Volume 1 Chapter 516

Chapter 516: A Scheme Against Lolth

After being reprimanded by an eight-year-old girl, Gregory dared not voice his anger. He meekly agreed to Kanor’s terms and exited the luxurious room that was originally his office.

Once the door closed, Gregory’s ingratiating smile vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, brooding expression.

"Damn demon, it failed to manifest itself and yet sends its minions to meddle here…"

As Gregory muttered these words, his furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

"However, the princess of South Sotua is indeed genuine… This should be exploited fully."

He gestured, and a subordinate emerged from the shadows of the corridor. Gregory lowered his voice.

"Spread the word to get the ‘mice’ moving. Let rumors circulate that I intend to surrender… Then, prepare the ‘decapitation’ operation in secret."

"Instruct the ‘core’ units on the front lines to conserve their strength. If the mercenaries and vassals wish to slack off, let them be."

"The lords of hell will aid us!"

"If we succeed this time, the City Masters across the lands, who have long been discontent with that old fox and the royal family… will see the king’s army’s weakness through us and join our cause!"

"This must be carried out in utmost secrecy."

Gregory spoke in hushed tones, and his subordinate nodded silently before swiftly departing.

In the luxurious office just beyond the door, Kanor, who had appeared here as a "Hell Angel," gently massaged her temples.

Sensing Gregory’s presence fade outside the door, she waved her hand to lift the "restriction" on Lalea.

"Now there are no more issues… His doubts have been completely dispelled."

Kanor exhaled deeply and spoke softly.

Lalea glanced at the young girl, hesitating to speak.

At first, she had been merely surprised by the cleverness of the eight-year-old girl named "Kanor."

But later, she realized it was something far beyond mere intelligence…

Thus, surprise no longer sufficed to describe the emotions stirring within her.

Compared to the actions of this little girl, the only thing about Kanor that seemed remotely plausible was her status as the disciple of that succubus.

Both master and disciple were beyond the bounds of reason.

While others might not know what Kanor had done after arriving at Silver Citadel, Lalea, who had been the "core" of the girl’s plan and had been "persuaded" from the start, knew the full extent of Kanor’s actions.

This was why Lalea found the little girl utterly extraordinary.

When everyone left the half-ruined realm, Kanor had ventured out alone before anyone could decide whether to stay or go. Upon her return, she successfully convinced all the mercenaries to accompany her to Silver Citadel, arguing, "Regardless of the outcome of the divine battle, we must first head to the nearest human settlement."

Later, she sought out Yi and Qiong for private conversations, seemingly persuading them to assist her in some endeavor.

Before entering Silver Citadel, she had approached Lalea.

"The City Master of Silver Citadel is about to rebel, and your father’s army is already prepared. Civil war is imminent… What is your relationship with your family like?"

To most, the words of an eight-year-old girl might seem like innocent babble.

But Lalea could not dismiss her words so easily.

After a few moments of silence, Lalea chose to honestly share her situation with Kanor.

"Our relationship is terrible; I wish he would just drop dead."

After responding in this manner, what greeted her was…

Kanor’s anticipated smile.

"Just as I suspected, then… There’s a way to thoroughly disgust the King of South Sotua, without aiding the City Master of Silver Citadel. Would you be willing to cooperate with me?"

This was Kanor’s second question.

Lalea didn’t hesitate this time and immediately agreed to Kanor’s proposal.

She didn’t even inquire about what she needed to do.

Next, Kanor meticulously outlined her plan.

First, upon entering the city, they would undoubtedly be seized by the City Master of Silver Citadel.

As mercenaries freshly returned from the half-plane, even if they bowed to him and expressed their willingness to join his cause, they still wouldn’t be trusted.

Moreover… while this group of mercenaries might not be particularly vengeful, most of them do hold grudges.

After nearly being offered as a living sacrifice by his subordinates, how could they possibly be willing to work for him?

If Yi and Qiong were to intervene, the City Master of Silver Citadel would certainly be unable to capture them.

