Chapter 40: The Demon King's Choice

In the blood-covered great hall, skeleton after skeleton dripping with blood stood tall.

The oppressive feeling that rushed toward them made the delegations of the Earth Dragon clan and the Shadow-Weaving Lair hold their breath involuntarily.

In this world, skeletons were not rare things, and their strength was not worth mentioning.

After all, most of them had incomplete souls and lacked sound minds, and even if they had Bronze or even Steel-rank strength, it was very difficult to fully exert it in battle, and being killed across levels by low-level or even non-extraordinary adventurers was a common occurrence.

However, these undead were different.

At least, they felt completely different to Arakdo than those dull, stupid trash.

These guys not only could jump and hop, but also knew how to use adventurer combat skills, and even knew how to dissect monster corpses just like adventurers...

This was simply like they were alive! Thinking about it, the Earth Dragon clan must have seen this point, which was why they sent envoys...

Arakdo, who was guarding with full concentration, quietly glanced at the lizard-man not far away.

The other party seemed to have sensed his gaze and looked over with narrowed eyes.

That arrogant expression was like looking at a bug, not taking him seriously at all.

Facing the suppression of bloodline, Arakdo was annoyed in his heart, but didn't dare to attack, so he could only swallow this breath and endure it to avoid the sharp edge.

Seeming to have seen his concession, the lizard-man envoy raised his chin, and the expression on his face became even more disdainful.

As the saying goes, those above have preferences, and those below follow suit. Seeing that their leader was so arrogant, the few guards standing behind the envoy also began to show off, gesturing with the things in their hands, and delivering provocative gazes toward the delegation of the Shadow-Weaving Lair.

Arakdo and the hunters behind him dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak, and could only use 'chi-chi-chi' insect chirps to issue warnings.

In the eyes of the lizard-men, that self-comforting clamor was just like begging for mercy.

Standing in the Demon King's domain above the labyrinth, Luo Yan used You You's ability to carefully observe the infighting among these monsters.

For humans, it's actually not easy to read the micro-expressions of monsters.

But he had lived in the Demon Capital for 18 years after all, and he knew the temperaments of various Hell creatures as well as the provocative actions like the back of his hand.

Judging from the arrogant posture of that group of lizard-men, they clearly didn't take that group of spiders seriously.

This was also understandable.

After all, whether on Earth or in another world, lizards belong to the natural enemies of insect monsters.

Especially here, the former could also use human tools, so wouldn't they eat a buffet? Recalling what he learned at the Demon King Academy, Luo Yan's train of thought quickly became clear.

Use the survival crisis to win over the spider tribe, and then cooperate with human external enemies to suppress the lizard-man tribe.

In this way, the first floor of the labyrinth would be within reach! "It's time for this great one to appear..."

"Petrified Skin!"

Putting away the mirror in his hand, Luo Yan raised his magic wand, and started by casting twelve buffs on himself.

"Swift as Wind!"

"Mana Enhancement!"

"Atmospheric Barrier!"

"..."

A set of flashy operations ended, he casually sucked dry Chris, who was watching the fun by the stone prison, and then stepped into the deep pit connected to the first floor of the labyrinth.

In normal times, he would never dare to jump down from this height of more than ten meters, but now he was fully stacked with buffs, so he didn't panic even if it were a bit higher!

The moment he landed, the airflow of the 'Atmospheric Barrier' blew the dust on the ground more than ten meters away.

Pairs of eyes quickly focused on him.

The cave spiders and lizard-men showed obvious fear on their faces, while the players' faces were full of longing.

Demon King!

This guy finally came! The cutscene had been loading for so long that many people thought the equipment had frozen.

"I heard someone wants to see me."

Ripples of magic power visible to the naked eye flowed under the pitch-black cloak, and the man standing among the white bones was like a king in a cemetery.

The lizard-man envoy couldn't tell his depth, only feeling that this person was terrifyingly strong, with magic power so abundant it seemed about to overflow! "It is I, Your Majesty. Your humble servant, Okto! The champion warrior of the Earth Dragon clan, and also the envoy of Lord Sanu!"

A low groan like an ancient bell issued from the lizard-man's throat, he lowered his fierce head and knelt on one knee on the ground, his right hand placed on his left chest.

That was the etiquette of a subject to a monarch.

Looking down at him with cold eyes, Luo Yan raised a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Earth Dragon clan? Lord? I didn't hear wrong, right? A four-legged snake dares to mention this word in front of me, it seems Mr. Dragon didn't teach you what humility is."

Lizard-men have two main G-spots.

One is calling them lizard-men regardless of the breed, and the second is calling them four-legged snakes.

By the way, in order to prevent the players from being confused, Luo Yan also specifically ordered You You to add subtitles to their 'player system'.

After hearing his mockery, that group of four-legged snakes was indeed furious.

"You guy—" A lizard-man with a bare upper body took down the short bow from his back, and in a rage, pulled an arrow from the quiver.

However, before he could pull the bowstring, that scaly head flew off his neck, turned into an arc, and fell into the corner of the great hall.

