"Say something that interests me," Aldrian said. His face was calm, even showing that he looked bored.

Xarz looked at Aldrian in confusion and asked back.

"What is interesting to your excellency?"

"Well, I don't know. Just say something that interests me so I might think it's worth keeping you alive," Aldrian answered.

Xarz knew that Aldrian must be baiting him to reveal some information or secret regarding the devils. After a few moments of silence, as Xarz sank into deep thought, he finally began to speak.

"First of all, I need to clarify something before I begin to say more. I'm not the one who wanted to start the war with the Ancient Blue Gate World. All of that was because of the man beside me right now. I already told him not to attack the Ancient Blue Gate World, but his arrogant character blinded him, and I could do nothing but obey him. His father is also my lord, after all."

Rulleus was stunned and glanced at Xarz. He couldn't help but grit his teeth, yet he did not say anything. He was afraid that if he spoke, he might offend the man across the table and cause him to change his mind and kill him instantly.

"Alright then, let me start again with a more proper introduction." Xarz continued.

"I'm Xarz Luitrich, the leader appointed by his majesty, the vampire king Virusius van Reinfer, to command all of the devils in the Fallen Star Cluster. I hold the highest authority in the Fallen Star Cluster, and the one beside me is Rulleus van Reinfer, the vampire king's son and his successor."

"Now let's start with this war first. Well, actually, your excellency, his highness Rulleus came to the Fallen Star Cluster to act as support after our god descended. Initially, according to the plan given by the god's apostle, after the god's descent and the Ancient Blue Gate World fell into chaos, we from the Fallen Star Cluster would then make our move to wage a great war across the Central Star Cluster to aid the devils' movement here."

Aldrian already knew that Zhang Haoran could provide information outside of the Ancient Blue Gate World and bypass the barrier of the Barisan continent thanks to the system. His system had the function to communicate and spread his plan to other devils across the First Heaven.

"The Central Star Cluster would have been engulfed in a great war, and the support coming from the central region of heaven was meant to ensure that we gained victory. However, the appearance of your excellency shattered that plan. Our god did not descend, the world did not fall into chaos, and I decided to pull back from the plan to attack the Central Star Cluster."

Aldrian's expression still did not change, so Xarz continued speaking.

"Well, his highness Rulleus then came but, seeing something outside his expectation, he decided to take matters into his own hands, and the result can be seen by your excellency. I already warned his highness about your excellency, but he did not listen and kept waging war."

Rulleus was truly furious, almost forgetting his fear. Xarz clearly wanted to pour all the blame onto him. Although what Xarz said was true, Rulleus would not let him keep piling it on. The more Xarz shifted the blame, the worse his fate would become if the man called Aldrian in front of them truly grew angry at him.

He wanted to say something but—

"Don't say a word. You kept silent earlier, and he was the first one to speak. You will have your time later." Aldrian spoke in advance, leaving Rulleus stunned and forcing him to close his lips. His heart shuddered, and he instantly obeyed.

As Aldrian looked at Rulleus, he thought this man must have lived a smooth-sailing life. He had likely never experienced something like this, so his character was truly that of a coward who could only obey without showing much discontent.

Still, Aldrian felt nothing but disgust, even growing more infuriated with this vampire prince—not only because he was a devil, but also because of what he had done before arriving at the Central Star Cluster.

He had already received detailed reports from Emperor Rozwald and others regarding many non-devil cultivators inside the devils' vessels. They were inhabitants of a small world near the Central Star Cluster. Around the Central Star Cluster, there were many small worlds scattered about, still within its sphere of influence.

These worlds also acted as an information network for the Central Star Cluster whenever there was movement of interstellar vessels from outside, especially those of the devils. If the observer teams in the Fallen Star Cluster served as the first line of warning, then these worlds were the second line.

On their way here, Rulleus had ordered an invasion of one of those worlds to resupply. That small world obviously had no power to resist. Its strongest cultivator had only reached the Immortal Foundation stage. Although they fought with all their strength, they were no match for the might of the devils' troops.

