《The Demon King Took Off His Little Horns》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1: He grabbed the corner of the horn on his head and turned it five degrees to the left. *** The author has something to say: The new novel¡¯s out! Same old rules everyone¨C Enthusiastically welcome our two kings for arriving to assist my writing! This is a western fantasy novel, although the beginning is set in the Demon Realm, the important parts happen in the Human World. This novel has light humor and some occasional depth, it¡¯s a big sweet cookie, welcome to join the pit~ *** Amidst the white hair, the magic horns were like layered rocks. The gem-like fragments shining in them made this pair of horns look even more noble and majestic; the half-open bat wings had blood veins outlined on them by silver wires, warp and weft through the edges of the sharp black wings; above everything, there was a pair of gold and red dotted eyes that were reflecting the colour of the sunset, with vertical pupils. ¡ª¡ªThe Demon King stood in front of the mirror. Horns, OK. Bat Wings, OK. The expression¡­a little off. Ansel corrected his expression in front of the mirror, trying to look more arrogant and cruel. Finally, his expression reached a delicate balance. The white-haired Demon King stood in front of the mirror with an aloof demeanor. As he did not need to travel during the day, his short cloak with dark red lining only reached his waist. He stroked his cape and long hair. The dark golden chain hanging from his wrist showed off his grandeur. Just looking at this picture, it really looked like the textbook definition of a king tidying up his appearance, but Ansel added a step. He grabbed the corner of the horn on his head and turned it five degrees to the left. OK, it¡¯s done. After doing all this, Ansel pushed open the door of his private bedroom. What he saw was a dull fish eye. When he saw him, the fish eye suddenly glowed strangely. ¡°Good day, Your Majesty.¡± The salted fish turned to him, wearing a straight tuxedo with the iris pattern that was representative of Subabienne City. The posture of this salted fish was upright and standard, like the most standard sideways portrait of aristocrats. ¡°Vassago, the supervisor of the Devil¡¯s Palace, greets you. I hope you slept well last night.¡± This sand sculpture1 scene did not change Ansel¡¯s expression. He nodded lightly and walked ahead past Vassago. Vassago immediately followed, walking sideways at a high speed half a step behind, keeping one eye on Ansel so that he could see Ansel and report to him the affairs of the palace today. ¡°Here¡¯s the morning news from Subabienne City¡ª¡± ¡°The living room has been rearranged to increase the air humidity, and the magic mirror has been arranged in advance to lower the temperature of the central air conditioner to prevent the visitors from the Hell Slime family from melting.¡± ¡°For refreshments, the kitchen has prepared lava lizard egg tarts, poisonous mist pudding and unlimited refills of iris tea, flavoured with antidotes.¡± As on any other day, in the supervisor¡¯s narration, the awakened His Majesty the Demon King began to understand the news in the palace and the city. He responded with monosyllables or suggested solutions to some problems in just a few words from time to time. The demon king and the supervisor walked through the high-dome gallery. On the walls on both sides of the gallery, there were murals recording the demon kings of the Eastern Regions of all dynasties, and the brushstrokes were still very new. On the mural, there were demon kings portrayed with horns and arrogant expressions, their dark hair and clothes fluttering under the worship of the demons. This was Subabienne, the City of Iris, on the Abyss of Floating Flowers in the Demon Realm. Above the boundless sea of ??black irises, there was a city that was as bright as a pearl. Three hundred years ago, a demon king was born in the city of Subabienne, and it was promoted to the city of a demon king. A huge emblem of the demon king was erected behind the city. Abundant magic power and merchants from all directions are gathered here. The demons and demon races in the city all swore allegiance to the Demon King, and united as one. In just three hundred years, the prosperity of a big city has gradually emerged. Vassago¡¯s fish mouth was still moving. ¡°¡­Last night, someone visited the East Gate of the Magic Mirror and asked the imperial court to judge his rival for touching his horn.¡± This time, Ansel¡¯s smooth reply came to a halt. ¡°¡­Judgement by the Imperial Court?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Vassago thought that His Majesty the Demon King was questioning whether the two young demons were qualified to make such a request. After all, His Majesty the Demon King was very busy. A shrewd expression appeared on his sluggish fish face, and he leaned a little closer to answer the question for His Majesty. ¡°You know, even though it¡¯s a young demon, the father of one of them has taken the position of deputy general in the legion under your command; and the other¡¯s mother has a certain position in the business world.¡± He gestured with his fins. The fish¡¯s eyes continued to shine with a strange light, ¡°So, if you are willing to show mercy, both parties will be grateful.¡± Ansel: ¡°¡­¡± He understood this truth, but the key to his problem was not this¡­ He touched the horns on his head, making sure that the horns were not slanted, and felt relieved. Those two young demons, wasn¡¯t it just touching their horns, did it really require making a judgement in front of the imperial court? However, in order to maintain the style of the Demon King, after asking once and getting the answer, it seemed a bit unwise to ask another time. So Ansel pondered for a while and repeated the keywords in a slow tone. ¡°Touching the horns¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just perverted, sexual-harassing, crazy!¡± ¡°¡­???¡± Ansel still didn¡¯t understand, but he was already at the door to the office. A judgement made by the imperial court was a judgement made by the imperial court, it would only take an hour or so across the board, and Ansel wasn¡¯t going to delve into it. He thought about his schedule for the day, barely making space in his crowded schedule. ¡°I will meet with the patriarch of the Hell Slime family at nine o¡¯clock. It will take about two magic hours. The period between eleven to twelve can be left to them.¡± Vassago bowed immediately. ¡°Your Majesty is gracious!¡± The people in charge of the internal affairs of the Demon King¡¯s Palace were not allowed to get involved in politics. Vassago greeted him at the door of the office. Ansel walked into the office. Just as he entered the door, a scorching wind blew past Ansel. The young Demon King did not dodge but raised his hand calmly, and the scorching hot wind lightly stopped at his finger and made a shrill sound like that of a flute. ¡°Good day, Your Majesty.¡± The golden red feathers gleamed with fire, and the hell creature in the shape of an oriental phoenix fell on Ansel¡¯s finger, making a series of fine chirping sounds representing comfort and relaxation. ¡°I hope you had a good rest last night, and I hope that idiot magic mirror didn¡¯t bother you too much.¡± The Phoenix proudly raised its crest, ¡°After all, Your Majesty needs sufficient energy every day to deal with heavy tasks.¡± ¡°Good day, Finni.¡± Ansel raised his hand and caressed the beak of the bird, and the bird rubbed his fingers coquettishly. While rubbing his fingers, taking advantage of the convenience of standing on his shoulders, he secretly approached the beautiful white hair ¨C white and smooth, with the aura of a powerful man, it really fascinated the creature of the abyss. [Cough cough.] The ignorant cough sounded. The phoenix Finni¡¯s crest feathers stood up a little, but he was still entangled in the Demon King¡¯s fingertips, hoping that he could play with him for a while. [Cough cough!] The ignorant coughing became louder and louder, and finally, the sound was so loud that it seemed to cough out the lungs, making it clear that it was intentional. The phoenix immediately rushed towards the mirror standing on the table in a fit of rage, trying to fight against the ignorant mirror. ¡°Hate! Magic mirror! Hate! Tweet Tweet!