Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter, and providing feed backs.

As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.

Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.

Naofumi wasn't sure what he expected when it came to the look of the one called Astaroth, and a self-proclaimed 'demon king'. The face of the young man looks surprisingly normal, dark haired young adult human. One could even say that he is good looking, if the self-important smirk on his face doesn't make people want to punch him. Kyo narrows his eyes, his normally smooth voice sands like sandpaper scraping through glass. "Astaroth. I didn't expect a two-faced coward like you to show your face. Granted, you only dare to show your face with an illusion generated with the mirror you stole. But I didn't even think you would dare to do this. Shouldn't you be hiding behind your army of disposable fodder like a good old sewer rat?"

"I'm a realist." Astaroth's head leans slightly back and proclaims in an arrogant manner, which doesn't explain anything. The young looking 'demon king' (Naofumi isn't going to guess his real age in case he really is a demon who simply look like human, like Riser Phenex) seems to be sitting on a throne, judging by how he leans his head sideways and resting on top of one hand. "Do you think I care what a loser like you thinks? Everything I do, I do it by leveraging the least effort and sacrifice for maximum results. The fact that my kingdom still stands, and yours has been wiped out, is the evidence that my method works. But I'm not here for you. You are right, in that I wouldn't have wasted my time with these bickering nobles and self-important 'heroes' if Eve didn't ask me to. You are up, Eve. Do your best to convince them on why they should work with me to stop The Burning Legion."

A second mirror screen appears in the sky. This time, with a young woman around the same age as the demon king, but with a pair of horns on her head, a good-looking one. At least she actually looks the part of a demon, although typically from an isekai world. Naofumi isn't an expert on western culture, but he knows that to them, a demon is meant to be something of pure evil. So unless it's a sex fiend like a succubus, they tend to look scary and cruel, not something that's portrayed more for fanservice. Then again, that should have been obvious when he saw Astaroth's face.

"Thank you for this chance, Master Astaroth." Eve's head leans downwards on the screen, clearly bowing down to her master than anyone else. And then she turns her attention back on everyone standing below her, and utters out her simple demand. "People of Medea, of the nation of Melromarc. As Master Astaroth's first subordinate and second-in-command. I would like to ask for your unconditional surrender. So we may stop this pointless war and loss of lives, and focus all of our effort preparing for the imminent arrival of The Burning Legion."

Chapter 47: The Face of A Devil

The gathered nobles, and priests all show different degrees of anger at such a demand. The more calm of them either raise their eyebrows in a show of confusion, or narrow their eyes in an act of contempt. Some of them already started throwing out insults and curses. Whip Hero Tact being the loudest. "Who died and allowed you to speak? You little shit, sister kidnapper? If you don't dare to face us head on, do yourself a favor. Drop on your ass and die!"

"Stop acting like a bunch of children. Let the liege of this nation speak." Dio gives all of them a look. Naofumi feels a sense of burden on him, like a mountain crushing down. Everyone goes silent with Dio's warning.

The queen raises her hand, slowly calming down everyone around her as the former king takes a step forward. "Interesting proposal. And I see that your master is ambitious. However, I am curious about one thing. Just what is this Burning Legion? We hear about them from demi-gods, and even outer gods. But all they said so far is how powerful this supposed legion is without revealing anything about them. Your master is clearly not someone who likes to cooperate with others willingly, judging from how he took one of our Guardian Beasts and attacked Stormwind without any provocation, or even an official declaration of war. What is the enemy we are facing, you are facing that would change how he acts?"

"The Burning Legion is a near endless army of mortals like you, fighting across near countless worlds and timelines to elevate their master, a usurper god, towards true divinity." Eve's explanation surprised Naofumi. Because of the name, he expected it to be an army of demonic creatures, Not something more mundane, like an army of humans. "But do not let this fact misguide you. An army of mortals with the strength that matches any divine or infernal creatures are much more dangerous than an army of pure divine, or infernal creatures, for mortals possess something a creature of alignment doesn't: the freedom of choice. Divine, or infernal creatures can not act against the divine domain of their patron god or devil for fear of losing their power, even their existence. But creatures born of mortal planes have no such worry. And The Burning Legion grew in power with every world they burned to cinders and every world taken in the name of their goddess. By taking away the hero weapons, and enslaving powerful fighters and creatures from these worlds. And right now, they already possess over hundreds of hero weapons. That is why my master, Lord Astaroth, needs your strength. He already unified our world... brought peace and prosperity for everyone before The Burning Legion's arrival. And even as the sole ruler of our world, we could not resist The Burning Legion. It didn't matter what we did to them... fighting them with our best warriors … hitting them with our most powerful siege weapons, or even dropping the entire city on top of them. They simply have the numbers to keep coming till they overwhelm us."

