NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Cain was a bit taken aback. He had stopped by the 70th floor and had come out to welcome Nahun and Seere, only to find a massive stone statue following behind him.
‘What is this…?’
Following a series of incomprehensible behaviors, they had now even brought back something strange. Cain greeted them with a somewhat bewildered expression.
“Your Majesty, Nahun. You have returned safely.”
“Was there anything unusual?”
“Yes, nothing happened, but…”
It seemed that nothing special occurred around the Demon King Castle, but something had happened to Nahun. Cain looked at the giant stone statue that had followed Nahun.
“Nahun, is that… a gargoyle?”
“You recognize it.”
“I thought it was a rare species, where did you bring it from?”
“From the 70th floor. It seems perfect for guarding as a gatekeeper, doesn’t it?”
“Hmmm…”
Cain glanced around the Demon King Castle and cautiously expressed his opinion to Nahun.
“It seems a bit too large to guard around the Demon King Castle.”
“Then it can guard another gate instead.”
“Pardon?”
Nahun pointed to the gargoyle’s size with his thumb.
“A gargoyle this size should scare off most humans, right?”
“Ah…”
Nahun was suggesting to use this gargoyle to prevent human adventurers from invading the 72nd floor. Cain thought it was a reasonable suggestion.
Gargoyles were a race known to grow larger and stronger with age. A gargoyle of such size could likely fend off ordinary human adventurers.
Nahun spoke to the gargoyle behind him.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes, I certainly did.”
“Good, gargoyle… but what’s your name?”
“I am Argol.”
“Alright, Argol. I hope you carry out your duties well. If you can’t prove your worth, I will dispose of you at any time.”
The statue seemed to tremble slightly. Cain was thinking how impressive Nahun was for scaring such a fearless race.
“Y-yes, I will remember.”
Cain looked at the gargoyle sympathetically for a moment before asking Nahun.
“Was there really a gargoyle this size on the 70th floor? Why didn’t you use Andromalius…?”
“He was busy guarding something important.”
“Pardon?”
Not understanding what that meant, Nahun pointed to Seere. Now that Cain looked, he noticed that Seere had another item apart from a teddy bear.
“…What sword is that?”
“It’s a magic sword called Blood Tear. I gave it to Seere as a gift.”
“Pardon? A magic sword? Could it be the one used by Andromalius?”
“Not exactly, but it was something Andromalius had in storage. I think he didn’t know its purpose.”
Nahun patted Seere’s head gently.
“It’s Seere’s first sword. I’m planning to have lessons with it now.”
“Practicing swordsmanship?”
“Yeah, I should start soon.”
It is said that the sooner one starts practicing swordsmanship, the better. A solid foundation built from a young age can have a significant impact later on. However, that didn’t mean he planned to push hard from the start. He intended to progress slowly according to Seere’s stamina.
After entering the castle, Nahun left the visibly tired Seere with Rea so she could take a nap. Then, he entered the office with Cain.
As Nahun sat down in front of his desk, Cain asked cautiously.
“Have you finished organizing the 70th floor?”
“Yeah, it’s done now.”
“What are your plans going forward?”
“What’s the situation on the 69th floor?”
Cain was slightly taken aback. It seemed that Nahun had been thinking ahead about everything. The reason he asked about future plans was that the 69th floor had been showing suspicious movements.
“There are indications that Dantalion has contacted Dekarabia.”
It was news that Dantalion, the Demon King of the 69th floor, was trying to join forces with Dekarabia, the Demon King of the 68th floor. Nahun nodded as if he had anticipated this.
“…I thought so.”
“Isn’t it necessary to take countermeasures?”
“No, I will avoid a military confrontation.”
Nahun wasn’t as proactive as expected. His demeanor was different from when they had attacked the 70th floor, and Cain was puzzled.
“Then what do you plan to do? If you just wait, a massive alliance between the 68th and 69th floors will form. We can’t just stand by, can we?”
“Of course, we need to avoid the formation of an alliance.”
Nahun paused for a moment, seeming lost in thought. The creaking sound of his chair could be heard. Though he seemed to be pondering, his expression appeared strangely relaxed, leading Cain to think.
‘Does he have a plan?’
Cain patiently waited for Nahun’s response. After a long silence, Nahun finally spoke.
“There’s only one way.”
“Pardon?”
“We need to shake Dantalion’s forces.”
“How do you mean?”
“Dantalion, as a Demon King, embodies the opposite of Andromalius. So if we detach Dantalion from his forces, we can consider him a Demon King whose strength is weaker than that of Andromalius.”
If Andromalius was a brute, Dantalion was more of a strategist. He was intelligent enough to not act unilaterally and maintained a harmonious relationship with his followers.
“But Nahun, that also means Dantalion’s forces are strong. He’s not daft like Andromalius. The 70th floor was easy to shake thanks to Andromalius, but you know that the 69th floor isn’t the same, right?”
That was true. However, even a seemingly solid force could be shaken if the bond holding them wasn’t pure “loyalty.”
“You see, Dantalion’s forces have a significant characteristic.”
“Pardon?”
“There are many merchants.”
Dantalion had insisted on one policy while governing the 69th floor. He had a favorable policy toward merchants. This characteristic stemmed from Dantalion’s belief that commerce greatly contributed to class advancement.
“Thanks to promoting commerce, Dantalion and the 69th floor accumulated immense wealth. With plenty of money for military funding, there are also a fair number of private soldiers.”
This was a story well-known, and Cain already knew it.
“However, I don’t understand how you plan to utilize the fact that there are many merchants.”
“Do you know what merchants value the most?”
