- The Demon Lord Alzeius

Hearing those words, Zex was utterly dumbfounded. With his memories and experiences from his old life intact, the times where he would be surprised were rare. This moment was such a rarity.

"My Lord, you jest. Surely, with your power…" He tried to fawn over the Demon Lord.

On the other hand, the Demon Lord reclined lazily and said before staring into the distance. "There isn't an army. At least not anymore."

Zex caught the meaning of his words and then replied. "If they had betrayed you, my Lord, I can eliminate them for you." He was genuinely enraged at the thought. Betrayal was something he hated the most even in his past life.

A sigh went out from the Demon Lord's mouth.

"You can't. They are all dead." The Demon Lord paused, giving off a solemn vibe.

Zex was confident he was able to read the room right this time and kept silent. He had his fair share of losses in his previous life. An unprecedented pandemic, followed by a huge war that lasted for close to a decade, erupted and claimed many lives all over the world. His generation wasn't safe from the turbulent times despite technology reaching new heights every day.

All this yet he was unprepared for what he was about to hear next.

"I ordered them to attack this castle but they were so weak that they all died, so I conquered the castle myself." Alzeius still maintained a solemn face as he spoke these words.

Badong!!!

Zex felt great weakness in his limbs that he had to forcefully gather strength or else he would topple down from the shock… and disappointment. 'Did I just form a contract with an irresponsible master?' He thought.

"Anyway, come closer. I will transmit some of my knowledge of this world to you." Alzeius said casually as if he didn't care about what he said or the feelings of his new general.

Giving this master one more chance to change his opinion, Zex buried the back-to-back surprises at the back of his mind, stood up, and moved forward.

He was considering using the [Soul Swap] on the Demon Lord but he had no idea about his stats or his level. He also did not have an identification skill yet so he had zero data. For him, it was not worth the risk of failing.

As Zex arrived close to the throne, the Demon Lord placed his palm on his forehead. At that instant, images and information flooded his head, introducing him to the area he was in.

Valeingash...

A land with many continents. The one he was in was a fairly large one, called Avignel.

It was filled with various races and civilizations mostly spread among 15 established kingdoms. The Castle they were in belonged to a Vassal of the Kingdom of Grimley, ruled and populated by humans.

…

The images continued to flow in his mind until they focused on a young demon who was serving a powerful Demon Lord. The former was surprisingly Alzeius and the latter was his master.

One day, their keep was attacked by Grimley's army and before the Demon Lord was killed, he passed on his essence to Alzeius which would uplift him into the level of a Demon Lord once he fully absorbed it.

Alzeius escaped and had nowhere to go. He hid in a cave after slaughtering the beasts living in it and stayed there until he completely absorbed the essence.

When he was done, he traveled for a few days until he came across a castle and decided to make it his own. With that thought in mind, he went to a nearby cemetery, used his power to reanimate the dead, and made them attack the castle.

Unfortunately, the defenses made quick work of them so he decided to conquer the castle with his own hands. He then gathered survivors to play with and the owner of the body Zex was in, was the last one played with and killed.

The images then stopped and Zex's consciousness returned to the current time.

…

Zex was silent for a while before looking at Alzeius who had a smug look on his face.

'What the hell are you looking smug for? There is too little information!!!! You didn't even have basic information on the races here!!!' Zex was distraught at how unreliable this master of his was.

"My Lord… when did you attack---I mean conquer this castle?" Zex asked as he just realized something.

"5 days ago. Why?" Alzeius casually asked.

This answer made Zex's heart sink further. 'Then Grimley might come to siege this castle in a few days to reclaim it!'

Zex explained this predicament to his new master. However, Alzeius's face remained unshaken at the news. "Hmmm." He reacted as if he did not care while closing his eyes.

Noticing the nonchalance from his master, Zex knew that talking any further was meaningless.

"I shall scout around and make preparations for their arrival." He proposed. There was no use wasting time with this unreliable master.

"Go!" Alzeius replied with a straight face.

Zex nodded and stood up to leave.

Alzeius then closed his eyes and had a sinister smile. "Let's see how you make it out of this mess."