Inside a court room within the newly rebuilt Dark Palace, a gathering of well-dressed people could be seen arguing with each other.
"WE SHOULD JUST HAND THEM OVER!"
"AND YIELD TO THE ENEMY WITHOUT A FIGHT?!"
"WHAT COWARDICE!"
Whenever the Dark Empire is in a crisis or needs to decide on an important matter, a meeting is usually held by the various palace lords and officials of the country who will decide on the correct course of action. Of course, the dark lord, the tyrant that he is, holds the right to veto whatever decisions they might make if he wishes to. However, at the moment, the dark lord is not present and so, the fate of the empire is currently in the hands of the people gathered in this room.
"WE CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER CONFLICT WITH THEM, ESPECIALLY NOW OF ALL TIMES!"
"SO, YOU SUGGEST WE JUST BETRAY OUR OWN?! HAVE YOU NO SHAME!"
"THAT'S RIGHT! AND HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT ONE OF THEIR DEMANDS WERE FOR OUR MONARCHS BETROTHED AS WELL?! DO YOU BELIEVE THE DARK LORD WILL NOT COME FOR OUR HEADS?!"
The various officials and leading figures within the dark empire who had all gathered here in this room are currently discussing the pressing issues endangering the dark empire at this very moment. The three sages, hailed as the greatest magicians of this era, had after a failed assault on the Yang estate, seized control over a handful of cities in the northeastern corner of the continent to summon and station their own forces in, before demanding that the dark empire surrender Nox and the dragonewts under the threat of war.
Though the Dark Empire have come into conflict with the sages in the past on multiple occasions, this is the first time all three sages have taken direct actions against them like this. In the past, the sages themselves hardly took the stage themselves, preferring indirect actions like pressuring neighboring countries into hostility, but on the rare occasions a sage did come in person, it was normally only one out of the three who appeared. However, even just one of them would normally require the dark lord and/or the combined efforts of the palace lords to deal with, so all three appearing together in force like this is by itself already a nightmare for the empire. As if that was not bad enough, their timing could not possibly be any worse.
Not only are both the Dark lord and the Red Palace lord Yami currently unavailable, but the vassal states in the south have also started rebelling. The exact cause of this sudden upheaval in the south has not been confirmed, but given recent events, many assume that what had occurred within Nishi had rattled the other countries more than initially perceived. Regardless, the fact of the matter remains that they lack the strength and numbers to protect both fronts at the same time. Additionally, …
"HIS MAJESTY IS NOT HERE RIGHT NOW, BUT IF HE WAS, I AM SURE HE WOULD UNDERSTAND, AS IT IS WITHIN THE BEST INTERESTS OF HIS EMPIRE!"
"DON'T FORGET! BOTH THESE CONFLICTS ARE THE RESULT OF HER RECKLESS ACTIONS! IT IS ONLY RIGHT THAT SHE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOLVING THE MESS SHE CREATED!"
"IT WAS A MISTAKE TO GRANT A WOMAN OF UNKNOW ORIGINS THE SAME AUTHORITY AND POWER AS A PALACE LORD! EVEN IF SHE IS THE FAVOURED MISTRESS OF THE DARK LORD, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"
Ever since before Nox officially joined the dark empire, there has been a steadily growing faction that opposes the Pink Palace lord. For those aware of her involvement in the unification of the 1st martial continent, there are some who hold a grudge against her over someone they lost in that conflict. There are those that oppose the now second most hated palace lord, Alex, that simply dislikes her by association due to her close connection to the blue palace lord. There are also those who take issue with her gender, background, bloodline, race and so on, due to the different values of the cultures they originally grew up in before becoming part of the Dark Empire.
"SUCH AN UNCOUTH AND UNCULTURED WOMAN WAS NEVER FIT TO STAND BESIDE HIS MAJESTY TO BEGIN WITH!"
"THIS IS ALL HER FAULT FOR SEDUCING HIS MAJESTY AND BRINGING THIS MISFORTUNE DOWN UPON US!"
"HIS LORDSHIP HAS ACTED STRANGE EVER SINCE SHE APPEARED! HOW DO WE KNOW SHE HAS NOT PLACED A CURSE ON HIM?"
