"To begin, we must decide on the magnitude of our current goal. The overall goal is to take the entire realm of beasts, however to do this much with only a single legion.... is unlikely. It would take a large amount of time and preparation even if success was possible with these numbers, and in that time reinforcements will likely be sent whether in the form of a hero or of another legion. Therefore our goal right now is to prepare for when such reinforcements arrive.", Tirius explained.
"Legion Commander, I believe we should focus our efforts specifically on the areas closest to the wall which we are most familiar with for now."
A certain Colonel standing next to the table began pointing at the map.
"We are aware that there is a massive hive of giant wasps in this area. Furthermore, there is a small village of slimes around here, and there is a cave of goblins and spiders in this area. Aside from these points of interest, there are no massive clusters of monsters immediately near the wall. Beyond these areas, our information is extremely limited. We know there is a desert beyond the village of slimes which has been said to contain many snakemen, and there have been many reports of insectoids to the South, but anyone who has gone too deep into these areas has never returned alive. And of course, we are aware of the fishmen to the North."
Many of the men nodded bitterly in agreement.
"So at the end of the day our information is this limited...."
"Even with all of our efforts we've barely made any progress at all...."
At hearing these complaints, Tirius stood proud.
"Do not berate yourselves, men! It is only because we have focused on defense and considered scouting to be a secondary task that our information is this limited!!! Very well. I see now clearly what should be done. Just as the late Emperor was trying to establish a foothold in the monster realm by taking over the village of fishmen, we too must establish a foothold- a base which we can use to launch attacks from. And I know the perfect location."
With a smile, Tirius placed his finger onto the point in which the slime village was marked.
"Right here. The slimes are a weak race. While they can use some poisonous attacks at times, so long as these are avoided the average soldier can take on many slimes at once. We will have no trouble at all creating a base in this location."
"Oh...."
"Ah! You are right, Legion Commander."
"How could I not think of that?"
"We can set up a base and begin scouting operations from there, gaining more information on the enemy, and then launch attacks from a central headquarters.... it's a flawless strategy!"
Many soldiers were impressed by the quick wits of the Legion Commander.
"It is no wonder you were chosen to lead this force, Commander!"
Despite being barraged with compliments, Tirius showed no signs of haughtiness or arrogance. Right now this man who wore a strange egg shaped helmet was deep in thought, staring at the board of strategy.
Another man stepped forward with something to say.
"Legion Commander, may I speak?"
"Of course, General. We need to consider everything, so by all means, please state your opinion freely."
With a nod, the man pulled out a document from his pocket.
"As you know, ever since those 100 men were found dead on the wall, expeditions into the monster realm have decreased as of late in an effort to fortify defenses. There have only been a few expeditions recently, however there is something which is bothering me. Please take a look at this report."
On the report was a small drawn map which showed a number of X markings in various locations.
"Each of those X's are locations which have been scouted in the past couple days, collectively by all of our scouting teams. Furthermore.... there have been a few scouting teams who have gone missing."
"What is your point? So what if some scouting teams went missing?", one Colonel stated with a gruff tone. "Are you telling me that a couple of people getting lost or attacked is something we should focus on? How are we supposed to win this war if we get hung up on every little detail like this!?"
As this man began to shout, the Legion Commander held up his own hand to silence him.
"Colonel, you are right in that we shouldn't get hung up on every detail, for if we did that we would never make any progress. However I believe there is something else which the General wished to say. Am I correct?"
With a light bow of the head, the General replied in the affirmative.
"That is so. You are very perceptive, Legion Commander."
"How could I be a leader of men if I were to not notice something like this?", Tirius stated while looking at the paper.
On the paper, the arrangement of X's formed a very peculiar pattern.
Given that each X represented a successful scouting operation, it was excessively strange that not a single one was anywhere within the vicinity of the slime village.
Slamming the paper down for all to see, the Legion Commander looked up with firm resolution.
"Men. This could be a mere coincidence. It could be the case that our men simply did not perform any expeditions within this location, or it could be the case that they got lost somehow and were unable to complete their reports, however with this many expeditions and not a single one reaching this area, there is something else which is suggested."
Looking around at all his men, Tirius spoke with a serious tone.
"Something has happened in the slime village. In the best case scenario, something happened to strengthen the slimes, causing our people to foolishly let their guard down when facing them. In the worst case scenario.... the village has been taken over by a powerful monster. Something far beyond the level of a slime."
The men's faces became stern at hearing this.
"What should we do, Legion Commander?"
"Do we abandon the plan to take over the slime village? Or do we postpone it until we can gain more information?"
Closing his eyes, Tirius began to think.
"No. Postponing things will get us nowhere if there truly is a powerful monster. The scouts we send will continuously be killed off, and we will never reach the truth. There is but one option."
Looking around at one another with confusion, the men turned to the Legion Commander for an explanation.
