Episode 158: It’s just the beginning (8)
You should never engage in a war of attrition against your enemies. That was the kind of confidence Baal had. At first, when I saw the massive army filling the land and sky, I was convinced that it was all about Lucy, but not now.
Little by little, I realized that the actions of the demon king army were all intentional, as if they were moving up the level and revealing all the power they had.
‘You have to do your best without giving any chances.’
Baal, who led many demon lords and himself, took a gamble, knowing that wasting time would play into Lucy’s intentions and lead to defeat in the war.
“Of course it would be impossible to annihilate them in this battle. But at least we need to know exactly what kind of guys they are. “Don’t you know that they are by no means an ordinary group of magical beasts?”
“As far as we know, isn’t their leader a black-haired female with a human face?”
In response to Baal’s words, Zefar, a close associate, mentioned Lucy.
It’s already been a long time since they waged war against the black beetle. Of course, there was a lot of information collected during that time, and the story about Lucy that was spread through eyewitnesses was already known to everyone.
Therefore, they assumed that Lucy was the leader of the enemies.
“… … “I think they have a bigger secret.”
But Baal did not take that fact literally. It was simply unbelievable that one Lucy was commanding all these troops.
It also meant that he was more powerful and had greater control than the devil himself, so Baal could not believe that fact.
‘There are too many strange things about it to be a new type of demon or demon. Those who do not listen to the Demon King’s orders cannot possibly be members of the Demon World, so we will definitely confirm their true identity.’
In fact, there was no other reason why Baal was obsessed with revealing Lucy’s identity. Even though he became the Demon King, the black iron insects did not listen to his orders at all.
It is a law that all creatures of the demon world must obey the demon lord. Even if they are low-intelligence demon beasts, it has long been known that the black iron insects are not just a group of demon beasts.
Because of this, deep down, he thought that if he resurrected the Demon King again and became the Demon King himself, they might not be loyal to him.
However, the black iron insects were not affected in the slightest by the demon king’s dominance. Since it was something Baal could not understand with his common sense, he had to go out and check the only enemies in the demon world who could dare to oppose him.
It was an illusion that could have been made because he did not know that Lucy’s identity, although imperfect, was a being who inherited the will of the Demon King just like him.
However, in the midst of all this, there was an instinctive hostility toward the same demon lord that could never be reconciled with his continued awareness of Lucy.
“They are coming! “It looks like they have no intention of leaving it alone until they enter their base.”
Before long, they found themselves fighting against Lucy’s demon army, which gathered from all directions to attack them without breaching their defense lines.
* * *
[The existence of 42 lords of the demon world, including Baal, the enemy general, has been confirmed. If the Demon King is defeated, the war will end there. So, there seems to be no need to be wary of variables and save energy]
“Is there an end in sight to the tiresome fight in the demon world?”
Of course, Lucy was watching as they attacked in full force. The reason they didn’t attack right away was because their power was too strong to be dealt with lightly.
If we were to send troops that were deliberately being restrained like we are now, we would still carry out an extremely inefficient battle and suffer losses even if we sent several times as many troops.
[In addition to high-ranking species, we will also deploy large weapons such as super-giant species.]
After assessing their strength, Lucy recognized them for showing different determination and unity under the command of Demon King Baal, and increased the power she could put in several times more.
“I think it would have been really difficult if it had come out like that from the beginning.”
He burst into laughter after hearing what Lucy reported. The power of the demon world that forced the demon king Baal to gather strength using his power was truly strong. Even with a part of it destroyed by Lucy, it was nothing compared to before, when they kept each other in check and were lukewarm.
If Lucy had not been able to create her own huge nest in the new world, she would have had to fight with all her might right now without any second thoughts.
[There is no reason to maintain a possibility that has not occurred.]
Of course, Lucy didn’t care about the family that had already passed.
[Enemies have encountered allies.]
Meanwhile, the two demon lords, who were approaching each other, came face to face. Lucy looked at the demonic army, which appeared to be hundreds of thousands of people, seen through the eyes of the soldiers.
There are dozens of demon world lords whose power is comparable to those who were called heroes on the continent, and there are also a huge number of subordinates who are comparable to them. It was literally a corps that could be said to be the main force of the entire Demon World.
[So, if we can crush them, this war will end in victory for our troops.]
“If you fight head on and win. then… … “Do we really need to fight head-on?”
Changhyun smiled and opened his mouth. This is because, from the point of view of how Lucy fights so far, I can see a pattern.
