Chapter 258 How To End A Diplomatic Meeting.
Dracula finally reduced his bloodlust after the leader of the lizardmen reduced his and he began to talk to the leader of the lizardmen.
"Tell me why you suddenly decided that this territory was not enough for you. The demon lord granted each race the territory they currently inhabit and he has allowed us to rule over that territory without interface from any other race. Why would you encroach on another race's territory?"
Once Dracula asked this, the leader of the lizardmen scoffed and looked away from Dracula in annoyance. He didn't release his bloodlust for the second time because he knew that he would only be asking for a beating! Dracula was much stronger than the lizardman and it was obvious that if they fight, there is no way the lizardman will come out of it alive!
But he still didn't want to answer Dracula's question!! How dare this vampire bastard come here and begin demanding explanations for things that don't concern him! He is not even a part of the mermaids and he is trying to negotiate for them? The leader of the lizardmen felt insulted that Dracula would come here and begin threatening him in front of his own men! how dare he!?
The leader of the lizardmen looked up to stare at Talia and he wondered if Dracula was fucking her. Maybe that is what made Dracula come here to help the mermaids when this is none of his business. This mermaid whore must've slept with him and then made him come here to fight her battle for her. He glared at Talia, and Talia frowned back at him as she took a step back!
Talia knew that she wasn't a match for the leader of the lizardmen so she would rather keep her distance from him. She felt a little more confident since Dracula was with her, but she was still cautious. The leader of the Lizardmen spoke up
"Do I really need a reason to do what I am doing? The mermaids and the lizardmen have always had territorial conflict and I just decided that it was time for them to take that territory by force. The mermaids don't deserve that underwater area. It is one of the most fertile fishing spots and I am not going to allow them to have it to themselves."
The leader of the lizardmen said this with a glare and Dracula narrowed his eyes at him until the leader reduced his glare again. Dracula turned around to give Taki a side eye glance and he sighed as he thought about what to do here.
Talia never said that they wanted to fight a war, so that meant she was looking for a peaceful way to solve this. It will probably be more sensible to look for a peaceful way to resolve these problems rather than allow them to escalate into something worse. Dracula shivered internally as he imagined what the demon lord would do to them if he finds out that they were fighting a war over something so stupid. Won't, he just murder them all?
After thinking for some time, Dracula finally spoke up.
"Then maybe we can come to a compromise. There is too much to lose for both races if you allow things to escalate more than this. I know you think this is your right, but the mermaids will not back down from it either. I would suggest a calendar of hunting seasons. During a short period of high fertility for the fish, you and your men can come and take some of them without resistance. Wouldn't that work everything out?"
"Wait! What are you -!"
Talia suddenly spoke up from behind Dracula, but Dracula turned around with a glare and shut her up immediately! She was stunned by what he just said! Dracula wanted to give some of the hunting grounds to the lizardmen! Is he insane!? These lizards don't deserve anything at all! All they deserve are spears in their chest for trying to steal the mermaid's territory in the first place! The queen would never agree to this! She would fight this till her last breath!
But Talia asked for Dracula's help because the queen was too nonchalant about this! There was nothing else that the mermaids could do except hope that Dracula could bring a compromise for them. If this is how Dracula brings temporary peace, then should she just take it?
Dracula turned back around after he made sure that Talia would not move. He knew that she would not like the deal, but he was trying to be diplomatic. If they don't do this, then they could just declare war and suffer the consequences. the demon lord will fucking kill them all.
But there was suddenly a low laugh that came from the leader of the lizardmen. It started low, but then it began to escalate until it was a loud, boisterous laughter that echoed off the walls of the cave!
"Hahahahahahaha!!! You... Do you think this is a joke? What did you think would happen? That I would just sit back and say okay. Since you've mercifully allowed me to hunt for only a short time in one seasonal period, I'm more than okay with that? I'll just allow my people to starve every other time of the year! Are you mad!?"
Bam!
The leader of the lizardmen suddenly got louder and louder as he went on and once he was finished he slammed his hand on the table and every lizardman in the room pointed her weapon at Talia and Dracula. The leader continued talking.
"If you want to play mediator, then go and talk to someone else. This is a quarrel between me and the mermaids and you have no place in it. Let us deal with our differences the way only demons know how to deal with conflict. I will gut every last mermaid and use their tails to decorate my wall,"
The leader was basically telling Dracula to fuck off. The leader knew that he was not a match for Dracula, but they had more than two hundred men here. if they all attacked at the same tie, then even Dracula will be overwhelmed. it was going to be a loss for both sides and that will basically be a declaration of war.
