"Alright troops, let's move closer to the ocean!" I yell to the massive army in front of me. We're outside my kingdom and I'm about to start leading the war, gesturing with my six arms to everyone.
"We'll march to the area near the coast and wait! Remember that our goal is to kill as many of them as we can, and those who achieve the greatest feats will receive proper rewards," I tell them all.
"As for the captured troops..." I think about what to say. Well, I don't need prisoners of war; that's not my style.
"Well, we'll devour the men, and anyone here can use the women however they see fit, as long as it doesn't interfere with their duties," I say, which positively excites the troops. I put my mask on my face while putting on my new gloves.
'Damn you, Grimm, that perverted bitch took my gloves.' I have three new pairs because Grimm liked the smell of my gloves, so she decided to just steal and take them without even caring if I was going to use them.
Although those gloves were still smelling of semen even after being washed, so maybe it's better this way.
Fortunately, the dress came out fine after being washed, so Grimm really kept her end of the deal in not damaging the dress, although the dress still has a faint scent of her.
"Elena, Calypso, and Kaelith, you three should go to the border, where part of the human army will attack. Elena will lead the troops in that area." That's the weakest area, since the human army will mostly come from the ocean where they've concentrated most of their troops.
So by using the border troops as bait, in short, treating them as sacrifices to distract me and my troops while they attack my kingdom.
The three quickly agree, while I look at Lilith, who will come with me to deal with the stronger enemy soldiers.
"Freya, Aokitsu, and Lilith will come with me. I'll leave Freya in charge of the leadership together with Aokitsu, while Lilith will focus on dealing with the stronger enemies," I say as they also quickly accept without much talk.
"Freya and Elena, who are leading, will be responsible for the crystals, while possibly Aokitsu and Kaelith should deal with the enemy crystals, and Kaelith, use something to disguise your appearance," I say, choosing who will handle the crystal that protects against mass destruction magic.
"Understood, Your Majesty," the four say, bowing in unison as if they had practiced a lot for the synchronization.
"And I'll make it clear, the heroes are my enemies. I want to face them all alone, don't even think of interfering. I don't need any help." I'd rather die than receive help from any of them. It's my revenge, and I'm going to conquer it alone.
It's not arrogance, it's just that if I don't win my victory alone in this fight, I feel like a part of my revenge will be missing. The only ones who can help me are the other Pandoras in my head who take care of the magic and Mana management.
And they can only help because in the end, they are me. They are not really another being or anything like that, so their slight help is the same as me using a spell.
"Now you can take your part of the army and start marching to the border, Elena. By the way, who will take care of the castle and the reserve troops will be me," when I say this, everyone is shocked.
"W-What? Pandora, this is absurd! Are you planning to lead the initial troops, fight the heroes alone, while still managing the kingdom in case of attack?" Elena speaks with seriousness.
"Yes, I can currently do this," It's not impossible, although it would require extra effort, but I can't trust anyone else with the mission of leading the kingdom, or more specifically, there's no way to leave anyone I trust in charge of the kingdom when the trusted people are going to war.
"Besides, Isabel will stay in the castle and help by following my commands." Using the shadows, it's easy to lead the castle even from a distance, and with Isabel following orders, it will be manageable.
"Now, without further distractions, go," I say as Elena, Kaelith, and Calypso leave. I can see that Elena didn't like the fact that I'm taking on two such distant tasks during the war, but it's better this way.
"Freya and Aokitsu, go briefly check the army to confirm that everything is ready. I want to start moving the troops in no more than an hour," I say seriously, and both quickly start running to do what I asked.
"You seem quite excited, Pandora," Lilith says, coming over to me with her heads, each expressing a different feeling, but all also seem excited.
"Well, of course, I am... although I know this war won't end so soon," I don't expect to come out of the fight against the heroes unscathed. I may come out wounded and exhausted, maybe even with a troublesome injury, but I'm willing to pay the price to win.
"That magic covering the entire demonic territory, it's quite interesting," Lilith says, noticing the magic that transforms corpses into food.