Of course, the largest group, making up about a fourth of the anti-Nox faction's numbers are those with their eyes set on swapping Nox as the Dark Lord's lover, either with themselves or their children. Whether because they fell for his charms or seeing it as a means to rise through the ranks, there has been no shortage of people who wish to involve themselves in the Dark Lord's love life, and to them Nox is both a ray of hope and their greatest obstacle.
"SHE IS SUSPICIOUSLY CLOSE WITH THE MAD MAGE! HOW DO WE KNOW THE TWO ARE NOT WORKING TOGETHER! IT MIGHT EXPLAIN HOW SHE PUT A CURSE ON HIS MAJESTY!"
"HOW DO WE KNOW SHE HAS NOT BEEN HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH THE BLUE PALACE LORD?"
"HOW DESPICABLE! SHE-!"
As the loud arguments about whether or not to give into the sages' demands were sidetracked by the subject of whatever malicious rumors were floating around about Nox, an intense bloodlust fell over the room, calling them all to attention, and silencing the ranting crowd. The source of this feeling sending chills down their collective spines came from the direction of those who were presiding over this meeting, the palace lords who had remained silent up until now.
Some of the seats were empty as not all the palace lords or their representatives had arrived on time. The ones here currently are Mr. Wong standing in for the Yellow Palace lord, the Jester spriggan standing in for the Blue Palace lord, and The True Vampire in charge of the Purple Palace, Mr. Fuji. The vampire's complexion was pale as is normal of his species, his eyes squinting and a smile that would have seemed friendly if not for the almost palpable intent to kill coming out of him.
"Do pardon me, but I was under the impression this was a meeting to discuss what stance we are to take in regard to the sages' demands! Not to gossip about the dark lady of the Pink Palace!" Fuji spoke, the red glint between his eyelids indicating his dissatisfaction with the crowd before him.
If one were to ask which of the palace lords is the most feared, most would likely answer Yami the demonic general of the red palace, or Alex the mad mage of the blue palace, but if you were to ask just the high officials of the Dark Empire, one might be surprised to hear the name of the sociable lord of the purple palace instead. Out of all the palace lords, Fuji is one of the most sociable ones, being both polite and generally pretty friendly. So, one might wonder why the upper-class of his own nation sometimes argue he is even more frightening than the dark lord himself. It's not because of his impressive strength or vampiric status. The reason why they fear him is the same reason why most of them joined the dark empire in the first place.
Despite the purple palace being more known for brothels and sex-work, its main purpose is information gathering and espionage. Fuji possesses the largest information network on the continent and knows all sorts of dirty secrets ranging from secret affairs and petty theft to drugs, murder and illegal trafficking.
Back when they were fighting for control of the continents, many would dread the night he suddenly showed up at their doorstep. With a friendly smile plastered on his face, he would recount every secret you have from memory and then proceed to blackmail you with those secrets to make you betray your homeland for the Dark Empire's benefit. Even now, when they are part of the same empire, they still fear him. He is the most trusted aid of the dark lord, so if he said something bad about them, even if it was a baseless lie that he made up on the spot, the person he badmouthed might suddenly find himself in the gallows the next day.
No matter what mood he might be in, his expression almost never changes from the squinty-eyed smile he normally wears. To most, he is just a friendly face, but to those forced to dance on his string, his smile only seems ominous. That is especially so now, as his dissatisfaction with these people is clear even without the need to show it on his face.
"Why so glum chum? It's not like our friendly neighborhood bloodsucker to get all moody!" The jester said.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I merely wish to bring us back on topic before it is too late!" Fuji replied.
"Hmph! I hate to agree with the leech, but time is of the essence! The Sages could strike at any moment, and the battle has already begun in some places off our southern borders. It is why we could not afford to wait for the other palace lords to arrive, is it not?" Wong said, begrudgingly agreeing with Fuji.
"It would seem you fail to catch my meaning once again!" Fuji said to Wong.
"What?"
*Sigh*
"I suppose the time is up! I was hoping to get this meeting over with before she arrived for fear of what she might do before such a crowd!"
"Hm?"
"Hahaha! You worry too much Fuji my boy! Just sit back, relax, and prepare for war!" the jester spoke.
While Wong looked puzzled at the two's words, he soon picked up on what they were talking about as he saw the three people who just walked in the door. Aoi standing in for the Red Palace, and Nox the pink palace lord.
"Poke, poke, poke, poke…"
"Why me?"
Nox was poking the cheeks of Aoi who depressingly just walked towards his seat.
