The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 302 A table full of hearts

After the words were spoken, the meeting room fell eerily quiet.

Several congressmen frowned slightly and looked at Caesar Colin with a hint of dissatisfaction.

This guy seemed to treat this place as his own command tent, as if the conference table in front of him was a map full of military flags, and they - these senior congressmen were his soldiers.

This is undoubtedly rude behavior.

However, some members of parliament looked thoughtful, or simply watched the fun as if it had nothing to do with them.

For example, Hephes is a typical example.

The Fire Demon Councillor, whose body was covered in flames and whose skin seemed to be made of magma, sat back in his chair, seemingly unconcerned about the battle in front of him. There was even a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

As a subordinate who had once served Caesar Colin on the battlefield, he knew the temperament of this "Iron Prince" better than anyone else.

This man never likes to beat around the bush, and he never hides his edge.

Caesar stared at Coligo intently, and their eyes crossed in the air, as if sparks were created.

The meeting was filled with tension from the very beginning.

Luo Yan couldn't help but think in his heart that now was obviously not the best time for him to speak, so it would be better to let Caesar and Goligo exchange fire in the air for a while.

"Mr. Colin, please sit down first."

A steady, restrained voice came from the end of the table.

Chief Minister of the Cabinet Anken Asmon coughed lightly and continued slowly.

"This is parliament, not the front line. We must fully listen to everyone's opinions so that we can make choices that are in the interests of everyone."

He paused and added:
"This is also the teaching of His Majesty the Demon God."

"Otherwise, the demon war will serve as a lesson for us... We have already paid enough for this, and I don't want to see you make the same mistake again."

His tone was gentle, but there was a hint in his words.

Luo Yan's intuition told him that this shadow demon was not as neutral as he appeared.

Judging from the restrained tone and ambiguous stance, his judgment actually tends to be in favor of Caesar.

But he won't say it.

As the leader of the entire cabinet, he must maintain a superficial balance - even if he really wants to pull the side, he has to pretend to check and balance.

Just as Luo Yan was thinking this, a low, cold voice slowly sounded, like a ghost crawling out of a grave.

"Do you want to know my opinion?"

At the moment when the voice was rang out, the light in the conference room seemed to dim a lot.

Gorgio Soran's eyes, burning with green soul fire, turned to Caesar, and a cold arc appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"When I was fighting them on the battlefield, you didn't even know where you were."

His tone seemed to be a mixture of sarcasm and contempt, and every syllable was icy cold.

"The people you are trying to win over? If you really knew them, you wouldn't say such things."

"They want to eliminate us at the root, and not just us!"

The lich's voice echoed in the hall like a spell, every word sounded sonorous and powerful, and there was no sign that he was just a rotten corpse.

"The word 'contract' does not exist in the eyes of those fanatics. They are just like the Dragon God they believe in. They are a bunch of complete lunatics, and they are lunatics who possess terrible power!"

"Their gods do not believe in anyone or reason. They will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and will stop at nothing...even at the cost of destroying themselves."

"Just like they once clamored to eliminate death, but ended up bringing the entire world into an endless abyss."

"Win them over?"

"You are not playing with fire, you are dreaming!"

When he said the last sentence, the soul fire burning in his skull was like erupting magma, engulfing almost every inch of the shadow.

His bony fingers tapped on the table, and each click was like a nail driven into a coffin, making people hold their breath unconsciously.

I can tell--

Gutav hurt him thoroughly.

Luo Yan sighed in his heart and silently saved Tafu's face.

This kid is really guilty of a heinous crime.

It’s not unfair at all to be reincarnated as a pig.

Maybe this is the result of karma.

There was silence at the conference table.

Looking at the stubborn Goligo, Caesar Colin narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression changing from gloomy to bright, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Seeing that the atmosphere at the conference table had reached a deadlock, Asmon had no choice but to come out again to smooth things over.

However, just as he was about to say something, an elegant yet somewhat frivolous voice suddenly came from the side of the conference table.

“It was a fascinating debate.”

"Unfortunately, we still have no information about the Cana continent... So, with all due respect, whether it is to continue the war that happened thousands of years ago or to win over the former enemy, your judgment is completely based on castles in the air."

The man who spoke was none other than Karamos, Hell's Minister of Intelligence.

The moment he finished speaking, two pairs of eyes focused on him at the same time.

