“Alright. They’ve begun their assault already.” I said to everyone around me.

They returned my gaze with slight confusion—save a few.

The leaders of each race were with me, all waiting at the front lines.

The Elf Queen—Aurora Vindiel

The Fairy President— Jane Ursula

The Beast King—Gerard

The Dwarf Chief—Dulum

The Human King—Albion Lestrome Indiavel

Everyone was gathered.

Other than the leaders, their strongest generals—for humans, that would be the Grand Mages—were also among us.

The rest of the army stayed a distance away—consisting of the ranks and files belonging to each race.

It truly was a united front—a total number of three million.

We were currently on the vast Elf Plains, waiting for an assault from the Demons from their Northern Border.

If an all-out attack were to occur, there was no doubt they would choose that route.

“But, I see no one appearing,” Gerard murmured, straining his eyes and most likely heightening his senses to detect an enemy.

Of course, he would not sense anyone. That was because our enemies weren’t going to attack the Elf Kingdom, to begin with.

“I see. So they chose to attack the humans instead.” Jane Ursula smiled, tilting her glasses.

She just had to open her little mouth, didn’t she? I wanted to be the one to reveal that part.

“W-wha—?” The people around me exploded in surprise.

Who could blame them?

Per my instructions, we concentrated our forces in the Elf Kingdom. The other nations, especially the Eastern one, were quite vulnerable at this point.

“B-but, that wasn’t the plan, right?” King Albion especially panicked, looking at me with widened eyes.

It was his Kingdom at stake, after all. His dear citizens and heritage. What kind of king wouldn’t be worried?

Still…

“All of you should relax. There’s no way Lewi—I mean, Jared, didn’t see this coming. If he realized they’ve begun their assault, then surely he predicted this turn of events.”

As expected of Jane. She could always see through me—with or without the Soul Brand connecting us both.

“Jane is correct. But, there’s more. I didn’t just predict this outcome… I actually orchestrated it.”

Yes, it was all according to design.

More surprised gasps burst from everyone around me.

My smile widened as I looked in the direction of one interesting individual among our small ranks.

“Damien Lawcroft, do you understand now?”

Among our small group—consisting of only the most important and powerful members of our army—Damien Lawcroft stood directly beside his Prince, Fabian.

His eyes were widened with shock as he gave an expression of inexplicable shock.

“W-what…?”

“I mean, you were played all along. I’m certain you thought this would be the fall of the Human Kingdom, no? I’m also sure you commanded your subordinates in the Capital to finalize things for you there.”

His body shuddered the more I spoke, but he did his best to hide any form of agreement with what I was saying.

“W-what are you talking about, Jared? Why would I side with the Demons? Are you crazy?”

Damien Lawcroft’s eyes moved in the direction of everyone present. They were all staring at him with cold and stern expressions on their faces.

“H-hey! Don’t tell me you believe what this guy is saying. Why would I do something like that? H-hey, come on! Your Majesty, you believe me, right?”

King Albion, as expected, didn’t change his hardened expression. His glare was enough to tell the man in question that he couldn’t count on him.

In essence, it was a dead end.

“Do you understand your situation now? And, don’t even think for a second that everything went according to your plan. Sir. Elrich Lendertwale?” I turned to a man who was directly beside the King.

He was the Royal Court Mage, and a Grand Mage in his own right. Since protecting the King was his primary task, he never left Albion’s side.

“Yes. I’ve rounded up every single Cult Member as per your instructions. All of them are in my custody.”

“W-wha—?!” Damien seemed to accidentally blurt out.

What he wasn’t aware of was that after my whole presentation at the Royal Palace, I had a brief meeting with the Grand Mage, Elrich.

Since I wouldn’t be able to personally interfere with the affairs of the Royal Palace, I made someone else do it.

By telling him of their moves, as well as giving him a gift in return for his troubles, I was able to ensure he performed the role fluidly.

“There are indeed other spy networks in the Eastern Kingdom, but Neron also handled them after completing his investigation, right?” I smiled, using Magic to amplify the sound of the Magic receiver in my ear.

“Sure. They’ve all been rounded up. There could still be others lurking in the shadows, but I doubt it.” Neron’s voice echoed across the area.

He was still in Ainzlark Academy, but he was a man of many means when it came to achieving his goals.

The guy scared even me.

“As you can see, this whole front was just a way to ensure that everything was handled nicely,” I explained to the flabbergasted man.

The only one who was probably looking just as stupid, if not more so, than Damien, was Fabian.

The Prince was shocked by everything that was going on around him. His dumbfounded expression was precious, but the serious situation didn’t allow me to break into a laugh

Yes, that was pretty. But, still…

“D-Damein… is that tru—?”

Before Fabian Lestrome could conclude his statement, Damien Lawcroft used Magic to restrain him and instantly created a hostage situation.

Blue energy surrounded the prince, and a Mana Blade was pointed at his throat. Damien stood beside the prince, eyes bloodshot and his teeth gritting.

“You must have given up on trying to explain yourself. That’s a shame.”

I wanted him to grovel more.

“Don’t come closer. If you value the life of your son, don’t take a single step.”

Was Damien stupid? Was the current situation too much for him to understand that his brain was fried?