The Minotaurs were sorted into their respective categories.

And we still had more spoils to check.

"Did any high-grade magic stones drop?!"

"Two came out."

"Damn it. Even dragon balls would be easier to collect than this."

One from Lucifer’s egg-laying, plus two from Hagenti’s dungeon. Hagenti seemed to be the type who used magic stones the moment he got them, because there weren’t all that many to be found.

"How can his stash be even smaller than Orias’s?"

"Orias was abnormally well-stocked."

The magic stones in Orias’s dungeon, conquered by Flauros, easily numbered well over a hundred. It was a shame there wasn’t a single high-grade one, but the sheer quantity of mid- and low-grade stones, still too many to fully catalogue, more than made up for it.

"Even accounting for the lowest-grade ones mixed in, we might just hit four digits. Heh heh, that Orias guy. When I meet him later, I’ll have to treat him well."

"How would you like to manage Orias’s dungeon?"

"I’ll send the Flare Panteras to Orias’s dungeon. I’ll give Agni full authority. Right, that... it was Amur, wasn’t it? The beastman woman I devoured. I’ll grant her the name of Orias."

"Understood. I’ll relay the message accordingly."

Orias was several tiers above Flauros, but it would now become a multi-base attached to Flauros and serve as a shield.

"Then what about the original Flauros dungeon? Can’t just leave it idle, can we?"

"I’ll experiment with traps. We just need to defend the training room where Flauros is kept. Let’s leave it to Lucifer."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning she’ll practice on the adventurers exactly what she was taught by me. So that when her sisters come in later, she can welcome them with full enthusiasm."

Flauros’s dungeon would now become like a Venus flytrap of a dungeon. The 4-star tentacle tree couldn’t keep relying on us pumping in sap and experience forever.

’It’s about time the lower ranks started pushing up.’

Andromalius. Belial. And so on and so forth.

The names of the dungeons I’d steadily crushed on my way up were nearing the time when they’d be granted to new owners. As they revived one by one and started staging coups, they’d hit the speed bump at rank 64.

"Whoever it is, I hope a high-grade magic stone drops. Now finally we need to settle what to do with Hagenti’s dungeon..."

I’d already made up my mind, internally. All my judgments tended to flow in whichever direction made my member rise.

’Let’s go with Hagenti.’

I’d checked, and Minotaurs were decent for breeding but not so much for eating. There was a bit of a gamey smell, but lion meat wasn’t completely depleted, so I’d have to console myself with that.

But I couldn’t just accept it on the spot, that would be a loss of face. I hardened my expression and lowered my voice.

"Shaitan, it’s a contest. Let’s settle this with Ras."

"Master, shall we head to bed right now? As Lune said, I accept this contest."

"...It’s beef no matter what."

"Go with Hagenti. Pfft."

Shaitan probably knew what I was really thinking. Lune and Luna would’ve read my heart too. I was just using the disagreement with Shaitan as an excuse to get my dick wet.

"Let’s settle it right here and now. How about it?"

"Sounds good."

If I lose, we go with Shaitan’s plan.

If I win, with the magnanimity of a victor, I accept Shaitan’s plan.

’Either way, it’s my victory.’

All that was left was deciding which position to use to conquer Shaitan. With nothing else on my mind, I gathered the Cookie elves.

"You all serve as witnesses. Now then, Shaitan. Come."

"...You intend to do it on Hagenti’s back?"

"Wherever I lay myself becomes a bed."

"...Hehe, very we..."

Shaitan’s expression, smiling as she approached, suddenly froze. She halted her steps and began urgently tapping at her system window.

"Master, urgent news."

Shaitan’s expression turned grave.

"Gremory is leading the orc riders in retreat."

"What?"

***

Whoooosh!!

A massive pillar of fire shot upward. At the center of the fire pillar, which rose high enough to pierce the clouds hanging in the sky, a single figure burned.

Hiss.

The flames of the pillar died out, and the figure, Allocen, sank to his knees with his entire body charred black. Not falling forward and managing to support himself on his red-hot spear was the last shred of his pride.