Asmon looked in surprise at Kalamos, who had acted as if it had nothing to do with him a second ago but suddenly jumped into the fire pit. He obviously didn't expect that he would suddenly speak at this time.

Luo Yan also looked at him with surprise, secretly admiring him in his heart.

Is this the composure of a demigod-level warrior?
If it were me, even if I was sure I could subdue the two demigod-level warriors, I would wait until they were tired of fighting each other before handing over the ladder.

Goligo stared at Karamos expressionlessly without saying a word, but used his cold eyes to guess the motives behind that smile.

In contrast, Caesar's attitude was much tougher. With a hint of arrogance on his lips, he refuted without any hesitation.

"Castles in the air? Are we going to do nothing without intelligence? On the contrary, my decision is based on my caution for the current situation of lack of intelligence."

"If the Lizardmen on the Janna continent are as powerful as they were thousands of years ago, it just proves that they are qualified to be Hell's strategic allies. And if they are weak, assisting them in resisting the Empire's infiltration can also reduce our pressure on the front line. From any perspective, winning them over is much more reliable than fighting a war with no chance of winning across half of the Vast Ocean!"

Before he finished speaking, Caesar Colin suddenly snorted coldly, his sharp eyes flickered slightly, and his straightforward tone carried a hint of undisguised sarcasm.

"And speaking of intelligence…isn't it your job to gather intelligence, Minister Kalamos?"

"Of course." Karamos was not angered by his provocation, but nodded gracefully, and then continued, "It is my duty to spy on the truth behind the fog... But intelligence is something that takes time to collect. Even His Majesty the Demon God cannot fabricate non-existent news out of thin air."

When he said this, he suddenly changed the subject and glanced at Luo Yan, who had been silent, with the smile on his lips becoming more meaningful.

"But fortunately, we are not completely clueless."

"There is a gentleman sitting in this chamber right now, who may know more about the Janna Continent than anyone else here...even you and me."

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

The demons' gazes converged on one point like a torrent.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly became the focus of the whole audience. Even though Luo Yan had prepared his speech in advance, he was caught off guard by this sudden situation.

It's too early now.

However, Karamos had no intention of letting him go, and he smiled and officially pushed him to the front of the stage.

"Well, respected Councillor Luo Yan, now is a good time for you to express your views. I think not only me, but also Mr. Caesar and Priest Golico must want to know what you think about the situation on the Janna continent... Can you share your thoughts with us?"

He threw the hot fire crystal over casually.

The calmness of the bullshit strong——

This guy is clearly here to stir up trouble!

Luo Yan cursed inwardly, but his face showed no emotion and he remained calm.

He slowly stood up, his eyes calmly swept across the audience's scrutinizing, questioning, or expectant gazes, and then slowly spoke.

"...Since Mr. Kalamos has invited me so kindly, I will venture to offer a few words of my personal opinion."

After a pause, he continued in a deep voice.

"As Mr. Karamos just said, we know too little about the Janna continent. Any major strategic decision we make now would be hasty and sloppy."

Caesar narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was examining the intention of his words. But Goligo didn't look at him, as if he didn't take his words seriously.

Luo Yan breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"...But I also agree with Mr. Caesar that we can't always wait until we have all the intelligence before making a decision. The Empire is already ahead of us. No matter how they passed through the Great Barrier and established a colony with the Janna Continent before the Great Storm destroyed it, it is enough to show that they know that land far more than we do...including their understanding of the Lizardmen on the Janna Continent."

"Oh?" Karamos looked at him with a half-smile and asked with interest, "So what's your conclusion? Conquer or win over, which one do you prefer?"

"I don't agree with any of this," Luo Yan shook his head slowly and said, "My suggestion is that we don't need to focus on such a grand strategic goal as the Janna Continent, but we can intervene in the local situation from a smaller entry point."

"For example, build a Demon Lord Territory below Deadwood Harbor!"

Before he finished speaking, whispers broke out in the audience.

The congressmen sitting in the meeting seats also exchanged glances with each other, and seemed to think this was a good idea.

indeed--

The continent of Janna is too far away.

Even if they wanted to win over the United Kingdom of Gutaf, they might achieve little success due to the diplomatic distance. Moreover, as Minister Goligo said, they did not know much about those lizardmen.

And conquering it is even more ridiculous.

They all knew that even if they took over that continent, it would be difficult for them to hold on to it given the Empire's fleet in the vast ocean.

