Chapter 234 \nChapter 234 â Battle of Demon Lords(5)\n
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The Neutral Faction was greatly indebted to me.
This dated back to when the Crescent Alliance was still active.
At first, Barbatos wasnât going to forgive Paimon who had put her in a trap. She was going to hold an official hearing and crush Paimon there. However, Marbas of the Neutral Faction hosted a gathering and urged them to reconcile.
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At that time, Marbas said this:
âA bird that loses a wing will be unable to fly. If the Mountain Faction trying to attack the Plains Faction is wrong, then would it not also be wrong for the Plains Faction to try and wipe out the Mountain Faction in retaliation?â
He then also added.
âI wish for a reasonable compromise. Of course, if the Plains Faction chooses to be tolerant, then the Neutral Faction will support you fully.â
He stated that he would âsupport us fullyâ at the end.
It was the compensation the Neutral Faction had to pay us since we had generously forgiven the Mountain FactionâŠâŠ. This was the trump card I had pulled out. We were dealing with Agares, the strongest battle fiend. It wasnât a waste at all.
Marbasâ army was currently crossing the border. He had about 8,000 men.
The Neutral Faction had been carrying out their operations in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The area of Habsburg that shared a border with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was none other thanâ.
âMiss Gamigin, itâs the region that you are currently occupying without permission.â
The Neutral Faction was going to swoop in and attack Gamiginâs territory.
I smiled.
âOf course, this is currently the territory that Miss Agares has forcefully taken over. If what Miss Gamigin said is true, thenâŠâŠ.â
ââŠâŠ.â
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âThe Plains Faction, Mountain Faction, and the Neutral Faction will be moving together as one. This is happening for the first time in 2,000 years. This will most likely start a commotion in the demon world.â
Barbatos will stand at the forefront as the supreme commander while the Neutral Faction and the Mountain Faction support her from behind. History had already proven how much power this array had. They had annihilated two countries during the 2nd Crescent Alliance expedition.
Despite all of my effort during the 8th Crescent Alliance, we couldnât even completely annihilate the Habsburg Empire in the end. If you compare these, then you can guess how powerful an alliance between the three factions is.
âThe era of faction disputes has passed and an era of harmony and unison will arrive. Demonkind will undoubtedly perceive it like this. Miss Agares and Miss Gamigin will be chosen as the sacrificial lambs for the sake of this new age. It will be quite the fancy and extravagant festival.â
Gamigin, there was only one thing you didnât predict.
You never imagined that the Mountain Faction and the Neutral Faction would help Barbatos. However, I was next to Barbatos. I possess the ability to make Sitri and Marbas take action. You were not aware of this.
âI see. I understand now.â
Gamigin broke her silence.
âSo this is how you do things. You never step forward yourself and solve your issues by bringing in other groups. It was like this during the Crescent Alliance as well. When Paimon created a trap, you brought in the other legions. And now youâve brought in the Mountain Faction and the Neutral Faction in order to ruin me and Agares.â
She glared at me quietly with her narrow eyes.
Her red pupils were glowing coldly behind her smiling eyes.
âYour life is similar to that of a parasite, Dantalian. You know, Iâve been wondering why you chose to stay as Rank 71. Even though it wouldâve been fine if Baal and Vassago decided to raise your rank sooner. But now itâs become clear.â
Gamigin flicked her finger.
Once she did, the glass in my hand shattered. The fragments of the cup scattered and landed on my right hand.
âDantalian, Rank 71 suits you the most. Rather, you should go down a rank. Throughout the long history of the Demon Lord army, there has never been someone who parasitized off of others as shamelessly as you. Marbas wonât forgive us? From Marbasâ ideological perspective, we are nothing more than obstacles to him?â
Gamigin laughed. It was different from her usual laugh.
It was a mocking laugh. The smile that was as soft as the sun had disappeared and was replaced by coldness.
âUnpleasant. This is truly unpleasant. You never even thought Marbasâ ideology was correct in the first place. You only think itâs beautiful. You treat it as a simple spectacle to watch. Do you understand, Dantalian? Thatâs âthe most unpleasant way to step onâ someoneâs ideology.â
âIf you are about to call me a son of a bitch and a piece of trash, then.â
I shrugged.\nâI should inform you beforehand that it is useless. Those are already established facts.â
âYouâre ridiculing every Demon Lord. Be it Barbatos or Marbas, they didnât live their lives to be put on display as art exhibitions for your amusement. At the very least, I know this fact better than you.â
âWhat does it matter?â
I dusted the glass fragments off of my hand. They were bothering me.
âBaal is capable of distinguishing between real and fake. You arenât a Demon Lord. Youâre a fake. You simply live as a parasite without a belief of your own.â
âThat is a somewhat original reproach. I like it.â
âAs long as Baalâs red eyes remain open, you will remain as the lowest rank forever.â
Mm. Iâm not sure why, but the number of people who swear at me has increased lately.
It was truly unfair. Arenât they the ones who always start it? Theyâre the ones who attack and provoke me first. Iâve simply been responding in kind.
