Although Astarte still decided to investigate in her own ti, she no longer intended to leave the eting after careful consideration.
After all, the Great Devil Conference was rarely held unless there were important matters to discuss. Astarte didn't want to miss out on any important information that may be further discussed.
The Heavenly Devil's enthronent, territory allocation, and Peak Divine Knight being were all significant matters that had only been ntioned so far. There was still much to discuss about them, even if Astarte had yet to confirm Vaan Raphna's strength for herself.
Her opinion was not important at the present eting, only Thanatos's.
Thanatos calmly observed the expressions of phistopheles, Astarte, and Balmodan. After he confird their intention to listen further, he nodded before continuing the eting.
"Since everyone present is up to date on the news, we will now discuss what we, the Great Devils of Gehenna, should do with Vaan Raphna as our Heavenly Devil, moving forward," Thanatos addressed.
"A Peak Divine Knight is, by no ans, trivial, especially one who is also an Asura Law-user. After all, that is a future Divine Lord. For Gehenna to have such a powerful backer would put its position at the very top of the Skymagia Star Kingdom."
"That also ans Gehenna would have to choose between becoming the Skymagia Star Kingdom's Guardian Realm or competing to overthrow the current sovereignty," Thanatos spoke hypothetically.
Astarte imdiately frowned before saying, "This seems like both an opportunity and a trial. Succeed and enjoy unprecedented glory, or fail and suffer eternal damnation."
"If the Skymagia Royal Family had truly been suppressing Gehenna, they would definitely not watch our realm rise," phistopheles ntioned with a grave look.
"The Skymagia Royal Family will never give our realm a chance to produce a Divine Lord capable of threatening their sovereignty. So, if they learn about the Heavenly Devil's power, we should expect endless troubles."
"We better prepare for such scenarios," phistopheles resolutely suggested.
The thought of betraying the Heavenly Devil for self-preservation did not cross his mind.
Asura Law users were more frightening than Soul Masters.
Powerful Soul Masters might choose to kill if offended, but powerful Asura Law users will definitely kill if offended.
As such, betraying the Heavenly Devil was simply asking for death. That said, standing against the Skymagia Royal Family would also lead to death.
However, since both roads lead to death, phistopheles found the Heavenly Devil's side more appealing to stand on.
After all, the Heavenly Devil's side would lead to unprecedented glory for Gehenna if they succeeded in overthrowing the Skymagia Royal Family.
On the other hand, siding with the Skymagia Royal Family would only continue their life of diocrity and oppression.
It wasn't difficult to pick the better option of the two.
Astarte glanced at phistopheles with surprise before saying, "In that case, we should keep the Heavenly Devil's power a secret for as long as possible to give our realm a chance to grow and prepare."
"That won't be possible, Astarte," Thanatos suddenly stated.
"Based on my first impression of the Heaven Devil, he doesn't seem to be soone who would hide to build up his power. No, he might even be seeking opportunities to start a war." "Only wars will allow an Asura Law user to grow the fastest," Thanatos said seriously.
"In that case, we need to draw a clear line between enemies and allies among the vassal star realms under the Skymagia Star Kingdom and recruit more allies, right?" Balmodan suggested.
"If we can surround ourselves with allies, it will be easier to defend once the Skymagia Royal Family starts making moves against our realm."
"On the other hand, being surrounded by enemies will make it difficult for us," Balmodan added.
"phistopheles, you have the strongest network and information-gathering skills among us. You'll be in charge of determining who we can and can't befriend among the vassal star realms," Thanatos instructed.
phistopheles almost wanted to cry after hearing the Realm Lord ntion his full na. "Alright, leave that to , Lord Thanatos," phistopheles smiled.
"I think we are misplacing our priorities here," Astarte furrowed her brows before saying, "We don't know for sure if the Skymagia Royal Family has been suppressing our realm or not."
"Thus, if our suspicions turn out to be false, we'll be labeled as traitors who are plotting a rebellion once discovered. It'll be hard to gather allies and those dissatisfied with the Skymagia Royal Family's sovereignty when that happens."
"I believe our priority should be to find evidence or traces of the Skymagia Royal Family suppressing our realm," Astarte stated.
Thanatos couldn't help but agree.
"You have a point, Astarte," Thanato nodded and said, "However, there's no need to postpone phistopheles's task. We can work on both objectives simultaneously."
"Since I have the greatest influence over Gehenna, I will search for proof of the Skymagia Royal Family's suppression. I'm also the only one who can do so discreetly without alerting the Skymagia Royal Family's eyes."
"Still, considering I have never noticed any hidden external force acting on Gehenna in all these years, Skymagia Royal Family's suppression must be sothing hard to detect, such as tampering with our realm's laws."
"As such, Hecate, who is most proficient in several laws, will aid in this task once she exits her secluded cultivation," Thanatos arranged.
phistopheles had a deep look of contemplation before saying, "If it's just finding traces of tampering with the realm's laws, do we even need to look elsewhere?"
"What do you an, phistopheles?" Astarte frowned, thinking he was trying to dismiss her opinion on their priorities.
However, phistopheles had no such intention.
"I an, don't you think the proof is right here, in the Purplefla Territory? Does nothing co to mind when you think about its current state?" phistopheles ntioned.
"The [Eternal Purplefla) is like a vicious cancer eating away at our realm. It's a foreign power that doesn't belong here, and so long as it remains here, this part of Gehenna will never
recover."
"It might seem like the [Eternal Purplefla ] had only devastated the surface of the Purplefla Territory, but its damage could be far more extensive than we can imagine,"
phistopheles speculated.
Thanatos and Astarte couldn't help but look at him in shock like they had been struck by a bolt
of lightning.
Balmodan's eyes also flashed with astonishnt.
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