CHAPTER 180: THE TRUTH BENEATH THE STENCH

Although his face still carried an unshakable blush, the steely look in his eyes at least gave him a more composed appearance.

"Yes, I can confirm and guarantee that the people of the Yaguk Theocracy have ties to the Fallen Demons. In fact, the Yaguk Theocracy’s knight order had already arrived at the borders of the Demon Realm some time ago."

When it came to the topic of the Fallen Demons and the Yaguk Theocracy, Illiya immediately perked up.

He had previously discussed this matter with Sebastian, but all those conversations had been built on "what if" scenarios.

Everything had been speculation without any concrete evidence.

They had assumed the worst-case scenario and made plans accordingly so that they wouldn’t end up caught off guard.

But now, what was Drow saying?

Drow was saying that Yaguk Theocracy really was in league with the Fallen Demons.

Now that was interesting.

Illiya tilted his head slightly, signaling for Drow to continue.

Drow furrowed his brows, a trace of disgust and harshness showing in his expression. "I was uneasy about it, so I focused my investigations on the regions surrounding the border. That’s when I managed to catch their trail. I discovered a small squad of royal knights from Yaguk Theocracy who had been brought ahead of time to the Demon Realm. The leader of the group had a hunched figure and was completely wrapped in a black robe, making it impossible to see his face."

"But the stench coming off him was something that elves instinctively despise," Drow continued, his frown deepening.

"That scent... it was disturbingly familiar," the dark elf muttered, then quickly added a fitting explanation. "It was just like what we encountered back in Areuseon Kingdom."

At those words, Illiya’s expression instantly turned unpleasant.

As a clean-freak elf, the smell that Illiya found most intolerable was the kind emitted by "Fallen Creatures." Filled with impurities, it was worse than something crawling out of a landfill, disgusting and putrid.

However, it was a scent that ordinary beings couldn’t detect. Unless the "fallen" nature of a creature was provoked or forced out, the stench remained hidden. It came from the soul itself, and only certain sensitive races could perceive it.

Then again, sometimes, being less perceptive was a blessing.

It would save a lot of trouble.

What a pity.

Illiya clicked his tongue.

"So, it really is them, huh? Looks like they’ve been colluding with the Fallen Demons for quite some time. The border is the only passage between the Demon Realm and the main continent, and now the demons can cross it at will, no longer bound by its activation schedule. That must be their doing, bringing in their royal knights," Illiya concluded, his thoughts already forming a clearer picture. "But honestly, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing."

Drow gave him a look that said: I’m all ears.

"Think about it," Illiya said. "Sebastian is someone at that level. There’s no way he wouldn’t be able to sense the corruption of a fallen creature, right? So there’s only one explanation left—l, they’re hiding. The Fallen Demons must be sneaking around in secret, too afraid to interact with other demons. Like rats in the dark."

Drow caught on and tried to follow Illiya’s line of reasoning. "Then that means the Fallen Demons might’ve joined forces with Yaguk Theocracy because they were promised something in return?"

Illiya picked up his cup and sipped from it, revealing a mysterious smile.

"No, no, no. Sometimes, it’s not just benefits that move hearts. Under the right circumstances, threats work just as well. Let’s be more specific, what kind of people do you think Yaguk Theocracy is conspiring with?"

Drow responded instinctively, "The Fallen Demons."

Illiya replied, "And who else?"

"It’s a public enemy!" Drow suddenly realized. "By working with them, the Yaguk Theocracy can betray us at any time. After all, they’re cooperating with the world’s common enemy, one they can easily push the blame onto whenever they like!"

No wonder the Fallen Demons had suddenly appeared in the previous life. No wonder the people from Yaguk Theocracy had acted so strangely on the day of the war...

So that’s what had been going on.

From the very beginning, this group had already planned everything out.

Even if they couldn’t take a huge bite out of their opponents, at the very least, they wouldn’t lose anything.

That must have been the real reason Yaguk Theocracy made such a decision.

As the saying goes, "A man dies for wealth just as a bird dies for food"—such things were to be expected.

That Yaguk Theocracy would make this kind of move meant that there were considerable benefits dangling in front of them.

So, regarding their actions, Drow could totally understand...

Or not, actually.

The more Illiya thought about it, the angrier he became.

If the ones being schemed against didn’t include him and his companions, he might have actually admired Yaguk Theocracy’s plan.

However, once he realized that he himself was part of the setup... Well, only he knew just how bitter that feeling was.

It really made an elf furious.

Drow felt the same way.

Back in his previous life, his relationship with Illiya hadn’t been this close. In fact, they had barely spoken at all. Most of what he did was silently follow behind Illiya to protect him from the shadows. And because of that, the group hadn’t had much interaction with the Demon Realm.

Just like in the previous life, they had been received by Demon King Anos, but there hadn’t been any banquets or similar events.

After that, many events unfolded differently from what Drow remembered. It was precisely these differences that led to more frequent exchanges with the Demon Realm.

The demons had begun to treat the war with greater seriousness and their increased vigilance had exposed Yaguk Theocracy’s conspiracy.

Meanwhile, out of concern that things might deviate even further from what he knew, Drow had taken it upon himself to investigate the areas surrounding the border.

And through that investigation... something changed.