Naofumi's mind raced at the scenes described by Eve. He knew The Burning Legion was bad news both from the name associated, and the way that demigods and gods are apparently taking the threat seriously. But to hear survivors of their attack conjures up even more chilling images in his mind even if he didn't witness the deed himself. Actually, it's probably because he only has his imagination, The Burning Legion sounds even more like an insurmountable threat. While he is still processing the information, Itsuki has already snapped back at Eve. "And how did your master unify your world? Did he murder the heroes like he did to Ren, and then forced everyone to bow down to him like he's trying to do now? What had Ren, or this entire world done to you to give you the right to invade us?"

"Not to mention all of the attacks of terror your master has orchestrated since he took over Stormwind. The major cities of Melromarc, Faubley, Zeltoble, and I believe Siltvelt have all been hit by raiders sent to him through his mirror. If he truly wishes to sue for peace and only wishes to resist the invasion of The Burning Legion, that is not the proper action. How do you expect us to believe in his supposed benevolence, when he released plagued zombies in Faubley's Hero Academy, killing and poisoning children?" The former king is more calm in his attitude, but he is showing the same doubt in his words.

"NO! You have to believe me that my master only meant well for everyone. Our world was at perfect peace, and everyone lived happily before The Burning Legion arrived. If all of you would lay down your arms and welcome him, he would stop these attacks, and make sure all of you would be well-taken care of." Eve actually looks distraught at the suspicion or hostility his master is getting. She looks ready to say something more, but she suddenly stops when Astaroth raises one hand in his own mirror.

"Stop, Eve. I knew you were wasting time and effort trying to talk with these foolish natives who can't see the bigger picture. And only cares about their own gain. No different from the different human nobles, or demon lords of our original world. They only talk one language: might make right. And that is perfectly fine for me. As for you heroes... frankly? Yes. There are so called heroes in my world, although they don't literally possess magical weapons that grow with them like both of your worlds. And I had my agents kill them back when they were still level 1. Looking at you lots serves to remind me that my actions were indeed the correct one. And I only regret that I haven't arrived in this world sooner so I can kill all of you before you have a chance to grow strong enough to flee from me, and then talk back to me like you are my equals." Astaroth's form slightly shifts inside his mirror, seemingly trying to make himself more comfortable. "You already heard Eve speak about the threat of The Burning Legion. Yet, instead of focusing on the more important manner of resisting them, your first reaction is trying to find fault in my action. This shows that trying to work with self-righteous, so-called 'heroes' is a waste of time. And the world will be in a much better place if I alone make all the decisions."

"You fucker! Stop making excuses! At the end of day, you are just a greedy piece of shit who wants to control everything! And you try to take it all by force and kill anyone who opposes you!" Motoyasu throws off Kyo's hand, as he points the tip of his spear up at the giant mirror above. "You want to kill us?! Stop hiding behind your army, or giant Gamera monster and face us like a man! I'm going to deck you in the face for what you did to Ren!"

"Oh, really? Do you heroes truly think you have a moral high ground compared to me?" Astaroth's mouth split apart, revealing a mouthful full of even, white teeth that's good enough to be on a toothpaste commercial, not sharp and pointy like Naofumi initially expected. "If you truly are as good as you proclaim, why did all of you allow one of your own to use slavery, huh? I was under the impression that the act of slavery, something which turns your fellow human into objects to be bought and sold with money, is one of the most evil acts?"

Naofumi's eyes twitch. He expected his act of forcing criminals to fight for him using the threat of the slave seal to eventually come back to haunt him. He simply didn't expect it to happen this soon. From a world conquering maniac, no less - to justify his own much more heinous actions. Before he said anything, Malty was already jumping out to defend him. "There's a difference between the actions of Master Naofumi and you. He only used slave seals to force actual criminals into serving their due time, by fighting the Wave of Catastrophe and protecting the innocent people they hurt, and owe a debt to. And he even explicitly made promises to release them of their bondage once their sentence is finished. You, on the other hand, launched unprovoked attacks across different worlds for your own greed. You commanded your own man to slaughter defenseless civilians. AND you sent a plagued zombie to a school where children and teens learn how to fight and protect our world. How dare you even suggest your own action is the same as Master Naofumi!"

