It had been twelve hours since the two demon kings began their invasion of the territory they controlled.

　Currently, they were invading two levels.

　The number of traps placed in exquisite positions, the type of traps placed and the compatibility of the demons placed to intercept them... As a ruler of the same controlled territory, there was much to admire, and as an invader, the stress increased! -- such was the area of control.

'Lina. What's your impression of this dominion realm?
'The difficulty level to invade is pretty high. An A, not a B, would be a fair rating for a Hazard Rank.

　I ask Lina, who is walking next to me, and she replies with a serious expression.

''That's true. The ranks of the deployed demons are not high by any means. The items that are equipped are also D-ranked at best. However, the difficulty level is high.
''That's right. I can't see any hesitation in their movements.
The goblins that lead them into traps, the packs of Wolves that aim to disrupt, and the demons that always attack at long range in intricate areas. The demon king here seems to be quite clever.

　What I'm focusing on is CP efficiency. Some perverted demon king (Subrow) was massively creating only ghouls and giant bats for cosmetic purposes. Many Demon Kings used a similar method of operation if they were to follow the Perverted Demon King (Subrow). However, the demons that ruled this dominant realm were making good use of demons specific to the demon race species - Imps - to low-cost Wolves and Goblins.

''What I'm concerned about.......is the variety of demons we're going to encounter. Are these the demons that have been enslaved from the dominant realm they have dominated so far?
'I don't know.　That's normal but I'm afraid I'm too used to the way we operate.

　A pixie fuels the flames generated by the imp's fireball with the "Natural Manipulation". An ogre with superior arm strength is set up, and a trap embedded in the ground as if aimed at when it tries to attack from the side. The elves use the highly durable dwarves as shields to unleash their long-range attacks.

　And the most interesting thing is that the demons that the demon race species cannot create will flee immediately in a pinch.

''Elves and pixies will flee immediately, right?
Yeah.
Because they're the only people in your crew who can't create.

　I value the lives of ogres, pixies, and other underlings I can't create for the same reason.

What do you care about?
''The Demon King here has seven dominion areas, right?　Is there such a brilliantly diverse demon king in the neighborhood?
''From my experience so far, the most common ones were the demon species and the elf species demon king. I've only seen one Demon King of the elven species. If you ask me, it might be unnatural.
Well, I guess we'll have to cut the chatter.

　A purple swamp filled with steam - a poisonous swamp has been set up along the path, and inside the poisonous swamp, slime of the same color is stirring. At the back of the poisonous swamp are several dark elves with bows at the ready and a brown demon with a huge axe in his hand - a Lesser Demon. Furthermore--''

''A giant bat, huh?''

　There are three giant bats flying over the Lesser Demon.

''There's enough to keep the poisoner on hand!　Each of you, fight the poison, never mind the poison!

　Preparedness is the key to success. Slip damage from a poisonous swamp. Physically speaking, it would be similar to the state of a cold. A feeling of nausea in the chest and nausea arises. It's not enough to interfere with combat, but if left unchecked, the feeling of fatigue will increase. That was the effect of the poisonous swamp.

　Not wanting to enter the poisonous swamp, I proceed to prepare my attack magic.

''Daquell!　Shoot down that blinding bat!
Ha!

　The giant bat's ultrasound inhibits mental focus. The weakness is a bow attack. I give the order to Daquell ahead of Lina.

　The rest of my men begin to move in on their own.

　As Iain slams his shield, Red rushes into the poisonous swamp without fear and smashes the purple slime - Poison Slime - with a blunt instrument. Layla fires an ice bullet into the imp, and Flora follows Layla's attack. Lina and Guy run through the poisonous swamp and confront the Lesser Demon.

　--《Dark Arrow》!

　I continued to fire countless dark arrows indiscriminately at the enemy on the other side of the poisonous swamp.

　Five minutes later.

　Lina's slash ricochets off the Lesser Demon's head, and the enemy's front line collapses. The remainder of the battle was done by the power of the individuals, killing the enemies that were blocking their path one by one.


　◆


　It's the fifth day since the invasion of the dominion realm controlled by the two Demon Kings began.

　The invasion of the dominion realm, which has a total of 9 levels, was completed, and we succeeded in controlling the first dominion realm.

''Hm?　What's wrong with you?

　Lina calls out to me after I've finished controlling the control area.

''Ah........ There's something that's been bothering me a bit.
'What's on your mind?　It's true that we lost two of our men but all of our families are safe. Isn't this an invasion?

　As Lina said, we lost two subordinates - one Living Mail and one Werewolf - in this invasion.

''Lina. The controlled territory we invaded this time was nine levels, right?
'Yes, nine levels of control territory is rare, but is there any cause for concern?'
''If it's nine levels, then what is the level of the Demon King?
Nine.

　Lina answers my question immediately.

'Do you know how many areas of control I have over?'
I believe it was 45, including this area of control?
Correct. Do you know what level I'm on?
'The canon said before that you're up to 10... and you're up to 11?
No, it's only ten.
You mean ... Theon is strong?

　Lina twists her head, unsure of what I'm trying to say.

'I reached level nine around the time I defeated the Demon King Kanta.
Demon King Kanta it's been a long time.
The number of territories I controlled back then was 24.
Hmm. You've grown up a lot since then.

　Lina repeated her opinion, missing the point.

''In contrast, the number of dominant territories controlled by the Demon King here is seven.
We're down to six now. Once the invasion is over, Chloe and the others will be down to five.

　Kanon would make my point around here. Either Kanon is clever, Lina is dull, or.......Lina, unlike Kanon, doesn't have the experience of a demon king, so there will be differences in thinking.

'That was a long way around. There are only seven dominant regions, yet there are nine levels. In other words - the Demon King who was in control of this dominion realm has defeated quite a few intruders with his own hands. Don't you think so?
''Demon kings grow faster when they kill their enemies with their own hands... come to think of it, that's the kind of ecology they had.
''When it comes to ecology.......well, yes. I mean, what I'm trying to say is that the Demon King here is the type of Demon King who can fight on the front lines himself.
And he didn't show up this time?　Is that a concern?

　Lina finally gets to the answer I wanted to give her.

''That's what I'm talking about. He's a demon king who sets such troublesome traps and is excellent at managing demons. To top it off, he's the type of demon king who can fight on the front lines. It's enough to give you cause for concern.
'I see. So Theon is always on the front lines, but he's always worrying about it... is that the secret to his strength?
'We live in an age where if you stop thinking, you'll be weeded out.
"Ha. My Lord is good and reliable. Continue to lead me ... and my people.

　Unlike canon, we didn't get into a discussion, and Lina laughed upbeatly at my words.