The place I had teleported to was the continent that served as the allied forces' stronghold.
From high above the base established along the coastline, I looked down upon the scene below.
The allied forces' soldiers were rushing about in disarray.
Everywhere, the clash of swords and the explosive bursts of magic rang out.
What they were fighting was the Demon Lord's army.
It was Luciana's unit, which had gone ahead of me.
Luciana's unit had brilliantly disrupted the battlefield.
The allied forces' battle lines had crumbled, and their command structure was nonfunctional.
The base, which had been tasked with deploying reinforcements and providing material support, was completely paralyzed.
Far from fulfilling its role, soldiers were being captured or killed one after another.
It seemed there were beasts from other worlds lurking here in humanoid form as well, but the Demon Lord's army was handling them appropriately.
They were efficiently taking them down with the techniques I had taught them.
In dangerous situations, they were deploying undead units to the front lines, being mindful to avoid sacrificing the living.
Their regular training seemed to be paying off.
(Excellent work. Now comes the finishing touch.)
To give them a final push, I cast a forbidden spell.
I conjured a massive barrier that walled off the sea from the shore, extending it far into the distance.
This cut off any support the base could send to the allied forces at sea.
Conversely, the allied forces at sea could no longer return to the continent.
This was proceeding exactly as planned.
Henry, Dolda, and Diera were stationed at the sea battleground.
With them present, they could easily crush the cornered combined forces, beasts or not.
They could be left to secure the sea approach as planned.
Next, I activated another forbidden spell.
From the void, several shafts of light were projected.
Each arrow flew as if summoned, piercing the beasts on the ground.
The struck beasts attempted to counterattack against me, but were unable to move.
The miasma within their bodies was being rapidly decomposed, causing systemic failure.
Then the undead swarmed them.
Driven by instinct, they overwhelmed the beasts and devoured them to death en masse.
A few had been destroyed by their special abilities, but the damage was negligible.
I directed my authority toward the scattered corpses of the combined forces littering the area.
The corpses rose as undead and turned upon their former comrades.
From there, the damage spread, and my subordinates multiplied.
This base would be neutralized without much further effort.
Most of it had already fallen to the Demon Lord's army.
There was no need to intervene further.
I intended to advance from here.
Bypassing intermediate points, I would press directly toward the false god.
It would take me far from the Demon Lord's domain, but I felt no anxiety.
I had entrusted the defense of the Demon Lord's territory and the continent to Grom, Logan, and Yura.
I also tasked them with exterminating the beasts that had infiltrated and suppressing the unrest across the land.
They would handle it without difficulty.
However, only Logan was to remain at the fortress to serve as the command hub.
That, too, was an essential role.
Grom and Yura tended to rush ahead recklessly when unguarded, but Logan would surely manage to keep them in check.
In a true emergency, the Great Spirits were also available, so my absence posed no problem.
It was because they were there that I could act with peace of mind.
"Luciana, can you hear me?"
"Yes-ss, what is it?"
I spoke through the telepathic link, and Luciana, on the surface, waved toward me.
Even from a distance, I could see her delight.
"Occupy the base for now. The alliance forces will likely attempt to retake it, but I want you to suppress them if possible. If it proves too difficult, you may retreat."
"It's fine, leave it to me. A piece of cake."
Luciana responded with fearless confidence.
It was a thoroughly reassuring reply.
She was not the type to make baseless assertions.
Her answer stemmed from her certainty that she could dominate the situation.
(soon, the time for the final battle will arrive)
When I slaughter the False God, my infamy as the Demon King will spread across the world.
This was still far off in my plans, but it can’t be helped.
It’s because the Beast Faction, led by the False God, pinned all the blame on me.
Since I’ve come this far, I might as well use it.
This is a perfect opportunity to make myself thoroughly known.
I use sensory magic to reveal the False God’s exact location.
The signal had been concealed, but a thorough search quickly identified it.
It seems he is within the territory of a nation that has joined the United Forces.
That place happens to be the site of the capital.
“Demon King, be careful.”
“I know. I will return immediately.”
“Safe travels. I’ll be waiting for good news.”
Bidding farewell to Luciana, I set out toward the False God.