"How are you doing?" I asked simply, glancing over at Yubelluna, who was standing not far to my side within the stronghold-esque area under my palace, "Let me know if you want to go back to the Phenex Estate. I'm not holding you hostage here or anything."
The bombshell woman had been staying in my palace since the incident with Riser, as I had personally brought her here and ensured there would be no attempt by the Phenex Clan to take her back. I wasn't holding her hostage, but more so protecting her, as while I believed that my words to Riser would stop him from doing anything stupid, there was no guarantee with a man like him.
Right now, I was clad in my armor, aside from the helmet tucked under my arm. Yubelluna was similarly wearing her typical revealing, extravagant robe, and she had her staff in her hand - as if she was ready for battle. Which she was.
"I'm fine, and I know," Yubelluna just smiled brightly at me, shaking her head lightly, "I'd much rather be here. It's much more… comfortable. That's not a problem, right?"
"Of course not," I smirked at her a bit, "I've got a weak spot for beautiful women, y'know? Stay as long as you want."
She blushed lightly at my words, but nodded. I glanced over at the large, swirling portal in front of us and then turned back to her a bit more seriously.
"You said it's comfortable, but you know where we're going will be dangerous, right?" I asked, locking eyes with her as she turned to fully face me, "You can't go with me personally, as it'll be far too dangerous, so I can't guarantee you'll be safe. My army should be more than capable of completing the mission at hand, but there's always unexpected risks in something like this."
The event I was referring to was the one that had been building up for nearly two weeks now - the conquering of Wano, and the dethroning of Kaido. Today, Onigashima would fall, and the Captain of the Beast Pirates would bend the knee.
"I know," Yubelluna just nodded at my words, her face becoming cutely determined as she didn't break our locked eyes, "But, you've done so much for me already! I want to repay the favor, even if my role in this battle will only be minor."
I held the stare for a few more moments, causing Yubelluna to blush lightly, but then just nodded as I glanced away - and towards the woman standing on my other side, who had stayed silent until now.
"Are the forces prepared?" I asked, speaking to Raya as I looked at the floating portal in front of me - although I already knew the answer.
"Yes," Raya nodded simply, "The prison isn't large enough to hold more than a few thousand soldiers, but what we lack in quantity is being made up for in quality. Ragnat, Tiamat, Azazel, and Falbium are the leading generals, and most of the armies are composed of higher-ranking soldiers."
This had been my biggest problem with taking over Wano, and why I had been fine with delaying the invasion a bit to wrap up some things in the DxD world. The Beast Pirates numbered roughly 20,000, and while most of them weren't all that powerful, that was still a shit-ton of soldiers.
They wouldn't have been a problem if I had decided to act solo - just charging in, challenging Kaido, and defeating him as I forced him and his entire crew to submit to my will. But it was never that simple.
Kaido was a pirate, and a scummy one at that. That was evident by the way he was exploiting Wano, treating its citizens like dirt, and essentially destroying the entire country to gain more power for his own crew. He wouldn't settle for a one-on-one fight, and he wouldn't submit easily when he lost.
Not that I was concerned for my own sake - as [Devour], my insane arsenal of skills, my new Boosted Gear, and my insane gear meant that I was confident in taking on even the entire 20,000 pirates alone. But that would completely negate my purpose of being here if I had to slaughter Kaido's entire crew to get to him.
I wasn't just taking down Kaido for the fun of it, or to take the powerful pirate as my subordinate. No - I was here to take Kaido, his crew, and all of Wano for myself. I wanted as many new soldiers alive as possible, which meant I had to be a bit more careful. It meant I needed to use my brain and actually formulate a plan.
Wano, and Kaido's crew, would both be helpful in my impending war in the DxD world and in setting up a stronghold to eventually conquer the entire C-Rank world, so I wanted to subdue them with as few casualties as possible for both sides.
"There are over a hundred Direwolf commanders, and more than five hundred pack leaders, being led by Ragnat. Falbium has a smaller group of elite devils taken from the noble clans and standing army, numbering 250. Azazel is in charge of five hundred fallen angels of at least four-winged ranking, as well as some elite Youkai from both the West and East Youkai Factions. Finally, a small group of 20 dragons is being led by Tiamat. She wanted to recruit the former Dragon King Tannin, but as you ordered, I ensured she didn't. Finally, Sirzechs is on standby, waiting to help where needed."
Tiamat, upon realizing that she would be leading a dragon-filled unit of soldiers, had been eager to include Tannin in that list - not because she was friends with him or anything, but instead because of the ego that came with being a dragon. I didn't think she really cared for things like that, as she was pretty lazy with most things, and was willing to lower herself to my whims, but it seemed that the idea of ordering around a former Dragon King was appealing even to her.
And, having Tannin as an addition to the conquering party would certainly be a big boost, but I had to decline. I had been ensuring to shun the former Dragon King out of any of my future plans, as while he lived in the Underworld, and was in the peerage of a devil, that devil happened to be Mephisto Pheles.
