Chapter 279: Loyalty
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Dian wasn't flustered when Lordan and the Wisdom Demon came to his door so coincidentally.
As usual, he first calmly apologized to Lordan with a salute.
"I'm very sorry. I was too immersed in my research just now and couldn't come out to greet you in time. Please forgive my rudeness, Respected King."
"But... did something happen?"
After apologizing, Dian pretended to know nothing and took the initiative to ask. Seeing this, the Wisdom Demon snorted coldly.
Without Lordan saying a word, Leo stepped forward and stared at the Sorcerer Demon with a sharp gaze in his serpentine eyes.
"Something happened? That's what we should be asking you! Dian, don't you plan to explain the abnormal magical power fluctuations coming from your side just now?"
Being questioned suspiciously by the Wisdom Demon, Dian instead smiled. He spread his hands and explained, "It was just some dimensional teleportation tests. I don't think such a small matter needs to bother our respected King."
Leo still didn't let the Sorcerer Demon off the hook. He frowned and continued to ask, "Dimensional teleportation?"
"Yes, as per the request of our Respected King, we are to accelerate our advance to the human world. I tried to research new teleportation spells to further enhance the speed of our army."
Faced with Dian's explanation, the Wisdom Demon obviously still didn't believe it.
Leo waved his hand behind him, and four or five Wisdom Demon followers immediately stepped forward. Next, Leo directly ordered them to search Dian's room without any courtesy.
Although Dian's expression couldn't be seen behind his raven mask, it wasn't difficult to sense a hint of anger from his current silence.
This was understandable.
For a Sorcerer Demon, their room, especially their spell laboratory, was an absolutely private domain. Being intruded upon by others like this, even rummaging through their belongings, could almost be said to be an insult.
Under the Wisdom Demons' investigation, the secret library where Dian had been with the little succubus earlier was also exposed.
The Wisdom Demon followers followed Leo's orders and carefully searched every corner of the library.
When they came out after the search was over, they reported to Leo and Lordan:
"Sir Leo, we indeed found traces of teleportation spells in the room, and the target location was the human world. Other than that, there were no suspicious abnormalities."
Upon hearing this, Leo immediately became displeased. He seemed to always feel that there were still some secrets behind the scenes and had the intention of going to search personally.
However, at this point, Lordan, who had been silent since entering the room, finally spoke up.
As a superior, he was happy to see his subordinates fighting among themselves.
However, he had to control the degree. He couldn't let things get too out of hand. Now, it was obvious that Dian was about to get angry because of Leo's relentless pursuit. This was when he should step in to mediate.
"Alright, Leo, I told you long ago that the Sorcerer Demons has always been the most mysterious within our Demon Realm. They indeed like to fiddle with some strange things, so they may appear a bit suspicious. Hehe, you're overthinking it."
"Moreover, I also believe in Dian. As one of the apostles, how could he do something that would harm the Demon Realm, right?" Lordan's eyes under the bandages met the Sorcerer Demon's gaze.
"Of course, respected King." Dian bowed.
The Wicked Demon nodded with satisfaction. "That's good. Also, Dian, I hope you don't mind my and Leo's abrupt visit today."
"You also know that we still haven't been able to capture the last remnant of the Succubus clan. Although she is most likely already dead, she is still a hidden danger after all. Leo's vigilance is all for the good of our Demon Realm."
"You are both apostles and my left and right arms. I don't want another tragedy like the Succubus clan to happen again."
Although Lordan spoke of tragedy, shaking his head with regret and pity, there was not a hint of mourning in his tone. It was more like a threat.
As long as they betrayed him...
Even the apostles could not escape the fate of being slaughtered. The massacred Succubus clan was the best bloody example.
This was a warning to the Sorcerer Demon race not to follow in their footsteps.
How could Dian not hear it?
"Of course, respected King. I also understand Leo's loyalty."
The Sorcerer Demon deliberately emphasized the word loyalty.
Everyone could hear the meaning behind it.
After Lordan violated the Demon Realm's inheritance and usurped the throne, the original eight great apostles immediately split into three factions.
The largest one was led by the "Wisdom Demon Leo," the pro-Wicked faction.
They accepted the wicked blood provided by Lordan, allowing their bodies to be transformed by it, and were willing to go against the Demon Realm's inheritance for Lordan to consolidate his position as the Demon King.
The middle faction consisted of the Sorcerer Demons and Shadow Demons.
Although they didn't resist Lordan, they also didn't accept his wicked blood. They could follow Lordan's orders to work for the Demon Realm, but they wouldn't loyally hand over their races to Lordan like the pro-Wicked faction.
As for the last "resistance faction," the Succubus clan, they had already been slaughtered to extinction and became history.
The brief disturbance ended.
The inspection yielded no results. Lordan, Leo, and the group of Wisdom Demons all left the Sorcerer Demon Tower.
Dian returned to his room. Seeing the library in a mess after the search, the Sorcerer Demon walked to the desk and sat down, not moving or cleaning up himself, as if waiting for something.
He sat like this for probably half an hour.
Finally, a certain illusory projection quietly appeared in the room, and its source was precisely what had been secretly hidden in the chaotic and messy room during the Wisdom Demons' search.
As soon as the illusory projection appeared, seeing Dian sitting at the desk without saying a word or making a sound, the phantom image immediately felt a bit helpless.
After all, the Sorcerer Demon might as well have written the words "sulking" on his mask.
"Alright, Dian, I admit that the methods I used were indeed a bit extreme, but you must also admit that if Lordan hadn't come, neither you nor she would have had the resolve to make this decision, right?"
"Extreme? Heh, Leo is still the same as before."
The Sorcerer Demon snorted coldly. In fact, from the moment he first saw Leo, he understood, especially with the addition of Leo's "outdated" and foolish performance.
Come to think of it, only the Wisdom Demon, who had control over Eileen's every move, could grasp the timing so precisely.
Although Eileen was also very hardworking, for a weak young succubus to survive in the Demon Realm where the strong prey on the weak, Leo's behind-the-scenes manipulation undoubtedly played a key role.
Just like the previous time when she was attacked by the Decay Demon, even if Reji hadn't intervened through the pendant, this Decay Demon would have been unable to harm Eileen under "various accidents."
However, everything changed after Reji infused magical power into the pendant.
This was what led to Leo's subsequent "extreme" plan.
The reason why Dian was angry here was that this kind of "extreme" from Leo was actually not the first time.
Back when Lordan took the throne, at the end of the Wicked Demon Rebellion, Eileen's mother, the Succubus Apostle of that generation, knew there was no hope. So she entrusted two requests to Leo and Dian respectively.
She requested the Sorcerer Demon to help Eileen escape.
And she requested the Wisdom Demon to...
Lead the extermination of the clan.
From the outcome, it could be seen that Leo agreed to her request and took the initiative to request Lordan to let him be in charge of exterminating the Succubus clan.
It was precisely because of this that he was able to gain Lordan's trust and deliberately leave loopholes in the process of exterminating the clan, allowing the Sorcerer Demon to successfully preserve Eileen as a spark.