"And what would this option be?"
With a grin, Tirius stepped forward through the ranks of men, walking to the front of his tent where he pushed aside the curtain.
"We will keep 2000 men here at the wall in case of an emergency. The other 8000 will march on the slime village."
----
Vex stood in front of a large wooden building.
It looked like a strange gymnasium.
"Anybody home?? I said I'm here to help you fulfill your revenge. Does nobody actually want to fulfill their revenge?"
Vex knocked on the door again but there was no answer.
"Sigh... is everyone in this village like this? That last birdman was a wreck. What was with his arms? Oh yeah, didn't he say something about someone doing that to him? Maybe that was the reason for his grudge."
Vex, a literal demon who represented the sin of wrath, was almost disturbed at whoever performed such an action.
Almost.
"Man.... if the antiheroes did that, then they might have even worse taste than myself! Haha! Making a birdman live with his wings clipped and on backwards? I might not even need to amplify the wrath of the birdmen at this rate."
Casually grabbing the handle, Vex prepared himself to 'open' the door as he had before, however it was actually unlocked.
"Oh? I guess they don't all lock their doors. Or maybe this is some sort of public place?"
Opening the door, Vex didn't bother to hold back his own strength, and still ripped it off the hinges.
Throwing it to the side, he looked around.
The enormous room was a disaster.
Vex felt himself filling up with delight at the scene before him. It was a true scene of chaos and despair to the likes of which he had never seen.
Everything was a mess.
There were tables that looked to have once held food and drinks which were now flipped over. Cups, silverware, bowls, and all other sorts of utensils had been scattered all about.
Laid across the floor were somewhere around 200 birdmen and birdwomen, and not a single one was up and about.
Streamers and all sorts of paper covered the room, and Vex could hear the light breathing and even the groaning of some of the birdmen.
They were all skinny and excessively malnourished as if they had been starving. Their faces were pale and the outlines of their bones could be seen on almost every single person in the room.
It looked like the aftermath of a chaotic college party- one which nobody had cleaned up after, but instead simply left everything as it was.
Smells filled the nose of Vex, and not pleasant ones.
It was the smell of rotten flesh, excretion, and vomit.
Vex walked through the mass of collapsed people, and on doing so took note of something.
Many people here were dead.
As a matter of fact, almost all of them were dead.
They had died of starvation.
"Oi oi.... What the hell happened here? What is going on in the world these days!?!?"
Vex couldn't hide his own surprise.
It was not that he was disturbed by the deaths of the birdmen. For inferior humanoids, he could care less.
However, something was irked inside Vex.
It was likely jealousy.
The fact that some other group was out there playing the role which demons were designed to play didn't sit well with Vex.
The fact that someone was out there creating these scenes of chaos and destruction made him furrow his brow.
'I'm supposed to be the demon of wrath.... not these ones..... are they trying to take my position from me?'
With flaring emotions, a smile came to the face of Vex.
'Are they trying to beat me at my own game? Are they trying to instill more wrath in others than I can? I can't have that..... I'll have to show them.... heh.... heh.... hahahahahah!!!!!!'
While closing his eyes and ever so lightly chuckling, Vex hid the inner workings of his mind from the mostly unconscious or dead birdmen around him.
"Birdmen who still live. Wake up."
Vex spoke with power in his voice, commanding those who were here to awaken. As if inspired by the voice of the demon, many birdmen jolted their heads up, opening their eyes from the state of unconsciousness which they previously held.
They could barely move their bodies they were so weakened. Almost all the meat on their limbs was gone.
"What..... who are you?"
The one who spoke was a hawk who seemed to be slightly more well built than the others around him. His body was extremely weakened, but he likely started off being more healthy than the others before this scene of chaos occurred.
"Oh? Someone can finally talk. Hey, Hawk!"
"What do you want with us....."
The hawk seemed to shrink away from Vex, who approached him casually while flashing his sneakers.
"Do you want revenge?"
"Revenge?"
The hawk seemed excessively confused at what the demon was saying, and was now scooting himself back into a corner away from the approaching demon.
"W-what do you mean..... what do you mean revenge...."
"I said do you want revenge? On the ones who did this to you. On the antiheroes."
At hearing the word 'antiheroes' the hawk seemed to shrink away in fear, putting his own head into his chest.
"N-no... no.... no..... no..... r-r-revenge??? Revenge? On the antiheroes??? No..... no..... NO!!!! No....."
The hawk was trembling with horror and his eyes were filled with such fear that even the demon standing in front of him was completely ignored. His mind was so occupied with the horrible thought of the antiheroes that he could do nothing more than shiver in the corner while tears came to his eyes.
"No... no..... revenge... on them? On them!?!? No..... hahahahah... no.... that's.... impossible..... do you think anyone could ever take revenge on them??? I don't know who you are demon, but are you working with them?? Are you trying to deceive me!? I won't fall for it..... I.... the world..... it's already over..... there is no taking revenge on nature itself... the antiheroes.... they are forces of nature on their own.... there can be no revenge on them....."