The man was the leader of the Grauzauberer, a group of magicians that was a part of the forming alliance against my Kingdom. I had considered just snuffing him out immediately, killing him as he seemed content to go against me despite his race's rulers bending the knee, but decided against it.
I didn't want to tick off the alliance that I knew about them forming in the first place, and even more so that I knew about the specific members within it. I trusted the super-genius known as Ajuka to handle the situation better than I could, so I simply left the man's fate in his hands.
But that didn't mean I was going to act clueless. Tannin was still a member of his peerage and would more than likely report the events happening in the C-Rank world to him. As such, I was keeping him out of all conversations, and pretty much acting like he didn't even exist right now.
I nodded as Raya finished relaying the numbers to me, looking at her approvingly, "Good work. We have more than enough firepower, but control will be the biggest problem. Once we start, things will move quickly, and we'll need to focus on protecting citizens and subduing the grunts of the crew. Send one army to each major region, along with the prisoners Hyougou is leading. Myself and Tiamat's group will handle Onigashima, along with Yamato. Have Sirzechs stay near the portal in case this plan was leaked, but then assist the group at the Flower Capital afterward. If he finishes up there and I'm still fighting, send him to Onigashima."
That was the plan - flood Wano in an instant, catch Kaido off guard, and take everything. Each army would take a region for themselves, aiming to subdue the pirates without killing them, and protecting the citizens there as they took over governing it.
Then, as all the regions were being swept up, I would target Kaido personally. Myself and the group of dragons would storm Onigashima, take down Kaido and whatever higher-ups were there right now, and I'd make the false Beast King bend the knee. Of course, Yamato had made it clear that she wouldn't miss out on the main assault against Kaido, so I would bring her with us as well.
Though 'bring her' wasn't the right phrase, as she was already back in Onigashima, acting as if nothing had happened. I could only hope that the rather excited and loose-mouthed woman wouldn't let anything slip, but that was the risk that came with completing the quest immediately.
Of course, I wasn't doing this without some more scouting. Aside from myself and Tiamat, I had sent forces through earlier to poke around the country, and had even gone back through myself to observe Onigashima and ensure Kaido was indeed there.
Which he was, and considering he had just returned from his expedition the day prior, it meant this was the perfect opportunity to strike. He would be tired from weeks on the sea, and would likely be partying all night to celebrate his return to Wano. The man had a very poor relationship with alcohol.
So, while he was exhausted, hung over, and his crew was uncoordinated, we would take everything in one fell swoop.
"Got it," Raya nodded, only pretending like she was seriously considering my orders, as we had already discussed the strategy before, and the commanders of each army were briefed prior to entering the other world. "Are you ready to enter?"
I simply nodded, not needing to answer verbally as I stepped past her. The footsteps of Yubelluna and Raya fell in behind me as I approached the towering portal, and then stepped through it.
As I did, the sight of a much different-looking Udon Prison greeted me - not because the interior or exterior were changed all that much, but because the inhabitants of it were much different. It was packed to the brim, with barely any room to move, as various higher-ranking soldiers scurried around to prepare for the upcoming battle.
"Your Highness," Ragnat greeted me first, the man falling to his knees as soon as I entered. I glanced at the immediate area around me, which was the Quarry Mine, but I was more focused on the people themselves.
To my right, there was Ragnat and Azazel waiting. To my left, Falbium and Tiamat.
"Your Highness," Azazel fell to his knees next, bowing his head slightly as he kneeled next to Ragnat.
"Your Highness," Falbium followed in suit, kneeling across from the duo as he also bowed his head to me.
"Your Highness," Finally, the fourth and final main commander, Tiamat, fell down onto her knees as well - though she was smirking up at me as she did, clearly not unaware that I was caught off guard by such a display.
Clearly, Raya had put them up to this, as I was more casual with this group - or at least with Tiamat and Azazel, as I didn't speak to Falbium much, and Ragnat was always overly respectful to me these days - and didn't require them to kneel in my presence.
Behind me, Yubelluna and Raya followed through the portal, entering the open area as well. However, I didn't spare them a glance.
The situation was far different from the last conquest-war I had led - way back when I first attacked the Meadow of Love with Vargan. At that time, I had been standing in front of legions of direwolves, and had given them just one order: Go wild.
Now, the situation was much different. I had numerous generals, commanders, and higher-ranking soldiers to deal with the leading, so I didn't need to take such a personal approach. I didn't need a speech to rile my soldiers up against an overwhelming enemy, nor did I need to feel guilt over the countless lives that would be lost.
My Kingdom had come far, and I was confident that this conquest would end with very few casualties. So, all I did was step forward. I walked past the four kneeling generals, casually grabbing my helmet out from under my arm. I reached up, placing it over my head.
"You know what to do. Don't fail me."
Behind me, four hungry grins met my words, and that was all that needed to be said.
Today, Kaido would fall.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted in a few days!
You can also read the next 7 chapters right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !