Chapter 406. The Four Became Three in the End
The Sernitas expressed their intention to withdraw. The same was true for the Abyss, but nothing had been decided yet. Bael’s face turned sour when she heard the Abyss King’s words. The greatest threat to the current Demon Empire was not humanity, the Cassiubia League, nor the Sernitas—it was the Abyss. The Demon Empire had suffered a great loss due to the battle a few days ago. It was no exaggeration to say that they already had one foot in the grave.
The Abyss had also received quite a hit, but it was relatively small compared to the Demon Empire as the King and the Seven Chasms were still holding out strong. They had been keeping a wary eye on each other and waiting for an opportunity to strike. If the situation had been reversed, Bael would have sincerely considered targeting the Abyss instead, since it was extremely rare for the main forces of each faction to gather like this.
As such, there was nothing stopping the Abyss from coming to the same conclusion. Bael was certain that they had probably discussed something along these lines already. On the other hand, the Abyss King’s words and actions were certainly surprising with that taken into consideration. First of all, it was surprising that he had come alone all the way to their main camp, which had raised their guard to the highest level.
‘Nothing has been decided yet…’ Bael repeated his words to herself, and a hint of suspicion appeared on her face. Although she couldn’t erase her doubts and wondered what his true intentions were, she couldn’t help but ask, “What are you trying to say?”
“I know what you’re thinking,” the Abyss King continued. “You must be feeling anxious. Judging by your condition right now, I think I can kill you with one finger.”
Bael shuddered with fury, but she didn’t have a comeback for that. Apart from how weak she was feeling, she was in fact in a position where she had to worry about her immediate survival.
“If I kill you here and attack your army, the Demon Empire will crumble and fall into chaos… Even if you had left defensive forces on the mainland, the Demon Empire will still be weaker than the Cassiubia League and even humanity by then.”
“What did you say? You—!”
“Am I wrong?”
Bael was about to shout something, but in response to the Abyss King’s blunt words and questions, she could only gape. Still, she was clearly burning up with the urge to fight if the way she steadied her breath while glaring at him murderously was anything to go by; it was as if she was planning to make her last blow even if she died.
Her fighting spirit was truly admirable, but the Abyss King snorted. He didn’t come here to simply swing a knife at her. Of course, he had to admit that the Demon Empire was a delicious prey, but his eyes were focused on something greater than that.
He said, “Now that the situation has come to this point, it’s an open secret…but.” He paused for a moment and raised one corner of his mouth slightly. “It’s not very pleasant.”
“?”
“Should I say that it leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth?” the Abyss King continued calmly. “From the very beginning we gathered in one place, we all secretly knew that we wouldn’t let each other go in peace. No matter when it’ll be.” Whether it was after crushing Shalyh, or after the conquest of the Cassiubia Mountain Range in the far future, it was obvious from the beginning that the three factions would turn against each other before disbanding the coalition.
He continued, “However, the prerequisites that must be achieved to reach that stage has gone awry from the first step.” Far from occupying Shalyh, which was considered an obvious order of events, they weren’t able to even break through the gate leading to Shalyh and were at a complete loss for what to do. “We were going to point our swords at each other only after we crushed humanity and the Cassiubia League. But what would happen if we go after each other now? Humanity and Cassiubia League will happily clap like they are watching a fire across the river.”
This was not a favorable outcome for either the Demon Empire or Abyss, especially after seeing Bael like this in person. Although it was true that the Demon Empire did far less than expected in this war, the Abyss knew that Bael’s fame and prestige were no lies from all their previous wars with the Demon Empire. Nevertheless, the fact that the situation had gotten to this point meant only one thing—outside of the legend, another strong hero who they could not underestimate had appeared among humanity. Triggering an internal strife in front of such a strong opponent was tantamount to cutting off one’s own flesh. If this strong hero and the Last Dragon joined forces and aimed for the back of their head, there was no guarantee that the Abyss King would not end up like Bael.
