Dungeon Defense (WN)

The Neutral Faction was greatly indebted to me.

This dated back to when the Crescent Alliance was still active.

At first, Barbatos wasn’t going to forgive Paimon who had put her in a trap. She was going to hold an official hearing and crush Paimon there. However, Marbas of the Neutral Faction hosted a gathering and urged them to reconcile.

At that time, Marbas said this:

‘A bird that loses a wing will be unable to fly. If the Mountain Faction trying to attack the Plains Faction is wrong, then would it not also be wrong for the Plains Faction to try and wipe out the Mountain Faction in retaliation?’

He then also added.

‘I wish for a reasonable compromise. Of course, if the Plains Faction chooses to be tolerant, then the Neutral Faction will support you fully.’

He stated that he would ‘support us fully’ at the end.

It was the compensation the Neutral Faction had to pay us since we had generously forgiven the Mountain Faction……. This was the trump card I had pulled out. We were dealing with Agares, the strongest battle fiend. It wasn’t a waste at all.

The Neutral Faction had been carrying out their operations in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The area of Habsburg that shared a border with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was none other than━.

“Miss Gamigin, it’s the region that you are currently occupying without permission.”

The Neutral Faction was going to swoop in and attack Gamigin’s territory.

I smiled.

“Of course, this is currently the territory that Miss Agares has forcefully taken over. If what Miss Gamigin said is true, then…….”

“…….”

“The Plains Faction, Mountain Faction, and the Neutral Faction will be moving together as one. This is happening for the first time in 2,000 years. This will most likely start a commotion in the demon world.”

Barbatos will stand at the forefront as the supreme commander while the Neutral Faction and the Mountain Faction support her from behind. History had already proven how much power this array had. They had annihilated two countries during the 2nd Crescent Alliance expedition.

Despite all of my effort during the 8th Crescent Alliance, we couldn’t even completely annihilate the Habsburg Empire in the end. If you compare these, then you can guess how powerful an alliance between the three factions is.

“The era of faction disputes has passed and an era of harmony and unison will arrive. Demonkind will undoubtedly perceive it like this. Miss Agares and Miss Gamigin will be chosen as the sacrificial lambs for the sake of this new age. It will be quite the fancy and extravagant festival.”

Gamigin, there was only one thing you didn’t predict.

You never imagined that the Mountain Faction and the Neutral Faction would help Barbatos. However, I was next to Barbatos. I possess the ability to make Sitri and Marbas take action. You were not aware of this.

“I see. I understand now.”

Gamigin broke her silence.

“So this is how you do things. You never step forward yourself and solve your issues by bringing in other groups. It was like this during the Crescent Alliance as well. When Paimon created a trap, you brought in the other legions. And now you’ve brought in the Mountain Faction and the Neutral Faction in order to ruin me and Agares.”

She glared at me quietly with her narrow eyes.

Her red pupils were glowing coldly behind her smiling eyes.

“Your life is similar to that of a parasite, Dantalian. You know, I’ve been wondering why you chose to stay as Rank 71. Even though it would’ve been fine if Baal and Vassago decided to raise your rank sooner. But now it’s become clear.”

Gamigin flicked her finger.

Once she did, the glass in my hand shattered. The fragments of the cup scattered and landed on my right hand.

“Dantalian, Rank 71 suits you the most. Rather, you should go down a rank. Throughout the long history of the Demon Lord army, there has never been someone who parasitized off of others as shamelessly as you. Marbas won’t forgive us? From Marbas’ ideological perspective, we are nothing more than obstacles to him?”

Gamigin laughed. It was different from her usual laugh.

It was a mocking laugh. The smile that was as soft as the sun had disappeared and was replaced by coldness.

“Unpleasant. This is truly unpleasant. You never even thought Marbas’ ideology was correct in the first place. You only think it’s beautiful. You treat it as a simple spectacle to watch. Do you understand, Dantalian? That’s ‘the most unpleasant way to step on’ someone’s ideology.”

“If you are about to call me a son of a bitch and a piece of trash, then.”

I shrugged.

“I should inform you beforehand that it is useless. Those are already established facts.”

“You’re ridiculing every Demon Lord. Be it Barbatos or Marbas, they didn’t live their lives to be put on display as art exhibitions for your amusement. At the very least, I know this fact better than you.”

“What does it matter?”

I dusted the glass fragments off of my hand. They were bothering me.

“Baal is capable of distinguishing between real and fake. You aren’t a Demon Lord. You’re a fake. You simply live as a parasite without a belief of your own.”

“That is a somewhat original reproach. I like it.”

“As long as Baal’s red eyes remain open, you will remain as the lowest rank forever.”

Mm. I’m not sure why, but the number of people who swear at me has increased lately.

It was truly unfair. Aren’t they the ones who always start it? They’re the ones who attack and provoke me first. I’ve simply been responding in kind.

Despite this, people call me a piece of trash and a fake. I may be a damned piece of trash, but that was rude. It was saddening. When did the world sink so far……?

“Well, I more than understand why you are upset, Miss Gamigin, but I do not believe anything good would come from venting that anger out on me.”

