Chapter 160. Orthodox-Unorthodox War (9)
“Gremory, what is the meaning of this?”
“What do you mean, Sabnock?”
Gremory, one of Pandemonium’s Seventy-Two Demons and a deputy commander of the Eastern Region First Command, answered calmly.
The one questioning her was Marquis Sabnock, another deputy commander of the same region.
“You, one of Pandemonium’s most prominent members of the peace faction, were the first to begin the invasion.”
Sabnock narrowed his eyes.
“And you ignored Lord Asmodeus’s operational plan to do it.”
“The invasion itself has already been approved by the Demon God Assembly.”
Gremory remained composed.
“I don’t see much of a problem with moving a few days earlier.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand.”
Sabnock folded his arms.
“Why would you, of all people, someone from the peace faction, be in such a hurry to invade?”
That was right.
This invasion had begun entirely on Gremory’s own initiative.
Asmodeus and Sabnock, who shared control of the Eastern Region First Command with her, had not been involved.
“Sabnock, this is how I see it.”
“And how is that?”
“If war is inevitable anyway... then I would rather take the lead, secure as much territory as possible, and place every human living there under my own protection and supervision.”
“Oh?”
Sabnock smiled.
“So that’s what this is?”
“You’d rather attack the humans first and take them prisoner yourself than sit back and watch Lord Asmodeus or me torment them?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
“No! I like it!”
Sabnock laughed.
“This is actually better!”
"..."
“Then I suppose the three of us will be competing from now on!”
“We’ll see who can hunt down the humans fastest!”
“What about Asmodeus’s operational plan?”
“You ignored it first and moved on your own, so I might as well do the same!”
Sabnock grinned.
“Lord Asmodeus may be a little displeased, though!”
“Do as you wish.”
“Hahaha! Then I should hurry my legions along too! If I want to catch up with you, I’ll need to move fast!”
Sabnock left while talking excitedly.
Watching his retreating back, Gremory secretly sighed.
Kim Nameless, Belial... this is what you wanted, right?
The reason Gremory, a demon friendly toward humanity, had begun this invasion was entirely because of instructions from Kim Nameless and Belial.
With the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions clashing in the Orthodox-Unorthodox War, they had asked Gremory to move Pandemonium’s forces in order to resolve the situation.
You’ve put me in a very difficult position.
How am I supposed to explain this to the others in the peace faction?
This was, in truth, an enormous burden for Gremory.
Of course, although she had mobilized a large force, she had no intention of launching a full-scale attack against humanity.
She planned to quietly pull back later.
Even so, she was a member of the peace faction, yet she had personally taken the lead in advancing on human territory.
But it was necessary for humanity’s victory.
Believing that, she had ultimately followed their instructions.
“If you want to become true partners, the fastest way is to fight a common enemy together.”
That was what you said, Kim Nameless.
Before ending the Orthodox-Unorthodox War, Kim Nameless had used Pandemonium itself as the common enemy.
By having Gremory advance Pandemonium’s invasion ahead of schedule, he had created a situation where the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions had no choice but to reconcile in a hurry.
To think he would assign this role to me, of all people, a member of the peace faction...
It was genuinely astonishing.
Moving a Demon God-class member of Pandemonium just to resolve a civil war among Contractors.
Who could even come up with such an idea?
Belial... that man called Kim Nameless truly is frightening.
For a moment, Gremory wondered whether she had joined hands with someone she never should have.
The thought made her shiver.
“So that’s the full picture of what happened, Yang Jian.”
“I can hardly believe it...”
After hearing my explanation, Yang Jian shook his head in disbelief.
“You really recruited Gremory, one of Pandemonium’s Seventy-Two Demons?”
“A Great Demon holding the rank of Duchess?”
“I told you I did.”
“W-Well, you were already working with Belial.”
Yang Jian bit his lip in thought.
“If that’s the case, then recruiting Gremory too...”
He fell silent for a moment.
“If Gremory’s military action is nothing more than a threat, and she has no intention of seriously harming the humans...”
Yang Jian looked at me.
“Then this truly is a brilliant move for sealing the conflict between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
“In the early twentieth century, China was divided by conflict between the Nationalists and Communists.”
“What?”
“But when Japan invaded and the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the two sides joined hands in response to the urgent crisis.”
“That is similar to the current situation.”
“Right.”
I nodded.
“When a truly severe external crisis appears, even hostile organizations are sometimes forced to cooperate immediately.”
Of course...
in actual history, the Chinese Civil War resumed afterward and caused millions of casualties.
This time, I would need to intervene actively so that the two sides formed a strong bond and didn’t return to that path.
Besides, the present-day Unorthodox Faction was already moving ideologically closer to the Orthodox Faction.
They weren’t mortal enemies on the level of the Nationalists and Communists.
“B-But what about the massacre of the White Forest Alliance’s Shanghai Branch...?”
“That’s definitely something we need to resolve, or resentment will remain.”
“Ugh...”
Yang Jian bit his lip.
The massacre had been a staged incident arranged by Yang Jian using Constellations from Liangshan.
So exposing the truth would solve the problem.
But if that happened...
Yang Jian’s public reputation would collapse.
“Don’t worry.”
I looked at him.
“I told you I’d preserve your public honor.”
“Th-Then...”
“That incident was a conspiracy.”
I raised one finger.
“But...”
I smiled.
“It was Ha Mina’s conspiracy to divide humanity.”
Yang Jian’s mouth fell open.
“H-Ha Mina’s conspiracy?!”
“Exactly.”
“Then everything makes sense.”
Everything had been a scheme devised by Ha Mina under Pandemonium’s orders.
The massacre of the White Forest Alliance’s Shanghai Branch.
The outbreak of the Orthodox-Unorthodox War.
All of it...
Ha Mina’s filthy conspiracy.
“If we establish Ha Mina as the common enemy behind everything, the alliance between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions will become even stronger.”
“I-I see!”
Yang Jian sounded impressed.
