We hadn't quite assembled the entire army and laid out the red carpet, but it was close.
Five hundred demons surrounded the city's central square. I knew that others were watching from a distance, no matter what Glaustro had ordered. With the senses and spells available to demons, even the troops stuck patrolling our city walls could peek in at the ongoing ceremony.
And it was a ceremony.
Technically, Glaustro could have snapped his fingers, flared his mana, said a few chants, and been done with the whole affair. The onyx obelisk would have formed in the square, and that would've been it.
However, our dramatic majorness was really revealing his penchant for spectacle that day. He even had a whole speech prepared. His mana-boosted voice carried easily over the entire city. I knew for a fact that certain runes were echoing his voice below ground as well, so the demons stationed in the Under City to counter any attempted infiltration or snooping could listen in.
Everyone I saw seemed spellbound by his voice, and I was confident it was the same underground. They all roared at appropriate times when he spoke about prosperity, opportunities, and payment for their hard work.
It wasn't like Glaustro was full of hot air, either.
With our claim on all of Breskwor's Divinity established, Glaustro had even portioned out small amounts of it to be distributed to our soldiers. They were obligated to use it all on the spot. We didn't want any extra Divinity hanging around to give away our secret. They either had to devour it themselves or feed it to particularly precious equipment, immediately. But they did get it.
So, when Glaustro promised them greater profits and glory to come, our army listened. And they trusted him.
Truly trusted him.
At that point, even the soldiers who'd joined for nothing more than the resources they needed to stay alive were firmly on Glaustro's side. Those that had died early and were waiting for us in the Abyss were going to be a bit of a pain to reintegrate, but I didn't think we'd have any issues. The moment they got the resources Glaustro had on hold for them, I was pretty sure they'd be among his staunchest supporters.
After all, the typical stance of the legion was that death was your own fault. Some commanders had decent death reimbursement policies, and so did any invasions you got conscripted and forced into, but other than that? Invasions like the one led by Glaustro, where the choice to join was entirely your own? Yeah, any deaths landed squarely on the backs of the soldiers, and so did the expenses required to recover from them.
The fact that Glaustro had cared enough to keep their share of the loot in reserve was pretty much guaranteed to win their loyalty, if not their hearts. Especially since it hinted at only good things to come in the future.
All in all, the mood was high when Glaustro finally concluded his speech.
"…open up trade relations and finally link back up with the Abyss!"
He turned his back on the wildly cheering crowd. Calling upon his magic, he agitated it into waves of red and black that rose up and began to waver over the entire city. He was really hamming it up, but the direct exposure to their leader's soul and mana was yet another aspect of trying to hammer the point home for the soldiers: stick with us, and you'll never go hungry again!
I chuckled quietly to myself, ignoring the magical display so I could focus on some recent memories. Sinking deep into my mind, I remembered one of the many late nights in Glaustro's office, going over plans with him and Bronwynn…
"We're not going to have a lot of interest right away," Glaustro had confessed, somewhat bitterly. "I've used a few spells to exchange correspondence with some people I know, and even managed to drum up a few shopkeepers who were interested in joining us through them, but this isn't going to be like a typical takeover you've seen so far."
"We're still going to be able to get the supplies we need though, right?" That was my main concern, and I wasn't shy about expressing it.
"Of course. That's what the people I contacted are for. However… well, you know how a city instantly fills up when the legion takes over? What you saw happen in officially sponsored invasions?"
"Yes?"
"We can't expect that. The only reason those invasions are so successful is because of direct legion backing. They offer incentives, payments, even long-term support for vendors on worlds the legion is planning to keep. All of that allows them to fill up cities and towns as quickly as the ground troops can snatch them away from the locals."
"And we're obviously not going to have that," Bronwynn chimed in, sounding more than a little tired. "We'll need to incentivize people to move in ourselves. And since we want to establish ourselves long-term here, we'll also need to find ways to get people to stay. That means getting a proper economy off the ground, which is always difficult, at least at first."
"Especially since we can't rely on the biggest draw of Breskwor," I filled in bitterly, thinking about our stocks of Divinity. If we could tempt people with even a tiny bit of it, our success would be astronomical. Right up until someone showed up to pry it all away from our cold, dead hands. "We do have other things to offer, though. The souls, for one thing, and monster materials."
"Exactly why I've been trying to boost their numbers so much." Glaustro's eyes tracked over our map of creature numbers and migration patterns. "The Breskwor locals are hardy, animals included. Their souls are of surprisingly high quality for their ranks. We'll have a solid draw there. Plus, the materials they yield are interesting and useful."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"We just need to properly leverage it all," Bronwynn concluded, drawing a weary nod from Glaustro. "Which is why we've been spending so much time stressing over plans."
I blinked, and I was back in the present moment. It took me a second to shake off the clinging nature of demonic memories. Sometimes, they were so vivid, a mortal mind would have struggled to tell them apart from reality.
Luckily, my mind hadn't been mortal for some time now.
I had to admit, for all that I disliked the grandiosity of the whole thing, Glaustro really had a way with crowds. He was modulating his mana and his spell in such a way that the obelisk, which typically appeared within less than a second, was slowly emerging from the ether. It was like watching grains of sand pop out from what would be the very top of the teleportation foci. These 'grains' streamed down to the ground and slowly merged into a midnight black material, consolidating into the ever-growing base of the onyx obelisk.
It was exactly the show of might and magical skills that demons were prone to eating up, and Glaustro looked to be doing it effortlessly.
That wasn't quite true, of course. Though he showed no sign of strain, interfering with a spell in such a manner was incredibly difficult. A well-designed spell wanted to do its job and be done with it. Slowing it down was a bit like trying to hold back an orbital rocket with nothing but a lasso wrapped around its base.
