Chapter 989: From This Moment Onwards, All Of You Will No Longer Be Alone [Part 1]
Chapter 989 - From This Moment Onwards, All Of You Will No Longer Be Alone [Part 1]
Vesta dragged William to a vacant room in order to have a serious discussion with him. Because of this, the delegations of the other clans had no choice but to enjoy the feast and have a chat while waiting for William's return.
Inside the vacant room...
"Listen, do you know what you are doing?" Vesta asked as she pressed her hands on the wall as she stared directly at William's eyes, whom she had pinned on the wall, so that he wouldn't be able to escape her grasp.
"Um? Adding more vassals under my name?" William replied as he blinked innocently at the green-haired beauty.
"No, you numbskull!" Vesta snapped. "What you are doing is akin to poaching clans from under the Demon Lord's nose! Are you planning to start a civil war?!"
The Half-Elf's eyes widened in surprise as he finally understood what Vesta was trying to tell him. Frankly, he never thought about starting a civil war in the Demon Continent, But, after hearing Vesta's words he started to have the strong urge to do it!
"Sounds like a good idea!" William answered with great enthusiasm. "Why didn't I think of that?! Listen, how many clans are here in this territory? I want them all!"
"Bastard! What happened to being lowkey?!" Vesta gnashed her teeth in anger. "Isn't the reason why we are traveling the Northeastern edge of the continent to prevent your identity from being exposed?!
"Have you forgotten that my father only allowed you to pass safely from the fortress, so you could fetch Baba Yaga's disciple and take her back to the Central Continent with you?! Why are you creating problems as you go?!"
The black-haired teenager lowered his head, before answering her questions.
"You got meat stuck between your teeth," William replied.
Vesta almost lost it as she kneed the Half-Elf and aimed at his lower half. She'd had enough of William's bullsh*t and decided to teach him a lesson.
Fortunately, William was stronger than her, so he managed to block her knee with his right hand.
"You idiot!" Vesta shouted as she backed away in exasperation. "Are you trying to get my father involved in this? If your identity is known, he would be labeled a traitor by the Demon Race!?"
William then pressed his closed fist on the palm of his hand as if getting a good idea.
"Vesta, you are a genius!" William exclaimed. "Let's do that. I'll tell the Demon Lord that your father and I are in cahoots with each other if my identity is discovered."
"F*ck you!" Vesta summoned her whip and lashed at William in anger. This time, she was really enraged when she heard his moronic words that would destroy everything her father had built all these years.
This was the real reason she was trying to stop William from integrating more vassals under his command. If the Half-Elf really declared that her father was on his side then the reputation that Joash had built over the past hundreds of years would have been in vain.
William smiled as he grabbed Vesta's whip and held it firmly in his hand. Although Vesta's whip was a powerful magical weapon, his current strength could overcome it easily.
"I was just joking," William stated. "Calm down."
"You'd better give me a proper explanation about what you are planning to do, or else!" Vesta glared at William as the latter let go of her weapon.
"Fine," William replied as he raised both of his hands in surrender. "Although he said that he was just joking, the truth was that he was not. Even so, he still had to give Joash some face because the latter did help him pass through the Southern Fortress without harm.
The two stared at each other for a full minute before Vesta unsummoned the weapon in her hand.
"What are you really planning to do?" Vesta asked. "Do you have another agenda in coming to the Demon Realm?"
William shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest while leaning on the wall.
"My only purpose is to get my Master back to the Central Continent," William answered. "What happened today was something I didn't plan to happen. I just went by the flow, okay?"
"And... that's the problem!" Vesta scoffed. "Maybe this is why my father asked me to accompany you. He probably wants me to do damage control while traveling towards the Northeastern Regions with you!"
William chuckled because he didn't believe that Joash was that bored to send his own daughter to do some "damage control" for him. He was sure that what was happening right now, was being relayed directly to the Demigod.
Although he wasn't sure about it, his gut instinct was telling him that he was right on the mark. Since that was the case, he decided to sound out what Joash had in mind in regards to William having vassals of his own in the Demon Realm.
"Okay, calm down. Breathe slowly," William said with a smile. "Tell me, Ms. Vesta, how do you propose I handle the current situation?"
The green-haired beauty forcefully tried to calm herself after hearing William's words. Now that the Half-Elf had taken the One-horned Clan, as well as the Greenskin Clan, under his wings, he couldn't possibly toss them aside.
Vesta knew this, and she had no intention of letting him do something so careless. Even so, other clans becoming his vassals was something out of her expectations.
The Gremory Clan, who was the previous Lord of the Greenskin Clan, was one thing. However, if William assimilated more clans under his banner, the other Major Clans would lose their retainers, and thus, weaken their authority over their dominion.
This would create an unprecedented upheaval in the lands, which would make all the clans who had deserted their former Lords face the wrath of a united union of clans under the Demon Lord's banner.
"Just reject them," Vesta stated. "Right now, the only conflict is with the Gremory Clan. The Greenskin Clan is just a minor clan among their vassals, so losing them would not deal a big blow to their authority.
"Although it might cause some grievances, the Gremory Clan isn't stupid enough to provoke an unknown person whose strength is equivalent to a Demigod. As long as you do not create more troubles in the future, we can put this incident under the rug and be done with it."
William rubbed his chin because Vesta's argument was very sound. His main purpose was to find Celine and not raise a faction of his own in the Demon Realm. Also, standing out like a sore thumb would make things difficult for him in the future.
As long as he stopped accepting the allegiance of the different demonic clans, the problem would not escalate to the point of no return. This was the best choice at this point in time, and the Half-Elf understood that Vesta was right.
"Understood. Let's go back," William said as he walked towards the door. "We will follow your plan. No more accepting vassals for the time being."
Vesta sighed in relief as she placed her right hand over her chest. She was quite proud of herself for taking the initiative to talk Wiliam out of his plan of accepting the Patriarchs who wished to serve under him.
'Father, I did it,' Vesta thought. 'I prevented the worst case scenario from happening.'
Joash, who was seated on his throne, looked at a mirror that was floating in front of him. The mirror was over three-meters tall, and the image of the Half-Elf was reflected on its surface.
He didn't tell his daughter, Vesta that he had placed a powerful spell on her body, which allowed him to see, and hear, what was going on around her. Because of this, he was well aware of the events that were happening around the Half-Elf.
Joash didn't mutter a word, and simply observed. He wanted to see with his own eyes how William was going to settle this matter. Truth be told, he found the Half-Elf's decision quite bold and daring.
For a brief moment, he even saw the arrogance that had appeared on Maxwell's face, on William's when he had stopped the war between the One-Horned Clan and the Greenskin Clan. It made him wonder if the Half-Elf would follow in his father's footsteps, as he tread upon the lands of the Demons, whose sense of unity was starting to erode.