Chapter 201: An Unexpected Conflict [PS Bonus Chapter]

Ophelia’s response was spontaneous and incredibly direct. Roxy, completely naked in front of her and with her skin exposed to the freezing wind of the tower, blinked a couple of times.

Her brain seemed to completely freeze upon hearing the supreme title of her race being assigned to a simple, hornless mortal. She doubted her own hearing for a moment and asked again with a barely audible voice.

"What?"

Ophelia did not change her expression by a single millimeter. The demon queen raised her hand once again, maintaining the snug fit of the black jacket’s sleeve, and pointed right back at him.

"He will be the new demon king."

The firmness in her tone of voice made it extremely clear that there was no room for double interpretations or any kind of joke in that statement. Upon realizing that it was not a prank, Roxy remained silent for a moment, processing everything.

Her gaze traveled from the pale face of her sovereign to the dark trench coat of the human who was observing her with total indifference. After carefully analyzing Ryan from head to toe, searching for some sort of logic, she reached a conclusion.

And making a gesture with her hand, smacking her fist against her palm with complete certainty, she spoke.

"I understand now, you two are getting married."

Ryan arched an eyebrow at the demon girl’s stupid and sudden deduction, but he remained perfectly silent.

"Of course not." Ophelia denied it in an immediate and sharp manner.

The demon queen furrowed her brow, clearly annoyed by the immense lack of common sense her border subordinate was demonstrating.

"You have a very wild imagination." Ryan intervened, breaking his silence as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought everyone, no. At least those of higher rank, like this Infernal girl, were aware of your plans, Ophelia."

Ophelia looked at him for a moment, catching the hidden criticism within the boy’s words.

"Of course not, Roxy is indeed trustworthy, but this is not her job so I didn’t think it was necessary to tell her anything, at least not yet, until everything is fully prepared." Ophelia affirmed.

Roxy opened her mouth immediately to intervene and defend her position as a trusted guardian. But Ophelia moved with overwhelming speed, shortening the distance between them in a fraction of a second.

She covered her mouth with one hand violently, crushing the girl’s lips against her teeth to silence her completely. She placed her other hand near her own ear, touching her earlobe while staring at the stone floor of the balcony, looking highly concentrated.

And she pressed firmly against Roxy’s mouth so she wouldn’t speak, using her immense physical strength to immobilize the Infernal without the slightest effort.

’Telepathy?’ Ryan thought after interpreting Ophelia’s body language.

The gesture was utterly unmistakable. One of her dragons was connecting to her urgently right into her brain. It was the exact same long-distance communication mechanic that he hoped to replicate soon with the relics in his smithy.

"Right now?" Ophelia commented out loud, breaking the telepathic link for a single second to display her profound displeasure.

Roxy wore an expression of being completely unable to breathe under the harsh pressure of her queen’s hand. The young demoness thrashed her bare legs and tried to break free from the grip, but it was physically impossible for her to move a single muscle.

"Fuck, get ready, I will be over there in a moment."

And after finishing those dry and authoritative words, she abruptly let go of Roxy.

She fell to the stone floor, coughing forcefully and clutching her neck, trying to catch her breath in a desperate manner. Ophelia completely ignored her, turning her back to her suffering, and approached Ryan with rapid steps.

"We have a problem," Ophelia said with a serious expression, fixing her crimson eyes right on the human.

The relaxed and almost comical atmosphere that surrounded the naked girl dissipated instantly. Then she added, releasing the information she had just received through her espionage network.

"Demon King Amadeos is mobilizing Abyssals; they plan to attack the meeting Luciela is currently having with Rafael in the elven kingdom’s city of Geizan as we speak."

’Amadeos?’ Ryan evaluated in silence.

She turned her back toward him, crossing her arms over the black jacket, as if thinking about her next move.

Then she added with a hint of pure anger in her voice.

"Fuck, it had to be right now..." She planted her eyes on Ryan and added. "I will go stop those demons, I will prevent them from getting anywhere near that meeting."

"And why does that worry you? If they die, whether it is the demons or those heroes, it benefits us, does it not?" Ryan intervened, trying to understand the situation the demon queen was interpreting inside her head.

"In any case, letting Amadeos’s forces mutually massacre themselves against Rafael and Luciela would be the ideal scenario to weaken both factions that could represent a future threat." Ryan added. His voice sounded monotonous and entirely devoid of any empathy for the lives of the church’s humans or the rival demons. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Ophelia did not respond immediately to Ryan’s logic. After thinking for a second, evaluating the large-scale consequences, she commented.

"That would be the best possible outcome, but. That is not what Amadeus intends to do. That bastard is using our colors; besides, my kingdom is the closest one to the elven nation."

She clenched her fists, realizing the geopolitical trap that had just been set for her.

"He is planning this so that everyone interprets it as a personal attack from my people."

Ophelia scratched behind her right horn nervously, then clicked her tongue with evident repulsion.

"If I allow that to happen, then I will simply place myself right in the crosshairs of the church, along with the elven nation, and that will be a massive problem now that we plan to confront Rigal."

Ophelia explained, revealing the true disaster that was looming ahead.

Facing a civil war on Rigal’s snowy continent was already an enormous challenge, but adding the entire holy army of the humans and the elven forces against her at the very same time would be pure suicide.

"At least until we overthrow that bastard, I want to keep the church and their pets far away from my territory."

Ryan remained processing the information for a moment. It was true that they could not allow the church or the elven army to intervene by attacking Ophelia before solidifying their plans.

Furthermore, hunting down an attack group composed entirely of Abyssals would guarantee an immense amount of experience points for him.

Then he added with total confidence and determination in his voice, taking a step forward.

"Alright, I will go with you, I will support you in your plan."