"Any kindness has a reason and a price."
Although this sounded like I was measuring the heart of a gentleman with the yardstick of a villain, in a damned place like the Chaos Abyss, kindness without a reason was far more unsettling than malice.
The devils' departure was only temporary. Lasnina had only been mentally injured. Once she recovered, she would come back sooner or later. Considering how she had suffered this time, I would definitely bring one or two more Devil Lords or even the entire devil army with me next time.
"I think that our top priority right now is to hurry up and escape. Why does His Highness Voka want to see us? "
I refused to believe that she would be able to find us as long as our destination wasn't exposed.
"Why don't you have more fun? I can arrange a tour guide for you …"
Have more fun in the Chaos Abyss? If it wasn't for the fact that Snake God Voka was the one saying this, and that we weren't currently in his Divine Kingdom, I would have flipped the table already … Could you at least speak like a human!? Was this really a place where it was possible to organize a tour route?
I could understand that he hadn't spoken like a human for far too long, so he was trying to find something to say. However, could he consider reality? Traveling in the Chaos Abyss, which was filled with mud and swamps … Perhaps it really would work! As long as we filmed a show about survival in the wild, we would have to prevent any prey from devouring the entire filming crew. Snake God Voka would also have to protect us.
"Cough, there's no point in being polite to begin with, so I'll just get straight to the point …"
While my mind was already racing, and I was really starting to plan out how to profit from this tour route, Voka was the first to stop talking about it.
"… I hope that you can help me establish a connection with the Gods of Hades."
As I expected! In an instant, I revealed a troubled expression.
Of course, it wasn't really awkward. Establishing a connection with the Gods of Hades wouldn't be difficult at all for me. But if things were too easy, how could I use this opportunity to extort … and show how important I was?
Abyss Snake God Voka wanted to join the Hades Faction? This seemed inconceivable, but it was actually quite understandable. Over the past few years, many Gods had joined the Chaos Abyss. What was even more inconceivable was that most of these Gods were Chaos Evil Gods.
But if one thought about it carefully, it was only natural.
When there were only two factions in the world, every single person or country would have to choose a side. Not only would they have to express their loyalty, they would also have to express their hatred towards the opposing faction. Otherwise, they would be considered an anomaly that couldn't be tolerated by either faction, and they would … Alright, we all know the result.
When there was a victor between the two camps and there was only one camp left, the victor would divide and seize the spoils of war. There was nothing much to say. Just take a look at the hundreds of "wars" that a certain country on Earth had created after the Cold War and you would know.
When totalitarianism lost its restraints, when all ambitions could be realized at will, when the treasuries of other countries were no longer guarded, when one person was both a player and a referee, there was no need to say what would happen.
But when there were only three major factions in the world, many situations would be foundationally different. A triangular structure might seem incredibly unstable, but it was actually incredibly flexible. Any angle could support the triangular structure. Minor changes in power and slight adjustments in the angle wouldn't cause the entire structure to collapse.
Many of the previous Chaos Evil Gods had once been members of the Order Gods. But when they left their divine positions for various reasons, they discovered that even though the world was large, they had nowhere else to go. In the end, they could only choose to take root in the Chaos Abyss and become a member of the Chaos Abyss.
This was the disadvantage of having two factions. It was either you or me, black or white. There was no room for ambiguous choices.
But now, the Chaos Evil Gods that joined the Hades Faction weren't truly members of the Hades Faction. They were instead members of a "third party". Their goal was only to break free from the Order and Chaos Abyss' control over them. The Hades Faction was more than happy to provide this type of protection. This was one of the goals that the Hades Faction pursued.
Most of the new third party members were Chaos Evil Gods. It wasn't that the Low and Middle Order Gods were doing quite well. It was that they were being controlled even more deeply.
"Sincerity."
These were simple words, but they were quite thought-provoking. I was personally asking for an intermediary fee, as well as the Hades Faction asking Voka to express his sincerity and determination to break free from the Chaos Abyss.
