The West of Larm had been unusually full of life and crowded in recent times. Monsters that would normally fight to the death on sight, were now walking about cordially, hunting for meals to share or going about with other duties which they never had to perform before.
This was all a new and interesting development for everyone and had reaped a lot of benefits. However, even this had its downsides.
With the unusual amount of monsters all swarmed up in one place, all coming from varying ecosystems and traditions, there was bound to be some sort of trouble.
The North of Larm was a mountainous area, covered with swarms of powerful monsters that fed off of themselves and reproduced at twice their mortality rate, ensuring there was food for everyone.
The East of Larm was a somewhat barren land. Hard earth with a scarce amount of trees. It closely resembled a savannah with its hot and grass-filled plains that could spread on for miles unending.
The South of Larm was a swampy area, bordering a literal desert – the Dourean desert – with a large river that connected to the other parts of Larm Forest and a thick fog that kept them hidden and protected from outsiders.
The West of Larm was akin to a tropical rainforest. Tall green trees that spread as far as the eye could see, an abundance of rivers and odd exotic races that couldn't be found anywhere. In a sense, it was a safe space for creatures that could be considered at a risk of extinction due to the low level of its occupants and the absurdly high level of its former guardian.
The combination of all these varying biomes made up the Great Forest of Larm.
Currently, the major races of the North and East of Larm had gathered up in the West alongside its original inhabitants, there was sort of a strain on things.
Northerners consumed a lot of food, making it difficult for both the hunting parties and the dryads who provided them with free fruits. Their voracity was quickly draining the West's food resources at an ungodly pace.
The Easterners who weren't used to having so many trees surrounding them were constantly cutting down the precious trees that were home to some of the exotic creatures and even dryads, causing a lot of conflict. They were more used to living in huts and having better constructed infrastructure over living out in the wild like the Westerners.
All this had led to a spark and now the General of the new master of the West, was answering for all of these things.
Seated outside of Diane's tree, were the people affected by this entire situation.
In fear of a repeat of a previous incident, the dryad Diane had refused to hold another meeting in her or any other dryad's tree, so they had to do it here.
"We can't keep providing fruits for you considering your numbers! We also have to keep some for the rarities."
Diane argued, glaring directly at Reiman who could only accept her daggers.
"Yes, we understand that. But could you not spare a bit more? The cyclopes can actually die from a lack of enough."
He pleaded with her, pointing out the issue the cyclopes had. Diane however, had lost any logical reason as to why she should care.
"A lack of enough? We've given them enough to feed your group for at least two weeks. They've finished it all in three days. That's just pure gluttony."
She paused, took in a deep breath and cleared her throat, then continued.
"Artificially produced fruits require a lot of mana.", she raised her hand and created a peach shaped fruit in her palm. "As you know, depending on the strength of the dryad, the fruits itself could take on magical properties like restoring mana and stamina."
Reiman nodded, being fully aware of the dryads' ability to make fruits using their magic.
"In that case, I assume you are aware that doing such also requires mana from us, as well as stamina. Now, we may be getting an abundance of mana from Larm itself, but even spiritual entities need to rest. We cannot constantly provide to satiate their hunger."
She pointed a finger at the cyclopes king who was sitting on the floor because there was no chair big enough for him.
"And even without talking about the fruit. The rate at which the creatures of the West are dying is frankly absurd. Larm was built to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, not turn it into a slaughter house for the feeble. For centuries, the West has seen numerous rare creatures settle down due to the low mortality rate this place had to offer, and now I simply sense fear from them all the time."
The cyclopes king started to say something, but as there was a language barrier, most of them couldn't understand what he said. Those with skills such as [Thought Communication] and [Telepathy] were able to understand him though.
"We apologise for our rather sudden interruption of life in the West. We are simply trying our best to stay alive, especially since the tyrants in the North and East are out for our lives."
"Apologies don't solve the problem. Though, you are right on this issue lying mostly on the unfit tyrants that rule the East and North. I'm certain Goliath would be regretting his decisions if he were alive."