But Kanor said this…

Considering her earlier private conversation, she must have convinced Yi and Qiong to collaborate with her, ensuring everyone would be ensnared.

Next, she would earn the trust of the Silver Citadel City Master—under the guise of "Hell Angel."

Lalea initially wanted to question how Kanor could possibly achieve this.

Then, before she could voice her doubts, Kanor conjured a pure and potent force of hell with her hands.

It resembled the burning Gate of Hell they had seen before leaving the half-plane…

Even more refined.

"This technique was taught to me by Master Lolth."

Kanor offered a brief explanation, though it didn’t clarify much.

Under Lalea’s expression of "I don’t understand, but I am utterly amazed," Kanor’s subsequent plan left her feeling…

Astounded.

After securing trust, she would present herself as the "Princess of South Sotua" to the City Master of Silver Citadel.

Given the City Master’s methods and the current circumstances, he would undoubtedly use her as a crucial bargaining chip and a means to demoralize the enemy.

Simultaneously, she would persuade the City Master of Silver Citadel to slow the pace of the battlefront, preparing for assassination and decapitation missions to eliminate South Sotua’s commander directly.

To ensure the plan’s success, she would inform the City Master of Silver Citadel that Hell would assist in his assassination efforts.

In reality… she had no ties to Hell, and naturally, no assistance would materialize.

However, according to Kanor’s "assessment," regardless of which side prevails, with both sides’ combat capabilities being nearly equal, there would be at least a full day from the plan’s execution to the conclusion of the "assassination," during which both armies would lack effective command.

By then… Lalea, as a "bargaining chip," would have been widely publicized by Silver Citadel, so she merely needed to "escape" to naturally assume command of the South Sotua forces.

Kanor would then manipulate the entire Silver Citadel situation through the City Master’s Token command.

To ensure this, Kanor had prepared numerous backup plans with meticulous details—over the past few days, she had secretly instructed Ann to sneak out and had frequently bypassed Gregory to directly engage with some fervently enthusiastic Demon Warlocks.

By then… both factions in the battle would be entirely under her control.

Up to now, the ongoing step was to inform the master of the Silver Citadel about everything.

Next, she had to wait.

Wait for his move.

Simultaneously, also wait for… Lolth’s arrival.

This was the only unpredictable variable in Kanor’s plan.

She firmly believed that Master Lolth would remain unharmed, yet she couldn’t ascertain how long it would take for Master Lolth to emerge.

Of course, if the goal was for "everyone to withdraw safely from the war," the plan was sufficient even if Lolth ultimately did not appear.

All the mercenaries would have the opportunity to escape.

But…

Clearly, Kanor seemed to harbor another objective.

She hadn’t disclosed this to Lalea and the others, but Lalea could vaguely sense it…

It likely had something to do with Dorothy, the princess of the Golden Peacock.

This stirred a tinge of envy in Lalea.

However, she chose not to show it.

Observing Kanor, who appeared to have "set everything in place," Lalea also smiled.

"Oh dear, that was quite the thrill…"

"Fortunately… Gregory’s character flaws are glaringly obvious, and as Master Lolth pointed out, this dimension’s Superoperator ‘identity recognition’ relies excessively on extraordinary energy," Kanor remarked calmly. "Extraordinary power is difficult to disguise, and ‘divine’ level energy is unique, almost common knowledge… It’s unfortunate that only a few realize this knowledge isn’t universally applicable in all scenarios."

As she spoke, Lalea nodded slightly.

Honestly, at this moment in her Magic Perception…

This young girl also exuded a potent aura from the Hell Plane.

Had she not witnessed the gradual transformation of pure magic into a power imbued with a hellish aura, she might have doubted whether the girl truly hailed from hell.

But even having seen it, this was not replicable.

Firstly, she lacked such precise control.

Secondly…

The type of extraordinary waves a Superoperator emits is distinctive; the power and aura are challenging to counterfeit or disguise and are generally absolute.

