Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse-Chapter 221 : Damian

"Ah-hem! Well, if you're offering, we have no reason to refuse."

"As expected, Damian knows what he's doing. Haha!"

"He really has a long-term vision. He's a natural-born leader."

The members of the alliance eagerly took the bait, worried he might change his mind. Although they felt slightly uneasy, they believed the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Despite the praise coming from all directions, Damian remained expressionless.

"If there are no more issues to discuss, let's end the meeting here. It's dragged on longer than expected, and I'm getting tired."

"Ah, of course! Let's wrap it up!"

"Everyone, let's stand up!"

Adrian grit his teeth as he glared at the alliance members joking around.

In reality, there were numerous problems piled up that could have been discussed. With ten territories merging into one, countless disturbances were occurring in real time. Yet, no one brought up any of these issues.

'No, they're avoiding it on purpose because resolving the problems would be inconvenient for them. If the territories stabilize, their chances to leave will diminish.'

He sighed. Not long ago, during the wave, there had been people who genuinely wanted to cooperate. Even if they had ulterior motives, at least they pretended to cooperate.

But now, none of the alliance members were even trying to hide their ambitions.

'How did things end up like this?'

"We'll submit the budget by tomorrow, so please look it over!"

"We should have a meal together sometime!"

The hollow greetings of the alliance members reached Adrian's ears as he sighed. When even Grayson, who had been watching cautiously, left, only Damian and Adrian remained in the conference room.

After a moment of silence, Damian looked at Adrian and spoke.

"Adrian, you should rest now too. The meeting is over."

"No."

Adrian shot him a sharp glare, clearly unable to hold back any longer.

"Before that, we need to talk."

"If it's about a topic, you should've brought it up during the meeting. It's late, we'll discuss it tomorrow."

"Not that! What the hell has been going on with you lately?"

"I don't know what you mean. What did I do?"

"You've been acting like you've given up! You don't even care about keeping the alliance together anymore!? What are you trying to do by practically inviting them to go independent!?"

Damian stayed silent.

Frustrated by the silence, Adrian slammed his hand on the round table, making a loud bang.

"Fine, let's say you've had enough, and you want to give up. But do you think it's all over if you quit? It won't be! What do you think will happen once they become independent?"

"And what's that?"

"They'll declare war! They'll fight against us! Blood will be shed, you fool! Just because you quit doesn't mean it's over!"

If they became independent, they would essentially be returning to being hostile forces. The moment the grand unification they'd worked so hard for collapsed, war would break out again.

But even at the mention of war, Damian seemed indifferent.

"Honestly, I'd prefer that. It's easier to deal with outright enemies than to constantly fight these political battles in a state of limbo."

"Brother!?"

Adrian was shocked by Damian's reaction. Damian, who had always valued human life so highly, was now saying something like this?

Seeing Adrian's stunned expression, Damian added with a bitter smile,

"I'm not saying I want to see blood. I just think it would be better if we separated. I hate war too."

"What kind of nonsense is that!? If you don't want war, then you should prevent the alliance from falling apart! Don't you know that the moment we break up, war is inevitable!?"

"Well, if we had overwhelming power, they wouldn't dare start a war."

"We don't have that kind of overwhelming power!"

"True, we don't."

"Dammit...!"

Adrian was about to shout again when he hesitated. Something didn't sound right. Damian didn't want war, didn't want to see bloodshed, but thought it would be better to separate than to deal with internal conflicts.

But then he mentioned that if they had overwhelming power, they wouldn't need to worry about war? Was he thinking of bringing in an outside force?

'Or... could it be...?'

The worst possibility flashed through Adrian's mind. If his guess was right, everything about Damian's behavior so far made sense. But no matter how much he thought about it, it couldn't be. There was no way Damian, who had built everything from the ground up, would just abandon it all to serve under someone else.

"Bro, I have to ask you something, just in case..."

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Just as Adrian opened his mouth to confirm his suspicions...

Clunk

"Leader! We have a problem!"

One of the pioneers burst into the conference room, panting heavily. He was one of the elite members who had been with them since the beginning. Someone who had been through enough that he rarely got flustered. Seeing his panic now made both of them blink in confusion.

"A problem? What could possibly be so urgent?"

"A... A dragon has come! It's him!"

"What? A dragon?"

"You know! The black dragon from the previous quest!"

"...!"

Damian stood up with a shocked expression. Could it really be that person here, now?

The pioneer frantically nodded, confirming his fears as he shouted,

"The warlock leader who made an alliance with us before is at the castle gate, riding the dragon!"

What the hell! What is that!?It's... It's a dragon! A real dragon!Calm down! It's just a visit!Everyone, go back to your homes!

"Lovely sound."

"Grrrr."

As shock and fear spread from all directions, a smile crept onto Justin's lips.

"This really makes me feel like a true Dark Lord of Evil."

It seemed Fafnir felt the same, letting out a satisfied growl. The idea of throwing an entire city into fear was quite amusing.

In contrast, Derek and Ethan, who were sitting behind Justin on Fafnir's back, looked slightly worried.

"Lord, is this really okay?" Derek asked with concern.

