Chapter 999 - So, Are You In, Or Out?”
William sat in the seat of honor at the table, with Polox, Merton, Karath, as well as the other Patriarchs.
The Patriarchs who had chosen to leave a few days ago didn"t have the appet.i.te to eat the delicious food that was served on their table.
They all looked at William with anxious expressions on their faces, as they waited for the verdict regarding their request of becoming his va.s.sals once again.
After breakfast ended, the other Patriarchs still hadn"t touched the food on their table, which made William chuckle inwardly.
He knew that these Demons were all feeling regretful and guilty. Regretful because they didn"t grab onto his leg when they had the chance, and guilty because some of them had betrayed their comrades and told their Masters that the other Clans planned to break free from their control.
This led the Lords to send their troops in an attempt to keep the Clans under them from leaving, just like Caspian had done for the members of the Nightshade Clan.
Unfortunately, they didn"t expect that William would be able to make the Rajah Clan retreat, which then deterred the other Patriarchs from continuing their attempt to tie down the Clans that wished to leave their control.
"I know why you have come to see me, so let me ask you this question," William said with an indifferent expression on his face. "Who among you spread the news about the other Clans" plan to become my va.s.sals?"
A deafening silence descended upon the room, as William, and the Patriarchs who had become his va.s.sals, looked at the people seated across them with serious expressions on their faces.
Karath and the others had suffered greatly because of this, and William wanted to know who was responsible for making things difficult for them.
Suddenly, a sigh of resignation was heard in the room as a Demon whose appearance resembled a demihuman Weasel stood and bowed his head in apology.
"I apologize for my shortsightedness, and stupidity," the weasel-like Demon stated before kneeling on the ground. "I, Mahlon, of the Lowdane Clan, am willing to accept any punishment for my betrayal. I just hope that Lord William would find it in his heart to take mercy on my people. What I did was unforgivable, but I did it on my own volition. My Clan is innocent."
After seeing that one of them had already taken the initiative to confess and ask for mercy, three more Patriarchs apologized and knelt, asking for William"s forgiveness and mercy.
The Half-Elf remained indifferent as he glanced at the remaining Patriarchs who remained seated.
"Anyone else?" William asked.
Optimus was helping him monitor all the vital signs of each Patriarch, allowing him to know their heart rate, blood pressure, as well as their brain waves.
Out of the eight Patriarchs that had visited the One-horned Clan, four knelt on the floor, while the other four glanced at each other with suspicion.
"I"ll ask one last time," William stated. "Is there anyone else who ratted the other Patriarchs out to their former Masters?"
Two minutes pa.s.sed in silence, and the four that remained seated remained where they were. Seeing that none of them were planning to budge, William raised his hand and pointed at two of the four demons who refused to budge.
"The two of you get out of my sight," William ordered. "The next time I see you, I will kill you on sight."
William"s declaration was like the sound of thunder that made the hearts of the two Patriarchs, who he had pointed at, to tremble. They immediately fell down on their knees and apologized for what they did.
However, it was already too late. With a snap of his fingers, the two demons were knocked unconscious by Zhu and Sha who were standing behind them. They then dragged the two Patriarchs out the door, where they would no longer be included in the negotiation between William and the remaining Patriarchs.
"Before we start, let me ask the two of you first. Why did you decide to not submit to me a few days ago?" William asked the two seated Demons while he rested the side of his right cheek on the palm of his right hand. "Also, why are you here now?"
Although the two Patriarchs didn"t betray the other Clans, the black-haired teenager wanted them to know that they were not going to board his s.h.i.+p that easily. This was his way of making them know that the cruise s.h.i.+p had sailed, and they needed to convince him to allow them and their Clans to join the big league.
"Back then, I didn"t think that Lord William would be able to protect us," the Demon with a reptilian appearance replied. "Back then, when you asked us if we were going to find other Masters to pledge our loyalty to when you no longer have the power to s.h.i.+eld us from the wind and the rain, I hesitated.
"Our Clan has suffered many hards.h.i.+ps, and I felt that, even though I am its Patriarch, I should ask my people what they thought. I will be honest. Most of them are scared to take a gamble, and don"t want to change the status quo. Although we are suffering, we consider life a very precious thing. This is why we decided that we would just wait and see how things would unfold."
