Chapter 337

Chapter 337

All the heads of the five vampire families looked at me.

“There’s no need to beat around the bush. I need your help.”

This was undoubtedly what they had expected.

There was only one thing the last heir of a fallen nation could say when coming to seek aid from a peripheral power.

“You must be aware that we did not participate in the Great War,” Lruien said quietly.

“I am aware,” I replied.

Lruien’s lips curled into a smile. “Even when the previous Archdemon and Demon King, Baalier, the most powerful being in the world, was alive, the Vampire Council did not participate in the Great War. We did not cooperate when the Demon Realm was at its peak, so why should we join hands now that it has fallen?”

They had not formed an alliance with the Demon Realm in its prime, and she saw no reason to help me now.

Lruien looked at me, the prince of a nonexistent world, with a mocking gaze.

Galarsh was looking at me calmly.

“The Vampire Council owes nothing to the Dark Land. We have never needed each other, nor have we interfered with or benefited from each other’s existence. Not even the Archdemon’s strange power could dominate us. That’s why the previous demon kings left us alone, and we did not involve ourselves in Dark Land’s affairs. This was an unwritten rule, until the head of Tuesday swore loyalty to the Dark Land.”

I had somewhat expected this.

Even the innate power of the Archdemon was not enough to dominate beings on the level of a Vampire Lord.

This made Eleris’s case even more unique.

She had sworn loyalty voluntarily, without being dominated.

Galarsh wasn’t mocking me like Lruien had, but he saw no reason to cooperate.

The next to speak was the child-like vampire, Lucinil.

“Archdemon, what do you plan to do by rebuilding the Demon Realm?” Lucinil asked innocently, posing a more fundamental question.

“Are you planning to kill all humans?” she continued. “You shouldn’t. While we don’t necessarily need human blood, there’s nothing quite like it. I don’t want to survive on tasteless blood.”

“I have no intention of killing all humans, nor do I think it’s possible.”

“Really? So, you plan to kill about half of them?”

‘Why is she so fixated on killing?’

“Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible. It would take a lifetime just to restore the Dark Land to some semblance of its former power.”

“Hmm, that makes sense. It’s completely ruined... Even if the Archdemon lives longer than ordinary mortals, to restore it to its former glory... Hmm...”

Lucinil tilted her head as if pondering something.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Last to speak was Antirianus, the head of Saturday.

He favored me with a gentle smile. “You say you do not dream of war, yet you need power; isn’t that contradictory, great being?”

“Without the power to protect oneself, rebuilding is impossible.”

“The Demon Realm did not enter the Great War with the intent to destroy the other side, but to protect one’s existence. Of course, the humans initiated the invasion first.”

Was he implying that the need for self-defense was just an excuse?

“The humans will crush any remaining forces of the Dark Land that they see reuniting. In that case, we would have to bear the brunt of protecting the fragile forces of Dark Land. I can’t think of any compelling reason or justification for us to do so.”

Lruien nodded in agreement, and so did Galarsh.

Lucinil seemed lost in her own thoughts and was not paying attention to the ongoing conversation.

“No matter how I consider it, there is nothing for us to gain by cooperating with the Archdemon. Even if we had desires, it’s unlikely the Archdemon could fulfill them,” Lruien said.

Her words were reasonable. Though her mocking tone was irritating, it was an unavoidable truth.

Tiamata was incredibly triggering for the undead. Eleris had been terrified when she’d first seen it, and still couldn’t look at it properly.

Lucinil had fallen over, Lruien had jerked up in shock and was slowly backing away, and Galarsh was scowling fiercely.

Only Antirianus seemed intrigued as he stared at Tiamata.

“Huh. The Champion of Ouen, is it?”

To prevent the Vampire Lords from potentially having heart attacks, I unsummoned Tiamata.

“I did not intend to threaten you. But do you understand what I mean now?”

All of the others were visibly shaken after having seen the item the undead least wanted to see.

Lucinil was hopping mad, yelling at the top of her lungs, “You scared the life out of me, you jerk!”

“I apologize. But without showing it to you, how could I prove it?”

“If you’re going to do something like that, you should at least give us a warning! Tiamata! Ugh! It’s so disgusting!”

She even showed her arm to Lruien, claiming she had goosebumps all over.

“Of course not, Lucinil.”

Lruien clicked her tongue and patted Lucinil’s head.

“I do have them! Look! It’s true!”

Lucinil kept pushing her arm forward, insisting Lruien see her goosebumps, and Lruien swatted her arm away in annoyance.

Anyway, everyone except Anntirianus seemed highly on edge due to Tiamata’s appearance. Even Eleris was clutching her chest in relief.

“That item is particularly dangerous for undead like us. However, I fully understand what you’re saying. You mean that, as the Champion of Ouen, you could unite the forces that follow the Five Great Gods and become their leader?”

“How I go about doing so is critical, but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

Leverier Lanche had wanted to use Olivia as a figurehead, but I didn’t think it was impossible to unite the forces of the followers of the Five Great Gods under the name of Reinhart and become their leader.

“Very well, great being. Whether you control them from behind the scenes or become their actual leader, or form an allied front with them, why have you come to the Council?”

‘Now, to the main point.’

I crossed my arms and looked at each of them.

“If I become the representative of the Church of the Five Great Gods or something similar, I will wipe you all out for not cooperating with me.”

This time, even Antirianus’s expression hardened.

“It paints a good picture, doesn’t it? The Champion of Ouen unites the forces of the Church of the Five Great Gods and becomes its leader, under the pretext of eliminating all vampiric forces.

“The goal will be the eradication of the undead, and the first targets will be the families of the Vampire Lords.

“If a massive force from the Order of the Holy Knights comes to destroy your forces one by one, can you handle that?”

This was a threat, not as the Demon King, but as the Champion of Ouen.

“Are you threatening us, young Demon King?” Galarsh said, glaring at me with eyes consumed by anger.

“As you all said, I have nothing to offer you. So your argument that we can’t make a deal is absolutely correct. I need help, but have nothing to give. So what can I do except threaten you?

“I’m sorry. Do you think I enjoy doing this to my elders? My back is against the wall, and I have to do whatever it takes.”

Swoosh.

I summoned Tiamata again and placed it on the table.

“Help me out. Otherwise, I’ll kill you all.”

The smile finally disappeared from Lruien’s face, who had been mocking me the entire time.

“Wow, this lunatic is so absurd it’s almost impressive,” Lucinil said, letting out a hollow laugh.