For instance, their relationship with the Undead Mage who had awakened them was not that of master and servant, but more like that of a parent to a child, and so forth.

Watching the breath-holding Adela, Luo Yan continued in a deliberately slow voice.

"Now, the priests of Silver Pine Town are all here, they are the only ones in the entire town who have the authority to interpret the teachings of Saint Sis. Only those undead they recognize as legitimate can be counted as such; no one else can strip them of their priestly robes... Matt, would you admit to being an undead?"

Matt shook his head, speaking in a raspy voice.

"I have no reason to do so... I am a servant of His Majesty the Demon King, and my task is to conceal myself."

"Good, in a moment, I'll sew your wounds to look somewhat decent, then douse you with some perfume," Luo Yan promised, nodding in approval as he continued speaking to Adela.

"It's not just Mr. Matt, those four priests will also be awakened by me... In this way, we'll monopolize the church of Silver Pine Town."

"This is madness..." Adela muttered incredulously as he stared at Luo Yan, "What if someone from above is sent down here?! If every priest in a church were an undead ghoul...it's bound to be exposed sooner or later!"

"Not necessarily," Luo Yan shook his head and continued in a persuading tone, "This is Thunderclap City's outskirts, Silver Pine Town. Outside of Thunderclap City, who even knows this small town's name? Not to mention it's so far from the Holy City... Even the omnipotent Saint Sis himself would never notice that such a small church had a little mishap."

"As for your concern about someone being sent down from above, that too can be easily handled... I will take care of it."

Adela's eyes widened in instinctive fear at the idea, yet he couldn't help but sweat in apprehension.

Indeed.

As Lord Demon King had said, the chance of being exposed was actually not that great.

This godforsaken town, usually visited only by adventurers. And those blabbering fellows' words would never be believed; instead, they could serve as smokescreens to obscure the truth!

Controlling a small town's church...

This was something he had never dared to contemplate before, let alone irreverently dream of!

"Can you truly guarantee that they won't be exposed?" Adela hurriedly glanced at Matt, then quickly looked to Luo Yan, "But why would you want to help me? What do you expect to gain from this?"

"Your everything."

"E-everything?!"

Taking a step back in alarm, Adela retreated no further.

This sounded terrifying...

But perhaps it wasn't so bad?

After all, he had nothing left to lose.

And this demon before him could not only grant him earthly power but also eternal allegiance.

Especially the latter.

A privilege even the great Duke Campbell could not attain!

"Exactly."

Luo Yan looked down on that face, shifting between greed and fear, enjoying his rich facial expressions as he slowly led the young officer further into corruption's depths.

"I want your everything... From now on, you will be my servant, and I will be your master. You shall vow your loyalty to me and offer all your devotion. In return, I will give you things you previously dared not even dream of... Not just worldly power, but also the glory of staying loyal to me even in death."

Adela's palms were drenched with sweat as he finally made that difficult decision in his heart.

"How do you plan to give me... This power you speak of?"

Luo Yan chuckled softly.

"How do I give it to you? Do you still need me to teach you that? Both ecclesiastical and military powers are in your hands; tell me, who is the real ruler of Silver Pine Town?"

"The mayor? The baron? Haha."

"It seems you already know the answer... Yes, it's you. From this day forward, only you are the one whose words truly matter in Silver Pine Town!"

No more words were needed, as anyone would know what to do.

And as Luo Yan had foreseen, the Sheriff of Adela finally grasped that future.

Later, Matt and the accompanying four priests would follow him back to the surface, align their narrative, and subtly take over the church of Silver Pine Town.

Especially the latter.

In Luo Yan's plan, it was of utmost importance.

To maintain Adela's official hat, the church's intervention was necessary.

It included providing compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers and paying the local lord a certain amount.

Luo Yan took out the Recording Crystal and had Adela make an "unbreakable oath" in front of the crystal, then rode Alakdo over to the pretending-to-sleep president of the adventurer guild.

"What about you? Should I send you on your way, or will you rise from the ground yourself?"

The presidente's expression stiffened, then he awkwardly smiled and scrambled up from the ground, only to hastily kneel again as if remembering something.

"Demon, Lord Demon King... I saw nothing, heard nothing."

Luo Yan said with a smile that was more a sneer.

"Do you think my mount believes that?"

Seeing the large spider rubbing its mouthparts together, Che'er's face turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

However, he was a clever man, and his mind quickly adapted.

"What... what do you want me to do?"

Luo Yan spoke deliberately.

"I want you to continue as the president of Silver Pine Town adventurer guild, and at the same time, help me gather some intelligence about other adventurer guilds... and, when necessary, help me issue some tasks."

Che'er nodded earnestly, quickly agreeing.

"No problem! Leave it to me..."

Seeing that utterly insincere demeanor, Luo Yan couldn't help but recall Principal Ai Wen's warning to him.

These citizens indeed are a bunch of softies, not even considering resistance.

Luo Yan handed over the Crystal Ball, Che'er immediately repeated the words Adela had said, then fawningly looked at the Demon King.

What Luo Yan didn't know was that the guild president's cooperation was partly because he was different from Reggie Dragon.

A Demon King capable of making deals was not unlikeable to the slick citizens of Thunderclap City.

What they truly feared were those who would kill a whole family without a second word...

Not far away, two pairs of eyes hidden in the debris of an explosion were secretly observing the Demon King riding on the back of an Earth Cave Spider.

They were Little Demons from the second underground layer, belonging to a different breed than those from Demon City, specifically more human-like in appearance and status, similar to Demons.

Apart from their humanoid appearance, their heads sported a pair of red horns, their backs sprouted bat wings, and their tails were barbed, shorter than a Dwarf and slimmer than an Elf... but no less cunning.

Normally, these creatures wouldn't venture to the first level of the labyrinth due to the annoying spider webs.

However, the recent explosion was too stimulating, collapsing a section of the corridor, prompting their dispatch to see what exactly had happened.

Unexpectedly, upon their arrival, they stumbled upon an astonishing discovery... the distant Hell itself had appointed a new Demon King!

The Demon God Himself had not yet given up on this Demon King territory!

This was absolutely incredible!

And this new Demon King seemed, to them, more to their taste than Lord Dragon!

Not only was he sinister, but he was sufficiently cunning!

Especially when they saw Lord Demon King forcing the humans to swear oaths to the Demon God through the Crystal Ball, they barely held in their mischievous laughter.

Is this something humans should do?

Simply...

Too evil!

"Damn, is this the new Demon King?"

"Damn damn, this is just too evil!!!"

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