The Demon King's Sweet Conquest (GL) - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Premeditated Slaughter

“It seems we have our first wave of guests?“

Digging directly above her head with a shovel? Harmless. After all, a “Brave” never takes the ordinary path.

The kind of hero who runs until their legs break, solves nine-ringed puzzles, circles four continents and five kingdoms to collect equipment for a quest, and defeats eight mini-bosses just to touch the Demon King’s room—those are heroes from works of art.

Real-world heroes don’t have to follow the script, and therefore, neither does this King!

“Barbatos, phase-shift with me. We’re going up to see these impolite fellows.” Floria snapped her fingers, though they didn’t quite make a sound.

Because the dungeon had only had time to dig out one passage, being invaded in the Demon King’s room right from the start would be far too unfashionable!

Once again, they passed through the soil and hid in a nearby treetop. Floria made a silent vow: In the future, when the dungeon has expanded, I must wait leisurely on my throne, arrogantly reciting my lines, and never act like a pangolin again!

“Don’t move yet. I want to observe the adventurers of this world properly.”The Demon King reminded Barbatos in her mind.

“Yes, Highness.”

What appeared in their sight was a group of people who looked like bandits. They were laughing and chatting, with two corpses lying beside them. They weren’t heroes digging into a dungeon to challenge a Demon King; they simply wanted a place to bury the bodies.

Floria’s pupils contracted sharply: one of the corpses looked like a mere child!

Anger slowly ignited, fueled further by the conversation of those scumbags.

“Hey, boss, after finishing this job, we’re going to live like kings.“

“You bet. Where else can you find a job this easy!“

“But Lord Henry did mention it would be better to take her alive. He wanted to squeeze more profit out of this little broad.“

“The fight started, who cares if she lived or died! Even dead, the brothers won’t miss out on their bounty!“

The few people talking gathered a low level of human malice—crude and undisguised. They had dragged the bodies here simply to get further away from the main road, avoiding any trouble with patrolling knights.

The leader of the group surveyed the terrain, spat, and gestured for his subordinates to start digging: “Search them well. Take anything with a crest or mark back to Lord Henry for cash. Oh, and cut off the girl’s ears and fingers, or how else are we gonna prove we did the job?“

“Got it, boss.” The subordinates immediately set to work with leering eyes, breaking ground directly above the dungeon. The man waiting by the side was still clutching the dead girl’s long hair.

The situation was perfectly clear.

“Barbatos, I need to ask that little leader a few things. Eliminate all the others—actually, wait until I’m done asking before you move.”

“Yes.”

“Lowly ones! Who gave you the right to act willfully upon this King’s territory!“

A crisp girl’s voice suddenly rang out. The bandits, accustomed to ambushes, drew their blades instantly. Seeing the tiny Demon King in a dress perched on a branch, they didn’t know whether to laugh or not.

She had horns on her head and a tail behind her—marks of the legendary Demon Race?

“Hahahaha, little girl, come down here and let grandpa give you a good rub!” Not all bandits possess high IQ; mere exotic traits weren’t enough to suppress their greed and lust. One bandit licked his lips and ran toward the large tree.

Before he could get close, a sharp wind struck. The man’s head, like a ripe apple, was instantly separated from its “branch,” hitting the ground with a series of thuds.

This scene sent the bandits scrambling backward. They lived by the blade, but that life didn’t include fighting invisible enemies or devils!

“Speak. Why have you appeared in this King’s territory!” Communicating with idiots was truly difficult. Not wanting to wrong the innocent, Floria had to ask again. This time, she spread her wings and leaped down from the branch, prepared for a direct attack.

As a member of the Demon Race, the instinct to attack was practically carved into her soul. Peerless confidence and the suppression of her high rank sent a soul-level warning to these foolish bandits.

“Lord Devil! We were just passing through! We just killed some people, same as you!” The leader guessed at Floria’s identity—eight or nine times out of ten, she was the legendary horned, winged, arrogant, and evil devil!

He used to think those were just characters in stories, but now he had to pull himself together to deal with her: “We are definitely not believers of God! We aren’t from the Church, my Lord!“

Legends said devils were evil by nature and loved slaughter and souls… regardless, he couldn’t die! He hurriedly shouted to Floria again: “Lord Devil, as long as you let us go this time, we can look for more humans for you once we leave. Look, compared to us ugly bunch, wouldn’t fresh young boys and girls be better?“

“Oh~?” Floria narrowed her eyes, looking at the lackeys behind him.

Under the gaze of those purple eyes, the men felt their skin crawl and shouted: “The boss is right!“

“Yes, yes, we can offer you other sacrifices!“

“Highness, shall I eliminate them directly? Their terms are actually quite feasible.”

Now, every sound in Floria’s ears was just noise. She suddenly felt the trash in front of her was disgusting—beyond the limits of what she could accept. Disgusting enough that she didn’t want to spare them another glance.

“You are not worthy of negotiating with this King.” Following her icy tone was a storm-like offensive.

Even a Level 1 Demon King was not something these ordinary mercenaries could handle. Pure magic surged and howled, killing the bandit leader in a single strike.

Before the lackeys could even form the thought of running, they were all decapitated by a sweeping invisible line.

