Although this region was where the Aveli Elves lived, and trees could be found everywhere, the problem was that these trees could not be used immediately after being felled. They had to be processed into standard lumber before they could be used to build and repair all kinds of structures and machinery. That was precisely why Serlun had sent Roy out to find a lumber mill.
Roy led the Demon Squad in a random direction. After Roy had warned him, Fat Tiger kept his eyes wide open and cautiously sniffed at the various scents in the air, afraid they might run into enemies along the way. Roy, meanwhile, walked in silence while pondering his plan.
He believed that the reason that Pegasus Knight unit had attacked Serlun's Demon Army so recklessly, focusing their attacks on the siege weaponry, was likely because there was an Elf Race stronghold somewhere nearby. It might have been a city or a fortress, but its city wall defenses were probably not very strong.
The Pegasus Knights might have thought the Demon Army's invasion was aimed at that city. To keep the poorly defended city from falling, they had gone all out to destroy the demons' siege weaponry.
It was a simple line of reasoning, something anyone could figure out with a little thought. Roy believed Serlun had probably guessed it as well. Rather than continuing his march, he had stopped to repair the catapults first, most likely intending to capture or destroy that city.
But that was not what Roy wanted to see. It was not that he was worried about the Elf Race; he simply did not want to see them defending a city.
At present, the elves might not yet know the Demon Army's true plan. They probably thought the demons were merely invading, but in reality, Serlun and the others' true target was to kill the Queen of the Gold Dragon Clan.
If the elves misjudged the demons' military objective, they would deploy their troops to defend the city against invasion. The Gold Dragon Clan would help the elves defend it as well. But that would scatter the Elf Troops and weaken their protection of the Gold Dragon Queen. When the time came, the Demon Army might be able to defeat them one by one.
Therefore, Roy felt that he needed to give the Elf Race a warning...
However, how to warn them was a troublesome matter. Roy was a demon, after all. If he dared appear near an elven city, the elves would immediately shoot him dead. And even if he got the chance to speak, they might not believe a demon's words.
That was the worst thing about being a demon. In the eyes of the world, demons were synonymous with lies and evil. Even if one occasionally wanted to tell the truth, it would be rejected outright because of their looks...
This really was a world that judged by appearances...
Thinking as he searched, Roy eventually discovered that his luck was terrible. There seemed to be no lumber mill in that direction, so he could only turn around and search elsewhere.
Without satellites or navigation, scouting the way could only be done through slow exploration. Roy did not dare venture too deeply in any one direction, so he could only keep going back and forth.
In the end, Roy flew high into the air and finally spotted the location of a lumber mill with his own eyes. Only then did he lead the squad there.
It was a lumber mill deep in the forest, well hidden. If Roy had not seen a missing patch in the middle of the forest from the sky, he would not have been able to confirm its location. Yet precisely because it was so hidden, there were no Elf Race guards stationed there.
As Roy and the others approached, they heard the repeated sound of sawing. More than twenty lumber workers were at work inside the mill. They removed the branches from the felled trees, stripped off the bark, sawed the round logs into sections, and finally shaped them into smooth square wood.
When the lumber workers saw Roy's group of demons appear, they were stunned. Once they came to their senses, they screamed and scattered in a panic, trying to flee.
However, the Hell Hounds and Little Demons drove them back. One Hell Hound could not resist its craving and bit a lumber worker to death, secretly devouring his soul.
So when the lumber workers finally appeared before Roy, all he saw was a flock of trembling quails...
"Don't worry! As long as you cooperate, I won't hurt you!" Roy looked down at the lumber workers and said coldly, "This lumber mill is now under demon control. I want you to keep working and keep producing lumber!"
He had no choice but to put on a cold face. Even if Roy had said it with a smile, the workers would not have found him kind. So he simply chose intimidation.
Just like that, the lumber workers and the mill fell under Roy's control. Under his arrangements, the lumber they produced was hauled in turns by more than ten Hell Hounds and over twenty Little Demons to Serlun's camp.
The lumber workers were not very efficient. They were working entirely by hand, so how fast could they possibly be? Until they produced enough lumber, Roy could only wait there.
These lumber workers were all civilians. After observing them, Roy found that they were all elves, though most were rather old. Working under Roy's gaze made them extremely nervous, and some even smashed their own fingers.
Seeing how uneasy they were, Roy could not be bothered with them. He pointed at an elf who looked like a foreman and asked, "You, come here!"
The foreman was startled. Trembling and shaking, he walked over and said, "Y-yes... sir... Y-Your Excellency, what... what do you need?"
"Can you read?" Roy asked. "I mean your Elven Script. Do you know how to read and write it?"
"O-of course!" the foreman hurriedly nodded.
"Good! Go get a sheet of paper. A parchment scroll will do as well! Then write down what I say in Elven Script. Any problem with that?" Roy asked.
"Y-yes!" Of course the foreman had no problem. In fact, as long as Roy did not want to eat him, he would have no problem with anything...
After the other party brought over a parchment scroll and a quill pen, Roy finally spoke. "Write this: Arrogant Aveli People..."
The moment he heard the first sentence, the foreman raised his head in astonishment and glanced at Roy. How are we Aveli People arrogant? Even if the Aveli People are arrogant, are we more arrogant than you Demon Race bastards!?
Only after Roy gave him a vicious glare did he come to his senses. Cold sweat instantly broke out, and he hurriedly waved the quill across the parchment, recording Roy's words.
"Arrogant Aveli People! How dare you stand in our way when the Demon Army is about to flatten the Erathia Kingdom? Now, in the name of High Demon Lord Serlun, I declare that the Aveli Elves shall suffer the harshest punishment! We will destroy your cities and kill the Queen of the Gold Dragon Clan. So long as you continue to stand before the Demon Army's iron hooves, the slaughter will not cease! Your world will burn beneath my feet!"
After thinking for a moment, Roy added one final line. "I am a demon!"
The foreman listened to Roy's domineering declaration in fear and trembling, but he still gritted his teeth and wrote down every word in Elven Script as Roy instructed. When he finished, he offered it to Roy with both hands.
Roy took it and looked it over. The parchment was covered in elegant, flowing lines of beautiful writing, but he could not understand any of it. Still, he assumed the foreman would not dare write nonsense. After blowing the ink dry, he put away the parchment scroll.
This was a Declaration of War meant for the Elf Race, written by Roy in Serlun's name. He knew that even if he described the Demon Army's situation in the tone of an undercover agent, the elves would not believe him. They might even think it was some kind of counterplot and instead increase the forces defending their city.
So Roy simply wrote this Declaration of War in a forceful tone. Once it reached the hands of the Elf Troops, they would take it seriously...
The remaining question was how to deliver this Declaration of War...
Before you continue