Chapter 233 Kamu Dragun's Determination

Where there are people, there is the world of martial arts. Where there are goblins, there is naturally the goblin world of martial arts.

The Demon King can decide the upper order of Black Wind Castle, but the lower order is like a black box to that adult... After all, the taller you are, the harder it is for you to see where you are stepping. This is an iron rule that applies everywhere, and it is also a proverb passed down from generation to generation by the Goblin ancestors.

Although Snik had only been the director for two days, he had a deep understanding of his job.

He knew very well that the Demon King had not chosen him because of his fighting ability, he simply did not have that ability.

But on the contrary, precisely because he has no fighting ability, he has developed the ability to survive in the cracks, and can move freely in the crowded and narrow goblin community with ease.

In just one night, he and his lackeys, whom he had bribed with beer, kept a close eye on those unusual goblins.

If they make any move, he can ensure that they will not escape his eyes.

As night fell silently, Black Wind Keep gradually fell into sleep. The only sounds on the street could be heard: the insignificant wails and curses of the Hell Dwarves and the sound of rats crawling through the sewers.

Under the scorching molten iron, two invisible undercurrents have silently intertwined.

The Dragun family's layout had already begun.

The demon king who came from afar also hammered an iron nail into his territory the first moment he arrived.

At the same time, on the other side of the Magic City.

The Dragun family's manor stood silently, like a fortress isolated from the world.

The hot magma flowed around the manor, reflecting the dark high walls. On the walls were greedy man-eating vines, whose tentacles occasionally moved slightly, as if waiting for prey to approach. Above the main building of the manor, a black spire stood in the night, like a sharp blade piercing the void, casting a deep and eerie shadow.

In the study of the manor, Zakro Dragon, the elder of the Dragon family, was sitting in a carved high-back chair in the study.

The hunched figure was elongated by the flickering candlelight, casting a deep shadow. His eyes were calm and deep, reflecting the weak firelight, as if he was staring at the notebook spread out in front of him, or staring at some unfathomable direction in the void.

That notebook was exactly the notebook of the previous head of the Dragun family, his beloved eldest son, Reggie Dragun, the former Demon King of Thunder County.

The yellowed pages were filled with densely written words, occasionally interspersed with obscure runes and special marks.

It can be seen that his child has devoted a lot of effort to this notebook and has made considerable progress.

Unfortunately, his child still fell just a little short of the goal and fell on the thorny road to godhood...

So what is the difference?

Zakro sighed and closed his cloudy eyes, suppressing the torture and madness that were about to burst out from under his eyelids.

He has put in so much effort to become a god, and everything was about to bear fruit, but he didn't expect it to turn out like this.

His knuckles tapped the tabletop in a rhythmic rhythm, and the low echo filled the entire study.

At this time, footsteps were heard outside the study, and with a creak, the door opened gently.

Kamu Dragun stepped into the study and stood opposite Zakro, his calm expression revealing a hint of fear and inquiry.

"Grandpa, you're looking for me?"

"Yes." Zakro's eyes were fixed on the notes, and he didn't raise his head, even though he was the one who called his grandson over.

Kamu waited for a long time, and seeing that his grandfather had not spoken for a long time, he finally lost his patience and asked in a low voice.

"What happened? You called me here so late..."

Although he was the head of the Dragun family and his grandfather had retired for more than a century, he knew that his grandfather's influence in the family had never weakened. In fact, because his father, Reggie Dragun, had been the Demon King in Thunder County, the old man's control over the family was even stronger than a century ago.

Many key decisions are still controlled by this elder, and to this day he has never completely handed over the decision-making power.

It is for this reason that although Kamu respects his grandfather, he still remains a little wary.

"...Luo Yan is back." Zak Luo spoke slowly, his voice low, like a whisper from the abyss, "You should be familiar with this name, right?"

Hearing Luo Yan's name, Kamu's face suddenly darkened and looked terrifyingly grim.

"Even if that guy turns into ashes, I will never forget him." He said with gritted teeth, his teeth chattering.

