Simply Too Evil!

"Bang—!"

A crackling barrage of gunfire rang out, and the players' faith in caliber shattered Mo Er La Ge's faith in the Dragon God without suspense.

Golden scales were pierced by lead bullets, and scorching blood sprayed into the air.

His eyes widened in disbelief before he finally collapsed to the ground in humiliation.

As his life force drained away, his swollen body visibly shrank, quickly becoming even smaller than before like a punctured balloon.

He looked like a dried-up gecko.

Seeing the High Priest lying on the ground, Ze Like, furious to the extreme, suddenly calmed down as though experiencing a final flash of clarity.

He knew.

He had no chance of winning. Though he was still alive, there was little difference between that and death.

"Ze Like... remember my name. Even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go."

"Is that so?"

Leon smiled faintly and spoke the words that plunged Ze Like into an icy abyss.

"Then I'll grant your wish."

As his words fell, Okdo's curved blade pierced Ze Like's chest with a wet squelch.

The latter struggled for a while before losing his breath and silently collapsing atop his brother.

Ignoring Arakdo's flattering praise, Leon casually raised a hand, bringing this fratricidal battle to an end. He then used Necromantic Magic to reanimate Ze Like's corpse.

Leon would not pity them.

From his standpoint, every monster in the entire dungeon was a traitor. Not only had they declared themselves kings and sought division, they had also betrayed the faith of the Demon God.

The fact that he had given them a chance to surrender was already unprecedented mercy in hell.

If it had been another Demon Lord, the first thing they would have done was kill them all.

Then again, if another Demon Lord had come here, they might have been killed by that Teleportation Array in the first episode...

Leon's only regret was that the Experience Points from those two bosses, one large and one small, had to be split among dozens of people.

If he had kept them all for himself, he might have gained another hundred thousand or so.

Even so.

More than two hundred thousand Experience Points were enough for him to advance.

ID: Leon

Race: Human

Soul Level: Refined Steel (Level Cap LV50)

Level: LV.34 (+1)

Experience Points: (1141/340,000)

Constitution: 14 (+1)

Strength: 13 Agility: 13 Intelligence: 39 (+1)

Spirit: 40 (+1)

"Three levels in just a few days... Sure enough, compared to training, killing, killing, and killing is the fastest way to level up."

Still wanting more, Leon turned his gaze toward the human commander kneeling on the ground.

That sinister smile frightened the man half to death, the color draining from his face at a visible rate.

However, Leon did not attack him. He even stopped the eager players.

He was a reasonable person.

As long as they had not recklessly attacked him first, or kept fighting after he told them to stop, he generally let them live.

"Your name, position, and... the level of your Extraordinary Power."

The man swallowed. Not daring to hide anything, he answered in a trembling voice.

"A De Lai... I am the Sheriff of Silverpine Town. I know a little swordsmanship... My strength is only Bronze."

Just like Jack.

It seemed Bronze-level strength was already the ceiling for the young people of a small town.

Souls any stronger either would not reincarnate here at all, or would quickly rise above the rest after being born here and be recruited by a lord or church.

Leon looked at him and continued asking.

"Why were you and your subordinates in the dungeon? Who sent you?"

This was what Leon cared about most.

"I... actually... it was all a misunderstanding..."

A De Lai stammered for a long time before finally explaining the whole sequence of events.

It all began when a drunken sentry encountered a skeleton at the dungeon entrance.

Because undead had appeared on the first floor of the dungeon, the Adventurers' Guild raised the priority of commissions in Silverpine Town, and the entire town began spreading rumors that the Demon Lord in the dungeon had come back to life.

As the Sheriff of Silverpine Town and one of the first people to hear the news, A De Lai naturally could not sit still. He was terrified that the Demon Lord's army would spawn right in his face.

Then, as if by coincidence, the Lizardmen army began gathering at that very moment.

Overly jumpy, he figured it was better to suffer a short pain than a long one and simply led the militia into the dungeon.

Yet no one had expected those Lizardmen to be unexpectedly powerful. Compared with when they had served as cannon fodder under the Demon Lord, they were practically a completely different species.

By the time he realized how serious the problem was, both sides had reached a point where they could no longer stop.