Naofumi is grateful in Malty's words of confidence. But deep down, he doesn't know if he agrees with her. Because at the end, he did choose the easy way out this time even after the speech he gave to her father about how he'll not do so after the first wave battle he fought in. And it's not like he was forced into a situation where he had to rely on using slavery to survive. He decided to force the pirates to fight the Wave of Catastrophe due to convenience. Malty may claim that he's committing a cruel act for the right reason of forcing criminals to protect innocent people. But deep down, he knows it's only an excuse to hide his own paranoia and lack of security in this world because everyone seems to work for their own agenda, and he doesn't know who he can trust as an ally.

"So you want to claim that your precious hero is standing on a moral high ground from me, even though his action is just as despicable. Simply because he doesn't commit as much quantify of morally dubious acts? As I expected from a social elite, and self-proclaimed 'heroes' of this world. At the end of the day, there is no difference between us. Both of us seek to dominate other people's will with our own, build a world exactly in our image. The difference is hypocrites like you try to lie and manipulate other people to follow you, that's why you always have to place yourself on a place of moral high ground. While on the other hand, I admit myself for being a realist. So I force people to follow me and then prove my superiority with my honest actions." Once again, Astaroth leans his face slightly to the back, given the impression that he is looking down on everyone. His eyes slowly focus on Naofumi. "And what do you say? The one who calls himself a hero, yet uses heinous actions no different from a demon like me? Are you another one of the self-righteous hypocrites like Ryubi? Or are you someone who has seen the truth of this world? Did the powerful elites of this world truly support you out of some misguided sense of virtue, or the insight of serving their own self-interest? Did following the path of good, moral action lead you anywhere?"

"I... will not make excuses for my own actions. I had given up my own integrity because I had a moment of weakness after seeing not just how greedy, but also how short-sighted the nobles and rulers of this world acted on Cal Mira island. Even when the evidence of a powerful, world destroying army that commands godlike monsters were knocking down the door, they were still more interested in playing office politics than contributing in defending this world. So I gave in to my sense of paranoia and fear, and I participated in the same heinous action as them to grow my own power." Naofumi feels bad, both for facing his own mistake, and to have a completely selfish, child murdering monster to fully point it out to him.

"Don't let this fucker confuse you, Naofumi! Don't forget this piece of trash is the one who tried to kill Ren and Gaelion without even daring to show his face! Are you just going to let him walk all over us and take over this world just because of one not nice thing you did?!" Naofumi suddenly feels someone grabbing him by the shoulder, as his body is violently yanked towards Motoyasu. "If this fucker think one guy should rule over the world, how about it be you? Because I sure as hell can't ever see you poisoning an entire school full of teens and children just because they refuse to do everything you tell them!"

"Master Spear Hero is right, Master Naofumi. Plus you did nothing wrong when it came to those pirates. By law, their guilt is severe enough for you to throw them into the ocean and drown them to death. You gave them a chance to start over by having them fight the Wave of Catastrophe and serve out their past crimes." Malty quickly jumps in to support Motoyasu, and Naofumi himself, but he raises a hand to stop both of them from continuing. He knows why they are worried and appreciate their concern. But at the moment, he needs to face Astaroth, and his own fault brought up by the self-proclaimed demon king.

"You are right in that I'm not perfect, Astaroth. I make mistakes. My decision gets people hurt, even killed. Both the companions I care deeply about, and the many innocent bystanders who some I barely know. Maybe there will come someone who is a much better hero than you, and find a way to save everyone." Naofumi slowly turns around, and holds his head tall to glare right back at Astaroth. "But that someone will not be you, or someone just like you. Amoral actions that give you an advantage should not be one's first go to method even during war, let alone an unprovoked invasion. You say you want to build a peaceful world where everyone can prosper and be happy. How do you plan to do that when you are setting an example to everyone where it's okay to hurt other people, taking away their lives for the smallest gain for yourself? I know I'm not someone who is always right, or good. But I know you are wrong! And that's why as a hero summoned to this world, I will not hand it to you on a silver platter. If you want to take it over, you need to fight me for it like you did with Stormwind."

"As for how I will bring peace and prosperity to this world? I already did it in my own world. And it is a much happier, and fair place than this sack of filth where the social elites fight for power and wealth while oppressing the people living on the bottom. But I don't suppose self-righteous heroes and self-serving social elites like you would ever admit someone could do better than you. And do you think your insistence on morals would make a difference in the end? Because I can tell you from my experience: It doesn't. All the unenlightened masses - do you think they truly care if their leader's actions were moral or not? They only care about who wins in the end, and if the winner would give them a secure, prosperous life." Astaroth sneers down at him. "My enemies call me a two-faced coward because they can't accept that they lost to my practicality. But those who write history about me? I was portrayed as a paragon of ultimate virtue, and my enemies irredeemable monsters. At the end of the day, only things that matter are victory and conquest, and historians will justify all of your actions when you are the winner."