"Why? Isn't this the perfect time to make Fafnir's presence known in a grand way?" Justin responded with a chuckle.

"Still, there's no need to keep flying around so threateningly. We're going to attract too much animosity," Derek pointed out.

Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Yes, and we're only three people right now. If there were more of us, maybe it would be different."

Despite the alliance, the territory technically belonged to a competitor. Even though they were second-class professionals, the three of them flying around like this might be seen as going too far.

"Plus, I've heard their leader has lost control, and there's division among them," Ethan continued.

"If one of their subordinates ignores orders and attacks us independently..."

"That won't happen, so don't worry," Justin replied, casually dismissing their concerns.

When Derek and Ethan looked at him, clearly questioning his confidence, Justin smirked.

"Think about it. Would you, with only a handful of territories, dare challenge a dragon? Or would you rather lay low and hope we pass by?"

"A handful of territories? Isn't this a large alliance with more than ten territories combined?" Derek asked, confused.

"Yes, but according to my informants, they're in the middle of internal conflict. Do you think a group like that could unite and attack us all together?" Justin replied.

Both Derek and Ethan blinked, glancing at each other. Then they responded in unison.

"No way."

"They definitely won't take the initiative."

"Exactly," Justin said with a grin.

Every alliance of pioneers he had encountered had one thing in common: no matter how great the rewards, none of them were willing to step up and take on risky tasks first. If one group weakened too much from sacrifice, they'd lose status and might no longer be seen as an ally. In the worst-case scenario, they could even be devoured by the others. Naturally, there wasn't a single person willing to risk their life for someone else's gain.

"Attacking us would be no different. Fafnir isn't just any dragon; he's a true black dragon the most powerful dragon species. Do you think any pioneer has the strength to kill him in a single blow?"

Even Justin, the highest-level pioneer among them, knew that was impossible. Failing to kill Fafnir in the first attack would only make them the target of a deadly counterattack. Any leader of a territory should be well aware of that.

"And besides, who in their right mind would intentionally provoke a dragon that isn't clearly an enemy, especially when opportunities abound elsewhere?" Justin added.

"Yeah... that's definitely true," Derek admitted.

"Right, no one would want to waste a good chance by provoking unnecessary danger," Ethan agreed.

At Justin's final words, the two of them nodded in agreement. The more one had at stake, the more cautious they became. In the middle of internal division, no one would be eager to make a new enemy.

"So there's no need to worry. Fly around all you like. This is the perfect opportunity to flaunt Fafnir's power. While the ones we've met before know him, the others have no idea what Fafnir is capable of..."

"Leader! Please come down now!"

A distressed voice echoed from below. Justin glanced down to see a pioneer yelling at him from atop the castle wall. The man's face looked familiar, like someone he'd met during the previous main quest.

The pioneer, apparently thinking Justin hadn't noticed him, shouted again with all his might,

"Leader! Leader!"

"It's Lord!" Justin corrected him.

"What!?"

"Not leader, Lord!"

"Uh, well... whatever! Lord, please come down now!"

"Why? There's still time before Damian comes out, right? Let's kill time by flying around!" Justin said, amused.

"Our people are terrified! If you keep flying around, it'll cause even more problems for us!" the pioneer shouted.

Well, it seemed they were frightened, but the guy was still managing to speak his mind. If he'd seen Fafnir during the previous main quest, he should know what the dragon's breath could do.

As Justin watched the pioneer curiously, someone came over and whispered in his ear. After a moment, the pioneer's face lit up in relief.

"He's here! He's arrived!" the pioneer shouted.

"Who?" Justin asked.

"The leader! He's here, so please come down now!"

The pioneer pointed towards the castle, and when Justin turned to look, he saw Damian walking towards them.

"Time's up, huh?" Justin muttered, clicking his tongue in slight disappointment as he guided Fafnir back towards the castle gate. As much as he wanted to, it wouldn't be wise to land inside the castle walls without permission.

As soon as Fafnir landed in front of the castle gate, Damian and a group of pioneers came rushing out. Damian glanced between his now-chaotic territory and Justin before letting out a deep sigh.

"...I had a feeling you might ride a dragon if you came, but I didn't expect you to make such a grand entrance," Damian said.

"Sorry about that. It feels a lot better than I thought," Justin replied with a grin.

"Spare me the excuses. What brings you here?"

Justin blinked at Damian's oddly detached attitude. What was going on? This wasn't the same man who had once carried the pride of a leader. He had expected Damian to be angry, scolding him for jeopardizing his authority, but instead, he seemed strangely calm.

'Did something change with him recently?' Justin's eyes drifted towards 진수혁 standing behind Damian, but unfortunately, this wasn't the time to ask.

Smiling, Justin decided to give the prepared answer he had in mind.

"There's a woman about to give birth, and I was wondering if you had an obstetrician here. If so, we'd like to borrow them for a bit."

"...An obstetrician? Is your lover pregnant or something?" Damian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not mine. One of the civilians. There's even a pioneer among them."

"So, you came all the way here to find an obstetrician for the civilians?"

Damian looked at Justin with an expression that suggested he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I care about my people too."