Chapter 1007: Durger's options

Chapter 1007: Durger's options



"There are other ways we can come to an understanding." Robin's elegant, confident smile returned to his face. Everything he had said earlier was meant to lead up to this moment. He continued, raising three of his fingers, "In fact, besides the obvious option of trying to kill each other, there are three other choices."

"Hsss~" Durger narrowed his eyes, trying to listen without saying a word.

"First, return to your lair around the Poison Sea and take your beasts with you. I don't want to see you again as long as I rule this planet. I'll leave you in peace, but in return, I expect you to control your followers and ensure they don't approach my empire. I will allocate enough space for you to live and tear each other apart as you please. But if anyone crosses the borders I set, I will kill them and send an army to randomly slaughter 100,000 of your kind as punishment." Robin lowered his first finger.

Turmoil The scales of Durger clattered against each other. "You... exaggerating... much!"

Durger's anger was at its peak. Even in Pythor's reign, during the era of daily wars, all the beasts around the Poison Sea were never confined as Robin described. Except for Durger, who was under heavy surveillance, the others roamed freely to hunt and explore. Even the Nine Tyrants had always moved freely across the Poison Rock Planet and destroyed many villages and towns across the years!

But now, every time one of them crosses the border, Robin would send an army to invade and kill 100,000 of them. What exactly is this? How could Durger possibly control all these beasts? And how many such humiliations of invasions and massacres could he endure before he lost his followers' respect or was forced to go to war with that golden army again?

"That is your first choice. If you pick it, I will not change a single word of it, I don't want to see uncontroable beast roaming around killing my citizens!" Robin opened his eyes with absolute authority, then lowered his second finger. "The second option is that I will grant you an area three times the size of the Poison Sea, about 10% of the planet's total area. If any beast crosses the border, I will only kill the offender and no more. However, this comes with one condition you must provide me with a small pond of your blood every year. From your massive body, I don't think that will harm you even slightly."

"Grrr—"The tyrant beast, wolf-like in appearance, bristled, its fur standing on end as if electrified. It was undoubtedly ready to attack. A pond's worth of their king's blood every year? Even Pythor barely collected a few barrels over ten thousand years!

Knowing that his options were extreme, Robin spoke quickly before anyone could react. He lowered his last finger. "The third option is that I will grant you all the land behind you up to this strait— a territory roughly a quarter of the planet— in exchange for cooperation."

"...Cooperation? Hiss hiss hiss~" A strange laugh escaped Durger's mouth. "What could beasts... and humans... cooperate on? What could you have... that I... Durger the Devourer... might desire? Your laws, ambitions, dreams... none of it... matters to me."

"What, don't you know? Or is it that you don't want to acknowledge it? Then allow me to enlighten you," Robin chuckled. "This Destruction Path Energy Pearl can save you months, possibly years, of the energy absorption by that beast core atop your head. Even though you haven't advanced due to the imposed limits, continuous energy absorption still hardens your body, making you nearly invulnerable to anyone at the same level, correct?"

Robin slowly extended the orb forward again, letting it hover before Durger's gaze. "As for the affinity with the Destruction Path, do I even need to explain what it will do for you? Your minor corrosion law usage will see a massive improvement. The duration you can use it without harming yourself will increase significantly. And most importantly... let's just say the minor corrosion law may not be the ultimate end for you!"

"...What do you want... for the orb?" Durger would be lying if he claimed his heart wasn't drawn toward it.

"In exchange for granting you a quarter of this planet to be your own kingdom, I want a promise from you, in front of your followers, that you will do your utmost to defend the Poison Rock Planet if anyone other than me attempts to claim it." Robin's tone was serious now. He glanced at the orb and added, "And for every one of these orbs, I want a pond of your

blood."

He gestured with his other hand toward a spot beside him, where the ground compressed under the effects of the Major Heavenly Law of Gravity, forming an enormous basin. "...This size."

"SAAA!! You're... exaggerating!!" One of the Nine Tyrants, a massive bird with crimson wings, spread them wide and screeched.

The pond Robin carved out could hold five times the blood Pythor had collected over the past ten thousand years!

"Do you think I'm handing out Destruction Path Energy Pearls to make him stronger without compensation? This must be a mutually beneficial deal. Honestly, I don't believe I'm exaggerating even slightly. This amount of blood barely qualifies as a fair trade."

But Durger paid no attention to the words of the tyrant or Robin's rebuttal. He kept his gaze locked onto Robin's eyes. "...Did you say... for every pearl...? How many... do you have?"

Swish Swish Swish

Robin laughed, and with a single thought, more than thirty pearls materialized, swirling around him in an elegant orbit. "How about these as a first batch?"