"But we all know you are full of crap! Naofumi speaks for all of us! Before we were summoned to be heroes, we were normal young men who had no experience at helping people and saving worlds. We make mistakes and our decisions get people hurt." Itsuki immediately jumps up to support Naofumi, his face showing signs of regret and Naofumi realizes he remembered what he did to the city of Stormwind. "We won't give the world to you, someone who kills children and feels proud of it! We may make mistakes, but we are trying to help everyone! You are just a greedy fucker who wants to help yourself!"

"And a stupid one at that. Your brain is clearly fucked if you think we'll give this world to you and then follows you to fight this supposed Burning Legion like a bunch of good little lackeys. And don't you think I forgot about what you did to my little sister. I'll make sure your little bitches suffer ten times more than Aisha did." Prince Tact digs his little finger to one side of his ear as he narrows his eyes and glares murder up at Astaroth. Dio doesn't say anything besides him. The white tiger silently holds his fist up, and then slowly extends out his little finger at Astaroth. The look of utter contempt on Dio's face shows that it's meant to be a gesture of insult.

"After thinking over your proposal, I will have to reject the offer for our surrender." Naofumi could hear a hint of sarcasm from Malty's father. Well... it's not like he expects someone like the former king to simply give up when a self-proclaimed demon king from another world comes over and tries to take his country. "Your lord will have to excuse our skepticism, Lady Eve. As the heroes already said, there's no evidence showing your lord's supposed benevolence other than your own words. And even with the threat of The Burning Legion hanging over everyone's head, we do not believe your lord to be a trustworthy ally. In fact, with the way he simply releases his troops into our cities to kill civilians and let most of them die, we have every reason to believe this will be how he uses our lives to 'resist' The Burning Legion."

"Believe what you will, it matters not to me in the end. Just knowing now that further death will be on your hands, because of your continued resistance. " This time, Astaroth actually lets a snort escape his nose as his head shifts ever slightly to the side, seemingly looking at someone. "Now do you see the futility of trying to talk, and cooperate with these fools and charlatans. Eve? It is a complete waste of time and effort. We would be in a much better position to resist The Burning Legion if we simply take over this world and have it follow all my orders."

"It's a shame, Lord Astaroth. I was hoping this world would be different from the last one since its 'heroes' are not in open warfare." The horned woman actually sounds like she feels a sense of shame. Not at her own actions, but the fact that Naofumi and his friends and allies weren't more understanding of her master. "Then I suppose there will be nothing left to do but war. Very well, heroes. Lord Astaroth and I will await your arrival at Stormwind City. Your defeat shall serve as an example to the rest of the world, letting them know that continued resistance of Lord Astaroth is both futile and wasteful."

With these last words, the two giant mirrors in the sky shatters into countless pieces, leaving no trace of their existence. Naofumi isn't sure how he feels about this brief, verbal confrontation with Astaroth. Maybe he should actually thank the self-proclaimed demon king for pointing out his own failings to him? He shakes his head. The man is completely self-absorbed, and convinced of his own superiority. He supposes being a megalomaniac who (supposedly) successfully conquered the entire world would lead to such an attitude.

"So … that was the guy you fought against?" On his right side, Motoyasu is looking back at Kyo. He pats the Book Hero on the shoulder. "He's a dick. You have my sympathy."

"Yeah. The little shit is as arrogant and deserves a punching in the face as ever." Kyo spits on the ground. Naofumi can't tell what his deal with Astaroth is, but there is definitely a sense of buried grudge underneath. He doesn't know the Book Hero that well, but so far Kyo hasn't acted as a sore loser who simply hates anyone for beating him. How he acted after Bed-chan successfully captured and subdued him, and his duel against Motoyasu both show that the man is prideful, but would accept a loss with dignity. Probably has something to do with the talk about warring heroes that's implied between what Eve and Astaroth said. He imagines whatever conflict between these two have ended in a lot of blood spilled. And he understands why Kyo would be less forgiving towards Astaroth.

"Whatever information you have on this Mirror Demon, you should reveal to us before we march to fight him, Mr. Kyo. I will not fault you for withholding information from us before this point. And it's not like I have any authority to pass judgment on you. But with him having all but declared war on us, any information left out would cause us to suffer needless casualties. And let's not forget, there's supposedly this Burning Legion that's behind the Mirror Demon's heel, and has him spooked enough that he thinks invading other worlds is the best way to resist them." Malty's father didn't dwell much on the Mirror Demon's surprise contact.

