The Demon Against The Heavens - 219 A significant variable

Kari continued to laugh like a lunatic, completely unaware of the exchange that had just occurred between Aure and Cesar.

Kari and Lostro had received precise instructions and were sure that Aure had also received them. Although there had been no direct contact between Undead, Troll and the faction that intended to betray Cesar, the two enemy Immortals knew that Orma’s second Immortal would help them.

Cesar put his hand on Aure’s shoulder and sensed a change in his friend’s heart. His gaze lit up, aware that his words had affected him.

Cesar was the King of Orma because he was able to be merciful, not because he was ruthless.

Cesar was magnanimous and great, so he was the King of the great City-State of Orma.

Sitting down at the table, Cesar completely released his Aura, putting terrifying pressure on the two enemy Immortals.

Squinting, Lostro cleared his deep voice: “Cesar, don’t mind Kari, he likes go on forever. The Undead have always tended to take things easy. Being in the midst of a sea of tombs has made them immune to the rush of the world of the living.”

Kari looked his ally from head to toe, raising his eyebrows.

Aure spoke, looking at Cesar first, then Kari and Lostro: “Why don’t you tell us what you have in mind to put an end to this conflict?”

The real reason for the conflict was known to everyone present in that room, but the pretext had been the control of an area outside Orma, rich in mineral deposits and metals that would have made even warriors at the Tenth Phase drool.

Anyone who gained control of that area would have been one step ahead of the others. “Eheh,” laughed Kari’s crooked head.

“There isn’t much to say. We were thinking of resolving the land dispute and the war with a duel to death,” said Lostro, more calmly than one might expect from a Troll.

Cesar frowned.

“We want to see the great disciple of the King of Orma fight against my son,” said Kari proudly.

“The Prince of Darkness is at the Late stage of the Third Phase, don’t you think you’re asking too much?” said Aure.

Kari and Lostro looked at him, bewildered.

Shouldn’t Aure endorse their every word? The two Immortals had been warned that Aure would be on their side and would help Cesar in a tight spot, to force him to accept.

“We heard that despite not being at the Third Phase yet, the boy is strong enough to skip two Phases,” said Kari, scratching the hair on the head in his arms.

The Headless Horsemen were truly revolting.

“Do you want a clash between the new generations?” Cesar seemed surprised by that request.

“Indeed. We are all too old. Eventually we will all die, but we learned that your pupil is much stronger than you might think. And then, one day, my son will inherit my position. Although your disciple has not yet officially joined the Clan of the Sacred Eagle, we all know that it is only a matter of time before his position is made official, isn’t it? ”

Kari’s words entered the ears of the two Goblins, leaving them thoughtful.

Cesar knew well that the only reason Helial had not yet been officially joined the Sacred Eagle Clan was the presence of the elders who disagreed with the entry of a Human as a member of the Clan. But why him?

Not even Aure, who had participated in the creation of the whole conspiracy, had never managed to explain the directives of those who had created the plan. Why target Helial? Did they hope to infuriate Cesar and make him act irrationally with so little?

“Is the Prince of Darkness, your son, the representative of the new generation of Undead and Trolls?” asked Cesar, probing the ground.

“Yes,” Kari laughed proudly.

Lostro said nothing. Unfortunately, in the current generation of Trolls there was no one capable of carrying the flag of their people high. He would have to wait for some genius to appear, to turn against his ally and enemies.

Aure’s job should have been to ease conditions and make Helial die fighting against that talented monster of the Prince of the Night. Although the boy was terribly strong, Orma’s second Immortal had to recognize that the Undead’s son was no less talented than Circe.

Since that monster was in the Late stage of the Third Phase, it would have been almost impossible for Helial to defeat him.

Aure thought about it and eventually decided that the proposal of the two enemies was not entirely disadvantageous. He took advantage of the rethinking of the plan against Cesar to play a card for the King, pretending nonetheless to be in agreement with the two monsters.

“Your Majesty, I have a proposal to reconcile everyone’s wishes. Helial is a Human who was only welcomed to our court a few years ago, an irrelevant amount of time, during which he proved his honor. But, if he could win by putting his valour at Orma’s service in this challenge, he would have all the rights to be recognized as a Goblin citizen, like Circe and Comodo,” said Aure slowly.

Cesar looked at Aure. Although he himself was Orma’s greatest warrior, he had to recognize that as far as cunning and subterfuge were concerned, Aure was absolutely unrivalled within the walls of the Goblin capital.

Cesar motioned for him to continue, hiding a smile that was about to make its way onto his lips.

“I propose to organise a battle: the best hundred warriors of the new generation of Orma against the best hundred of Undead and Troll. It may seem disadvantageous, given that they have two peoples to select fighters from, but hasn’t this been Orma’s position throughout this year of war? We are the strongest and we must prove it. The Clan of the Sacred Eagle and the Guild of Life and Death have incredible geniuses. Such a clash would test both the ability to lead a small deployment and to extricate oneself from… difficult situations. In such a fight, you never know how you can die,” Aure placed particular emphasis on the last words, looking at Kari and Lostro.

The two exchanged glances, immediately understanding the implications of Aure’s speech.

What a genius! Not only had he just cornered Cesar, talking about Orma’s pride. He had put him in a position to accept or lose his face. Moreover, by decimating the geniuses of Orma, the new generations would certainly have found themselves at a disadvantage! Aure would have surely prevented members of his Sect from fighting, thus becoming the King of Orma just after killing Cesar. He would also have secured the future by keeping his geniuses.

Kari refrained from laughing like a lunatic. In a clash with so many participants, the Undead would have had the absolute advantage! A couple of high-level Lichs would have been enough to make sure that every fallen on the enemy side became their ally.

Despite discovering that his army had failed from the First to the Third Phase, many of the great Undead geniuses had remained at home, without exposing themselves to that useless conflict, born only as a provocation. Therefore, Kari hadn’t cared much about it. In addition, he also trusted his son blindly.

With such unfavourable conditions, they wondered how Cesar could ever accept.

Cesar looked at Auras with his lips pressed together, discoloured, and his eyes bloodshot.

Kari and Lostro looked satisfied at the appearance of the King of Orma, the great Cesar!

Cesar, for his part, was really about to burst out laughing and piss his pants.

Aure had just proposed conditions that apparently favoured the enemy deployment. A small-scale conflict between the geniuses of the new generations. He had also practically said that the Sect would not participate! Obviously, the latter was a concession to prevent enemies from becoming suspicious.

If it weren’t for a small, single detail, Cesar would probably have thought twice before accepting. Despite the presence of great geniuses among the Goblins and Helial’s abilities, he would never have underestimated the Prince of Darkness and the geniuses of the enemies.

But now, Cesar couldn’t stop himself from laughing!

Kari and Lostro had not gathered much information about the conflicts between different deployments and did not know of the variable that would likely ruin their plans.

“Warriors in the Third Phase? We have as many as you want. Do you have the guts to accept?” laughed Kari, trying not to lose his head, literally.

Third Phase? It is clear that you are not a strategist and have not been interested in conflicts below the Seventh Phase! Pfffh! Even if they were a hundred warriors in the Fourth or Fifth Phase, I would have accepted without even thinking! Do you think I need a hundred Goblins to decimate all your warriors? Hahaha! A PSEUDONYM is enough!

It was really difficult for Cesar to refrain from bursting out laughing with satisfaction