It took almost ten days before the Beast King was ready for negotiations. Clearing the Demon Lair had been rather easy, in theory, at least. The only issue was the Demon Lair’s size. Nobody expected the cavern network to be so extensive.
Not only was it much deeper than expected – Percy only realized the lair’s depth after he went down a second time – but there were also hundreds of tunnels stretching far and wide.
The Beastmen, the Beast King ahead of everyone, were unwilling to leave a single tunnel unturned. They were adamant about unraveling everything, collecting every Demon carcass to burn the tarnished existences once and for all. Their fury pushed them to move forward, but the Beastmen didn’t stop thinking rationally. They understood how dangerous the Demons’ presence was and how much Demon carcasses could harm the land if left behind.
The royal envoy was fine with that. They had nothing against the Beastmen cleaning. However, the underlying problem was that the royal envoy had better things to do than stay in the camp and train. Training was great, and having some time off from battling Demons was great, too. The Gnoll Warlord was healed, and Percy didn’t have to go easy on him anymore.
Still, the news they heard from the Kainesh Kingdom wasn’t pleasant.
Demon sightings increased drastically compared to two weeks ago. Reports stated that the Meiso Plains were in great danger of being overrun by Demons in the following weeks. That was tragic, but it got worse. The Glacia Knight Order found the Moonlight Forest overflowing with demons.
The Order killed countless Demons, hundreds upon hundreds, according to the reports, yet the flood of Demons gushing out of the Moonlight Forest never ceased. The land was dying. It was corrupted, and all life was drained and afflicted by the Demons’ presence.
“Why do we have to wait here doing nothing while our people are dying?” Melissa Reeze roared. Her fist smashed on a makeshift table, smashing it apart in one go. It was the 14th table she’d destroyed since news of the Glacia Knight Order failed their mission to secure the Moonlight Forest’s mana vein.
A handful of good men from the Glacia Knight Order died fighting the Demons of the Moonlight Forest. They retreated but failed to protect everyone. Some of the men who’d been killed had been with Melissa since the day she was born. She had been around them her whole life. But now… Now, some of them were dead, ripped apart by Demons.
“Baron Levian Darkai shouldn’t have blocked us for so long. He is too full of himself. So what if he is an Ascended? If he cannot do his job, he might as well be an Elite or a Normie for all I care!”
“The Baron was angry because the Minister of Finances denied his reimbursement of the Wintermoon Estate,” One of the younger nobles, a merchant’s child, responded. He looked around and noticed everyone paying attention to him, their gazes urging him to keep going.
He cleared his throat and added, “The Minister of Finances demanded proof that Baron Darkai used the crown’s funding to maintain the Wintermoon Estate and the Demon Ward. Apparently, Baron Darkai didn’t do that. Instead, he started spreading rumors, saying that the crown betrayed their loyal Gifted, who had risked their lives for the kingdom’s sake in the past. It…is a little bit more complicated than that, and I don’t know everything. My father didn’t tell me everything he’d heard saying Baron Darkai is a greedy bastard, a commoner cretin who never deserved to possess this much power…but the gist of it is simple.”
Percy sighed, but the young merchant's son wasn’t done yet.
“To put it simply, the Minister of Finances demanded proof of his expenses, but the Baron didn’t give any proof, which is why the Minister of Finances didn’t receive any more funding. There was supposed to be a case at the High Court, but Baron Darkai left the capital after the crown forced him to allow the Glacia Knight Order inside the Moonlight Forest to secure the mana vein…which failed.”
The young man glanced at Melissa, whose cheeks were rosy in anger.
“The Baron was tasked to cleanse the Moonlight Forest again, but he didn’t do that, or did he?” Percy asked as he recalled something, “I read a little bit about the Moonlight Forest in the royal library, but something was odd. It was said there weren’t too many powerful monsters at its outskirts since this Levian Darkai started cleansing the Moonlight Forest. But there were lots of monsters during the Imperial training, or am I mistaken?”
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Melissa’s eyebrows arched when Percy looked at her, “I don’t know…How am I supposed to know how many monsters we were supposed to encounter on the way to the Wintermoon Estate?”
Percy frowned, but Melissa didn’t notice that. “Do you think…Is it possible Baron Darkai is in cahoots with…you know?”
“You think he works with the Devil?” Percy asked, his frown deepening. That didn’t sound logical. If he was in cahoots with the Devil, he must be a Demonic Gifted like the other demonified humans they’d encountered. But someone at the court and the royal palace should have noticed that.
Or…is it necessary to be a demonified human to work with the Devil? He could have gained something in exchange for working with the Devil? But why would Baron Darkai do that? He is already powerful and has obtained a large piece of land for his achievements. There is no reason to betray the Kainesh Kingdom…or is there?
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Fiona murmured, “I didn’t sense anything odd about him when I met him the first time years ago. He was a kind man. A bit talkative and calm for my taste and mannerless, but having a barbarian in the court was a nice change.”
Another noble nodded with a smile on his lips, “He talked a lot. That’s for sure. Baron Darkai is different than the others at the court. He treats everyone nicely and talks like there is no tomorrow. He is very prideful and always speaks about his sudden rise in power. Something about him failing to grow stronger for a long time.”
Percy’s ears perked up, and Melissa glanced at him as well. They looked at each other, rage surfacing on Melissa’s face. Percy had to intercept right away.
“We know nothing for sure. How about we consider Baron Darkai as a suspicious person, a possible suspect until we know more for sure? Until then…let’s ensure we stay in top shape until the Beast King is ready for negotiations.”
There were many troublesome points about the reports they’d received from the border settlement. Greater Demons had been sighted, leading hordes of Elite and Lesser Demons. They had been repelled by the Glacia Knight Order and some Adventurers, but the hordes would return soon.
The villages and towns near the Moonlight Forest were in chaos once the news reached them. There weren’t any settlements right next to the Moonlight Forest, but that didn’t mean the next-closest villages and towns felt safe and sound. Those who could afford it moved away from the Moonlight Forest. They moved as fast as they could afford and settled down, not without clinging to their fears and worries.
That was bad, to say the least. The people showed signs of fear. They were afraid of the unknown future and had a hard time controlling their anxiety. What would happen to them now, and where were the kingdom’s Pillars when they needed them?
“Our Orders are already gathering, and the Guild has been informed as well,” Percy mumbled, but he didn’t think it was enough.
This time, the Demons’ attacks were much more than the average. This time, it was worse.
The Demon Mark burned fiercely when Percy first heard about the Demon sightings near the Moonlight Forest. Of course, he could have been imagining things, but he didn’t believe that to be the case.
No. It was much worse than imagining something. It was the reality.
“Did the Devil descend already?”
Everyone looked at Percy, some looking at him with fear and doubt, while others frowned deeply.
But Percy looked at a spot far behind them. He ignored them, the corner of his lips curling up. At last, the Beast King arrived to renegotiate their peace treaty.
“Is that what that bastard meant when he said we were too late?” The Beast King asked instead of greeting them.
“You heard me?”
Percy shrugged. It might be for the best if the Beast King heard them.
“We will have to leave soon. The kingdom is in danger, and we must help. There is no need for us to stay in the Beastlands any longer.”
The Beast King nodded, “That’s true, but don’t forget to consume the Demon carcasses before you leave. We might as well burn them if you don’t want them.”
“No, I will take the corpses if you don’t need them,” Percy nodded.
That’s a dozen million Prosperity or more for me. Nice.
“Let’s get to business then,” The Beast King rumbled.
“Let the negotiation begin.”