Chapter 409: Distracting

Lachlan POV

The news of Kano's death reached me quickly. My heart sank as I received the grim news and a surge of anger and sorrow welled up within me. He had been my most loyal and capable servant, a fierce and unyielding warrior who had stood by my side through countless conflicts. 

The chief had not only defeated Kano, but he had done so in a manner that left no room for doubt. It was a chilling display of power and mastery that I could not ignore. It was scary because he's not even their strongest fighter.

I would love to go after him right now, but, there was another pressing concern that weighed heavily on my mind, the two different groups that posed a threat to our dominion.

On one side, there were the heroes, a relentless and determined force who had made it their mission to challenge my rule. They were formidable in their own right, each member driven by an unshakable sense of justice. The heroes were a persistent thorn in my side, and I couldn't afford to underestimate their determination and strength.

On the other side, there were the villagers, a group of people who had suffered under discrimination. They had grown tired of it, and their growing resistance mindset would undermine my control over them if I spared them. The villagers were far too prideful and strong to contain.

The dilemma was clear, I could focus my efforts on defeating the Perseus and the village, a direct threat to my power, but doing so would leave me vulnerable to the heroes, who would seize the opportunity to end me. But...it's the best choice, focusing on both sides will exhaust us.

I had to make a difficult choice, one that would determine the fate of my dominion and my own future.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration and concern. The situation had become a delicate balancing act, and a misstep could spell my downfall. It was clear that I could take on one of these threats, but not both at the same time. Since the heroes are already targeting the village, might as well join in.

The heroes were already closing in on the village, targeting it as a symbol of going against their rule. Their relentless pursuit of so-called justice had garnered them significant support among the people, but it's going to be hard to convince any of them to side with us as the brainwashing has seeped in too deep.

Perseus POV

"Why are you so dirty? You're like covered from head to toe in blood."

"I might have gotten a bit overboard." The chief replied

I'm not joking, he's like fully red in just blood, didn't use magic to clean himself up or anything. Well, he didn't have any mana left either as he soloed the entire first fleet of the demon army, so I did it for him, I also used the demon blood and stored it in some vials, which might be useful for some rituals later.

The first wave was easy and we had survived the first assault, and our defenders had proven their mettle, but I knew that this was just the beginning. The invaders would return, and we had to be prepared for the next wave of attacks.

Gotta rearm our traps and place some more, a lot of Leilah's and Ruka's traps were not activated, which was good, since they're our more powerful ones, it'll be wasted on the small guys.

And I'm expecting 3-5 general candidates, all who are strong enough to be in the general position, but also somewhat expendable, they'll be sent here on the promise of the ones who contribute the most getting the position, so their hunger for the status of general can be their motivation, making them more dangerous than Kano as they're now going to have more numbers.

The second fleet is going to be dominated by us, so we'll only have to worry about the 3rd wave from the demons, for the heroes...hopefully they're not stupid enough to send out even a hero, because, even if I spare them, the rest will not, it's war, and the moment you choose to engage, you are forfeiting your life.

*****

"Here's the list of the confirmed representatives from the human side." Ruka said while handing me the list of names.

Well, the problem with the scenario I'm in is...that I'm in my own hot tub, the one that I rarely share with anyone other than Buddy, and yet, Ruka just casually walked in and joined me in the hot tub, not handing me the list and going away.

"Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Why? Can't I be here?" she responded, "Besides, your grandparents are there, I'm not going to disturb them."

"Couldn't you have at least informed me first?"

"Hey, we're in swimsuits, nothing to worry about. Besides, you've had company before."

"That's because it's Leilah and Lilith."

"And why can't I do the same?"

"You seriously need me to answer that?"

This woman is too distracting, and I thought that I could relax for a good 2 hours here now that I had some free time. I took my time to read the list instead, so I couldn't get distracted, and the humans have 11 representatives, one of which was...Edward. I double-checked, and it says Edward Tartian...

Why is he of all people a representative? Joining the list is signing away your life till one side is won...shit...I don't know if I can kill him, but...due to the laws and stuff like that, it's either other representatives or the village...

Russo is also a representative, that should be easy, he'll be targetted by the demons since he's a demon who's taken the sides of humans.

"Just saying, you can experience all of this if you ask me out right now." Ruka whispered into my ears

"Nice try, but I can say the same to you."

Seriously, this woman...what is with her genes? How is she even...Dawn and Maple are already blessed physically and yet...at least I should thank Leilah and Dawn formaking sure that I'm not lustful at all times.