"Hm? Oh, hey, Leech boy! And the spirited old goat is here too! Long time no see! Anyways, poke, poke, poke…" Nox greeted Fuji and Wong before getting back to repeatedly poking Aoi's cheek.
Ever since she threw them off the 1st martial continent, Fuji, now taking the warnings of the Blue Palace lord regarding his master seriously, has been actively trying to stop any interactions between Nox and her haters for fear of what she might do if they offended her. Aside from brief reports of her appearing and disappearing all over the 1st continent back then, she had been hiding right under their noses without him knowing a thing, plotting and planning the fall of their empire from inside and out, puppeteering entire countries from the shadows to do her bidding. The fact the head of the dark empire's intelligence division was caught completely unaware that she had been living inside their walls all this time was already unsettling enough, but what scared him was not that she had outplayed him in his own field of expertise, it was her irrational nature.
The priceless Walpurgis island alone was worth far more than the 1st martial continent itself, and she had blown it up without hesitation just because she felt offended that they didn't pay her back a fraction of the floating island's true worth. The worst part was that it was completely unnecessary for her to do so.
By the time the island exploded, she had practically already won the battle for the continent. Half the empire was destroyed or conquered, the capital was in ruins, and the dark palace had been turned to rubble, while its treasury had been almost completely emptied out. She had even laid a trap to capture their leader which succeeded moments before the island's detonation. As things were, she had very little reason to actually sacrifice the Walpurgis island to begin with, as is clear from how she still managed to kick them off their land despite Fuji's survival. Meaning she had destroyed one of the greatest magical treasures in the world, out of nothing but pure spite.
In Fuji's mind, her irrational actions paired with her accomplishments made him think of Nox as an unpredictable force of nature not to be trifled with, which was only made worse by his brush with death. As an almost unkillable True Vampire, it's not surprising he has not had many near-death experiences, so it is not strange the whole ordeal had rattled him more than usual. That is why he has been avoiding her like the plague while actively trying to reign in the people opposing her for fear of what might happen should she feel slighted by one of them.
"Lord Fuji, could you please tell her to leave me alone? She has been doing this for days and it is starting to drive me insane!" Aoi begged.
*Sigh*
"Don't be sad Aoi! I'll be your OCD friend too!"
"My what?"
"OCD, or, Oddly, Constant, Dork! Poke, poke, poke, poke, …" The jester said, as he began poking his other cheek.
"LORD FUJI!"
"Lady Manus. If it is agreeable to you, may I ask you to not bother Mr. Aoi if only until this meeting has concluded? In fact, I fear this meeting may only bore you, so why not leave this to us, while you go enjoy the various amenities of the Dark Palace?"
"No thanks! Poke, poke, poke…"
"Is there anything I can do to convince you otherwise?" Fuji said, opening his eyes fully to use his hypnotic eyes on her.
"Boop! Nope!" Nox responded, poking the glowing red eyes of the true vampire.
"Ugh!"
"YOU DA-!"
"AOI! Since her ladyship has taken a liking to you, why not give her a tour of the newly rebuilt palace?" Wong spoke, cutting off one of the many officials glaring at Nox.
"I am afraid I cannot! As the one representing the red palace, I am duty bound to participate in any meetings that might result in military action!"
"Oh, but we insist! You have been working so diligently in the absence of Yami, so you deserve a break!" Fuji followed up while rubbing his eyes.
"But-!"
"Just have one of your subordinates fill in for you and take some time off! It's just one meeting, so what's the harm, right?" Fuji said as he made eye contact with Aoi.
Soon after, the hesitant lieutenant general's eyes became foggy and he began swaying back and forth in his seat as if he was getting dizzy. The reason for his current state was because of the special ability Fuji just used on him called 'Charm Eyes'. It is a type of mind control skill common amongst certain undead and demons that require direct eye contact to be activated. Though it doesn't grant complete control over an individual's mind, it does put them in a state of confusion where they will be more accepting of verbal suggestions. Fuji was trying to use this ability to convince the stubborn and dutiful lieutenant to skip this meeting in the hope that Nox would leave with him.
"Now that you mention it, I could do with a break-!"
"Poke!"
"No, what am I thinking? I thank you for your concern, but such a serious matter cannot be handled by anyone of lesser rank than myself!" Aoi spoke as he snapped out of the mind control, completely unaware he had been under the vampire's thrall.
