Chương 31: Chapter 27 - Never-ending War

The [Demon Lord] is on the move. Prepare for imminent invasion. System help us all. Message sent by The Grandmaster to all heads of state and high-ranking Hero's Shadow operatives It turns out that when your demon army has been sitting on its backside for longer than anyone would care to think about, they pretty much jump at the chance to finally get to do something. So, I wasn't exactly shocked that the army was ready to move by the time I finished my [Teleport To Beacon] and arrived at my castle.

My command to the demon leaders who knelt on my arrival was also a simple one.

"Follow," I stated as I walked past them, out the door, and eventually out of the castle. I was not in the mood for conversation. I was also not in the mood for a several-day walk before we could begin battle, which is why I wouldn't be sticking with them the entire time. I don't need my army to take down the wall. I thought. I don't need my army to take down the armies of Placeholder.

No, I need them as meat shields in case the full host of Heaven is assembled again or to keep me from getting double-teamed by the [Hero] and Mishael. I was significantly stronger than the last time I'd faced Mishael, so I wasn't worried about single combat with the archangel.

No, my main threats were, in order: The [Hero] doing a heroic sacrifice The [Hero] landing a lucky [Thunderstrike] on me while I wasn't prepared Mishael fighting me while he had backup Accidentally going into Wrath form (since that form would go down to focused attacks from multiple sources) The leading demons of my own army turning on me 5 was nearly inconsequential compared to the others, but I knew for a fact that Anger could damage me. That made him dangerous.

That's why I would take care of all those problems simultaneously… just not yet. While I'm on the topic of problems, I should probably keep tabs on the main one.

"Grant me sight into the distant beyond to track both friend and foe. [Advanced Scry], Alder Orinala," I cast as I pulled out my mirror. The spell cut in, and I was treated to the sight of Alder rushing around a Hero's Shadow compound, preparing for the upcoming war. I nodded to myself in satisfaction. He wouldn't make it to the wall in weeks, so I had plenty of time.

"Speaking of time…" I muttered.

"[Get Date]." System: Current Date is February 5th, Year 398 Age of Darkness I frowned. Assuming that Thomas hadn't actually been the fulfillment of the prophecy, that meant that I had a bit under 100 years left. I know that the Age of Adventurers ended partway in… Was it 50 years? 25? I thought. I couldn't remember. However, I had an idea of someone who would.

"Avarice," I called out.

"Yes, your lowliness," he said as he scurried forward.

"You were a merchant, so you're familiar with Placeholder's calendar, right?" I asked.

"Yes, your lowliness."

"What year did it switch from Age of Adventurers to Age of Darkness?" I asked.

"I… do not know, your lowliness," he replied.

"My knowledge was mostly limited to Bestian and Elvish holy days to maximize profit. None even know of the old calendar except-" I gave him a look, and he trailed off. He also paled. I wasn't planning on punishing him for being useless or anything, but I guess he didn't know that. To my surprise, Trickery came to his rescue anyway.

"533, your lowliness!" he called out as he came forward.

"Be not angry with your loyal retainers. It was in 533." I raised an eyebrow, and Trickery flinched.

"And you know this because?"

"Age of darkness would simply not do so we needed… alternate names for the ages that we would teach the people of Pumil. It takes a grasp of history to manipulate it, after all." I nodded.

"Very good. Both of you dismissed." They returned to their places somewhere behind me, and I couldn't help a bit of amusement. All it took to ensure the loyalty of the most deceitful of my demons was a [Lightning Spear] to his face. I thought. I should have done that earlier. With a shake of my head, I got back to my initial thoughts. So, a bit under 70 years if I run right up to the very end. I thought. But I get the feeling it will depend more on when the next [Hero's] summoned.

I can't imagine Alder being the one to finally do me in. The good news was that the new [Hero] would be a while. I could almost guarantee that Alder wouldn't die in combat. I wasn't going to kill him, and I was pretty much the only one who could. However…

"He could still die of old age, couldn't he?" I asked myself, still staring at the [Hero] in my mirror as my army marched behind me.

"I guess I should get a timeline..." I gathered some mana to [Overchannel] the next spell and cast it.

"[Appraise]." The [Overchannel] was to ensure that I got as many details as possible and wouldn't miss out on anything special in his status. It hadn't been my own idea to shove extra mana into that spell, though. No, my apprentice had been the first to think of that when he used that combination to actually get a look at my status. A twinge of remorse came up, but I crushed it down. My apprentice was a tool, and he served his purpose. Just like the [Hero] will serve his.

