CHAPTER 187: THE LAST TO KNOW

"Only we, Yaguk Theocracy have truly contributed. The rest of you have just been going through the motions. In the past, I held back because of our previous camaraderie. But now that I’m asking for a bigger share, what’s the problem?"

"Don’t take the gain and still try to act virtuous."

Whenever Seoryun recalled the arrogant, holier-than-thou expression of the Yaguk Theocracy’s Pope, he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine, and a wave of nausea.

And honestly, who was the one truly reaping benefits while pretending to be noble?

Among the five nations and three alliances, only Yaguk Theocracy took the war seriously.

In the past, they only ever "won" because the demon race couldn’t be bothered—but now? Things were no longer that simple.

Seoryun certainly didn’t feel like being the one to warn them.

Whatever consequences arose, let them deal with them themselves.

Although he had always looked down on Yaguk Theocracy’s way of doing things, Seoryun still found himself suspicious of their recent "abnormal" behavior. Such a radical shift didn’t seem in line with the usual actions of those self-righteous hypocrites.

And especially after seeing the Royal Knights of Yaguk Theocracy stationed at the border of the Nubilian Union a while back, it was clear, they were definitely going to pull something during this round of the war.

It was inevitable.

"Heh... Don’t come crying later. When the time comes, you’ll understand why. And don’t expect me to be so polite with you next time."

Seoryun’s mind once again replayed the scene of the meeting ending in disharmony, with the Pope wearing that cryptic, smug expression—a face so sure that everyone else would live to regret ignoring him.

It was hard not to overthink things after that.

Personal benefit is always the primary motivator, and it seemed Yaguk Theocracy was confident it could gain significant benefits from this cycle of the war.

In recent years, the demon race had always dealt with the war perfunctorily, so at the end of each round, they would offer up a large pile of valuable goods.

But if it were only those usual offerings, it was unlikely that the people of Yaguk Theocracy would be so tempted, after all, it had been the same every time.

What could make Yaguk Theocracy be the first to tear up the pact right in the middle of a diplomatic meeting? There had to be even greater benefits laid out before them.

Greater benefits... that Yaguk Theocracy believed it could obtain from the war tied to the war...

Seoryun suddenly sat upright, a wild idea flashing through his mind. And strangely, he was fifty percent certain that the people of Yaguk Theocracy would really go through with it.

After the furious delegation from Yaguk Theocracy stormed out early, Seoryun held back the remaining national representatives and shared his suspicion with them.

When his words finished, the other countries’ representatives stood dumbfounded on the spot.

Help, did they just hear what they thought they heard? Something about the Demon King? Something about Yaguk Theocracy?Something about... kidnapping the Demon King?

Help!!!!

"No way? Yaguk Theocracy can’t possibly be this insane, right?"

"If they’re gonna get themselves killed, don’t drag us down with them!"

"Who doesn’t know the war is basically just for show? The demon race only ever goes through the motions because they can’t be bothered with us! Yaguk Theocracy seriously thinks they’re some big deal."

"Help, help, help! I mean, yeah, I know the people of Yaguk Theocracy are brainless hypocrites, but seriously, their guts are enormous!"

"...Wait, are you sure? Either Yaguk Theocracy’s gone mad today, or I have!"

"Crap! Since I already defected, should I be telling the demons about this?!"

As soon as that last sentence left someone’s mouth, the entire room fell into dead silence, and everyone turned at once to stare at the speaker.

"You?" someone asked.

The person who had just spoken suddenly felt several unreadable stares lock onto him. His body stiffened, then he abruptly realized what he’d just blurted out, breaking into a cold sweat.

Why the hell did I say that out loud?! Just one careless word and he’d basically outed himself, wasn’t that even more explosive than Yaguk Theocracy trying to kill the Demon King?

The room remained deathly quiet, the silence stretching on until it grew unbearably awkward.

Finally, it was the representative from the Baekrim League who broke the silence.

First, he swept his gaze over the self-destructing "contestant" with a strange look in his eyes, and then, in a tone of deep amazement, remarked, "Didn’t expect that you folks from Dalhae Kingdom had such skill. Your country borders Yaguk Theocracy, yet you were pulling tricks right under their noses. That doesn’t quite match your usual ’honest and slow-witted’ image, does it?"

(Note: Most citizens of Dalhae are mixed-blood, part beastfolk, and tend to look large, rough, and gullible—making them seem very easy to fool.)

The representative from Dalhae—aka Mr. "I-just-set-myself-on-fire"—laughed awkwardly, "Hahaha..."

He suffered in silence. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to say it.

Then came a casual bombshell from the Baekrim League representative.

"Well, I defected too," he added with a sigh. "If I’d known someone else had already turned, I wouldn’t have kept hiding it all this time. Honestly, I defected ages ago. We had formed diplomatic ties with the demon race way before this."

Dalhae’s representative: "Huh?"

The other nations’ representatives: "!!!!!!!!!!"

"Of course that’s the case. Then I might as well lay my cards on the table—me too." The representative from the Nubilian Union silently raised his hand.

"I’m also one of them." That was the representative from Georyun Kingdom.

"You should’ve said so earlier—I’m in too." That came from the Mumyeong Alliance’s representative.

"What a coincidence, me too~" added the representative from Haerim Kingdom.

After hearing all this, Seoryun couldn’t help but feel speechless.

What on earth was this situation? After all that, it turned out everyone had defected, and only Yaguk Theocracy who are so fiercely vocal about its stance had been kept entirely in the dark.