Unfortunately for Fuji, Nox is very familiar with this ability and knows how to snap someone out of it with a single poke to the cheek.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS!" One of the officials suddenly shouted.
"Hm? Sir. Isamu, correct? Is there something the matter?" Wong asked, both him and Fuji giving the man a look of warning to not be rude.
"Excuse my outburst, but as lord Fuji mentioned earlier, we do not have the time nor the leisure to waste on unrelated topics and pleasantries! We need to give the sages an answer with the utmost haste!"
After Isamu spoke those words, various officials raised their voices in agreement and soon the talks started up again.
"We cannot just fold over to their demands so easily, they might take it as a sign of weakness!"
"What other option is there! We cannot win in a head-to-head confrontation!"
"Excuse me, but I would very much like to hear the opinion of the red palace regarding whether or not victory is even possible!" An official asked Aoi.
"Poke, poke, poke…"
*Sigh*
"As you all know, we suffered extensive losses from the conflict on the 1st martial continent, but I'd like to remind you all that we were already somewhat lacking in numbers as it was even before then due to the sudden expansion of our boarders. Out of a necessity to quell any attempted revolts, we were forced to accelerate the training of new recruits to make up our numbers resulting in the average strength of our soldiers to be lowered significantly. If you are asking if we can defend our current territory in the south, then the answer is yes, but conquering and maintaining control over any more territory would prove difficult."
"You did not talk about the north. What are our odds of victory should we refuse the sages' demands?"
*Sigh*
"Poke, poke, poke…"
"…! *sigh* We have no chance of defeating them in a direct confrontation, but-!"
*Murmuring*
"DID YOU ALL HEAR THAT?! EVEN THE RED PALACE AGREES! WE CANNOT-!"
"SILENCE! Do not interrupt me again! I may not be a palace lord, but do not forget I am currently representing the red palace! As I was about to say, the exact forces of the sages are unknown, but judging from past conflicts, they likely do not possess the numbers needed to seize our entire territory, and though the sages themselves may be beyond our ability to handle, their subordinates are not! We might be able to force them to retreat by focusing our efforts on shredding their forces!"
"Excuse me but was it not you who said we are currently lacking in manpower ourselves! Would doing what you say still be possible while at the same time defending our border in the south?"
"To some extent!"
"Exactly how bad would our losses be if I may ask?"
"…! As I said, the sages' numbers are still an unknown, so-!"
"You know, the old goats wouldn't be a problem had you listened to me earlier? Poke!" Nox suddenly said.
*Murmuring*
"Aoi, may I know what she is referring to?" Wong asked.
"I don't know anymore! Nothing she say makes any sense!"
"I warned him about the old goats starting to graze on the wrong side of the fence forever ago, but whenever I asked to borrow his car to run them over, he just started talking about how much he needed to poop and ran to the bathroom."
"See what I mean?"
"Jester? Would you mind translating?" Fuji questioned the spriggan.
"Poke, poke, poke! Hm? Oh, she is saying she was going to deal with this before it became a problem, but she needed to borrow some soldiers to do so, and our resident tight-ass over here got in the way!"
"General Yami directly ordered that no military actions are to be taken at her command unless approved by him first!"
"Well, then lady Manus! May I ask your opinion?" Fuji asked.
"Opinion on what?"
"You are not suggesting what I think you are?" Wong spoke in an uneasy tone.
"I can still run them over, but I need the car and I want everything the goats pooped on too! I'm sick of being stuck in that pink nightmare!" Nox said.
"She'll take care of everything if we give her full command over the military, but she wants the rights to the territory of the northeastern corner of the continent afterwards!" The spriggan explained.
"And that includes dealing with the issues in the south?" Fuji asked.
"Is your blood sugar running low, or were you not listening?"
"She says yes!"
"Okay then that matter is settled! Aoi, you are to follow any commands issued by the dark lady!"
"But-!"
"Aoi, the order to deny Lady Manus's commands, were they officially approved by his majesty?"
"Well, no! Not that I am aware of, but-!"
"As the spouse of the dark lord, she outranks any of the palace lords! Meaning unless that order was personally approved by his majesty, there should be no issue if she takes command over the empire's military for a time."
"But! That's! I don't think that-!"
"You think?! If you had the ability to think for yourself then perhaps, we would not be in such dire straits to begin with! Now, follow your orders soldier!" Fuji said, as he got up in the lieutenant's face.