Despite this, people call me a piece of trash and a fake. I may be a damned piece of trash, but that was rude. It was saddening. When did the world sink so farâŠâŠ?
âWell, I more than understand why you are upset, Miss Gamigin, but I do not believe anything good would come from venting that anger out on me.â
Gamigin stared at me quietly. I could clearly feel her bloodthirst. Dear me, I was simply returning the same words she had said to me before right back to herâŠâŠ. You shouldâve never said this to another person if youâre going to get this upset. She wasnât able to maintain even the most basic part of ethics. How disappointing.
Hmm. Should I try taking a step back here? It wonât be good for our negotiations if I only raise her tension.
âOf course, I know my place. As Miss Gamigin had said, Rank 71 is the perfect spot for a person like me. I may have a bit of an advantage, but that does not mean I intend to threaten Miss Gamigin.â
âHm. Then what?â
âLet us negotiate.â
I continued.
âBetray Miss Agares. No, if the term betrayal does not work for you, then fine, retaliate against Miss Agares. You were abruptly attacked by Miss Agares, were you not?â
If we were to believe her statement, that is.
Iâm a courteous gentleman. I wasnât going to deny a maiden of what she had insisted. I will always respect a ladyâs opinion.\nVisit wuxiaworld.eu for extra chapters.
âIf you do, then we will acknowledge most of the territory that Miss Gamigin had occupied without permission as yours. You will have to give a slight portion, but you should be able to give up that much. Do not worry. We will not ask for any more or any less than 40%.â
I smiled widely.
âReferentially, this is actually a huge deal. Our Plains Faction will recover the land that had been unjustly taken from Miss Gamigin and we will only be taking a commission fee of 40%. Is this not quite the generous deal?â
ââŠâŠ.â
Gamigin went quiet.
She will be losing 40% of her land as a price for losing the war. It would be a huge loss. Gamigin had started this war because she was unsatisfied with her small amount of land, so it wasnât exactly a welcomed proposal.
âThere is a way to lower it to 20%, butâŠâŠ.â
Gamigin gave me a puzzled look. I reached my hand out and stroked her chin. Her soft skin brushed against my fingers. My action was obvious.
Gamigin snorted.
âAre you telling me to offer my body? You really do know your place. You really are a third-rate actor.â
âSo thatâs your real face, Miss Gamigin.â
A twisted face that sees the world as a pile of garbage and bile. Once her warm smile had completely disappeared, there was only a cynical smile and jeer left. Like an old, wise person who had been tossed around by the world excessively, Gamigin was mocking the entire world with a single facial expression.
This was the first time that I felt that Gamigin was charming.
âIf I am a third-rate actor, then what may you be, Miss Gamigin? Youâve revealed your true face before a third-rate actor. Wouldnât you be like an actress who went to the big city full of confidence but failed miserably?â
âYou probably donât want only my body. Youâve never looked at me with âthoseâ kind of eyes, after all.â
Was she also sensitive to the way people looked at her? There was a chance that Gamigin was so sensitive to everything that she eventually started to believe that the world only had rotten desires.
She was right. I had never seen her as a target of sexual desire.
âYou are correct. Unfortunately, I have not suddenly been charmed by you. Well, who knows if this will continue to be the case in the future.â
âI donât care about your personal matters. What do you want?â
\nâI made a promise with Barbatos. After sleeping with every female Demon Lord who is renowned for their beauty, I have to declare to the public that Barbatos is still the best.â
Gamigin gave me a baffled look.
âWhaat?â
âOur Little Miss Demon Lord is actually more delicate than you might think. Believe it or not, that is my condition. Become my lover. And then spread rumors that we had become lovers.â
Gamiginâs expression became more baffled.
âIn the end, youâre just saying that youâre going to sleep with me.â
âIn a more elegant matter of speaking, yes.â
âYouâll preserve the territory I have with that? You really are charitable.â
The ends of Gamiginâs mouth twisted.
âBut I have a condition. Preserving only 80% of my land isnât good enough. Acknowledge all of the land in my occupation as mine.â
âVery well, then.â
I gave an immediate answer. Barbatos will most likely complain, but I have plenty of excuses. For example, I could say that this couldnât be helped for the sake of cornering Agares further and that it would be unwise to make more enemies.
How much did I invest in order to give Barbatos victory in this internal dispute? I used my last wish with Sitri and wrote off Marbasâ debt to me. It wasnât a small loss. It should be fine to arrange a secured sexual life for myself as well.
âNow this makes things simple.â
I said casually while seated.
âStrip.â
Gamigin gave me a sidelong glare.
She got up and brought her hands to her clothes. Her white dress slowly slid off of her skin.
The dress let out a light thud as it fell to the garden floor.
The sun was setting, so the amber rays from the sun shone brightly across Gamiginâs body. Gamigin gave me a look of humiliation that looked even more humiliating because she was trying to hide it. I simply smiled.
I guarantee you that this sight was more beautiful than any notable painting that existed in the world.