Then he lit the powder keg, only to discover that he had blown his own people senseless as well.

Hearing that series of dramatic twists, Leon almost failed to maintain the majesty on his face.

He had originally planned to lure those four-legged lizards beneath the Demon Lord Territory, then use the advantage of fighting on home ground and a sea-of-skeletons strategy to overwhelm them with Faith Power and players.

He had never expected those people to fight a group of overly nervous humans instead, letting him reap the benefits for free.

For a moment, he could not decide how to collect this toll.

How about...

Go big? Just as he was considering it, the Priest lying on the ground slowly opened his eyes.

The instant his gaze met Leon's, his eyes went wide.

"Saint Siss above, please bring down divine punishment—"

Honestly, Leon felt that this old man was not very smart. It was one thing to chant so slowly, but knowing he was slow, he still did not try to hide it.

"No!"

A De Lai roared in grief and fury, trying to stop this fanatical religious madman from killing himself, but it was already too late.

Bond raised his hand and stabbed his blade straight through the Priest's throat without even blinking.

A De Lai's face turned deathly pale as he despairingly lowered his raised right hand.

Well, that settled it.

Now, he would not only have to endure the lord's wrath; he would probably have to endure the regional bishop's wrath as well.

Not far away, the shoulder of the Silverpine Town Adventurers' Guild president lying on the ground twitched uncontrollably, and his eyes squeezed shut even tighter.

Without exposing the man playing dead, Leon looked at the Sheriff named A De Lai and said,

"I want to know who your superior is, and who the most powerful official in Silverpine Town is."

"My superior is the Public Security Headquarters in Thunder City. The Public Security Headquarters belongs to City Hall, City Hall serves the Governor, and the Governor serves Grand Duke Campbell. Silverpine Town is rather special, though. Administratively, it belongs to Thunder City, but it is also Baron Guss's territory. If you are asking about the highest-ranking official... that would probably be Mayor Mu Lier. However, Victor Baron Guss is the one who truly collects taxes and makes decisions most of the time."

At this point, A De Lai paused for a moment before continuing nervously.

"It is a complicated system... If you are interested, I can explain it to you slowly."

He did not know why Lord Demon Lord was interested in this sort of thing, but if it meant he could live, he did not mind selling some intelligence about the surface world.

However, this Lord Demon Lord did not seem to intend to take him prisoner. After thinking for a moment, Leon said,

"I think I understand. So... you are just the head security guard in charge of militia training and public order, right?"

Although he did not know what a security guard was, A De Lai hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, that is right... But after this crushing defeat, whether I can remain Sheriff is hard to say."

Leon knowingly asked,

"Because the losses were severe?"

A De Lai nodded with a bitter smile, then glanced at the Priest lying on the ground.

"More than severe... To be honest, I am not even sure whether I will live to see tomorrow's sun."

Leon smiled.

"Then do you want to see tomorrow's sun?"

A De Lai said bitterly, "It would be a lie to say I do not... but as you can see, I am finished."

"Very good." Leon nodded and said cheerfully, "I like honest people... So, Mr. A De Lai, are you interested in making a deal with a demon?"

A De Lai froze.

"...A deal?"

Leon said nothing. He merely waved the Magic Wand in his hand and shot a green light at the Priest, whose blood had nearly drained away.

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded!

The Priest stood up from the ground, swaying as though nothing had happened.

A De Lai stared at Leon in astonishment, then looked at the stiff-faced Priest Matt. A smile even uglier than crying appeared on his face.

"What... is the point of this?"

He knew what this Demon Lord had done. He had merely turned Priest Matt into a zombie.

But that was no different from deceiving oneself.

More than that.

Desecrating the corpse of a clergyman was a serious crime. If things went badly, he might be moved from the gallows to the stake.

Seeing the smile on A De Lai's face that looked worse than crying, Leon said indifferently,

"Your understanding of Necromantic Spells is too shallow. Even zombies come in many varieties... Matt, say hello to your colleague."

Expressionless, Matt looked at A De Lai and spoke amid the latter's stunned gaze.

"Hello... Mr. A De Lai."

As Matt spoke, blood was still pouring from the hole in his neck.

A De Lai looked as though he had seen a ghost and stared at the Demon Lord in horror.