"Hunger..."

A long, drawn-out groan echoed in his ears.

Okto was suddenly startled and quickly looked to the side, only to see a zombie standing tall with a greatsword in hand, staring at him with cold eyes, as if looking at a corpse.

His scales stood on end, he jumped back to open the distance, and his hand was already touching the short knife at his waist.

This guy—

When did he get so close?! The hand holding the short knife loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened, Okto was terrified in his heart.

His amber pupils shifted between that motionless zombie and the necromancer not far away, his heart beating like a drum, thumping.

The sudden scene stunned all the monsters present, pairs of pupils were either terrified, angry, or fearful... even the cave spider Arakdo was stunned.

He was happy to see these geckos suffer, but he didn't expect the Demon King to ignore their status as envoys and cut off that guy's head with one stroke.

As for the motionless players, pairs of eyes were shining with excitement.

Is this the combat power ceiling of "Catastrophe OL"?

This oppressive feeling—

It's simply explosive!

"Nice expression."

Examining the lizard head lying on the ground not far away, Luo Yan said nonchalantly, like an unreasonable tyrant.

"Reluctantly, it can decorate my palace wall."

The lizard-man guards were furious and about to go berserk, but Okto hurriedly stopped them.

"Wait a minute—!"

That humble appearance was just like the cave spiders they looked down upon.

Looking at the Demon King who was lightly raising his magic wand, he knelt on one knee again, his voice trembling as he said.

"Respected Demon King! Please let me finish! We came here with peaceful intentions!"

This time, this guy didn't pretend to call him 'Your Majesty' anymore, but very simply called him 'Demon King'.

However—

Luo Yan wouldn't simply believe that this guy had really softened.

Luo Yan looked down at him and said in an understated tone.

"Peace?"

"Ye, yes!"

Okto bit the bullet, forced a friendly expression from his scaly face, and looked up at him humbly.

"The threat on the surface is imminent, now is not the time for infighting, you wouldn't want to be taken advantage of by those humans, right? Lord Sanu... our clan leader, he hopes to conclude a peace treaty with Your Majesty, so that both sides will not attack each other, live in peace, and be friendly forever!"

The so-called peace agreement was actually just a stone thrown to test the path.

No lord would sign such a thing with his vassals, and a contract without strength guarantees is even more of a fart in Hell.

If the Demon King accepted this agreement, it would be equivalent to exposing his weakness.

In this way, whether the Earth Dragon clan launched a full-scale attack to eliminate this threat once and for all, or held the Demon King hostage to command the small fry and then conquer the lower levels of the labyrinth... they could advance and retreat freely.

And if the Demon King didn't agree, it would mean the other party had the confidence to crush them. Whether this was bluffing or true, they could always deal with it carefully.

This was the clan leader's strategy.

Before deciding on the attitude toward the Demon King, they needed to figure out the Demon King's strength before they could make the next move.

Just as Okto was calculating in his heart, Arakdo not far away was also secretly calculating, waiting for the Demon King's answer.

Perhaps the Demon King didn't realize that the gecko kneeling in front of him didn't take him seriously at all.

Including the entire Earth Dragon clan.

He was very curious about what choice the Demon King would make, and whether this choice was worthy of the loyalty of the Shadow-Weaving Lair... and even his own loyalty.

The monsters were all harboring ulterior motives, but Luo Yan, who was looking down at them, just smiled.

I can't see it?

Heh.

Guess what I usually learn in class? "... This is the funniest joke I've heard today, a four-legged snake wants to talk to me about an agreement."

Ignoring that panicked and furious face, Luo Yan cast his gaze toward the cave spider prostrate on the ground and said in a very low voice.

"What about you? Little eight-legged guy, are you also here to negotiate terms with me?"

Fear spell taught by Professor Ernos.

He didn't just know defense; he was also very proficient in using it, and could retract it freely.

Facing that cold gaze, Arakdo felt his whole body stiffen, and his carapace couldn't control the 'chi-chi-chi' trembling.

It couldn't be wrong—

That oppressive feeling from the Demon King! The man in front of him was far more powerful than Her Majesty Arachnos! "The Shadow-Weaving Lair is willing to offer you loyalty! The labyrinth forever belongs to Hell! Forever belongs to the Demon God! And forever belongs to you, respected one... waiting for your arrival! Respected Demon King!"

His brain whirred, and he searched his gut for every single word he could find.

Those who know the times are heroes—

He surrendered for the Queen!

Anyway... she had agreed to it, that pretending to submit thing.

"Coward!"

Okto, who was kneeling on one knee, cursed and sprang up from the ground like lightning.

The probe failed! This was the worst result!

The other party didn't have the desire to negotiate with them at all, a contemptuous insult dismissed the agreement they had painstakingly thought of, and he didn't even want to hear a compromise plan.

Obviously! This Demon King's strength had far exceeded their imagination, so much so that he didn't intend to play the game of infighting with them at all!

Compared to submission—

He wanted to use their heads for a sacrifice even more! "Prepare for battle!!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 41 =====