"...It seems that you haven't forgotten what he did. I'm relieved. Failure is not terrible, what is terrible is forgetting." Very satisfied with Kamu's reaction, Zakro raised the corners of his mouth slightly, his tone was gentle but revealed a hint of deep meaning.

Kamu looked at him and whispered.

"What did this guy do again?"

“He did nothing, and yet he did everything.”

Looking at his grandson who looked confused, Zakro continued speaking slowly.

"Black Wind Castle is developing too fast. With the help of the Padrich family, the changes there can be described as wings. And you know, Hell is a place where the strong are respected. The nobles' understanding of strength is not just strength, but also the most critical power of leadership. After seeing the changes in Black Wind Castle and the Thunder County Labyrinth, some people began to discuss... Is it possible that the Dragun family does not have the ability to govern? Otherwise, why is the fertile land of Black Wind Castle like a piece of garbage in our hands?"

Fertile?

Kamu sneered.

"Let those ignorant idiots talk."

It is common knowledge that Black Wind Castle's achievements were entirely due to orders from the Ministry of War, and it has nothing to do with land.

Not to mention, the Demon King of Thunder County himself has won the appreciation of the Padridge family and has an unclear relationship with the Colin family.

With so many factors, Black Wind Castle could still develop even if a dog was tied to the position of the lord. And to be honest, Luo Yan had never been in charge of the place at all. He operated completely behind the scenes and only went there recently.

"We can ignore rumors, but we have to be wary of other people's ulterior motives."

Zakro gave Kamu a meaningful look and continued.

"When someone wants to do something, it will become a sharp blade in their hands. We are not the Padrich family that can please everyone. I am afraid that our enemies are no less than our allies. If the jackals outside doubt your governance ability, the territory of the Dragun family may not be as stable as we think. You have to think it through."

Kamu's brows twitched slightly, and a sense of urgency gradually rose in his heart.

Black Wind Castle was once the fief of their Dragun family, but now it has become a booming industrial center. The one who controls all of this is a demon king who does not even have aristocratic blood.

There were indeed some complaints about this in the aristocratic circles in Magic City, and many people laughed at them.

Admittedly, Black Wind Castle itself is not important to the Dragun family, but they cannot ignore Luo Yan's growing power and his potential hostility towards the Dragun family.

It would be fine if that guy was willing to be a demon king in a remote area, but not only did he come back every now and then, he also got so close to the Padrich family.

This is never a good sign.

Looking at his grandson with twinkling eyes, Zakro gently turned the pages of the book, his eyes fell on those obscure research results, and changed the subject.

"My child...your father once believed that the path to godhood was hidden in some ancient alchemical law. However, I have studied this notebook for a long time, but I still cannot decipher the mystery...This is actually very abnormal."

"After all, I personally trained Reggie. As his father and teacher, I can't understand his research."

He slowly raised his head and stared deeply at Kamu.

"And Luo Yan, the outsider who stole Black Wind Castle, was able to easily make Black Wind Castle develop so rapidly, and at the critical moment, he also took out alchemy technology that we have never seen before. Don't you think... this is too much of a coincidence?"

Kamu frowned and couldn't help but whispered: "You mean... the notes Luo Yan gave us are missing?"

Zakro smiled slightly and did not answer directly. Instead, he continued to flip through his notes, his fingertips stopping on a line of cryptic text.

"Missing? Kamu, my grandson, you are too kind and think too simply of human nature. In my opinion, the notes he gave us are more than just missing a few lines. He is very likely to have completely concealed the most critical part, and gave us those superficial things that are insignificant... Your father's research is definitely more than just this. I can even boldly speculate that he has actually mastered the way to become a god. Otherwise, how could a bronze-level necromancer rise to silver in such a short time?"

Looking at Kamu who was holding his breath, he smiled faintly and spoke in a sinister voice.

"Hardworking? Hardworking? Wasn't he hardworking enough when he was in Demon King Academy? You can just use that to fool the goblins. You don't believe in that, do you?"

