Hello everyone, Astaroth here. Due to the way Monsters were created, practically every Monster falls under the rule of a Goddess. As an example, lava and fire-based monsters, such as Lava Drakes and Firebreathers, serve the Goddess of Fire, Lady Salamander, whereas many aquatic Monsters, such as Sea Serpents, Wyrms and Krakens, serve the Goddess of Water, Lady Undine. Most Monsters which aren't easily classifiable, like Devils and Witches, serve Lady Entropy herself. Out of my Demon Generals, Tempest, Charlotte and Lilith all serve Lady Entropy, while Davna serves Salamander and Navillus serves Undine. Important is that 'serving' a Goddess and being 'cursed' by a Goddess are not the same thing- in this case, it simply means they were created of that Goddess's magic, not that they were infused with it. Additionally, even though they serve these Goddesses, they would place my commands above those commands if forced into such a situation.

Standing up to my full height and crossing my hands behind my back, I appraised the magic circle I had drawn on the floor of the dimly lit room, my right eye glowing black as I looked at both the physical appearance and magical flow of the circle. I nodded in satisfaction, a subtle smile on my face, before taking the 'Dark Goddess's Scriptures' out of my [Storage] and opening them to a specific page. Open book in my right hand, I extended my left hand towards the circle just as I had done to perform the transformation ritual, and as Lady Entropy's signature black light gathered in the palm of my hand and on the lines of the circle, I started my prayer:

"O grand goddess lording over the gentle, caring darkness
Here, as I pray, I have of thee an adjurationThe shadows here, and the shadows thereWith them, may this place and that place be connectedSo that those who are there may join me once again"

As always, as my spell progressed, the light slowly grew stronger, until it was no longer possible to see the inside of the circle. As the light faded once I was done, it revealed a group of Demons, each and every one kneeling with a hand over the place their heart was, assuming they had one, and as if practised, synchronised, they spoke:

"We humble servants greet thee, Demon Master Astaroth!"

Looking over the group, I could see there were several Vampires, all at least Count or Countess, and a number stronger. I also saw several pointy hats and face-hiding hoods in the crowd- without a doubt, these belonged to the Witches, Magi and other spellcasters Tempest had chosen. At the front of the crowd, my gaze was met with a strong-willed gaze from a pair of steel-grey eyes- quite literally. The face that looked up to me was, in its entirety, grey, and it belonged to the Chief Blacksmith, who was not, under conventional definitions, a Monster. Instead, it was what might be called a 'construct'- artificially made to perform a certain purpose. It was a Steel Golem- or it had been, at one point. Now, it was not just a construct, but also a Cursed Item, an object souls have been fused into. In this case, the two properties had combined in an intricate fashion, leading to the creation of sentient, artificial life. The Chief Blacksmith was a Steel Golem, so it was entirely an ashen shade of grey, and despite Golems typically having the image of large, slow, hulking creatures, it only stood at about the height of my waist, making it barely any taller than a Goblin. On its shoulders, elbows, knees and other joints, hinges were visible, almost like a modern robot with its plating removed.

"I await your orders, Master", it said, staring at me unblinking- it was a golem, after all. My experience with Lady Entropy had given me skill in reading emotions off of emotionless faces, so from its eyes alone, I could tell it was rather excited to be relied on.

"I shall be relying on you all", I said honestly, but even so, the self-confidence did not leave my gaze. Turning around, I left to return to Sleehekt's 'castle', raising my right hand in a 'follow me' gesture.

"Goblinoids of Sleehekt!", I shouted, addressing the entirety of the village, who had gathered in front of me at the center of the village. "You are weak, and you are being attacked by the strong! In equal conditions, this would mean your unconditional annihilation!" The crowd stirred as the Goblinoids looked at me, some with strong glares, but most with gazes full of fear. It was natural, given I was purposefully exuding an aura of pressure by spreading my mana thinly around the area, and the Demon Generals stood right behind me, each doing the same. "However, we are not playing on an equal playing field! We are in your village, so we are on your home turf! Naturally, this is greatly advantageous! I, Demon Master Astaroth, and my underlings shall assist you in building up your defenses, so if you work hard, you shall survive!" The crowd stirred again, and under the pressure which I was slightly weakening, I noticed a few of the Goblinoids seemed about as motivated as such ugly faces could seem, but many of the Goblinoids still seemed significantly disheartened and frightened, so I continued speaking. "You shall be instructed by the elite few of my minions who have been specifically selected for their ability to teach, you shall learn strategies from the elite few who have shown promise in strategies, and you shall be shown construction techniques from the single best builder in my army! With these factors, you shall grow into so much of your potential that the vile Heroes would not even dream of attempting another attack! Rejoice, followers of Gnome, for your Goddess has decided to ask for the aid of the great Goddess of Darkness, Lady Entropy, and we have come to provide that aid!" The general mood of the crowd was now much more uplifted, and could generally be described as 'good'- some of the Goblinoids were even cheering, although who exactly they were cheering for was unclear, as there were shouts of 'Entropy', 'Gnome' and 'Astaroth'. Tragically, there was no one shouting 'Sleehekt'.

"No, you are not doing it right. Place 15 more pounds of grip strength into your grip as you hit the iron", the Chief Blacksmith, called Rhud, said as it watched over a small group of some of the more nimble Goblinoids who were attempting to forge a sword.

"Fi-fifteen... how much is that?", the High Goblin holding a crudely made stone blacksmith's hammer asked.

"Approximately 27,82 percent of a High Goblin's average right-handed grip strength", Rhud replied after a moment of silence in which it accessed a databank, which had presumably told it a High Goblin's grip strength was the same as a regular Goblin's.

"Tha- that doesn't help...", a Hobgoblin standing next to the earlier Goblin, holding a similar hammer, said.

