270 Is that equipment sufficient?

After the second meeting with the Church of the Divine Word, days of dizzying busyness began.

Due to the full-scale deployment of the Tenth Army, forced upon us by the Demon King.

The Tenth Army had existed in name only. In practice, it was a private militia of regional lords—essentially hollow in substance.

Effectively, it was no different from establishing a new army.

We did extract personnel from other divisions, but most were conscripts.

Inexperienced soldiers, fresh out of the academy.

Moreover, the ones with potential had mostly been recruited by other divisions, leaving only unremarkable candidates.

Even among those we pulled from other units, they were mostly those with poor conduct or negligible records.

In truth, we were simply saddled with what no one else wanted.

To be expected to assemble this group into a proper legion? That’s absurd.

Thus, I devoted myself to transforming these soldiers—morally corrupt, lacking discipline—into battle-obsessed warriors who crave war.

At first, some fools attempted to sneak into my tent during training encampments. But after experiencing the sincerity of my persuasion, they reformed.

Now they follow me without question.

The lifeless look in their eyes—just imagination.

Hm?

No one’s tried to approach Fermina at night?

You should figure it out.

She lacks presence.

Even as deputy commander, active more than I am, soldiers still don’t recognize her face.

Pity.

Then again, how is it that Fermina, who’s less visible than I am—despite my own use of concealment magic—still fades into the background?

Without Fermina, this legion wouldn’t function at all.

She’s active in administration, soldier training, supply logistics—doing everything with flawless efficiency.

Yet why can’t the soldiers recognize her face?

One of the Seven Mysteries of the Tenth Legion.

Incidentally, one of those Seven Mysteries is also, inexplicably, my sleeping form—though one must not dwell on it.

Between all that, the past year has been consumed by legion duties, leaving no room for other matters.

I’ve left everything concerning the elves to Agnner, and all matters of the Divine Word Church to the Demon King.

Still, no need to handle everything alone. Agnner and the Demon King are both competent—no cause for concern.

The Demon King does little, but that’s acceptable.

Direct coordination with the Divine Word Sect cannot proceed until the plan to attack the elven settlement is fully underway.

To advance that, the war with the human race must first be concluded.

My Tenth Army is developing smoothly, but the other divisions undergo frequent personnel changes.

First, Oni-kun assumed command of a division.

Oni-kun became commander of the Eighth Division, which, like the Tenth, had existed only in name until now.

Unlike me, he possesses a properly constituted force.

He eliminated a lord with ties to the elves and consolidated the private troops under that lord’s control into the Eighth Division.

While Agnner is undoubtedly involved in the removal of the elven-linked lord, Oni-kun is officially designated as the one who carried out the action—discreetly, so as not to alert the elves.

With the achievement carried forward, he enters the rank of commander with fanfare.

Faster advancement than even Mel.

Mel, however, formally inherits the Fourth Army from Balt and becomes its commander.

Balt remains wary of Mel, yet appoints him commander out of necessity—no other capable individual exists to fill the role.

Balt, now free, is occupied with commanding the Demon Lord's direct forces and managing administrative duties.

Do your best, Balt.

Do not lose, Balt.

Next, the Ninth Army is entrusted to the Black.

The Ninth Army, however, is clearly Black’s personal militia.

Yes.

Dragons. Wyverns.

Whether due to administrative authority or some other factor unknown to me, the personnel of the Ninth Army are transformed dragons and wyverns.

Not even demons.

Inferior to no other army—overwhelmingly stronger, in fact.

These are not ones to be handled lightly.

If we were to pit them against the Tenth Army, they would be annihilated without question.

In fact, even the lowest-ranking members, if mishandled, could surpass commanders of other divisions.

The first through third divisions are standard demon armies.

The fourth is a demon army with only the head being a vampire, otherwise normal.

Fifth through seventh are also normal.

The eighth and beyond are not.

That covers the general structure of the divisions.

Soon, the Vampire Children will graduate from the academy. Once integrated into the divisions and acclimated, preparations will be complete.

Personnel are at full capacity.

The roster is complete, but one issue remains.

Supplies are insufficient.

Primarily weapons and armor.

Given the current state of the demon race, food production must take precedence.

The workforce is shrinking, yet able-bodied personnel are being conscripted. Therefore, there is a shortage of personnel in the production sector.

Failing to allocate most of it to food production would starve the entire demonic race.

Thus, weapons and armor inevitably get pushed to the back of priority.

Despite preparations for war, this is how things stand—what exactly is going on?

Nevertheless, my legion is the Tenth Legion.

The tenth of ten legions.

That is, the end.

Supplies are distributed last.

Thus, there is nothing proper at all!

While Argnar's first army was equipped with fine armor and swords, this side had only secondhand and substandard gear.

Fermina is doing her best to negotiate for proper supplies, but even if she is skilled, she remains an inexperienced girl with no record of achievements.

They received no proper response from the upper echelons.

If I went straight to Balt and asked him myself, he turned me down flat—said there was nothing to be had.

Balt’s been running himself ragged, dark circles under his eyes, and still says it’s impossible. That’s got to mean it’s serious.

Pushing for something impossible won’t change anything.

Still, one cannot fight without gear.

I’ve never touched a weapon in my life, but expecting a soldier to fight bare-handed? That’s beyond unreasonable.

So I decided to ask someone who can make it.

“Then make it.”

“No no no. I’m busy too, you know?”

Refusing my request, Oni-kun—seems you’ve grown quite bold lately.

As you’ve noticed, I’m asking Oni-kun.

Oni-kun possesses a unique skill that allows the refinement of magical blades.

It consumes MP, so it’s not infinite, but the ability to create without materials? That’s a significant advantage.

There’s no need to make something elaborate. I just want decent swords, at the very least.

The Eighth Army’s personnel—ideally, they could have been transferred from the Tenth Army.

I could offer my own handmade undergarments—increased defense, no joke—to the Eighth Army in exchange.

If you don’t do it, I don’t know what I’ll do.

After persistent negotiation, Oni-kun eventually agreed.

Weapons are now manageable.

As for armor, I gave up on full plate. Instead, I had every soldier wear garments woven from my thread.

They’re higher in defense than standard full-body armor.

Dressed in uniform white garments covering their entire bodies, the soldiers lined up—looked like a suspicious secret organization.

The white isn’t due to laziness.

It wasn’t because coloring was inconvenient.

It wasn’t for any reason at all.

Thus, the Tenth Army had nearly completed its preparations.