The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King Chapter 6

Machiavellianism of the Weak

The strategy that I had thought of depended on three conditions.

The first was that I had the weakest of all of the armies.

This was necessary, and there was no concern here. Because my forces had only just been born. No matter what way you looked at it, it was impossible for me to win against the other 71 Demon Kings.

There was nothing to worry about. I would be proud about being the weakest.

The next requirement was that the Demon King who I was about to defeat, be weak as well.

When there were 72 Demon Kings, there would be one who is the weakest after me. I wanted to clash with whoever that would be, and if not possible, he should still be one of the weaker Demon Kings.

In that sense, Sabnac was the perfect opponent. He was one of the weakest out of the 72 Demon Kings. If we were to rank the Demon Kings from ‘F’ to ‘A,’ then he would get an ‘F.’ That made him the perfect footstool for me to use to gain materials and gold.

The last condition was that there be a human country nearby. If possible, it should be weak and small. And the country that was chosen for this purpose was Count Ismalia’s lands. I liked that it wasn’t actually a country, but a count’s territory. My plan was guaranteed to play out perfectly, but it would also be like kicking the hornet’s nest. It would not be good to alarm the countries of men and risk a large scale invasion.

What I aspired to now was to kill the other Demons Kings, not world domination.

I would think about that once I grew more powerful.

I shared this view with Eve.

“That is very well, my master.”

She said with a bow.

“I will now prepare the Ashtaroth Army. But there are things that we will need, will you be able to get them?”

“Money, personnel, use anything that you need. …Not that there is much, to begin with.”

“We will need more personnel first. We will need spies in order for this plan to succeed.”

“Spies. Yes, that is true.”

Eve’s words reminded me of this, and so I put some materials into the Klein Bottle. Then I imbued it with magic to create a spy.

Rarity: Silver Rare ★★

Race: Unspecified and uncertain creature. Slime.

Job: Spy

Fighting Ability: 12

Skill: Transform

What I created was an unspecified and uncertain creature, a slime.

Slimes were known for being the weakest monster, but spies didn’t need physical strength. They had the ability to blend in with the enemy and gather information. And they were quick thinkers.

This slime was specialized for such a job and was able to turn into both man and monster.

I created 2 such slimes and sent one to Demon King Sabnac’s castle and the other to Count Ismalia’s lands.

And I told them to spread these words:

“The newly born Demon King Ashtaroth is a coward by nature. He has no power and is afraid of his weak position. He clearly wishes to serve another as soon as possible, so that he can sleep in peace.”

What will such a rumor do?

A weak yet proud Demon King would send a servant to me as soon as possible.

The Count would either attack me or send an envoy to pressure me into paying him tribute.

That was my aim, and that was what happened.

A few days later, a human envoy arrived.

This man had an impressive beard and appeared to be a part of the Count’s family. He spoke in a loud and proud voice.

“Ashtaroth, weakest of the Demon Kings. If you value your life, you will pay my master an annual tribute of gold and silver.”

I wondered if there was any Demon King in the entire world who would not have been outraged at this opening. Well, I only had to look in the mirror to see one.

Because I did not become angry at all. No, I lowered my head and said:

“It is necessary for me to serve your powerful Count, not just for my own survival, but the survival of my people. I swear to give your Count half of my collected taxes if that will grant me protection.”

The knight’s beard swayed in satisfaction at this.

When the talks were finished, I had a feast prepared and summoned a succubus from the Klein Bottle to entertain him.

And half-drunk, the knight made me a promise.

“Leave it to us. The Count will protect your lands, Ashtaroth.”

“I am very grateful for that. But may I ask one favor?”

“What? Say it?”

“There is a Demon King in the neighboring lands who has been making the same demands to me. Of course, I meant to serve your Count, and so I refused him. But now Sabnac has gathered his soldiers together. He intends on attacking me.”

“He what! Curse him. Does he dare invade a protected subject of the Count? He might as well invade the Count’s lands as well.”

He was so enraged that his beard began to shake. I looked at him calmly and added:

“That is exactly right. This is not just about my own lands, but affects the dignity of the Count.”

“Indeed. And when does he intend on attacking?”

“I have heard that it is to be one week from now. I beg of you, lend us your help.”

“Very well. I will return at once and discuss this with the Count.”

This had lit a spark in the knight’s sense of chivalry, and he returned to his Count, slightly drunk.

After that, Eve said to me:

“Things are going well for now.”

“Yes, they are. Sabnac’s minions should visit me tomorrow. And we will repeat what we did today.”

“The Count is threatening you and so you cannot serve under him. But you are loyal to Sabnac in spirit. And then you will ask him to send his troops out and show his power.”

“Exactly. It is quite pathetic to play such a part, but that is a cheap price for victory.”

“It is what a realist would do. I believe that this is the best possible plan.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was intended to be. Ah, Sabnac’s underling has arrived. A gargoyle.”

“Then you must prepare a carcass for him. We will treat this one well. And lower our heads to the point of inviting sympathy.”

And so I played out the role once again in front of Sabnac’s minion and asked that he send troops.

I said that I needed help for when the Count attacked in one weeks time and suggested that I would serve Sabnac in return.

And with this, the Count’s army would clash with Sabnac’s.

“So you will have these two armies fight, and strike them while they are weakened.”

“Is that what you think, Eve?”

“That appears to be the most efficient method to me.”

“Indeed, a realist would agree with you. However, while I am a realist, I am also ruthless. A Machiavellian, if you will.”

“…?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“In other words, we can find an even more efficient way. But I won’t tell you yet. There would be no fun in that.”

I said, and Eve replied, ‘I look forward to it,’ and smiled just a little.