Gamigin stared at me quietly. I could clearly feel her bloodthirst. Dear me, I was simply returning the same words she had said to me before right back to her……. You should’ve never said this to another person if you’re going to get this upset. She wasn’t able to maintain even the most basic part of ethics. How disappointing.

Hmm. Should I try taking a step back here? It won’t be good for our negotiations if I only raise her tension.

“Of course, I know my place. As Miss Gamigin had said, Rank 71 is the perfect spot for a person like me. I may have a bit of an advantage, but that does not mean I intend to threaten Miss Gamigin.”

“Hm. Then what?”

“Let us negotiate.”

I continued.

“Betray Miss Agares. No, if the term betrayal does not work for you, then fine, retaliate against Miss Agares. You were abruptly attacked by Miss Agares, were you not?”

If we were to believe her statement, that is.

I’m a courteous gentleman. I wasn’t going to deny a maiden of what she had insisted. I will always respect a lady’s opinion.

“If you do, then we will acknowledge most of the territory that Miss Gamigin had occupied without permission as yours. You will have to give a slight portion, but you should be able to give up that much. Do not worry. We will not ask for any more or any less than 40%.”

I smiled widely.

“Referentially, this is actually a huge deal. Our Plains Faction will recover the land that had been unjustly taken from Miss Gamigin and we will only be taking a commission fee of 40%. Is this not quite the generous deal?”

“…….”

Gamigin went quiet.

She will be losing 40% of her land as a price for losing the war. It would be a huge loss. Gamigin had started this war because she was unsatisfied with her small amount of land, so it wasn’t exactly a welcomed proposal.

“There is a way to lower it to 20%, but…….”

Gamigin gave me a puzzled look. I reached my hand out and stroked her chin. Her soft skin brushed against my fingers. My action was obvious.

Gamigin snorted.

“Are you telling me to offer my body? You really do know your place. You really are a third-rate actor.”

“So that’s your real face, Miss Gamigin.”

A twisted face that sees the world as a pile of garbage and bile. Once her warm smile had completely disappeared, there was only a cynical smile and jeer left. Like an old, wise person who had been tossed around by the world excessively, Gamigin was mocking the entire world with a single facial expression.

This was the first time that I felt that Gamigin was charming.

“If I am a third-rate actor, then what may you be, Miss Gamigin? You’ve revealed your true face before a third-rate actor. Wouldn’t you be like an actress who went to the big city full of confidence but failed miserably?”

“You probably don’t want only my body. You’ve never looked at me with ‘those’ kind of eyes, after all.”

Was she also sensitive to the way people looked at her? There was a chance that Gamigin was so sensitive to everything that she eventually started to believe that the world only had rotten desires.

She was right. I had never seen her as a target of sexual desire.

“You are correct. Unfortunately, I have not suddenly been charmed by you. Well, who knows if this will continue to be the case in the future.”

“I don’t care about your personal matters. What do you want?”

“I made a promise with Barbatos. After sleeping with every female Demon Lord who is renowned for their beauty, I have to declare to the public that Barbatos is still the best.”

Gamigin gave me a baffled look.

“Whaat?”

“Our Little Miss Demon Lord is actually more delicate than you might think. Believe it or not, that is my condition. Become my lover. And then spread rumors that we had become lovers.”

Gamigin’s expression became more baffled.

“In the end, you’re just saying that you’re going to sleep with me.”

“In a more elegant matter of speaking, yes.”

“You’ll preserve the territory I have with that? You really are charitable.”

The ends of Gamigin’s mouth twisted.

“But I have a condition. Preserving only 80% of my land isn’t good enough. Acknowledge all of the land in my occupation as mine.”

“Very well, then.”

I gave an immediate answer. Barbatos will most likely complain, but I have plenty of excuses. For example, I could say that this couldn’t be helped for the sake of cornering Agares further and that it would be unwise to make more enemies.

How much did I invest in order to give Barbatos victory in this internal dispute? I used my last wish with Sitri and wrote off Marbas’ debt to me. It wasn’t a small loss. It should be fine to arrange a secured sexual life for myself as well.

“Now this makes things simple.”

I said casually while seated.

“Strip.”

Gamigin gave me a sidelong glare.

She got up and brought her hands to her clothes. Her white dress slowly slid off of her skin.

The dress let out a light thud as it fell to the garden floor.

The sun was setting, so the amber rays from the sun shone brightly across Gamigin’s body. Gamigin gave me a look of humiliation that looked even more humiliating because she was trying to hide it. I simply smiled.

I guarantee you that this sight was more beautiful than any notable painting that existed in the world.

***

Author’s Afterword

The promise made with Marbas appeared in chapter 113. Dantalian’s memory isn’t exact, so the words are a bit different.

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I think it was around the point that I was translating this chapter that the whole discord hacking thing happened. Pardon me if there are any errors in this. Also, the following chapters are going to be NSFW, so keep that in mind. You don’t exactly have to read those chapters to know what’s happening, so it’s honestly fine to skip them if you want. You’ll know the nsfw parts are over when there isn’t a big NSFW warning at the start of the chapter. Heh.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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