¡± [I¡¯m working! I am alerting Your Majesty that new information is coming!] The magic mirror was vibrant, yet not slow in movement. It sharply fastened itself upside down on the table, like a turtle in its shell. [I heard that the chat software in Human World has such a sound, I just imitated it! It is you who is delaying His Majesty¡¯s work!] ¡°Tweet! I¡¯m going to break you into eight pieces!¡± The scenes of birds fighting turtle mirrors were staged every day, and Ansel had long been accustomed to it. He was sitting behind the Demon King¡¯s desk, and the succubus maid Fuya brought snacks and freshly brewed coffee from the Demon Realm. Ansel closed his eyes and enjoyed the tranquillity of breakfast. He flattened the twisted snacks on the snack tray and took a bite as if he didn¡¯t see or hear the golden phoenix and the tortoise magic mirror make ¡°ping ping pong pong¡± sounds from one end of the room to the other. After breakfast, the maid took away the cutlery. Ansel raised his hand and clasped the flying magic mirror. He straightened the now palm-sized magic mirror, pulled the frame around, and quickly pulled the magic mirror into the size of half a human and stuck it to the blank space on the side wall. The mirror reflected the Demon King¡¯s long white hair and delicate eyebrows, and the mirror stayed frozen for a second or two. [Oh, My Majesty!] A blurred face slowly floated on the mirror, and a deep magnetic voice came out. This was undoubtedly a genuine magic mirror. [Every morning I start the machine in the face of your glory, what a blessing! Your white hair is like falling snow that has not been seen in a thousand years in the seventh layer of the abyss of ashes, and your eyes are like¡­] Ansel raised his hand slightly, stopping the magic mirror from continuing to sing. ¡°Let¡¯s stop the routine compliments here, and give me today¡¯s official document.¡± Alas, it seemed that His Majesty was still very busy today and had no time to listen to his million-word essay. The magic mirror smugly glanced at Finni, the Phoenix, who did not dare to rush over to disturb him, swallowed back the million-word praise that was about to be exported and began to perform his duties conscientiously. A slit appeared in the mirror, and the sound of the inkjet printer came from inside. ¡°Click-squeak-click-squeak¨C¡± The magic mirror looked a little sad as he spat out the last printed official document. [Your Majesty, when will you replace a laser printer for me? The magic mirror in the government decree hall showed off to me yesterday. Its new laser printer can print one document per second.] The Demon King was flipping through the official documents to be dealt with today, without raising his eyelids. ¡°The laser printer replaced by the government decree hall can¡¯t print in colour. As for the colour laser printer¡­ the technology is not mature, and it is a bit expensive at present. The Demon King¡¯s Palace does not need this additional expenditure for the time being. We will go on the expedition soon. It¡¯s always good if we can save a little money for the military.¡± The magic mirror suddenly felt sad. [Your Majesty, you have reduced the expenditure of the Demon King¡¯s Palace too much. Look, your three meals, your clothes, your carriage¡­Which demon king didn¡¯t have a dozen or twenty luxury carriages driven by Nightmares when he was in office? Which demon only eats snacks and coffee for breakfast? Which demon still uses an inkjet printer?] The more the magic mirror said, the more saddened it became. It was true that Subabienne City, as a new demon king city, had only just calmed down from the war in the past few hundred years, and it was still recovering. The Demon King Ansel issued a post-war decree, which not only reduced taxes, but also controlled the expenditure of the Demon King¡¯s Palace, and invested most of the money in the city¡¯s construction. But¡­ but¡­ His Majesty the Demon King was too uncorrupted and restrained, which made all the demons in the city feel extremely distressed. Demons liked luxurious enjoyment and paid attention to personal feelings. Ansel was the first in the world to be a selfless demon king. The magic mirror even felt that His Majesty Ansel was sent by the Demon God to save the demons in the Eastern Region. He was not moody, highly sensitive and highly disciplined, but also very powerful, simply the perfect demon king! His Majesty the Demon King, who was ¡°devoid of emotion and anger¡±, was browsing today¡¯s official documents at a high speed, and suddenly, he saw this one ¨C ¡°Western Region News: His Majesty Saros announced that he does not approve of the new trade regulations of Subabienne City, calling them all a pipe dream.¡± ¡°Crack¡±, the quill made from the feather of the Demon Owl Realm cracked in half in the Demon King¡¯s hands. It¡¯s ¨C you ¨C again ¨C Sa ¨C ro ¨C s -! ! ! Translator¡¯s note: Sand sculpture (ɳµñ) is generally used humorously to describe weird or stupid but funny behaviours or lame jokes. Chapter 2 Chapter 2: ¡°It seems like I have touched someone¡¯s horns.¡± There was long-standing bad blood between Demon King Ansel and Demon King Saros. The demon realm was vast, with the cracks across the land dividing the seven big abyss plates. And such a vast area was governed by three demon kings respectively. Gentle Breeze and Sago Palm abyss belonged to Demon King Levi of the Southern Region. The central city was Ideon City and the emblem was the [Serpent]. Frozen and Blackstone abyss belonged to Demon King Saros of the Western Region. The central city was Lust City and the emblem was the [Black Swan]. And lastly, Ashes and Floating Flower abyss belonged to Ansel. The central city was Subabienne City and the emblem was the [Iris]. The seventh abyss was put under suspension, so it didn¡¯t belong to any of the demon kings. The city of Subabienne led by Ansel, was the youngest city of the demon king¡¯s kingdom, with only 300 years of history. For the demon race with a long lifespan, it was truly an infant. But what made jaws drop was the rapid development of Subabienne City. The demons lived happily, and it was all thanks to the various policies enacted by Demon King Ansel. He was like a fearless rebel¡ªdisregarding all the unspoken rules of the demons and leading his subjects forward. Thus, it naturally aroused the hostility of the old-fashioned forces in the demon realm. The phoenix Finni was startled by the sound of the quill breaking. He snapped out of it and promptly brought over a warm towel for Ansel to wipe off the ink on his hand, then used his wings to brush off the fragmented pieces. He raised his little crest head and saw Ansel wiping his hand while sneering. ¡°Is the ¡®Demon King Family¡¯ all that great, huh? He¡¯s merely relying on his ancestors¡¯ shade to be able to keep his demon king status for generations after generations.¡± Ansel sneered, ¡°How dare he say it¡¯s a pipe dream! I¡¯ll definitely turn it into reality! Demon King Saros is just a person that acts on emotion. It can¡¯t be that he still holds a grudge for losing to me in the one-on-one competition last time? Really?¡± ¡°Very likely!¡± Finni¡¯s face was full of indignant righteousness, ¡°He suffered defeat and only dared to squawk about you in the newspaper!¡± And the silver-winged dragon that Demon King Saros was raising was also annoying. Finni had fought with that guy so many times already. Ansel calmed himself down. Don¡¯t get angry, the demon life was just like a play. Just watch as he implements the trade policy and pisses Saros off! At the thought of this, Ansel suddenly wavered a bit. Speaking of which, they were bound to run into each other during this time¡¯s joint expedition¡­ In the next second, an ominous glint flickered in the demon¡¯s sunset-colored vertical pupils. They will definitely duke it out when they meet. He will remember to sharpen his weapons beforehand! With this objective hung in the forefront, it could be said that there was an intense murderous air when Ansel handled this morning¡¯s government affairs. It was imperative to implement the new trade regulations. Admittedly, there were older demon lords who tried to go against Ansel¡¯s policy in order to protect their own interests. This was nothing more than using underhanded methods by going behind people¡¯s backs. Demon kings with real power do not cower in fear. At eleven o¡¯clock, Vassago punctually appeared at the demon king¡¯s office door to ask Ansel to go judge. Ansel organized the documents and stood up. Finni immediately flew onto his shoulder, looking extremely happy. ¡°I heard that you are going to judge an emotional affair case?