Strategy
“Good! I won’t deprive you of your position, but you must use all the resources you have to assist me.” Leylin glanced at the pleasure devil in front of him and nodded indifferently. With Beelzebub’s divine force and knowledge of her truename, this devil would even agree if Leylin said he was a reincarnation of the Sovereign King of Gluttony.
With her life under a threat, it was not difficult to make requests of her.
“How vast are your connections? Can you influence the king?” Leylin asked bluntly.
“Master, I secretly have control over around a thousand followers. Two are earls, and five are viscounts… I can also indirectly affect two marquises and a duke…” Delia immediately reported to him. Beelzebub was completely ignored by the two of them, such is the sad fate of the loser.
“Only Marquise Louise can influence the king. She is the king’s lover, and his newest conquest.” The pleasure devil bit at her lips, looking very seductive. In order to survive and gain higher status, she did not mind using her own body. Hence, after the scare, she still unwittingly displayed her beauty in front of Leylin.
She was very confident. No matter how resolute a human was, they wouldn’t be able to resist her charms.
“Marquise Louise?” Leylin was astounded. He had not expected this devil to be so effective as to influence the highest class of the kingdom.
Madam Delia finally explained how it was done to Leylin. Like other devils, she first used her pleasure house to attract nobles, and tempted them into their falls. Shady methods had allowed her to gain control of a large number of noble families’ madams and ladies.
Making use of these social nobles, she frequently held dinner parties for the fallen, attracting even more to join. This network was like a virus that constantly expanded.
Recently, Madam Delia herself had personally guided the Marquise, Madam Louise, to try out some forbidden pleasures and successfully captured her. She had become devil worshipper and was even sent to the bed of the king.
Delia herself had the true body of a devil, and it was impossible for her to bypass all the detection methods and the wizards inside the court. However, it wasn’t an issue for pure humans.
“I now have control over a batch of noble ladies, and they are all followers of the master. If you like them…” Madam Delia licked her lips, sending him an invitation that was very attractive.
“If I’m free in the future, I’ll give it a try…” When it came to such a sweet invitation, Leylin did not hesitate to accept. He did have these needs usually anyway.
“Hehe… our services here will definitely satisfy you, master…” After hearing Leylin’s promise, Madam Delia seemed to feel relieved. At the very least, while she still had value, Leylin would not get rid of her. Her entire body relaxed, which only made her seem more charming.
After understanding the power she held, Leylin nodded and sat on a couch nearby.
“Have you heard of Viscount Tim from the Baltic archipelago?”
“Him?” Delia shot Leylin a glance, seeming to be guessing at Leylin’s relationship with the person in question.
“I’ve heard of him. He used to be the commoner son in the Gold Thornblossom Family, and he’s scheming to get a position as the Marquis, as well as land…”
“What do you think are the chances of him succeeding?” Leylin laced his fingers together.
“There are many nobles hoping to obtain the Baltic archipelago. There is a marquis eyeing it, but the other party is the nephew of the king. While he did not do well and had his land attacked by pirates, that’s the problem with the previous marquis. His tragic story already earned him pity points, and I expect that he can get what he wants at the end. I’m not sure how much or what he’ll have to hand over in exchange though…”
Delia was a devil after all, and had also worked in the Dambrath Imperial Capital for many years. She, who had seen these power struggles countless times, could easily guess what would happen.
“Does master wish to help him?”
“No. Dispatch some of our people to make contact with him, but don’t give him anything too substantial… I’m sure you’re great at that…” Leylin stroked his chin.
“Dangling a carrot in front of a donkey’s eyes so he can see it but not eat it, and therefore get him to struggle hard in vain? Hehe… master, you’re terrible!” Madam Delia grinned brightly. Truth be told, devils were the best at using benefits to entice humans, unceasingly tightening the ropes around their necks or getting them to sell their souls.
“It’s good that you understand. Do this for now, I’ll inform you about other things in the future…” Leylin stood up, completely ignoring her astounding beauty and looking ready to leave.
“Master, aren’t you staying?” Madam Delia was truly surprised.
“No, I still have many things to do in the capital. I’ll come over whenever I have time…” Leylin always drew a clear line between work and pleasure.
