CHAPTER 458: CHAPTER 34: DIVERGENCE (2)_2

"Lord Jones is always right," Dora muttered softly.

"No, I don’t want flattery, I want the truth." Jones whipped his head around, staring at Dora, "Tell me what you really think. If it were you, would you continue to push for war?"

Dora blinked, looking at Jones.

"Tell me what you really think." Jones stared intently at Dora.

Dora’s eyes flickered as she whispered, "I think... maybe Lord Jones could persuade Prince Richie again. Maybe..."

"I can’t persuade him." Turning his head back, Jones continued walking dejectedly forward, "He’s been consumed by hatred... Of course, maybe we shouldn’t expect so much from him, after all, he’s still just a child, he’s only been in this world for a few years. But... he’s now sitting on the Lich King’s throne, we can’t help but have high expectations for him. Negotiating with demons... hasn’t he heard the saying ’never bargain with demons’? In the past, the agreement between my father and the Demon Lord was based on having a common enemy. And now?"

Dora continued to follow quietly, whispering, "Isn’t it still a common enemy now?"

"The situation has changed," Jones slowly shook his head, then continued, "And the circumstances are completely different. Before, my father strictly kept Hell at bay, the Demon Lord was desperate for an entry point, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to intervene. Now, Richie is the one actively seeking help. It’s like doing business, the party that takes the initiative always gets the worse deal. Richie is pushing the entire Keltos into the abyss, even though he himself doesn’t want to."

"Maybe..." Dora hesitated, then said softly, "Maybe we should wait and see? Maybe things aren’t as bad as Lord Jones thinks. Prince Richie has always been very smart, he surely wouldn’t fall into a demon’s trap."

Jones looked at Dora helplessly.

...

The gale swept across the land, laden with snow.

The Undead Army continued to stir restlessly.

Bone dragons circled in the air against the wind, giant elephants transported the excavated soil, and spiders wove ropes from their webs.

As for the goblins, they continued to work tirelessly in the tunnels, day and night.

In the area occupied by the gold dragons, Elder Gjestav stood silently in human form on the cliff, gazing in the direction of the Undead Army, waiting.

...

In the underground space, Richie stood quietly, watching the black flames gradually ignite on the ground in front of him.

The wisps of black flame seemed to seep through the cracks in the tiles, gradually turning the originally gray-white tiles black.

Soon, the black flames coalesced into a human-like face in front of Richie. Still in its flame state, the specific features were indistinguishable, but the high bridge of the nose and the pointed chin were faintly visible.

And a pair of pupil-less eyes.

After gradually taking shape, the face smiled at Richie and said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Richie, our young and brilliant Lich King."

"It is an honor to meet you, esteemed Demon Lord," Richie respectfully bowed.

"I heard from Sarina that you wanted to talk to me? Hmm, this surprises me greatly."

"I know you once lent your power to my father."

"Yes, but in fact, your father never summoned me willingly. Rather than saying I lent him power, it was more like I forced it upon him. You know, your father was a stubborn man, very hard to communicate with."

"I hope you can lend me power, as you did to my father."

"What will I get in return?"

"I will help you oppose Heaven."

"Hmm..." The Demon Lord pretended to ponder, then said, "Is that all?"

"Isn’t that enough?" Richie quickly said, "Your enemy is Heaven, weakening their power is only beneficial to you. If Heaven’s forces grow stronger, it will put immense pressure on you."

"Yes, you are right. But there are also some things you got wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"This is a transaction, it should be equal for both parties," the Demon Lord said seriously, "If neither party can gain more benefits from the transaction than they originally had, then the deal will not go through, right?"

"I don’t understand what you mean."

"My question earlier was ’What will I get in return?’ I meant greater benefits than I have now. If we don’t make a deal, you won’t fight against Heaven?"

"If you refuse to give me your power, without enough power to oppose Heaven, I cannot fight them."

"No, you will still fight them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here talking to me, right? Both you and I know this, demons can see through human hearts, don’t lie to a demon. It is futile."

Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense, Richie quietly watched the Demon Lord’s illusion.

The flames on the nearby oil lamp sizzled, the faint light reflecting off his armor.

After a while, the Demon Lord continued, "Let me tell you what will happen if I don’t support you. You will still fight Heaven. Even if you surrender, it will only be temporary. You can’t tolerate the Black Dragon Clan’s continued existence in this world, you will be filled with hatred for Heaven for preventing your revenge. But... you won’t have enough power to defeat them. During the conflict, the strength of the White Bone Holy Light Court will be diminished. That in itself is beneficial to us. Your father was too domineering, his presence wasn’t just a nightmare for Heaven, but also for us. Am I right? You can’t use something I am bound to gain as a bargaining chip in our negotiation, it shows a lack of respect for the transaction."

Richie stood listening blankly, his eyes blazing furiously with soul fire.

"Of course, this might cause a minor issue, the black dragons will entirely side with Heaven. This is definitely not good news for us. But mastering the black dragons means Heaven will become your mortal enemy. This is also not good news for Heaven, perhaps even worse. You will focus all your power on fighting Heaven, which is no different from us being allies."

"I won’t, I will use it to get revenge on you!" Richie roared.

"Hey, Little Richie, let me emphasize again, don’t try to deceive a demon who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years. It is pointless. You can be angry and think that way, but you can’t actually do it. First, your hatred won’t allow it, and second... you gathered the power of the Liches through hatred, and you need their support. Fighting Hell won’t garner enough support. If you really do that, the power you possess will gradually diminish over time. Stop saying such things out of spite. If you really hope to reach some sort of agreement, return to a genuine negotiation of interests."

Richie was trembling with anger, but he felt powerless, "As I understand, when you lent power to my father, you offered extremely favorable terms."

"Yes," the Demon Lord smiled, "But it’s not the same, Little Richie. No demon contract is ever fixed, the terms and considerations we offer to different people can be entirely different."

"Am I different from my father?"

"Of course, you are very different. You are smarter than your father, your father thought of how to use my power as little as possible, while you would think of how to use it as much as possible. Or rather, in terms of faith, your father was much more steadfast than you. Successfully corrupting your father was in itself a great victory. Lending him power was just a minor bet on the table. As for corrupting you... sorry, I’m not interested. To negotiate with me, you need to present tangible benefits."

"Then, what do you want?" Richie asked through gritted teeth.