There had to be a reason for your betrayal, right? Why didn't the Chaos Faction treat you well? Shouldn't you at least tell me?
Voka revealed a bitter smile when he heard this. Light flashed through his green eyes, and he seemed to be filled with an indescribable sorrow.
"The current generation probably only knows that I, Voka, am the Snake God and the God of Poison. What they don't know is that I was originally a gigantic white snake at the foot of Hainor Mountain, the local Guardian God of the forest. I used to be the Nature Totem God, as well as a member of the Nature Faction …"
Not to mention, even I didn't know that the Nature Faction was once the number one God Faction that leaned towards the Order Faction. The Nature Faction's Main God was the famous Earth Mother Goddess. Voka told me about how he had been betrayed during the Holy War, and how he had fallen from being the Guardian God of forests and snakemen to becoming the God of Poison. Even the snakemen under his protection had been stripped of their reason and conscience, and were now known as snake demons.
This wasn't anything new. In the end, it was nothing more than a Holy War where a powerful species was reduced to a third-rate species. Even their Guardian Gods were exiled. In the end, they could only become Level Lords of the Chaos Abyss.
I didn't say a single word as I listened to Voka's story with great interest as if I was listening to a story … Actually, I was indeed treating this as a story. No matter how moving or complicated the story was, most of the people involved were already dead. What else could I do apart from treat this story as entertainment? Also, Voka's story was obviously far too biased. He even said "it wasn't my fault" throughout the entire story. He made himself sound like the number one tragic male lead in the world, which made his story even more doubtful.
The entire story was about how Voka had been misunderstood and exiled by the Nature Faction. He was then forced to settle down in the Chaos Abyss. Now that he was sick of this place, he wanted to move to another place to live. At any rate, everyone else was in the wrong.
There was no need for me to argue about this. The truth of this story wasn't that important. The Hades Faction and I needed a reason, and Voka gave me a reason. That was enough. As for whether or not this reason was real … Actually, both sides knew that the past wasn't important at all. What was important was what Voka would do in the future.
And, saying anything about this would be meaningless. Time would prove everything. Practical actions and exchanges of benefits would help establish a new alliance.
Of course, if I spoke on behalf of Voka, the Main Gods of the Hades Faction would pay more attention to this alliance. This alliance would be established much faster, but that was all.
Voka was quite generous. He "accidentally" told me that I lacked Myth-ranked materials. He opened up his treasury and allowed me to choose two items of my choosing as payment for acting as the middleman.
And, I "accidentally" asked him about the devils. Even though we clearly didn't have any grudges against each other, why were they suddenly trying to kill us?
"About that? I think they intend to use you as a hostage in exchange for Ilmisya from Cavendish. What's the matter with you … "
Alright, at that moment, my face was probably twisted.
"Haha, a good older brother is one who occasionally takes the blame for his younger brother."
The silly cat wasn't even sleeping anymore. She was rolling around on the ground in laughter. I picked her up and casually tossed her into a nearby pool of water.
My negotiation with Voka ended here. He definitely had his own expectations for being willing to give up all his wealth in the Chaos Abyss. Perhaps he wanted the snake demons to be able to live in the mortal plane, or perhaps he wanted to reclaim his Divine Concept of Forest Guardian. But, none of this was something he should be discussing with me. I was happy to pretend that I didn't know anything.
As for Voka's treasury, I didn't have much expectations for it. Most of the ancient Gods here probably had God Equipment in their possession, but they definitely wouldn't be willing to give it to me. Would he really give up all his treasures just because he said so? There would be a limit to how naive I could be. At most, it would only be an ordinary mortal's treasury.
If I specifically asked for something, it would be difficult for Voka to refuse. But since he was aimless, it would actually be easier to fool him. After all, I didn't know what treasures he had. He would definitely have poison-related treasures, and he would definitely have plenty of treasures related to snakemen. But, what use would I have?
This was fine as well. But, just as Voka and I were about to start a banquet, he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows.
"Your Highness Roland, perhaps you should speed up your journey. Just now, two more Devil Lords entered this mortal plane."
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