Vex was closing his eyes as the hawk spouted off this nonsense, but little by little he was irked over and over with the statements of the birdman in front of him.
He was being completely ignored.
This birdman was so terrified of the antiheroes that the existence of a literal demon right in front of this man was being completely thrown to the side just from the mention of their name.
Not only a demon, but a house leader- a Host of Sin- one of the seven strongest demons in existence.
It was unacceptable.
It was something which Vex absolutely refused to accept.
Closing his eyes and suppressing his own anger, he opened them with a smile on his face.
"Then what about this?"
[Amplify Wrath]
The demon drew a line in the air with his finger as if he was sliding up a notch from a soundboard, and immediately all the birdmen in the room began to growl.
Their eyes became red with rage and bloodlust, bursting with veins.
Their malnourished bodies seemed to sprout muscles on their own, and their eyes looked around with madness.
Standing up, many birdmen and birdwomen had undergone the strange status effect.
"The antiheroes....."
"They did this to us....."
"They destroyed Tora...."
"They destroyed this village....."
"They will destroy the world....."
"They must be killed!!!!"
"They must be stopped!!!!"
"THEY ARE EVIL!!!!!"
The birdmen and women who were filled with rage were now looking around furiously, but Vex held out his hands with a smile.
"Birdmen and birdwomen! It is as you say. The antiheroes are at fault. They have done this to you, and you must not forgive them. You must seek out your revenge on them. Fear not. Their name is nothing, for I am the head of the House of Wrath. I will assist you. I will guide you. I will lead you. I will stand by your side so that you may take on the antiheroes without fear."
"You...."
The hawk seemed to be staring at Vex.
"You are a house leader!?!?"
Vex nodded with a grin.
"And you will help us defeat the antiheroes!?!?"
Once more, Vex nodded.
The birdmen who had been distorted with rage began to laugh.
"Haha....."
"HAHAHAH!!!!!"
"AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!! WE CAN KILL THEM!!!!! WITH THE HOUSE LEADER HELPING US, WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!!!!! WE CAN TAKE OUR REVENGE ON THE ANTIHEROES!!!!!!!!!!!"
The birdmen began to furiously celebrate and the air was filled with insane laughter. The hawk who seemed to be the leader stood up in front of everyone.
"Behold everyone!!!!! Take a look at my grand thighs!!!! They have been restored!!!! Now we can take on anyone and anything, with this house leader at our backs!!!! Even that evil spirit!!!!!"
"That's right Erasalis!!!!!"
"We can slaughter them!!!! We will show off the pride of the birdmen once again!!!!!"
"We will show them our thighs!!!! AHAHHA!!!!!!"
Vex began to chuckle watching the birdmen resort to these insane antics.
'How interesting..... I love it.... heh heh.... antiheroes.... I will show you.... I will show you that you have no control over wrath.... you may sew it, but you cannot control it. Not like I can. I will redirect it all back at yourselves. These fools are blinded with their own rage. How fun! I want more. I want to see more people blinded with wrath..... yes! HAHA! On to the next village!!'
"Birdmen!! Please wait here for me! I will return with more allies, and then I will lead you into battle against your enemies! You will have your revenge on them! I will save you from their evil clutches!!"
"Thank you, demon!!"
"You have saved us!!!"
"You are truly our savior!!!!"
Checking his own watch, Vex smiled as he fixed his suit and grabbed his handkerchief to polish off his sneakers.
When he finished, he disappeared from the sight of the birdmen, who were left to celebrate.
Without food nor water, they were all on the brink of death. Many had already died.
But in the last moments of their lives, a savior had appeared.
One of great power, claiming that he would assist them in getting their revenge on those who destroyed them.
Jumping from branch to branch after leaving the gymnasium, Vex grinned with sadism.
"I haven't seen people who concealed so much anger in such a long time..... and yet it is so strange.... for the people in this next village hold even greater wrath."
Once again checking the time, Vex seemed to grimace.
"Ah! I better hurry up. I want to finish this by the end of the day to apologize to her..... if I don't keep myself on a proper schedule then I might end up late, and she would get even more angry at me! Alright. Let's fly a bit faster!"
Flapping his wings, a sonic boom was produced as Vex soared through the air.
Soon enough, the landscape of a desert came into view, transforming from the green plains into a lifeless basin of heat.
In minutes, Vex came across something that was excessively strange, even for a demon like himself.
There was a giant cage which seemed to form some sort of dome, and it was blaring with blue sparks of electricity.
Surrounded by this dome was a field of flesh.
The ground itself had been transformed into meat which spanned for miles, aside from the area inside the cage.
Vex looked at this scenario, filled with an utter confusion as he approached.
'What the hell is that!?!'