While the Abyss King continued to talk, the burning fury in Bael’s eyes eased a bit. He seemed to be suggesting that he had no intention to turn their backs on the Demon Empire just yet.
“Therefore, my proposal is quite simple,” the Abyss King said. “The Sernitas are going to pull back with the Sky Castle because they judged that the odds of winning are too low in the current situation. Therefore, we need to increase the odds to change the Sernitas’ mind, at least for them to think it’s worth a try.”
Bael blinked. How could they increase the odds of winning in this situation?
“If you agree with anything I’ve said so far—” Then the Abyss King finally brought up the main subject at hand. “As the king of the Abyss, I propose two conditions to you.”
Bael’s expression hardened; she had expected this. There was no way the Abyss King would come all the way here on his own for no reason. Bael pushed her chin slightly back and paid her full attention to him as if to signal she would hear him out first, but frankly, she was in a place where she had to grasp at straws.
“The first is to hand over the operational level of command to us.”
“What?”
“It’s as I say. In all future military operations, the Demon Empire has to follow our orders.”
“You want the great demons to wait on your hands and feet?”
“Well, I wasn’t planning to treat them like that, and I was going to show my respect to a certain extent but…I’ll say you’re not completely wrong.”
“Ah, by the way,” the Abyss King continued in a blunt tone, “You’re included among the great demons.”
“Bullshit!” Bael shouted with an angry expression.
Frankly speaking, the Abyss King was suggesting that the Demon Empire join the Abyss as their subordinates, and this was a proposal that Bael couldn’t accept. However, the Abyss King tilted his head. “I don’t understand. Why do you think it’s bullshit?”
“Then would you have accepted it if you were in my position?”
“But I already did.”
Bael paused. He hadn’t said he could have; instead, he said he had already accepted it before. On second thought, he wasn’t wrong. After the three factions joined forces, the Abyss had mostly given in and followed the Demon Empire’s lead. This siege was proof of that. The Abyss had even divided their army into two to attack both mountain ranges so that the Demon Empire could focus entirely on capturing the last gate, which was the most important mission.
In fact, when Bael led her entire army out, the Abyss King had responded accordingly to her lead. Considering that the Demon Empire had failed to capture the gate even while the Abyss King faced the Last Dragon by himself, the Demon Empire had no one to blame for their failure but themselves. Even if Bael hadn’t ordered them to do so, it was undeniable that the Abyss had acted according to the Demon Empire’s plan so far.
“If the Demon Empire had produced results as much as the trust we put in you, I wouldn’t have said anything either. But if you want us to follow the Demon Empire again after this…I would also be skeptical about continuing this war.”
Bael became mute at the Abyss King’s logical argument. Even though she wanted to counter his point, she couldn’t think of anything because everything he said was true. After a long pause, she finally broke her silence. With her teeth ground together, she asked, “What about the second condition?”
“To accept the offer.”
“…What?” Bael narrowed her eyes. She wondered what he meant.
“I’m not talking about my offer.” The Abyss King waved his hand and clarified himself. “I’m talking about the Sernitas’ offer.”
Bael’s expression noticeably stiffened.
He added, “You must have received the same offer as me, right?”
Eyes narrowed, she glared at the Abyss King for a while, who had been talking sleekly so far. “…I finally got it.” She twisted her mouth and growled. “The Sernitas must have told you this, right? If you want to keep this coalition for even a bit longer, go and change my mind.”
“To repeat myself, I’ve also received the same offer. I turned it down in the end, but it was an interesting proposition. There were definitely parts that piqued my interest.”
Bael glared at him as if saying he should do it instead if he thought the proposal was so great. However, the Abyss King wasn’t worried because Bael had no choice but to accept these conditions in the end. He felt certain after seeing her in person. Moreover, Bael must know better than anyone else about her current physical condition.
“You look like you have a lot to say but…” the Abyss King continued leisurely, “Before that, let me ask you the most important question.” A sneer came from the darkness inside his helmet. “Do you have a choice?”