In comparison, building a Demon Lord's Territory is undoubtedly a more moderate and practical option.

They are not colonizing the Janna continent, but a colony of the Colonial Empire! As for further decisions, they can wait until they have a good understanding of the local situation!

After reaching this consensus, Councillor Luo Yan’s next words really touched their hearts - they almost became their substitute.

"…It's a colony of the Empire. I think even if we extend our hands there, it won't alert the United Kingdom of Gutaf. On the contrary, it might even win their favor."

"First, we have made it clear that we are hostile to the Empire, which is equivalent to telling the lizardmen on the Janna continent that we have a common enemy."

"Secondly, we can keep our distance while closely observing the situation on the Janna continent, especially deepening our understanding of the United Kingdom of Gutaf and retaining room for making strategic choices."

"We don't have to choose 'war' or 'alliance' right now. Sometimes 'waiting' and 'testing' are smarter strategies."

"The above is just my personal opinion. If you have better ideas, please don't hesitate to add them."

After finishing his speech, Luo Yan nodded slightly, calmly sat back in his seat, and said nothing more.

There was a brief silence in the meeting room.

Then, several whispers were heard.

Many congressmen and demon kings in the audience nodded one after another. Although many demons still had stern expressions, most of their eyes were still filled with approval.

Chief Minister Ankein Asmon leaned back in his chair, looking at Luo Yan thoughtfully, with a glimmer of admiration that was rarely shown in his eyes.

Unlike many of the congressmen present.

What he admired was not the idea proposed by Luo Yan, but his ability to adapt to circumstances and remain calm in times of crisis.

——This guy has brought the art of language to perfection!
Asmon could of course see that Luo Yan was leaning towards Caesar Colin.

But this is also the clever part - from beginning to end, he seemed to be considering the position of the Minister of Religion, Coligo.

And there was nothing wrong with what he said.

Sending out the Demon King is naturally equivalent to sending troops to the Janna continent.

However, the target of their attack was not the potential target of winning over the United Kingdom of Gutaf, but Hell’s old rival, the Os Empire.

Even the undead who still hold a stubbornly conservative stance towards the Dragon God and his people cannot find fault with the decisions made by the higher-ups in Hell.

Coligo is in fact the representative of this group of people.

Asmon could clearly tell from the demigod lich's silence that this stubborn old thing had already given in.

high!
It’s really high!

Asmon's admiration grew in his heart, and the more he looked at the young man, the more he liked him - it had indeed been a wise decision to bring him into the parliament.

His stance?

He had supported Caesar Colin from the very beginning. Now that Hell was taking advantage of the chaos in the logistical supply of the Oss Empire to advance to the front line, how could he have the energy to settle old scores with the Dragon God from a thousand years ago?

With Coligo's tacit approval, the issue is no longer controversial.

As for Caesar.

This iron-blooded prince was very fond of the compromise plan proposed by Luo Yan.

However, the meeting did not end there.

There is another key issue that needs to be resolved:

Who will be responsible for establishing the Demon Lord's Territory on this strange continent?

"I think... we must carefully consider the selection of this demon king. His position will represent the position of Hell in the Janna continent." Asmon coughed lightly, then looked at Goligo and threw the topic to him first, "What is your opinion, Priest Goligo?"

Seeing Asmon casting a caring look at him, Goligo glanced at him indifferently, and then his voice sounded slowly.

His attitude was as cold as ever, and there was no trace of emotion in the calmly burning soul fire.

"I have no opinion."

"The Demon King is a servant of the Demon God. It's the same to me whoever goes."

Anyway, the person he nominates will be rejected by Caesar, just as he will certainly veto Caesar's nomination, so there is no point in asking them to make a choice.

Having said that, he seemed to have thought of something and then changed the subject.

"But I have one thing to say—"

"This person cannot be from the Necropolis."

When he said this, Luo Yan could clearly feel that the faint soul fire burning in his skull was staring at him.

For a moment, he glimpsed the shadow of the demon behind the burning green light.

He is doubting himself!
Under the pressure from the demigod-level strong man, Luo Yan's scalp went numb and his fists on the table clenched unconsciously.

Luo Yan was mentally prepared for the fact that Geligo might hold a grudge against him.

After all, his apprentice Zakro died at his own hands, and his body was exposed on the street in an extremely tragic way.