Lucy doesn’t fight to win a battle. We only look for efficient ways to win the war. In particular, it could be said that it was Lucy’s specialty to ignore an opponent who was fighting head-on with determination and a desperate resolve, risking everything, and harassing and humiliating the enemy from behind.
“Their entire production and livelihood bases are empty and abandoned. “If only we could raid and destroy them.”
[This is a reasonable tactic. However, given the current strength of our forces, the number of special forces that can turn back is not very large.]
Lucy naturally did not risk everything in this head-on confrontation.
In case of loss in a head-to-head confrontation, it was a reliable insurance policy, and in case of victory, a separate team was already prepared to attack the opponent’s will to resist.
[5 Island Alphas and 15 Island Betas to guard them. And the 1,500 general-species troops and 50 higher-species troops on board are the troops mobilized this time.]
Lucy showed him the converted screen. Huge flying bells were flying silently across the hazy dark clouds.
Created from Ravizda’s giant nests and brought out into the great forest, the destination they are destined for is, of course, the Demon World. I was currently crossing the barrier that protects the great mountain range.
Those are the troops that Lucy will mobilize for this operation. It was clearly a small army compared to the one that had ate up most of a huge territory comparable to the Demon World.
[We don’t know what will happen in Ravizda, which has not yet shown any significant movement, so we had to conserve power to control the variables that will arise]
“that’s right. “Actually, if you think about it, that’s more important.”
The newly occupied Ravizda’s Nest is a nest that is several times larger than the outskirts of the Demon World. Thinking about it calmly, the place that was more important to Lucy has now changed to that place.
[You must drive forward so that they, who are unaware of our troops’ diversionary maneuver, cannot pay attention to the rear.]
Of course, all of these decisions Lucy made were possible because the calculations showed that she could win.
The two legions faced each other in the barren and vast wasteland of the Demon World.
Lucy wasn’t going to give them any time to rest. The longer time dragged on, the faster the production and turnover rate was to his advantage, and the opponent’s rear was already being disturbed from this moment.
It was not for nothing that Baal tried to avoid a war of attrition at all costs.
“Are there no variables?”
[The variable currently expected is the collective action of the Demon Lords, for whom there has been no data until now.]
The variable that Lucy was most wary of was the power of the demon lords who had finally gathered their powers together. The power that once brought down even the devil.
They conquered the North and experienced its convenience, but even so, they were only a few people and were unable to unite properly due to Lucy’s estrangement.
But now it is different. Although not everyone was there, the numbers, preparation, and mindset were incomparable.
[So, first of all, the purpose is to collect that data. 1st strike advance.]
Lucy rushed her troops without hesitation. Pursuing efficiency, but most importantly, winning. They decided that even if they sacrificed a lot of soldiers, it wouldn’t matter if they lost hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers as long as they won this time.
“What are the odds of winning with this attack?”
[25% unless they show some variable.]
From the beginning, I did not think that this single attack would defeat the main force of the enemies who were the rulers of this world and win at once.
[Enemies respond.]
And the prediction came true. The Demon World Alliance, who had come prepared for an all-out war, was not intimidated or afraid of the huge army rushing towards them like crazy, and immediately began to respond.
[The enemies’ first response is the ancient spell Meteor. But it’s not just one or two shots.]
Three fireballs burning in the sky fell to the ground at incredible speed, their tails hanging down. A Meteor attack that had already been destroyed by the Demon King’s army a long time ago.
Lucy prepared the anti-aircraft gun she had prepared in advance, aimed it at the sky, and concentrated all of its power into one point and fired.
Meteors that were unable to make evasive maneuvers or increase their power were crushed to dust in the air after being intercepted countless times.
“You really aren’t letting down your guard. Everyone take up arms!”
Of course, Meteor was just a kind of greeting. Baal twisted the corner of his mouth after seeing Lucy’s Demon Lord’s army respond without difficulty and ordered everyone, including himself, to prepare for battle.
“Demon Lord!”
“The devil commands. Do not back down and do not conserve your strength. “We unleash our power at once so that they cannot be measured and crush them.”
And Baal, with the sparkling demonic spirit embedded in his chest, used the power of the demon king to issue an absolute command.
It was an order for not only individual soldiers but also demon lords to fight with all their might.
[Total amount of energy… … .]
That was it. The devil’s power is to forcefully bring out their unconscious potential. There is no right to refuse. But its power is clear.
Lucy was slightly taken aback by the exponentially rising power of the enemies according to her calculation formula based on the data she had accumulated.
It was because I did not expect that it would be possible to awaken in this way.