Bael’s face contorted with rage.
* * *
After the enemy’s coalition retreated in tears once again, the atmosphere on humanity and the League’s side was pretty decent. The main forces of the Cassiubia League had arrived and driven out their enemies in an all-out war, the Sky Castle’s attack was no longer a threat, and most of all, they had succeeded in dropping Bael, one of the enemy’s most terrifying monsters. For the first time since the war began, everything was going favorably for them. Victory was no longer a pipe dream but a possibility within reach. Thanks to this, the morale that had hit rock bottom peaked again, but the Last Dragon did not let down her guard.
Frankly, the Last Dragon had hoped a little bit that the war would end when Bael retreated in a terrible, near-death state. However, the enemy coalition had shown no response since then. They didn’t attack, but they weren’t withdrawing either. Since that day, a lull had continued, and the Last Dragon fell into thought. The enemy coalition had two options to choose from: to retreat like this, or resume invasion. In the former case, it would be quite difficult for the Demon Empire. They would of course want the latter option, but it was doubtful whether the Sernitas or the Abyss would comply. As of a few days ago, the tense balance between the enemy coalition had been completely shaken up. The Last Dragon decided to wait for now.
With these thoughts, the Last Dragon kept a close eye on the enemy coalition. It wasn’t until the next day that she learned of the coalition’s decision, which left her slightly taken aback. There were two beings the Last Dragon was the most wary about: needless to say, it was Bael and the Abyss King. The reason why she arrived at the gate one step ahead of the League’s main forces was because she had felt their strong energies running wild at the time. However, Bael’s energy became very weak right after being defeated by Chi-Woo; considering that it was faint and on the verge of disappearing, it seemed as if Bael wouldn't last long, and her prediction was proven right this morning. Bael’s extremely faint energy disappeared without a trace. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't detect it anymore. This phenomenon only meant one thing—Bael had been extinguished.
On second thought, Chi-Woo had told her that even though he missed her, he had basically ended her; unless Bael was half-god, it would be difficult for her to recover and get back to the battlefield. Although this was great news that should make her jump up in joy, the Last Dragon smacked her lips. She felt uneasy inside. The Abyss’ action was too suspicious to just accept Chi-Woo’s words as it was.
The Demon Empire without Bael would be like humanity without Chi-Hyun. It might have been different if the original 66 great demons at the peak of the Demon Empire were still standing strong, but including those defending the mainland, there were only about 20 or so great demons now. In short, the price wasn’t right. For the Sernitas and the Abyss, there was no reason for them to work so hard to break through the last gate that humanity and the League were defending with all their forces, since if the three factions were going to become enemies anyway, it would be easier to destroy the main forces of the Demon Empire here and then annihilate their remaining forces on the mainland.
Of course, the Last Dragon knew that this was the best possible scenario for them. She was also well aware that there was a possibility that the three factions would maintain their coalition and attack humanity and the League. As such, the Last Dragon increased her vigilance for any suspicious movement from the enemy’s side.
‘What’s this?’ However, the more she observed, the more confused she became. She couldn’t figure out what the enemy was thinking. She even carefully scouted not only the sky, but also around the mountain ranges just in case, since the enemy could form a detachment unit and bypass the mountain range to aim for Shalyh. However, no matter where she looked, she couldn’t spot signs of their enemy. The enemy coalition simply stayed in their camps. Not knowing the enemy’s intention, the Last Dragon continued to stare at them, and the large island positioned on the ground caught her eye. ‘With those possibilities eliminated, what’s left is…’
While the Last Dragon stared at the Sky Castle and slowly lowered her gaze, her eyes unconsciously narrowed for a moment. “!” Then she spotted something at the bottom of the island, and her eyes widened. ‘No way.’ A possibility crossed her mind, and the Last Dragon quickly turned around.
* * *
Night came. After paying the still unconscious Alice a late visit, Chi-Woo had to quickly get back up after a short sleep. He hurried out of the tent after hearing the Last Dragon’s emergency call.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)