"Well. You already saw how his dimensional magic combined with the mirror weapon allows him. And he is a maniac who only wants other people to bow down to his will unconditionally, rather than trying to work with others. But don't let his personality fool you - he is a coward who always avoids direct confrontation, and would prefer to use dirty tricks all the time to cheat into victory. Like he said, if he can catch you at level 1 to squash you like a bug, he will do it." Kyo's finger brushes against his own chin, looking like he's in thought. "That does get me curious. It's strange that he would openly contact you like that, or the fact that he's openly giving you an invitation for a battle. He's trying to play it off like he's doing his little attend bitch some favor. But that is NOT how he acts. If he truly wanted something, he would not care what his little attended bitch thinks."

"Then he must be planning some kind of trick." The former king narrows his eyes. Bertia's father quickly disappears from their group, walking towards the castle for some reason. "Normally, the area around Stormwind is not a good place to set up an ambush. Or some kind of trick attack with the elements. This requires complex terrain. Tall and wide mountain range, or at least a thick and wide forest."

"A trick attack is generally of two types. One that uses elements such as fire and water, or one that borrows strength from the terrain like a rockslide. The second one should be out of the question since Stormwind is on an open plain." Archduke Wales continues from where the former king stops just as Bertia's father brings out the map, and has the servants open it up and hold it in front of everyone. "But Stormwind borders the sea, which gives one a near infinite source for water. Do you think Lord Astaroth is planning some kind of flood attack?"

"It's possible, but a water attack can be unpredictable. It could just as easily flood towards his own troops if he's not careful. The Mirror Demon doesn't care about the casualties suffered on his own side, judging by how he's been sending his wolf raiders into suicide attacks on our less well defended centers and catching our armies by surprise. Probably because he has control of the Spirit Tortoise and he can reanimate anything into his obedient undead soldiers. But if he drowned us away, he would lose a major source for his growing army. Not to mention whatever his own troops that get in the way." Prince Joseph also adds his opinion with complete coldness. "Wasteful. But it would be a good bait to move our armies into position for his ultimate attack."

"And the fucker would absolutely do it. Especially in this world. He already did something like this in my own world, back when he was only commanding a nomad group of fighters without even a land to call his own. Now that he has built a new kingdom for himself in Malach, he can continuously bring reinforcements and support with his mirror." Once again, Kyo spits on the ground with what sounds like disgust in his tone.

"All of this sounds dangerous, but let's not forget something. He is a dimensional magic user with a hero weapon that enhances his abilities. That means he can create complex terrain with his dimensional magic. I shudder to think what would we face if our dimension isn't locked down by the demigods of our worlds to shelter us from the Wave of Catastrophe. We might have to actually give in to their demand, surrender to them without condition." Naofumi isn't sure if the former king is trying to give a depreciating joke to lighten the mood. Or if he's simply narrating the dire situation they are facing. "As it is. We are facing a leader who doesn't care about the proper rules of engagement, or the damage to his own forces. Someone who also has a kingdom of his own, and he can constantly replenish the lost number of his siege engines, or the troops he loses with our battle thanks to his dimension magic. It will be a tough battle."

"I believe all of you are being misled by the Mirror Demon and missing the major advantage he has over us. Do not forget, he has the control of the Spirit Tortoise. One of the four Guardian Beasts of the earthbound demigod Gaia. That creature alone would be enough to reduce nations to ruin. The Mirror Demon doesn't even need any special trap to destroy our army if we try to confront him in an all out battle. The Spirit Tortoise alone is enough to destroy the army we muster." With the sound of a snapping fan, the queen reminds everyone that she is also present. She points her fan at Duke Arvis, who had remained silent during the discussion."You were there directly confronting the Spirit Tortoise, Duke Arvis. Why don't you give everyone a short briefing to let us all know what we will be facing?"

"As you wish, Your Grace." The infernal crusader gives a half bow to the queen before taking a single step forward to face the rest of the group. "We, including Lord Sword Hero riding atop of Lord Gaelion, hit the Spirit Tortoise with our strongest attack, only focusing on a single one of its legs in hope of slowing it down. But its regeneration is too strong, and we could not leave any lasting damage on it. Lord Sword Hero, with his ability to briefly stop a creature's movement, was the only thing that rooted the Spirit Tortoise in place. Which was why after Lord Sword Hero was taken out, we couldn't do anything and were forced to retreat."