"Soul level..." Kamu said with difficulty, "But... there are many ways to improve the soul level. It is not necessary to get involved in the realm of gods. There are also some forbidden secret techniques--"

"You mean the soul fusion ritual in the necromancy magic, right?" Zakro said with a faint smile, "Necromancers who take this path are all liches without exception, and they will definitely go crazy in the end. Do you think he looks like a lich, or crazy?"

Kamu's heart skipped a beat.

This is indeed too abnormal! However, what made him feel most abnormal was not the speed of Luo Yan's own extraordinary power improvement, but the magic crystal cannon technology that Luo Yan suddenly mastered after a trip to the Leiming County maze.

That's technology from ancient times, not mushrooms in a maze. How could he pick it up so easily?

The same thing happened when his younger brother Shino Dragun dueled with him. There were no problems at other times, but why was he targeted by Chaos as soon as he entered the maze?

This is too wrong! But if he thinks about his father's research, Kamu immediately understands all these abnormal situations.

This is actually not that difficult to understand.

There is a kind of power that can easily accomplish things that supernatural powers cannot accomplish...

That is the power of miracles held by the gods!

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"You mean... the notes Luo Yan gave us were only part of it? A smokescreen to paralyze us?" Kamu swallowed his saliva and looked at his grandfather nervously, his fists clenched slightly, "And my father... has actually found a way to become a god?"

"This is the most reasonable explanation. Isn't His Majesty Bayeli now vying for the throne of God as a demon king? The power of the demon king is actually seriously underestimated. Although this is what Hell needs and is inevitable in history, you can't be fooled by that."

Zakro sighed softly, closed the notebook in his hand, and stared at his grandson, the current head of Dragun, with his cloudy pupils.

"Kamu, you are the patriarch of the Dragun family, you must know that if we allow Luo Yan to continue to grow, he may become an unshakable existence in a short time. And the Padrich family is a well-known speculator in Hell. They may praise him to a height that we can't imagine, or even to the throne of God... It's difficult, but not impossible."

Zakro said slowly, staring at his grandson like a venomous snake, "My child, are you really willing?"

This sentence may sound outrageous, but that is only for ordinary demons in hell. After all, they have only learned half of the history.

As for those truly noble families, they have all read the complete history. They know very well that Bayeli is not irreplaceable. Naturally, they will not superficially think that the current Demon God is really omnipotent, and that they can rest assured about the power in their hands.

Although Zakro had no evidence, he had reason to believe that Luo Yan had what he wanted, and this thing had also attracted the attention of the Padrich family.

And he had absolute reason to believe that the guy who could hold the position of Demon King was definitely not one of those idiots who were dying on the front line of hell, nor was he one of those good-for-nothings who wanted to avoid the position of Demon King. This guy would definitely not be 100% loyal to the Demon God, and he must be ambitious! This also meant that if this guy had the way to become a god, he would definitely use it without hesitation.

Kamu's face was gloomy and his fists were clenched tightly.

Of course he was unwilling to accept this.

He was born in the Magic City, and the pride of the nobility has long been engraved in his bones. Once upon a time, not only the maze of Thunder County was their property, but Black Wind Castle was also the territory of their Dragun family.

His original goal was to gain more power, but he didn't want to go from bad to worse because of a guy who came out of nowhere.

But he is the head of the Dragun family after all, and it is impossible for him to act on impulse, especially when he does not have a clear advantage.

"But the Padrich family has already stood on Luo Yan's side. Any rash action may be disadvantageous to us. Moreover, if the Padrich family has decided to bet on Luo Yan——"

"Placing a bet does not mean putting all your chips on the line. Do you think they are close friends with each other? The Padrich family probably doesn't know that kid as well as we do. They are also observing the situation and increasing their chips at their own pace."

Zakro sneered, took out a letter from the drawer, and said lightly.

"This letter comes from the front line."

Kamu took the letter with a puzzled look. He unfolded it and glanced at it. His pupils shrank slightly.

