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

In short, we should go to the town first and see how things go before making a decision.

Gray thought to himself as he entered the unguarded border town.

However, the situation in this town was slightly different from what Gray had imagined.

The townspeople were pale and thin, looking malnourished, as if they hadn't eaten anything for several days.

They looked much the same as Gray had imagined; the difference lay in the townspeople's behavior.

As soon as he entered the town, Gray saw a large group of townspeople running frantically in one direction, their running speed not at all like people who had been starving for several days and whose legs were weak.

Gray was a little confused.

What's wrong with these townspeople? Did they rush over to grab a free lunch?

Seeing the townspeople's frenzied state, Gray had no good feeling. His first thought was, "This is definitely related to the Demon Order!"

The cultists of the Demon Order draw demonic power from the demons they worship, and each possesses unique abilities.

These include summoning monsters, using fire, manipulating shadows... and mind control.

The "death squad" encountered earlier in Valen Territory was clearly a person under mind control. (Chapter 265)

The townspeople's frenzied state forced Gray to consider the possibility of mind control.

Mind control aligns with the power-hungry and domineering nature of cult members.

Could it be that the troublemakers in the Kingdom of Westphalia are cultists from the power-hungry and domineering faction, whose aim is to seize power in the Kingdom of Westphalia?

However, Gray felt that the chaotic situation of the "War of the Eight Princes" was not in the interest of power-hungry and domineering cultists.

Judging from the motives behind the chaos, if the Kingdom of Westphalia is being sabotaged by cultists from the Demon Order, it would be in the best interest of the warring and conflicting factions of the cultists.

Capa said that the powers of Domri, the demon of lust and domination; Rast, the demon of lust and pleasure; and Tataka, the demon of war and strife, are more spiritual. Therefore, the abilities of these three factions of cultists could all induce townspeople to cause chaos.

First, let's check on the mental state of the townspeople...

Gray released his mental energy to investigate.

"Um……"

Gray blinked.

There didn't seem to be anything unusual, and Gray didn't think that these townspeople were being subjected to any kind of mental manipulation or control.

Or is it because Gray's understanding is still shallow and he can't see the problems in the townspeople's souls?

In terms of the use of mental power, Gray is inferior to Capa, although Gray's mental power is stronger.

The reason is that Gray doesn't use mental power much in combat; mental power is only a means to assist in combat, and he doesn't use mental power to attack directly.

The pink-haired succubus Kappa primarily uses mental magic, so she is far more proficient in using mental power than Gray.

Gray didn't jump to conclusions, and instead grabbed a middle-aged man who was running wildly in one direction.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

Although the middle-aged man looked very weak, the warning in his tone was undiminished, and he kept trying to break free from Gray's grasp.

It would be a miracle if he could escape from Gray. Not to mention the townspeople with hunger buffs, even thousands of low-level professionals wouldn't be able to break through Gray's grasp!

However, seeing his anxious look, Gray felt that he might have something important to do and shouldn't keep him too long, so he immediately asked, "Answer my question and I'll let you go."

What are you all rushing off to do?

The middle-aged man answered immediately without hesitation: "Someone is distributing relief food again! If we don't go now, we won't be able to get any!"

Before he finished speaking, Gray kept his promise and released the middle-aged man, watching him disappear in a flash at the speed that pushed him to his physical limits.

It turned out to be the case.

Gray finally understood the whole story.

Indeed, distributing relief food to townspeople who had been starving for several days was enough to cause such a frenzy of fighting among them, without any need for mind control by cultists.

Seeing people running in that direction, Gray guessed that the whole town knew that someone was distributing relief food.

Gray didn't know if the relief food was limited and couldn't be supplied to all the townspeople, but considering how frantically the townspeople were fighting for it, that seemed reasonable.

The middle-aged man told him directly that someone was distributing relief food because "he was more willing to let others hold him back and reduce his chances of getting this lifeline than to have another competitor vying for relief food."

"That really is terrifying..."

Gray watched as the townspeople rushed frantically toward the direction where relief food was being distributed, and sighed softly.

This is Moonshadow Territory, the border between the Kingdom of Westphalia and the Kingdom of Olmec, a very remote region within the Kingdom of Westphalia.

Distributing relief food in such a remote place?

Gray felt this was not normal.

If the people distributing relief food were truly saintly benevolent people, how could they possibly reach the remote town of Moonshadow Territory?

It would be better to distribute relief supplies in the more central regions of the Kingdom of Westphalia, wouldn't it? Gray didn't believe that the Kingdom of Westphalia had enough relief supplies to last from the central government all the way to the border.

Is it a conspiracy by cultists? Or is there really a saintly benefactor, but is that saintly benefactor from Moonshadow Territory who cares for her fellow countrymen, or does she have her own special considerations?

Staying put won't reveal the truth, so Gray immediately decided to go and check out the relief distribution site.

As for where it is, just follow the direction the crazy townspeople are heading.

It was so crowded that even Gray couldn't easily squeeze through the massive flow of people.

But isn't the sidewalk quite spacious?

……

I made a mistake, let's start over.

Isn't the sky very spacious?

The townspeople of Moonshadow Territory are all ordinary people, and even professionals would find it difficult to reach the sky.

Gray then leaped into the air, his feet barely propelling him dozens of meters into the air. He landed steadily in the air using the "Flying Technique," as if an invisible barrier in the air was supporting his feet.

That way there won't be any traffic congestion.

Gray looked at the direction of the crowd below and easily identified the location where relief food was being distributed.

Although it is a small town, it is not developed to the point that tall buildings would block Gray's view from above.

Having located the distribution point for the relief food, Gray used his "flying" ability to catch up and arrive at the distribution point before most of the townspeople.

However, we were still a little late.

At the distribution points for relief food, long queues of people had formed.