DMZ
Dawn crept over the ruined DMZ village, most of the fire had already gone, leaving only pillars of thin gray smoke. Some of the rangers can be seen doing some perimeter checks just to make sure no more raiders are in the area.
Inside a Humvee, Ivy sat wrapped in a blanket, cradling a hot drink. A Murica medic kept checking her pulse despite Ivy insisting she was "fine-just shaken."
A few meters away, Bella lay against a tire, exhausted, staring at Ivy from a distance
"Here," Captain Irving said, handing her a cup of coffee while he tore into his MRE.
"Captain… will I ever be promoted? He yelled at me for fifteen minutes. Fifteen" Bella remembering her angry commander who scolded her from the radio for 15 minutes straight.
Irving took a slow, exaggerated bite of his MRE
"…this chili mac is good," answers the captain.
"You're ignoring my question."
"I am."
Bella deflated "Hufft, maybe I should just go back to my parents' farm. They are living in the South, so I think they didn't watch the broadcast."
"One of the film crew told me the broadcast is being relayed by a thing called a satellite from space, so it reaches the whole country." Irving sipped calmly "South included,"
"Noooo…" Bella can only cover her face, feeling ashamed.
"Oh, cheer up, the war has just gotten started," Irving said, patting her shoulder. "Plenty of chance to redeem yourself."
"Sigh, you're right."
She slapped both her cheeks to wake herself up.
"I can do this! There's plenty of enemy to kill to make Mom and Dad proud-"
"HEEEEY!! OVER HERE!" a scream from afar
The voice makes Bella reflexively aim her machine gun in the direction of the sound. Apparently it's some of the survivors. A member of Jehovah's Accussess waved wildly to Bella from across the rubble. Thug A, Thug C, and several other survivors trailing behind him.
"See? I told you!" the zealot boasted. "My Demon God would deliver us salvation!"
"Ah, you're right; after this I promise I will become one of your members." Thug A said
Captain Irving raised an eyebrow while keeping on eating his MRE. "Another survivor?"
"Looks like it," Bella said, waving "HEEEY! YOU GUUUYS!!"
They waved back
"I'M SOOORRY-BUT ORDER SAID ONLY ONE SURVIVOR IS ALLOWEE~D." Bella yelled, while cocking her M240L.
"WHAAT?" The survivors cupped their ears, not hearing clearly.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA
The survivors group are all downed lifeless on the ground after being silenced by Bella's hail of bullets.
Captain Irving finished his MRE, dusted off his hands, and stood. "Well, I guess that's the last of it. We better bail out of here before the party starts."
"What party?" Bella asked.
Captain Irving pointed behind Bella
A few kilometres away are silhouettes of a massive army slowly encroaching on the whole horizon from left to right, pouring over the landscape like a living tide, a spectacular view that brings menace to everyone who watches.
Bella swallowed. "Oh my… I don't have enough bullets for this,"
The Black House
Solo and Lilith are having a morning meeting with the Minister of Finance and Trade, Mammon, and the Minister of Defense, Satan. Everyone is in am absurdly good mood.
"I still can't get over last night's show!" Lilith beamed. "Satellites are amazing!"
"Exactly, even though there's a hiccup but it's great for military recruitment." Stan added proudly.
"The rating itself hits a record-breaking 32 million viewers" Mammon grinned. "This is the most pay-per-view in Murican history! HAHAHAHA."
"Wow-nearly half the country." Solo said.
Mammon puffed his chest. Originally the feed was just for internal military use, but he had loudly argued that not monetizing it was a criminal waste of satellite potential. Solo eventually agreed, seeing the tech promotion benefits for the upcoming public internet.
"Belphy did great," Solo said. He hesitated. "Some scenes were… intense. But I guess I've seen worse on Earth"
Solo thinking that this is the first time in this world he sees humans being killed. But somehow his human side doesn't feel anything. He wonders if it's because he's already used to live with demons, or maybe because, in his past life as a journalist, he already saw the same or even worse atrocities being committed by his fellow humans.
"And marketing was excellent-Luke's promotion numbers skyrocketed," Monny said matter-of-factly.
Satan leaned forward with a smirk. "Well! Since you got your precious revenue spike, you won't complain about how I use the taxpayers' money in the upcoming battle, right?"
"…"
Stan smiled at Monny. "Come on, a deal is a deal."
Monny clicked his tongue but nodded. "…tch fine, just don't go overboard with the expensive things."
Knock knock.
An aide interrupts their meeting.