This is a private letter from a general on the front line. Normally, such a letter should not appear here, but it just so happens that the general was once Zakro's confidant.

In this letter, the officer at the front revealed a key piece of information - although the magic crystal cannon sent to the front by the War Department was powerful, its mobility was too poor. It took a lot of time to assemble and dismantle it.

When these magic crystal cannons were first delivered to the front line, they did bring considerable pressure to the army of the Os Empire, especially greatly restraining the joint chanting of the spellcasting group.

However, humans are not fools. After discovering the weakness of the magic crystal cannon, they immediately switched to guerrilla tactics and used the advantage of their air forces to suppress the logistics of the Hell Artillery Forces.

That’s not all.

Due to the frequent changes in the battle lines, the transfer of magic crystal cannons became a big problem. Unless they were deployed in fixed fortresses, all magic crystal cannons pushed to the front line to support the battle basically could not return, and most of them were blown up by their own people to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy.

But in fact, this trend is difficult to stop, and the empire's vassal schools have begun to imitate this weapon based on the wreckage captured from the front line.

Therefore, improving the existing magic crystal cannon has become an imminent issue for Hell.

If they fail to maintain their lead, their advantage will turn into a disadvantage.

From a strategic perspective, this is almost certain to happen.

Of course, Kamu knew clearly that his grandfather did not take out this letter to discuss any national affairs with him, but the information revealed in this letter might become a knife in their hands.

"This...can be a breakthrough?"

Zakro nodded, his eyes showing a hint of coldness.

"Generally speaking, it's difficult, but it will be different if someone is putting pressure on us from behind. For example, if the parliament passes a resolution requiring Black Wind Castle to solve the problem of the lack of mobility of the magic crystal cannon in a short period of time, this will become the first card in our hand."

Kamu understood instantly, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

“Whether it’s adjusting the production line or improving the equipment, it will take time!” he whispered. “If they can’t complete the task, the Parliament and the Logistics Department will have reason to put pressure on the War Department, and the pressure will eventually be transmitted to Black Wind Fort. Then we can take advantage of the situation and propose to the Parliament to merge Black Wind Fort into the direct jurisdiction of Magic City, or have Magic City buy Black Wind Fort…”

"This is the second card."

Looking at his grandson who understood things immediately, Zakro nodded slowly, smiled with satisfaction, and continued speaking slowly.

"As long as we remove his roots in the Demon City, everything will go back to the way it was last year. Then we can slowly attack the Demon Lord of Thunder County... Put pressure on him through the parliament to expand his victory, wait for him to make mistakes, and win over his subordinates in his territory to rebel at the critical moment."

This is actually not a very new trick. The important thing is to take the first step.

Faced with the temptation of becoming a god, he decided to take a gamble for himself and the future of the Dragun family! And he could feel that Kamu was already tempted.

But just being moved is not enough, he wants Kamu to make up his mind completely and place the bet in the name of the head of the Dragun family.

Zakro stood up, slowly walked to Kamu's side, and spoke in a slightly bewitching tone.

“If Luo Yan has mastered the secret of becoming a god, and if we allow him to continue to grow stronger, then all of us will be trampled under his feet.”

"By that time, our family may be lost in the long river of history and become a forgotten loser... My child, I am old and don't have that much ambition, but you are still young. Are you willing to be such a family head?"

Kamu's breathing became rapid and his heart beat violently.

Of course he didn't want to! He would never let the glory of the Dragun family perish in his hands, and he would never let an outsider without noble blood step on them! And this means -

He had to do something! After a moment, he slowly exhaled, his eyes gradually becoming firm.

"……I see."

Kamu whispered, with a hint of determination in his voice, "But my own strength is not enough for this matter. I need your help."

Zakro smiled slightly, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"I will support you in every way I can."

"As long as you can prove to me that you are a qualified family head, I can even... give you everything I have."

"That is a power that your father... and my son, has never possessed."

(End of this chapter)