¡± He asked pryingly. Ansel shot him a look and Finni immediately shut his little pointed beak, but his eyes were still rolling around. ¡°It¡¯s just an argument between young people regarding horns,¡± Ansel said casually. ¡°It won¡¯t take long.¡± * * * Regarding his prediction of the time, Ansel suffered a slap in the face. He sat on the demon king¡¯s royal throne with his sunset-colored vertical pupils drooping. It was unknown whether he was happy or angry; only the frequent glances at the clock showed just how much he wanted to quickly end it and go eat. ¡°¡­and that¡¯s what happened. He touched my horn.¡± The young demon¡¯s face was flushed and his voice was trembling. Ansel looked at the horns on his head¡ªthey weren¡¯t too big, and were a kind of soft and deep sepia color like a lamb. Although his horns weren¡¯t that big, at least they were bigger than Ansel¡¯s horns. As a demon king, of course, Ansel wanted a pair of grand horns on his head, but¡­ his horns were actually a headband. The bigger the headband, the easier it could tilt sideways. It would be a disaster if it went askew in front of someone! So even until now, Ansel still wore a pair of horns that were a bit small for an adult devil. Moreover, he would savagely beat up every demon that dared to laugh at his small horns. Ansel nodded slightly, indicating that he had understood the entire situation. He then looked at the demon kneeling on the other side. This demon was taller and the horns on his head had a subtle half-turn to them, which looked very formidable. ¡°Do you have any objections to this entire matter?¡± The demon king with black horns and white hair quietly inquired. The lofty demon was silent for a while. ¡°I have no objections, it was my fault.¡± Ansel turned towards the demon with lamb horns. ¡°Since both parties have no objections to this entire incident, you can suggest your desired punishment. Although there are no correlating laws or regulations related to horns¡ªaccording to the sentencing of Subabienne City¡ªwhether it¡¯s exile or torture, as long as there are no objections between both parties, the punishment will be executed as appropriate.¡± After hearing Ansel¡¯s words, the demon with lamb horns unexpectedly stood up in a panic. ¡°E-exile¡­ It doesn¡¯t have to be that¡­severe¡­ Torture is also¡­¡± Ansel slowly typed out a question mark1. Since you don¡¯t want to punish the other party, why did you apply for the ruling of the royal court? Seeing the imposing white-haired demon king sitting on the royal throne narrowing his sunset-colored eyes, the demon with lamb horns was about to cry due to fright, and he also spoke intermittently. ¡°I have no intention to mess with Your Majesty! It¡¯s just that touching the horns is very¡­very¡­ It¡¯s fine as long as he receives a punishment¡­¡± Under pressure, as if throwing caution to the wind, he actually spilled everything, ¡°I know! I know their family came from Your Majesty¡¯s legion. They look down on ordinary demons that do business like me, which is why they used this method to make a fool¡­out of me¡­¡± Unexpectedly, the tall demon who kept his head down all this while interjected for the first time. ¡°I never looked down on you! Nor was I making a fool out of you!¡± ¡°How were you not?!¡± If it weren¡¯t because of the demon king¡¯s imposingness, both of them would have probably started to quarrel in court. It seemed like Ansel had come to a realization. Behind him, Vassago lightly coughed, making Ansel affirm his judgment. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t here to judge, but to¡­ Vassago came close to him and whispered into his ear. ¡°Both parties¡¯ parents have arrived.¡± Ansel: ¡°¡­¡± As expected! He, the demon king, wasn¡¯t here to adjudicate, but to be the witness! ¡°You¡¯re indeed perceptive to be able to figure it out with one look. That act of scaring the little guy was truly a textbook-level move. This way, the parents of both parties will be grateful to you. After all, their children¡¯s happiness matters the most,¡± Vassago¡¯s mouth moved as he whispered. The people around Ansel were never stingy with the ardent praise of their wise and farsighted majesty. Ansel watched the two young demons quarreling with a blank expression. The young demons these days¡­ The white-haired demon king languidly propped his cheek. From the corner of his eye, he could already see the two young demons¡¯ parents coming in from the side door and greeting him with respect. Ansel slightly nodded in response. The quarrel happening below was finally coming to an end. ¡°You are always like this! Relying on the fact that I like you, you deliberately provoke¡­¡± The demon with lamb horns wept. The tall demon finally couldn¡¯t hold back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t deliberately provoking! It was¡­¡± He found it hard to explain. In the end, he was only able to squeeze out a few words between his teeth, ¡°It was just¡­hard to hold back my feelings.¡± Done. Ansel felt refreshed. He took the lead and clapped. Both parties¡¯ parents flocked over. The scene became a joyous ocean. The lamb-horned demon¡¯s tearful eyes were hazy, but the tall demon¡¯s words made his face scalding hot. He saw his family come up, blaming him for having to reveal his feelings in the presence of the demon king. The lamb-horned demon subconsciously looked up in the direction of His Majesty the Demon King, only to see His Majesty slowly walking down the stairs of the throne while applauding, smiling lightly at him. ¡°Now, it seems like I don¡¯t need to adjudicate. However, maybe I can be the witness for the wedding?¡± For ordinary demons, this was a great honor. The demon with lamb horns was still giddy, so he followed his mother over to bow in thanks for His Highness¡¯s grace. Then he turned his head and looked at the tall demon who was also surrounded by his family and was looking embarrassed. He once again blushed. * * * Ansel¡¯s lunch was delayed for more than an hour, but he received additional military support, so he was in a great mood. At the dining table, Ansel recalled the scene of the quarreling couple from just now, so he casually brought up the topic of horns. In fact, he still couldn¡¯t quite understand the significance of the horns for demons. After what happened, he thought that the horns were a¡­ um, private part of the demon¡¯s body? However, Ansel still didn¡¯t get a strong sense of reality. Demons are a lustful race, and they usually play a lot. This kind of horn sentiment was really strange. ¡°Speaking of which, it seems like I have touched someone¡¯s horns.¡± Ansel casually said while stirring the cream of the hell mushroom soup. No sooner had the words left his mouth, than he noticed that it was dead silent all around. Vassago¡¯s fish eyes opened so wide that they seemed like they were going to pop out, Finni fell head first into the tomato sauce, and the capable head maid who always had a professional smile on her face seemed to crack. Vassago¡¯s fish mouth began to open and close incessantly, making bubble-spitting sounds. ¡°Blub blub blub¡­ Whose¡­blub blub blub¡­did you touch?¡± Ansel did not realize the seriousness of the matter. He recalled the incident. ¡°Seems like it was¡­Saros?¡± After the reddish-gold feathered Finni heard this answer, he suddenly seemed like he had lost all colors, becoming ashen. His expression was completely lifeless when he looked at Ansel. It wasn¡¯t until a long time had passed that he forced a smile. ¡°You¡¯re¡­joking, right?¡± Ansel: ¡°¡­¡± He shouldn¡¯t have started this topic. In any case, he couldn¡¯t remember very clearly. Ansel decided to just hurry and get it over with. They only saw His Highness the Demon King nodding indifferently. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I just knew it! Your Highness is truly funny!