“Juliet, I’d like to have a words with the others, alone. Go find people in need of your help and work on those in critical conditions first. You are probably better off saving lives than participating in this conversation,” Jacob said.
Lots of things were needed, but he first needed to establish the chain of command before anything else. And for all he respected Juliet, she was not mature enough for the discussion that was going to take place.
All of this got to her through the Ancestral Bond, obviously.
Her anger flared up once again, worrying Jacob about what she would do in the future if she continued down this path. Nonetheless, she went her way.
Epagogia did not say a word while this happened. But her brain was trying to work out what this meant.
As soon as Juliet left the room, Jacob turned toward the others.
In this moment, he wasn’t Jacob the high-schooler, the insecure and sick boy, weak and frail since the day he was born. No, he was the Blade Tyrant, the last survivor of the Human race on Earth, the man who had challenged the Black Dragon.
“We have three Tyrants here and the Devil Queen,” Bob exclaimed with mirth. “It’s quite the line-up.”
“It is,” Jacob nodded, “and we are going to discuss how things will go down. Hektor, I will give orders now. I know you have an exceptional talent for war, but I’d like if you did not contradict every word of mine. Epagogia, the same goes for you, I am not going to take insubordination in matters of war. I’m calling the shots. If anyone has any problem with this arrangement, it would be nice if you told me right away. Let’s not waste anyone’s time.”
“Jacob, you have all my loyalty and respect. No one ever defeated me like you did. You outsmarted me and killed me. That’s all I need. I will provide my advice, but I’ll take your orders and make the best out of those.”
Jacob nodded toward the Vermillion Tyrant. He knew that there would be some friction down the line since the man was used to being in charge of things, but he hoped that this conversation would help them work out the biggest kinks.
“Jaji-boy, you have my full and undivided loyalty. But I’d like for you to consider looking for my people as soon as it’s safe. I am their Queen and I have responsibilities.”
“I can’t promise any élite or Tyrant to your cause, but we will try and reunite with your people as soon as possible. Devils will be essential in our alliance. They can teach many things to Humans and we will need all the help we can get.”
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“Well, I’m going to sign the Soul Contract and that’s that. But for the sake of the moment, I’ll help kill as many enemies as possible. If you want them to die screaming, they will. If you want them to have a swift death, I’ll fulfill that wish as well. Suffering is a byproduct of my actions, but I mainly work with Taint, Corruption and Contagion. You get the whole package and the ability to choose. My only condition is to help me avoid the freak who killed me in my past life.”
“Do we know the guy?” Hektor asked.
“I don’t think so. He was a very hidden expert. I came to know him because he’s my nemesis. He doesn’t really care about good or evil, but his path is the one of Purification. You could call him the Purification Tyrant. He’s a Chinese man, an extremely dangerous fellow.”
“I have never heard of him,” Jacob said while looking at the others. No one seemed familiar with the description.
“Whatever. The guy was obsessed with me. The nature of my Laws is Corruption. Therefore, he’s pretty much my polar opposite. And you can bet he’s going to look for me once again.”
“Before we pledge to save this human, Jaji-boy, I would like to write the Soul Contract,” Epagogia said.
The room was full of different egos and interests at the moment.
The Plague Doctor was a very famous Tyrant, but even he was a secondary character compared to the Blade Tyrant and the Vermillion Tyrant. The Devil Queen was the least famous among the four, but she was still powerful enough to earn the right to stand like a lesser peer among them.
“So, we are really doing this, huh?” the Vermillion Tyrant started bouncing on the spot. “This is going to be legendary!”
Bob eyed the man in annoyance.
He had really been a salesman in his past life, but that didn’t mean he loved people that extroverted.
“This is indeed an interesting conjunction of interests, isn’t it?” Bob smiled toward the Devil Queen. He had a particular interest in some of her people’s techniques, but he wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. He still needed to enter their good books before he could make requests.
“This military campaign is going to be ruthless. Many of our own people will die,” Jacob quickly sobered up and started talking about some of the matters he didn’t want to share with Juliet right off the bat. “We have a Contribution System in place, but this decision changes everything once again. We are not building on one thing and we are changing cards on the table too quickly for my own tastes. If we keep doing this, we are not going to win.”
“There is no way to anticipate everything, Jacob. This world is young, unlike us. We need to improvise a little if we want to stay on top of things. There are no Sects, no higher powers. We don’t know where the next threat will come from. We just need to hit harder and harder.”
Bob audibly groaned at that.
“Are you really that dull? Can’t you see what Jacob is saying?” Bob was positively exasperated by the Vermillion Tyrant. He had no idea how he was going to tolerate that man for the foreseeable future. “It’s like my disguises. You have to craft something carefully, make it coherent. It’s about Karma, it’s about Laws, it’s about Cultivation. If your foundation is not stable, you can’t reach for the higher levels. The decision Jacob is taking now will shape our entire future, the entirety of the people who take orders from him. People will change as a result of this. And if we don’t plan for it well enough, we are going to lose. You did lose in our past life, didn’t you? I died before seeing your stupid Empire fall. But I’m pretty sure it did. Right?”