The Author's POV

"I know it's sudden, but this is the best time to strike."

The Demon Domain was the largest of the five domains that inhabited the surface of the planet.

Although the human domain wasn't particularly small, the fact that mountains made up the majority of its land made it possible to argue that it was the smallest.

There were several large known cities within the Demon Domain, Ramlot, Plintus, Kumza, and Hamsala.

According to the information that I obtained from the others, that location served as the primary residence for the principal leaders of the demons.

It would appear that each of them was protected by a Prince ranked demon, and the strength of their armies was nothing to scoff at.

In fact, the full extent of their forces wasn't fully known by the three races, hence why ample preparation needed to be made beforehand.

"Currently, we have been assigned the task of invading the city of Plintus."

I paused, taking in all of the looks that were being directed in my direction.

The auditorium was packed, and countless gazes were fixed on me.

The aura that each one of them contained was nothing to scoff at, with the lowest level being <S> rank.

I would estimate that there were at least several thousand individuals in the auditorium. All of whom were looking at me with intense stares.

They were the strongest people that remained, and their gazes didn't seem all that pleased with the sudden announcement.

Having anticipated such a reaction, I did not mind their hostile expression and continued.

"Sattalite imaging has been blocked due to the barrier that presides over the city, but from estimates, it's about the size of Ashton City. Several of the spies that we have planted have confirmed this with me, and a large mana compressor resides in the middle of the City. Our goal is to get rid of it."

I paused, staring at the map in front of me carefully.

"…So long as we manage to get rid of the mana compressor, then our mission can be said to be done."

I then discarded the map and turned my attention to the audience.

"So..."

That was honestly all that I needed to say. What was important was how they would take in what I had said.

"…"

"…"

What I was met with was absolute silence.

I could tell from their expressions that they had numerous questions for me, so I nodded my head in response.

"If you have any questions, you can raise your hand, and I'll do my best at an―"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

My mouth twitched, and a wave of hands rose before I could finish my sentence.

'This might take a lot more time than I anticipated…'

***

"You had a hard time."

"You think?"

I had the urge to give Ryan a swift smack on the crown of his head. Especially considering the fact that he was grinning like a fool and appeared to take pleasure in my misfortune while he did so.

What happened to the obedient Ryan that I once used to know?

'Tsk, teens.'

"I don't get why you seem to be enjoying yourself. You should know that your workload just quadrupled because of what we're going to do."

"Ukh."

Ryan's face fell at my words.

It was now my turn to smirk.

"Not laughing anymore, are you?"

"No… like, Ren… You know I'll die at this rate?"

"You won't."

I shook my head.

"You're a teen. At an age where sleep won't matter, so just work for me."

At his age, I used to only sleep six hours a day. and now… I slept three.

'Hmm, maybe he's having it too easy?'

"No, you've got that part wrong. It's because I'm a teen that I need to sleep! I'm still growing."

"You forgot what day and age we're in? Just drink a couple of potions, and you'll be fine."

"No… Ren, you can't do this to me."

"Smallsnake could do it, so why can't you?"

"…My workload is even greater than what he had back then! Have mercy!"

"No."

I shook my head and made my way toward the exit of the auditorium. I was obviously joking about letting him do all the work by himself.

It was a lot of work, and while he could probably do it by himself, I didn't want him to die early. I planned on getting a few people to help him out.

'I wonder if he'll be happy to know that he's soon going to be the boss of someone…'

My mind flashed to a picture of him grinning broadly from ear to ear, but I forced the image out of my head as quickly as it had entered it.

It wasn't something worth remembering.

'Well, at least I'm glad my worries were unfounded.'

All in all, although most people were dismayed by the sudden news of a new war, they all somehow managed to understand where I was coming from.

The demons were a big threat, and since this was the best time to attack them, most of them agreed, albeit unwillingly.

"Ren, get ready."

Approaching the exit, I heard Ryan's words, and I braced myself.

I put my hand on the door handle and opened it, and as soon as I did, I saw a flash of light before my eyes.

Click. Click. Click.

The clicking sound of camera shutters reverberated throughout, and I found myself surrounded by reporters.