"Y-Yes Sir!"
A bit overwhelmed by the pressure the vampire was giving off, Aoi complied. However, …
"WHAT NONSENSE!"
"THIS IS INSANE! ARE WE TO ENTRUST OUR NATIONS SAFETY IN THE HANDS OF THE WENCH WHO CAUSED ALL THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
"WE SHOULD JUST SACRIFICE HER TO THE SAGES AND BE DONE WITH IT!"
The officials were not convinced.
The fact of the matter remained that they were severely undermanned to deal with both the sages and the southern countries, and there had been no explanation as to how Nox would be able to solve this issue. Naturally, the rest of the court was not convinced.
This was a very delicate situation as well. With the dark lord and the palace lord in charge of the military not present, combined with Nox's less than stellar reputation, watching Nox be granted full command of the empire's forces might result in a revolt. From a political point of view, once she gains full control over the nation's military, she might try to purge her opposition under the guise of war after declaring martial law. That is what most of them would have done in her shoes after all. There were also those who had the very sensible thought that giving full military command to a lunatic during a serious crisis might not be the best idea.
Regardless, whichever way this meeting proceeds from here, should they make any wrong moves, the Dark Empire might collapse from within before their enemies even breach the front lines. Something Fuji clearly understood, as was evident of the cold sweat running down his back, releasing a very enticing aroma.
"We-!"
*Slow clapping*
Just as Fuji was about to speak in an attempt to calm the masses on the verge of rioting despite his presence, the sound of mocking applause resounded through the room, blowing an ominous wind through the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, as with each resounding clap, the atmosphere changed entirely. Before they knew it, each and every official in the room who had moments ago been screaming at the top of their lungs had gone quiet as a mouse.
"Okay! I think that's enough horsing around!"
"…? How did you?" Fuji muttered in confusion.
"Just a little trick I learned to handle large angry crowds!"
To some, Nox had just clapped loudly in a slow mocking fashion, as the crowd suddenly went silent. However, for Fuji who has intuitively learned a bit of mind control magic through his racial traits, was able to detect the mental influences resounding throughout the room with each clap of the hands, indicating she was using a form of mind control to silence them all. Though, as to how she managed it is not something he knew, as his mental influence skills are learned more through instinct than actual comprehension, and thus, he would be hard pressed to explain or replicate something not intuitively programmed into his race such as this.
"Now, let's begin!"
"Begin what?" Fuji asked, almost instantly regretting his words.
"I'm glad you asked, leech boy!"
*Snap*
And with a snap of her fingers, the roof above their heads was ripped off the building by a giant humanoid form made of flesh, its skin littered with crying and moaning faces.
"What is that? Wait! N-!" Fuji asked, instantaneously regretting asking the question in a public setting, as he knew the answer would only make things worse.
"Man, you're on a roll today! This, my royal blood-sucking parasite, is called a 'Titanic Flesh Golem'! A type of giant golem-chimera made from the living flesh of people that has been welded together, and as you can see, each and every one incorporated into this one is still very much alive and conscious!" Nox said, as she approached the giant fleshy hand lowered into the room.
"D-DO YOU BELIEVE THREATENING US WILL-!"
"AAAAHH!!!"
Cutting off the official who forced himself to speak up against her intimidation tactic, came the shrill scream of a woman.
Upon reaching the giant's hand, Nox had grabbed one of the moaning faces in its finger, and as she did, the flesh around it began to twist and contort into a human woman, her agonized screams indicating the pain she felt during the procedure.
"Maki?"
However, once she dropped the naked poor girl to the ground, fully separated and still alive. The man who just raised his voice seemed to recognize her.
"To those of you who so kindly delivered me your daughters into my palace! You have my thanks! It would have taken me so much longer if I had to go visit each and every one of you to get my hostages!"
"What?"
"Hostage?"
"Where is it you think I got all the flesh to make this titan from?"
*Sigh*
"So, this is what it was you were plotting!" Fuji spoke, comprehending Nox's plan.
"Hm? Finally catching on are you!"
"Lord Fuji! Explain! What is going on?"
"Our dark lady, has apparently kidnapped the loved ones of the various officials present here today to make this giant monstrosity, intending to pressure everyone into following her orders for the sake of the people she took hostage! Does that about sum it up?"
"More or less!"
"NO! This is a farce! I saw my daughter only a few hours ago! You could not have possibly had the time to do this in such a short time!" The official declared.