She scoffed. The foggy orb that had simply been floating harmlessly next to Reiman's side went up to the centre and projected a voice.
"If you are lacking resources, the South may be able to help with that."
The owner of the voice, Zana, offered aid without hesitation. Reiman had already planned to ask the South for aid during this meeting, so them offering it without him having to bow his head was excellent news.
"We possess a lot of fish that we can transport to the West if you want. The only issue would be you have to collect it at the border."
'What? She'll actually even carry it halfway for us?'
Zana was a God-send. Somehow, Reiman found himself rooting for her victory. His ears perked up and with his ability that granted him a 360 view of his surroundings, he could see the subtle relieved reactions of those on his side.
"Honestly? Are you just going to rely on another portion of Larm to solve this issue?"
Diane's voice came in like a hot slap, breaking Reiman from his deluded salvation.
"Excuse me? I don't see the problem here."
For the first time since the meeting begun, he was confused.
"We currently have major races from 3 of Larm's 4 portions gathered in this 1 portion. Are you going to rely on the resources of 2 portions to feed 3-portions worth of creatures? That isn't practical in the least."
"What do you want us to do then? We're currently at war with 2 other portions. The best we can do is manage what we can get."
"Tell that to the cyclopes then."
"I don't like to get rude, but leave us out of it. It's not our fault that this was literally how our bodies were made. I assumed choosing the West was a good idea, but if this is how disorganised you are, your leader must have deceived me."
The cyclopes king warned Diane with a clearly angered expression. The dryad then switched tactics.
"Speaking of that unreliable leader. Where is she? Adventuring off again without a care for her people?"
"Mind your tongue!"
Shiroi, who had kept quiet the entire time, snapped at Diane. She refused to tolerate any sort of disrespect. The other captains who had been watching quietly were now glaring at Diane and the dryads with less than friendly intentions.
"There's no need to antagonise anyone here. I understand that everyone here is stressed out from working so much, especially in recent times, but now isn't the time.", Reiman got off his seat and moved to the centre of the meeting, causing all eyes to easily fall on him. He then looked at Diane.
"I understand your point on food. I assure you, Lady Hinotori already made plans in case of a shortage of food. For the trees that are being felled down by the Easterners for construction, please ignore as they will grow back in no time. I will make sure they don't touch trees belonging to dryads and rare creatures."
After making sure his words sunk into her, he turned around then looked at all the others.
"For now, all we need to do is focus on defeating our enemies!"
"Defeating the enemies?"
"Don't the chances look slim this time?"
"I mean, without Lord Goliath-"
Such mumbling became audible amongst the dryads. Diane folded her arms and smirked as if she won something.
"What do you mean without Lord Goliath? Do we not possess someone of equal, if not greater value?"
Reiman confidently addressed their claims. Amused, Diane decided to chime in.
"I thought our great leader was out of commission. Did this person of equal value choose an idiot for the role of General?"
The rat man paused and looked at her. There was something very different about how she had been acting this entire time. Purposefully antagonising everyone didn't seem to have any immediate benefits. Reiman dropped his raised palm, signalling for the captains who had already drawn their weapons to stand down.
'I'm not sure what your game is here, but…'
"I wasn't referring to Lady Hinotori."
"Oh?"
The cyclopes king accidentally muttered in interest. Everybody else who had been present a couple of nights ago knew who he was referring to and let out exasperated, pained sighs.
None of them wanted that guy's help. Sure, he was effective, but his attitude alone was more than enough to spread a great boredom amongst the creatures.
"Tch. I suppose if it's that idiot…"
Diane said, then stood up.
"Where is he? I haven't heard word of him in days."
"He is currently performing some personal duties. He shall return soon."
Reiman responded sharply. In truth, he had no idea where Julian was.
________________________________________
Demon Country, Malachas
"Demon scum! Bow for the herald of the Monster Queen stands before you!"
A young boy with deathly pale skin stood – no, floated would be the better term – above the large circle in the centre of the room.
This boy that had blood red eyes, messy black and silver hair, dressed up in a grey sleeveless vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and grey pants with matching shoes, announced without permission.
