alliance and all the ones that followed that until the 7th. He should know very well what process led to the defeat of the Demon Lord armies.

The current attitude the rookie Demon Lords were showing was one of the reasons the Demon Lord armies lost previously. He must be displeased by them……. Zepar must be quite the competent person for Barbatos to appoint him as the leader of the vanguard. Should I try relying on him?

“By the way, you sure have quite the unique adjutant, Sir Dantalian.”

Dear me, the arrowhead has been turned towards me. One of the rookies was looking at me with a sly smile. It was Rank 58 Demon Lord Amii. Everyone turned to look at me. Did they run out of things to talk about? It felt like he was declaring that he was going to target me.

“To make a human your adjutant, this is unprecedented.”

“Precedences are something to be made, are they not? I trust in the skills of my adjutant.”

“I’m curious as to what those skills might be. If it’s related to her beauty, then she is certainly extraordinary.”

The rookie laughed as if he found this to be funny. He was basically insinuating that I had brought Laura for the sake of relieving my lust after he saw her appearance. Jeez, playing along with idiots isn’t an easy task. I guess I’ll socialize with them a bit.

“Well, she is a lot more useful than your adjutant.”

“……Are you mocking me right now?”

“Banish the thought. From what I have heard, Sir Amii, your adjutant has been entrusting all of their paperwork to my adjutant. I can only be grateful that you would trust my adjutant to such a degree. Although I am worried that your adjutant is doing this because they are not confident in doing paperwork.”

Amii’s expression contorted. What I said was the truth. This was probably a type of bullying as the adjutants of a couple of Demon Lords had been pushing their work on Laura. I guess they wanted to see how well a mere human could take care of the tasks meant for the Demon Lord army.

Even if you put their intentions aside, leaving your work to another unit of equal rank is quite an impressive thing to do. What would they do if I had ulterior motives and tampered with their account books? Commander Zepar must have thought the same thing as he furrowed his brows.

“Amii. Is he speaking the truth?”

“……I apologize, but I have never been informed about this. Sir Dantalian! Please refrain from slandering people needlessly while in the presence of others.”

Slandering, huh? I shrugged.

“It appears that Sir Amii’s unit has 20% more provisions than the other units. Especially when it comes to supplies like alcohol. Are you already feeling festive even though the war has yet to begin? I am jealous of your confidence.”

“You bastard!”

Amii sprung to his feet. His face was red.

“How dare you try to humiliate me when you are only a Demon Lord of fifty soldiers!”

No, I was being serious when I said I was jealous. Even if my head were to become a field of flowers, I don’t think I could drown myself in liquor when we’re going to be engaging in battle soon. How nice would it be if I could live with his mentality? Please bestow upon me that mental strength of yours.

Demon Lord of Fifty was my nickname. It was given to me after I showed up to the Crescent Alliance with no more than 50 soldiers. It has an ill-natured meaning since fifty is half of a hundred, thus ‘Demon Lord of Fifty’ is like being called half a Demon Lord or half a coin. I’ve been called half a coin more than my own name as of late. Seriously, Demon Lords sure do love picking fights with people.

Once the atmosphere became heavy, Zepar gave a warning.

“Cease this shameful conduct.”

He’s probably afraid of going against a Rank 16. Amii couldn’t hide his annoyance as he sat back down. Honestly, he’s cute compared to Barbatos. It seems I don’t have to worry about there being a dull moment during this war thanks to this guy.

The last Demon Lord arrived. He tilted his head in confusion due to the heavy atmosphere. He looked like he wanted to ask what happened, but Zepar didn’t give him the opportunity to do so as he immediately started the meeting.

“Fortunately, our 6th legion is the first to advance. We are the vanguard of the 6th legion. Therefore, we are the spearhead of the Crescent Alliance. Our victory or defeat will determine how the historians write about the 8th Crescent Alliance. I am honored to be able to make history with you all.”

Applause erupted throughout the barracks. The phrase ‘make history’ seemed to excite a couple of the Demon Lords.

Zepar raised his right hand up sternly. The applause naturally subsided.

“Do you understand? Any blunders committed by us will not be the blunder of a single group, but the entirety of the 6th legion, no, the entirety of the Crescent Alliance. Right here, at this moment, we are representing all of the Crescent Alliance! The vanguard of the 6th legion must work together and move as one. I will not forgive individual actions.”

As expected, he took out the whip after presenting the carrot.

Zepar may be the commander, but everyone here is also a Demon Lord and a monarch. It wouldn’t be weird for them to ignore their superior’s orders and go on a rampage on their own. A militia without a line of command was terrifying to imagine.

Zepar intended to use this opportunity to establish his authority. If we fail, then we’ll be ridiculed by the other Demon Lords to no end, so listen to his orders, this was what he was trying to say. If the Demon Lords gathered here understood this, then they’ll be careful from now on.

The issue is the idiots who didn’t understand.

“Do not worry! Those humans will cower in terror just by hearing an ogre breathe! There is nothing to fear!”

Amii declared. Once he did, two other Demon Lords agreed. He asserted that the humans were nothing to be afraid of. In other words, out of the 6 Demon Lords that were present for this meeting, 3 of them were losing tickets.

No less than half are bad……I felt a headache coming. Will we be able to endure properly in this war? Incompetent allies are scarier than competent enemies. I want to avoid becoming a witness to this saying…….

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This chapter got delayed a bit because of some real-life stuff I had to handle. I might make a rant post about it because the experience annoyed me that much, but that depends on if you guys even want to see something like that.

On another note, this section is 10 chapters long, so I might stop midway to finish Handholding since I’m practically at the end of the volume. Think there’s only 1 chapter and maybe a side chapter after? I actually haven’t checked in a while, so I’m not sure. Either way, I might as well finish that off quickly so people who’ve been waiting for the volume to finish can actually start reading.

I’ll see you guys in the next release.