That errant thought taken care of, I reviewed the information I got back from the spell. Status Name Alder Orinala Level 25 Age 36 Race Beastborn Class Hero HP 1050/1050 MP 125/125 SP 1225/1225 I nodded in satisfaction. Higher-leveled people tended to live longer, and for [Heroes] that was doubly true. That meant I had 64 years (or 60 if I wanted some breathing room) to enact my plan. Though, I did do a quick double-take when I saw his stats, especially his HP stat. What have they been feeding that brat?

I grumbled internally. However, that wasn't all that I got from the spell. There was quite a bit more information to go through. Skills Name Level Thunderstrike HERO Martial Arts – Way of the Adaptable Fist 7 Elemental Strike 7 Flash Step 5 His martial skills are getting close to mine. I thought. He was even caught up in [Elemental Strike].

However, I consoled myself with the fact that he had gotten there with the help of increased skill experience while I was stuck with decreased skill experience until this very life. I continued looking through the info. Spells Message Air Bolt Huh. Didn't even know that he had any spells. I guess it makes sense. He had some spell points; might as well use a few of them.

Class Perks Increased Skill Experience Gain – All No Restrictions Increased Class Experience Gain Increased Skill Experience Gain – Elemental Strike Map Interface Enhanced Party Enhanced Interface Resource Increase - Health Oh. Level 25 [Hero] plus [Resource Increase – Health]. The HP makes sense now. Racial Perks Hardy Heat Resistance Desert beastborn. Makes sense. And also adds to the HP. Overall, I didn't see anything I was too worried about. He had a lot of health to chip through, but that was okay.

I didn't need to fight him directly, and even if I did, that was still only a single well-charged [Lightning Spear]. I was starting to think getting the extra details was a waste of mana when my eyes finally locked onto the final listing under his racial perks. Short-Lived"No," I growled.

"[Appraise]." I cast, targeting that single perk and dumping nearly 100 mana into it. Short-Lived The owner of this perk grew up in a harsh environment that promoted survival of the hardy and early growth into adulthood. However, as a cost for the wear on their body, they age faster than others. Maximum age set to 75 years old. The [Advanced Scry] winked out as I clutched the mirror so hard that my knuckles went white.

"Anger," I called out.

"Yes, your lowliness," he replied as he ran forward.

"Fetch an imp."

"An… imp? Your lowliness?" I stared at him.

"Right away!" He returned 10 seconds later, holding a very confused imp.

"Set the imp about 50 feet in front of us," I stated calmly. He did as I said, even as the army continued marching.

"Good. You, stay there," I directed the imp.

"You, get out of the way," I directed Anger. I'm sure the whole front half of the army was now watching me in confusion. I didn't care. I remained cool, calm, and collected right up until I screamed in wordless rage and punted the small demon off into the distance with an [Air Strike] kick. It survived the initial blow because I had gone with non-lethal, but that didn't stop it from fading into dust after it crashed into the ground and tumbled more than 100 yards away.

"Excellent form, your lowliness," Avarice commented.

"Really good distance," Trickery added.

"A-as terrifying as ever, your lowliness," Anger pitched in as I walked past him. I ignored them all. My temper tantrum finished, it was time to figure out the damages. Alder will die 25 years earlier than expected. I thought. I should have looked into racial perks when I let him be the [Hero] that lived, but it's too late now. I sighed. Yet another way the System screws me over. I had no way of knowing that perk even existed. With that, my timeframe was reduced to less than 40 years.

After that, I would need to enact my plan whether I was ready or not. In which case, I can't waste any more time.

"All, halt!" I bellowed. It was difficult to say whether the gathered demons were more confused by the fact that I'd stopped less than a mile outside of the castle or that I proceeded to pull a giant chunk of magicite out of my inventory after a minute.

"Your lowliness?" Anger asked warily.

"There's been a change of plans," I called out as I attached the mana extractor, pulled out Singularity, and started gathering mana.

"My timetable has been moved up, so I will be assaulting the wall immediately." I pulled out my hand mirror, cast a quick [Advanced Scry], and narrowed it in on the wall to our east.

"From… this distance?" Anger asked. Then his eyes lit up.

"Your lowliness! Take me with you!" he begged.

"I will be of use!"