"Alliance Head, can you please explain to us the situation?"

"What's going on Alliance Head? Are we going to another war when we just finished one?"

"Alliance Head, don't you think the time is a bit too premature? We still haven't recovered from the losses of the war with the Monolith; what makes you think that we are ready for another war?"

"Alliance Head!"

"Alliance Head!"

I was immediately bombarded with more than a dozen questions, and dozens of reporters crowded the area I was in, shoving their microphones toward my mouth in an attempt to get a response from me.

My expression changed to one of displeasure, and I found myself coughing once.

"Cough."

The shutters stopped, and so did the questions. Everyone looked at me with frozen expressions, and I silently let out a sigh.

Moving closer to one of the mikes, I spoke.

"I know you are all curious about the upcoming war, but don't be. While it is true that this war is going to be even harder than the one against the Monolith, you should all also know that we're all a lot stronger than before."

A formal answer. One benefitting the Alliance Head.

I had trained for this for the past few days.

"With the mana density increasing exponentially, our forces have become stronger and so have our allies. The demons, on the other hand, have gotten weaker. If there's a better time to attack the demons, then it is now."

I looked directly at one of the cameras pointed at me.

There were a lot of things that I wanted to say at that moment, but when I gazed at the cameras, I realized that any of the words I'd say would not have any impact on what the people would think.

Thus…

I only said two words.

"So troublesome."

Unfortunately…

They ended up being the wrong words as I revealed my inner thoughts.

Smack!

It was faint, but I definitely heard Ryan smacking his forehead with his hand.

***

[I will relay the information to them. Don't worry.]

The room was dark; the only source of light was a single flickering candle on the table in the center of the room.

Its weak light cast eerie shadows on the walls, and the air was thick with the scent of smoke and something else, something rotten.

The plush chairs that surrounded the table were empty, and the room was silent, save for the occasional creaking of the old wooden floorboards.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The silence was broken by the sound of something brushing against the curtains that covered the windows.

Suddenly, several figures appeared within the room, each one taking a seat at the table, eyeing the others grimly.

They were all dressed in dark, hooded robes that concealed their identities, and their eyes glowed with a red light.

There was a mix of emotions in the room: anger, greed, and a sense of power that only came from those belonging to different clans.

Thud.

Time ticked by, and by the time the tenth figure appeared, the meeting commenced. A tall and imposing figure dressed in black stood at the head of the table.

"It looks like we're all here."

He said in a deep, rumbling voice.

"I'm sure you all know why I've decided to gather all of you here today."

The other demons leaned forward, their eyes glittering in the dim light.

"As you all are probably aware of," the demon continued, "those cowards have decided to launch an attack against us. Judging from how they are preparing, they will all each attack one of the main cities and will be coming at us at full force."

The demon's gaze suddenly turned fierce.

"We don't want that, do we?"

There were murmurs of agreement around the table as each demon nodded its head in agreement.

None of them wanted to be invaded, especially in a situation where the demonic energy was thinner.

"We must be careful."

The demon went on.

"We must each be willing to make sacrifices, to put aside our individual ambitions in service of a greater cause. But I believe that there's an opportunity hidden within this crisis."

The demon suddenly smiled, revealing a set of pearly teeth.

"…I've just received news that reinforcements will come to aid us soon. So long as we can hold out for a bit, we can get rid of all four races at once."

The demons' eyes widened at this news, and a sense of excitement and anticipation filled the air.

"But we must be careful. We cannot let our guard down, even for a moment. These attacks will be brutal, and we must be prepared for anything."

The demons nodded their heads in agreement, and the room fell silent once again.

The only sound was the flickering of the candle on the table, casting its weak light on the demons' faces.

"In light of that fact, not all hope is lost. I've actually procured a nice artifact from the higher demons... A very interesting one at that..."

Everyone leaned forward, grimly waiting for his next words, and they didn't disappoint as their faces twisted with smiles filled with malice.

The meeting went on for the next couple of hours until it soon came to a close, and as it did, the demons rose from their seats, each one disappearing into the shadows.

Their disappearance left the room empty once again, save for the single candle, its light flickering in the darkness.