The devils also cut off their communication during the siege, which prevented the information from reaching the Central Star Cluster.

In the end, billions of the population either died or were kidnapped.

Emperor Rozwald and several other powers had already sent their interstellar vessels to check the situation on that world. There might still be many survivors, and they were dispatched to help them.

After Aldrian's words toward Rulleus, Xarz decided to continue.

"To be honest, this war, where our god was supposed to descend, is quite important for us devils. The Central Star Cluster is one of the strongest places in the First Heaven, and with its fall, the expedition to the rest of the First Heaven would become much easier."

"Also, we could weaken the forces of those who rebel against our god by killing what we call the divine dragon and phoenix in the Barisan continent."

Xarz suddenly felt a chill that reached deep into his soul.

Aldrian was still looking at him with a calm expression, yet Xarz sensed a faint killing intent just now, sharp enough to make his soul tremble for a split second. That fleeting killing intent was enough to pierce his soul, and sweat instantly rolled down his forehead. That kind of killing intent was no joke. He could not imagine how many people Aldrian had already killed.

He suddenly grew uncertain about continuing, not knowing what had triggered such a reaction from Aldrian. If he said the wrong words, he might be dead on the spot.

Rulleus fared even worse. His face instantly turned pale, his body froze, he looked more like a statue than a living being.

Only silence followed, making the atmosphere grow tense, and Xarz realized the mood had dropped. After a few moments, Aldrian finally spoke.

"Alright, my mood has already dropped, so I will ask questions. You had better not lie, because if you do… well, let's just say you will regret ever trying. I can sense whether you are lying or not, so watch what you say before the words leave your mouth."

Xarz grew even more tense and instantly nodded, while Rulleus remained frozen like a statue.

"Was the information about the divine dragon and phoenix spread by the apostle?" Aldrian asked.

Xarz quickly nodded his head.

"Yes, your excellency. He is the one who spread it. I just followed his plan, and even I did not know about beings called the divine dragon and phoenix. The only information I received from the apostle was that they were also divine beings, just like our god, and that they escaped from him and hid themselves in the Barisan continent."

"Their existence is a threat to the devils' plan in the future, but the only one who can defeat them is a divine being like our god, so that is why the plan for the god's descent was made."

Aldrian did not say anything, and only after a few moments did he speak again.

"Were the ones who followed to the Ancient Blue Gate World last night mostly made up of the powers of the Fallen Star Cluster? I killed almost all of them, so how weak is the Fallen Star Cluster right now?"

"Yes, mostly they were from the Fallen Star Cluster, and almost all of the powerhouses or prominent figures of the Fallen Star Cluster also followed the armada. Only a minority of powerhouses stayed behind to guard the base." Xarz replied.

"With your excellency killing most of them last night, the Fallen Star Cluster is basically a sitting duck. Even the powers of the Ancient Blue Gate World alone could likely conquer the entirety of it. The devil population in the entire Fallen Star Cluster is more or less three trillion, and most of them have cultivation below the Emperor Stage, so they will have no power to resist the forces from the Ancient Blue Gate World alone."

Aldrian gave a slight nod. This would be much easier, as he would not need to bring too many people to the Fallen Star Cluster.

"Your excellency, uhm…my apologies if this is presumptuous, uh… but what happened to our apostle?" Xarz asked hesitantly, forcing himself to brave the question.

Aldrian glanced at him for a moment.

"Dead," he said shortly, before turning his gaze to Rulleus.

That brief answer made Xarz sigh inwardly. He had already guessed it, but hearing it confirmed still struck him deeply. The apostle appointed by their god had been killed, and their god's plan was foiled by the man before him.

This man's existence was truly a nightmare for the devils.

Aldrian ignored Xarz and instead fixed his eyes on Rulleus.

"Now, it's your turn, 'your highness.' I have some questions regarding the central region of heaven, and it should be easy for you to answer since you come from there," he said, emphasizing your highness as though mocking Rulleus.