The strain Glaustro was under would have had an archdemon shaking and sweating at the very least. But our newly minted noble, a baron at least, looked like he was about to start yawning.
When the last piece of the obelisk fell into place, an immense thrum of power washed over the city. This power raced out to Hafnir's very edges, blurring the space there, before it rebounded and was once more sucked down into the onyx monument to demonic conquest.
I had witnessed this before. But standing so close to the obelisk now, having actually trained my magical senses and advanced further towards nobility myself, I could feel it. There was always a low hum of spatial and Abyssal mana clinging to the obelisk, whispering its secrets and begging to be used.
The Abyss was eager to take a bite of Breskwor's mana in exchange for transporting people back and forth. The obelisk itself seemed to have been designed in such a way that it strengthened a little every time it was used, probably by siphoning away a portion of the cost its user was forced to pay to call on its magic.
The obelisk wasn't the only change wrought upon our city, though. Thanks to my connection with them, I did feel several of the homes and shops get steeped in Abyssal mana before their contents changed. The Abyss had wrought its magic, swapping out bits of Breskwor's reality with pieces of itself. I could feel these dimensional spaces breathing, each inhale and exhale exchanging Breskwor's mana for Abyssal mana.
I'd always wondered why the Abyss would bother to provide such a service to its hosts. Maintaining such a deep connection to other planes of existence had to be costly, after all.
I finally had my answer.
These altered spaces drew in the mana of Breskwor, including what little Divinity that mana naturally carried, I assumed. Then they 'breathed out' pure Abyssal mana in return, tainting Breskwor a little more with every passing exchange of energies.
Eventually, the world would be fully chained to the Abyss. Not devoured, perhaps. But once enough time had passed, it would be about as possible to banish demons from Breskwor's surface as it would be to banish us all from the Abyss.
I could only imagine that the atmosphere of Breskwor would grow hostile to certain other races, too. Angels probably would not like spending time on worlds demons had occupied for millennia, any more than they enjoyed visiting the Abyss.
At the same time, I knew that Breskwor would lose a soul or two every once in a while. First from the area around our city, and then, as the corruption spread, anywhere on Breskwor. Souls particularly steeped in Emotions would find themselves drawn to the Abyss through this link. They would descend, unknowingly, straight into its jaws, where they would be transformed into demons.
It was a beautifully simple and effective system, based entirely around mutual gain. The Abyss helped its demons, and its demons continued to nurture it. At the expense of the rest of creation, of course. But really, when was that something any self-respecting demon would ever concern themselves with?
I was just about to sink my senses fully into exploring these wonders of Abyssal spell-weaving when the air in front of the obelisk tore apart. A portal snapped into place. On the other side stood seven grinning demons, who all crossed over eagerly at the first available instant.
"Glaustro, my friend! I can't believe how far you've come so quickly!" their leader crowed, drawing my major into a brief hug.
I noted that Glaustro didn't look angry about the familiarity the stranger subscribed to. If anything, he had a massive smile on his own face.
My eyes briefly flickered to Bronwynn, only to find the sergeant looking unconcerned. His Emotions didn't even flinch. I could only assume he knew all about Glaustro's friendship with the newcomers and had no reason to be upset.
"Baleron, it's good to see you again. You too, Rafert and Ungor. Don't think I've forgotten about you! And who are these young individuals?" Glaustro asked, looking at the three demonesses and a single demon trailing after the trio.
"My two daughters, Rafert's son, and Ungor's daughter, of course." Baleron beamed at Glaustro. "We've been taking them with us on these excursions to learn and pick up some skills of their own. Alas, I'm afraid to say most of them just go looking for adventure every time we visit a new world, rather than focusing on what really matters. Trade! Forging deals! Profit! Still, I have to say the life of a major agrees with you, old friend. You look better than ever. Improved your vocabulary a fair bit too, haven't you?"
Glaustro laughed. If I didn't know him rather well, I'd have missed the sharp edge that clung to the sound. "Of course, of course. How could I not? My previous conduct wouldn't really fit an officer of the legion. You look better than ever yourself, of course. Come, let's dispense with the goods we already agreed upon and move on to further planning, shall we? Maybe you'd like to experience some of the luxuries Breskwor has to offer as well?"
"Naturally! It's important to understand a world we might be investing in," Rafert piped up, to much approval from both his companions.
The kids just looked bored.
I let Glaustro lead the visiting party away. Only Bronwynn followed, hovering subtly behind them. I watched carefully, glad for a chance to really take them all in.
The three older demons weren't all that notable. Mild variations of the typical ascended demon, at best. Not even their skin tones were noteworthy. They were all some shade of green, and all three shades looked sickly. That, combined with the Avarice radiating off of Baleron and the Greed coiling around the other two, told me everything I needed to know about them.
Their kids were more interesting. I hadn't seen many demons this young. From what I could tell, they were all in their early or mid-teens. All four of them were hiding both their souls and their Emotions remarkably well, though their green, purple, red, and yellowish skin did give some hints.
Most importantly, they looked far more distinctive than their parents. Baleron's daughters both had wings and tails. The boy had a large, sinuous scorpion tail to complement his yellow skin. The remaining female wasn't particularly unique in appearance, though she did have an odd haze about her physical form that suggested she was about to collapse into a cloud at any moment.
Obviously, the offspring of ascendant demons had no need to fear being too 'basic', so long as they were sired after their parents ascended. I filed that away, for no reason at all. It was just… good to know. Useful.
I snuck a glance at Mia, completely and totally not entertaining thoughts of some potential, distant future.