Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1299: The Bitter Deal

As Kahn laid out their truth bare in front of all the rulers of the nations… his proposition had made all of them remember a chain of harsh events. Whether it was the battlefield at the borders of the Khorne Empire or the catastrophes caused by the mythical monsters within their own empires… they all had suffered a great deal.

“There is also the matter of your intelligence officers and even dozens of saints getting corrupted and becoming traitors instead.

Can anyone here proudly say that they don’t have a single spy within their own courts or had people defect to the Demon Empire?” said Kahn and asked stoically.

This was a common struggle shared by them, and even the highest degree of precautions had been failing so far.

“You all know why the True Demons are a nightmare to fight despite their small numbers.” stated Kahn as he chose to reveal some key information.

“A single True Demon, even with 10% bloodline purity, is enough to take down 20 soldiers of the same rank, as they are far physically stronger and faster.

Their bloodline also helps them become stronger the more they fight, and even foot soldiers can be a nightmare to defend against in large numbers.

Plus, they have too many subspecies that are bred to work well in particular warfare styles. Those kinds of demonkins have only increased in numbers, and most of them can even use magic classes and weapons.”

This had been a common factor among what they faced every day.

“Some can turn into a blood fog, some enhance their bodies, some can blend in with the environment, and most of them can thrive and absorb the blood of the enemies to gain strength, while many can even regenerate a limb by consuming the blood and flesh.

And most of these were just the lower-level demons in their hierarchy.” iterated Kahn as he explained with a serious countenance.

“The stronger ones with higher bloodline purity can fight like the saints, use different magical classes, have special abilities that make them unparalleled among their ranks, while some can even manipulate the minds of their opponents.

And then there are those True Demons who have also awakened the Chaos Element.” spoke Kahn as everyone’s eyes suddenly shook for a moment.

“The majority of them could kill opponents by driving them mad, corrupting their bodies, controlling the blood flowing in their veins, and exploding the enemies from afar.

And they are the only species that can usually get more resistant as the battle extended while their enemies kept losing numbers.

On top of it, the Khorne Empire has its own technology that harnesses the chaos element, which even corrupted those who possess the light elemental or holy powers similar to those of a priest or a paladin class individuals.

That is how the Demon Empire has stood as the most resilient force that even 4 empires at once couldn’t overcome.” reiterated Kahn as he gave everyone a stark reminder.

But what Kahn said was just the surface of it all.

If things didn’t just get worse here… they also had the Blood magic, which was practiced solely in the Khorne Empire.

Sometimes, the true demons would sacrifice the lives of their own forces to cast magic so vile that the enemies would go berserk and start killing their own allies, and if there were none on their side, they’d take their own lives instead.

Throughout centuries of battles, even during the previous Great War, most of the empires had found ways, created magic formations and even artifacts to circumvent the Khorne Empire’s forces.

However, some things just could not be averted during actual battle.

To kill the enemy, they still had to physically fight them, and even suppression barriers cast by saints with magician classes could only diminish their strength to a certain level.

And the Khorne Empire had also found their own ways to nullify the enemy nations’ means to gain an upper hand recently as well.

Hence, despite their allied forces fighting together, the other empires had suffered many losses over the years.

Now, why didn’t they outright attack all at once?

That question could be answered simply.

The 12 Rakshasas as well as the Demon Emperor were simply too strong, and if an all-out war broke out… they were fairly capable of wiping out at least 3 empires, their emperors and all of their saints in a last-ditch effort.

No one wanted to trade their empire’s future and all the capable powerhouses just to be used as an example and pitied as mere sacrifices.

Thus, despite their combined efforts and restarting their wars for almost 5 years already… they were still at a stalemate.

******************

The silent atmosphere of the meeting now took a serious turn as the Empress of the Videl Empire spoke with a skeptical tone…

“So you are saying that your people, none of whom have ever fought against the Demon Empire, will now take our place and somehow break the standstill?”

Her question had a genuine concern behind it because it was also the truth.

Whether it was the surviving descendants of the Abyss Empire or the Rakos Empire that never partook in the Great War… they, as a combined force, had never fought against the armies of the Khorne Empire.

“You lack information, experience, as well as strategy to specifically fight the True Demons.

So what makes you so confident?” asked the empress.

It was right then, another ruler interjected…

“And if we open a path, who’s to say that you won’t lead your armies to join the Demon Empire instead?

We already have bad blood amongst us, as you reminded very promptly.

Why should we trust any of your claims?”

It was the ruler of the Empire of Time, still apprehensive towards Kahn.

“That’s something you should worry about. It’s not my responsibility to prove my allegiance.

And if just me and my forces joining the Demon Empire is somehow enough to break the balance of the Great War entirely… Man, you all must be so pathetically weak.” said Kahn mockingly.

“As for my forces fighting the armies of the Khorne Empire…

You keep forgetting that the Abyss Empire has a history that exceeds far beyond the time before any of yours even existed.” said Kahn sternly.

“And I am also the Cult Leader of the Darkbornes. They existed even before the Abyss Empire itself.” he stated firmly.

“What do you think they have been doing for the past 300 years?

Do you truly believe that we don’t have our own ways? And let’s not forget that the Rakos Empire had been undefeatable for any of you for the past thousand years as well.

Did any of you manage to conquer it despite not a single 8th-stage saint being present here in the past hundred and five years?” asked Kahn sardonically.

His own question was proof in itself. Both the Abyss Empire and the Rakos Empire had remained out of bounds for all the members of the council for so many centuries.

And the survivors still had their own techniques, knowledge of the past, and had spent centuries preparing just to fight against the Khorne Empire.

If anything, they were far more specialized than the others at the moment.

“Tell me… do you wish for me to unleash both these forces against your empires or divert their attention to the Demon Empire that has been chipping away at your troops, your resources, and wealth over the years?” asked Kahn as he intentionally threatened everyone again.

“I mean… I can just sit through the whole Great War and wait for the right opportunity and swoop in to take out anyone who remained standing in the end.” he said with a sinister smirk.

“The Dragon Empire and my own empire will be the last ones standing that way. Do you dare to test me after hearing all this?” asked Kahn sarcastically.

Soon, the emperors and the empresses came to an understanding of their own. Since none of them were physically present in this meeting, they couldn’t telepathically discuss things.

But just sneaked gazes and eye contact were enough to come to a mutual agreement.

“Fine! We accept your terms. But how can we be certain that your troops will leave our borders untouched as we open a path for you?” asked the emperor of the Valgus Empire.

“Oh, no need to worry about that.” said Kahn with a tone full of certainty.

“However… make sure that your people don’t cause unnecessary trouble or force a delay.

And if they try to ostracize my people, disrespect my empires, or even my name as the leader… know this very well.” spoke Kahn as he clasped his hands and his eyes turned icy cold.

“I will absolutely massacre everyone on those borders, including civilians.

I do not care about your preconceived propaganda or your will to inflate your egos.

The moment even the slightest hint of discourtesy is shown to my troops or me…” spoke Kahn as he struck the nail in the coffin.

“We shall bring your doom.”