The ten men that came here with Raven watched as Raven was taken away right in front of them. They wanted to go and save Raven but they could do nothing because they were too focused on the man standing in front of them! Dragonnel looked calm on the outside but with the amount of bloodlust he was releasing, the men all knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against him!
There were ten of them and just one of him but even still, they knew that it would be impossible to win. At most, they could only try to hold Dragonnel back for a minute or two. They would have to attack him all at once and that would be their only chance to win!
But before anyone could make a move, Dragonnel started to transform! Dragonnel hunched over and his body started to enlarge and deform as a tail and wings sprouted from behind him. His skin turned blue and his teeth grew sharper! All the ten men were left staring in shock! In fact, everyone in the stadium was left in shock! They all stopped throwing the trash and stones at Floid and they could only watch in awe as a literal Dragon appeared in front of them. It was only when someone finally shouted that the stadium came back to life!
"It's a Dragon!!!"
Rarggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
Boom!!!
Everyone screamed as they began to run and Dragonnel flapped his large wings and went into the sky! He gathered mana at his throat and released it and Ice breath blasted over the stands!! None of them had ever seen a Dragon before but they have all heard about the mythical creature and they didn't even think about fighting! They just needed to get out of here as quickly as possible!
Outside the stadium, Raven was standing with a shocked expression on his face as he watched a freaking dragon flying over the stadium. Dragonnel was a Dragon. Who would have guessed?
For someone that was watching a dragon slaughter an entire stadium of people, Raven was surprisingly calm. It wasn't because he wasn't scared - because he was fucking terrified! Instead, it is because it is just so unbelievable. This is the sort of story you tell at a bar and people will call you a liar if they ever heard it. Five minutes ago, Raven was just watching a gladiator match with a man that he assumed was a strange human. Five minutes ago, this was a normal day, but now, a dragon was flying over the stadium and killing everyone inside. And it turned out that the strange man Raven was with is actually the king of all demons. Raven chuckled and sighed. He was fucked.
There were a lot of people on the streets in front of the colosseum and they all stopped and stared in silence once they saw the giant dragon standing on top of the arena. Raven wondered how they would react if they knew that the demon lord was walking amongst them like a normal person.
Most of the people on the streets couldn't believe what they were seeing! As far as humans know, there hasn't been a dragon in Rivalle for more than ten centuries! The humans all thought that the dragons have been wiped out! So seeing a dragon right in front of them was unbelievable.
Raven saw Floid entering a carriage that came around the corner and Alucard directed Raven to enter the carriage as well. There was no rider in the coachman's seat, but for some reason, the horses simply knew when and where to come and pick them up. Raven thought that the horses were probably demons as well Raven didn't want to get into the carriage but Alucard's stare forced him to concede and he entered the carriage reluctantly. Once Raven was seated opposite Floid, he stayed silent as they rode off from the Colosseum.
Nothing was said for a long time in the carriage. Raven was too terrified to speak and he knew that he would be even more nervous if Floid spoke to him so Raven simply kept his head down and his mouth shut. He was in front of the demon king and Raven already heard the sort of things the demon lord did to Aquinas. Raven heard that Aquinas went down in less than a fucking day! They were invaded, defeated, and destroyed in one fucking day. Raven didn't want to know what sort of thing the demon lord had in store for Trad!
Raven was sure that Floid would probably be on his way to the king now since Floid was too annoyed to stay in Trad any longer. But it was a good thing that Raven was already expecting something like this. Well, he didn't expect the Floid would be the demon lord himself. How the hell was he supposed to expect something like that!? But Raven predicted that Floid would become impatient and he would go out to search for the king if he wasn't satisfied by the gladiator's match. That was the reason why Raven sent a letter to the king earlier today and informed the king that there was a potentially dangerous individual looking for him. Raven advised the king to improve his defenses and prepare to leave the kingdom if there was any sign of danger. Raven hoped that the king would take his advice and improve the defenses of his mansion. That way it would be easier for the king to run away when Floid arrives.
But just in case things don't turn out the way Raven predicted, Raven needed to find a way to lead Floid away from the king of Trad. Raven wasn't a patriot and he also wasn't the sort of person who would lay down his life for the sake of the king, but Raven knew that if Floid takes over Trad then the humans here would all suffer grievously. Raven's humanity couldn't allow him to just accept something like that. Raven wasn't married but he has children in Trad and his family also lived here. If the demon lord takes over Trad then all of them might die!
"Uhm... Master Floid. Could you do me the honor of listening to me for a moment?"
