Demon King Kyuse Descends! (14)

"Keureuk!"

Early in the morning. As soon as I woke up, I conducted an experiment on the imp's command performance.

"Hmm… This little guy is somewhat decent."

From the experiment, it seemed that this imp's intelligence was definitely lower than Buril's. Dumber than a goblin. I could tell that much for sure.

He was able to follow simple commands, but he would forget them almost immediately. If I asked him to go somewhere and do something, he often spaced out midway and returned without completing the task.

Continuous training might improve him, but currently, I didn't see any specific task that he could perform adequately. Assisting Buril? With his low intelligence, even that might be a challenge.

"Still, it seems he can at least ignite a fire."

Sizzle, sizzle.

A campfire blazed.

"Keureuk."

The imp had ignited this fire.

He possessed the ability to throw fireballs from the demon realm. He conjured a purple flame in his hand, a dark magic, and threw it.

But the projectile's speed was so slow that it didn't seem useful for hitting anything. Other than igniting campfires, its practical use was… maybe to throw it and run away immediately?

"Kararak."

"Keureuk."

I continued to evaluate the imp's capabilities.

He was pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. He seemed to survive by eating fruits and catching insects. He was physically weaker than a kobold, but he could throw fireballs, albeit only roughly twice a day.

His fire ability was fairly useful. If this creature could ignite fires for me, I wouldn't need to use my own mana. This was beneficial.

So, how should I utilize this creature?

"Main damage dealer."

A single one might not be enough, but if I gathered about ten of them and trained them properly. If I could train them to follow my command and simultaneously throw fireballs…

That might actually be pretty effective.

Even if it was slow, as long as the fire net was constructed, it could be a potent hit. It would surely be good. For instance, in confined spaces, it seemed like it would be highly effective. The demon realm flames stuck to things really well, so it was beneficial as long as they hit.

"Good."

I should dominate plenty of imps in the future. I should place the trained goblins at the front and have the imps throw fireballs from behind. That would work excellently.

"Kereuruk! Kereuk!"

"Keu, Kereuereuks…"

Anyway, Buril kept scolding the imp every time he saw him, seemingly displeased with something about the creature. The imp was visibly shrinking, curling up in fear.

Seeing that made me quite pleased.

"Oh, right. Imp. I'll give you a name."

"Kururung?"

"Your name is Imsoong."

This little one constantly bounced around like a monkey. Let's call him Imsoong from now on.

"Keu, Kereuereuks?"

"Buril. You heard that? From now on, his name is Imsoong. Imsoong. Call him damn Imsoong."

"Kereuk."

Buril nodded as if he understood.

"Oh, our Buril is so smart. Anyway, Buril, you should educate Imsoong properly in the future, okay?"

"Kereuk!"

Thump thump!

As if asking to take charge, Buril thumped his chest with pride!

It was unbelievable how capable he was. I wondered if this is how it felt watching efficient soldiers do their job well? I really wanted to reward him with some rice cakes, but I didn't even have rice, let alone cakes.

"Let's get to work then! Reconnaissance, let's go!"

"Kereuk!"

"Kirik?"

Buril responded energetically, and Imsoong tilted his head in confusion.

"Kereuk! Kereuk!"

"Keu, Kereuereuk?! Kereuereuk!"

Immediate acknowledgment…!

"Alright! Obey the orders properly, Imsoong!"

"Kkeureuk!"

Swish, swish.

My shoulders spontaneously shrug.

"Hehehe."

Naturally, my shoulders were moving. After all, I was currently leading two beetles. Energy naturally sprang up.

"Kereukkereuk."

"Kkeureuk."

Buril was walking properly beside me, and Imsoong was closely following behind. Life truly felt good. Let's put in some more effort and gather a squad-level of subordinates.

"The weather's nice."

"Kereuk."

Today's scouting was quite mundane. We went in the completely opposite direction from where we encountered the Dryad. Just thinking of that woman still made my heart race.

"We mustn't cross paths."

"Kereuk?"

While we were walking,

"Kkeureuk!"

"Hm?"

"Kkeureukkkeureuk!"

Suddenly, Imsoong started hopping around, pointing somewhere. What was going on? Buril was just standing still.

"Kereuk? Kereuk?"

Buril, with an annoyed look, clenched his fist.

"Kkeureuk! Kkeureuk!"

Yet, Imsoong's reaction was intense. What did this guy find? Holding back Buril, who seemed like he wanted to hit Imsoong, I said,

"Buril, wait a moment. It seems like Imsoong found something?"

"Kereuk?"

"Imsoong, what did you find? Let's go check it out."

"Kkeureukkkeureuk!"

