We had crushed the claims of Magestia and the empire and a long building work for our base and capital awaited us.

Hirrax was promoted with his soldiers and companions to the 59th legion and Valcor to the 50th.

Hirrax looked jealous and frustrated.

Demodragon: "Be glad you are no longer in last place. It's the result of your previous failures and all your whining that dishonored our mother goddess. "

Hirrax: "Sorry, master..."

Demodragon: "I like that attitude better. Your boyfriend at least has the advantage of having a positive effect on you."

She bowed her head, raging with humiliation.

Demodragon smiled and managed to turn a reward into demonic humiliation.

Hirrax blew through her teeth... "We're not demons for nothing...and she regretted her demon nature in part. The only thing she loved about it was her brave and loving father, extremely rare for a demon. All the bullying and remarks made about her and her father, she had decided to turn him into an inner strength. An iron will, a salvation, and she was never wrong.

The wounded were innumerable and I gave the order to the demon healers to heal the human pilots.

I had to hammer them to explain to them that as long as they were fighting, they were one less heavenly legion to be defeated.

Half of the Helldrakes left the next day to support the scattered troops. Air support guaranteed them victory.

Our fortress was carved out of the rock, enclosed between the mountains and protected from bombardment and missile fire by flak towers, flak towers and all available equipment.

It was left to the other legions to retrieve the equipment from the sunken ships.

It was ammunition, explosives and especially hi-tech equipment that interested us.

The Japanese were in the process of industrialization with the support of Magestia and they had a serious lead.

Between several industrialized armies, support groups and military workshops transported en masse and in anticipation, a few US military outposts did not make the grade.

But the Army of Darkness was there.

Demodragon raged against my kindness to heal the "weak" but I paid no more attention to his sarcasm.

On the other hand, I forced and insisted that humans join the cult of Tiamat. I didn't ask them to abandon their faith, but to worship my mother. The priests and lizard shamans explained it to them.

It was terrible for them to be assimilated under Misha's command. But they preferred the lizard men to the lichens, demons and beastly brutes in armor of chaos.

A zombie or a skeleton wasn't much of a talker.

Basically, it was a mess.

It occupied me to calm my sadness at being separated from my beautiful Argentrix.

I watched the recording every day, I zoomed to see the smallest detail...her eyes and I sniffed the ruins and their hiding place to find a semblance of smell, a trail but the wind, the smoke and the dust got the better of the smells.

Sitting on the edge of the rubble, Hirrax came to me without saying a word and she leaned her head against my shoulder, looking like me and sharing our common pain.

Me for losing my wife and her little sister. She loved her through me despite the jealousy.

In the fortress I had built in two months, I had nothing planned for myself.

I ate little, and stayed as a human for the little time I had, about 8 hours a day at most.

We stopped making progress and we strengthened our positions.

The underworld further south, which we had found, became a mini fallback base, hidden with a few underground factories, but the infernal forges were modernized to accommodate the Helldrakes, much more efficient than the recent avionics.

Several bases were built

And a group of adventurers arrived with a white flag.

A small man in a caravan, escorted by adventurers, sounded the alarm.

They had the banner of Zantar, north of Majestia.

Priests from different factions arrived with them.

I took a jeep and Hirrax flew over to escort me.

I went out alone, dressed in my officer's uniform and letting my dragon's tail, my horns, half transformed, pass through. I was a red dragon, well, semi.

The little man got out of the fancy trailer and put a cushion on the floor and got down on his knees.

"Mighty infernal dragon, I present myself, the Skig Caliph of Zantar...

So did his followers, priests and escort."

I motioned for them to rise.

"I am Ivan, commander in chief of the armies of the United States of America and the Army of the Inferno and son of the Goddess Tiamat."

Skig was scared to death. He felt like he was talking to an arch lich or the demon himself.

I said, "Speak freely, no harm will come to you."

The men looked at each other and begged.

"We have heard of the slaughter of the Magestian legions and your overwhelming victory. US troops are scattered over our territory which has kept its neutrality. But we are afraid.

The infernal army once ravaged our country centuries and centuries ago according to our records, myths and legends...

But we demand our surrender, to become your vassals. Cultist priests from Tiamat have offered to help us in this process and we ask you, in exchange for our allegiance, not to massacre us and to spare our lives. We have brought you a golden tribe.

And acolytes brought down curtains from the carts showing various treasures and riches.

I: "I see your good will, but our demands this time are different from history.

We won't repeat the mistakes of the past.

Our goal is no longer to massacre people to steal their souls in wars, sacrifices to feed a mass of demons. That's all you need to know.

We need assurances that you will not betray us. Trust is something you build, not something you buy.

We don't need this kind of offering, but we do need logistical support and human and non-human troops to join the legions.

We recruit. We promise fair treatment.

We need to establish bases to strengthen and hold the Magestian Empire in place.

I assume your troops had to join the U.S. Troops to hold out against the empire.?"

Skig: "Indeed, our troops are being crushed by the mighty army of Majestia and emperor Yamamoto."

"Follow us to the fortress of Crane. There you can rest and refresh yourself."

An hour later we arrived and settled into a large hall where several thrones were installed and I resumed my Hydra form, with several generals and zodiacal dragons guarding the place.

Skig stuttered, the draconic pressure too strong.

But he could see in us the power and all our splendor.

Me "You smell like the Unicorn... Have you met Marc, Louise and Magestia???"

The little man, pierced to the light, bowed his head.

I, "I suppose you've already made up your mind!"

Skig: "I-I knew a Tania, a dragon warrior with her daughter Aurora... do you have news?"

That was the angry question...

GROAAAAAAAAAAAR!.

A shock wave ran through the room.

Skig: "Mercy, mercy..."

Me : "I don't blame you, but you just reminded me of a painful moment. I just lost my wife, my children and Tania... and maybe all my family left on earth. I'm sorry if I frightened you, but this war hurts us more in the soul than it seems."

Pause...

Me: "Skig, I've been betrayed, betrayed and re-betrayed... until I lost...

I want all of Zantar without exception.

You are with us by merging under my command or you will perish. Which I do not wish under any circumstances. You have to gain our protection, you keep power but you must be under the supervision of one of my generals.

When our mother and goddess is free, she will know how to recognize and reward her allies.

If you don't understand, know that the empire here is the remnant of a much larger army that I shattered as a demon lord. Don't forget that it was I who defeated Bhaal's armies.

Poor Skig was almost flat-headed in his head as he drove him into the ground out of fear and allusions to the unicorns he had met.

My arguments had crushed all the promises made by Emperor Yamamoto and the unicorns.

The promises of technology could also be provided by the US.

Thus the Zantar submitted completely to the infernal army under the aegis of the flag of Tiamat.