Raven could feel his heart beating at intense speeds as both Floid and Alucard looked toward him. Raven tried his best to keep his breathing stable and he met Floid's eyes with confidence. He couldn't be scared here. He had to hold onto the hope that Floid would at least allow him to talk if he is confident enough.
Alucard didn't say a word because the demon lord was sitting right there and it was obvious that Raven was directly addressing the demon lord. If Floid wishes to allow him to talk then Alucard has no right to say anything. It took a few seconds before Floid finally looked away again to stare outside the carriage. Raven took it as a good sign that he wasn't dead yet. This means I can talk right?
Raven released a tense breath that he didn't know he had been holding and he finally spoke.
"I do not want to presume to have any knowledge of your plans for Trad, but I have also heard about your actions in Aquinas and I can't help but believe that Trad is headed towards the same end. If that is the case, then I would like to propose a business deal,"
Floid made no reactions to show Raven if he was right or wrong. Raven was actually wrong because Floid didn't need to destroy Trad. Floid wanted to use Trad for his benefit. If Floid wanted to destroy Trad then he wouldn't be going through all this trouble. Floid would have just brought his household and leveled the freaking kingdom to the ground.
But Floid wasn't going to say anything because he wanted to know what Raven had in mind. As a businessman, Floid knew that Raven would surely have something interesting to offer. Raven spoke the sort of language that Floid was used to and that was the only reason why floid decided to listen.
Raven took Floid's silence as an indication to continue and he began to talk.
"Although the kingdom of Trad does not have much to offer you in terms of military power, I believe that we possess something that you will never be able to get from any other kingdom in the world. Regardless of how much military power you possess, if there are no resources to care for the army then your army will not be able to last long in any war. Food, clothing. Armor and weapons. Shelter and even movement routes. These things are a necessity for any army -"
Floid turned and finally looked at Raven with a blank look.
"Get to the point,"
Floid cut Raven off impatiently and Raven squeezed his hands into fists on his lap. He was trying to sell his idea well but it seems he had to rush this along.
"What I mean is that the citizens of Trad possess these things. We have everything from connections to resources and even land for training troops. In the long run, I believe that it would be more beneficial to leave us alive rather than destroy us all,"
Floid almost chuckled. This is what a real businessman looks like. Floid was almost reminded of his father as he looked at Raven. Raven is willing to sell away the freedom of his entire race for the sake of a better future. He would rather be alive as an agent of the demon lord than dead.
But it wasn't good enough for Floid.
"And what is stopping me from killing all of you and simply taking it for myself? Everything you have said now, I already possess it. I have a trader that is capable of handling the resources and I also have more than enough land for the training and feeding of my army. Why should I take your offer when I can take your resources for myself instead?"
Raven felt a chill run through his body and he swallowed as he rushed to get his heart rate under control. He couldn't start getting nervous here! Raven knew that this conversation was basically the only thing preventing the death of the whole of Trad! If I mess this up then we are finished!
"Yes, you are capable of doing just as you said. There are some thing's that you already possess and you can also kill us and take everything we have. But if you kill the traders from this kingdom you will be erasing hundreds of years of capital and invincible money that travels across the kingdoms around us. We are owed tens of billions by neighborhood kingdoms and continents and if you kill the citizens then those debts can never be returned to us or you. Some resources can only be acquired if we are alive,"
"And what happens when I take over those neighborhood kingdoms? They wouldn't be able to pay back the debts either way. Then what is the reason for you being alive?"
"And what resources will you use to take over those kingdoms? What happens when you need even more? Keeping us alive will ensure you never lack in funds and income. So long as we are alive, you will never lack in resources."
This time, Floid laughed. He was surprised that he found this conversation interesting. There were a lot of things that Raven didn't know, but Raven was still capable of putting up a good argument with the limited knowledge he possessed. Floid really didn't need any of these humans. Floid had an almost unlimited amount of Mana stones under his castle and there were other mana stone mines around the demon world that Floid could use to make money. Floid had a vast amount of farms and he also had Travy, the best trader out of all of them. Floid could easily kill all the traders here and there wouldn't be any sort of loss on Floid's end. But floid also needed to keep the trading routes alive for a while longer. Floid knew that if he killed everyone in Trad, then all their trading routes would break down and the other kingdoms around Trad would become even more guarded. Making a bad decision like that was unacceptable to Floid and so he needed them alive for now.
But Floid was laughing because even though Raven didn't know these things, Raven was making a very good argument.
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