Chapter 782: Vampire King and Werewolf King. 2
Volk clenched his teeth in anger. As an Alpha who took everything he wanted, he was not accustomed to losing things or making decisions like this. But it was in this situation that the calmness he gained from ruling came into play, and he managed to calm himself down.
"Explain the two options in more detail," he asked.
"Very well..." Vlad fell silent for a few seconds, as if pondering his words, and then declared.
"The first option, the option where you lose your wife but retain all the power for yourself."
"Unlike me, who has everything under my control, your society doesn't work that way. It is divided between you and your wife. You are the 'light' of the Wolves, and she is the 'darkness' that deals with everything behind the scenes."
"You have the support of the masses, while she must have the support of the majority of The Noble Clans."
"Although having the support of the Nobles is good for Tasha, she can easily lose that support with a little manipulation of interests. The Noble Clans will always choose profit, and you, who are loved by your people, are the safest bet. After all, as they say, the voice of the people is the voice of God, right?"
"Currently, Volk, you hold 'the voice of God'."
It was because of this thinking that he was confident that even if Victor decided to leave Nightingale, he was not worried that his citizens would leave with him.
The reason? Vlad was not a bad King. It could be said that for ordinary Noble Vampires, he was a perfect King.
Therefore, the overwhelming majority of Noble Vampires were on Vlad's side, especially now that the King was showing more activity than ever.
Yes, a certain percentage of Noble Vampires would leave with the new Progenitor, but that percentage would only include those affiliated with the Clans of Victor's Wives.
And even if he decided to leave, the old Vampire Count Clans would not completely abandon Nightingale. After all, the roots of those Clans were in Nightingale.
"What should I do in this case?"
"Separate from Tasha and strip her of all her power in one fell swoop... Knowing you, you must have some backup plans in case Tasha 'leaves' your control."
"Yes, but Tasha is not stupid. Most of my cards must be compromised by now."
"That's not the problem," Vlad said.
"What matters is that you will do something against her, and in this tense atmosphere, she will never expect something like that."
Volk put his hand on his chin and thought about what to do.
"What is the second option?"
"Hand over the Title of Alpha of Alphas to Tasha willingly, claiming that she will do a better job in these new times and serve her as a loyal warrior. This way, you will maintain your political position. And while you might lose many of the freedoms you have, in return, you will gain enormous influence because you will be seen as a 'reasonable' and a 'wise' King. All you have to do is create a story to spread to the masses."
As soon as Volk heard that he should hand over the Title willingly, he narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"You know that the Werewolves won't accept that. We are a society of warriors, and unless I lose in a duel... Oh."
"Yes, you understand." Vlad nodded.
"Hmm..." Volk could see the merits of both plans.
"And then? What are the downsides of the two plans?"
"With the first plan, your wife will feel deeply betrayed. After all, she has dedicated her entire existence to improving Werewolf Society, and you doing this would effectively mean severing ties with her. And you know how women are. When they are hurt, they seek their nearest safe harbor... And in this case, Tasha's safe harbor will be The Demon King. And well, I don't need to explain what will happen next, do I?"
"... Vlad..." Pure Power emanated from Volk's body; he did not like what Vlad was insinuating at all.
But Vlad did nothing and continued speaking neutrally. "The Demon King is a charming man. He also understands the hearts of women very well. Don't forget, he was the biggest playboy in Ancient Greece and is also The Husband of Aphrodite."
"All of his actions, even if subconscious, will attract women. It's just his nature. Because I know this nature, I want The Demon King as far away as possible from my current wife."
Vlad consciously ignored the fact that if Volk chose the first option, he would be in a worse situation anyway. In the end, there were no choices, only the illusion of choice.
... Of course, there was the possibility that option 1 might work, but for that to happen, Volk would have to be very cautious in how he treated Tasha, and it depended a lot on Tasha's reaction and how much Victor cared about her. Ultimately, it was an action with winning probabilities in a gambling casino.
"... Huh? He's the Husband of Aphrodite...?"
"Hmm? You didn't know that?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. If that were revealed, the chaos that would ensue..." Volk's eyes gleamed.
"I suggest you not think that way, my friend. The Demon King reacts very badly when it comes to his Family. You experienced it firsthand, and that was only with one of his Wives."
"By targeting Aphrodite, you'd be targeting his entire group. Essentially, you'd be signing your own sentence of ownership."
"Sentence of ownership?" Volk asked, confused.
"Yes, he will capture you and make you experience all kinds of Hellish tortures, and he will never let you die. Effectively making you his property for eternity."
Volk swallowed hard, and the image of the Demon that appeared in the conference room flashed in his mind.
"But how will he know it was me who spoke…"
"Believe me, my friend, he will know."
Volk looked at Vlad with accusing eyes.
"Don't look at me like that; I won't tell him anything. He will simply find out with his Blessings."
"... Blessings?"
"Yes, The Demon King has been Blessed by an incredibly large number of Goddesses. Virtually every Goddess in his territory has given him their Blessings. That means he has many peculiar abilities that not even I know about."
"... What kind of nonsense is this? He is The Demon King, a Progenitor of Vampires. He has Blessings from Goddesses, has a damn Dragon in his backyard, and on top of that, he has a World Tree."
"He is an anomaly... Chaos in the form of a madman. It is correct to say that the Beings born from his Lineage in the future will be monstrous."
Each time Volk heard about how ridiculous Victor was, the feeling of powerlessness took over his body. What could he do against such a Being? It was like trying to fight against a God while completely naked and unarmed—it was an unfair fight from the start.
"So? What will you choose? Lose your wife? Or remain in power?"
"... I choose the third option. I will expel The Demon King from Samar."
A long silence fell in the room until Vlad reacted.
"Pftt... HAHAHAHAHAHA." He started laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Seeing that Volk didn't react to his laughter, he stopped and looked at Volk. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Of course."
"... Are you delusional? Are you eating or smoking some catnip made for Wolves or some shit like that?"
Volk merely narrowed his eyes at Vlad. "Thank you for the advice, Vlad, but I won't hand my wife over to anyone."
"That's the problem, Volk. If Tasha chooses so, you won't have much of a choice because you never truly subdued her."
"Then I will subdue her."
"And by doing so, you are effectively choosing option 1, but in a more aggressive manner. And at the end of this story, you won't be able to keep Tasha imprisoned because Victor will intervene. He will kidnap her and increase Tasha's Power with some bullshit that only he can do, and then she will return full of vengeance, and you will die."
"I know this will happen. After all, something similar happened to Annasthashia Fulger in the past when her Clan was in danger."
"....."
Vlad sighed. "Come back to reality. You can't use your Power to do anything against The Demon King."
"He is the strongest; therefore, he is right. And you, as the weaker one, must simply play the game that the stronger one has decided. That is the Law that all Supernatural Beings follow; The Law of The Jungle."
"As The Leader of Werewolf Society, you should understand that very well, Volk."
Volk clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger and frustration.
"In the end, we come back to what I said at the beginning. Which decision will you choose, Volk? Submission? Or fight for what is yours? Regardless of what you choose, I will help you in the best way possible as payment for the information you provided to me."
After a long silence that lasted for a full 3 minutes, Volk made a decision...
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