"This spell isn't a teleport," I stated dryly as I kept gathering mana and upkeeping the [Advanced Scry].

"Keep the rest of the army moving, and I'll meet up with you in-" I paused. Wait a second. I have a giant demonic battery here. Why not make use of it? I asked myself. I'd tried to keep my mana-gathering arrays and the extractor a secret because I was worried that it would cause things to escalate too quickly. I was now beyond that concern.

"Have everyone down to the last imp donate their mana first, then, get everyone moving." He nodded, and all of the named demons went first. One by one, they placed their hands on a section that wasn't covered by either the mithril gathering array or the mana extractor, and it sucked in their mana.

"And you want us to… leave you and the crystal here?" Anger asked. I waved him off.

"Yes, keep the army moving. You're too slow for me anyway. I can catch up whenever I need to."

"Of course, your lowliness," he replied.

"But if it's not a teleport, what spell is it?" I gave a dry laugh.

"You'll see in a moment." I kept gathering mana and forcing it into place. I was trying to do a [Wordless Cast] as well as abbreviate the cast time like a [Quick Cast], and it turned out it was a bit too much. I guess there was a reason I did this as a ritual last time. I grunted as I forced myself to focus. I said the last few words of the chant just to ensure it locked in.

"Dear grid coordinates, it sucks to be you," I murmured.

"[Arcane Barrage: Terris Variation]!"

Robert yawned atop the wall separating the whole of Placeholder from the demons in the Ashlands. Why do we even have a day shift if the demons never attack during it? He asked as he stifled yet another yawn. They have [Darkvision], so it's not like they're stupid enough to attack in broad daylight. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Besides, the Ashlands were both boring and flat.

They would see the demons coming days before the assault reached the walls, and even then, the siege equipment had ensured that they would never make it through. Tassarion elbowed him.

"I think I saw something," the elf said, one eye practically glued to a telescope. Robert rolled his eyes. The wall was under a truce. No conflict between humans and elves. He didn't understand why that meant that he had to share his patrol with one of the bloody knife-ears. Just another month, and then I can go home. He thought, ignoring his partner.

"Robert, I'm serious," the elf continued.

"I thought I saw something flying up high above the clouds!"

"You've been out in the blight too long," Robert muttered.

"You're seeing things." Tassarion went quiet… and that's when Robert knew something was wrong. He looked over to see the elf frozen in shock with his telescope pointed into the sky. He pulled out his own, matched Tassarion's angle, and looked up… At a host of boulders that were enroute.

"By the blue text," he swore and sprinted toward the back edge of the wall.

"ENEMY SIEGE ATTACK INCOMING!" he shouted into the camp. Despite the urgency of the situation, there were still a few minutes before the attack landed… which also confirmed that it was magical in nature. Rocks simply don't stay in the air that long otherwise. With a lot of yelling and a decent amount of pushing, everyone managed to get off the walls since it could only be assumed that they were the target. And then the attack slammed home.

Dozens of magical boulders crashed down and tore through the walls like wet paper. Stone shattered, wood splintered, and the proud wall that had stood against the demonic assault for ages was reduced to rubble in seconds.

"Anyone injured? Sound off!" Robert's [Commander] shouted and broke him out of his reverie. Similar commands were going out through the army, and there seemed to be surprisingly few casualties, given the severity of the attack. We got lucky. Robert thought. At least, that was what he thought until the gawking of the other soldiers near him caused him to look to the sky once more. An armored figure, cloaked in black flame, hurtled toward the ground, a wicked staff with a red gem in its hand.

It slammed into the ground, a gauntleted fist striking the earth in time with its left foot and right knee. The stone pavement underneath cracked, while the armored figure seemed undisturbed by the hard entrance.

"Have to be more careful with [Advanced Teleport]," the figure grumbled as it stood to its feet and lightly shook out its right hand and leg.

"That really is hard on the knees." That's the- Robert's thoughts finally started catching up.

"[Demon Lord]! Everyone engage!" his [Commander] yelled. The [Demon Lord's] only reply was to pull a wicked blade from his inventory into his right hand and to hurl a ball of black flame at a group of soldiers from the staff in his left. And then the battle was joined. Due to his unfortunate placement near the [Demon Lord's] landing spot, the orders that came through Robert's party had him pulling out his spear and moving to encircle the [Demon Lord]. Not that the order needed to come.

