[Gold: 3,000,000]
"Uff"
Seeing how little gold he had left, Kaito sighed with both disappointment and resignation.
He spent 130 million gold to summon more units.
High rank demons cost 1 million gold, mid rank ones cost 100,000, and low rank ones cost 10,000 each.
This way, Kaito summoned 30 high rank demons, 300 mid rank demons, and 7,000 low rank demons.
Since there are 72 different demon houses, each with different powers or abilities, at first Kaito was confused about what exactly to summon.
In the end, with no other choice, Kaito decided to simply think about it as if it were forming a party in an RPG, choosing the basic distribution of roles.
Although in reality this only happened because Kaito confirmed that he could not summon anyone from the Lucifer house.
The Lucifer lineage controls the end, and as happens with most abilities that sound simple and complex at the same time, it is completely broken, comparable to antimatter or even something worse. Its power is literally the end, it can terminate any magic it touches, regardless of type or rank, and it is also impossible to copy, absorb, or avoid.
Even the house considered the most powerful, the Bael house, has that title because of the similarity between its lineage ability and Lucifer's, since its innate ability is erasure, basically an extremely weakened version of the ability of the Lucifer house.[1]
Putting aside the Lucifer house, since for now it is impossible, Kaito summoned demons from the other houses.
In total there are 1,208 Phenex, 3 of them high rank, 5 mid rank, and 1,200 low rank.
1,810 Bael, 5 high rank, 5 mid rank, and 1,800 low rank.
Following the same pattern:
5 Beelzebub: 5, 0, 0
4 Leviathan: 4, 0, 0
709 Zagan: 4, 5, 700
1,008 Agares: 3, 5, 1,000
506 Murmur: 2, 4, 500
805 Barbatos: 2, 3, 800
1,005 Glasya Labolas: 2, 3, 1,000
To that you have to add those that already existed before, around 1,000 mid rank, since most of them advanced on their own in the advancement tower.
As for the low rank ones, those who have not gone to the tower are simply not interested in fighting, so they would not be useful in battle. Kaito confirmed that most either have personal businesses or are infants, yes, the tower allows summoning infants.
As for high rank demons, Kaito had only summoned 1 before, and he is only interested in creating clothes, so he will not join.
Regarding organization, the army is divided into 30 battalions, each one led by a high rank demon. Under each of them there are 10 mid rank demons, and each one of these commands around 30 low rank demons.
Each team mixes houses to simulate different roles, with Bael and Phenex as the main damage dealers, Beelzebub for logistical support, Glasya Labolas as assassins, Barbatos for tracking and to a lesser extent beast summoning, Agares as key support thanks to their space and time abilities, although in low ranks they can only slow or teleport short distances. Even so, they help in important moments. Zagan takes defense, and so on with the rest.
Kaito's army reaches around 10,000 in total, including the beastmen, although considering that in mid level cities only the city lords are comparable to mid rank demons, you can imagine how easy it would be to conquer low level ones.
{Numbers, my worst enemy, I hope everything is correct}
In front of Kaito were the 30 kneeling leaders of each battalion. As expected of the system, it gave him what he wanted once again, this time no random people arrived, they were all warrior leaders in their past lives.
Kaito quickly explained their duties and each one went to check their battalion without any refusal or need for additional explanations.
The plan was simple, they would all head together to the border, and once the low level zone in the southeast sector was taken, they would split to take the entire perimeter. This way they would advance inward quickly.
As for Kaito, he had two objectives, Eriri and Tomoya, or rather whoever was behind them, and the necromancer.
After all, everyone knows you should never let a necromancer grow.
---
"In a mansion there is a dark elf with an arrogant look, short blond hair, and a large belly.
At that moment that same dark elf is furious, shouting at another dark elf with a rough appearance, a beard, short black hair, and a body marked by training despite his age.
"Damn it, how is it that you still haven't found that bitch?"
"We have not been able to enter" replied the armored dark elf seriously.
"You cannot enter? It is only the spirit realm, how complicated can it be?" he shouted angrily.
"Sir, if you allow me, my men can barely cross a few dozen meters before being repelled by unknown creatures. I recommend notifying the royal capital about this matter."