"Excuse me, sirs, madam, we just got a message from the Vandoria-Ravendawn coalition, they agree to have a negotiation talk by this noon."
"Speak of the devil. Well, if you excuse me, I have some preparations to be made," said Stan while excusing himself from the room.
DMZ
The center of the ruined DMZ was now a meeting point. Hannya stood calmly, flanked by Rangers. She is now face-to-face with the Vandoria-Ravendawn representative, Duke Pierre and his knights. Behind them-the endless army filling the horizon, ready for war.
"Hey demon girl, where is Leviathan?" Duke Pierre demanded
"Mr. Minister is somewhere arranging diplomatic drafts for other kingdoms," Hannya replied. "So I'm here to represent him and the Murica Foreign Office. We are demanding that you pull your army back from our border and apologize for the atrocities that you have done in this village, killing innocent civilians and also dozens of Murican citizens, leaving only one poor survivor alive..."
Duke Pierre frowned. One? He had specifically ordered the mercenaries to leave a few dozen alive to spread the fear. Someone is going to get demoted-violently.
"So, the Demon Duke is not here??"
"…no, he's not," Hannya said. "We also demand reparations for this aggression, and we will send you the list on a later date."
"Re-reparation?" Duke Pierre cannot hold his laughter anymore. "HUAHAHAHAHA! Oooh, are you blind or something? Can't you see how screwed you are? My army covers the entire horizon and ready to pound you, and yet, not even a single Demon Duke is here? HAHAHAHA."
Hannya just keeps watching coldly until Duke Pierre finishes with his laughter.
"Oohh hehe, I was ready for the worst, but apparently the Goddess's blessing is very remarkable," He takes out a parchment "But anyway, I'm here as a noble representing my kingdom. I'm here to give your country our list of demands if you want me to stop our invasion."
She skimmed it. "Two hundred thousand gold… eighty thousand skilled labor slaves… fifty thousand female slaves… and submission to the Vandoria Kingdom as a vassal…"
"Yes,yes, I understand that you demons are trying to make the Demon Kingdom a civilized country, and I recognize that," Pierre smirked "However, I also understand that the reason you resort to diplomacy is because you demons are much weaker than you were millennia ago!"
He point his finger to Hannya. "The world will soon know about your weakness, but my kingdom is being generous. We will help you become a civilized country by being our vassal and will protect you from other kingdoms who want to lay waste to your kingdom."
"…I will deliver your message to our leaders," Hannya folded the parchment once. "However, I know that none of your proposals will be approved. We are a nation that believes in freedom and democracy. Thus, slavery is strongly opposed in our country, let alone submitting our freedom as a nation by being your vassal."
"I'm getting bored of you mindless beast trying to play politics."
He scoffs
And then he snapped. "SUBMIT TO US, OR MY ARMY WILL STORM YOUR BORDER! AND I PROMISE YOU, WHEN WE DO THAT, WE CAN BE MORE FRIGHTENING THAN ANY DEMONS!"
Everyone being silent
"... AND WILL YOU STOP POINTING THAT THING AT ME!?" Duke Pierre screams angrily at a cameraman and Belphy, who keeps recording the whole time.
"Ah, no—no, please don't mind us. Your character is simply amazing, just stay on it," Belphy said while giving a chef kiss.
Pierre sputtered
"….whatever, I GIVE YOU TIME UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY FOR YOUR SUBMISSION!" Duke Pierre continues.
"…and cut! It's a wrap," said Belphy, full of relief.
The camera crew and rangers are clapping their hands to celebrate the wrap. Leaving Duke Pierre and his knights dumbfounded.
"So for the international version, please deliver it to our office before the weekend," Hannya reminded Belphy.
"Tch! Your office and their deadline," Belphy replies while packing his things.
Hannya and Belphy keep conversing while walking away from DMZ, totally ignoring Duke Pierre.
"W-WHATS THE MEANING OF THESE!?" Pierre screams angrily, "ARE YOU IGNORING ME!?? AND WHAT ARE YOU THINKING LEAVING THAT ON THE GROUND LIKE TRASH!?"
He points to the parchment that he gave to Hannya that was being thrown by Hannya deliberately.
"Ah, that? Like you said, it's just trash. Why should I bother my boss and myself with that trash?" said Hannya calmly
"You know why it's trash?" She said. "Because it doesn't hold any value since the people who are giving it, at the end of the day, will become lumps of meat."
Hannya takes a sigh before continuing talking.