¡± Finni came back alive from his lifeless state, and so did everyone else at the table. Ansel pulled a long face but breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Were horns¡­really that important to demons? This thing seemed to be an unspoken common knowledge in the demon realm and a very sensitive one at that. Ansel hadn¡¯t read the relevant contents pertaining to it in any of the books. There were only vague statements like ¡°horns are important¡± and ¡°same as an angel¡¯s halo¡±. However¡­ As an actual angel, Ansel didn¡¯t think the halo was very important. He even found it very annoying as it was affecting his undercover job. Ansel: ¡°¡­¡± Let¡¯s not think about it anymore. Counting the days, it should be time to break off his aperture again tonight. * * * The author has something to say: It can be considered a scum move to touch and not take responsibility for it (nods) Ansel: ??? So horns are more important than [beep¡ª]? Chapter 3 Chapter 3: Goodbye, monthly halo! After a series of daily affairs¡ªsuch as processing a mountain of official documents, quarreling with ministers through the remote magic mirror, having afternoon tea with close allies, and arranging important meetings for dinner¡ªHis Majesty the Demon King dragged his exhausted body back to his bedroom. This place was absolutely private; there was an enchantment laid by Ansel himself, so he could safely throw away his ¡°demon king¡¯s bearing¡± and throw himself on to the soft big bed like a social animal1 who worked overtime all day and didn¡¯t even want to move a finger. After lying face down for a while in silence, Ansel got up again in pain. He still needed to take off his contact lenses. Ansel came to the mirror. This mirror was not connected to the magic mirror network in the Devil¡¯s Palace, so it was very safe. He looked solemnly in the mirror and then began to touch his eyes to remove his contact lenses. What a joke, how can an angel have demonic vertical pupils? These are obviously contact lenses! Today¡¯s contact lenses were extremely difficult to remove. Ansel even teared up before he could finally manage to take one off. He blinked at the mirror. Now he could see the huge difference between the two eyes: one still had a demonic vertical pupil, making it look sharp and arrogant within the sunset colour; the other had the vertical pupil removed, the brilliant sunset color resembling splendid clouds or a sea of ??flowers. ¡ª¡ªAn angel¡¯s pupils. At this moment, something seemed to be flickering slightly above Ansel¡¯s head. That thing was in the shape of a ring. It was gleaming with warm light, could glow in the dark, and was hovering gently above Ansel¡¯s head. ¡ª¡ªAn angel¡¯s halo. When Ansel was taking off his contact lenses, the tears wouldn¡¯t stop flowing out. Suddenly, the phone rang, almost making him put the contact lenses back. This was a private phone number, and few people knew about it, so it was either a close minister trusted by Ansel or an extremely important leader of other forces who needed to contact Ansel urgently. Ansel finally took off his contact lenses, making him in a good mood. After calculating the time, it should be the call from the prime minister who was dispatched, so he picked it up. ¡°Andre?¡± There was silence on the other end of the phone, and there was only a slight sound of breathing. Ansel sensed something from the silence. It was not the Prime Minister Andre who made the call, but someone else. This habit of being silent at the beginning would probably only be¡­ ¡°The Devil of the Western Regions, Saros Asmodeus, calling,¡± he said in a deep voice that was slightly cold, resembling something frigid and chilly on a frosted ice field. But he has an extremely pleasant timbre along with precise wording and a gentle tone. The elegance and nobility of the generations long ¡°Demon King Family¡± ancestry was vividly displayed in this short sentence. This voice and the eloquent words almost made Ansel drop the landline. His nerves also immediately tensed hearing another demon lord. ¡°The Demon King of the Western Regions is calling late at night, could it be possible¡­¡± He paused, remembering the newspaper that made his liver hurt2 during the day and suddenly came up with a novel idea. Saros called him late at night, could it be for the purpose of apologizing for this report? For example, his original intention was to make the outside world feel that the relationship between the East and the West was not very good, but he actually recognized Ansel¡¯s new trade policy? ¡°I did make this call because of that report.¡± The voice on the other side was still cold, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the wording of that report would be so¡­¡± Apologize! Apologize! Immediately apologize¡­ ¡°Too gentle.¡± ¡­to him. ¡°¡­?¡± Ansel thought he didn¡¯t hear it clearly. ¡°What did you say?¡± Just hearing the sneer coming from the other end of the phone, Ansel could almost imagine that guy sitting comfortably in a wide armchair with stacks of documents in front of him, yet still raising his chin arrogantly. ¡°My original words were: Ansel, you are naive, stupid, and beyond hopeless!¡± Before Saros spoke, Ansel actually thought about it. The image of the other bowing his head to apologize to him made him more elated the more he thought about it. Of course, of course, he was a magnanimous Demon King and also a generous angel so if the other bowed his head, he would not hold a grudge¡­ What a joke! It wasn¡¯t enough that Ansel got on the news for this, but Saros even called to scold him for his actions, which almost made his aperture slanted. The opposite side was still talking. ¡°What on earth are you thinking with that new trade policy? It seems that you have completely abandoned the support of other Demon Lords, and you even want to move the interests they have held in their hands for thousands of years.¡± On the other side of the phone, Saros tapped his fingers on the armrest of the seat, showing a certain restless state of mind. ¡°Do you still think you haven¡¯t suffered enough assassinations?¡± Ansel himself knew this. He was much of an uncompromising hardliner. All the policies were centered on Subabienne City. Ansel was determined to clean up the demon lords scattered like stars on the eastern land, sooner or later. Because of this attitude, Ansel had suffered countless assassinations in the past three hundred years. Fortunately, his courtiers were loyal and guarded the Devil¡¯s Palace like an iron barrel. In addition, Ansel was strong, so he was still alive and kicking. Saros¡¯ words surprised him. ¡°Are you¡­ worried about me?¡± He asked hesitantly, obviously not thinking that this three-hundred-years long adversary would be so kind. There was a sound of documents being overturned on the other end of the phone, and following the sound of the papers rustling was Saros¡¯ cold voice coming through again. ¡°No, I just hope that you can hold on for a longer time.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ansel immediately understood what he meant, his sunset-colored eyes narrowed slightly, ¡°Do you want to attack Levi, the Demon King of the Southern Region?¡± ¡°¡­he¡¯s too weak.¡± That¡¯s true. Weak creatures would be preyed on by predators first. To hunt, it was best to have stable surroundings. So Saros hoped that he could be stable for another few hundred years, leaving enough time to complete an attack on the Southern Region. As for whether Subabienne City would be attacked next after the capture of the Southern Region, Ansel believed certainly in this. He still had time¡ªenough time to develop the city and even get a piece of the pie from the Southern Region. If he used this period of time to gain enough power to challenge the veteran Demon King Saros, then when the time comes, the entire demon world would become a situation where he and Saros divided the territory. The Demon King¡¯s ambition was expanding, and the Demon King¡¯s head was thinking. At that moment, Ansel thought a lot. ¡°The Southern Region is very good, a fertile land rich in ore.¡± Even though he knew that the other party could not see, Ansel still raised his chin proudly and said to the phone, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t show your back when you are too obsessed with your prey.