Two days before the end of winter, the offerings from various territories arrived... that is, cartloads of silver coins, which, as tax revenue, had reached the Demon King's territory, in the same amount as the previous vampire leader Senata.
"The offerings have arrived, from forty territories."
Senata was giving her report at the morning court, but her face was unusually grim. Not only her... everyone except those who went to find the harpy with Ira yesterday had a gloomy expression.
Even the constructs and the Black Knights, whose expressions were unreadable, were surrounded by a dark and oppressive atmosphere.
With fury burning in her eyes, Senata looked at Satan Ye, who was still unaware of what had happened, and reported through gritted teeth: "However, many territories have not paid their share proportionally! More than twenty territories!"
The ghostly girl with glasses also seemed very angry. She was usually a pretty good-tempered person, as she was in charge of the Demon King's territory's finances, but at this moment she wanted to pound the ground with her fists. She added, "Seven of the territories only paid half the amount!"
This is truly an infuriating situation.
Although the Demon King's territory has become very weak, it is not the Demon King's fault. Moreover... the Demon King's territory is not so weak that it can be bullied like this. Aren't they afraid that the Demon King's army will trample their territory?
The insectoid leader, Rainbow Shell, had small, black, pearl-like eyes that revealed little emotion, but his voice carried the rage of a suppressed volcano: "The gnoll territory! They sent an empty wagon!!!"
As he spoke, he threw the jackal coachman's head, which he was carrying, into the center of the hall. The still-wet blood turned into a pool of bright red on the ground.
The stench of blood immediately filled the hall.
"..."
"Furthermore, a joint statement from all the subjects of the gnoll territory and the lord's lineage."
The black knight, whose personality was somewhat like that of a kind and gentle man, spoke in an extremely cold voice, saying in a gloomy tone, "The Demon King doesn't need to know the specifics."
Sending an empty truck is not just a matter of feigning compliance or simple betrayal; it's an insult that invites war, not to mention the so-called joint statement.
"..."
Everyone was angry, even Vera, who joined halfway through, looked extremely angry...
Ira thought calmly. He naturally felt no anger or resentment, not only because his sense of belonging to the Demon King's territory was so limited, but also because he was the governor.
The consul cannot get too angry, otherwise it will lead to a very bad alienation, so he has long since learned to control his temper... Even though the nobles are so stupid, he can still work with them calmly on the surface, which shows how good his temper control is.
However, since the emotions of the consuls are inherently suppressed, there is no need for them to deliberately endure them.
"So, should we change our strategy? Prioritize wiping out the lizardmen, exterminate them all, leaving only the young lizardmen who are too young to understand anything, and kill the rest?"
Ira said this.
Shirina forced a smile, suppressing her murderous urges. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Lady Ira, you must have found this amusing; but it was just too..."
This time, the lords of those territories really went too far.
Ira understood this, so he simply nodded in agreement.
"That's why I said we should adjust the priority of killing."
In the current Demon Lord's territory, Ira is probably the calmest person. He looked at Satan Ye, who was sitting there silently with his fists clenched, and said indifferently, "Although there is no need to pay attention to the barking of the wild dogs."
Ira, who appeared calm but somewhat out of place, said under everyone's gaze, "But if you wish, you can first offer a blood sacrifice to the Demon King's throne with the corpses of the gnolls, which is perfectly acceptable."
"..."
The cold, indifferent, and calm words that echoed throughout the hall were like icy water splashed on everyone's heads, instantly snapping everyone out of their anger.
Ira was not a polite and kind person. Just as he described lizardmen, centaurs, and Gorgons as "reptiles," he casually referred to gnolls as "wild dogs."
This is utterly contemptible.
However, if we're to say he did something wrong, we have to admit that he did have the right to be contemptuous, and by extension... the Demon King's territory, with him around, also had the right to be contemptuous of wild dogs and reptiles.
"As expected of Ira..."
Having calmed down, Vera sighed and looked in the direction of Satan Ye, awaiting the Demon King's reply.
"Just as Mr. Ira said, it doesn't matter which side's territory is dealt with first."
Mr. Lime, whose green slime had turned almost pink from anger, stood before the menacing little goblins and said, "Shall the Demon King decide?"
The others didn't say anything, just waited for Satan Ye's thoughts.
"..."
"call……"
A sigh carrying the scent of sulfur escaped Satan Leaf's lips. She closed her crimson eyes, as red as a fiery dragon's, and her agitated tail calmed down somewhat. She said, "Let's proceed according to the original plan."
That is, on the first day after winter ends and on the first day of spring, attack the lizardmen's territory, and if there are no major losses, immediately march towards the centaur's territory and the Gorgon's territory.
Iraq's original statement was "if it can be resolved without casualties," but the other leaders automatically filtered it to "if there are no major casualties"... because they felt it was indeed unrealistic.
Satan Ye knew that no one needed her explanation, but she still wanted to speak. Looking at everyone nodding, she said, "If we kill all the gnolls first, the lizardmen might be afraid and might surrender, and then we won't be able to kill them."
"But if we deal with the lords of those territories first, even if the gnoll lords surrender, even if they beg for mercy, we will still kill them... leave no one alive."
"..."
"Kill them all! Take them back! Although... the souls of the gnolls are simply not enough to make a headless horseman."
The Headless Horseman spoke somberly, refusing to acknowledge that any of the gnolls possessed the "souls of warriors" who conformed to her rules. Perhaps there might be some... but they were extremely rare.
"The flesh and blood used to create the Black Knight doesn't matter, as long as it's strong enough."
"The Black Knight said."
"Let's talk about the distribution of the spoils after the killing is over."
Sylina, who seemed to have lost her anger, chuckled softly.
"..."
The atmosphere seemed relaxed, but the desire to kill had reached its peak... Later on the battlefield, the lizardmen might be implicated by the ghouls' anger.
but……
That's a trivial matter.
...
"As you see fit."
Iraq responded in this way.
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