Mutual Attrition

Although Hailmondas was unpopular and practically incapable of governing a territory, that did not mean no one was loyal to him. In fact, quite a few demons still served him faithfully.

Within the Burning Legion's military structure, the massive numbers of Demon Guards, Wrathguards, and Doomguards formed the backbone. These demons shared certain traits: cruelty, brutality, and a complete lack of brains. Their temperaments matched Hailmondas's as perfectly as thunder answered lightning.

Moreover, in these demons' eyes, Hailmondas's big head, empty brain, recklessness, and stupidity were all virtues. His tyrannical rule and terrible treatment of his subordinates were symbols of majesty and power to them. On top of that, Hailmondas truly could be considered the strongest in Fel Scar Rift, so they had all become his die-hard, brainless fans.

Of course, that loyalty lasted only until Hailmondas got beaten flat. In short, as long as you were the strongest, you were the boss. But if you lost, sorry, they did not know you.

And as demons, they did not care about procedural fairness in duels. Tricks, schemes, poison, sabotage—any dirty move was acceptable, and they did not mind in the slightest. In their eyes, strength came down to just two things: horizontal and vertical. Whoever lay down was weak; whoever remained standing was strong!

Therefore, once Hailmondas died, their loyalty would naturally shift. At that point, Evenson only needed to put Agatha, the second strongest, out front, and they would bow their heads and cry, "Take us as your underlings!"

However, at this stage, their numbers still needed to be reduced first in order to successfully eliminate Hailmondas.

First, under the Eredar Twins' instructions, Agatha had begun executing these demons in batches under the pretext of enforcing military discipline and purging the ranks. This would not only reduce their numbers,