"W-what is going on?!"

He had never heard of such a Necromantic Spell!

It could not only make the dead stand up, but also preserve the mind of the living!

What kind of joke was this?!

"This is called a ghoul. It is somewhat different from an ordinary zombie. Am I right, Mr. Matt?"

Hearing Leon's words, Matt nodded slightly and said respectfully,

"You are correct... Lord Demon Lord."

In the surface world, most people viewed undead as Wandering Ghosts without self-awareness.

Because they had not been devout in life and could not be buried in land blessed by holy rites or drink holy water, their souls could not enter Saint Siss's hall to reincarnate. They could only wander the Mortal World like monsters.

Most people would never attempt to communicate with such unclean beings. Even ignoring their existence was already the greatest kindness... just as they treated demon-human hybrids like Sarah.

Hell, however, was different.

Everything mortals hated was usually something Demon God united.

This included the "undead"! Among all undead, ghouls ranked second in number. Their social class roughly corresponded to the low-ranking demons among the "demon race"—in other words, demon-humans.

They shared many similarities with zombies. For example, they had no memories of their previous lives, loved eating meat—especially raw bloody meat—feared holy light, could not naturally heal their wounds, and could not be treated with conventional healing magic.

However, their differences from zombies were also obvious.

The most notable difference was that they often possessed independent minds. Although those minds initially relied mainly on their lingering obsessions from life and the information instilled in them by a necromancer, they would eventually develop independent personalities.

Furthermore, the relationship they formed with the necromancer who awakened them was not a master-servant contract, but something more akin to that between parents and children.

Watching Sheriff A De Lai hold his breath, Leon continued in an unhurried voice.

"Now, Silverpine Town's priests and clergy are all here. They are the only people in the entire town with the authority to interpret Saint Siss's doctrine. Only undead they acknowledge are undead. No one else can strip the priestly robes from their bodies... Matt, would you admit that you are undead?"

Matt shook his head and said in a hoarse voice,

"I have no reason to do that... I am Your Majesty Demon Lord's servant. My task is to conceal myself."

"Very good. Later, I will stitch up your wound so it looks more convincing, then get you some perfume."

Leon nodded approvingly and continued while looking at A De Lai.

"Not only Mr. Matt. I will awaken those four priests as well... That way, we will monopolize Silverpine Town's church."

"This is insane..." A De Lai stared at Leon in disbelief and muttered, "What if someone from above comes down?! Every priest in a church being a ghoul... T-this will be exposed sooner or later!"

"Not necessarily." Leon shook his head and continued in a coaxing tone, "This is Silverpine Town outside Thunder City. Who even knows the name of this little town once they leave Thunder City? Not to mention how far it is from the Holy City... Even Saint Siss, who is capable of anything, would never notice that one of his tiny churches had suffered a tiny accident."

"As for what to do if someone above sends someone down, that is easy... I will handle them."

A De Lai stared at him with wide eyes. Instinctively, he felt this idea was utterly insane, yet he could not stop his palms from sweating.

Indeed.

Just as this Lord Demon Lord said, the chance of being exposed was not actually that high.

Only adventurers usually came to this godforsaken little town. And nobody would believe anything those loose-tongued people said anyway. Instead, they could become smoke bombs to obscure the truth! Controlling the church of an entire town...

He had never even imagined such a thing before, much less dared to entertain such blasphemous thoughts!

"Can you... truly guarantee that they will not be exposed?" A De Lai hurriedly glanced at Matt before looking back at Leon. "But why would you help me? Or rather, what do you want from me?"

"Everything you have."

"E-everything?!"

A De Lai stepped back in panic, though he only took one step.

It sounded terrifying...

But it did not seem all that bad? He had nothing left to lose anyway.

And this demon before him could not only grant him worldly power, but also give him eternity.

Especially the latter.

It was something even Grand Duke Campbell could not obtain!

"Yes."

Leon looked down at the face shifting between greed and fear, savoring the rich play of expressions as he led the young officer step by step into the abyss of corruption.

"I want everything you have... From this day on, you will be my servant, and I will be your lord. You will swear loyalty to me and offer me all your devotion. In return, I will give you things you never even dared dream of before... Not merely worldly power, but the glory of continuing to serve me even after death."