"Our army might be crushed by the Spirit Tortoise. But we have no other choice to make. As Duke Arvis said, the Heroes have already tried to fight the Spirit Tortoise with a small group of high leveled elites. And they were intercepted by the Mirror Demon. If we don't keep the Mirror Demon, and its army busy, we can not focus on the Spirit Tortoise and try to either free it from control, or to eliminate it. That is why I propose we bring our strongest army in an attempt to overwhelm the Mirror Demon's army, or at least keep them busy. So the Heroes and other strong fighters may use the distraction in an attempt to stop the Spirit Tortoise." The former king looks through the faces of the lords gathered in front of him. "The Mirror Demon made his intention clear with his latest ultimatum. He is a megalomaniac who seeks to control everyone, and can not be reasoned or bargained with. If you are not willing to commit the men to this battle, you might as well surrender unconditionally to him. Sure, he will use you as his fodder when fighting The Burning Legion. But at least he'll let you live for now."

"There's no need to shame us into joining this fight through sarcasm or taunt, Aultcray. We aren't blind nor deaf. Everyone who heard or what happened at Stormwind is willing to stand with you. The Mirror Demon has already tried to kill the Sword Hero and the Storm Aspect. He can not be allowed to make decisions for any, let alone all of us." Wales takes a step over to Malty's father. "The Mirror Demon will, no doubt, continue launching raids at us with his forces. Likely with the new plague undead the Spirit Tortoise created for him. That's why I have already recalled my vassals to temporarily leave their home, and take shelter in the cities where I can better protect them with my forces and with the help of the clergy. But House Arc will still commit all of our elite troops on our attack at Stormwind. The Mirror Demon has to be stopped, and must be made to answer for his crimes."

"Same goes for south Melromarc. General David should have already rallied our combined host of Gallia, Theracia, and Golden Coast and made his way north. But I think Duke Amelia also had made some plans on his own?" Prince Joseph turns to look at Iris' father.

"I have hired both Carthas Company, and the Phantom Bugs, to bolster our numbers. The most powerful mercenary group throughout history, and the most powerful new mercenary group on the rise. And my pay was high enough that Jared himself will take to battle. They will reinforce us when we arrive at the city of Stormwind." Naofumi notices the wave of raised eyebrows and the few gasps escaping the gathered social elites. He doesn't know who this Jared is, but he assumes he must be a big deal if these prideful nobles are acknowledging him. Hopefully powerful enough to make some difference fighting Astaroth.

"Us southern Melromarc men are no coward, unlike a number of northerners like to think of us. But I have to wonder... What about Lord Grima?" Prince Joseph turns his face slightly to the side, and glances from the corner of his eyes at a wormy man standing behind Malty's mother. Because of course, Joseph would be the one that causes problems. "It is to my knowledge that House Consevatie isn't a traditionally martial house. Will you stay behind to hold down the fort, while the others go fight the war?"

"I would love nothing more than to go strike down the belligerent Mirror Demon down with my fellow great lords, and the heroes. But as you said, Prince Joseph - my house isn't traditionally one known for our valor. I shall stay behind with my queen to defend our cities from the continued raid from the Mirror Demon, and leave the assault to those who are more talented at conducting warfare." The wormy father of Fuckboy keeps his head low, and complies with Prince Joseph's derision.

The mad prince didn't dignify Grima's cowardice with further words. He turns towards the former king next. "Then I suppose ex-king Aultcray shall act as the high commander of our combined host? If that's the case, I shall ask for the command of my own wing composed of our southern host. I will fight alongside my fellow lords, but let me make things clear at the start: I will have no northern men fight on my own wing. I do not wish to suffer needless casualties because my own men are fighting alongside people who have little cooperation or rapport with us."

"That is reasonable. As I'm sure the northern men wish to fight on their own as well." Malty's father didn't act negatively towards Prince Joseph openly making the power play. Naofumi likes to think that he got his mind cleared after that whole mess with the Three Heroes' Church. "My current plan involves our northern hosts and southern hosts making up the left and right wings of our combined army respectively, while I shall command the crownlanders and the army of General Anderson as our central group. I think it's best we make our chains of command clear right now so there's no confusion for the Mirror Demon to exploit during battle. What about the two of you, Archduke Wales and Duke Arvis. How would you two wish to decide who will be the commander of the combined northern host?"

The two northern nobles look at each other, seemingly sizing each other up till Archduke Wales. The blonde archduke takes a half step back to stay behind Duke Arvis. "I think it's best that Duke Arvis take command over the northern host. My experience of warfare mostly involves me organizing smaller groups of skirmish fighters to hit enemy supply lines during the Great War, while Duke Arvis had been fighting the Siltvelt army in open battles. Both he himself, and his banner lords are more used to conducting traditional battles than me. I will only command my own personal host."