However, what surprised Luo Yan was that the hostility he read from those eyes was not just hatred, but something beyond hatred——

That's more like a warning from colleagues!
But why?
With my own strength, I shouldn't attract his attention.

Luo Yan's thoughts raced through his mind, and he analyzed countless possibilities in an instant. He even subconsciously glanced at the silent statue of the demon god, and even took into account the demon god's whispers.

Looking at Goligo who was staring at Luo Yan, Asmon smiled bitterly and shook his head.

This guy……

If you quibble with a younger person, you will only go backwards.

Unlike Luo Yan, he didn't think too much about it. He simply understood Goligo's hostility as "hatred towards the person who killed his beloved disciple."

The old guy seemed to retreat a step towards Caesar and did not continue to worry about how much power Hell should use to take revenge on the Dragon God's people.

But on the other hand, he still retained almost naked hostility towards Luo Yan.

Asmon coughed, breaking the heavy atmosphere lingering over the conference table.

"Okay, Father Golico, I don't think Luo Yan said that he would select a demon from the cemetery to serve as the Demon King..."

As he said this, he turned his gaze to Luo Yan, freeing the latter from the pressure of the religious minister.

"Am I right, Mr. Luo Yan?"

Feeling the heavy pressure on his heart lift, Luo Yan took a deep breath and stood up again. He spoke calmly with a casual smile on his face.

"of course."

"The Janna continent is too far away from the Great Cemetery, far beyond the limits of my jurisdiction and resources. I just shared the information I had as a member of the Hell Council, that's all... I never intended to interfere in this matter from the beginning."

"Really? That's a pity. In my opinion, you are the most suitable one. I even thought about... transferring you from Leiming County." Karamos, who had been listening for a long time, suddenly interrupted the topic and looked at Luo Yan with a smile on his face. The expression on his face seemed as if he really felt regretful.

Luo Yan coughed lightly.

"That's probably not very convenient... The Thunder County maze cannot be without me."

"Haha, I was just joking. I don't have the power to interfere with the will of His Majesty the Demon God," Karamos joked, looking at Luo Yan and continued, "So... to make up for my regret, can you recommend me a candidate who you think is more suitable?"

All eyes were focused on Luo Yan again, including Goligo who had just looked away.

Looking at the smiling Karamos, Luo Yan couldn't help but sigh in his heart that this guy who usually doesn't show his true colors is probably the most difficult old fox to deal with at this conference table.

but--

He had no reason to refuse.

After all, this was the decision that was in his best interest.

Even the fact that he recommended the candidate for the Demon King was actually a favor done to him by Karamos.

"I happen to have a candidate."

Everything was just as in the script, Luo Yan continued slowly.

"This person graduated from the Demon King Academy. He and I graduated from the same class. Whether it's his knowledge, ability, or character, he is impeccable."

"More than that, he has been training at the grassroots level over the past year and has performed well. He has strong organizational and discipline skills, as well as sufficient independent judgment."

If he checked his conscience, Luo Yan had said this against his conscience.

But it's not a complete lie.

With Iger's small body, he has been able to survive in the chaotic front line until now. He must have some skills that he doesn't know about.

Let’s just leave it at that!

"Are you planning to recommend Miss Mia Padridge?" The congressman sitting opposite suddenly joked, glancing at Festing without leaving any trace, with a teasing look in his eyes. "If that's the case, I think it's better for you to go in person."

Festing's expression didn't change.

He seemed to have anticipated what would happen today, so he never mentioned his daughter's name that night. Instead, he recommended a complete outsider.

These demons seem to have ten thousand minds.

On the surface, I was the one who took advantage of them, but in fact, I was also being taken advantage of by them.

but……

So what?
Bathed in those thoughtful gazes, Luo Yan calmed himself down and then slowly spoke the words he had prepared long ago.

"of course not."

"Ms. Mia is also very good, but I think the respected Father Coligo will not be satisfied with my nominating an outsider with 'absolutely no frontline combat experience' to play such an important role."

Coligo did not comment on his choice of words, but the attitude on his face clearly acknowledged it.

As he spoke, Luo Yan's gaze turned towards the Chief Minister, then swept across several other ministers, and finally stopped at the pair of dark green soul fires.

"The person I am going to nominate does not belong to any faction. He is a true neutral... He will put the interests of Hell as the first priority and will not be influenced by anyone, including me."

"His name is Ig."

(End of this chapter)