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

(I won't drag out the transitional plot any longer; this chapter marks the beginning of the final chapter.)

Shad Mountain, an orc kingdom established in the desert.

Shad Mountain, meaning "Shadow Mountain" or "Mountain of Sanctuary," stands in the heart of the relentless desert known as the "Scorched Throat." Its very existence is a miracle, a kingdom born from despair and resilience.

Its story begins in an era of betrayal and exile—at the end of the "Crimson Flame Era," the Demon King was defeated by the heroes, and the Demon forces finally showed signs of decline under the continuous attacks of the human alliance.

At that time, the orc tribes were not entirely enemies. In the long war against their common demonic foe, some orc tribes formed fragile alliances with human kingdoms and fought side by side.

The orcs' bravery was indispensable on the battlefield. However, with the main force of the demons defeated, the landscape of the continent underwent a dramatic change.

Under the dawn of victory, the human nations swelled with unprecedented power and ambition. Fear, greed, and a thirst for resources led them to turn their attention to their former allies—the orcs.

Human rulers and the Church of the Holy Light began to systematically stigmatize the orcs, portraying them as savage, bloodthirsty, and a threat colluding with the remnants of the demon race. The orcs' unique culture, their robust physique, and occasional tribal conflicts were all magnified into a primitive threat deemed "unteachable."

The trigger was a border conflict (whether it was meticulously planned is a matter of opinion).

The human alliance launched a large-scale military operation known as the "War of Bloodclaws" under the pretext of "eliminating unstable factors" and "purifying the land".

This was not a war, but a one-sided expulsion and massacre. Humanity's advanced holy light magic, heavily armored cavalry, and sophisticated siege equipment gave them an overwhelming advantage over the scattered orc tribes.

Their homes were burned, their sacred sites desecrated, and countless orc warriors fell on the road to defending their homeland. The surviving orcs—men, women, children, and children from various tribes—were forced to leave their homes under the leadership of their defeated leaders and shamans, embarking on a desperate migration known as the "Scorched Sand March."

The human alliance pressed forward relentlessly, driving them toward the most desolate and inhospitable part of the continent—the cursed, vast desert known as the "Scorched Throat."

The migration itself was torture. The scorching sun beat down, the yellow sand stung their eyes, and water was scarce. Sandstorms swallowed those who lagged behind, and poisonous scorpions and sand snakes constantly threatened their lives.

Human pursuers drove them deep into the desert like livestock, intending for the harsh natural environment to perform a final "purification".

Countless orcs fell among the sand dunes, their bones becoming landmarks for those who followed.

In desperation, the tribe's shamans poured all their energy into communicating with the ancestral spirits and the elements.

On the verge of total annihilation, the oldest blind shaman, Gluck the Stone Whisperer, in a divine revelation sensed a faint but tenacious "breath of the earth" and "whisper of the water" emanating from the depths of the western desert.

He roared, pointing the way: "West! To the shadows! To the heart of the mountains! The ancestral spirits whisper in the shadows, the water waits beneath the rocks!"

Clinging to their last glimmer of hope, the surviving orcs followed the shaman's guidance and ventured deep into the heart of the "Scorched Throat."

Just as their last drop of water was running out and their hope was about to be extinguished, they saw it—the outline of a huge mountain range, hazy and distorted under the desert storm and scorching sun.

Like a black spine rising from the earth, it casts precious, shifting shadows under the blazing sun. This is Shad Mountain – the Shadow Mountains.

Guided by the last of the Gluck shaman's strength, they found a miracle deep in a hidden valley: the "blood spring".

This wasn't real blood, but rather deep groundwater rich in special minerals seeping to the surface, appearing a rusty ochre red in the sunlight. It tasted bitter and salty, but for the dying orc, it was a life-saving elixir.

After drinking his first mouthful of blood from the spring, the Gluck shaman passed away suddenly, his last words being: "Shadows shelter warriors, blood springs nourish life, and rocks forge our home. This is the land of our people's rebirth!"

The orcs soon discovered that these continuous black mountain ranges were not solid boulders, but rather filled with enormous natural caves, deep canyons, and an intricate network of underground fissures. This area was relatively isolated from the deadly heat, sandstorms, and human sight of the surface.

They used the orcs' innate strength, resilience, and natural understanding of rock (some tribes already had a tradition of mining and cave dwelling) to frantically dig, reinforce, and expand these underground spaces.

Nourished by the Blood Spring and protected by the underground network, the surviving orc tribes set aside their old differences and united as never before under the common pressure of survival.

The orcs began a difficult adaptation process. The lizardman tribes, with their natural tolerance to drought, became excellent guides and surface scouts.

Some orcs have even evolved more effective water storage capabilities (such as the Hump Orcs).

They developed a unique desert agriculture—using limited oases and ingeniously designed condensation systems to collect precious water and cultivate drought-resistant, unusual fungi, sea buckthorn, and root crops. Underground caves became safe homes, workshops, and temples.

Shad Mountain developed a unique "rock civilization." Architecture was no longer surface-level wooden and stone structures, but rather ingeniously crafted underground cities and fortresses carved into the mountains.

Stonemasons, miners, and tunnel engineers became the most respected professions. They forged unique weapons and tools using the hard black rock and rare metal deposits in the desert. Shamanism was closely intertwined with the worship of rocks and blood springs.

Today, Shad Mountain is no longer the refugee camp it once was. It is a well-structured, disciplined desert kingdom that shines with unique brilliance in the face of adversity.

The towering black mountains are natural fortresses, their shadows sheltering the magnificent city that lies deep underground and embedded in the mountains. The Blood Spring remains the source of life, enshrined in the deepest recesses of the kingdom.

Their attitude towards humanity is one of deep-seated wariness and distrust.

However, in reality, even now, the orc kingdom of Shad Mountain is still being harassed by humans.

However, it was no longer a coalition of human kingdoms, but a cult of humanity, the Flame and Burning faction of the Demon Order.

The above is the information on the orc kingdom of Shad Mountain that Gray studied and that his servants compiled.

Crossing the Demira people's kingdom, they smuggled themselves across the border in the same manner, entered the desert region, and searched for the orc kingdom in the mountains.

Speaking of which...

Among the Ten Shadow Attendants, there seems to be one of them, the Seventh Shadow—Aita, who has only appeared briefly in flashbacks so far…