¡± ¡°¡­right back at you.¡± The call was hung up. Ansel stood silently for a while, then he smoothed his long hair, from the top to the end, the halo on his head was shaken by his movements. Only then did he remember this obstructing thing. Ansel grabbed the aperture with one hand while facing the mirror. Probably sensing that its end would come soon, the aperture began to flicker wildly. ¡°No, as the Demon King, I can¡¯t take you around.¡± Ansel murmured, exerting strength in his hands, ¡°Goodbye, Halo No. 3658.¡± Crack! Goodbye, monthly halo! The bright aperture that was broken off instantly dimmed, but it was still very warm, glowing like a warm jade. However, compared to the heavy jade, the halo that was broken off was lighter. The power of light in it sealed, making it look like an ordinary hard plastic ring. When Ansel was an angel, he did not acquire relevant knowledge about the nature of the aperture. After all, no angel would break one¡¯s own aperture down to study. However, Ansel had been breaking his own aperture for many years. He knew that even in places where the light element was thin, such as the Demon Realm, the aperture would automatically collect and store the light energy. When the energy reached a certain level, the halo would appear on the top of his head, which posed a great threat to his Demon King career. The best solution to that was¡­ to break it off. Then, Ansel worked hard to stuff the dimmed aperture into the special space ring. The ring was filled with 3,658 apertures, so it was already pretty much full. More could still be stuffed inside, just a bit more, just hang in there. There were not many space rings that could store angel¡¯s halos. While Ansel was fighting with the aperture, on the other side of the hanged-up call, Saros, the Demon King of the Western Regions, slowly leaned back on the chair. In the Demon King¡¯s office, only a dim yellow lamp was lit, and a silver shadow flashed under the light¡ªit was the silver-winged dragon flipping his wings. The reflection of light awoke the Demon King from his contemplation. He looked at the silver-winged dragon. The silver-winged dragon pressed its front paws on a document in front of him and made a low ¡°woo¡± sound. It was a letter of surrender. It was cast by a demon lord under Ansel¡¯s subordinate. The content was roughly that the demon lord would create an opportunity to assassinate the current Eastern Demon King Ansel, and he only needed some help from Saros. The Demon King lowered his dark blue vertical pupils. ¡°This kind of thing can even be handed to me, his situation¡­¡± The Demon King sneered again. ¡°Such a radical method, such a reckless policy, it seems that he has not learned at all how a demon king should balance the forces under his command¡­¡± Saros stopped. Of course, Ansel had never learned it. He was a rare demon king who fought hard from the ordinary demon class, which was very different from Saros, who was born into the ¡°Demon King Family¡±. The silver-winged dragon saw his owner staring at the table in a daze. Hadn¡¯t his master been in a daze often in the past three hundred years? The silver-winged dragon was used to it. He raised his hind paws and scratched his ear fins, waiting for instructions. ¡°Let him come to see me in person, to the front line of the Seventh Abyss.¡± In the end, Saros said, ¡°I believe he will be able to deceive the others.¡± The silver-winged dragon flew away with the secret order. The demon king indifferently glanced at the letter of surrender, then folded it up temporarily. He raised his hand and subconsciously touched the horns on his head. The pair of horns were completely black, shimmering, and extremely majestic. The joint dispatch of troops was just a few days away. When the time comes¡­ They would meet. * * * The author has something to say: Saros: I touched my horns that he touched. (Matryoshka starts3 XD) Chapter 4 Chapter 4: The battle was straightforward while the military expenditure was a crematory. From the appearance of peace, security, harmony, and happiness alone, no one could tell that Subabienne City was preparing for war. As the early morning dawn was once again cast toward the Demon King City above the Floating Flower Abyss, the demons began to move about. A demon with broad bat wings flew low over the streets of Subabienne City, delivering the daily orders of milk to each household and door with precision. When he delivered to a particular door, the man of the house had got up already and was standing by the window, smoking with his horns bent back. ¡°Good morning, Uncle Harwin,¡± greeted the demon delivering milk amicably. Then, he stealthily approached and asked in a low voice: ¡°Have you heard the news of the battle? I heard that this battle¡­¡± The man of the house flicked the cigarette ash with a face like fine sunny weather. But, the somewhat backbent horn revealed his pride. ¡°His Majesty Ansel dispatched 400,000 soldiers,¡± he said with certainty as if he had long learned of the inside information. Of course, it was not any secret. It just wasn¡¯t reported by the media for the time being. The man of the house heard the movement of windows opening coming from all sides. Obviously, in the warlike Demon Realm, his good neighbors could not resist the temptation of war-related news and were eavesdropping. As a result, he became even more proud of himself. ¡°As for why I know¡­¡± he dragged on in his tone, ¡°Wasn¡¯t my son unwilling to inherit family property before and ran off to His Majesty¡¯s army? This time, he is going to serve the battle as a small captain. Ai, my child has grown. I¡¯ll let him go to achieve his goals.¡± What a humblebragging edition of the Demon Realm! The face of the demon delivering milk was full of envy. ¡°Being able to join His Majesty¡¯s army, maybe there¡¯s a chance to meet His Majesty. What a great honor that would be!¡± His words spoke for the other demons¡¯ thoughts, and the eavesdropping neighbors sighed in envy. The man of the house immediately felt the horns on his head were filled with brilliance. He was all smiles as he lit another cigarette. ¡°It probably won¡¯t get to that, probably won¡¯t. After all, it¡¯s His Majesty the Demon King.¡± * * * * The ¡®probably won¡¯t get to that¡¯ His Majesty the Demon King was pulling his own hair. Because of the military expenditure issue, this movement had already been continuing for several days. But no matter what, the pulled hair couldn¡¯t be turned into military expenditure. Pulling his hair was useless. The battle was straightforward while the military expenditure was a crematory. The immortal bird Finni stood on his wutong wood shelf and was somewhat unable to stand it as he looked at Ansel being this anxious. ¡°Your Majesty, must we go into battle?¡± He tilted his feather-crested head, ¡°The Seventh Abyss is not Your Majesty¡¯s territory. Even if something happens, it will not affect Your Majesty. If you¡¯re just concerned about the honor of the joint battle, then wouldn¡¯t it be fine to just lessen the amount of people?¡± Ansel, who was squeezing the finance minister to try to get himself to think of another solution, stopped his hand after hearing that. In that instant, his train of thought seemed to go back to when he was still an angel. ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Finni.¡± The finance minister was put down, and the soft jelly-shaped pink body stood up softly, looking very elastic. ¡°The troops aren¡¯t being sent out of honor. Rather, the matter of the Seventh Abyss must be resolved. Otherwise, it will involve the entire Demon Realm.¡± Ansel had seen the kind of things that now appeared in the Seventh Abyss before. When he was an angel, he stood in front of the tide of those things with a bow in his hand, his pupils reflecting the sunset. It was an unmatched disaster. He unexpectedly almost couldn¡¯t return with his strength. After he luckily escaped, he delivered the documents to the higher authorities with all his might, recounting the horror of those things to the angels around, but¡ª No one listened to him. The funny thing was, on the contrary, he had authority in the Demon Realm that he didn¡¯t have before. As soon as the matter of the Seventh Abyss appeared, Ansel immediately recalled what he had seen in the past. He wasn¡¯t sure if anyone would listen to him this time. The Southern Region¡¯s Demon King Levi had given up and let things go downhill all year round. He phoned Saros, who always opposed his policies, with no alternative. Ansel thought that ok, even if, even if this time, there was still no one listening to him, he would go to counter those things alone. However¡­ [¡­ Don¡¯t rush, take your time speaking.] [I¡¯m listening.] That¡¯s what led to the current joint battle. ¡°The situation cannot be optimistic from the looks of the battle reports coming from the frontlines.