Once the [Demon Lord] had touched down, Robert saw red. He would make the monster pay for everything it'd done! As the [Demon Lord] slashed one poor soldier in front of him and blasted another with an empowered [Fire Bolt], Robert thought he had his opening in the form of the [Demon Lord's] back.

"[Power Strike]!" Robert yelled, even though his better judgment was screaming that it was best not to be noticed. His spear thrust was on target and made a solid hit into the [Demon Lord's] armored back… and subsequently bounced off as if he had struck him with a leaf. Then, the [Demon Lord] suddenly started moving faster. He spun to face Robert, and Robert couldn't keep track of the blade as it cleaved through his spear and into his chest.

A detached part of Robert idly noticed that the attack had depleted not only his health but also his mana and stamina. He stumbled backward to try to get space, but the monster's staff glowed with magic as he thrust it towards Robert's chest. The spell was only an [Air Bolt], but it had enough power packed behind it that Robert was tossed like a ragdoll through the covering of a wagon. With distance came clarity, and Robert… decided it was probably best to stay down.

He no longer had a weapon, and even when he did, his best attack had no noticeable effect on the monster they were facing. His [Commander] would have noticed his dereliction of duty and ordered him back in immediately… if he wasn't already unconscious himself. And that made Robert curious. Just curious enough to peak from behind cover at the [Demon Lord's] rampage. At first glance, it was brutal.

Spell after spell slung into his comrades at arms, and the ones that weren't taken down by magic were treated to the [Demon Lord's] blade that blurred faster than he thought possible. Sword and spear bounced off his armor, and arrow and spell fared no better. However, despite the ease with which the [Demon Lord] took on all his opponents, Robert finally noticed something. He's… not taking this seriously. Robert thought.

He watched as the [Demon Lord] seemed to almost lackadaisically switch from spell to spell, throwing bolts here, an [Air Cutter] there, a [Fireball] at another group, and then even an [Ice Shards] at some [Soldiers] who were farther away. Then, he pointed his staff at another [Soldier], and he tripped during a frantic charge, his movements sluggish. Robert thought that was bad enough, but it got worse. The [Demon Lord] stopped, letting a few frantic [Soldiers] wail on his armor as he cast a spell that…

caused a sword on the ground to attempt to move toward him? Then, while they still kept up their useless attacks, he pulled out a mirror. By the blue text and the Heavens above. Robert thought, collapsing back into the wagon. He's checking his appearance. We are nothing more than toys to him. After a few moments of despair, Robert's morbid curiosity won out again. He crawled back forward to his peephole. He was just in time to see the mirror go away, and the sword came back out.

Robert thought nothing about the [Demon Lord's] behavior could surprise him after that. He was wrong. The [Demon Lord] blasted an unfortunate swordsman with a black bolt that seemed more… malevolent… than a [Mage Bolt]. The poor [Soldier] went down and then immediately staggered back upright as a zombie. It was hard to tell at that distance, but the [Demon Lord's] body language almost made him seem like he was… surprised?

Either way, he vanished and reappeared next to the zombie, and Robert only realized two seconds later that it was beheaded. The corpse collapsed back to the ground, dead for good this time. However, the monster wasn't finished. The spells that followed after that showed that the [Demon Lord] had mastery even over lightning, and what followed were flashes and booms as Robert finally decided he had seen enough. He hunkered back down in the wagon, covered his ears, and hoped the [Demon Lord] wouldn't notice him.

The battle was over before it began, but it also lasted another terrifying half an hour. The [Demon Lord] hunted down the stragglers and even unleashed what Robert could only guess was a large-scale wind spell. He only heard the rush of wind and the sound of men being sent flying into a hard landing. And then, silence. Save for the groans of the dying and unconscious, but Robert was too petrified to move. I-it's over. Robert thought. He left. We're safe. And then the wagon started shaking.

"One… two…" came the voice of Robert's nightmares.

"Three!" Robert felt the wagon lift into the air, and he slid downward… until it suddenly disappeared and he was deposited heavily on the ground.

"Oh, a stowaway, perfect," came the voice as Robert slowly turned to face those wicked red eyes. At least he's no longer on fire. Robert thought as he stared up into his doom.

"You just saved me the trouble of tracking down someone to leave a message with," the [Demon Lord] continued.

"So, once everyone who's still alive gets back up, let them know that you better turn tail and run because the [Demon Lord's] army's coming." He paused.