"What royal capital? They are just useless, the royal capital does not need to know this." Although he said that, the real reason he could not notify the royal capital was that it would ruin his plans to capture the princess and improve his position.
At that moment a soldier appeared in front of both of them.
"Kerian, what happened?" asked the dark elf when he saw his badly injured soldier breathing heavily.
"Captain Elric, enemies, they came out of the spirit realm" Kerian answered with agitation.
"How many enemies? What is their strength?"
"There are... there are thousands, at least five thousand. I ran to deliver the message before I finished seeing how many came out, even so they discovered me and tried to hunt me. If it were not for my innate ability I would have died. They all seem to be humans with special abilities. In the few minutes it took them to almost kill me I was attacked with fire, ice, and water spells, I saw some of them flying and I even thought I saw demonic energy."
Kerian recounted the whole event quickly.
"You are the fastest in the entire army and even so they caught you, that indicates at least mid level strength. With an army of five thousand men, all with special abilities, I fear we have encountered a large scale invasion. They probably used the spirit realm to invade."
After analyzing the current situation, Elric knelt before the arrogant city lord and spoke seriously.
"Sir, it seems they intend to invade the elven kingdom. I request permission to command the entire army of the region."
The reason the lord of this city is so arrogant is that he is related to someone of high rank in the capital. Because of that, although the three cities in the area are supposed to be equal, in reality the other two are under the command of this young lord.
Normally Elric condemns that kind of action, but today he was grateful in his heart, since with the army of a single low rank city it would be impossible to deal with an army of more than five thousand men.
"Go, go, what are you waiting for?" the young lord responded with fear after hearing the whole discussion.
Elric did not waste time. In less than half a day he had already gathered all the available army and they were positioned in front of the city, all ready to fight.
When he saw the thousands of soldiers in front of him, the young city lord, named Aerial, set aside his previous fear and returned to his usual arrogance.
"Elric, it is an honor to fight with you again" said a man greeting Elric.
"Chros, do not get overconfident during the battle."
"Is something wrong?" asked Chros, noticing Elric's seriousness.
"To get here they would have had to cross the entire mid level zone. I tried to contact them to ask for help, but none of the three cities responded" Elric replied.
"You think...?" asked Chros, noticing the implications.
"I do not know, but an invasion of this size must have been prepared long in advance. It is likely they already made preparations a long time ago."
"You think they dealt with the villages in the area and now they will begin their large scale invasion?"
"Or maybe this exact situation also happened to the other villages but we never found out" Elric answered seriously.
"In that case it is fine" replied Chros.
"That is right" Elric laughed "although I do not like the city lord at all, unlike the rest he has direct connection to the capital, and with his cowardly personality, the moment he sees us definitely losing he will call for reinforcements." But then he sighed with regret "Although I hope he does not take too long and that there are not too many sacrifices before he acts."
"They are coming" said Chros while looking forward, where a thunderous noise made the ground tremble as more and more men appeared in the distance.
However, everyone's gaze was fixed on the front, on the figures appearing there. Clearly the group was special. Each one of them felt incredibly dangerous, but above all Elric felt an unavoidable danger coming from the young man at the front.
When the entire army behind Elric awaited orders, Kaito raised a hand, ordering his entire army to stop.
For Kaito's units his orders are law. The moment they received the order, a silence swept across the field as everyone stopped neatly in place without making any movement.
Elric was confused by Kaito's actions, but he did not give him the chance to speak before appearing suddenly in front of him.
"You must be Elric" was the first thing Kaito said.
Kaito did not use his full speed, only enough to move fast but not enough to stir the wind around him too much. That way Kaito's movement felt absolutely silent.
"It is an honor that someone of your level knows me" Elric replied, although his voice showed no emotion. "But I cannot allow you to advance from here."
Kaito smiled as he pulled a sword from his inventory.
While pointing it at Elric, Kaito spoke. "I was told you never refuse a duel. I propose one. If I lose, I withdraw, if I win, you join me."
When he heard Kaito's words, Elric was surprised.
"Elric, this is madness" said Chros at his side, but Elric shook his head.
