The Demon Emperor was Saint Emperor

Chapter 157: War of Faith

"If you don’t want any land, I can offer you the entire duchy’s wealth with both hands, including my personal assets!"

Seeing that the hidden promise was easily seen through by Leonard, Gutts knew that withholding wealth wasn’t enough to entice that money-grubber. He gritted his teeth and offered a truly substantial benefit, convinced that Leonard couldn’t remain unmoved this time.

"Swear to the Destruction Demon God!"

Leonard was indeed moved and immediately stood up, pointing at Gutts and demanding that he swear to the Demon God, specifically to the most severe Destruction Demon God.

"Alright! As long as Leonard teams up with me to defeat Demon Dragon Illidan, I, Gutts Rine, will offer all my wealth. May the Destruction Demon God bear witness!"

With urgency at hand, Gutts didn’t hesitate, immediately swearing towards the direction of the Destruction Demon God’s Divine Hall, to earn Leonard’s trust.

"Wait! Alter your oath. I can join forces with you against Illidan the Demon Emperor, but I can’t guarantee absolute victory. If we lose, wouldn’t my efforts be in vain?"

Upon hearing Gutts’ oath, Leonard still didn’t act immediately. He keenly noticed the subtle trickery in Gutts’ oath. Damn! He’s been setting traps for him non-stop.

"Change what? If we can’t win and still need to pay, wouldn’t I end up losing money and magic?"

Leonard had his own concerns, and Gutts, of course, had his own as well. He sought Leonard’s alliance precisely to defeat Illidan, preferably to drive him out of the Demon Realm. But if they couldn’t defeat him even together, his son and subordinates would all be doomed. Yet, if he still had to pay all his wealth... he couldn’t afford to lose on both ends!

"Then I’ll just sit back down."

Seeing that Gutts didn’t become desperate and reckless, retaining a bit of rationality, Leonard’s interest waned. He liked high-reward tasks, but if the rewards weren’t stable and came with significant risks, he wouldn’t bother.

The miser despised gamblers the most, believing that wealth only feels secure in one’s own hands. Once out, you can never be sure where it’ll end up.

"If we win, I’ll give it all to you! If we don’t win, you get half! Is that enough?"

Seeing Leonard truly retreating, Gutts became anxious and quickly made a concession.

"Eighty percent! If we win, it’s all mine; if we lose, I still get eighty percent!"

Leonard frantically negotiated for his benefit. Indeed, gamblers may be fools, but if you don’t have to risk your own assets, winning or losing using someone else’s money, that’s something he could gamble on.

"Hmph! Deal!"

At the critical moment, Gutts didn’t have the leisure to haggle with Leonard. He wasn’t willing to part with his personal assets but didn’t view them as so significant as Leonard did. Eighty percent was fine; as long as it didn’t drain him completely, he believed he had the strength to rise again.

"Then swear again!"

Leonard urged immediately.

"I, Gutts Rine, swear to the Destruction Demon God: as long as Leonard joins forces with me to battle Demon Dragon Illidan, if we defeat Illidan, I will offer him all my wealth. If we lose, I will pay him eighty percent of my wealth. If I break this divine oath, may I suffer divine punishment!"

Facing the Destruction Demon God’s Divine Hall, Gutts pointed to the sky and swore.

"Alright, then I will join you... huh?"

Leonard listened intently to Gutts’ oath and found no hidden malice. He then prepared to stride out of the hall to join forces against the foe.

But just as he reached the Golden Hall’s doorway, he intuitively glanced at the seven Great Demon Kings inside the hall, noting their eager gazes fixed upon him. Realizing something amiss, Leonard immediately looked outside at the Demon Dragon Emperor Illidan. Before his face could change, Leonard keenly captured the faint smirk on Illidan’s face.

Damn! He and Gutts have been haggling for so long, creating a fuss for quite a while. Illidan did nothing the entire time, clearly waiting for him to fall into the trap!

He had absolutely no fear of them joining forces. He might even be hoping for it. For this, he was willing to play dumb for so long, pretending to be oblivious, afraid of disrupting their rhythm, almost as if he feared they wouldn’t fight him.

This isn’t just for asserting dominance!

For asserting dominance, defeating a demigod would be enough. After that, no other demon would dare question his throne.

But he clearly wants to deal with the Demon Race’s only two demigods left together!

He is the divine envoy of the Guardian Demon God, and they are followers of the Destruction Demon God...

Understood! It’s a war of faith! It’s a chess game between the Demon Gods...

They, the so-called demigods, are just pieces in the hands of the Demon Gods. The followers of the Destruction Demon God have held the Demon Emperor’s position for years; it seems the Guardian Demon God is truly incapable of sitting still any longer, and this time, His Divine Majesty is playing for real!

This Illidan... perhaps he himself is also a Near God!

He’s disguising as a demigod just to eradicate these stubborn elements...

But publicly slaughtering his kin wouldn’t be acceptable, no matter what. Demon Gods have pride, more so than mere demons, especially since there might be other unknown reasons.

However, if it’s the followers of the Destruction Demon God who made a mistake or incited the conflict, then no one could blame him for striking hard.

Illidan just stood there watching them make a dirty deal, with no intention of stopping it. He was just waiting for him, Leonard, to strike, so he’d have ample reason to kill him off as well...

Damn it! Emperor hearts are indeed filthy. Illidan is definitely not as reckless as he appears. This Demon Dragon has brains.

"I, uh, am feeling unwell today, so I won’t be helping. Here’s 100 gold coins as compensation for breaking the agreement."

Leonard hastily withdrew the foot he was about to step outside with. Seeing Gutts’ hopeful gaze, he could only grit his teeth, pulling out a full 100 gold coins to compensate Gutts.

Although now his wealth exceeds billions, losing 100 gold coins without gaining any benefit still pained him deeply. If it weren’t for survival, he wouldn’t have been willing to pay such a heavy price.

"Like hell I want your gold coins! Just help me take him down! I’ll even provide you with a promissory note for ten billion gold coins!"

Gutts felt insulted by the Demon. Not to mention that a battle of life and death can’t be measured in gold coins, but even if it could, it would never be as low as 100 gold coins.

As a Grand Duke renowned across the entire Demon Realm, he never dealt in anything less than thousands, and promises were always in billions. The wealth accumulated by the Demon Race from destroying countless worlds is far incomparable to the typical imperial royalties of ordinary worlds.

Adding another promissory note for ten billion gold coins...

Leonard’s heart wavered, then panic suddenly set in. Damn, why does it feel like I just saw the Omen Star?

Money was paramount, even more critical than his life, but the price Gutts offered wasn’t worth his life.