Defiance of the Fall
Chapter 67: Diplomacy

Zac sighed and tabled the whole matter as there was no way for him to know who told the truth at the moment. The thought that he had almost died numerous times due to a lie was almost too depressing to handle. Of course, it was thanks to that lie that he pushed himself forward, and now confidently stood at the forefront of humanity.

“You said your incursion is only one of many? Do they all contain demons like you?” Zac quickly asked, eager to change the subject. Besides, this was something he had wondered about since day one. He was thinking of his family and was worried that another incursion could pop up next to them at any moment. It had worked out for him, but he was given a huge advantage from his many titles. For normal people to contend against a demon army, he knew how that story would end. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“As far as I know us demons only got one for this world, unless a higher tier clan got one as well. I’m not privy to their activities. The others are from various forces in the multi-verse. That’s why we need each other, Human. Because if you think that our little Clan was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Zac got a really bad feeling when he heard that the other incursions could be even worse compared to the demons on this island. It didn’t seem like the demon was lying, and his desire to get back home to his family only got stronger.

“Need each other how?” he asked, curious to hear what benefits the Demon could provide.

Ogras grinned, obviously pleased that Zac tentatively opened diplomatic relations.

“We both have things the other party needs. My side has man-power. Many of those who stayed behind are non-combat classes who would be very helpful for someone who wish to build up a base. We have builders, farmers, blacksmiths, and traders for example. I can also provide information about many things that could help you in the future” Ogras rattled on, sounding like a salesman trying to secure some business.

“And what would you want from me in return?” Zac asked as he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.

“Sanctuary. You may not know this, but The Ruthless Heavens limits the powers of foreign entities in a baby world.” Ogras explained, to which Zac only tersely nodded. “Well, after the incursion failed the limiter remains, and we will have some... problems... getting stronger. Even if we gain a few levels we might only actually be able to use the additional power of one level. But the nexus coins and energy we give out when killed is the full amount. We essentially become walking treasure troves the longer we reside on a baby planet.”

“Why do you need me for that? If you just stay holed up here won’t you be fine? We’re on an island after all.” Zac interjected as he didn’t see how he fit into the picture. If Zac was expandable for the demons’ survival, then he could be killed at any moment.

“Breaking the restrictions will take a very long time. Sooner or later some force is going to find the island, and what would happen when they found an island full of monsters and inhabitants that gave 10 times the reward upon killing them?” Ogras explained, but Zac looked far from convinced.

“More importantly, you have become a Lord so you can provide the sanctuary of a System-Sanctioned city. That’s not something we can do by ourselves now that the incursion failed. We failed our quest and are barred from seizing a system-town” The demon continued as he glanced at the Nexus Node.

“What’s the difference between a system-sanctioned city and a normal one? And besides, I’m not a Lord. I still need to complete a quest for that.” Zac corrected him, feeling that particular information was no problem to share. In case they would actually form an alliance, the demons would have to help out defending his outpost against the denizens of other alignments after all.

Ogras looked slightly surprised by this information, but quickly recovered. It seemed that even these invaders didn’t have all the answers after all, which was comforting.

“The biggest difference is that you can buy structures from The Ruthless Heavens in a sanctioned city. In a normal city you have to build everything yourself. A sanctioned city is much safer as long as the Lord has coins to spare. Only an idiot would invade a sanctioned city unless they held an overwhelming advantage. The Lord could simply spend a few generation’s worths of Nexus Coins and blast the attackers to pieces with a new defensive structure”

Zac felt that it made a lot of sense. He hadn’t thought about it before, but if he was really put against the wall he could instantly buy the strongest array he could afford and immediately improve his outpost by a few grades. It was essentially the time-tested strategy of throwing money at the problem until it went away. That kind of strategy was impossible unless you had access to the outpost shop.

“Can you explain what you need to accomplish to become a Lord, human? And you have me at a disadvantage as I still don’t know your name.” Ogras continued.

“I’m Zac. It says I need to protect the outpost. I have a timer that counts down toward the 3-month mark after Earth entered the multi-verse as well.” Zac explained and Ogras visibly relaxed.

“I think I know what that means, but could you share the quest just to be sure?”

Zac’s eyes immediately thinned at that, rife with suspicion. If he shared a quest wouldn’t Ogras become a lord as well? Could he usurp him if that was the case?

“You misunderstand, hu.. Zac. Sharing the quest just means showing me the quest prompt from the Heavenly Screen. Just focus on that particular quest and make it visible with your will.” Ogras quickly explained when he saw Zac’s distrustful Face. “I’m sure you and your allies have shared various prompts with each other.” He added with a slight smile.

Zac had a distinct feeling the jig was up, and the demon knew he was alone. But he chose to keep the charade going in any case, not wanting to give out any confirmation to the demon’s suspicions.

