Dragon Domain.
In the great hall of the Dragon Palace, Zul reclined against his throne, looking languid.
Nilos stood below the steps, bowing slightly as she reported the latest progress. Zul had transferred her to the Second Layer, where she still served as chief administrator.
Ian entered the hall and glanced at Zul. Status Panel sharing activated automatically, synchronizing a flood of information.
Zul sat upright, his expression grave. "There's more than one seventh-level being in the Third Layer."
"At least three more are on the other side of the Teleportation Array," Ian said, shaking his head.
"Most of Morgana's direct forces have already crossed over. I doubt many seventh-level beings remain behind. This is a good opportunity."
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Zul fell silent for a moment. "But the local factions will still resist. Do we need to kill them all?"
"That depends. Your goal is to establish a foothold in the Third Layer first. It would be best to find out who backs them before you make a move, so you don't bring a powerful enemy down on yourself."
Zul sighed. "Once I'm there, I'll be a wandering Demon King."
Ian nodded. With Zul's strength just shy of the seventh level, claiming another territory should not be difficult.
That was the first problem he had to solve. Once the first two layers were devoured, Zul's Lord's Authority would disappear.
Losing that authority would also free Zul from the constraints of his identity. He therefore had to establish his foundations in the Third Layer before the devouring began.
"If you want a foothold there, you'll need to strengthen your subordinates," Ian said, looking at Zul.
"Yes. I have too few Chaos Guards," Zul said in a low voice. "There aren't enough of them, and they aren't strong enough."
"Then keep strengthening them.