"Your trust is appreciated, Archduke Wales. I shall strive for my best to not fail your trust." The red haired Arvis gives a slight incline of his head towards the blonde lord. Showing much more cohesion and courtesy than Prince Joseph. Although Naofumi isn't sure if he's willing to believe the northern nobles are truly as united as they are currently showing.

"Now that we have the chain of commands properly set up, let us talk about actual battle strategies. And the first thing I want to factor in are the heroes that will fight alongside our own host." Aultcray turns his head to look at Naofumi's direction. "I see that the Axe Hero and the Throwing Weapon Hero are not with us right now. If I may ask the reason for their absence?"

"Pfft- They wanted to level themselves up as much as possible before fighting that upstart Mirror Demon. They are wasting their time, of course. Since it's not like they can get to level 100 in a couple of days. But supposedly they discovered some new dungeon near Gallia city with countless undead inside. So I say let the kiddies play all they want. It's not like they'll make much of a difference with me-" Tact snorts from his nose as he shrugs his shoulders. He gives a sideway glance to Dio. "...and Dio."

Malty's father didn't immediately say anything. His head inclines slightly downward, as his hand begins to stroke his long beard. Was he stunned silent by that crazy inquisitor woman and Sato? Or did he simply "I was under the impression that our war with the Mirror Demon had the support of the demigod Alaya. Is that still the case?"

"Yeah, Fitoria and Metatron are both with us. We can still use Yggdrasil to move our army, so we don't have to worry about being ambushed while we are on the move." Naofumi turns over to look at Motoyasu. His friend makes a ring with his fingers and blows, letting out a whistle. For a short while, nothing seems to happen until a large, puffy filorial monarch jumps over the wall and lands in the castle yard near them. The filorial queen walks over to Motoyasu, and nuzzles his shoulder with its head. Motoyasu began to gently run his hand over its head. "And that's our contact with Fitoria. When we are ready to move, she'll have Metatron open the portal to Yggdrasil's realm. Sato and that crazy Faubley woman have their own contact. They'll teleport north to Balafon, and join us from there in Yggdrasil's place."

"Very well. Thanks to Alaya and Yggdrasil, we don't have to worry about facing an ambush while marching, and our supply line will be secure. All we have to do is to plan an attack on Stormwind." The former king turns his attention to the map held in front of everyone. "Prince Joseph raised a good point earlier. Armies that haven't trained, or fought alongside one another will not cooperate well and would more than likely get into each other's way. That's why I propose the attack plan of our entire Melromarc host coming out and forming our ranks at the south of Stormwind city. And your heroes, with your own personal retinue can form up at the eastern side of Stormwind. We'll press forward, and engage the Mirror Demon's forces with our army, hopefully holding them down to create an opening for all of you to attack the Spirit Tortoise without interference."

"Good. I don't have to worry about your common rabble slowing me and my girls down." The Whip Hero makes a hard snort sound with his nose, seemingly happy as he punches his fists together. "I don't care what you fools do to the turtle, or the wannabe demon king's army. But him, and his little bitch is mine. I'm going to make the two of them regret the day they were born after they kidnapped and tortured my little sister."

"Nobody cares about your personal grudge, or will fight you over those two. The more important thing is to take care of the Spirit Tortoise. It was known as the failsafe, or the contingency of Gaia for a reason. Once one of them gets activated, they will awake one after another, and will not stop till they collect enough souls to create a barrier to block out the Wave of Catastrophe." Dio turns his head to glare and reprimand the Whip Hero. But didn't do anything to stop him.

"And while that's all decided... we still can't overlook whatever supposed trap the Mirror Demon might lay on us. We can't plan anything if he uses whatever his dimensional power coupled with his mirror, since we don't know what the plan is. And there's not much to plan around the Spirit Tortoise with it being a super powerful leviathan class monster who can endlessly revive undead creatures. So we shall make plans in case there is a flood attack. Stormwind is built upon a plain, so there's not a high point for us to take. But it's still higher than the sea level. Which means if there is a flood attack, it will be caused by magic. We shall concentrate our strongest barrier users, and water mages on our left wing who will be closest towards the sea. They will serve as our wall in case of an attack from the Mirror Demon." The former king didn't get involved with the two foreign heroes' spitting contest. He focused on concluding his battle planning with the rest of the nobles who'll probably act as the main leaders of the army. Naofumi can only hope that they are actually more competent at fighting war than whatever they do when it comes to playing office politics. A repeat of the mess with the Three Heroes' Church while they are fighting Astaroth will get everyone killed. Seeing that nobody objects or makes any derisive comments, he turns to Malty. "Malty. You will stand beside me from now on. This is a good chance to have you learn how to lead a war in case your mother and I do not survive till the end of the Wave of Catastrophe."