"They're sure to be less merciful than me." The [Demon Lord] looked away and then slightly raised his staff-"W-wait!" Robert called and immediately kicked himself. The [Demon Lord] was leaving, just let him go!

"What?" the [Demon Lord] asked, looking back at Robert.

"Why?" Robert blurted out before the non-suicidal part of him could stop it.

"Why?" the [Demon Lord] asked in return.

"Oh. Why am I keeping you alive?" Robert nodded his head vigorously, hoping that he wouldn't somehow offend the genocidal monster.

"Because it's not yet time for indiscriminate mass murder. No, that part comes later." Robert half expected the latter part of that statement to be continued with an evil cackle or at least a grin. Instead, there was just a sense of… weariness. And then the [Demon Lord] vanished. Robert desperately hoped that he would never see him again… but he doubted that he would be so fortunate.

I meant what I said when I told the stowaway that it wasn't time for indiscriminate mass murder. And that wasn't based on any misplaced kindness or hesitation at committing the act. No, at that point, I wasn't beyond killing an entire army, which was good because I knew I would need to for my final plan. The reason for my "mercy" was a completely pragmatic one. The spawn rate for high-level [Soldiers] was simply terrible.

They took 18 years or more to mature, dungeons couldn't pop them out, and if I reduced their population too much, there was a chance that I could hunt them to extinction. And thus, the non-lethal attacks and spells. Not that it was a perfect solution since I'm sure my final [Hurricane] likely caused some impact casualties anyway, but I couldn't waste time if I wanted as much experience with magic as possible.

However, I had some concerns as I dug myself out of the hole in the ground that my [Advanced Teleport] placed me in. Even fighting an army might be too easy now. I thought as I [Earth Strike] punched my way out. And the danger is probably half the extra experience gain. The other half was the increased difficulty of casting, which is why I tried to abbreviate every spell and do all of them wordless. However, there were multiple issues that I uncovered during that fight.

[Communicatio] and [Deprendio] are difficult to train in combat. I thought. [Scry] and [Message] are just weird to use while I should be fighting, and I don't know that I actually got anything out of casting them in combat. I paused. Well, aside from a few confused replies from Anger and confirmation that the [Hero] was still traveling. I thought over some of the other schools that were proving to be problem children. [Magnetismus] was on the list since I didn't have a good spell for it.

[Evalescae] and [Remolliae] joined it because I only had single-target buffs and debuffs. In fact, it was a small miracle that I had even earned the [Remolliae] skill for debuff magic, given my limited practice with it. I think I can fix that. I thought as I finally emerged from my hole and strode over the magicite crystal I'd plopped down earlier. Doing some bardic magic on an entire army at once should be good XP, right?

That just left the problem of making it so that everyone in the army could hear it, but that didn't seem like it would be a big deal compared to all of the other problems I had solved with magic. However, there was one problem that didn't have an immediate solution. [Mortae]. I frowned. I can't do non-lethal takedowns since [Death Bolt] instantly turns them into a zombie. Definitely did not know that.

"There's always the deathlands," I muttered.

"It has to be good for [Mortae] grinding somehow, right?" I asked. At the very least, I figured I could use the monster spawns as extra practice. Though… maybe it makes more sense to go somewhere with living spawns. I thought. Kill them, bring them back as zombies, kill them again? There was almost an idea there, but I didn't dwell on it too long. I had other things to deal with. Specifically, my volume problem and using [Advanced Teleport] to catch up to my army… even though they weren't that far ahead of me.

I used the magicite crystal to top up my mana and then hefted it into my inventory with a quick use of my gauntlets [Strengthen] enchant. Then, with a quick spellcast, I was back in front of the marching demons.

"Your lowliness, I didn't expect you back so soon," Anger said as the army slowly ground to a halt.

"Yup. Wall's dealt with," I replied.

"Now, I'm going to be changing up the travel arrangements here…" As I said that, I unceremoniously dumped an entire wagon out of my inventory… which took a while. It turned out that it was heavy enough that it took the maximum length of time, a full minute, before it appeared. That, in turn, meant that my army was stuck doing nothing but watching me for two minutes as I also had to dump the magicite crystal out into the back of the wagon. After that, I jumped out to admire my handiwork.

The crystal took up almost the entire width of the wagon and jutted up into its cover at multiple points. The wheels also seemed to be groaning in protest. Good enough. I thought.

"Grab some chimeras. We're going to have them pull," I said, and then, after a moment's thought, I continued.

