The Red Hand

Chapter 331 – The Law of Averages.

"Bahahhaha!" Bathrumud burst into laughter the moment he heard Ariel explain that Dumetor was threatening them with destruction. "I'd like to see those fools try something like that here! Amdamell is a weak and squishy nation filled with useless humans! If they truly wish to bear their fangs against the Demon race, then I'd be happy to crush the skull of that so-called Demon Lord with my bare hands!" His confidence was not without merit. The Demon Race was traditionally regarded as Enoris' most powerful, and their large numbers combined with innate magical prowess meant that they were always a force to be reckoned with. “It seems they've gotten the idea that we're too weak to crush them, so lets show them just how wrong they really are.”

"Indeed, that group seems to thrive only because they strike from the shadows, but such cowardly tactics will not work on us." Jerome agreed, noting that the Demon Cult had always lost any direct conflict with the larger powers of Enoris. "We've assembled a massive force just outside the Capital, and with six of the nine Elector Kings gathered together as part of this operation, I doubt that even the Empire would want to wage war on us." The other three were busy elsewhere and weren't brought in since that would leave the Kingdom vulnerable in case of a sudden attack by outside powers.

"Though doesn't the fact remain that they've managed to not only infiltrate the Royal Palace of two nations but seriously wound/kill a God?" Phima asked an important question. "Even with our magical powers combined, we wouldn't be powerful enough to harm an Avatar, let alone actually strike down a Divine being." Alone, one Phima was already dangerous, but the two of her working together was something that even gave Emperor Hadrus pause. However, no matter how powerful a mortal was, killing a God or even just wounding one severely enough to destroy its Avatar was virtually impossible. "I'd advise caution when dealing with such a foe, lest we find ourselves in an unfavorable position."

"Always the overly cautious egg-head, Phima." Bathrumud grumbled about the girls' hesitancy. "We've nearly a hundred thousand of our finest soldiers ready for war! There's not a force on this planet that could stop us! Even Emperor Hardus would fall before our might!"

{I seriously doubt that.} (Ariel)

"I agree with Phima that we shouldn't rush into things without thinking it over." Balour said as he took a sip from his wine glass. "After all, the likelihood that this Kingdom of Dumetor fights us in a pitched battle is minimal. I'd imagine that things will go more like the push toward Zanathon, and be more akin to guerrilla warfare. These attacks are just proof that they understand direct battle with larger forces won't work out in their favor."

{Not to mention that the economic damage to our nation will be catastrophic if they can use their ability to slip around to target key infrastructure. Worst-case scenarios in such a case are as bad as a total economic collapse.} (Balour)

"Perhaps we should ask for aid then?" Delora's comment caused the entire room to go silent, since it was quite an unpopular thought. "The Gods have a vested interest in dealing with this threat, and I'd imagine that even Hadrus would-" She was interrupted by Bathrumud slamming his fist on the table.

"Shut your traitorous mouth!" Bathrumud fumed. "Asking the Gods for help is already bad enough, but crawling to the Empire for aid is borderline treason!" He had no interested in entertaining such an idea, nor did most other Demons.

"Then would you consider our ancestors treasonous for working with humanity to defeat Vikes? And was our cooperation against the Spirits also treasonous?" Ariel interjected, pointing out that they'd worked with Humans in the past. "The last thing I want is Imperial Troops within the Kingdom's borders, but if the threat warrants it, I am not opposed if it is necessary to protect our people from undue harm."

{The Gods aside, Hadrus would probably help. That man might be many things, but his desire to conquer the world means that he won't tolerate a third party like this causing chaos.} (Ariel)

"I agree with Lady Ariel." Melifous nodded. "It would be foolish to potentially approach a threat of this magnitude alone. We should work with the other nations to create a unified front against this new threat. I know that the Merchants of the Northeast would likely want this problem crushed once and for all."

