Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
A share in the spoils. If some noble family in Azure City has the Orb Of Super Awesomeness locked up in an anti-magic treasure vault which your caster desperately wants but can't obtain through normal means, they can join up with you and be part of the plundering army.
If Xykon desperately wanted the Orb of Super Awesomeness, he would fly in and take it, eradicating anyone who annoyed him and vanishing before the authorities arrived. Maybe bring a few zombie ogres to smash the anti-magic crystals/walls/shoebox if that's an added obstacle.

The only reason Xykon needed the army in the first place is because it was not a prize he could just fly in and swipe. As Fyraltari said, (morally questionable) epic-level arcane casters don't take jobs. If they want something, they take it. If taking it requires an army for whatever reason, they hire (or conscript/enslave/conjure/create) the army, not vice versa.