The True Purpose of Black Magic Crystals

Under Akreli's night sky, candlelight flickered within a resplendent noble club. Oak logs burned in the fireplace, making the oil paintings on the walls seem almost alive.

Several nobles dressed in formal tailcoats and wearing their family crests sat around a round table. Their silver goblets held precious Snowfall Wine, glowing with a faint amber sheen.

"Have you heard?" A rosy-cheeked noble with thick brows and large eyes took a sip of wine, a faint smile on his lips. "It seems the Demons on the Archipelago Plane have already been wiped out."

"Wiped out?" The sharp-featured noble across from him let out a cold laugh.

"Do you know that even someone like Grand Duke Tan'anster is still fighting the Demons fiercely on the Maple Sugar Plane? The Archipelago Plane doesn't have a single grand duke's battle corps stationed there. Do you think those local nobles who fled back can handle it?"

"Exactly." Another person scoffed. "If Demons were really that easy to deal with, they wouldn't have fled back to the Empire overnight, weeping and begging for protection."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter, spilling some of the wine from their cups.

Their laughter carried undisguised mockery and contempt.

"If they hadn't fled so quickly, perhaps this Demon disaster would have spread to the Empire itself long ago." A middle-aged noble seated near the fireplace stroked his beard, his gaze steady.

"Looking at it now, they really did block a blow for the Empire."

"Then doesn't that mean..." A young noble in the corner raised his brows. "They actually did something good?"

For a moment, laughter erupted once more. Everyone found the remark utterly ridiculous, yet it carried a touch of absurd truth.

Similar discussions were quietly spreading throughout the northern territories.

The nobles had sharp