A human from the main plane could never possess such a strong affinity for the magic of the hell’s alternate plane, no matter the circumstances.

Thus, even if Lalea mastered some exclusive technique from Lolth and converted her magic into hell magic…

She still couldn’t deceive anyone into believing she was from the Hell Plane.

There are many Demon Warlocks, but the distinction between a Demon Warlock and a demon in terms of aura and extraordinary waves is as clear as that between a house cat and an octopus.

Yet, this extraordinary aura wave alone could bamboozle even the most cunning and deceitful individuals.

Besides, Kanor unexpectedly possesses an extraordinary talent for acting.

Her eight-year-old appearance serves as the perfect disguise.

If she truly were human… how could an eight-year-old girl possibly mimic so convincingly?

This is why Lalea, despite feeling deeply moved and envious, couldn’t bring herself to feel jealous.

This is a method unique to Kanor, one that no one else can replicate.

She shook her head, glanced at Kanor, and then spoke.

"In any case, what we need to do next is… wait for the City Master of Silver Citadel and the leader of the South Sotua Legion to clash, right?"

"Yes, and also…"

Kanor pondered for a moment and hopped down from the chair.

"It’s fine if Master Lolth arrives a bit late; after the chaos, there will be plenty of opportunities to return… But I need to ensure that if Master Lolth achieves even more success than I anticipated, and even the gods can only delay her briefly… she needs something to occupy her."

"So, I need to activate a backup plan now."

She opened the window, leaned out, and waved her hand. A Demon Warlock in a black robe swiftly appeared on the tree outside the window.

"Dear Lord Fuen, what are your orders? Do you need us to keep an eye on Gregory…"

The Demon Warlock inquired softly.

"No, we don’t need to ‘watch’, but we need to initiate the ‘propaganda’ I previously instructed you about… Ensure that every deserted alley and border wall is covered! Also, stuff some flyers into every sewer entrance!"

"Understood, Lord Fuen."

The Demon Warlock acknowledged Kanor’s words with a gentle nod and then retreated.

Lalea observed Kanor and slightly smirked.

"You even plot against your own master… But since she taught you, do you really think you can outwit her?"

"Master Lolth is indeed exceedingly clever; she can dismantle the entire Holy Alliance’s offensive with just a map, I am well aware of that," Kanor said with a smile, "So, this isn’t plotting… it’s the only way to genuinely hold Master Lolth back… a straightforward strategy!"

As Kanor spoke, she clenched her fist.

Soon, all the Demon Warlocks and zealots in the city began to mobilize.

Meanwhile, Lolth, who was trudging through the sewer…

Quickly encountered a clever trap set for her by her proud disciple, Kanor.

Walking ahead, Lolth suddenly noticed a wanted poster lying on the ground.

It was brand new, still exuding a magical aura, and designed to be waterproof and damage-resistant, so even in the sewer, it remained easily legible.

Generally, wanted posters with such magical auras… are significant cases.

But when Lolth took a glance, the person being sought was actually not a major figure at all.

Instead, it was the…

Head chef of the Silver Citadel City Master’s residence.

An ordinary person without any special powers had a reward of five gold coins.

Moreover, the wanted poster did not mention any of his crimes, his appearance, how he escaped, or any clues.

Instead, it unusually stated, "Skilled in the unique cuisine of the Sotua Kingdom, passed down from the old royal kitchen, he is one of the four inheritors who can prepare the ‘Sotua Grand Banquet’."

Lolth was stunned on the spot.

Just as Kanor had said, this was a trap set for her.

There were too many illogical aspects to this wanted poster.

Why would an ordinary person be worth five gold coins, and why did the wanted poster end up in the sewer?

Why did the wanted poster not include any physical description, but instead introduced the dishes he was good at…?

However, Lolth overlooked all these illogical details.

She picked up the wanted poster, looked at the words "dead or alive," and thought for a moment…

"Hmm… Anyway, I can’t let him die!"

Lolth reached a conclusion and instantly rushed out of the sewer, appearing on the streets of Silver Citadel!