Imsoong nodded vigorously and charged ahead through the underbrush. As I followed him, I began to see what he saw.

Hop, hop!

A group of insects, about the size of Imsoong's arm, resembling locusts, were hopping around in the underbrush.

"Kkeureuk!"

Imsoong seemed delighted seeing them.

"Insects?"

Ah, did he want to eat them? Imsoong hopped around with a joyous face, drooling all over.

"Hehehe, wow. Our Imsoong is good at finding bugs."

"Kkeureukkkeureuk!"

"Yeah. Go ahead and eat them. If you've found them, you should eat them."

"Kkeureuk!"

Roar!

Immediately, Imsoong opened his mouth wide and started eating a locust's head. He was eating quite greedily. Was it tasty?

"Eat a lot. Among us, you're the only one who eats bugs."

Buril ate fruits, innards, and the meat I cooked for him. I had never seen him eat bugs. After letting this guy have a quick meal, we should move on.

"Kereuk…"

But Buril seemed a bit displeased.

He was glaring at Imsoong, who was munching on the bugs with an utterly relaxed demeanor. Could it be? Was he upset because he was eating alone and not sharing with me?

As expected!

Buril really was intelligent!

"Buril, it's fine. We can eat something else."

"Keukkeuk."

Such a foolish fellow. I should be getting a more competent successor… For now, goblins. It failed once. The monster control spell wasn't 100% effective. It was a bit of a hit-or-miss.

I'd like to try a few more tests by capturing some more.

"Geukgeuk."

"Finished eating? Let's go."

"Kkeureuk!"

They sure ate quickly.

They immediately began moving again.

"Where to look?"

When I tried to find it, it was not easy to spot. How vast was this wilderness? Was there a human habitation nearby? So many curiosities, but there was no way to know right now.

That's why scouting was important.

"Keureuk."

"Hmm?"

That was when Buril stopped us.

"Imsoong, be quiet. Lower your posture."

"Kkeureuk."

"Buril, where?"

"Keureung."

Buril pointed ahead.

We immediately lowered ourselves and moved forward. This was a signal that Buril had found something. But from the reaction, it didn't seem to be particularly dangerous.

Step, step.

We advanced, pushing through the bushes.

"Gyusat. Gyusasat."

"Gyureureureung, Gyusat."

"Kyukyukyusat."

And the cries of the kobolds could be heard.

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud.

It appeared that three kobolds were moving in a group, holding bunches of some fruits, root vegetables, and mushroom-like plants the size of their own bodies, along with what seemed like dead insects.

"…"

"…"

"…"

We all silently watched the sight.

What was this?

Were these kobold groups… moving food supplies? But where to?

Perhaps…

Were they taking it to their kobold den?

To store and eat later?

"Gyugyugyusat."

The kobolds passed by.

They were not ants or anything. "Guys, let's tail them."

"Keureuk!"

"Kkeureung."

This was worth watching. A kobold den sounded intriguing. And storing food? Maybe there was an opportunity to seize everything inside.

We immediately tailed the kobolds. They were unaware of our presence. In this way, they unwittingly introduced us to their home.

"Gyusatgyusat."

"Gyusatsat."

The kobolds entered a tunnel about 1 meter in height.

"Wow. Seems like they live there."

"Keureuk."

How many were inside? Did they dig and create that den themselves? Whatever the case…

Looking at that den, an idea struck me.

"That cave… Buril."

"Keureuk?"

"Shouldn't we take that?"

That kobold den.

It definitely looked better than our cramped pit.

I didn't know how many were inside… but if it was a manageable number to fight and win, maybe moving our base there wasn't a bad idea.

The pit was fine, but it was just a pit. As my subordinates increased, it would undoubtedly become cramped. We needed a bigger dwelling.

"Dungeon."

I needed my own dungeon.

And that kobold den seemed to fit the bill.

"Let's seize it."

Defeat them, dominate them, and seize that den. Such a drive took over my mind. A quick decision. Good. Let's seize it. Make it our home.

"Guys, let's seize that place."

"Keureuk…!"

Buril understood my words, and his fighting spirit ignited.

"But we don't have enough information."

I didn't know how many kobolds were inside. If I didn't know, I would have to find out.

"Stay put here."

Scout. Observe. And assassinate. Plans formed rapidly in my head. First, we would wait and watch their activities and learn the kobolds' daily patterns.

And if some strayed too far from the group… attack and suppress them. Either put them under control or kill them.

Weaken their forces like this and take advantage of their unstable state to determine their numbers as much as possible.

It was a bit cruel, but there was no choice. For Buril, Imsoong, and myself to survive together, we needed to create better conditions for ourselves.