His grandiose entrance and posture seemed to pronounce his power and confidence. It reminded me so much of that man who came before me and declared that I would lead Malachas as its new [Demon Lord] after the previous ruler's untimely demise.
"Herald of the Monster Queen?"
One of my compatriots asked, confused by this unannounced performance. The fanged boy grinned at his question then put his left hand behind his back before raising his right hand and showing his index finger as if pointing to the heavens.
"Yes! I am the Herald of the Monster Queen. The future Demon Lord. Your future ruler or murderer depending on your actions in the [Selection Games]."
Again, he declared something stupid. Only, this time, it caused my blood to boil and a vein in my head to pop.
"Future Demon Lord!? Do you have any idea where you have landed yourself?"
Annoyed, I stood up and let my demonic aura burst in the room, unsettling the weaker members in the room. The boy however looked at me with interest, like a child looking at a toy.
He clapped his hands for a moment and let out a sound as stupid as "Oooh", almost sending me ballistic.
"You are clearly Augustine's ward with that powerful display."
I stopped showing my power and gulped.
'This boy, younger than my children dare mention Lord Augustine's name so casually? How absurd!'
Still, I was no fool. When I took in how he reacted to my display of power, his nonchalance and the familiarity with which he referred to a man as powerful as Lord Augustine with, he clearly wasn't a normal foe. I needed to be smarter with my approach.
I wanted to step back, but now the other candidates had their eyes on me. Should I show even a moment's hesitation, they would tear me apart later.
In this kind of situation, there was only one thing to do.
"Who is this Monster Queen you speak of?"
Coolly, I tried to inquire for more information.
"The current ruler of Larm Forest, which means she possess more resources than all of you combined. Haha! Isn't that enough to make you tremble? Hahaha!"
He started laughing like a person with several issues. I tried my best to ignore it and focus on everything else he said.
"Someone has already taken the place of Goliath?"
"Of course! Aren't you understanding me?"
From his reactions, he really did possess the thinking capacity of a child having fun. I could use this to my advantage.
"If I remember right, weren't there some tensions brewing in Larm?"
I asked this because I had been keeping my eye on the forest. Ever since the loss of Goliath, I had been aiming to establish some sort of dominance there. Through the use of one of the tyrants, that is. A war monger known for his love for battles.
My plan was to form some sort of alliance with him and eventually, the other tyrants as well, giving me the upper hand against the other candidates in terms of both power and influence. With Larm under my control, the possibilities were endless. A nigh infinite amount of valuable resources, control over pathways as Larm connected more countries than anyone was happy about, and a great expansion to the already small Demon country.
There were more plans already waiting to be enacted, but I recently received word of an ongoing war for Larm. I had assumed Krull's victory was a done deal, so I was waiting to send in aid at the latter stages of his war, but apparently, I was naïve.
Another demon had already beaten me to it. Whoever it was had intense cunning and patience, as well as mastery over manipulation from the shadows to completely evade my detection.
"Oh? That little spat? The Monster Queen shall deal with those bugs in due time."
The boy wore a frightening expression as he talked about the monsters that opposed his queen.
"The Queen of Monsters shall make her official appearance at the start of the [Selection Games]. Till then, you have time to decide whether you wish to fall under her banner, or oppose her and die in the tournament like the weaklings that you are. Hahaha!"
With that said, the boy's body faded away in blood mist, leaving the room absolutely dead silent.
The sound of his exaggerated laughter echoed violently in my ears as the sound of my heartbeat grew louder and louder with each thump.
Angrily, I stomped out of the room, ignoring the others. The moment I got out, my retainer appeared behind me.
"Lord Bael?"
He addressed me, already aware that I had orders for him.
"Send both Belial and Jasper to aid the East. Make sure to emphasise that failure is not an option in this matter."
After receiving my orders, he disappeared to whence he came.
'Bow? To some upstart? I'd rather die."
Resolutely, I steeled my resolve for the upcoming [Selection Games]. I would become the demon lord and lead my fellow demons into a new prosperous age. A world without the existence of those disgusting human trash.
