I Will Conquer and rule the World as trash prince

The night sky, studded with millions of stars and galactic clusters, stretched wide above the high mountains. Warm yellow light from paper lanterns illuminated a traditional wooden pavilion standing on the edge of the lake. The surface of the lake water looked very calm, reflecting the starlight. Hundreds of fireflies flew low over the green grass. Several military tents made of dark silk surrounded the area. In the middle of the pavilion, a giant parchment map was spread across a wooden table with lit candles around it.

Plop. Splash.

The sound of a fishing hook falling and breaking the surface of the lake water.

Uni sat cross-legged on the edge of the pavilion's wooden floor. Her fingers held a fishing rod. The long black-haired woman opened her mouth wide and yawned softly. Her eyelids were half-closed, fighting off sleep.

"That is how it is," Uni said in a lazy tone. "We could just form an alliance with the kingdom trying to kill Toba Ragnazikir."

Uni gently bit her lower lip. "That bastard is good at covering up information."

"Plus the human kingdom, right," chimed in a white-haired woman named Hesa.

Hesa stood upright, leaning her back against a wooden pillar of the pavilion. She wore black dragon-scaled armor with a dark purple cloak. Her long white hair was tied high in the back. A pair of dark horns protruded from her head. Her right hand rested on the hilt of the katana at her waist.

Hesa pushed her lips forward. "Do we need to feel threatened by them, Your Majesty?"

The woman turned toward Lefa, who stood in the corner of the room. "How many humans have you killed. Do you remember?"

Lefa fell silent. He rolled his eyes upward, thinking for a moment. "I did not count them. What is clear is that since Tominus ascended the throne, I began hunting humans less often."

"But they are not too difficult, right?" Hesa asked to confirm.

"They have a class called mage," said a brown-haired man named Kao. The man wore thick black plate armor with gold accents and a purple cloak. A pair of curved dragon horns rested on his head. "That class can do anything."

"If their level is high," interrupted a long white-haired man named Hasa.

Hasa stood with his arms folded across his chest. His face looked very flat and cold. His clothing was similar to Kao's, but his purple cloak covered most of his body. "And besides mages, they cannot do anything."

Hesa nodded slowly. "I agree with Hasa."

Hesa narrowed her red eyes, staring at Kao. "So there should be no need to worry. Unless you feel weaker than them."

"But why is Toba forming an alliance with them?" Kao asked. His tone rose. "He would not possibly cooperate with a weak alliance. There is still the demon or elf race."

Hasa tilted his face slightly to the left. His eyes kept staring blankly ahead. "Maybe they are genuinely trading? Lefa said he did not sense any humans on the ship. Maybe they really are just going home from trading."

Hesa folded both of her arms in front of her chest. "I used to fight humans a lot in the past. They lost in less than one minute."

Kao raised his right hand and pointed straight at Hesa's face. "In the past. Before Tominus ascended the throne."

Hesa clicked her tongue. She turned her face toward the lake with an annoyed expression. "Tch. You. Why have you been making..."

"I once fought one of Tominus's subordinates!" Kao cut in with a loud voice. "He was not a mage. I almost died."

Kao looked into his comrades' eyes alternately. His breathing was slightly ragged. "He had white hair. I only managed to slash his eye, but even that was only because he was off guard."

Kao's hands clenched tightly at his sides. "He made me near death. But instead of killing me, he said."

Kao swallowed hard before imitating the person's words. "'I am not like you. Make this a lesson to not say humans are weak. Tell them what kind of trash you are in front of me. Remember my name. Klaus.'"

Hesa furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes sharply. "Bullshit."

Hasa put on a confused expression. His eyebrows knitted together looking at Kao's face. "Why are you only telling us this now?"

Kao stomped his foot on the wooden floor. His face reddened, holding back anger and shame. "I was ashamed! I am sure you all would keep it tightly hidden too if you experienced that!"

Lefa exhaled a long sigh seeing the debate. "So what is the main point."

Lefa turned his head to stare at Uni's back, who was still sitting on the edge of the pavilion.

Plop. Plop.

The fishing float on the lake's surface moved rapidly, pulled down into the water.

"Got one," Uni muttered quietly. Her eyes widened instantly.

Uni pulled her fishing rod upward with all her might.

Swish.

The wooden rod bent sharply. The pull from inside the water turned out to be much stronger than she expected. Uni's body was instantly thrown backward due to the pulling force. She immediately released her grip on the rod so she would not be dragged into the water. The fishing rod slid down and sank to the bottom of the lake.

Uni twisted her hips in the air and landed sitting on the wooden floor. "Ah. Damn it."

Uni immediately looked back, staring at her subordinates who fell silent seeing the incident. Uni's facial expression returned to serious in a split second.

"Send our spies when that ship lands," Uni ordered firmly. "Report if there are humans. If there are none, it means they are purely trading."

The woman raised her right hand and touched her own cheek. "At the same time, look for information about the spies that Toba killed."

Uni lowered her hand. Her eyes stared sharply at her commanders one by one. "And accelerate the plan to summon the monsters in the palace area."

Uni exhaled softly. "The worst-case scenario is the Elfier kingdom. The humans you killed previously definitely did not come from Elfier."

Uni stood up slowly from her seat. "But if they truly are from Elfier, I believe you are capable of handling them."