At first, it was just one strange lion.
　The first thing he remembers is the sight of a lifeless mountain and himself roaring at its peak.

　The powerful dragon blood that flowed through him made him "solitary".
　For as long as he can remember, there has been no one around him except for food. It wasn't until some time later that he learned that lion monsters are pack animals by nature.

　It was a Hexenbiest who had entered Rainer's territory that had triggered it.

　It was probably the weakest of all the Demon Lords. Ryner bit the Demon Lord to death as it invaded his territory and tried to destroy him.
　And he became the new Demon Lord. A Demon Lord is a leader of non-humans. Demons without power gather under those with power.

　All it takes is overwhelming power. As a born king, it was half instinct for Rainer to form a herd, and he became a great power.

　Now that the herd has become so large, defending the territory alone is not enough to keep the herd alive.
　The herd is already too big for Rynell to handle on his own. Next we must build a nation. The capture of the Citadel of Rhomburg is a stepping stone to that.

　But more than that, Rainer wanted to fight the strong.

　The longer a dragon lives, the more powerful it becomes. The older he gets, the more powerful he becomes.
　It's been a long time since he's experienced a full-scale battle. When was the last time he fought in a bloody battle? Was it when he defeated the powerful phantom, the man-eating Hevram, or when he faced Oliver? But even then, Rainer was not seriously injured.
　At some point, there was not even a challenger. Even the demise knights in Rhomburg could not reach him.

　If this continues, his strength may increase, but his soul will rot.

　That vampire is better than I've seen in a long time. Wonderful. He beat the number two cannibal with an insatiable appetite for victory. He's got power, will, and even growth.
　And those bloodshot eyes-- they're the same eyes a powerful opponent once turned on Lynell. Right now, he's weaker than Lynell. But in the not-too-distant future, that man will definitely challenge Rynell.

　They say a demon lord with undead under his command is a target for the Knights of the End. But that's okay.
　Rynell is a king. He's at the top of the pantheon of demons. Then he must accept every challenge to his power and pride.

　With Endo Baron, it won't take long to conquer Romburg. As his power grows, more powerful enemies, human hordes, and other demon lords will challenge him. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. The rotten instinct to fight was stimulated.

　The time had come. We failed to cut off the supply route, but we got more than that. The Demon Lord Rainer's army cannot be allowed to stagnate.
　We'll crush Romburg tomorrow. We'll destroy that wall, lay waste to the city, and continue onward.

　A rude castle on a mountainside. At the far end, as the cold night air stifled my rising emotions, a figure appeared, blending in with the darkness.

　There was no sign. No smell, no sound, no nothing. A small figure in a crimson cloak made Linel let out a small groan.

　The figure was a guest. It looks human, but it's not human.
　The choking smell of blood suddenly overwhelmed Lionel. His skin was sickly white and lifeless. Her hair is blood-red and shiny as if it were wet.
　She has a neutral face. Rainer could not determine age or gender from the person's face, but he could smell a woman's scent. The scent of a corpse masked by a strong scent of blood.


　Maybe that's what vampires are.


　The woman was a messenger from another Demon Lord. She belonged to the "King of Stakes", a force known to be especially powerful among the many demon kings.
　The King's forces are made up of abominable undead.

　The King's forces are made up of abominable undead, and while they do not cooperate with the Demon Lord, they are not hostile to him either. The king's territory is far from home.
　The family members were sent to inspect the situation and possibly make a deal.

　A woman opens her lips. The female vampire's voice, which had always been emotionless since coming under the command of Rainer's army, was now trembling slightly. 　

The woman's voice was now trembling slightly, "There's no doubt about it,...... vampire,......, and it's the True Vampire, the true ancestor of vampires. I can't believe there are still people out there who don't belong to any of the forces .......

There are plenty of them under your king, Sable.

　Linel wasn't the only one watching the duel with the cannibals.
　Those who were not even remotely interested in the powerful manticore were now shaking with excitement. He had originally come to check on Oliver, the werewolf created by some vampires, but that goal no longer seemed to be on his mind.

