The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"what……?"

Aliceville's eyes widened, and she took a half step back, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Why not eat meat porridge...?

The emperor before him was completely oblivious to how ridiculous his words were. Instead, he seemed to be smug about his "brilliant" solution to the problem of ordinary people not having enough to eat.

“I see, I understand…” Aliceville muttered to herself, giving Edmund Celestio a completely disrespectful bow.

"Your subject... takes his leave..."

Nothing is more tragic than a broken heart. Alice Violet understood that the Kingdom of Westphalia, her country, was utterly beyond saving.

The ruler is the kind of person who can utter such ridiculous words. Even if the War of the Eight Princes is quelled, the Kingdom of Westphalia will gradually collapse under the rule of Edmund Celestio.

This country is beyond saving.

She took one last look at her father on the throne, then walked out of the palace without looking back.

Edmund Celestio did not notice Aliceville's despair, but simply gestured to the eunuch to convey his message.

"Summon the General to the palace!"

Heavy black iron boots pounded the ground as a tall, middle-aged man, clad in anti-magic armor, entered the palace.

Ravend Black, the Grand General of the Kingdom of Westphalia, is deeply trusted by King Edmund Celestio and holds military power. He is Edmund Celestio's most trusted and capable general.

Ravend Black was a large, muscular man whose strength could not be concealed even by his heavy armor.

Judging by appearance alone, Ravend Black doesn't look like a noble mage at all.

In the kingdom of Westphalia, where magicians reign supreme, how did Ravend Black manage to rise to such a high position and gain the king's complete trust?

Because Ravend Black is an eighth-tier professional who is proficient in both magic and martial arts, possessing the destructive power of a magic-based professional and the strong physique of a non-magical professional, and has profound expertise in using magic on the battlefield, he is known as a "weapon of war" and has made great contributions to the Kingdom of Westphalia.

In fact, most of the content mentioned above is just icing on the cake. Without the support of an eighth-tier mage, Revend Black would not have been able to achieve his current status in the Kingdom of Westphalia.

As he approached the throne steps, the chill seeping from the gaps in his armor collided with the starlight of the throne room, condensing into tiny ice crystals in the air.

As he knelt on one knee, his armor emitted a metallic roar like that of a dragon.

Ravend Black bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty!"

"General, please rise." Edmund Celestio immediately ordered Ravend Black to stand up, his eyes filled with pity for his talented subordinate.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Ravend Black rose calmly.

After a round of pleasantries typical of a monarch and his subject, Edmund Celestio finally got down to business.

"Today, we summon the General to the palace so that we may discuss matters concerning the expedition with him."

"Your Majesty, I am ready to go to war at any time. As long as Your Majesty gives the order, I will lead the army to recover the lost territories for Your Majesty!" Ravend Black's calm, confident, and rugged voice echoed in the palace.

“Very good, I look forward to the General’s triumphant return!” Edmund Celestio laughed.

Edmund Celestio was eager to summon Ravend Black to war because of an urgent report that had reached the capital the day before.

The army led by Albert Ryan, the King of the Central Law, captured White Tower City in Silver Marrow Territory and continued to advance towards the remaining lands of Silver Marrow Territory. If Albert Ryan were to take over the entire Silver Marrow Territory and advance directly towards the royal city, the royal family would lose face.

Indeed, Edmund Celestio was concerned about the face of the royal family, not about Albert Lane's threat to his throne.

Edmund Celestio is a powerful eighth-tier peak mage. Even if Albert Ryan really leads his troops to attack the royal city, he will not be afraid at all. As long as he takes action personally, all crises will be resolved.

Even when his army was being overwhelmed by the enemy, Edmund Celestio remained confident that he could turn the tide of the battle with a single move.

No matter how badly your army is defeated, the battle will still be decided by the fight between high-level professionals.

Central Law King Albert Ryan is also an eighth-tier mage, but his strength is far inferior to that of Edmund Celestio, who is at the peak of the eighth tier.

Having an advantage in high-level professions means that one's side has the upper hand on the entire battlefield.

Edmund Celestio appointed eight kings whose strength was inferior to his own, and he would never allow a king stronger than himself to appear.

So, does this mean that Edmund Celestio could easily quell the so-called "War of the Eight Princes" simply by personally leading the army?

In reality, although the eight rebellious princes did not unite against the royal family, they were all in a situation where "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

Once Edmund Celestio personally leads an expedition to deal with the army of any of the kings, the remaining seven kings will immediately send troops to seize the capital.

Edmund Celestio lacked the confidence to return before the capital was breached by the Seven Kings' War.

The Royal City is the most important capital of Westphalia, and Edmund Celestio has no intention of risking the destruction of the Royal City and the plundering of the royal treasury by personally leading the expedition.

Edmund Celestio must remain in the capital to ensure it is not breached by any king, and the task of conquering and reclaiming lost territory can only be entrusted to General Ravend Black.

Although General Ravende Black was a brave and valiant warrior who won every battle, he never gave up.

Unfortunately, Edmund Celestio only had one such valiant general under his command: Revend Black. While Revend Black was on campaign, other directions would be attacked by the other seven kings, forcing Revend Black to be unable to concentrate on conquering one route.

He could only guarantee that the territories closest to the capital would not be lost, and that the rebel army of the Eight Princes could not directly approach the capital.

Edmund Celestio wished he could divide Ravend Black into eight parts and send one to each of the eight kings' rebel armies to quell the rebellion and restore peace to the Kingdom of Westphalia.

However, Edmund Celestio simply couldn't spare the resources; he didn't have eight Ravend Blacks under his command, and this was the most territory he could hold amidst the chaos.

Edmund Celestio knew this couldn't go on; the finances were in crisis, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

He could only regret that he had let the power of the Eight Princes grow so large. He vowed that in the future, he would definitely weaken the power of the princes and increase the tax revenue centralized in the central government. At the same time, he angrily cursed these eight ingrates who had received so many benefits from the royal family but were ungrateful and wanted to ask for more.

"It's been almost ten years..."

Ravend Black left the palace, looked up at the sky, and muttered to himself.