"In your case, it would be approximately 25,55 percent of a Hobgoblin's average right-handed grip strength", Rhud said to the Hobgoblin after another moment of silence, prompting groans of agony from the small group of Monsters.

"I do not think numbers will help them", I said, folding my arms in front of myself and placing a finger on my chin pensively, causing Rhud to crane its head upwards as it looked backwards in my direction.

"My apologies, Master", it said, "you have entrusted me with this critical task, and yet..." Its face did not change, but somehow, it was as if the light behind its eyes had gone out.

"No need, there was no way to account for this", I said, before doing a suggestion: "If numbers will not work, perhaps you could try providing the Goblinoids with examples instead. That should be comprehensible, even for them."

"Examples, is it? I will attempt this suggestion", it said as its emotionless eyes lit up with ambition, before turning back to the small group of Goblinoids. After closing its eyes in silence for a few seconds, presumably running some calculations, it spoke to the group: "Please pretend you are crushing an apple."

Deciding that it'd be able to figure it out from there, I turned my back and walked away, going off to check on some of the other things which were going on.

"Put your backs into it!"

"No, no, that post goes a little closer!"

"Yes, right there!"

I walked to the edge of the village to find my Vampire nobles were commanding the low-ranking, yet physically highly capable Goblinoids quite efficiently.

"How goes the work?", I asked, addressing no one in particular and causing several of the lower, more recent Vampires to shoot into a salute reflexively.

One of the visually younger and better-looking Vampires stepped forward and gave me a deep bow before replying: "The work is progressing as planned, Master." I recognised him as Raoul, the only Vampire Duke among the group. His gentle features and long, slender fingers gave him an almost feminine charm, and yet the glint in his deep red eyes was strongly characteristic of the gaze of a true villain. His mouth was nigh permanently stuck in a strong smirk, exposing a Vampire's characteristic canines, and like many of the Vampires present, he carried a parasol for protection against the sun.

"That is excellent. As always, your results are splendid", I said, truly impressed they'd managed to get this disorderly bunch to unify their strength and construct a wall.

"I am undeserving of such praise: I, too, am only following orders", he responded humbly, but I did not miss his mouth twitching as he was complimented. He gestured towards the Orcs and Ogres, who were hard at work constructing a crude wall around the perimeter of the village. "But truly, it is amazing, is it not? To think that Monsters as simple as Goblinoids would be able to construct a wall, as long as they are under proper management."

A wry smile formed on my face as I looked backwards, towards the village. The huts were disorderedly built- there was no logic in their placement, and some were made of mud, some were piles of rocks that loosely resembled the shape of a house and others still were simply leaves, draped over a framework of wooden sticks. The only building with any architectural prestige was Sleehekt's castle, and even that was nigh worthless compared to Lady Entropy's. I faced forward again- the properly built wall, despite being only wooden poles with rocks inbetween, formed a stark contrast with the disorderly huts, which simply looked like a child's playthings. "Indeed, it is unbelievable", I agreed, nodding, "and that is exactly why I praised you earlier. Well, I see the work is proceeding as planned here, so I will go check on the final location."

"As you wish, Master", said Raoul, his smirk having half been replaced by a sincere smile as I turned around.

I walked over to the training grounds, where I found Davna, Tempest and the Demons Tempest had chosen, along with a rather large group of Goblinoids, ranging from Goblins to Trolls. From a distance, I could already see the Goblinoids had been split into groups of three, each with a single one of my Demons, presumably educating them.

"How goes the work?", I asked, causing Tempest, Davna and many of the Goblinoids to look in my direction. The Goblinoids were slapped and told to pay attention.

"Ah, Master", Tempest said, her dark purple pupils shining with a teacherly affection as she watched over the Goblinoids. "As you can see, we're teaching the village the 'three-man cell' method- that is, combat in groups of three."

"Yes, I can see that. Certainly, the three-man cell is an efficient way to deal with an enemy who is stronger than you are, assuming the enemy splits into many, rather than moving as a collective unit. I can also imagine that some of the... 'simpler' Goblinoids are simply incapable of understanding more complex military formations, and Monsters as a whole tend to have trouble cooperating, so this will be the best we can do, I suppose."

"Yes. We're training several types of 'cells'- there are cells composed of only the larger ones, for example, in which one will catch an opponent off-guard to break their stance, the next will disarm them and the third will deal the finishing blow, but also others, such as 'cells' composed of only nimbler Goblinoids for scouting purposes or 'cells' which include a Mage so the other two can guard that Mage. In a sense, I suppose this is the limit of what you can teach a Goblinoid."

"They're learning real fast, though!", Davna cut in, an unmistakable grin on her face.

"Indeed, they are learning far faster than I had expected them to." Tempest acknowledged Davna's words with a nod of her head.

"You would too if your lives depended on it", I said, a wry smile on my face. "In any case, I see the work here is proceeding as planned, if not even better. Good work, you two." Without as much as an ounce of hesitation, I placed my left hand on Tempest's head under her hat and my right hand on Davna's head and stroked them a few times before removing my hands and turning my back to them. Naturally, I did not dwell on the feeling, as I most like would have had I stroked Lady Entropy's head instead. "Keep up the good work", I said, walking off.

"Leave it to me, Master", Tempest said while adjusting her hat, a slight blush on her cheeks as she was not usually complimented on her work. Her inventions had a rather high rate of explosions, after all, to the point where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say nine in ten exploded.

"Yup! We'll keep working hard!", shouted Davna with a joyful tone and a face full of smiles, like the face of a child which had just received praise from its parents. Despite being a Dragon, in many ways, she was similar to the physical appearance of her human form.

"I'm counting on you", I said without turning back, and I headed to the outskirts of the village, outside even the walls.