¡± Ansel retrieved his train of thought and said, ¡°We still don¡¯t know exactly what those things are right now, but their social class is clearly strict, and they have enough intelligence. The Third Region¡¯s Demon King has already dispatched advanced soldiers. Look, after the news of the advance soldiers was sent back, weren¡¯t there no more objections to sending troops?¡± Even Levi, the Demon King of the Southern Region, who always liked to give up and let things go downhill, shut up and started raising money for military expenditure. The Demon Kings had clearly all realized the severity of the situation. Finni understood. Despite that, he was very sorry for His Majesty¡¯s hair. ¡°Blurr, can¡¯t you squeeze a little more money out?¡± he asked the lump of pink jelly-shaped object, ¡°As the finance minister, now is the time for you to help with His Majesty¡¯s worries and difficulties!¡± After the jelly-shaped Blurr heard that, his facial features made up of three black holes floating in his body showed a very reconstructed expression of ¡®The Scream¡¯ by Edvard Munch. ¡°Just sell me off sob sob sob sob sob! All the places are using money! All are! My money sob sob sob sob sob!¡± His whole slime body looked like it was on death¡¯s door. ¡°It¡¯s not time yet for this year¡¯s taxes to be paid, and the funds regained from the infrastructure investments are also limited. If His Majesty¡¯s new trade policy passes, we¡¯ll get leeway to take a breather from the first order¡¯s down payment¡­¡± Ansel got angry when he thought of this. ¡°Saros rejected our proposal.¡± Blurr shouted at once. ¡°How mean! He must know that Subabienne City is unable to make ends meet right now!¡± The avaricious Blurr couldn¡¯t comprehend that there were unexpectedly people who didn¡¯t get along with money. His jelly-shaped body was a temporary entrance to the state treasury of Subabienne City. Blurr lowered his eyes and looked inwardly at the pitiful little amount of remaining gold coins in the state treasury for emergencies. Very quickly, sadness came from within. Too poor! So impoverished! But even if it was like this, Blurr still bypassed the entrance to the state treasury in his body and fished from another place: his own private hoard. Ansel only saw a chunk of soft translucent tentacle extending out, the tentacle holding a gold coin. ¡°Here you go, this is from my private treasury.¡± Blurr choked with sobs, aggrieved, ¡°There is already no more, giving you the last gold coin. The rest¡­ The rest¡­ Blurr will carefully think of a way¡­¡± The Demon Realm¡¯s rising cities were burning money everywhere, and the position of finance minister was very difficult to do. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the person sitting in this position for three hundred years was Blurr, who raked in money as a hobby and guarded his wealth as if it were his life, the situation would only be even messier. At least every time Ansel personally was tight on money, Blurr always would spit out some of the accumulated gold coins for him. And this time, clearly, there was truly no more. Ansel looked down at the shiny gold coin. He raised his hand and rubbed Blurr¡¯s head. Sure enough, the jelly-shaped body of the finance minister rippled up and down under the Demon King¡¯s hand when it was rubbed. ¡°No need. No need to use your private treasury. You¡¯ve already given too many times for me, for Subabienne City.¡± Ansel rubbed the lump of flexible jelly just like every other time during the three hundred years. ¡°I¡¯ll think of a way. Go to work.¡± He put the gold coin on the top of the slime¡¯s head, and it was immediately swallowed into the jelly body with a ¡°gulp.¡± Blurr was only half a person tall, and he looked up at the Demon King, who was seemingly beginning to re-read and evaluate the documents. ¡°But Your Majesty¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll think of a way.¡± Blurr¡¯s tears fell down. His Majesty. His Majesty was so nice, but so poor! He heard that the Demon King Saros was so extravagant that he could use gold coins to pave a road. One day, Blurr would definitely run to the Western Region and strip clean the land across from them! After sending off his flexible finance minister, Ansel still had to face reality. He stared at the financial report forms with a gloomy expression. He could be certain that without easy money raining from the sky, he couldn¡¯t overcome the military expenditure threshold. But it¡¯s not that he couldn¡¯t find and borrow money from Saros, who had accumulated several generations of extreme prosperity, but¡­ Ansel closed the report forms expressionlessly. He would not borrow money with that guy unless he was desperate. So humiliating! There seemed to be a burst of strange magic fluctuation outside the door, Ansel raised his head keenly. The Demon King¡¯s office was soundproof, but he could detect the slightest flow of magic. Sure enough, not even a few seconds later, the office door was gently knocked, and the head maid said in a soft voice. ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Andre has returned.¡± If he wasn¡¯t worried about a Demon King¡¯s aloofness, Ansel was afraid that he would have stood up straight away. Prime minister! The prime minister he had dispatched for inspection! For this trip, he had given Andre an important task, which was pertaining to this military expenditure. Now Andre returned a few days early, so it was clear that the purpose had been achieved. A demon with a tall and straight bearing was brought into the door. He had dark blue slightly curly half-length hair with bluish-green peacock feathers mixed in and gold-rimmed glasses that did not damage the feeling of sharpness on his body of an abyss creature. The back-bent pair of demon horns displayed his arrogance. But this arrogance would melt completely in front of Ansel. He slightly half-rose from his chair1 towards Ansel with perfect etiquette. ¡°Your Majesty, I have returned from taking bribes.¡± The prime minister was all smiles and could be said to be very open. Ansel looked at him with his chin in one hand, originally wanting to be serious and scare this old subject who dared to joke with him. He couldn¡¯t help it and smiled anyway. ¡°How much did you collect?¡± ¡°Enough for the current military expenditure and a little surplus.¡± Andre spread both hands, and his tone was slightly hyperbolic, ¡°Your Majesty, you do not know how enthusiastic every one of those Demon Lords are, shoving money to me with all their might like as if I took these funds, there will be an uprising in the next moment and your rule will be overthrown¡­ After all, it¡¯s rumored on the outside that Your Majesty and I, a ruler and his minister, do not get along.¡± Ansel gave a smile that wasn¡¯t quite like a smile. ¡°So will you?¡± The big demon deeply half-raised out of his chair toward Ansel, peacock feathers slipping off his shoulders. His voice wasn¡¯t calm and arrogant as it was in front of outsiders. It was instead full of emotion, rarely seen, an emotion that bordered on devotion. ¡°Never, Your Supreme Majesty.¡± After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes slightly again. ¡°Pity that such a method can¡¯t be used a few more times.¡± Ansel also knew that. After all, the big Demon Lords weren¡¯t stupid. ¡°Until then, either I will uproot the Lords or open up new avenues of wealth,¡± Ansel calmly said, ¡°Subabienne City still has a long time to go. We can take our time doing what we should do.¡± Andre lowered his eyes. He was looking at the dazzling black gold thin chain on the Demon King¡¯s wrist. The black gold was extracted from the Inferno, the darkest place in the Demon Realm. A light-engulfing black metal was born there. Legend had it that Demon King Ansel came out of the Inferno to Subabienne City above the Sea of Flowers. The Demon Lord sighed. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. We still have a long time to achieve your great ambition with us.¡± Black metal that engulfed light. Engulfing light¡­ He feared that this was exactly what His Majesty was hinting at. He dared to be certain that His Majesty¡¯s ambition wasn¡¯t limited to the Demon Realm alone and was instead set to a higher place. But Ansel slowly sent out a question mark. He was a little confused. Great ambition? Did it mean building the Subabienne City? ¡°Before that day comes, we will make thorough preparations until we attack the Highest Heaven. When that time comes¡­¡± Andre looked as if he could be conceiving that scene, and his expression became slightly fanatical. ¡°When that time comes, the Highest Heaven¡¯s multicolored sunrise will only be a decoration on your demon horns and royal crown. The demons will submit to your rule, and the angels will kowtow to you. Ah, that scene¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes, reveling. And Ansel, who was in front of him, was already submerged in question marks. No. Wait. The Highest Heaven was his home state! Why would he want to attack his home state?! * * * * Chapter 5 Chapter 5: ¡°Doesn¡¯t our king have white hair?¡± ¡°No, wait.¡± Ansel didn¡¯t just let this pass, ¡°this goal of taking over The Highest Heaven¡­¡± Unfortunately, the Demon King¡¯s explanation was interrupted. ¡°Your Majesty! A fight has broken out between the two chiefs of the stone demon clan and the fire demon clan!¡± Ansel¡¯s head started to hurt. It wasn¡¯t a small thing when two chiefs fought; no one other than the Demon King could stop them. He stood up immediately and hurriedly walked towards the door, where Vassago was nervously staying. ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡± There was worry within Vassago¡¯s fish eyes. ¡°I know, since all of our military force has been gathered in Subabienne City, these past few days a few skirmishes were bound to happen. I¡¯ll go there right now.¡± As he was leaving, Ansel also hadn¡¯t forgotten to address his so-called ¡®ambitions¡¯, he turned to face Andre a few seconds later. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have any intentions to take over The Highest Heaven.¡± There should be no more problems if he explained it like this, right? As Ansel said this, he unconsciously grabbed the thin black gold chain hanging from his wrist and twirled it. Andre¡¯s eyes focused on there, and at that moment, he seemed to receive some strange signals again. He denied with his mouth, but he touched the black gold chain¡­ He understood once again. Subabienne City was still very weak, so much so that it was not even qualified to share that grand vision with His Majesty. His Majesty was not denying that aspiration but rather gently letting them slow down their pace, putting the realization of this aspiration to after they were strong enough. Such boundless benevolence! Every day these past three hundred years, His Majesty had deepened his reverence towards him. Andre bowed deeply and sent Ansel away respectfully. When the footsteps of the Demon King completely disappeared, he slowly raised his head and touched the mirror. Of everyone in the Demon Realm, the one who understood His Majesty the most was probably only him, the prime minister. Andre couldn¡¯t help glancing arrogantly at the phoenix happily nibbling on a piece of incense wood on the sycamore wooden frame. It was so close to His Majesty, yet so far away. A silly bird who only knew how to eat incense wood every day. Finni, ¡°¡­?¡± He suddenly really wanted to fight with Andre. * * * The Demon King was a brick, moving it wherever it needed to be. When this brick did not move, there were also other building materials such as cement, sand, etc. that came to his door on their own initiative to combine and solve the problem together. Ansel entertained himself by writing analogies for the bitter situation he was in. He couldn¡¯t even go back to his room to rest tonight; he would have to board the carriage and make full use of the night time to travel. By dawn the next day, it was estimated that he would be able to reach the boundary of the Seventh Abyss. After working non-stop these past few days, he was so tired that he didn¡¯t even scold Saros. ¡°I¡¯ll eat in the carriage.¡± Ansel tied the strap of his cloak while taking the Phoenix Finni to the door. The servants of the Demon King¡¯s Palace were busying around under Vassago¡¯s orders to prepare anything His Majesty might need during the trip. ¡°I will also handle the official documents during the itinerary and send them back through the Internet. During the time I¡¯m gone, Andre, my prime minister¡­¡± He turned his body, and his sunset colored eyes reflected Andre¡¯s silhouette. ¡°All of Subabienne City¡¯s internal affairs are handed over to you.¡± The great demon with dark blue hair bowed deeply. ¡°I will do my utmost, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Vassago.¡± Ansel called out again, and the salted fish butler immediately moved sideways using the speed of someone doing a hundred meter sprint. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Ansel smiled. This was a rare moment of softness for His Majesty the Demon King. ¡°Protect our home.¡± The Demon King¡¯s Palace was Ansel¡¯s and all his close advisors¡¯ home. The salted fish instantly began to accumulate tears. ¡°No problem! Your Majesty!¡± Ansel rubbed Blurr¡¯s head again, and the pink jelly-like being turned even pinker because of shyness, or perhaps it was happy because the military spending problem was resolved. Ansel felt a soft tentacle poking into his palm, and a gold coin was stuffed into it. Blurr still tried to give his private treasury all to His Majesty the Demon King, who was going quite a ways away. This time, Ansel accepted it. He would just pretend it was a lucky gold coin Blurr was giving him. Hopefully some of Blurr¡¯s fortune could rub off on him this time and make him rich. The magic mirror was carried with him, and the phoenix perched on his shoulders, after confirming again and again that there was nothing out of place. The Demon King¡¯s white hair swayed as he pushed open the last door of his residence. Going down the wide staircase and walking past the large ceremonial road where flags were fluttering, Ansel boarded the carriage in the square in front of the Demon King¡¯s Palace. Its frame was pulled by the eight nightmares, making it stable and heavy, and the inside was also fully furnished. Regardless of if it was eating or resting, it was enough to meet most of His Majesty the Demon King¡¯s needs. The stone demons were lined up in the square. They knocked on their armor three times, and in the grand echoes, the stone demon chief led his subordinates to kneel to Ansel, two stubby horns standing on top of his head. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± The stone demon chief¡¯s voice was as loud as if a boulder had been blasted open, ¡°The stone demon clan will be the Demon King¡¯s guard of honor this time.¡± Ansel maintained his posture of preparing to board the carriage, his eyes briefly sweeping over them. ¡°Allowed.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± After the stone demons, an array like a sea of fire surged forward. The chief of the fire demon clan stood at the forefront, his body large and imposing. He was actually able to hold a majestic humanoid shape. His facial hair and facial features were all drowned in the fire. Like the stone demons before him, he also knelt down to Ansel, and then spoke, his voice like bursting flames. ¡°The fire demon clan has sent 200,000 adult fire demons to assist your cause.¡± ¡°Allowed.