The bargaining chip Roy brought out—Welf Crozzo—was simply too important. It tempted the other side immensely.
"Justice Bud, do you really know Welf Crozzo's whereabouts?" Marius stared intently at Roy. They had sent countless people to search for him.
Alas, the world was too big; they hadn't found even a shadow of Welf Crozzo.
Roy smiled confidently. "Of course. If Lord Ares is willing to sign the 'Subordinate God' agreement, I will tell you his information immediately."
"Lord Ares, what do you think?"
Although he felt the deal was viable, Marius still asked for his patron deity's opinion. Despite often being rude to God Ares, this country was, after all, founded by Ares and his ancestors.
Without Ares, he would have no status.
"Marius, I agree!"
Ares's answer was unsurprising. This muscle-brained god didn't think too much at all.
Although becoming Astrea's subordinate god was a bit humiliating, compared to obtaining Welf Crozzo, Ares chose the latter without hesitation.
War! Kill, kill, kill!
I want to see rivers of blood!
That was about all that existed in Ares's brain.
"Sigh!"
Marius could only sigh. From now on, a Sword of Damocles would hang over their heads!
"Justice Bud, we accept all your conditions. However, they will only take effect after you hand Welf Crozzo over to us!" Marius said.
He emphasized the word "hand" heavily.
Marius wasn't stupid. It was impossible to have a god sign a "slavery" treaty based on unverified intelligence. It had to be a hand-over: person for goods.
"Agreed. Pleasure doing business!"
Roy smiled and extended his hand.
Marius shook Roy's hand bitterly. All of this was probably within the other's plan.
The reason Marius had been fearless before was that Roy had no way to topple the Kingdom without spending a lifetime of effort.
God Ares and his family had ruled the Kingdom for many years, possessing lofty prestige and deep foundations.
It wasn't as if any random Level 5 adventurer could kill them and take their place; officials and nobles across the land wouldn't submit, and neither would the army.
But now, everything had changed.
They had handed the "righteous cause" to Roy on a silver platter.
It was perfectly justified for a god to dispose of their subordinate god. Once this deal was completed, Goddess Astrea would possess supreme status.
No one could find fault with it.
The silver lining in this misfortune was that Roy stayed in Orario year-round, while the village was in the Kingdom of Rakia. Once it became an autonomous region, they would send an army to protect the village—which could also be used to threaten Roy!
Both sides held leverage over each other.
Everything was understood without needing to be said.
With the deal complete, the murderous intent in the air vanished.
Marius looked at Roy, filled with complex emotions. "Justice Bud, you're the trickiest person I've ever met. If you're ever willing to return to the Kingdom of Rakia, I could hand over the position of Prince Regent to you."
Roy laughed. "You're quite remarkable yourself, Prince."
The two exchanged some professional flattery.
Roy was actually sincere.
Rulers and nobles who ascended via bloodline often lacked the iron resolve one might expect.
Roy's first round of threats would have scared a weaker monarch into surrender immediately, without him needing to play the Welf Crozzo card.
Marius had staked his own life and the continuation of his family to force Roy to make a concession.
Roy could have used force to compel agreement, but such barbaric methods would be planting a mine for himself. You never know what's in another's heart; it would explode sooner or later.
Marius was a smart man.
As long as Roy remained powerful and held the "Subordinate God" card, the other side would obediently send a large army to protect the village and help it develop.
It was a pity Orario was even more dangerous; otherwise, Roy would have just moved the villagers there and saved himself the trouble.
Far away in Orario, Goddess Astrea had no idea that she had confusedly become the Grand Empress Dowager of the Kingdom of Rakia, with a status even higher than Ares.
Welf had even less of a clue that his fate was being clearly arranged by these two men in this room, without him having a single choice in the matter.
The door to the room opened.
Roy, Marius, and God Ares walked out, chatting and laughing, looking thick as thieves.
The personal guards and villagers outside were completely bewildered, screaming internally: What the hell is going on? What did those three talk about?!
But even if the three were willing to tell, no one dared to listen to such top-secret information—they'd be silenced.
Everyone looked at Roy with disbelief. They had imagined countless possibilities.
But they never expected this outcome!How exactly did this boy pull it off?
"Roy, we'll be leaving now. We'll draft the treaty as soon as possible," Marius said.
"I'll see you out."
"No need!"
...
Marius didn't want to stay with this little demon king named Roy for a moment longer. If the other party were just a brute warrior, it would be fine, but he happened to be extremely adept at political maneuvering.
God knows where he learned it.
Marius had a massive headache.
Making this village an autonomous region was already troublesome enough. He had to consider the repercussions. He could already imagine the enormous uproar it would cause throughout the Kingdom once the conditions of tax and labor exemption were exposed.
Other autonomous regions would inevitably feel aggrieved. Why does this village get such generous treatment? Are you looking down on us? We want it too!
The tax exemption would also attract a large number of merchants rushing over to invest, as this would be the Kingdom's only tax-free zone.
Of course, he would definitely delineate specific zones and discuss the finer details with the Village Chief.
Fortunately, the "Subordinate God" treaty wouldn't be exposed.
That was the real nuclear bomb.
Normally, it wouldn't have much effect—just another boss over their heads—and everyone would go about their business as usual.
But in critical moments, the title of "boss" was extremely important. Referring to the history of a certain great Eastern nation, it was like "controlling the Emperor to command the feudal lords" during the late Han Dynasty.
To manage the aftermath, Marius left behind an elite squad to protect the village, then took God Ares and the main army back to the capital overnight.
The severely wounded were healed with magic, and the dead were buried in a cemetery established on the left side of the village, complete with stone monuments.
This was Marius's strategy.
Let the other autonomous regions see: if you have this kind of capability, you too can be exempt from taxes and labor.
Of course, Marius didn't dare try to fool Roy.
Roy's madness was clearly visible from the intelligence gathered and the earlier battle.
If pushed into a corner, the other party would truly play that "terrible option among terrible options"—infiltrating the capital to wipe out him, his family, and God Ares.
That would be a lose-lose situation.
No one wanted to see that happen.
Roy stretched lazily. Finally got it sorted. Next up was capturing Welf Crozzo, tossing him to Marius, and bringing everything to a perfect conclusion.
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Danmachi : Starting with an Elf (451 Chapter – Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!