Princess Sidonie, Ashe, and Chiffon, watched everything that was happening inside the villa through a projection. This was Princess Sidonie"s idea, so that she could give William her opinion in real time.
As William"s strategist, she was more familiar with the hearts of the people. She understood when to add pressure, and when to ease things up, in order to get the best outcome out of any situation.
Since the Princess didn"t make any comment in regards to the reptilian Demon"s words, it meant that the one who would decide his fate was none other than William. The Half-Elf then glanced in the direction of the remaining Demon, and the latter"s reason was mostly the same.
After hearing their excuses, William s.h.i.+fted his attention to the four kneeling Demons, who were feeling very anxious.
"Let me ask all of you, who are kneeling on the floor right now, what makes you think that I will allow betrayers like you into my inner circle?" William asked. "I don"t care if what you did was something that you did on your own volition. Betrayal is still betrayal. Since you can betray others once, you can betray them again. So, tell me, why should I forgive all of you?"
A few minutes pa.s.sed in silence before the Weasel Demon took a sharp dagger out from its sheath, and pressed it over his chest.
"I, Mahlon, will pay for this betrayal with my life," Mahlon said with a determined voice. "All I ask is that you allow my people to be saved. They are innocent. I beg this of you, Lord William."
Mahlon didn"t even wait for William"s reply as he stabbed himself. He then raised his head to look at the black-haired young man with a pleading gaze before collapsing on the floor. Everyone in the room watched as Mahlon breathed his last, and died with his eyes open.
William"s face remained indifferent, as he s.h.i.+fted his gaze at the other Patriarchs who were kneeling in front of him.
"How about you guys?" William asked. "Why should I forgive any of you?"
The three Demons glanced at each other before bowing their heads repeatedly to William. After that, they left the room one by one, leaving only the two Demons who didn"t take part in their act of betrayal.
William snorted before he once again snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the dead Mahlon rose up from the floor. The Half-Elf was moved by his willingness to end his life in order to save his people.
William then understood that, even though he was a schemer, Mahlon was a very decisive person as well. When he decided to do something, he wouldn"t hesitate to do it, regardless of the consequences.
Mahlon looked at William then at his chest in confusion. He clearly remembered that he had stabbed himself to death, and should have died. When the Demon saw that the dagger was still embedded in his chest, his suspicion was confirmed that he had indeed died and wasn"t dreaming.
"I don"t like being betrayed, so I made sure that you don"t betray me a second time," William said with an amused expression on his face. "This is the price you need to pay for your betrayal, and you will repay me until I no longer need your services. Go back to your people, and tell them to prepare for a migration. I will be coming for them tomorrow."
Mahlon bowed his head and left the room in haste. Although his new Master had turned him into an Undead, he didn"t resent him for it. As the Patriarch of the Lowdane Clan, he had a duty to ensure that all of them would be able to live happy lives. If his death would allow them to do that, he would not hesitate to do it again for their sake.
William had turned him into one of his Draugrs, whose loyalty to him was absolute. This was why he no longer worried about Mahlon"s betrayal and allowed him to lead his people inside his Thousand Beast Domain.
As to how his people would react to their Undead Patriarch, well, that was a matter for Mahlon to worry about himself.
William then glanced evilly at the two remaining Patriarchs who were staring back at him in horror. The two Demons felt their hearts tremble inside their chest because they thought that the black-haired teenager would ask them to die to show their loyalty to him.
"Don"t worry, I will not ask you guys to kill yourselves," William said in a teasing tone, "but you will need to do things for me. As long as you do that, I don"t mind taking your people in. So, are you in, or out?"
The two Demons exchanged a glance with each other before nodding their heads like hens pecking rice.
William nodded his satisfaction because the issue with the other Clans was finally over. All he needed to do was pay a visit to the Greenskin Clan and tie up some loose ends before he continued his journey.
With the meeting over, William"s new va.s.sals returned to the Thousand Beast Domain in order to settle the issues within their Clans as they adjusted to their new settlement.
There were still many things to do, and it would take them a few days to adapt to their new home. Nevertheless, all of them were quite optimistic about the future.
They could feel that as long as they remained by William"s side, not only would their clan be free from oppression, but they would also thrive and grow to new heights that they never thought possible in the past.