Barbatos caught the huffing, descending Demon King and gently wiped non-existent dirt from her face with a handkerchief: “Highness, why are you so angry?”

“I’m not. I’m not angry.” Though she said this, her eyes were full of the little emotion that said: I’m very angry, comfort me quickly.

“Was it their offense? They have used their deaths to wash away the sin of trespassing on your territory.” Barbatos placed the tiny Demon King back on the ground. “If that effort is not enough, I can use their blood to find their kin—if any exist.”

“No need. You did well. That strike just now…” Floria wanted to say thank you; after all, Barbatos’s attack was more useful than her intimidation, or she would have been looked down upon initially. But reflecting on her role as a Demon King, she dismissed the thought of thanking her and pursed her lips.

“It seems my weakness has displeased you.” Before Floria could deny it, Barbatos had already dropped to one knee on her own: “Please trust me, Highness. I will do my utmost to restore my strength and clear all obstacles for you.”

Amidst the emotion, Floria had a doubt: Is this devil being a bit too loyal?

Expecting a devil to be absolutely loyal to a Demon King is as brain-dead as delivering food to a hero and waiting for them to reach max level to slaughter you.

She turned her head to look at the pile of headless corpses on the ground. Perhaps due to her demon bloodline, her heart remained calm in the face of such a tragedy. Her anger had dissipated, leaving her neither sad nor joyful—it was like looking at a pile of trash.

“Lord Barbatos, do you have a good way to deal with these… things?” She was too lazy to move, but if left untreated, the place would become unbearable before long.

“Highness, you can sacrifice them directly to the Company. The Company will crush and recycle these husks.” Barbatos spoke of the high-tech process as a matter of course.

“I see. Recycle the souls for points, right?”

“The Company doesn’t take these souls,” Barbatos said flatly. “They are of too poor quality. The cost of extraction and transport is higher than the value of the souls themselves. So, we only consume the husks, converting them directly into energy needed for dungeon construction.”

Realizing she had asked a stupid question, Floria checked her panel and found an icon shaped like a recycling bin. Below it was a detailed explanation of the mechanics: Soul sacrifice required the Demon King to personally imprison spirits that hadn’t passed on yet for a special ritual, and the teleportation fee for that was also self-funded.

She glanced at the soul price list. At the top were things like “Souls of Saints,” “Souls of Angels,” “Souls of Gods”… what the heck?

Her dungeon was classified as a “Remote Undeveloped Zone,” so teleportation costs were extremely high. At minimum, she would have to send souls with exceptional talent or high morality to break even.

For a Devil Company, they sure are obsessed with beautiful souls.

Floria pressed the recycle button. An invisible green light enveloped the headless corpses. With a click on the screen, the scattered remains—even the blood—were absorbed and disappeared, leaving only a field of green grass.

She nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the two corpses further away: one was a young girl, the other appeared to be a female mercenary. They had likely been killed by bandits hired by an enemy.

She sighed in her heart. Just as she was about to ask Barbatos to help dig a pit, she saw that the devil already had some jewelry and a letter in her hand.

Did you do a ‘one-click loot’?!

“Highness, do you wish to see this letter?” Barbatos said with a smile, holding the fragile, exquisite envelope in her palm. If Floria said no, it would likely be burned in the next second.

“I have nothing better to do anyway.” Floria took the letter, opened it, and skimmed it.

The general meaning of the letter was tragic. It was written by a mother to her younger daughter. After her first husband died, she remarried a neighboring lord, taking her elder daughter with her. She didn’t expect the new husband to be a ruthless man, eyeing the territories left by her former husband and her own family during these chaotic times.

After escaping one assassination attempt, she decisively commissioned a trustworthy mercenary to secretly send the elder daughter away. She hoped the younger daughter—who remained in her first husband’s territory—and specifically the loyal knights by the younger daughter’s side, could help the elder daughter return to her other territory. By combining forces and hiring troops with their money, they could deal with the heartless husband.

She herself remained in the territory, looking for an opportunity to kill him—as it turned out, the husband discovered everything and snuffed out the flame of her hope.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this lady was likely waiting for her elder daughter on the road to the underworld. And that ruthless man would probably lead troops to the unprepared younger daughter’s side soon to pull up the roots.

The girl’s cold body on the ground also happened to be named Floria. This made the formerly human Floria feel even more sympathetic.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through her mind. This letter could be used! At the very least, she could save more innocents.

“Barbatos, give me the jewelry and the crest.”

“Yes.” Barbatos understood the way of a subordinate: do more and ask less.

Floria put on the jewelry without hesitation, transforming her appearance into that of the girl on the ground: her eye color changed from amethyst to a pale silver-purple, and her long silver hair gradually took on the hue of pure gold like sunlight. Her clothes changed from a dress to a traveler’s outfit.

She would borrow the jewelry for now; it would be returned to the sister sooner or later.

“Barbatos, the best way to understand humans is to blend in with them. I must have one or more identities to mask my supreme presence.” Floria narrowed her eyes, trying to increase her aura a little.

“As you command, Your Excellency… Floria.” Barbatos’s glasses dissipated after she took them off, and her face shifted into that of a mercenary wearing a submissive smile.

“Eh, Kitty, you can turn into a human?”

“Highness?”

“Ahem, nothing.”

Support The Demon King’s Sweet Conquest (GL)