Moreover, with this hundred thousand demons being really random, who knows if I’ll be picked in the first round? What kind of idiot would risk their life just for a gamble that offers no huge reward? Even the Greed Demon King wouldn’t do something that foolish.
Thus, even though the True God, who had been terrorizing the Demon Realm, left temporarily, allowing the demons present to breathe a sigh of relief, none of them dared to truly relax because the upcoming preparation was equally about life and death.
"Phantom, Betty, Sara... you stay behind to lead the army back. We’re returning to the Demon Emperor Palace to fetch the down payment from the treasury there."
After a long silence, it was the Proud Demon King Ilya who first spoke, and hearing her arrangements, the other demons, including Victor, couldn’t help but pause, even in this situation.
Moving the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury to pay the down payment? Are you sure Illidan Demon Emperor would agree?
It’s important to know that although the Demon Emperor governs the entire Demon Realm, the Seven Great Demon Kingdoms are all "self-sufficient," and each kingdom has its own treasury, which is their public property, while the Demon Emperor enjoys offerings from the kingdoms and does not need to provide resources for their development. On the contrary, he can take a cut from each kingdom’s treasury.
In other words, the treasuries of the Seven Great Demon Kingdoms are the public property of the Demon Realm. The treasury of the Demon Emperor Palace is actually the private vault of the Demon Emperor, containing his personal wealth.
The compensation that needs to be paid to Miracle World at the moment should logically be drawn from the treasuries of the Seven Great Demon Kingdoms. However, Proud Demon King proposed using the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury to pay the down payment. Don’t you know that’s the private little treasure of the Demon Emperor?
Not using public funds but directly offering the Demon Emperor’s wealth to pay debts—let alone that you, an unconfirmed Imperial Consort, even being crowned as Empress couldn’t justify such actions.
After all, the Demon Emperor, as the ruler of the entire Demon Realm, may have differed before ascending to the throne, but once crowned, he embodies all seven deadly sins, a true amalgamation of the seven demonic natures.
In the current situation, Pride, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust might not matter much. But if you touch the Demon Emperor’s treasury, his Greed will stir, inevitably turning into wrath. How would you handle that?
Don’t end up being pressured externally by the Miracle Saint Emperor while getting scolded internally by Illidan Demon Emperor. It seems like you’re pleasing the ’big head’ while provoking the ’small head.’ But whether you’re a powerful demon king or a common demon, you still have to keep living in the Demon Realm. Just because you’ve paid the Miracle Saint Emperor doesn’t mean a True God will shield you. Offending the Demon Emperor certainly won’t bode well.
"Ilya, if the treasury of the Proud Demon Kingdom isn’t very abundant, I can lend you some. Let’s try not to touch the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury..."
After hesitating for a moment, Victor still stopped Ilya before she left with the others.
Even though the decision to use the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury was Ilya’s, and she was giving the orders, it was Victor who signed the unequal treaty. If Illidan Demon Emperor suffered a major loss due to this treaty, even if she wasn’t directly responsible, she couldn’t escape liability.
She didn’t want to complicate things at such a critical juncture. It’s just a down payment; if it’s not enough, everyone can pitch in. There was no need to disturb the secluded Demon Emperor.
"It’s not that the treasury of the Proud Demon Kingdom lacks resources; it’s just that the items in the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury are more valuable and can cover more. Moreover, Illidan Demon Emperor doesn’t actually need most of those things, so there’s no need to drain the lower and middle levels of the Demon Race to scrape together compensation."
Even though Victor expressed a willingness to help financially, many other powerful demons also nodded in agreement. But Ilya’s decision remained unchanged. She was still determined to pay Miracle World with treasures from the Demon Emperor Palace.
What she said was indeed reasonable. The Demon Emperor controls the entire Demon Realm, and the resources under his control are countless. Saying he’s as rich as a country is understating it.
Although the current Demon Emperor hasn’t been ruling for long, and the Late Emperor didn’t leave much of an inheritance, everyone remembers how much tribute and gifts he received when he ascended. With his wealth, covering a down payment would be more than sufficient.
Though the True God in the form of the Miracle Saint Emperor has a big appetite, once that appetite is satisfied, not much would be left. Even discussing wealth, it might be enough to seriously wound the Demon Emperor’s financial stability.
This could be considered as breaking the bank to avoid disaster, but theoretically, there’s no precedent of a world breaking the emperor’s bank first while the populace keeps theirs. This doesn’t quite align with logic.
"Are you sure you want to do this? If Illidan Demon Emperor finds everything gone when he returns and decides to turn against you, I won’t help you."
Victor knew that with the Proud Demon King’s character, she wasn’t one for listening to advice. In the past, when she wasn’t as strong, Victor could overpower the demons physically. But now, the combined strength of the Seven Great Demon Kings is enough to match her, so after much thought, she offered a friendly warning.
As for whether Ilya changes her mind, that’s out of Victor’s hands. She’s already spoken, and all the demons present can bear witness. If the Demon Emperor were to vent on the demons in the future, the primary responsibility would fall on the Proud Demon King, who didn’t heed the wise words. Even if Victor can’t entirely escape accountability, her responsibility would be minor.
"The decision is mine, and I’ll personally lead my sisters in moving the items. I won’t shift the blame onto any demon afterward. If the Demon Emperor wants to hold someone accountable, I’ll shoulder it all."
Having said this, Ilya left without looking back, taking Aya, Hill, and Liss with her.
She definitely wouldn’t give the future of the Demon Race directly to Lynn. In the past, their various transactions were just shifting from one hand to the other, so it didn’t matter. But this time, she had a hunch that Lynn would truly keep what he acquired.
That wouldn’t do at all. Although these items couldn’t directly convert into Power of Faith for the Guardian Demon God, as the demons they cultivated grew stronger, the Power of Faith would also rise proportionally, indirectly converting into more Power of Faith, albeit taking a bit more time.
Besides, what kind of relationship did the seven sisters have with Lynn? There was no logic in using one’s wife’s money to support a wife in another world.
Miracle World now had its level of wives the highest and their power the strongest. The resources they gave would certainly be largely invested in those Otherworld sisters.
Even without careful thought, it was obvious that Lynn aimed to balance things equally. After all, the seven sisters were all at the demonic level of 985, while the sisters in Miracle World were merely averaging 800. The imbalance was indeed stark.
But that’s no reason to spend my money on other pretty sisters!
If we had mistreated you, making amends would be understandable, but at least regarding wives, there’s no such mistreatment. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he has only taken two Demon Kings thus far. That’s mainly due to time constraints. If he had spent more time posing as Illidan Demon Emperor in the Demon Realm, perhaps all seven sisters would be showing signs of pregnancy by now...
So, Ilya decided to use Illidan Demon Emperor’s wealth to pay the down payment demanded by Miracle Saint Emperor Lynn. Don’t ask me why I’m doing this—it’s just money laundering!
The four demon kings hurried all the way back to the Demon Emperor Palace, which, without the presence of the Demon Emperor, allowed them to withdraw freely.
Yet, when they headed straight for the Demon Emperor Palace’s treasury, ready to begin looting, the first sight that greeted them upon opening the treasury door was an emptiness, swept clean like a storm had passed, with Lynn standing there, smiling warmly.