Deciding it was no harm he decided to try it out. He singled out that particular quest, and it appeared alone on a blue window. He then focused on making that particular window visible. And soon it got “fixed” in the air instead of following his vision. He even managed to adjust what was shown so that the reward wasn't visible to the demon.

Incursion Master (Unique): Close or conquer incursion and protect outpost from denizens of other alignments for 3 months. (0/3) [43:01:17:47)

Ogras’ eyes lit up and he looked through the quest. But soon his face went from interested to grimacing.

“It’s actually a monster horde quest…” Ogras said with a frown.

“What does that mean, and how can you tell?” Zac asked, eager to know more about how the quest system works.

“It says denizens and not forces or factions, which means it will send beasts rather than intelligent forces such as us demons or other factions in the multi-verse. It is one of the more annoying quests The Ruthless Heavens can throw at a Lord,“ Ogras explained with a dour face. “A few thousand years ago a City on my home planet was overrun by millions of Blight Rats. When the quest ended the whole city was just a huge crater with everything from its structures to citizens eaten.”

Zac didn’t know if it was true, but if millions of anything attacked him it would be a quick game over, unless he learned how to make his [Chop]-edge a kilometer long. He could only hope the system adjusted the difficulty for his power level.

“When will it start?” Zac probed.

“After the timer. It seems like a normal monster horde quest, so The Ruthless Heavens will likely send one horde a month for three months. The faster you kill the monsters the more time you will have to prepare in between. Too slow and you will be facing multiple waves at the same time”

If the demon could be trusted it meant that he had one and a half month to strengthen himself and the town as much as possible. He grimaced at the thought of having to fight a horde of beasts constantly for a month, only for it to be topped up with another horde. Besides, he was sorely lacking Nexus coins to get anything worthwhile for his outpost.

“Where are the crystals your faction has mined? If we are going to work together then your kind needs to contribute to the town construction.” Zac immediately went into fundraising mode now that he knew he had to fend off hordes of beasts.

“I’m afraid they all got taken with them by our clansmen when they left through the Nexus Hub.” Ogras answered without hesitation with a completely straight face.

“…”

“…”

The two only silently stared at each other for a full minute until the demon finally coughed and added a sentence.

“Well. Maybe they didn’t find it all, and I can go back and see if they forgot to look in some places?”

“I’m sure you can find some,” Zac answered with an equally straight face. “If a foreman could steal hundreds of crystals in only one day, I’m sure there are quite a few crystals hidden through the town.”

“Ah yes, Azra. Can I ask why you are wearing her dress? And why the sudden interest in raw crystals? They’re not very efficient for leveling up.” Ogras asked, seemingly eager to change the subject of how much crystals he had stashed away.

“I’m planning on buying a store in the Shop, and sell them for Nexus Coins. That way I can buy defensive structures to survive the quest,” Zac answered, completely ignoring the part about wearing a dress.

“Usually I’d say that it’s a waste to use crystals to get some Nexus Coins, but it’s our best bet right now I suppose. But I’d suggest that we buy a Smelting Furnace as well to turn the raw crystals into proper graded ones first,” Ogras agreed.

“Our? We?” Zac said skeptically, still not having decided what to do with the demons.

“Yes, we. You should understand how useful it is to have us around after our short talk. Even for your own plan we’re integral. After all, are you planning on mining the whole mountain range for the crystals by yourself?” Ogras said with a smile.

“Maybe the two of us can work together since I’ve seen you kill that Rydel person. And you helped me kill half your army so you seem to hate your kind far more than I do. But would the others even work with me?” Zac was highly doubtful that he could get a successful partnership going after what he had done to the demon ranks over the past weeks.

“Most of those left behind have some grudges with our previous clan in any case so they aren’t too upset with the armies dying. There are a few who might be troublesome. But I am sure we can handle that.”

“Like you handled Rydel?” Zac asked, to which Ogras only smiled slightly.

“Well Regarding that, let’s keep that little detail between us, shall we? I won’t go into it, but it was either him or me. Everyone who witnessed that is dead by now so only the two of us knows. But if the citizens of Camp Azh'Rezak find out that I was up in the mountains helping your rampage, and not staying in my castle, they might lose trust in me. And our partnership would suffer in turn.”

Zac mulled it over for a long time. He’d rather not work with a snake like this man to be honest, as he would have to constantly watch his back. But he had made a few good points. Zac desperately needed assistance, both in the form of information and manpower, if he wanted to create a successful town and a sanctuary for his family. Since there were no one else to turn to he could only enter this dubious alliance.

Besides, just having someone to talk to, even if it was a sneaky demon, felt extremely good.

“Ok, I’ll keep quiet about it. So, what else can you tell me that’s useful for our short-term goals?” Zac asked, hoping for some simple tips that would save him some coins or increase his chances of beating the quest.

“Well now that you asked, are you aware that you have been drinking poison?”

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