"Nonsense!" Bathrumud exclaimed. "We've already got enough force gathered right now to handle things! Not to mention that if we wait, there's no telling how much more destruction these Cultists might inflict!" It wasn't a bad point, and even Balour agreed that waiting was likely to have negative impacts on the economy and the people's lives. “We shall destroy this stain on our people's honor ourselves! We need no outside help!”

"I still think that getting aid from the Gods would be ideal. They're going to have just as much of a stake in this as we do and they've got every reason to aid us in this battle." Phima figured that they could spare some extra forces. "At least one or two Demi-Gods would assuage most of my fears and there are some that would likely be willing to volunteer."

"Hah!" Bathrumud scoffed at her request. "The Gods wouldn't even allow us to summon a Hero to help fight the Spirits. They see our entire people as undesirables and won't give us any more help than they absolutely must. There's no way they'd send one of their 'precious children' to help us at this point. I'd wager they'd prefer that we get destroyed by these fools than to see us crush them ourselves." During the war, Ariel and her father had requested additional aid, but it was always denied or slow walked for serious reasons. Eventually even the most optimistic among the Demons came to the conclusion that the Gods didn't want to help them, and it caused a large rift between them and the other members of the coalition.

"It would seem that they still see us as nothing more than Demons." Delora sighed. "It's no wonder that fewer and fewer of our people worship them when they seem to dislike our very existence."

{Our ancestors were fools but why are we shunned and punished for mistakes thousands of years ago? Though I suppose it beats being crushed and enslaved like the Dark Elves.} (Delora)

"Whether or not we have the Gods' favor is a debate for another day." Ariel wanted to keep things focused and wasn't interested in theological discussions. "Though I tend to agree that asking them for aid is pointless. They've refused to cure my father of the curse placed upon him by the Demon Cult, so I doubt they'd be willing to send us resources in this fight when they wouldn't do so previously."

{I'm suspecting more and more that the Gods wish our entire people to vanish, but I don't understand why. We scorned our Demon ancestors and banned their worship ages ago, so why wouldn't they welcome us with open arms?} (Ariel)

"In the first place, do we even know where this Kingdom of Dumetor is anyway?" Jerome asked. "It's going to be hard to defeat them if we can't find them."

"Are they not just working alongside Vikes' Cult? I figured that hitting our original target was the best course of action." Delora replied. “We've already got the location of a major base, so why change our target?”

"Their Ambassador actually told me where to find them." Ariel said as she pulled a map out of a drawer and spread it out across the table. "According to that beast woman, they established a base here in the Simoea plans." She reached out and pointed to the spot on the map that Nima had given her. “Apparently this is their headquarters.”

"Why would they tell us where to find them?" Phima thought it was suspicious.

{It would be better to remain hidden, so why out yourself like this?} (Phima)

"So that if I wanted to submit to their demands, I could easily find them." Ariel sighed. “It seems they don't even take us seriously as a military power, or at least that's the impression I got from them.”

"What fools!" Bathrumud laughed as he glared at the map. "Then how about we go deliver our answer in person! I'd love to show them just how wrong they are myself!"

"Simoea is my home. That such vile people have taken up residence in my territory..." Melifous' tight grip nearly shattered his wine glass. His lands were made up largely of the plains South of the Capital and he worked hard to keep them safe from roving bands of creatures from the Burning Wilds to the South. "My forces will crush them into dust! I won't let them continue their destruction!"

{And Gods be dammed! If I have to call forth that monster and give up my own soul, I will!} (Melifious)

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't go getting ahead of yourself, Mel." Bathrumud smirked. "If anyone is going to take the head of this Demon Lord, it will be me!" He laughed.

"That location isn't very far from here..." Delora mulled over the map. "I'd estimate it would only be a two to three-day march."

{But why put your camp so close to our Capital? And to tell us where to find you, is that just stupidity or arrogance? Though honestly, it could be a bit of both.} (Delora)

"Delora, how long would it take to bring in some veteran adventurers from across the Kingdom and the Empire?" Ariel wanted to bolster their forces and figured that adventurers would be the quickest and easiest way to do it.

"We could probably grab some of the Adamantite and Orichalcum ranked parties that hang around the Capital rather easily, but Imperial Adventurers aren't going to answer our calls without authorization from the Empire itself." Delora shook her head. "Not to mention that, even if they did, it would be at least a month to get them here, and that's assuming that Hadrus immediately hears our request, says yes, and those Adventurers are in Delfine so that our ships can transport them quickly."

{And with Halifax having gone AWOL, we've got few options for Mythril Rank Adventurers. Not to mention that the few that do exist are never ones to listen to central authority. The Dawn Order would've been the perfect group to ask for help but...} (Ariel)

"So that's mostly off the table..." Ariel sighed. “That is unfortunate.”

"Bah! We don't need any puny Adventurers!" Bathrumud said with a thunderous voice. "Our forces already consist of the best that Demonkind can offer! Such weaklings like that would do nothing but run at the first sight of danger!"

"While I do not disagree that our troops are highly skilled, having adventurers' irregular experience would prove useful when fighting Demons. Adventurers have fought foes of far more complexity than us, and they may have useful insight." Jerome hummed. "I would recommend grabbing Burning Light if nothing else. They're adept in handling Demons, and I'd imagine that experience would be useful here."

"I'd second them." Delora commented. "I've tasked them with vanquishing a few Demons that were sealed in some of the ancient shoreline ruins that dot my Domain, and I've always been pleased with their results."

{Nier is probably one of the best leaders I've ever seen come out of the adventurers, and his team, while small, is as elite as elite can be. If anyone can handle high tier Demons its them.} (Delora)

"Fine, bring your Adventurers, but the one who takes this Demon Lord's head will be me!" Bathrumud laughed loudly. “I shall mount her head over my fireplace!”

"Then it's decided. We'll take a few days to prepare and then march into the Simoea plains to remove this Demon Lord threat." Ariel looked between the Elector Kings, who nodded. "Delora, I'll let you handle negotiations with Burning Light, and Balour make sure the payment is good enough that they'd be stupid to turn it down. Whatever the State pays will be reimbursed out of my personal funds, so don't worry about cost."

"As you wish." Balour laughed as he lit a cigar. "I may even have a few useful pieces of gear to lend them as well."

"Alright, then our plan remains the same even though our target has changed. Once we deal with this so-called Demon Lord, we shall turn our attention to Vikes' Cult so that we may erase the stain they bring to our honor!" Ariel said as she slammed her hand onto the table.

"Right!" (Everyone else)

{Though, why do I have this horrible feeling in my stomach? We have a large army, the best equipped troops, the most powerful mages, five Elector Kings, and even top-tier Adventurers, so why... Why do I feel like we're walking to our deaths? This Demon Lord Akagi. I wonder what kind of being they are? And I fear... I fear that we may end up needing to use that woman's 'gift' to us in order to win... Curse that Demon...} (Ariel)

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"MEW!" Catkagi happily sat in Yumi's lap as she checkmated Elariel for the dozenth time in a row.

"HOW?!? WHY CAN'T I WIN EVEN ONCE?!?" Elariel exclaimed as she tore at her hair in frustration. "NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE! THE LAW OF AVERAGES SHOULD'VE KICKED IN BY NOW!" She started to become unhinged due to having never once beaten Akagi in any game. “SO WHY HAVEN'T I WON?!?”

"Damn, the last time I saw Elariel this disheveled was when Reflia gave her that unsolvable puzzle as a joke." Halifax chuckled.

{That sounds so fucking mean...} (Amakusa)

"No, the law of averages is kicking in nicely!" Akagi said as her ears were scratched. "It's just that, on average, I win every time!" She smiled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Elariel slammed her head onto the table. "I SWEAR! I WILL FIND A GAME THAT I CAN DEFEAT YOU IN! I SWEAR IT! I SHALL DEFEAT YOU, CAT!"

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