NOVPUBPranay remained silent, foregoing any voluntary conversation with the Great Love Poet.
In his view, the new king was capricious. He had no idea if the new king’s mercifulness towards his sister was to give him face briefly, or a veiled threat against him.
He has to make an accurate analysis and judgment now.
Not following the new king might also spell disaster today.
Even if the new king spared him due to the risk of Protoss Empire’s control over prisons, he would not spare his sister.
"Mr. Pranay, if you don’t want to speak more, I won’t force you. I just hope you can tell me your concerns and troubles. Perhaps I can help you solve them," said the Great Love Poet, sitting on his knees a short distance from Pranay, speaking slowly.
He believed that Pranay was not devoid of yearning for freedom; there was a desire in Pranay’s eyes that was strikingly similar to Sinola’s.
A scholar of the Demon World, Pranay was judging at this moment whether he was a rational interlocutor.
It’s a process of bidirectional selection, so communicating with Pranay could be taken slow.
Seeing this, Antanas pulled out a small bottle of wine and two glass cups from his coat pocket, placed them in front of the Great Love Poet and Pranay, and poured half a glass of wine.
Sinola wanted to say something but held back. She hadn’t seen when Antanas had pocketed Herram Prison’s belongings. Antanas seemed to truly despise Herram Prison.
Antanas’s professional demeanor took both the Great Love Poet and Pranay by surprise.
The Great Love Poet didn’t say much, just thanked Antanas.
She was too good at being a bartender and a server.
Soon, until Antanas stepped back once more, serving as an attendant, Pranay, silent for a while, looked at the new king again.
"What are your views of the current Protoss Empire, New King?" Keeping a safe distance and in a polite manner, Pranay stared into the green, rational eyes and asked.
Seldom had he seen such a reasonable member of the Demon Race, but such reasonableness made the new king dangerously unpredictable, as no one knew if he would remove Pranay at any moment.
With these thoughts in mind, Pranay had no choice but to take up the Xue Yuan Liquor, sipping it lightly to embolden himself.
If his conjecture was right, the new king successfully infiltrated Herram Prison and possibly executed minor infiltrations into the Protoss Empire, treating it as a base for the Demon Race’s restoration plan.
"There is a lot that needs to be changed, and I’m working towards that," the Great Love Poet, cupping his chin in thought, responded confidently.
He didn’t mind a slow conversation with Pranay.
"So, you still hold hope for it, don’t you?" Pranay’s words gradually slowed down.
"Of course, I’m full of hope for the Protoss Empire, and I won’t give it up for any reason," said the Great Love Poet, his voice clear and firm, almost like a promise.
"..."
Upon hearing these words, Pranay lifted his glass, sipped his wine, observed, and contemplated.
He could only accept this worst-case scenario.
If the new king had indeed chosen the Protoss Empire, then he was likely already in deep trouble, caught in the midst of this disaster.
It might even be challenging to persuade the new king to abandon his plans today.
After a long while.
"Where is the hope in the Protoss Empire? I see no hope in this country, not even a partner with whom we can cooperate," Pranay said, looking at the black-haired, green-eyed woman with a look full of helplessness.
"If you want me, Sinola, and Antanas to help you swallow the Protoss Empire in the future, we certainly need corresponding partners to eat away this country, step by step. But..."
Pranay’s words stopped.
Given the new king’s aggressive tendencies, his next move might be to directly negotiate with those currently in power in the empire or bewitch them straight away.
But Pranay didn’t know who the new king would choose, or who he had already made an agreement with.
"What do you think about the Grand Sage, Isis Melon? I believe our existence in the Protoss Empire is indispensable without the support of such a rule maintainer."
The Great Love Poet picked up his wine glass, but didn’t bring it to his lips, he asked.
"Hehe, that dull and slow-witted old elf, after the death of Emperor Franklin, she’s just fulfilling her promise to protect the Protoss Empire. It’s only when a crisis comes that she will react, but by then, it’ll already be too late."
Pranay shook his head.
It was like he wished for Isis to die.
"..."
The Great Love Poet observed Pranay’s expression and sensed that there seemed to be a hint of personal grudge. Every high-ranking demon in the three prisons seemed to have some kind of disagreement with the Grand Sage, Isis.
"What about Duke Morotian Berenhald?"
The Great Love Poet asked again.
Just today, right after the meeting with Warden Bacas had concluded, they were to meet with Morotian Berenhald, the Duke who was the owner of [Original Slabstone - Undead].
"He keeps too much to himself, compared to the Protoss Empire, Duke Berenhald would care more about his own interests. Even if we cooperate with him, he’ll just consider us disposable pawns, constantly plotting to exterminate us after he has used us."
Pranay’s eyes showed resistance.
He knew very well about the most fearsome human hero in the Protoss Empire in recent years, who had reached a level of strength that was unimaginable to him in just a few decades.
Even Pranay couldn’t see through Duke Berenhald’s position.
"What about the Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church? Bishop Sigrid of Hegemony, Bishop Asksan of Nirvana, and Mourning Bishop Amiles? All three of them have the power to compete with the previous two."
The Great Love Poet held his wine glass, solely focusing on Pranay’s reaction.
According to Pranay’s thoughts, perhaps they should lean more towards the third-party camps outside of the Protoss Empire, which were more worthy of the trust of their Demon Race?
He happened to be cooperating with the Bishop of Hegemony, their companies were even about to merge, preparing to reorganize into a new corporate group.
"Their ambitions are too great, it’s hard to judge whether they’ll betray us first or we’ll betray them."
Pranay gazed at the reflection of the new king in the wine glass, he knew exactly what kind of people these Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church were.
The present Rebirth Church on the surface was far more terrifying than the Demon World when it still existed.
Working with the Cardinal Bishops might just speed up their demise against the Protoss Empire.
"..."
The Great Love Poet started to sip his wine.
He believed that Pranay’s judgments were sensible. Even though he was in prison, he could still analyze the situation of the Protoss Empire on the surface over the past century. This was also why the Protoss Empire kept Pranay in the depths of the underground, subjecting him to the strictest restrictions.
"What about Rocky McCarthy?"
While the king and Pranay were silent, Antanas suddenly intervened.
She wasn’t sure if Pranay had heard this name, or if he had seen anything about Rocky McCarthy on the surface of Herram through his eyes.
She wasn’t sure exactly who Rocky McCarthy was.
But earlier on the negative fifth floor, when she went through the prison corridor’s office area, the name she heard most from the guards was this one. This seemed to be a figure much anticipated by the Protoss Empire, even having many connections and business partnerships with Herram Prison.
The black-haired, green-eyed poet, the Great Love Poet, gave Antanas a complex look before turning back. Antanas shrunk her neck and covered her mouth.
"..."
But this time, Pranay was silent for a while.
"Frail human body, powerless to reverse fate."
Pranay finally replied.
"?"
It surprised Antanas and Sinola, they didn’t expect the honest Pranay to actually consider this human named Rocky McCarthy more promising than the several previous empire figures.
The implied meaning was even that if Rocky McCarthy possessed a strength comparable to the previous people, maybe the Empire would still have a faint glimmer of hope.
Pity that this character lacked too much time, it was already too late to save the Empire.