From the way that Dracula has been acting since he came here, the leader of the Lizardmen knew that Dracula didn't want war. He is probably afraid of the repercussions from the demon lord! This fool! Does he not know that the victors write history? if I kill him and tell the demon lord that he attacked me first, then it will be my victory.
Dracula felt intense irritation inside him as he slowly stood up and spoke.
"So you're saying that it's okay. Taking land is okay no matter who it is that you are taking it from. So long as you want that land, then all you have to do is take it. Then, perhaps, you have no issues with giving me this territory of yours..."
"What...!?"
The leader of the lizardmen shot to his feet in anger and even Talia was stunned by what Dracula said. Was he trying to make things worse!?
"What the hell could vampires want with an aquatic territory? You're just pointlessly inciting violence!"
Dracula's glare intensified.
"And what if I am? According to you, I don't need a reason to take a territory. I simply need to take it. This will make good storage for the influx of humans we are expecting soon. I'll kill you lizardmen and use you as food for my pet humans. That should be a suitable role for your people"
Dracula's glare intensified as continued talking and the anger inside him made his bloodlust leak out in large waves. No one in the room could even move a muscle from the intensity in the room! Dracula's pressure was intense and the leader of the lizardmen couldn't even think of going against Dracula right now as Dracula spoke.
"If a war is what you want, then I'll gue it to you. I'll come in the dead of night, kill your young and slaughter your women before feeding them to humans. I'll enslave your men and make them into carriage drawers for the aristocrats of my land. Do you think you are the only one capable of violence? Try me."
It was a promise of violence that made every single lizardman shiver from the sheer amount of fear they could feel! It was like Dracula was promising them they would be killed the moment they decide to escalate this war anymore!
Talia could only stare at Dracula intensely as she gulped. She knew that she asked him for help and this was just him helping her, but she couldn't help but feel an intense jolt in her lower body as she stared at him. That was one of the most ruthless things she has ever heard and it made her see Dracula in a different light. She thought he was just going to give away the territory without a fight, but she liked this much better
At first, Dracula didn't intend to do something like this! He thought that he would just come here and get the lizardmen to back off after talking to them for a few minutes, but he realized that there was no way the lizardmen would back off! This isn't a territorial battle anymore! This is just a desperate attempt by the lizardmen to start a war! The lizardmen must've gotten tired of the mermaids and they just want to get rid of them.
Talia shivered as she felt the bloodlust in the room, and she couldn't believe that Dracula was this strong! Talia knew that the vampires were one of the strongest races in the demon world. After the undead, the vampires were the ones with the strongest military presence and they could easily lay waste to any other race if they wanted to. But this is too intense of a difference! Talia felt like a rat in front of a lion when she felt Dracula's bloodlust!
But now that Dracula has gone this far, Talia knew that this issue would definitely resolve itself. There was no way that the lizardmen would risk going against the vampires just because they want to take the mermaid's territory! It would be suicide to fight against both the mermaids and the vampires at the same time!
Dracula turned around and he was about to begin leaving, but a cave and Dracula's eyes widened as he heard it!
"You were such a good puppet. It is so disappointing that I have to sudden jolt of mana in the room made him turn back around quickly as he felt fear in his heart. What the hell was that!? Dracula has only felt such a sharp bloodlust from his father!
An eerie voice suddenly spoke up from all around the lizardmen's cave and Dracula's eyes widened as he heard it!
"You were such a good puppet. It is so disappointing that I have to let you go already. Maybe there'll be another one soon."
It was the voice of a woman and Dracula could tell that the voice was talking to the leader of the lizardmen! The leader suddenly started to scream in pain as his entire body became bloated and he began to turn red. Dracula grabbed Talia by the waist and carried her as he opened a portal in front of him that would lead them outside the lizardmen's cave! He charged through the entrance and vanished from the room, and once he appeared on the other side of the portal, a large explosion rocked through the entire area as all the lizardmen in the territory began to explode one after the other.
Dracula could only stare at what was happening in shock! He knew what this was, but he didn't think that it would ever happen here. This was a skill called [Blood Bomb]. Dracula didn't have the skill, but his father had it. It worked by inputting a little bit of your blood inside someone and then igniting the blood and causing an explosion using all the mana in the person's body! That means that the leader of the Lizardmen was actually under the control of someone else! Does that mean there was never a territorial battle? Was all of this just the plan of someone else that wanted to cause a battle between the two races!?