A De Lai's palms were soaked with sweat. At last, he made that difficult decision in his heart.

"How do you intend to give me... the power you spoke of?"

Leon chuckled softly.

"How will I give it to you? Do I need to teach you something like this? Ecclesiastical authority and military authority are both in your hands. Tell me, who is the true master of Silverpine Town?"

"The mayor? The baron? Hahaha."

"Looks like you already have the answer... That's right, it's you. From now on, only you will be the one whose word truly carries weight in Silverpine Town!"

There was no need for him to say the rest. Anyone knew what needed to be done.

And the subsequent developments went exactly as Leon had expected. Sheriff A De Lai ultimately chose to seize his future.

Afterward, Matt and the four accompanying priests would return to the surface with him, coordinate their story for the outside world, and quietly take over Silverpine Town's church in the process.

Especially the latter.

It was a crucial part of Leon's plan.

If A De Lai was to keep the official hat on his head, the church had to step in.

That included compensating the families of fallen soldiers and paying the local lord a certain amount of restitution.

Leon took out the Recording Crystal and had A De Lai swear an "unbreakable oath" before it. Then, riding Arakdo, he approached the president of the Adventurers' Guild, who was pretending to be asleep.

"And you? Shall I give you a hand, or will you get up off the ground yourself?"

Qie Er, the Adventurers' Guild president, froze for a moment. Then he climbed up from the ground with an awkward smile, before suddenly remembering something and hurriedly dropping to his knees.

"L-Lord Demon Lord... I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything."

Leon spoke with a faintly amused smile.

"Do you think my mount believes that?"

Watching the giant spider rub its mandibles together, Qie Er's face turned deathly pale, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans formed on his forehead.

Still, he was a clever man. His mind quickly caught on.

"Y-You... What do you want me to do?"

Leon said unhurriedly.

"I want you to remain the president of the Silverpine Town Adventurers' Guild and help me gather intelligence on the Adventurers' Guild... Also, when necessary, help me post a few commissions."

Qie Er nodded frantically and immediately agreed.

"No problem! Leave it to me..."

His utter lack of devotion made Leon recall Headmaster Aiven's warning.

Those townsfolk truly were a bunch of spineless cowards. They had not even considered resisting him.

Leon handed over the Crystal Ball. Without a word, Qie Er immediately repeated everything A De Lai had said, then looked at the Demon Lord ingratiatingly.

What Leon did not know was that part of the reason this Adventurers' Guild president was so cooperative was because Leon was different from Reggie Dragon.

A Demon Lord who could make deals was not disliked by the worldly citizens of Thunder City.

What they truly feared were the kind of people who slaughtered entire families at the slightest disagreement...

Not far away, two pairs of eyes hidden among the ruins left by the explosion were secretly observing the Demon Lord riding atop the Cave Spider.

They were Little Devils from the second underground level, a variety different from the "demi-demonfolk" of the Demon Capital. More specifically, they looked more human and held a status similar to demonfolk.

Besides their nearly human appearance, they had a pair of red horns on their heads, bat-like wings and barbed tails on their backs, were shorter than Dwarves, and slimmer than elves... Yet they had no shortage of wicked schemes in their bellies.

Normally, these creatures would not come to the first level of the dungeon, because there were annoying spiderwebs here.

But the earlier explosion had been far too exciting. It had directly blown down part of a corridor, so they had been sent here to see what was happening.

Yet no one had expected that they would make an unexpected discovery after arriving... Distant hell had actually sent a new Demon Lord!

Demon God had not given up on this Demon Lord Territory after all!

This was simply unbelievable! And this newly arrived Demon Lord seemed more to their liking than Lord Dragan!? Not only was he sinister, he was cunning enough as well!

Especially when they saw Lord Demon Lord forcing a human to pray and swear an oath to Demon God before the Crystal Ball, they nearly failed to hold back their wicked laughter.

Was this something a human would do?

It was simply...

Too evil!

"Damn it, is this the newly arrived Your Majesty Demon Lord?"

"Damn it, damn it, this is way too evil!!!"

A small update in the early hours of the first day after release. Updates will return to ten o'clock tomorrow, so everyone should get some sleep early~