Arthur couldn't believe the sight before his eyes.

No... Not only him—even the girls, aside from trying to catch the little soldiers running around—were also profoundly astounded by their prowess. The 36 legions, each composed of 3,000 fearless, palm-sized warriors, marched forward, sweeping away the monsters in their path.

Their composition was extremely balanced too.

Almost half of them, about 1,500, belonged to the Frontline Infantry Division. Eighty percent wielded various melee weapons—swords, spears, battle axes, and maces—while the remaining fifth carried bows and arrows.

There were roughly 500 soldiers in the Cavalry Division, riding shoe-sized blazing stallions; another 500 in the Arcane Division as spellcasters; 400 members in the Support Division, such as medics and engineers; and the rest in the Command and Elite Division, a small unit of 100 veterans.

"Amazing..." Arthur could only groan in awe.

As a king in the past, he knew just how difficult it was to balance the organization of soldiers properly.

But Andromalia's legions seemed as if they were made perfectly for their roles, rather than assigning random soldiers just to fill positions. It was a miracle that she could maintain such a flawless ratio across all her 36 legions!

Rains of toothpick-sized arrows flew in high arcs, clearing the vanguard of the monster wave. Yes, despite their size, the power behind each shot was logic-breaking! They were even more powerful than arrows fired by an elf!

After that, the vanguard would charge forward—small humans facing giant monsters. But mysteriously, they could hold the line without being stomped over or bypassed. While they held the enemy in place, the cavalry would launch swift flanking attacks, followed by the arcane squad blasting the other side.

At a visible pace, the enemy horde was thinning!

"This ring has this much power..." Arthur muttered, before glancing to the side. "No, this is the power of the 72nd Demon, Andromalia, alone!"

Right.

The Ring of Shlomo had no limit to the number of summons. Technically, he could summon all 72 demons registered to it at once. If they were at least as powerful as Andromalia, their combined force would rival that of a Great Empire!

"Human! You...!"

But just then, the demon in question marched forward, grabbing Arthur's shoulders tight—cream staining the corners of her lips. "No, I mean... Summoner, sir! Do you perhaps have more of those Starburry Short Kick with you?!"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Strawberry Shortcake?" Arthur replied, taken aback by her energy. "Well, unfortunately, that was the only one I had..." He shook his head.

"N-No way..."

Hearing his reply, Andromalia—a demon with power enough to match an entire Earldom—fell to her knees, trembling. "If I knew it was that rare, I would have eaten it sparingly...!"

"..."

Arthur never thought he'd see the figure he was starting to fear kneeling before him in dismay. Although he felt pity for her, he knew she didn't really need his sympathy.

"Ah!" But then, he remembered something. "Although I don't have more, I can ask Sir Xu Tao to get some later—"

"Sir Summoner! If you offer me one—no, two—more of those Strawberry Shortcakes, I'll swear eternal allegiance to you!"

"Really?" he asked, a little uncertain.

After all, that sounded like too cheap a price—offering two Strawberry Shortcakes a day in exchange for this much "power."

"Demons are strict with pacts and oaths! We never break our promises!" Andromalia's confident response cleared his doubts instantly.

This time, her words matched the information the ring had given him, after all.

"Alright, I understand." Arthur nodded. "But is it limited to only Strawberry Shortcakes? I heard from Miss Yifa that the dozens of other sweets she took were more delicious than this one."

This time, it was Andromalia who went silent, her mind unable to process his words.

In the Demon Realm, sweets were the epitome of luxury—something only the strongest demons could enjoy. Yet, if she believed his words, then a mere girl dared to monopolize sweets that even surpassed her cookies!

"Unforgivable! How dare she monopolize such covetous treasures!" she cursed, gritting her teeth. "And no, I don't want to limit the choices. If there's more variety, I'd love to taste them too!"

"Alright. Then, in exchange for your eternal loyalty, I'll need to offer two cakes or other sweets every day, correct?"

"Yes, every month, two... wait. Every day?"

"Huh? Yes. Weren't you asking for daily?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

The two stared at each other, confused.

One thought that asking for two sweets a month was already pushing it, while the other felt that offering two sweets a day was still getting off cheaply.

"Y-Yes, two sweets a day! One at breakfast and one at dinnertime!" Andromalia nodded as soon as realization struck.

There was no way she would back out of such a "good" deal!

"Okay, I got it." Arthur nodded. "Then, for now, we should clear all these monsters and collect the items from those chests down there. Some of those could be exchanged for sweets."

"Is that so?!"

Andromalia promptly stood up, brushing off her maid-uniform-like dress.

"My elite army, eliminate all the monsters within sight, and gather the contents of every chest you find! Bring them all to my summoner!" she shouted excitedly. "Those who perform well will be rewarded later—by having me step on your little faces until you're satisfied!"

A moment of silence passed before—

"ROOOOOOOAAAAAR!"

A deafening war cry erupted from the little army.

In the next moment, their intensity skyrocketed, showing Arthur that their earlier display was far from their full strength. The monsters were eliminated faster than he could count!

Within five minutes, all monsters in the vicinity were cleared.

As for gathering the loot, it posed no trouble. With 36 legions of 3,000 soldiers each, they had a total of 108,000 hands working. It didn't even take a minute for them to collect everything and march back to Arthur and Andromalia.

"Summoner, the job is complete." She turned, bowing deeply in a standard curtsey.

"Now, please exchange these loots for my rewards~!"

"A-Alright..."

Although Arthur was happy to have gained such a reliable new ally, he couldn't help but wonder if hiring her at the price of two cakes a day was truly "fair."

🔷🔷🔷

Arthur's Current Stats:

[

Name: Arthur Pendragon

Level: 950

Stats:

STR: 2,855

INT: 680

VIT: 2,447

AGI: 952

DEX: 816

Cultivation: 0

Hidden Stats:

Charm (CHA): 95/100

Luck (LCK): 75/100

Leadership (LDR): 100/100

Faith (FTH): 60/100

Aura (AUR): 90/100

Note:

The Once and Future King, wielder of the holy sword Excalibur. A warrior whose strength alone can turn the tide of battle, and whose presence inspires loyalty in friend and fear in foe. The legendary king who united a broken land and stood as its greatest protector, a man whose name would live on long after his final battle.

]