Housekeeper, it's working.

　The caller of the smartphone - the maple - announces a straightforward report.

'How big is it?'
"...a lot.
Can you see the armies of Demon King Kaoru from there?
"I can see

　When I heard Kaede's reply, I hung up the phone. I take control of my smartphone and switch to the live video from the maple's perspective.

　The image shown on my smartphone through Kaede's gaze shows a group of arc-demons with heavy armor, large shields and axe spears (halberds) in their hands at the head of the group, and red demons flying in the background--they're the only ones who can be seen. A group of Lesser Demons.

　The number of them rushing in en masse--more than 5,000 of them.

　After confirming the live video, I send a message to the smartphone I gave to the maple tree.

'.........hmm.'
Has the Reign been activated?
I don't think so.

　If you set up 《Ruling》, an emergency alert (Emergency) will be sent to the smartphones of all hostile forces within range. However, the smartphones of the maple are the smartphones taken from humanity, not the maple's things. It is said that maple-like beings who don't have a smartphone will be told that they have been given the "rule" directly in their brains.

　The condition for success in ruling is to subdue or eliminate all hostile forces within a 3km radius within 3 hours. However, it is not easy to achieve this goal. Therefore, it was an ironclad rule of thumb to make a recommendation, or preliminarily eliminate and deploy, before launching the Rule.

　Recommendation - to declare war?　--No.
　From the point of view of the Demon King Kaoru, he would want to complete his "rule" as soon as possible by taking them by surprise.

　In that case, what about pre-exclusion and deployment?　He would do it to some extent, but he shouldn't be able to spend that much time.

　For the Demon King Kaoru, the key to the success of the Reign this time was - speed.

"Kaoru, call me as soon as you launch the Reign.
Okay.

　Having finished communicating with the maple tree, I operate my smartphone to check the situation in front of Ishikawa University and the advancing forces of Demon King Kaoru by turns.

　If we retreated the moment Demon King Kaoru launched the "Rule", our intentions might be exposed. It's preferable to engage in a certain degree of battle before running away.

　

　On the screen of my smartphone, the ghouls under my command are being defeated with a vigor that is not an exaggeration to call it a slaughter.

　Numbers are a form of power; it is far easier to defeat 100 of the 2000 men in a group than 100 of the 500 men in a group. The lower the number, the faster the enemy's annihilation speed increases as the number decreases.

　--Defend!　Defend it!　Stand with your friends and stand against the onslaught of the enemy!

　I give ruthless orders to my men who are standing on dead ground.

　When the number of ghouls was below 500........

　--~♪

　A lilting melody plays from the smartphone, announcing an incoming call.

'I set it up.'

　A simple but important word from the maple tree.

'Thank you for your efforts. I'll need you to continue to monitor it.
Okay.

　Has this news reached the human race? After finishing the communication with the maple tree, I check the war situation in front of Ishikawa University again.

　Demon King Kaoru's invasion of Hakusan City--this information seems to have reached the ears of humanity.

　The human race is overtly upset. Some of the humanity can be seen looking up to them for instructions.

　--Hoheto, this is an opportunity!　Go on the offensive!　Defeat as many humans as you can!

"Humans of low rank, what are you crying about?　The enemy of you is us!　Go!　Now's your chance!　Take them on!　Emperor Astor, Hocheth-Zion!　I'm going to guess!

　Hogheth begins to march in with the ghouls with a fierce mouthpiece.

''Tch!　The freaks have come to life!
Take him down!　Put him down!　The enemy is the breath of the worm!
"Let's take it down quickly and head to Hakusan City!

　The preliminaries between the Emperor of Astor and the Kanazawa Liberation Army had reached a climax.


　　◆


　Thirty minutes after Demon King Kaoru launched the Reign.

"Lord Sion please forgive me for my disappointment.............................. .....

　Hogheth, who had been resisting until the end, was slashed by the blade of humanity and fell to the ground.

'Iro, Hani, Hogheth I'm sorry.

　I offer a silent prayer for the three subordinates I've appointed as discards.

　The created subordinates are expendable........ This seemingly cold-hearted thought is the reason I have survived so far, and the Astor Empire has grown.

　.........I'm not wrong.

　It's a good thing that I have a feeling about Hoghets who obediently carried out my orders to the end, but I'll continue to think this way in the future.

　-- in order to survive.

　The Demon King.........
　I'm not sure what the joke was when I first became the Demon King, but it's true that my aptitude might be the Demon King.

　--Michael, call me when the Demon King Kaoru and humanity begin to engage in battle!

　--Lina, Chloe, the time to fight is near. Make your final preparations, ladies and gentlemen!

　I shook off the boring sentimentality and prepared for my next mission.