"I give you a portion of my army, Demon Lord Rynell. Ten werewolves of the fourth rank, loyal to the king, and two hundred werewolves of the fifth and sixth rank.

What's the price?

　I already knew the answer, but I let out a small chuckle, and Lynell asked.
　The vampire, who called himself Sable, answered immediately. His eyes shone quietly.



"I'll take ...... that vampire instead.

　Rynell raised himself slightly. The sharp tips of his holy silver claws scraped the floor.

　Sure, werewolves are powerful. Powerful and few in number. With an army of 200 men who can disguise themselves as humans, it would be easy to conquer Lonburg.

　But that's not the point. I have no intention of negotiating with you. I didn't give you access to Rynell's territory to give you someone you like.
　He looked down at the shadow, much smaller than he was.

"Be gone. Before my claws pierce your flesh.

"...... you strange beast.

　I'm sure you've heard of it. In the event that you have any kind of questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site. The entire castle trembled at the physical strength of the dragon-blooded lion.

　However, there was no response at all. The sable that should have slashed him was a few meters away, near a window. Not a scratch on her cloak, not a scratch on her slender body.

　The vampire's ability is unfathomable. Sable's complexion did not change under the glare of Lynell's eyes. It's not as if there's any blood in her body, despite the fact that she smells so thickly of blood.

You'll be sorry you reneged on your deal.

"Let .......

　Sable's face contorts violently. At about the same time, his body popped.
　A number of bats flew through the darkness, letting out squeaking cries. The swarm, so dense that they almost collided with each other, went out the window as if they were competing with each other. There was nothing left behind.

"It's a clever force. They'll eat you up.

　You can go after them, but they don't have the stomach for a full-on fight with Lynel. He'll just keep running. That's no fun at all.
　I don't have time to worry about a single foreign vampire right now.

　The Demon Lord roared as he stood up.
　The air trembled, the castle trembled, and it spread to all the troops who had made their base on the mountainside. The roar returns as if in answer to his voice.

　Now, the time has come. Sharpen your claws and sharpen your fangs. Show the humans, the minions of the King of the Stakes who have come to inspect the Lynel army, that they are worthy.


§ § § §


　It was easy to hide in the dark. No one saw me or seemed to notice me.
　Apparently, the power of the Hidden Shadow not only masks sound and smell, but also provides visual concealment. If you put more blood into it, it can fool the senses of hexenbiests and make you move like a shadow. It's not something that can last for long, but it's okay for now.

　My head was hot. I could feel my fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. Maybe I drank too much blood, or maybe I've been under a lot of stress lately.
　I hoped it was just a mood thing, but I had to avoid letting my ego get sucked into the vampire side. It would be fine during the battle, but after everything was over, he would have to go back to normal.

　In the meantime, there was no one in the Demon Lord's army who could defeat me. There were many of them, but that didn't mean much to the vampires.
　The only ones to watch out for are the Demon Lord, Lynel, and the cannibals. Oliver seems to be a formidable opponent, but he's unstable enough to turn on us if he has to. I don't need him.

　The problem is Linel. His physical strength is probably even stronger than Arbatos', and we've never seen him fight, so we don't know what's going on.
　To kill that lion dragon, cooperation is essential. We have the strength to pierce its fur and wound it.

　The cannibal's home was in a cave on the mountainside near the castle. A large, ugly wooden door was guarded by two demon guards with troublesome expressions on their faces.
　The door was clearly made by ramming. There were so many gaps in the door that it didn't even make sense as a door. The air leaking through the gaps smelled strongly of alarm.

　The door was clearly meant to protect me. Vampires can't enter a person's home unless they are invited. The cannibals must have thought that the cave they always slept in was not enough to meet the requirements of a home, so they hurriedly added the door. And they succeeded in their plan. My instincts are telling me not to enter that house.
　He's a shrewd beast, after all.

　He probably doesn't have guards on duty. The demon tribe's expression showed obvious frustration.


　They hate me. ...... Do they think I'm going to surprise them with revenge?
　I hid behind a tree, licked my lips, and decided to plan how to ask for help.