"And also some other demons. They're probably going to have to push." The demons jumped to obey me, and I nodded in satisfaction.

"Take breaks whenever the army needs to regen stamina and have them feed their mana to the crystal when you do. I'll be working on some spells that will hopefully get us to our destination sooner."

"Teleportation?" Tiredness asked hopefully.

"No, something that should regenerate stamina and help you march faster."

"Aww," Tiredness said dejectedly and then stifled a yawn.

"Can I-" he started and then looked at the others.

"Can the leaders ride along with you?"

"No," I said immediately.

"Now, get back to moving!" I shouted to the assembled horde. With that, I [Blinked] inside the wagon to the front side where I had left the extractor attached. I sat down, left hand ready with Singularity, and with my right hand, I held my secret bardic weapon… Old man Jenkin's iPod. My brief experimentation had proven I didn't have to make the music after all. Now, let's see what he's got here… I thought as I scrolled through. The good news was that the iPod was obviously a gift.

I say that because it contained other music besides the horrid abomination called jazz in his main playlist, and because the quantity of music there suggested that someone took the high seas discount for downloading their tunes. And while I was relatively familiar with what was on there, it was a new sort of problem trying to find a song that was specifically good for a march. This might take a bit. I thought.

And so, in the interest of making good time and mana, I started off by just giving my "cart horses" [Strengthen] and [Haste] buffs. They were nowhere near the level my gauntlets or boots could give, but on the upside, it wasn't limited to 3 a day, which meant continuous spamming of those spells on everything participating in moving the wagon. That was a bit irritating, but it eventually let up once I found a good marching song and put it on repeat.

Then, it was just a matter of feeding my mana into a less structured, more touchy-feely casting of the same buffs. … That actually took a few hours to get down. The demons pushing the wagon also tripped and got faces full of ash as the buffs phased in and out, but none dared complain. I guess that's one nice thing about an evil army. No complaints. I shook my head. At least, not until they betray you. I guess that's the tradeoff. Formal notices of complaints are rare, but they tend to be a knife in the back.

The demons and chimeras were relieved when I finally got my spell together, and they seemed to have a much easier time with the cart than before. And that was because I had already hit level 2 in [Evalescae]. It is so incredibly nice not having decreased XP gains anymore. I thought as I closed out of my status. But now, time to expand the scope a bit… Having a buff spell that worked in the short range of the poor iPod speakers? Pretty good. Having a buff spell that could affect an entire army?

Much closer to what I was looking for. Once I confirmed that I could keep the small-scale version going with hardly a thought, I retreated into the MindScape to take a look at upping the volume. I immediately came up with a solution using illusions, but… The amount of mana for sustained upkeep is… astronomical. I thought as I looked over the spell. My regen would be negative even with the mana-gathering array and the demons' contributions.

I manifested a copy of the iPod in the Mindscape and then furrowed my brow as it played the marching song. It also proceeded to echo around the various corners of my mind. The problem is that so much of the mana is just… wasted. It needs a deprendio component to pick up what the iPod's playing, and then the illusory sound has to be constantly updated to match. Maybe if I play only a single set song? Then it wouldn't need the iPod at all… I struggled through that thought exercise for a few hours before giving up.

It turned out that recreating a song via illusion magic and my memory meant that quite a bit was lost, and it took a lot of concentration. I didn't want to go through that for every type of bardic magic I wanted to use because I undoubtedly was going to have others. At a minimum, I needed a debuff type, and more generally… I'm only hearing a muffled version of this song coming through into the MindScape, but I'm pretty sure I'm going nuts listening to it for the 5 th day straight.

My army might try their luck fighting me instead if I don't come up with playlists soon. However, I needed a break, and my secret organizations needed their orders.

"The Syndicate would probably be fine," I mumbled as I exited the Mindscape. I stood up and stretched as I thought.

"But only the Syndicate. They're pretty hands-off." I sighed.

"Alright, let's do the rounds…" I cast the [Zone of Silence] that I'd figured out from the Hero's Shadow since I didn't want to be overheard… and immediately caused the wagon to lurch to a halt as my buff suddenly cut off. Oops. I thought as I placed the iPod outside the circle, restarted the buffs, and went back to business. It turned out that everyone was collectively losing their gourd because I was invading. Maybe I should have waited for that info to come out. I thought.

Or I shouldn't have announced that and then ghosted them for several days. I sighed.