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Strange-shaped demon leaders stepped forward one by one, and all of them knelt down on one knee and declared their loyalty, restating the tasks they had already received in order to obtain the Demon King¡¯s final confirmation. Finally, after the smooth and flowing transparent demon retreated, the army in the square had taken shape. In this joint expedition, Subabienne City had sent 400,000 soldiers! Under the salutes of many great demons and ordinary demons, Ansel climbed into the carriage. Curtains hung from all four sides of the nightmare-drawn carriage and attempted to cut off the outside world, but Ansel still seemed to be able to hear the cheers outside. It was the civilian demons of Subabienne City who got the news of the army¡¯s expedition and spontaneously organized a farewell and blessing entourage on the sides of the road. They had no doubts about triumph. The undefeated Demon King Ansel! The undefeated City of Irises, Subabienne! Amidst the cheers, the Demon King¡¯s carriage slowly lifted into the air, Ansel held official documents in his hand and stared out of the carriage¡¯s window¡ª¡ª On the boundless sea of black irises, there stood a magnificent city. This was Subabienne, the Demon King¡¯s city, the residence of the Demon King, and also the origins of the Demon King. Demons were a species that loved battle and admired the strong. The current Demon King of the Eastern Region, Ansel, ascended the throne of the Demon King in only three hundred years, so naturally, his deeds were sung by the demons everywhere. In some stories, Ansel rose up from a weak demon and went through all kinds of hardships to become a king; while others believed that Ansel was born with powerful strength and was destined to be the king of the Eastern Region. But only Ansel knew, he was just¡­ ¡­an Angel. He closed his eyes. By the time he next opened them, one could no longer see any uncertainty. ¡°All soldiers, move out!¡± * * * The Demon King¡¯s carriage was at the front, and his army marched behind him on the several day journey. The nightmare carriage swept over the Demon Realm, and below it were bottomless fissures. The Demon Realm was divided by these criss-crossing fissures, which formed seven abysses. Legend had it that the Demon God and the Heavenly God fought here, and the aftermath of the battle shattered the land of the Demon Realm, and in the end, both of them lost. The Demon God¡¯s crown split into three pieces, the Heavenly God¡¯s halo became three golden birds. Thus there being the current three demon kings and three governors. Ansel thought about these illusory legends with one hand on his cheeks, before he felt that it was meaningless. After handing Finni a piece of incense wood, he continued to review the official documents, but it was the damned [Western Region News] again! Saros¡¯ mouthpiece! His lackey! Bah! It was clear this time that Saros had reminded the newspaper, the words were particularly! uncensored! [Western Region News: His Majesty Saros states Subabienne City¡¯s new trade policy is beyond redemption] Ansel, ¡°¡­¡± He was so angry ahhh!!! ¡°Magic Mirror.¡± Ansel was no longer planning to tolerate it anymore, ¡°Immediately contact [Eastern Region News]¡­ nevermind, actually change that to [Eastern Region Entertainment]. Has there been anything going on in that bastard¡¯s Lust City? Report it! I don¡¯t care what, just report it!¡± [Eastern Region News] was mainly used for political propaganda and was directly tied to him. Ansel wasn¡¯t so angry that he had lost his mind. It was sufficient to get an entertainment newspaper to create some kind of rumor. Needless to say, the magic mirror also shared His Majesty¡¯s hatred and immediately began shifting through information, trying to find a black material to give the [Eastern Region Entertainment]. But the more he searched, the more solemn his expression became, before finally, the whole mirror started frowning. Demon King Saros was born in a ¡®Demon King¡¯s family¡¯, and he controlled the Demon King¡¯s position in the Western Region in an almost hereditary way. This accumulation of wealth and prestige from generation to generation was very impressive. Saros, himself, had personally ruled for more than a thousand years, acting cautiously and impeccably. It was not an exaggeration to call him a ¡®Model Demon King¡¯. The magic mirror did not give up and its efforts were not disappointed. It really found a bunch of vague tabloids and passed them all off to the [Eastern Region Entertainment] at the speed of light. Ansel has already been snubbed twice and it had come to the point where he had to take revenge even if he had to resort to spreading rumors. It¡¯s not easy to grasp Saros¡¯ handle, Ansel still knew this, but since there were tabloids that reported the relevant content, Ansel could make a fuss about it. And there was no need to ask. If asked, he could just say it was the newspaper¡¯s own report. He didn¡¯t know anything about it. Even in the middle of the night, the editor-in-chief of [Eastern Region Entertainment] Elio immediately got up to write the report as soon as he received the notice. Elio was a young demon, to become the editor-in-chief at such a young age was enough to speak of his skill. At this time, several writers for the newspaper were called together, each holding a tabloid in their hands and preparing to hold a meeting to decide how to write the contents. Editor-in-chief Elio wrote two sentences at random, then put the pen back on his curved horn. Even as he sat on a wooden chair he had to sway from side to side. ¡°Everyone knows what His Majesty means, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Do we have any material?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to find.¡± The deputy editor-in-chief looked solemn, ¡°The Demon King Saros loves feathers very much.¡± A young demon was digging his head into a pile of old newspapers. He was a newcomer to the newspaper this year and was eager to make some achievements. Naturally, he was putting all he had into this. ¡°Chief! Chief! Demon King Saros has an unusual taste in aesthetics!¡± Perhaps it was because he looked for so long, his tone was full of a strange excitement. ¡°A small newspaper said he likes white fur¡­ I mean white hair! There¡¯s also some more gossip! This is all material!¡± Elio snapped his fingers and gave the young demon an approving look. ¡°Then let¡¯s write it. After writing it, we will make up a report. This is a good opportunity to show ourselves in front of His Majesty.¡± Entertainment newspapers were notorious for daring to write about anything. The Demon Realm was currently in the era of paper media, databases like the magic mirror were rare, and with their reports secretly promoted by the government¡­ It¡¯s like fame falling from the sky! ¡°Let¡¯s set the main topic as choosing a mate. Demon King Saros has been single for so many years now, and it¡¯s good to lead the topic back to this question since it¡¯ll ignite a large wave of discussion.¡± The more Elio spoke, the more excited he got, and he grabbed the pen from his horn and began to write, ¡°and his requirement for his other half is white hair¡­¡± ¡°White hair¡­eh? White hair?¡± Elio¡¯s cheerfully moving pen nib suddenly stopped, he and the other writers all looked at each other. After a long while, Elio spoke slowly. ¡°Our king¡­¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have white hair?¡± * * * Writing reports and spreading rumors were only a small episode in all the affairs of the Demon King. As the dawn approached, Ansel slept lightly for a while but woke up soon after. The speed of the demons was definitely not slow. They have left the Abyss of Floating Flowers and were on a wide crack. Ansel seemed to hear some wing sounds. He sat without moving, but Finni, who had been concentrating on chewing the incense wood beside him, had already widened its crimson eyes. Its feathers fluffed up, its wings rustled, and its crest stood up, staring at the carriage window. Ansel casually lifted the curtain of the carriage¡¯s window. The sunrise was on the horizon in the distance. And just at the junction of day and night, another carriage was in sight. Black swans formed a large ominous cloud, surrounding the carriage of the demon king. The carriage¡¯s body was made of black iron and was also branded with the swan family crest. The overall tone of this entourage was so cold and chilling, and it was arrogant. The two carriages faced each other across the crack like ice and fire and akin to severe winter and midsummer. His presence was as big as ever it seemed. Ansel commented in his heart. Saros Asmodeus. * * *