"Yes, yes, it's one of the ways to keep the troops fed. Anyway, that's enough for now," I say as Lilith nods affirmatively.
"But Pandora, why take Aokitsu with us? Wouldn't it be better to send her with Elena? Not that I'm trying to downplay the teams, but Elena, Calypso, and Kaelith are the weakest," she says, and I agree.
"I know, but I trust they can handle it." I've seen the original plans. Veritus has already received the papers, and the humans have already started moving.
Considering the original plan, there will be a maximum of 4 really strong people on the main front line, and those 4 people are the only problematic ones, while the rest are concentrated on the sea route that will attack from behind.
The plan was undoubtedly genius. If I didn't know about it, I would move 60% to 70% of my troops to the front line while leaving the rear unprotected, which would ultimately result in massive damage to my kingdom.
While I spent my power on the front line, fighting the heroes would leave me weakened. Fortunately, knowing the plan, I can just save my power to use later.
"But Pandora, why not have a naval battle?" Lilith asks curiously.
"Well, I did consider that, but it turns out that... demons aren't good at swimming, and a naval battle would be disadvantageous for us. Also, waiting for them to reach land means they've spent days at sea, which inevitably tires them more than marching on land."
"Plus, we don't have the resources to spend on ships. Most of our resources are used to strengthen the troops and build the kingdom. Creating ships for war would be difficult."
"And even worse, the heroes have abilities that can affect the ships, making them better, while we would only have common ships." I can strengthen the ships with magic, but I'm saving my power for the fight, so I can't just waste it stupidly.
"I see, really considering that, fighting at sea can be much more disadvantageous for demons, while fighting on land gives us advantages because it's our home," Lilith says, and I nod in agreement.
"Exactly. Anyway, whether it's on the sea, on land, or in the sky, I'm still going to win, no matter the cost," I say, and Lilith becomes pensive.
"Pandora... how far are you willing to go to win?"
"..."
"I'm willing to sacrifice the lives of my allies, even yours if necessary," I admit, averting my gaze. This is a war; there's no way to guarantee that everyone will survive.
Anyone can die in this war. Elena can die once and revive, but nothing guarantees she won't be killed twice, considering how weak she is.
Calypso and Kaelith can also die, as well as Freya or Lilith, although I doubt they can kill Lilith.
"Okay, then," Lilith simply accepts, knowing that in a war, it's not really a matter of choice.
"I can only hope that everyone survives," I say, seeing the troops ready to depart.
"But what about you, Pandora? Are you ready to die?" Lilith asks, looking at me seriously. I know what she means; we're both monsters, and it's a primitive instinct to preserve our lives rather than our honor, so Lilith is asking if I'll flee if I'm dying.
"Yes, I'm ready to die. Don't worry, I'm not planning to run away if I'm dying," I say, and she nods in approval.
"Good. So, what will you do if you're dying?" She asks curiously, while Kaos averts her gaze due to the bold question.
"I'll explode myself. If I'm going to die, I'll take as many enemies with me to hell as I can," I say with conviction. If I'm going to die, at least I'll choose to explode myself in an attempt to take enemies with me as well.
"I guess that's exactly your style," She simply says as she starts to walk away.
"Hey, Lilith... if I die, I want the place where I died to be called the [Abyss Rift]," I say, and Lilith looks confused.
"And why is that?"
"Because I'll make sure a practically bottomless hole is opened in that place," I say with a malicious smile. With all the magic I have, I can create an explosion capable of opening a hole so large that it seems to have no end.
I will turn the place into a complete dead zone with nothing for miles on the horizon.
"Hahaha, of course, Pandora. I'll fulfill that request if you die," She says with a relaxed smile as she joins the troops in a special corner just for her.
"Your Majesty, everything is ready," Freya says, and I nod.
"Excellent."
"TROOPS, LET'S START MOVING NOW!" I shout to everyone, satisfied with the result. Now that the war has begun, we'll see who wins.