"This is gonna be a lot of [Messages]," I grumbled. What followed was a few mana bars worth of [Advanced Scry], [Messages], and [Advanced Messages]. Reassuring some that it wasn't the end of the world yet and… disappointing others that it wasn't the end of the world yet. Cultists, man. I thought as I dealt with the second type. After a few hours of dealing with that and getting everyone straightened out, it was back to my more important problem.

"If only I could just [Message] everyone the song lyrics and call it good," I chuckled. Then I paused.

"Hang on a second…" [Message] was out because sending that many [Messages] at once wasn't possible, and it wouldn't send it across as music. But that didn't mean I needed to rule out that entire school of magic. Duh. It's even named communicatio. I should have been trying it all along! I sighed in exasperation with myself. I've been trying to pound in nails with a wrench when I have a hammer right there! Needless to say, things went a lot better after that.

And while I could have settled for my first creation of [Amplify Sound]… I didn't want to blast out my eardrums to be heard over an entire army fighting. That meant that better craftsmanship, more subtlety, and a heck of a lot more mana was needed, but I was happy when I eventually created [Transmit Sound] instead. The first test case was an unwitting demon marching behind Anger out of reach of the music. He immediately jumped in surprise and then faceplanted.

That then led to a near pileup and him getting kicked by a few passing demons whom he inconvenienced. I could have intervened and explained it was my fault, but I decided to show and not tell. I immediately upped the power for [Transmit Sound] to target everyone in the army… All of whom immediately stumbled, tripped, or otherwise freaked out about where the sound was coming from. Great success. I thought. Though, I did wince a little watching my mana bar drain.

It was a bit pricier mana-wise than I expected, but I thought it was still probably a net positive if I counted the army's contributions. Anger got the army back in control relatively quickly, but I caught him sneaking looks of confusion mixed with awe and fear in my direction. It's just a tier 1 spell. I paused. Okay, maybe 1. 5. I've been casting for centuries. If I can't pull something like that out in a few days, what's even the point of magic?

Then I reminded myself that I had a near-limitless supply of mana at my fingertips and also a mental sandbox to test everything out. So it's not even that impressive. I'm sure if Tim had this setup, he would have cracked the secrets of magic itself by this point. The marching spell shuddered for a brief moment as I lost my focus. Bad topic. Let's just… start looking at playlists. That meant some more songs for marching and some songs and spells that would be battlefield-ready.

I think that Jenkins had some metal on here…

The next several days passed uneventfully. The army made good time under the effects of my army-wide buff, and I popped in and out of the MindScape while working on new spells. That ended when I was shaken awkwardly during one of those sessions.

"What?" I grunted as I came back to myself.

"B-be not angry your-" Tiredness yawned in the middle of his apology.

"-lowliness. Th-the others thought you might want to see this." I glared for a moment and then sighed.

"Drew the short straw, did you? Oh well. Let's see what's so important." Tiredness simply pointed out the front of the wagon. I followed his finger and saw a group of people a ways off in the distance. That wasn't so much a problem as the fact that they were pointing and shouting in our direction… and also pleading up to the sky. Frick. I thought as a heavenly glow appeared.

"Anger! Up here! Help me get this crystal into my inventory!" I shouted. He jumped into the wagon and helped me lift the crystal to safety. Meanwhile, I realized that I had a problem. My new battle music was… mostly ready. The main problem was that I didn't have three hands. Can't hold Singularity, Herobane, and the iPod. I thought. Have to keep the iPod close to transmit, and it's irreplaceable.

"Do we run, your lowliness?" Anger asked, and I'm sure the entire army thought the same thing. I made my decision.

"No. We fight," I replied. I cast a [Foresight] with Singularity before stowing it and then pulled Herobane. I jumped out of the front of the wagon and used [Transmit Sound] on my voice for a moment.

"Follow me or die tired. CHARGE!" I shouted as I hit play on my "asp kicking" playlist (not even my fingers were safe from the tyranny of the chat filter, it seemed). As the metal music started blaring, I activated its cocktail of effects. [Haste] and [Strengthen] for my side, [Slow] and [Weaken] for enemies. And, the even better thing I found out in just a few moments was that it stacked with the [Haste] spell on my boots. For the first time in ages, I almost ate it because of a sudden change in movement speed.

