NOVPUBThe towering Anti-Magic Steel Columns reach up to the ceiling, their intricate runes flicker in the dim light. Underneath the Anti-Magic Steel, the Great Love Poet kneels in front of Pranay, focused on his words.
Within this secluded cell, their dialogue becomes a serene and profound ceremony, with the surrounding cold and silence intently listening in.
"So please give up, New King, the Protoss Empire is beyond saving, unless you can convince Rocky McCarthy to wholeheartedly believe in us..."
Pranay says quietly,
"But obviously, this is impossible. Even if he agreed to surrender his soul, we could not risk our lives on a gamble with less than a 10% chance of winning."
His innate magic evolved towards the Thousand-Mile Eye. Although it’s still in its early stages and not fully under his control, through the intermittent and unstable visions during his confinement in the underground Herram Prison, he’s able to get glimpses of the real-time situation above ground. Sometimes close, sometimes far away.
"..."
Antanas and Sinola, standing on either side, keep exchanging glances, but never utter a word.
As old friends of Pranay, they somewhat believe in his judgment because they know that they, combined and even multiplied by Talia, aren’t as clever as Pranay.
Subsequently, their gazes solely focus on the figure with black hair and green eyes, waiting for the king’s decision.
Having already pledged their allegiance, they will follow the king, regardless of his choice.
"So why, Pranay, do you think chances of victory are so slim?"
The Great Love Poet pauses for a moment before asking again.
He thinks and decides not to waste effort telling these three Great Demon Clan members who Rocky McCarthy really is.
Previously, even when he repeatedly emphasized to Antanas on the negative fourth-floor about his gender, she didn’t believe him.
Unless they see his true form, these three from the Great Demon Clan probably won’t believe that the Great Love Poet with black hair and green eyes is an imposter.
He just needs to wait until they leave Herram Prison and invite them to his actual self in the principal’s office of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy at the Hong Meng De Building. This will be far more effective than any explanation.
"The moment we choose Rocky McCarthy, we will be thrown into new dangers alongside him."
Pranay believes that the New King understands his words. The king’s question about their chance of victory is founded on the precondition that they can persuade Rocky McCarthy to surrender his soul to these demons,
"Under the circumstances where multiple forces in the Protoss Empire harbor their own schemes, my confinement underground prevents me from discerning the undercurrents and their causes, let alone the number of powerful figures hidden behind the chaos in the Protoss Empire. Even if we, the demon race, gained intelligence about our enemies beforehand, we may not necessarily achieve final victory."
Pranay stares into the New King’s eyes. He believes that the king understands his meaning.
Unless the New King can reach the Ninth-order, possessing the ability to single-handedly confront two to three Cardinals Bishops of the Rebirth Church, there would be a high probability of them holding abundant combat effectiveness.
From Pranay’s perspective, even if all the military force of the Demon World is combined, there’s no certainty that they could withstand the enemy, even if they identified them.
"New King, can you defeat Grand Sage Isis on your own?"
Pranay asks.
His sister, Sinola, had told him that the New King is strong. If the new king is stronger than those few generals who were once the strongest below the ninth rank in the Demon World, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope.
"I can’t win."
The Great Love Poet shakes his head.
That’s too much to ask of a Fourth-order.
Even though Pranay isn’t surprised by the response, he looks away, his gaze as if saying—
Then the hope is minuscule; it’s unlikely that we will be the ultimate winners.
"Can you tell me your thoughts, Pranay?"
The Great Love Poet picked up the wine bottle and poured half a glass for Pranay, motioning for him to speak slowly.
Pranay watched as the New King poured him wine and immediately became somewhat nervous. This was obviously against the customs of the Demon World, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He could only wait for the New King to finish pouring the wine before raising a toast to him.
Pranay stared blankly as he lifted his wine glass and sipped the Xue Yuan Liquor. As a rational demon, what Pranay wanted was a Demon King who could listen to his ideas rather than a tyrant who used brute force to coerce him.
But he never dared to fantasize about such things.
Only after Pranay silently placed his empty wine glass down did he speak again.
"To obtain the ticket to the victory of the Protoss Empire, we need at least two General-level combatants. The rest is about gathering intelligence. We’re unsure whether the enemy will have three or four General-level strongmen. What’s more, there are rules in Herram. Sometimes, winning isn’t necessarily about combat effectiveness. Military power is merely our last resort."
His voice had a bit more fluctuation, and his expression became more serious.
The three former civil servants of the Demon World together could only fight one general of the Demon Army, with an advantage against magic generals and a disadvantage against physical generals.
"General level?"
The Great Love Poet felt there were more and more units.
"It’s roughly equivalent to the current Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church, the strongest among the Eighth-order," Pranay explained.
For example, the known faction of a fallen nation has at least two Cardinal Bishops level powerhouses. So, they need at least two General-level powers to oppose them.
Based on what he saw on the day of the battle in the snowy borderlands, the grey-cloaked Eighth-Order Sealer was probably Bishop of Nirvana Asksan.
As for the mysterious man in black, even Pranay couldn’t figure out where he came from.
In a worse case scenario, if not handled appropriately, even Grand Sage Isis and Duke Berenhald, who are neutral in Herram, would side with the enemy.
But this is only the currently known information; the forces behind the Protoss Empire undoubtedly have more unknown elements.
In Pranay’s view, the Protoss Empire is now a round table for those in power. Each party, with different intentions, takes a piece of the pie. Until the real tipping point, no one knows how much of the pie they hold, and can only make estimates.
The bigger the piece of the pie, the greater the odds of success.
Under ideal circumstances, Pranay naturally hoped that their side could hold more than half of the pie. Not only would this ensure victory, but even if there were accidents, they would still have the power to overturn the table.
However, to overturn the table, even a Ninth-order and all of them combined wouldn’t be enough.
Because once they choose to overturn the table, they would have to challenge every other power.
So Pranay had to take a step back and hope that their side could have as much of the pie as possible.
The reality is that even if the Demon World were to participate now, the piece of the pie they hold is too small, they might not even be able to prevent the potential real enemy from overturning the table.
"..."
The Great Love Poet understood. The generals of the Demon World in the past were probably on par with Archbishop-level entities.
Now, Sigrid is sealed, and the combined power of the three Great Demon Clans can only supplement their only general-level power. Even if they do their best, they could only have one General-level power three days later. Pranay may have mistaken the Great Love Poet for another General level power, when in fact, this guy is really a First-order, with unlimited Magic Power.
However, Lanci didn’t think the situation was as bad as Pranay imagined.
Because Asksan and the man in black were not at their full strength...
As long as they can eliminate old friend Asksan first, not only can Sigrid’s seal be unlocked, but Sigrid can also become stronger. With one losing and one gaining, there would be a gap of two General-level powers all of a sudden.