"If he wanted to kill us he would have done it already, you noticed that too, right?"
Chros frowned while looking at Kaito's army. At a glance he noticed they were far more powerful than them. Even he probably would not be able to defeat the campaign leaders, let alone defeat Kaito.
"Then we have a deal, young man, however, let this be only a sword duel" Elric replied.
Although he could see that the young man in front of him was powerful, he had confidence in his own swordsmanship and believed that, without using other abilities, no one could surpass him.
When he saw Kaito agree, Elric thought the young man before him was too arrogant, but he still played along.
Everyone opened a space so that Kaito and Elric could face each other in the center, and although some soldiers did not understand what was happening, they still followed orders.
Finally, Kaito and Elric stood in the center facing each other, each holding a sword.
"I can see that you are not an expert with the sword, so I will let you take the first strike" Elric said.
Kaito smiled and raised his sword. Even if Kirito taught him, he still did not know much about swords, only the basics.
And the attack he planned to make was the most basic of all.
He simply lifted the sword with both hands and held it above his head.
After ten seconds of stillness, he brought it down with a whisper.
"Descending slash."
A cut tore through the space, leaving a linear crater on the ground right in front of Kaito. Elric, sensing the danger, tried to dodge it, but he failed. The vertical slash created a wound that cut through his armor and broke his sword, leaving him with an injury from his right shoulder to the upper part of his left leg.
He immediately fell to the ground on his knees.
On the ground, Elric... laughed.
"Hahaha... cough cough cough... good, I thought that with my swordsmanship I could win, you have reminded me of the difference between the weak and the strong" Elric said as he looked at Kaito, who had defeated him with a single movement.
He finally remembered that pure strength surpasses any technique or strategy.
"It is my loss, young man."
Kaito did not answer, he called Mashiro, who approached and healed him quickly, although the wound left a scar.
"Thank you, young lady" he said as he stood up. Then he knelt before Kaito.
"From now on I am under your command" he said solemnly "... but I cannot guarantee the same from all my men."
"Haha, Elric, you are too serious" Chros approached "you know that everyone here respects you completely and will follow you."
"Kneel before the new lord" Chros shouted, and the sound of armor hitting the ground surprised Elric, who never imagined everyone would follow so easily. Of course most respected him and would follow, but most is not all.
Kaito noticed his confusion and pointed behind him.
As expected, everyone was completely kneeling, thousands of men on their knees, however they were not serious or solemn, they were all trembling with fear, and Elric understood why. Right in the middle of the men, the ground was split in two by a giant crater that extended for kilometers into the distance.
Elric was surprised to be alive at that moment, clearly because Kaito had spared his life.
"May I know why you spared my life?" Elric asked while still kneeling.
"Stand up first" Kaito replied "I was told that you are well known and admired among the soldiers and commoners of the low level zone. I already have people respected among the nobles, now that I have you for the commoners it will be easier for them to surrender and the conquest will take less time."
Elric nodded with understanding.
As for the people respected among the nobles, he already imagined their identities. After all, conquering the southeast mid zone is impossible without meeting her, and knowing her personality, it was obvious she joined Kaito. As for the second one, the princess fled there just a day ago, so anyone who does not notice what is happening can only be described as an idiot.
While he spoke, Elric remembered something.
"Sir..." Elric hesitated for a moment, remembering that he still did not know the name of his new lord.
"Lucifer."
"Lord Lucifer, I fear you are in trouble. The city lord may be extremely weak, but he has direct contact with the capital. Even if your conquest can still proceed, I must say this complicates things considerably."
"Do not worry" Kaito told him "Sonya already handled it."
"I see" Elric nodded, confirming his suspicions that Sonya was on Kaito's side.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)
[1] The thing about Bael and erasure is not official Highschool DXD information, it is AU. I introduced it because that power will be important at some point, along with his closeness to the original Lucifer. Since the power of destruction is the closest thing to Lucifer’s End power, I added it there.I know there is another clan that can basically erase abilities or similar things, which at first glance seems closer, but destruction power at its maximum is capable of erasing things from existence, which I honestly consider closer to Lucifer’s power.