However, that wasn't the main problem. Nor was it that I quickly outstripped the rest of the army and essentially charged Heaven's descending host alone. No, the problem was my rapidly dwindling mana bar, which was exacerbated by my lack of Singularity. I glanced at the army behind me and then decided. My decision was immediate violence.

"[Blink]," I cast, reappearing before a shocked angel. I gave him a wicked cut along the chest, and Herobane stole some of his stamina and mana that I quickly shoved into the spell I was maintaining. He tried to throw up a defense, but I had [Foresight] up, and he was no Mishael. I danced around him as his allies tried to cover him, but I also dodged or blocked their blows and scored quick slashes on them. And then the fun was over.

"Why don't you fight someone on your own level?" Mishael asked as he flew down and blocked my next sword swing. I feinted high, went low, and followed my slash up with an [Ice Strike] kick that pushed Mishael back from me and left him even slower.

"Sure," I replied.

"Know where I can find someone?" My boast was almost true. Mishael was no longer a match for me in a straight-up fight. Not while I was hasted, and he was slowed. However, his army was an interesting variable in the mix. While his most trusted lieutenants, or whatever he called them, were likely able to coordinate with him and work together to take me down, the rank-and-file angels most definitely were a liability. So, as Mishael and his buddies surrounded me, I simply…

[Blinked] away to restore some mana and stamina from another unsuspecting angel. What followed was a game of cat and mouse that was endlessly frustrating for him and only worsened as time continued. The vanguard of my army finally crashed into the awaiting angels, and then a few seconds later, there was a wave of clumsiness that radiated outward from me. I couldn't help but stop and grin at Mishael. I'm leveling my skills mid-battle. Better hurry. This will only get worse. Mishael clenched a fist.

"Retreat!" he called. Okay, I did not expect that. I thought as he repeated his call, and the angels flew out of range into the sky. I needed to keep him engaged, and, fortunately or unfortunately, my mind went right to the lever I needed to pull.

"Archangel!" I bellowed, activating my [Project Voice] skill.

"I solemnly swear by the System that if you fight to the last angel, my army and I won't harm a single one of the men here until after they've returned to their homes!" Mishael hesitated, so I doubled down.

"Anger, I'll give you first go with the remaining soldiers should he refuse," I continued, still projecting.

"I accept your lowliness!" I heard Anger call out from somewhere.

"Hold!" Mishael said, holding up one hand.

"I… accept your terms. We fight to the last." I knew I could count on Mishael's sense of duty, and the lives of respawning angels didn't mean much compared to those they were supposed to protect. The battle wasn't much to speak of after that. Honestly, with the morale on the other side completely dumpstered, in addition to the slowness and weakness that increased every time my skills leveled up, I thought it would be a miracle if they killed any of my demons.

However, a rough count at the end showed that they killed about a quarter of the lower-ranked demons, even if all the named demons were fine. Heaven shouldn't be underestimated. I thought.

"Heaven is defeated! The [Demon Lord] has led us to great victory! The puny forces of righteousness will never stand against us again!" Anger bellowed as if he was the avatar of the god of irony. Whatever. I rolled my eyes. I had supposedly won a great victory, and I'd even gained a few skill levels if the effectiveness of my spells was any indication, but I didn't see any cause for rejoicing. If even Heaven is reduced to this… how will I get enough levels?

"Your lowliness," Avarice interrupted my contemplations and staring off into the distance.

"What shall be done with the men the angels were protecting? I know that you promised we wouldn't harm them, but that leaves us several profitable options, including-""We let them go," I stated levelly.

"If I deceive Mishael with one of these bargains, he won't trust them again. So, we give them exactly what it sounded like I was giving. They get free passage back to their home city, and we don't bother them." Avarice gaped. Trickery giggled.

"Excellent your lordship! Excellent!" I raised an eyebrow, but he continued without further prompting.

"If you convince him you are truthful, he will never see the final deception coming! Truly, you are worthy of the title of our lord!" I opened my mouth and then closed it. Sure. We'll go with that. I shook my head.

"I have some business that I need to take care of, so I'll be heading out on my own. I'll keep in touch with your orders." They were confused but nodded along. In the meantime, I pulled Singularity back out and began casting an [Advanced Teleport]. My army was too strong for the rest of Placeholder to handle and it was quickly becoming apparent that if I wanted the war to last the next 35 years, I would have to take drastic measures. Fortunately, I had several ideas on that front.

And for the first one-"Deathlands, here I come," I muttered as I left my army behind.