Seeing this, Delia could only watch as Leylin left. Only after his figure completely disappeared did she look grim, “Damn it! How could he have my master’s strength and know my true name? Just a look at him makes it obvious that he’s a steel-hearted freak who wouldn’t treat his underlings more leniently because of their beauty…”
It was the greatest misfortune of a pleasure devil to fall under such a master. However, with her truename in his grasp, Delia could do nothing else.
“Damn it. DAMN IT!” She could only begin to curse hatefully.
The other servants and dancers watched their boss fearfully. Only they knew what violence and darkness was hidden under her perfect and beautiful face. Hence, they all wished they could turn into ostriches, burying their heads in the ground.
Upon seeing this, she yelled even more violently. “You dwarf swines, get working! Do you want to get whipped?”
Days later, Leylin had changed into noble clothing and headed out of the church of wealth. Using the transfer services of the church, he’d received a large amount of gold from Faulen Island. Due to the fall of the Baltic archipelago, the family’s profits from trade had risen bit by bit, which gave Leylin even more abundant funds.
Wizard training could not be sustained without money. They needed it for their expensive experimental materials and magic tomes.
“Tim’s side has also surrendered. Everything is going well. I might go to the imperial capital and train for a while, since the Wizards’ Guild can give me access to any materials below that given to high-ranked wizards. With help from my connection with mentor Ernest…”
Leylin looked at the distant wizard tower that reached through the clouds, and his eyes couldn’t help but glint. His plans were going extremely smoothly. After seeing Leylin’s strength, Tim’s side had easily agreed to the deal.
After all, compared to what the other nobles could want from him, Leylin only needed Tim to confirm the deal and asked a low price. With Leylin having evidence of Tim having murdered the old marquis anyway, it was impossible for them to go their separate ways. Hence, as long as he was still in the outer seas, he would have to consider Leylin’s stance. After considering it comprehensively, Tim naturally knew what to choose.
With proof of harm, Leylin would just need to create a ruckus, forcing the king to make an announcement and with proper documentation, make everything official. What would the church of the God of Justice be able to do then?
“On top of that, even if the king finds out the truth in the future, he won’t acknowledge that this is the truth. He’ll stubbornly protect the legitimacy of his reputation. He represents the dignity of a kingdom, so how could the king announce something that might be wrong? For his own reputation, he would rather allow absurd events like this. Such is the sorrow of those with power…” Leylin’s lips quirked up into a cold smile.
Offending a king just for the son of a baron, who was only guilty of piracy and therefore less of an issue than associating with devils and demons? Was that worth it? The priests of the God of Justice would have to consider this properly.
With this done, Leylin, who was now considered clean, could revert to strutting around on the streets in his original appearance. Come to think of it, there was no crime pinned to him. At most, there were only suspicions.
“Now that I’ve shown my face outside the church of wealth, the others should emerge soon, right?” Leylin had never doubted the rate at which intel flowed between large organisations. After all, even Madam Delia had a huge intel network, much less the churches.
With the transfer of money at the shrine, his status, name and all other information were exposed.
“I’ll be waiting!” Leylin chuckled and walked into the Wizards’ Guild.
The Wizards’ Guild was less cheery than the Thieves’ Guild or Warriors’ Guild, but in turn it was filled with a solemn, stately aura. Two magic puppets loyally guarded the place, emanating magic light. There were evidently spells of eternity cast on them.
‘With such an air of wealth and extravagance, as well as their expenses… It’s no wonder that there’s only one Wizards’ Guild in the Dambrath Kingdom.’
“Welcome! May I know which services you require?” A wizard apprentice received him and bowed towards him with etiquette that befitted wizards.
“I am Leylin Faulen of Faulen Island. I’m here to take the wizard ranking examination.” Leylin had a bright smile on his face.
If he planned to study in the Wizards’ Guild, he’d obviously need to have his rank verified. The rigour of this was far greater than what warriors underwent. He even had to make clear whom he’d learnt from before and what he’d studied. Wizards were a bunch of serious people!
However, Leylin was already prepared for this, and was therefore unafraid.