“Of course… trust.”
“Exactly. Therefore, trust is also a key factor in Dantalion and his forces.”
Cain narrowed his eyes slightly. He understood Nahun’s intention, but the likelihood of success seemed so low.
“They have conducted transactions for many years. How can you destroy their trust in an instant?”
“I don’t plan to shatter it instantly. I’m not smart enough to come up with such an elaborate strategy in the first place.”
Nahun was very self-aware. Thanks to the knowledge he possessed as a user and the memories he recalled while reincarnated, he may have seemed like a pioneer in many ways, but in reality, he was just an average college student. It was natural for him to struggle to come up with brilliant plans found in ancient texts.
While he could bolster his lacking strategy with brute force, this was not an issue that could be resolved that way. Thus, Nahun wanted to proceed slowly.
“I mentioned before that I plan to focus on Seere’s education and consolidating our base for a while.”
“You did.”
“Certainly, it will take some time. I estimate at least five years. During this time, I intend to build a foundation here, based on the lands I conquered on the 70th floor and the 72nd floor.”
For demon races that live much longer than humans, five years was not a long time. Nahun thought of slowly eroding the great mountain Dantalion had built while solidifying the foundation and educating Seere.
“If we ruin Dantalion’s commercial policy, his power will naturally weaken. The most effective way to do this is obviously through the emergence of a rival force.”
“Are you saying…?”
“Yes.”
Even if it started with a handful of sand, it could lead to something magnificent. Nahun unveiled a plan based on the build he had used when he played the game.
“We will become the rival force to Dantalion’s.”
“However, Nahun, there are many financial and supply issues. There are clear stability problems in our 72nd floor…”
“We will conduct our business on the 70th floor. We won’t be the ones stepping into the spotlight.”
“!”
Hearing Nahun’s words, Cain thought in surprise.
“Are you planning to utilize her Majesty Citri again?”
“Utilize? I’ll seek cooperation.”
“Even though her Majesty Citri has been favorably disposed toward us recently, are you willing to take such risks?”
“I’ll take that risk. It should be a sufficiently attractive proposal for Citri as well.”
What aspect would be appealing? Cain was unsure but decided to trust Nahun’s words for now. Still, he expressed some lingering concerns.
“If so, then what about the supply and distribution of goods? Without a merit for merchants to come to our side when they already have the safe trading grounds of the 69th floor…”
“Why wouldn’t there be?”
Nahun smiled. There was a unique trait that the 72nd floor possessed that wasn’t present in any layer of the Demon World.
“We can spark the merchants’ curiosity by selling items not found in the Demon World…”
“…Pardon?”
“And humans are invading this place regularly, we should use that.”
It was the only layer humans frequently entered. Cain asked with concern, “Are you suggesting selling items captured from adventurers?”
“Just items? No.”
Nahun’s demeanor changed significantly. Cain looked at him with wide eyes, unsure of what was coming.
“We will also sell manpower.”
“Nahun, that’s… in many ways…”
“Do you think that would cause problems?”
Nahun shook his head.
“Humans kill our soldiers and civilians. Surely you’re not saying you’d feel pity for those who do such things?”
“…That’s absolutely not the case.”
Nahun was originally an ordinary person, but in the Kingdom of Ebel Queen Maker, humans had always been a nuisance and annoying enemies. They were particularly a dangerous factor among protagonist factions.
There was even a bad ending in which Seere could die due to human interference depending on the level of layer management. Nahun believed that now as a member of the Demon World, he had no obligation to show mercy toward the humans present there.
‘Showing mercy would bring nothing in return.’
He might have seemed cold-hearted, but all of this was a part of the process to ensure Seere achieved a perfect ending. Since seeing the ending might be the only opportunity to return to the original world, Nahun saw no reason to hold back.
“From now on, we’ll capture adventurers alive.”
“But Nahun, our forces are severely lacking for that.”
“It won’t be too insufficient. We can divert enough forces to respond to an invasion from the 71st floor while keeping just a minimal amount behind.”
“Is that even alright?”
“Citri is now a trusted ally.”
He had tested this before and thus was assured of it. Simply safely leaving Seere in her care had proven that.
“Capturing them alive is harder than killing them. We may incur more damage during that process, but how do you want to handle this?”
“It’s easy to reduce the damage done.”
Nahun simply replied to Cain.
“Think of it as hunting, not defending.”
“Hunting, huh…”
Cain paused to consider it before nodding. He seemed to have understood the meaning.
“I’ll convey that to Leader El Laze.”
“Good, make sure to utilize the gargoyle you brought with you proactively as well.”
“Understood.”
Cain bowed his head in reply. Nahun added one more thing to him.
“When the merchants’ attention is sufficiently drawn, we will set off an explosion.”
“An explosion?”
“I can’t reveal it now. Just know that it will be a sufficient incident to cause Dantalion’s forces to lose their trust.”
“…Understood.”
Through capturing adventurers and distributing items that do not exist in the Demon World, along with the enticing human resource, they would attract the merchants’ attention and gather funds based on that to grow their extent. Once sufficient trust existed between the merchants and the forces of the 72nd floor, an incident would be triggered to cause Dantalion to lose trust.
Then Dantalion’s forces would naturally weaken, leading to a decline in the 69th floor. Once the 69th floor grew weak, the Demon King of the 68th floor, Dekarabia, would also have no reason to maintain an alliance with them.
This was Nahun’s plan for conquering the 69th floor. While it might take some time, it was also a period ideal for focusing on internal affairs and education. He could proceed with his plans while attending to what needed to be done.
“This time, let’s take it slow.”