Chapter 73

The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King Chapter 73

Fuma’s Plan

When I arrived at the throne room, I was greeted by my trusted subordinates.

The dwarf chief, Gottlieb.

The Shinsengumi Vice-captain, Hijikata Toshizou.

And even the kobold ninja, Hanzou.

The only one who wasn’t there was Fuma Kotaro, who had joined us recently.

Or at least, I thought so.

But he appeared just as I sat on the throne.

He had been disguising himself as one of the soldiers, but he now removed the disguise to show himself as a masked ninja.

His appearance was the same as when I first saw him.

Perhaps it was his default appearance?

I asked him about it, but he just laughed. “Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

In other words, he changed his appearance so many times that he had forgotten what his original form was.

He was like Arsène Lupin, but who knew what kind of face lay behind that mask. I was quite curious.

But there must be a good reason for him to keep it on.

And I wouldn’t look very good if I forced him to take it off.

And so I had given Fuma Kotaro permission to keep it on at all times.

“Very good, my king. You respect our individuality. It is most motivating.”

Fuma Kotaro laughed under the mask. Or did he really?

“That is good and all, but I hope I am getting something in return?”

“Of course. Information. It will affect the outcome of the coming battle.”

“So, things have been going well?”

“Yes.”

Fuma Kotaro nodded before beginning his explanation.

“The merchant caravan went on its route through Decarbia as you planned. I then leaked this information to the bandits, beggars, and the merchants.”

“So, you thought that Decarbia would be less suspicious if they heard if from multiple sources.”

“Yes, Demon King. Exactly.”

And then Fuma Kotaro continued.

“It is the basics of information warfare. And I was very thorough. I know how many moles and lovers every important person has. And I chose the strongest of them to leak the information to.”

“Those who are greedy are quick to believe. After all, they act based on money. Decarbia and the informers would not care about respect.”

“Exactly. Decarbia quickly took the bait and attacked the caravan.”

“Were the merchants injured?”

“No. I told them to run away as soon as they saw Decarbia’s soldiers.”

“That is good. I would rather not have people die for such a plan.”

Eve would occasionally make approving remarks, which I nodded at and returned to Fuma Kotara.

“That is good. But have they suspected that it is fake?”

“They haven’t. Decarbia is gladly gathering weapons and food. He is also hiring mercenaries.”

“Then he will be ruined within two weeks.”

“Indeed.”

“Why don’t we just watch quietly from here?”

Eve asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, it would be amusing to sit here and watch him dance to my tune. Well, it would be more entertaining if he wasn’t so ugly, but we can have a beautiful dancer entertain us some other day.”

And so it was decided. We would wait for the passage of time.

Two weeks later, we saw the results.

The mercenary soldiers realized that the gold that was used to pay them was fake.

The metal was reduced to half the amount and was worth less than bits of iron.

This was followed by immediate objections.

Of course, the mercenaries had also spent the gold at taverns and brothels. And so the owners of those establishments had complaints of their own.

And of course, there were the merchants who sold weapons to Decarbia.

The circle of anger grew larger. Decarbia was called a swindler. It was known throughout all of the land.

Decarbia became furious when he heard the news of this. The anger was towards me, but also the mercenaries and merchants who insulted his name.

They were supposed to be under Decarbia’s rule. They should obey him whether money was involved or not. Or so he foolishly believed.

Many Demon Kings thought in such a way.

And so Decarbia went to the town square and used his soldiers to suppress the people who were protesting.

It was supposed to make the people docile and return things to normal. But this time, things were different.

This was because the mercenaries were there as well.

Not only had they been robbed of their gold, but they saw what Decarbai was doing to his people, and they attacked.

Perhaps there was a small sense of justice there as well.

Or perhaps it was just fear over what would happen to them next.

Who knows?

But one thing was for certain, there was someone among their ranks who helped fan the flames. A ninja from my own army.

Fuma Kotaro had disguised himself as a mercenary. He held the fake gold high into the air and accused Decarbia of lying to his people.

The mercenaries burned with rage and helped the people. Chaos was starting to erupt around the castle. But there were some who were more cautious.

Mercenaries started to question.

Citizens started to doubt.

“If we fight now, our pride might be saved, but we will eventually be captured by Decarbia and killed.”

They weren’t wrong. But the Demon King who devised the plan wouldn’t allow that to happen.

And so Fuma Kotaro raised his voice.

“All of you! Yes, we may be killed by Decarbia if things continue. He is a cruel king. However, King Ashtaroth, who is preparing to attack this castle, is different. You may have heard rumors about his coldness and cowardice. But he is a most merciful king. We should side with him instead!”

The resident and mercenaries had heard rumors of Demon King Ashtaroth.

And more than half of them were bad.

As for the good, he was smart and a brilliant general who defeated Sabnac in just one month.

As for the bad, he was a coward and a monster who would do anything for victory.

There were some who had heard stories about the death of a Hero who was still young.

“Can we really trust such a king? We might regret it.”

They whispered to each other. But Fuma Kotaro’s voice boomed again.

“Demon King Ashtaroth is a schemer, it is true. But he would not pay you with false coin or execute you over protests. His castle town has been thriving recently. I will not force you to follow me, but I intend to cooperate with him.”

That seemed to do the trick. But it was ultimately a matter of relative evaluation.

They were taking my side in order to get rid of the more immediate threat.

They weren’t completely sold on the idea.

But they didn’t see any other choice.

When I knew about this, I quickly sent my army forward and dispatched a messenger to the town of Decarbia.

It contained a letter, guaranteeing the safety of the people and their possessions.

It was partly for show, but it did a lot to encourage the rebel troops. And so they happily opened the gates of Decarbia’s castle.

And like that, we avoided a most annoying siege. And the army was able to advance into Decarbia’s castle.