Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 972- Acquiring Few Henchmen (6)

"Now tell me," Once the doors closed, silence fell over the chamber, Vordanaz sighed and asked.

"Since you might already have an idea, I will reveal it directly. It's the Dragon Lords who stand behind me." With those words, the atmosphere in the room grew heavier.

"The Dragon Lords?" The implication of that term couldn't be taken lightly. Even a Demon Duke like him had his soul shuddering at this moment.

"No, that can't be. Why would they interfere? They've been neutral for millennias, guarding their sovereignty and refusing to involve themselves in the squabbles of other beings. Why now?"

"Because the battles between demons and humans have gone on for far too long. The conflict has upset the balance of the world itself."

Simon answered. He unceremoniously found a sit and continued "You and the demon kind might think of this as a war between two races, but its consequences ripple far beyond that. The endless battles have ravaged the lands, poisoned the seas, and disrupted the balance of Altahea"

"The ecosystems that once flourished have been torn apart by your destructive armies. Entire regions are barren wastelands now, incapable of sustaining life. Crops fail. Rivers dry up or run red with blood. The skies are choked with ash and magic residue, spreading decay and sickness far and wide."

"The smaller races—those without the strength to fend for themselves—have been the most affected. We demons expand endlessly, consuming lands and enslaving entire populations. The humans consumed by their greed, retaliate with their own weapons and magic, turning fertile territories into war-torn husks".

"And caught in the crossfire are the beastfolks, elves, dwarves, halflings, and others. They lose their homes, their livelihoods, their lives. And where do they turn?"

The answer was obvious, Vordanaz did not even have to think about it. His crimson eyes flickered with a mix of realization and denial. He could see the truth in Simon's words—the scars of war weren't just on the land, but on the fabric of life itself.

"The Dragon Lords, the only beings who have remained untouched by the chaos. Rulers of the three stratums and protectors of the sovereignty, the Dragon Lords have always remained neutral and aloof in Altahea. But when race after race comes seeking asylum, begging for protection, even their patience has its limits."

"And so, the Dragon Lords have taken their stand," Simon concluded, "These noble and proud beings—beings who could obliterate entire armies if they chose to—have decided to act. Not as conquerors, but as arbiters, restoring the balance that demons and the humans have shattered."

Absolute silence fell over the room, its occupants unable to make a single sound. While Vordanaz was busy digesting all the information, Simon looked at his changing expression with a concealed smirk.

Of course, whatever he said just now was all bullshit and something that he had come up with while on his way here. He had been wreaking his brain over how he could manipulate the Demon Lord's army.

It was then the idea came to him. It was all an excuse that the Dragon lords were behind him and more so the things he said after that. Everything was nonsense he cooked up to put some fear and pressure on the duke.

Thankfully, his words carried some credibility due to the aura still lingering in the trinket. The trinket was a gift from Adalinda, a powerful Dragon whose strength and wisdom were nothing short of legendary.

Even now, years later, her aura clung faintly to the artifact, resonating with the primal might of a true dragon.

"Although it was just a guess," Simon mused inwardly, "the master and disciple really were incredible figures."

Be it the time when she barged into his dungeon, the time she saved him and when he met Valdris. Time and time again he was reminded of how incredible she was. His thoughts drifted back to the time when the mischievous Lucine and her uncompromising master Adalinda had crossed his path.

Who would have thought that while on a mission to subdue the Lightning Draconic Serpent, he would encounter a young woman who had snuck out of her sanctuary to explore the world?

Through her, he learned the Ancient Draconic Compel, a skill that had proved invaluable in his battles. It was also through Lucine that he'd met Adalinda, the one who had granted him the Trinket of Grimlock after witnessing his resourcefulness and determination.

Although their meeting was quite short, it was very meaningful. Simon wondered what the two were doing about right now.

It had been a long time since he'd parted ways with them. Knowing Lucine, she was probably dragging Adalinda across the world, pestering her to visit every interesting place they came across.

"Guess you can really take it leisurely when you're that strong." That said, although the story he told to Voranaz was all made up, it did indeed hold some truth. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Or rather, the lie he concocted was based on the based on historical knowledge he'd pieced together through his inherited memories and the information he collected. He knew how the the second apex war, the earth shaking event that still left its mark on the world, went down thousands of years ago.

The war that had been a clash between the greatest powers of the time—demonkind, humankind, and various other races vying for supremacy.

The battles were cataclysmic, each faction wielding destructive magic and weapons that left vast swaths of the world scarred and barren. Entire continents were reduced to wastelands, and ancient civilizations vanished into history.

That said, it was not the victor of one side or the loss of another that brought the end of the war; no, according to what was recorded in the history, it was the intervention of the dragon lords that brought an end to this world ending war and the treaty that the Dragon Lords enforced on everyone.

Faced with a world on the brink of collapse, the Dragon Lords finally broke their silence and descended from their sanctuaries to enforce a ceasefire.