"...Impressive, Gremory."

Allocen’s voice was thoroughly cracked as he coughed out smoke. It rasped so harshly it was unsettling just to hear.

"You couldn’t possibly have grown this strong under Halphas.... How did it go?"

"We won. Our legion took Halphas down."

"...Heh heh heh, how laughable. I poured in the entire force of my dungeon, and you only spent a portion of your legion’s strength on me. And yet...."

Allocen gestured all around.

"The ones still standing on this wasteland are you."

The troll chariots he’d boasted about had long since been separated into trolls and chariots, forced into a disadvantageous fight, and the trolls had been overpowered by orcs while every horsehound that had pulled the chariots had its throat ripped out by Worwolves.

"Half the troll chariots are dead. You suffered nothing aside from a few Worwolves dying. A complete loss, a complete loss."

"There isn’t a single one of us still in good shape, though...."

Gremory walked over to Allocen with a wry smile.

The Worwolves, drenched in blood from being bitten all over by horsehounds, some of them dead.

The orcs, sliced and pierced by trolls’ short spears until they were riddled with holes.

And Gremory, with one wing torn off.

"The winner... is obvious."

The Legion of Wrath, along with Allocen’s dungeon forces, was beaten to a pulp. Looking purely at physical condition, you couldn’t tell who had actually won, the Legion of Wrath was that badly injured.

"Yeah. We won, Allocen."

"My defeat, Gremory."

Allocen smirked and lifted his head. Beside Gremory stood the orc who had performed most spectacularly, gripping a spear he’d taken from a troll.

"I always figured I’d die someday. Never imagined it would be now, though. Heh heh, kill me. I have no regrets left."

Allocen accepted death with a face of bittersweet acceptance. His declaration of defeat was so calm that Gremory fiddled with her disheveled hair and pointed toward the dungeon’s entrance.

"Instead of just dying, why not join our legion? Our Legion Commander, I bet he’d take even a troll as a subordinate."

"...? Are you mocking me right now? What kind of fool takes the defeated as subordinates?"

"No, don’t get mad. Hear me out. I challenged my master to a Seizure Battle and lost too, but I still got into the legion."

Gremory selectively dressed up the story of how she’d joined the legion to explain it to Allocen. Initially Allocen reacted with disinterest, but he gradually started taking interest in Gremory’s tale.

"...I see. So Halphas’s scheme forced you to attack Andras, but the new master of the legion, Andras, in turn joined hands with you to bring down Halphas?"

"That’s right."

"The 56th-ranked challenged the 63rd-ranked to a Seizure Battle and lost, but the 63rd-ranked didn’t take your name and instead chose to combine forces with you...?"

"More or less. The bonds of brotherhood that bloom in battle? Heh heh. He fell head over heels for my charm."

The orc rider captain standing beside her, Percival, said nothing out of consideration for Gremory’s pride.

"Now’s your chance, you know? Our Legion Commander is collecting one of every species. You could become our legion’s troll chieftain."

"...That’s a rather appealing offer. Especially if he’s such a strong figure, he’d be worth looking up to."

Allocen’s warm gaze swept over Percival and the orc riders.

"They’re powerful warriors. Warriors who pursue victory all the more desperately because they know the fear of death. If a man capable of raising warriors this hardened is the head of a legion, you all will surely climb to great heights. Hehehe, I’m curious about the secret."

"...Desire."

Gremory couldn’t quite say lust outright. But even that answer seemed to please Allocen.

"Hahaha! Yes! Nothing serves as a stronger motivator for demons than that! Very well! Gremory, I’m grateful for the offer!"

Allocen wobbled and barely managed to push himself up. Gremory reached out a hand in delight, then chewed over Allocen’s words.

"Grateful for the offer?"

"Yes. The offer."

"...Are you playing word games?"

"I accept the offer. I’d like to meet your Legion Commander. I’ll judge with my own eyes whether he’s truly fit to lead our trolls."

Allocen flashed a grin and thumped his spear against the ground. At Percival’s gesture, the orcs helped the trolls back to their feet.