"Look, this is not classified information, so I will share this with you: it's true that our people's demonic capabilities are weaker than before, but that's our own choice. And with our technology now, every soldier in our military is ten times deadlier than ever. Now, if you'll excuse me, I hope you have a nice day,"
Hannya gave a courtesy bow with a smirk before she turned around and left Duke Pierre.
"H-HOW DARE YOU! I DECLARED WAR WITH THE WHOLE DEMON KINGDOM! WAR! I PROMISE I WILL LAY WASTE TO YOUR ENTIRE TERRITORY."
The Duke keeps hurling insults and threats while being ignored by the demons' contingent as they leave the DMZ.
---
Moments later, at the rear of the Vandoria-Ravendawn coalition's main army. Duke Pierre is entering his tent, a luxurious tent that doesn't seem to belong to a battlefield. Inside, Archbishop Antonio, Archmage Durac, Prince Luxius, and several officers were gathered around the war map.
"Those insolent demons—I'm a fool to actually think that they can understand manners," said Duke Pierre as he walked to his throne-like seat at the center of the tent.
A beastman slave swiftly pours a wine into the Duke's goblet.
"So I guess they are refusing our offer," said Archmage Durac.
"What's our battle plan?" asks Prince Luxius.
"Contact the wyvern corps. Tell them to get ready to attack," Command the duke. "All of the wyvern corps are to focus on destroying any enemies around the Great Demon Gate. It's bad news if the demons decide to retreat and close the gate."
He give himself a time to think
"Also tell them to eliminate any air transport they see, we don't want the demons to bring any troops to our rear with their Hell Dragonflies."
"Yes, sir." One of the officers replied.
Pierre continued "Tell the ground troops to get ready, beastmen and mercenaries take the vanguard."
"What about the Demon Duke Leviathan?" Archbishop Antonio asked.
"Their diplomats said he's not here, but it might be a lie. We're sticking with our plan, I hope your holy knights are ready for battle."
"Yes, my knights are always ready to vanquish evil."
"Good. And Prince Luxius, the Ravendawn army also takes the vanguard. I won't take any objection," Pierre added sharply
Prince Luxius stiffened. "…understood"
"Good! We launch the assault in 3 hours." Command Duke Pierre
---
After the briefing, Prince Luxius goes back to his own tent. It's a very humble tent compared to the Vandoria's duke tent. Before he enters, he looks around to make sure no people from Vandoria are around.
"Meja, make sure no one gets close to my tent," said Prince Luxius to his tent guard.
"Yes, your highness," replies the guard.
"Inside the tent, the prince starts rummaging in his wardrobe chest. He pulled a satellite phone and then presses a button for auto-dials. He waits for a while until it connects.
"This is Luxius… The attack will start in three hours… It's exactly as he predicted… they want us to be the vanguard."
Ravendawn, Raven Castle
Meeting Room
"…understood, your highness."
Archmage Gregor lowered his satellite phone and sighed after hearing the report from Prince Luxius. He then turns his body around, facing King Luxtor and Leviathan
King Luxtor, who heard the satellite phone conversation, is clearly furious after hearing his only son is going to be sacrificed as cannon fodder.
"Well, Your Majesty, I think it's time for you to make a decision. Are you ready to make a deal with the Devils?" Said Leviathan with a smile.
FOB Doors
The base is buzzed with controlled chaos-Vehicles departing, units moving into position. While a motorcade of Humvees is doing the opposite and heading into the base, stopping in front of the command center. Stan hopped out with a confident grin.
"Glad I still can make it in time," Stan walks into the command center. "So Hans, what's on your playbook today?"
General Hanz and his officers gave a quick Salute to Stan.
"Nothing fancy, sir." General Hanz flick his finger to a officer. "Since the enemies seem to want to overrun us with sheer numbers, we're just going to do with the classic."
An officer put the battlefield map on the screen
"We start with our F-16. Since 300 wyverns is too many, we are going to whittle their numbers by bombing their wyvern base here as their first sortie and eliminate whatever is left of them on the second sortie." He pointed to the map. "After we get air superiority, our Apache and Abrams tanks will jump in for a combined attack and do some flanking maneuvers to the enemy line."
"Good-good. Never give our enemy a chance to fight a fair fight" said Stan while examining the enemy formations. "…put some SPAAGs with the Abrams, their bird-people is going to be a nuisance for our tanks,"
"Already, sir. And since our Ministry of Culture is requesting to make sure no damage is done to the Great Demon Gate, since apparently that's our nation's only cultural heritage site, I'm putting our defensive line here, way ahead of the gate."
"Now for my main question… Ehm, where do I get in?"
Stan grinned wildly.