The Executed Sage Reincarnates as a Lich and Begins a War of Aggression

Chapter 120: The Sage Plans for the Next Invasion

Around noon the next day, I was walking around the castle.

I was about to head into an executive meeting.

On the way, I met Henry, who was carrying a liquor bottle.

He greeted me happily as he walked with a suspicious gait.

Hey, Commander. You sure look energetic. Your expression looks refreshed.

Bone can look refreshed?

Thats not what I meant. Its more about your mental state. Well, things seem like they're going well for you, so Im glad.

Henry laughed as he thumped on my back.

It almost made me lean forward.

The impact felt like it could break bones.

Perhaps because he was drunk, he couldnt control his strength well.

Henry was purely human.

He also had no magical ability.

Nevertheless, he still possessed extraordinary combat ability.

He was amongst the most powerful in the Demon Lords Army. 

Even now, he still practiced rigorously, polishing his strength to even greater heights.

Therefore, my body could be broken like a twig by his strength.

Even so, Henry was aware of my psychological change.

He shouldnt have been there last night.

Perhaps he noticed it due to his intuition.

Henry was quite an understanding man.

I was aware he had delicate parts despite appearing like a combat maniac.

Henry and I moved together toward the conference room in the castle.

Along the way, Henry emptied his bottle of liquor and spoke out.

You called for us this morning, is something up?

A discussion of future conquests. I think its about time for us to take action.

When I said that, Henry rejoiced and snapped his finger.

He clapped with a ferocious smile.

Thats good! Ive been waiting. There are some of my men whove gotten bored of practice.

Henry seemed eager to fight.

Such intention was clearly transmitted to me.

Recently, we were focusing on reconstruction works and development in various places, with battles against other nations occurring few and far in between.

For Henry, who'd joined me to seek battle, it was a very boring period.

Soon, we arrived at the conference room.

As I opened the door, Grom and Luciana were already waiting there.

Demon Lord-sama! Good Morning. How are you?

Oh, no problem. Sorry to make you worry.

No no! There is nothing to apologize for. Seeing the physical and mental health of Demon Lord-sama in a good state is my happiness!

Grom moved his eight arms and expressed his happiness.

It might seem to be an exaggerated reaction, but he truly thought so.

He was truly a loyal vassal, worshipping me from the bottom of his heart.

At the same time, he showed his care for me.

Luciana stood from her seat and came in front of me.

She observed my face from below.

As I wondered what she meant, Luciana nodded as she smiled.

Yup, you seem okay. Im glad.

Apparently, she tried to observe my mental state.

There was such an event yesterday after all.

It was harder to tell her to not worry about it.

That was why I told her.

Ive got my mind organized. It wont worry you anymore.

Youre supposed to worry us, just like we would worry you.

Luciana poked my forehead with her finger.

She was pretending to be a little angry.

I had no choice but to nod on that.

Alright.

At the end of such an exchange, we sat on our respective seats.

We surrounded the round table and began the conference.

I was the one who started the discussion.

The Demon Lords territory is steadily expanding. It has now become the greatest nation on the continent.

There was no mistake about this.

We practically always won against other nations, with our power greatly strengthened.

Even without my power, we were now capable of invading any location in the continent.

Unless the Will of the World hindered us, our success was guaranteed.

Having said that, I continued the declaration I had thought about in advance.

Regarding our future policy, we are to abandon the Republic territory.

Wha, wha-wha, what the hell?!

Grom was the first one to react.

He stood up in such momentum that the chair fell, and he slammed his hand at the round table.

We went to the trouble of claiming that land, and you would have us abandon it so easily?

I nodded calmly.

Thats right. Luciana, please explain it.

Okay.

As I left the explanation to Luciana, she pushed the document in her hand to Grom.

Grom received it and began to read.

Luciana steadily spoke as he read.

For the current Demon Lords Territory, the Republics territory was beyond what we could handle. We are in an overwhelmed state where we forcefully manage it to keep it afloat. To be honest, we had no intention of having a sudden expansion of territory.

This was part of my concern for some time.

The Demon Lords Territory was developing rapidly, and the territory also expanded with successful invasion.

It was good up until that point, but it had become detrimental as we reached this stage.

Problems began to occur out of our observation range.

Although reports from spies came to us every time, it became harder to prevent trouble.

Currently, there was still no major problem.

This was because we dispatched capable people to manage each territory.

However, we never know when the situation might change.

We were in an overwhelmed state.

By reducing the number of territories, these problems could be eliminated, and the Demon Lords territory would stabilize.

Our original goal has already been achieved. The result will be sufficient.

The reason we occupied the Republic was due to the demonkin and demon beasts running rampant there.

Weve already caught every last one of them, and the damaged cities were also undergoing reconstruction works.

There was no problem abandoning Republics territory in the meantime.

Other nations have begun to plan to subjugate the Demon Lord. That plan includes the recapture of the Republics territory. If we are to abandon it, thatll be a good opportunity to do so.

Nunu, thats true, but

Grom, who raised his face from the documents, seemingly stayed unconvinced.

He understood the logic that should be the course of action to be taken.

However, his emotion didnt tolerate defeat, even if it was part of the plan.

I continued to persuade him.

It was also the duty of the Demon Lord to grant victory for humanity. If they keep losing, they will lose to despair. It is bad to reduce their will to fight back too much.

The important point was how to lose.

This was a defeat for the sake of the bigger picture.

If it would be beneficial in the long run, we need to tolerate such results.

Rather, we need to take initiative in incorporating it.

If we pressure them too much, humanity would resort to taboos.

That might trigger the Will of the World to interfere.

It was a development I wanted to avoid as much as possible.

Grom hit the round table once again.

Cracks ran on the surface of the table.

Without minding that, he continued to argue.

Then, are you saying you are abandoning the subordinates in the Republic?

Of course I wouldnt do that. I will match the timing of the enemy armys invasion and transfer them back to the capital.

If we used the undead as decoys, we could surrender the excess territory without substantial damage.

It was easy to use them to disguise as a proper defense.

It was easy to do so by incorporating magic as well.

Perhaps Grom was convinced for time being; he put on a calm appearance as he sat back down.

He coughed as he held the document in hand.

Fumu in other words, we would show off a series of fake defeats for the time being?

It is only for the fight in the Republic. We would continue invading like normal in other territories.

Of course, we would take care to not claim too much territory.

It would be a hassle if we need to repeat what we did in the Republic.

I also wished to tighten my control over the territory.

Once the Republic was taken back, there would be other cities that would attempt to do the same. 

I would show my authority as a warning.

Ill leave the detailed adjustment to you. Feel free to come up with anything. If it is something that needs my ability to accomplish, feel free to tell me.

As I told the three people, the conference ended.

When I left the room, I suddenly asked Luciana.

By the way, do you know where Diella is?

Do you need her for something? 

We'd planned to talk about various things. 

I would also like to ask for her opinion.

Even if she was like that, she was still a masterpiece known as the previous Demon Lord.

Although she wasnt affiliated with the Demon Lords Army, I could consult with her at least.

Perhaps she could come up with a good idea.

At that time, Henry spoke out as he just remembered.

He then told me reliable information with a wry laugh.

If you meant the predecessor ane-san 1, she has been in the training ground since the morning. She was doing maintenance to the weapons while half-crying.

That was the punishment I gave her for breaking the tank.

I completely forgot that I'd asked her to do that.

It seemed she was still not done doing it.

Feeling somewhat awkward, I transferred to the training ground.