"The Legion of Wrath, what kind of place is it..."

Thunk!

From somewhere, something shot through and pierced Allocen’s chest. Unable to finish his sentence, Allocen toppled forward.

"Gugh...."

"Lady Gremory!"

Percival hastily pressed Gremory’s back down. A sharp arrow had lodged in his forearm.

"Wh, what’s going on?!"

"Enemies!"

When she turned her head, a rain of arrows began pouring down from the sky. Gremory ground her teeth at the sight of mounted soldiers swarming on the horizon.

"The human alliance bastards...!"

Stepping out from inside the dungeon onto the wasteland to settle things must have given them their opening. Cowardly as they were, the human alliance was unleashing a barrage of arrows on the demons after the battle.

"Percival!"

"The tights armor is keeping me safe. But...."

Percival pointed at the mounted archers atop heavily armored steeds. Their numbers easily looked to be well over several hundred.

"There are too many. If we fight here, it’ll be a massacre. Lady Gremory, please flee. We’ll buy time."

"Hey...!"

"We can be brought back to life, but it’s different for you, Lady Gremory."

Percival pointed toward the dungeon while taking arrows on his back. Even though the battle was over, the Seizure Battle’s settlement hadn’t completed yet, so the two-way portal was still open.

"We’ll buy time..."

"All of you... go..."

Bleeding, Allocen pushed Percival and Gremory toward the dungeon.

"Trolls... a final order... Fight the humans... and die."

At Allocen’s command, the trolls picked up their broken spears one by one and rose to their feet, swaying. They dodged the incoming arrows or took them with their bodies as they hurled their short spears.

Whinnyyy!!

A short spear lodged into the eye of one of the iron-clad horses. The cavalryman who’d been firing arrows tumbled off, and the trolls let out roars and charged.

"Orc, kill me...."

Allocen sank onto one knee. The more he spoke, the more blood spilled from the hole in his throat.

"Kill me... in your dungeon... as a Dimension Stone...."

"Allocen!"

"Warrior...!"

With bloodshot eyes, Allocen grabbed Percival’s wrist.

"Bring glory... to the legion... to the Demon King’s Army...!"

"...I won’t forget."

Percival raised his spear high. As fate would have it, that spear was the very same short spear Allocen had broken while fighting Gremory.

Squelch.

The short spear pierced through Allocen’s heart. With an expressionless face, Gremory lifted Allocen’s body onto the saddle of a unicorn that had drawn near.

"I’ll personally take him to the dungeon. Make him a sub-dungeon... and we cross through the portal. Once we do, the portal closes. We... retreat. Leave this place to them."

Percival looked back with a heavy heart. The trolls were already racing far off into the distance, each carrying two spears, charging the mounted archers.

"...May we be reborn as comrades-in-arms in the next life."

Percival offered a brief prayer and mounted his Worwolf. Gremory also flapped her one good wing and climbed into the saddle.

Grrrr....

The wounded Worwolves struggled but ran on toward the dungeon.

"Don’t let them escape! Push all the way to the dungeon!"

A shrill voice rang out across the wasteland. At the same time, the mounted archers cast aside their bows and took up spears handed to them by the squires beside them, beginning their charge.

"Annihilate the Demon King’s Army!"

The heavily armored knights began pursuing the retreating Gremory and orc riders. They paid no heed to the trolls blocking their path.

Thud-thud, thud-thud!

The heavily armored warhorses charged straight at the trolls. As if to say, anyone in their way would simply be trampled.

"Grrrrr...!"

The trolls snorted in response. A few surviving horsehounds came up beside the trolls. Without even looking at each other, they immediately understood what the others were thinking.

Roaaar!!

A troll mounted onto the back of a horsehound. The horsehound charged forward without even looking ahead.

It was nowhere near the speed of the human cavalry charge that had already built up momentum. But the trolls gripped their short spears and stood up on the backs of the horsehounds.

"For the Demon King’s Army!"

The trolls leapt into the air, spears in hand.

The spear tips, aimed at the riders.