"Are you stupid!"
"What?!"
"I obviously couldn't have a bunch of people go missing, especially inside my own house! It would spark an investigation with me as the first suspect! That's why I made realistic copies of the originals to take their place and keep the law off my back! Duh!"
"DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE WE WOULD FALL FOR SUCH AN ABSURD LIE!" An official shouted, suddenly emboldening the others to raise their voices as well.
"THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE ALLOWED A MAD WOMAN TO BECOME A PALACE LORD!"
"SACRIFICING THIS BITCH WOULD BE A SERVICE TO THE NATION!"
In not too long, the court room was again filled with loud shouts, only now, even the neutral factions began hurling insults at Nox after this display of hers. Some even seemed about to get violent as they stood up from their seats. However,
*CLAP*
With a single loud clap, an overwhelming level of pressure was placed on the lot of them, physically holding them in their seats, and forcing their jaws shut.
"Now don't go jumping the water-gun! I thought you fashion-blind knuckle-heads might not believe me so I got some proof here for ya!" Nox spoke as she pulled out a lucky charm.
It was a simple decorative accessory. It was not a particularly popular or eye-catching trinket, nor was it an artifact imbued with magical properties or the like. However, many of the officials present seemed to recognize it. In fact, many of them were sporting an exact copy of this item on their person at this very moment.
"To those of you in doubt and those of you unsure whether or not I nabbed someone from your camp! I had all my fakes gift you one of these lucky charms of mine before you came to this meeting! If you still doubt me, then you can go ask them after this meeting, and they'll straight up tell you the truth!" Nox said, before finally releasing the hoard of angry old men and women.
"Y-You monster!"
"…! HOW DARE YOU-!"
*Thud*
As the truth finally began to sink in, some of the officials, enraged by Nox's actions, tried to charge her, only to get pinned down under the groaning mass of living flesh that was the flesh titan's palm.
Nox then walked up to an elderly-looking woman whose head was poking out the side of the titan's hand. She knelt down, lifted the lady's chin with her finger so she looked her in the eye.
"You *Cough* Bitch!" The woman spat out.
"You can have whatever opinion of me you want, I frankly don't give a shit, but don't push your luck!" Nox said.
*Screams**Squelch*
Just as she said those words, the faces embedded in the giant flesh-hand began screaming as it seemed to grow in mass. When they finally stopped screaming, the hand lifted from the ground to reveal the various people who had been trapped beneath it were gone while a number of familiar new faces could be seen spotted across the titan's palm. They had all been absorbed by the mass of living flesh.
"You all talk about sacrificing me as if you had the ability to! As if, I, the spouse of the single guy who beat you all into submission would be incapable of doing the same should it come down to it! However, I have some bad news for you all! I'm not dying for your sorry asses and unlike me, you pushovers lack the power to do anything about it!"
"HOW DARE YOU!"
"YOU ONLY DARE SAY SUCH THINGS WHILE COWERING BEHIND A MONSTER!"
"SACRIFICING YOURSELF FOR THE COUNTRY IS AN HONOR! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL!"
"Well, there is an idea! Since you are all in such a sacrificing mood, why don't I sacrifice you all instead! This Golem I made is designed to grow stronger by incorporating the flesh and qi of whatever it absorbs, so why don't I have you all sacrifice yourselves to turn it into a mythical grade monster and have it deal with the sages instead?"
"W-WHAT?!"
At Nox's suggestion every person who had been berating her moments ago looked at the groaning flesh golem with pale expressions, as they began panicking.
"What's wrong? You seemed so enthusiastic about sacrificing your way out of this a moment ago?"
"Y-YOU CANNOT DO THIS!"
"DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO WE ARE? WITHOUT US, THE EMPIRE WOULD FALL APART!"
"THIS IS INHUMANE!"
"Shut it!"
With those calm words a heavy atmosphere fell over the room as Nox's darkened eyes looked over the crowd of officials before her.
"None of you are irreplaceable! If I wanted to, I could easily replace all of you the same way I did your loved ones, and no one would notice the difference! So, if you don't want to fight for your country as an amalgamation of screaming flesh, then you'll fight as my loyal pawns! I might not be as bloodthirsty as your usual boss, but never forget, you have and always will remain at my mercy! Have I made myself clear?"
"…!"
