It turned out that the reason why Angelus poured the majority of resources into military strength was because they had been planning to launch an attack against the human countries and empires. Angelus believed that nothing else in the kingdom mattered except its capacity to destroy others.

The ignorant former king left his people to fend for themselves. He prioritized getting stronger himself and didn't care if his people starved or killed each other. That was why even though demons could reproduce quickly, their population and civilization were nowhere near as developed as that of humans.

'But it's fine,' Dhein thought.

'As long as I focus on the right things, there's still hope.'

First, the land desperately needed a government. An honest, functional one at that.

The only hierarchy the demon kingdom had was Demon King being the highest, followed by the elite demon warriors like Parro and Krushe, followed by the middle-ranked demons in terms of evolution, and then followed by normal demons. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the mindless, savage demons who couldn't evolve properly.

'I will look into demon evolution more when I have time. But for now, I need to establish an authoritative department.'

With nothing but a pen and paper, Dhein used his acquired knowledge to formulate a government system. He had to consider things such as their current educational level and philosophy. For now, he couldn't expect any of them to work honestly unless they were motivated by fear.

Since the chain of command seemed a bit murky at present, Dhein had to establish that first

After finishing the written framework, Dhein summoned the entire nation to gather in front of the castle.

Krushe, Parro, and some of the higher ranking demons worked together to spread the word, and in no time, the crowd began to gather in the wide area below the balcony of Dhein's castle.

They waited for a while until all of Sekhtar could hear Dhein's announcement. Only the footsteps of a thousand demons could be heard because none dared to talk. When they were sure that all villages had representatives present in the area, Dhein started to speak.

"As you may already know, I have defeated the former king and usurped the throne. From now on, you are under my ruling."

The demons varied in size, colors or horn positions. They quietly listen to Dhein's every word.

"Does every village have a chief or a leader? If so, I ask them to step forward."

As expected, no one responded.

There were no leaders and authority. Even though they lived collectively, it was every demon for themselves.

"I see... then I shall assign you each a village chief."

After asking Cyreth to bring him down, Dhein landed with his feet and began walking towards the villagers.

If he were to randomly pick a stranger to lead a village, it might lead to disaster instead of progress. Which was why Dhein came up with a brilliant idea.

"You see, I draw my power from devouring souls."

All of a sudden, the solemn atmosphere had become heavy and tense. He saw the demon's faces change into worry and nervousness as they already knew where this was going towards.

"I will take everyone's soul here eventually. No one will be spared. But to make things smoother, I need someone from each village to bring the demon sacrifice to me."

He spread his gaze to the anxious demons.

"So who wants to have the honor? As the village chief, you will bring me one soul from your village every month, and you get to decide who it will be. It goes without saying that your soul will be the last to be devoured. You would survive the longest!"

"Though, I must warn you early on. Getting your soul devoured by me will be the greatest suffering you will ever experience in this reality. There is no pain worse than having your very essence mauled and consumed as your existence fade into nothingness. It is fair to say that this is a fate worse than death."

Dhein gave them a sharp stare.

"However, I have an offer. One that could greatly minimize the suffering you will have to endure."

Though faint, a weak sense of hope emerged from their weary eyes.

"Today is... uh... a special day. A once in a century chance!"

Dhein spread his arms.

"Today, if I consume ten souls, I will no longer need to receive offerings for the rest of my life. No one else will have to suffer."

"But the souls have to be willing to be consumed. This ritual would not work if it is against the sacrificial lamb's will."

"So if anyone wants to offer themselves to me, step forward and endure the suffering that even the filthiest sinner does not deserve."

A few seconds passed without anyone making a move. Dhein was starting to lose hope.

Then to his surprise, one demoness emerged from the crowd.

She wore a simple tunic and a pair of worn-out boots. Her hair was long, lustrous black, blending with her pale gray skin. Her horns, like Amarih, were on top of her head instead of her forehead.

Her blue eyes were almost a dead ghost, devoid of all hope.

"That's one," Dhein mumbled.

A few seconds later, an older demon walked forward. His graying hair and long beard covered his wrinkly face. The demon was draped in a brown cloak and used a wooden cane to support his balance.

Dhein celebrated internally.

Soon, eight more demons stepped up, filling the ten positions.

One of them was a tall, bulky young man with a seasoned face.

The others were more elder demons. Just by looking at them and the way they conducted themselves, Dhein could tell that they were among the educated and morally aware.

He felt an ache in his heart just imagining the fear they must be feeling. Still, the fact that they were willing to endure great suffering to prevent more people from meeting the same fate showed a portion of the strength they possessed.

'But it was necessary. Thanks to this, I'm able to determine which ones really cared about others more than themselves.'

Satisfied, a smirk tugged at Dhein's lips.

He then spoke to the valorous ten.

"Very well. Follow me."

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