Malty recoils back at the sudden order, she quickly turns to look at Naofumi before looking back at her father. "But my place is besides Master Shield Hero, father. Will you also have Master Naofumi beside you?"

"No. Lord Shield Hero will be fighting with his fellow heroes. You will rejoin him after the end of this battle."

"What about me, Father? Is my sister going into war without me again?!" Melty ignores the harsh glare her mother is shooting her way, as she jumps on her feet and shakes her father's arm. "I don't want my big sister to get hurt! If I'm not going with her, at least let some of my protectors Motoyasu raised for me go with my sister!"

"We are raised for your safety alone, my princess." Mutsu, the filorial who looks like a young adult (who is actually less than a year, no, a month old) holds Melty back, and pries her off her father's arm. "Now that we know the Mirror Demon sent an assassin to you, we will not leave your side."

"Do not worry, Melty. I shall have Captain Lotherigan protect your sister. He shall prioritize her safety over mine, and will immediately take her and retreat if it looks like we are losing." Melty's struggle didn't die down, so the former king speaks with a much more harsh voice. "BEHAVE, MELTY! While I would love to keep both of you safe above all else, our situation is truly dire. Our current enemy has taken control of a Guardian Beast, and he has armies and supplies he can bring over from another world. To make things worse. He was supposedly defeated by The Burning Legion, the culprit behind our current Wave of Catastrophe. We no longer have the luxury to do what we want, and have to prioritize what we need for the best chance to survive. That means you have to make sure you stay somewhere safe and secure, and your sister needs to act as the adult of the family and learn all the duties involved."

"Don't worry about me, Melty. I survived the hunt of Three Heroes' Church when they were actively trying to kill me. I doubt I'll become some pointless casualty on the hand of a wannabe king of worlds." Melty's struggle slowly dies down after Malty's comfort, but the elder sister looks over at Naofumi. Worry is clear in her eyes. "Will you be okay on your own, Master Naofumi?"

"I won't let that third rate loser demon king intimidate me, or make me double guess my own decisions. Don't worry, Malty. I'm focused on how to kick his ass back to where he comes from." Naofumi straightens his back to make him look more confident than he feels. He doubts this act fools Malty, but he'll wallow in his own regrets later. He wasn't kidding when he told Astaroth that the demon king wannabe needs to be stopped. And he'll think over what to do with the pirates he enslaved till this new threat is taken care of.

End Note:

Astaroth has a confrontation with the heroes. Don't expect this to happen very often, since he wasn't called 'two-faced coward' for nothing. He would much rather hide in safety, throwing overwhelming weight at a foe at their weakest and kill them while keeping himself safe.

So, fans of super hero comics probably know the 90s comic being the 'dark age'. And that's pretty much going on in webnovel scene in China, and Japan right now where more classic heroism and virtue are being mocked, while the main character tend to be plotting, moraless scums who do everything to win. And I certainly aren't short of inspiration as an allegory for them collective to mock. The reason I decided to pick Astaroth, rather than creating a 'OC' like SIOC/Fuckboy was because the writer clearly has no idea what he's talking about.

In his own manga, Astaroth constantly say he's not a hypocrite like Ryubi (The Japanese pronouciation of Liu Bei from Romance of Three Kingdoms, one of my all time heroes) because he's willing to do amoral actions to win because it's practical, but all of his subordinates are fully loyal to him like Liu Bei's faction. Yeah, the writer clearly didn't understand Romance of Three Kingdoms even through he had the audacity to reference (or mock) it. Because Liu Bei's biggest enemy, Cao Cao was exactly like the character the author was trying to write Astaroth. A trickster who use schemes, often amoral actions to triumph over his opponents (one of his most often pointed out heinous act by Cao Cao's detractor was him genociding his own people to turn them into human meat jerky for his army's ration when he ran out of food to fight a prolonged war, and there's also his habit of routingly slaughter entire city his army conquers, and legalizing rape where he forces widows, and often time married woman into marrying someone else just to keep pumping out more babies for his future army). And the moral of the story was that both of their regime eventually collapsed. Liu Bei because he was being too virtuous, and he didn't build enough of a power base earlier in his life. Cao Cao, because he was being too scheming that the future followers of his regime eventually followed his own example and plotted the down fall of his family just like his family plotted the downfall of the Han dynasty.