As Nox's words echoed throughout the room an eerie silence filled the room as not a soul dared to protest for fear of Nox making good on her threats.
As the reality of her words sunk in, every single person within this room felt a stone sink in their stomach. The idiotic, mad, whore of a palace lord they had all been insulting, slandering, and laughing at behind her back since day one, just got the entire empire's government by the balls, in more ways than one.
Threats aside, though many of them might be sentimental enough to comply with her demands for the sake of their children and lovers, but the more cold-blooded ones who would not bat an eye over this, would be placing their reputation on the line should they make the ruthless decision to sacrifice their own family and friends to oppose her. Even if they tried to play it off as some kind of heroic sacrifice, with the share number of people at stake here, no matter how they might try to spin the story, openly opposing Nox at this moment might put everyone's loved ones in danger, effectively making them public enemy number one. Essentially, anything but absolute obedience to their Dark Lady would be nothing short of putting a target on their backs.
*Sigh*
*Giggle*
"Man! Just look at their faces! It's like they didn't see something like this coming!"
"Should we not be doing something! I do not think this would be approved by his majesty?"
"You're kidding, right? The boss would probably be laughing his ass off had he seen my big sis manhandle all of these pushovers!"
…
Sometime after the meeting Nox teleported into the office of the city lord of Straw city. Already expecting her to show up, Takeru asked.
"So? How did it go? Can we expect any support?"
"Yep! We are officially sanctioned by the council of dorks to do whatever the hell I want without being legally declared traitors to the nation!"
"Aha? And about reinforcements?"
"Oh yeah, that! We're on our own!"
"What?"
"Well, they were a bit shorthanded for some reason, and there just happened to be a trio of warzones happening down south! You know how it is!"
"*Sigh* So now what?"
"Now what, what?"
"Did you not say you wanted to drive the sages off the continent! I am just a city lord! According to your intel on the enemy forces, forget driving them back, we wouldn't even have the numbers to slow their advance. Even with your clan chipping in, at best, we'd be able to defend a single city!"
"Oh, don't be overdramatic! You've already done this war thing once before already! So, what's the big fuss!"
"Things were different back then! I had my own army, and the trust of my men, not to mention the fact that back then, the sages and dragonewts never took the stage themselves, and yet, in the end, I still had to beg the dark empire for aid. Now, many of my best men are long gone, their deaths fueling discord and distrust within those that remained, not to mention, the dark empire placed limits on my personal forces after I bent the knee. As things stand, I am not even certain we would be able to protect our own city, let alone a whole nation!"
*Sigh*
"Fine! I'll call up some reinforcements if you're that nervous!" Nox spoke, as she pulled out a flip phone with teeth and started dialing in a number.
"Hm? Did you not just say we would not receive any support!"
"Yeah, from the always unreliable playboy squad. I was talking about my own personal forces!"
"What personal forces?"
"Did you think you and the senior citizens are the only people whose sold me their freedom? Get real! I've got hundreds of soul contracts, and if you count their subordinates as well, I command an army in the billions!"
"You-!"
"Hang on a sec wife-beater! Yeah hello! Yeah, it's happening after all! Uh-huh, uh-huh! Yeah, no, the playboy's people are useless! What's that? I don't care if you're in the bath, get your naked butt over here! Yes, now!" Nox spoke before hanging up the phone.
Soon after, a thick mist gushed out of Nox's body, enveloping the room before a large floating black-eyed white fish manifested.
"Wife-beater, let me introduce you to one of my sexist pet fish! Slave fishy number 1!"
"My name is Yang, I'm not sexist, I just *Yawn* have a preference for the people I eat! Anyways, couldn't you have called Yin for this?" Yang asked Nox.
"Excuse me! I am confused! What's going on?"
"Don't ask!" Yang replied
"Well, I'm glad that you asked wife-beater! This sexist fish-!" Nox said with a spring in her step.
"Not sexist!" Yang interrupted.
"Is going to be part of the solution to our numbers problem! On top of being a Pisces twin, as luck would have it, he has his own little army under the sea!"
"It's such a pain to call them though, and it's so far away to!" Yang wined.
"Well too bad! I don't pay you to complain!"
"You don't pay me at all!"
"Exactly! Now chop, chop! War is on the horizon, and I know how slow you are at mist traveling!"
"Come on! Yin can do this too you know! Why can't you call her over?"
"Because she has another job!"
*Grumbling complaints*