379 Plans
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The Vampire Progenitor couldn’t contain his fury, slamming the table. The other Vampires remained in silence, their frustration was clear as their retainers panicked a bit over their overflowing emotions.
“Then what do we even do, my lord?” Asked the tallest of the Vampires.
“We mustn’t let this slide. We have to plan something.” Said the skinny Vampire.
“But the meeting between the Dukes and the King is approaching, the golden opportunity for all of us to join together and take over this country…” Sighed the woman.
“Fear not, my informants have told me that the King has learned what happened in Affnaria and has decided to delay the meeting between the governors of his nation until the next year… Probably fearing that something might happen to him. He is a cautious man indeed.” Sighed the Progenitor. “He also will probably begin to fund Julia, so we cannot easily approach to her again, if we all go there, we’ll become the target of the church as well. Their magical technology has evolved over all this time, supplied by the Holy Empire, they’re not a foe we can easily mess with, even if our strength might guarantee our victory against the average priests, they’ll chase us down and the strongest of them might eventually find us. The Holy Emperor is a threat we cannot easily provoke… yet. We must grow further first.”
“You’ve being too cautious as always, my lord…” Sighed the tallest man, crossing his arms. “But I suppose this time might also give us some more time to gather our forces and earn more money in the meantime.”
“Hm… If attacking the Duchy of Affnaria is forbidden, how can we track this woman?” Asked the skinny male vampire.
“We have already tracked, our scouting squads are more efficient than you three believe.” Sighed the Progenitor. “She had settled down with the Goblins and other demi-humans very far away, in the former ruins of the Demon Kingdom. Our influence and family has yet to reach such a faraway place, especially the Kingdom that lives in such low temperatures. However, from the scouting team, it was said that there were survivors of the Demon Kingdom living there not so long ago, but they were suddenly all frozen by a mysterious figure. They’re not dead, but frozen through a strange curse.”
“What?! So there were survivors?!” Asked the tallest vampire. “Tsk…”
“You muscle for brains, we have already gone past the moment we could have helped them. The ancient demon kingdom and their survivors… are not our problem anymore.” Sighed the man wearing the fox mask.
“But…! If I had known there were still survivors there somehow I…” The tall vampire muttered, but quickly remained in silence at the end. It has been years, many, many years already. It was too late for regrets.
“I see, so what you recommend us is to kill Maria when she’s back? But we have also learned about these threats. Whoever created that magic ice is not someone we can just ignore. If they did such a thing, they might even be territorial.” Said the vampire woman. “What do you have in mind, my lord?”
“I have investigated enough. It seems that a large tribe of the mighty Ice Giants have settled in there… Some time ago, a member of their tribe, a young woman, found an ancient relic made by the gods named “Skadi’s Winter Crown”, this powerful crown granted her incredible and insuperable powers. And with them, she had been commanding the entire tribe and strengthening her forces. For some reason, she showed hostility to the surviving Majin, despite having been peaceful for so long… This treasure, whatever it is, might have some power capable of brainwashing the wearer. She’s a threat we must be cautious about.”
“Hmph… Wait, how about we simply ally them?” Wondered the woman.
“What?” The Progenitor asked.
“Isn’t it normal? I mean, if we can gather aggressive tribes that are hellbent into taking over others, we can manipulate them and simply use them to invade her precious little country. We destroy them and then laugh at the face she makes when everything she has built is destroyed. It’s not as if we are not good at negotiations. Whatever those demons did to that “Frost Queen”, we can use it to our advantage and obtain a valuable and tyrannical ally.” Said the woman, she was ambitious.
“Hm, not bad.” The Progenitor said. “If you’re so willing, then you’ll do it.”
“Of course, I shall take care of the preparations. It won’t be immediate. But on its due time… We got plenty of time until the beginning of next year after all.” Said the woman, giggling maliciously.
“Wait! Shouldn’t we just go and smash her place? Not like we can’t do it right now, right?” Asked the burly vampire man.
“You’re seriously just muscles for brain, aren’t you? We have not survived this long acting like idiots. You have to remember she’s a necromancer, and the Undead she can create have begun to become stronger and stronger with each time. She can probably make B Rank Undead without even sweating… She used them against Agatha to corner her and her squad after all.” Sighed the fox mask-wearing vampire.
“Indeed, muscle head, we have to think this through and do roundabouts. Also, what’s better than others doing our work than ourselves? That way, we never truly risk it. This is how we have always worked. Make others do it for you, your life is left intact and even if they fail… You just find more people willing enough. A rotten and corrupt world such as this… has plenty of people willing to do anything for a bit of food, a bed, and place where to sleep beneath a ceiling.” The woman smiled. “Isn’t this how we gathered our lovely family together?”
“Then it is decided… As for the other things, we’ll slowly begin planning them. Agatha’s death won’t be in vain either. I shall support you with resources, but make sure to bring me notable results.”
“Understood, my lord. Things might take a while, but I shall bring you fruitful results.”
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