"What do I have to do?"
When there was no way to resist, accepting was the only choice. Thus, after a long period of silence, even Tessa had no choice but to accept this reality.
Survival and destruction had never been a problem. When everything could be easily destroyed, and nothing could be left behind, choosing to survive wasn't a shameful thing. Instead, it was an inevitable thing. The only difference was what to do in the future.
If one chose to drag out an ignoble existence, one would naturally be able to easily survive the curses of others. However, if one could truly save the country in a roundabout way, one could be considered a hero. Unfortunately, saving the country in a roundabout way was a very nonsensical thing. Since one had already chosen to lower one's head once.
Then, the second time wouldn't be so difficult.
"It's very simple. Become the king, then pledge your loyalty to me. Most of the nobles in Demacia will survive. I will only kill those who have failed to live up to their responsibilities and honor. I will also do my best to not harm their lives when I reform the land, and provide them with another way out. Otherwise, apart from those who are truly honorable and virtuous, I will not spare a single one of the nobles in Demacia. "
Li Ke stated his price, and Teana couldn't help but heave a forlorn sigh.
"This condition is still inciting a civil war in Demacia."
Those who didn't want to surrender to Li Ke were those who had large amounts of land. Li Ke's actions in Pi City fully demonstrated his malice towards the land owners. The act of nationalizing land was not very accepted in this era. It was like a medieval game where you helped the monarch of a faction conquer one city after another. Then, the monarch said that these lands were all his and that you did not have to reward him. It was more or less the same.
This was something that only the most brutal and tyrannical rulers would do. After all, without the land, the nobles wouldn't have any guarantee of their own benefits.
Of course, the nobles wouldn't surrender if their benefits weren't guaranteed.
"So what if I keep the land for them? I will build one city after another in this world that can gather tens of millions of people. Under my magic, there will never be a lack of food. So what if they own the land? It's not a difficult choice to make, whether to hug the land and be killed by me in this old era, or to give up those lands and join the new era. "
Li Ke's plan was to let the two worlds be closely connected. Valoran and Earth would be two equal civilizations that would communicate and communicate, so it was necessary to build many modern cities in Valoran. The land that the nobles held would only affect his plan.
This kind of thing had to be done to the extreme. It was done in one go and there was no way to leave any loose ends behind.
"Your methods can be gentler, Mr. Li Ke. You can do this later, instead of doing it now. Demacia has nothing that can resist you. Why do you have to add to the slaughter at this time?"
Teana was beginning to understand why Li Ke had referred to himself as the demon king, but she really didn't want this type of understanding.
"It's more important to see who listens to me more. Most importantly, I don't have that much time left for integration, Teana. I don't have time to play games with the Heavenly Gods. There are many things I need to do, but that definitely doesn't include scheming. "
Teana could only feel her anger rising, but there was nothing she could do. She forcefully suppressed her anger and asked Li Ke as calmly as possible.
"But if that's the case, what's the point of you coming to me? Since you still want Demacia to be burned to the ground, why did you come to me and ask me to pledge my loyalty to you? You just don't want Demacia to be destroyed. Although I'm very sad and helpless about this, it's precisely because the changes in Demacia have exceeded your expectations that you suddenly came to me, right? "
Li Ke nodded. He didn't deny this point. He really didn't expect Jiawen the Third to be killed! He was prepared to give this king, who had a good personality, a good position to contend against Lefran, but who would've thought that he would die just like that?
The internal strife in Demacia was much more intense than he had expected!
That was why he answered Teana in a rather righteous manner.
"That's why I came to you. If I had a good way to deal with this situation, why would I come to you? I would've done it myself. "
Teana almost couldn't help but stab Li Ke with her sword again. However, she managed to suppress this impulse. Instead, she leaned against the table and took a few deep breaths before answering Li Ke's question.
"Then unless you propose a marriage alliance, no one else can do what you're thinking."
Li Ke wanted most of the nobles of Demacia to live and become grass-roots officials so that they could keep Lefran's power in check. Meanwhile, Teana also wanted to protect the nobles of Demacia as much as possible so that Demacia's power wouldn't decrease too much. Demacia's voice would be too low among Li Ke's forces. She wanted to protect this land and its people as much as possible.
Therefore, their demands were actually the same. Teana had indeed thought of a good method, and that was to find Li Ke a marriage alliance with a major noble that all of Demacia could recognize and trust. Then, this major noble would vouch for Li Ke's conditions.
Otherwise, with Li Ke's conditions, she would only be able to see half of the nobles of Demacia being killed. This way, she would be able to protect the majority of the nobles. Only the nobles who didn't get along with them, as well as some nobles that she and Li Ke hated, would be eliminated and killed.
However, this was a loss that she could accept. This was also the reason why she was willing to accept Li Ke's conditions.
"I don't have a son or a daughter, and I don't want my children to bear such a fate."
"I know, but this is the only way."
"So, this method won't work."
"No, it can."
Teana shook her head. She truly didn't have many choices, and there weren't many people that she could trust. So, she actually didn't have much of a choice. Fate was truly playing a joke on her.
"So, you're planning to find me a wife? Don't even think about it. I won't accept such a marriage because it's undoubtedly a joke on a girl's life and future. Although I can accept Carina's words, she's not a legitimate daughter to you. Wait, you're not planning to marry Lacus to me, are you? She's only about 10 years old this year, right?! "
Li Ke furrowed his brows. He really didn't want to go through with this method, not to mention that he was ruining a girl's happiness. Although there wasn't much freedom in marriage for the girls of large families, he was going to abolish this system in the future.
What was the point of him doing this?
Furthermore, even though he really did like Lacus and had once thought about marrying her, that was based on the timeline that he had transmigrated to when Lacus was an adult. The current Lacus was completely a young girl, and he really didn't want to commit such a crime.
"There are plenty of girls who get married at the age of 12 in this world. Besides, Lacus doesn't have any right to choose. She's going to marry the king anyway, so her fate and future won't change. She's been facing this fate since she was born. Mr. Li Ke, you should know about this, right? "
Teana harrumphed disdainfully. Li Ke's determination on this matter made her feel that Li Ke was really a boorish man who didn't understand the etiquette of nobility. However, in order to achieve her goal, she still wanted to continue persuading him.
"In short, it's impossible."
Li Ke flatly refused.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with sacrificing one person so that more people can live. If you have any other ideas, you can tell me, or you can find a more suitable candidate. If you can, I'll accept it wholeheartedly."
Teana sighed as she swung her golden hair back and forth. Li Ke really couldn't think of anyone who could replace Lacus. No, to be precise, he really couldn't think of any good ideas.
"Ah, of course. Although I'm also a legitimate daughter, you shouldn't be interested in an old woman like me. Personally, I hate you very much, so … Hmm, maybe I can marry you? If you don't mind that I'm old and weak, and that I can stab you in the heart on the bed at any time. "
Teana originally only wanted to mock Li Ke, but halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized that instead of marrying a girl who hadn't grown up yet, marrying Li Ke seemed to be the best way to make the nobles of Demacia believe her.
She herself wasn't a high-quality product or gift, and she wasn't as valuable and sincere as Lacus, who had yet to experience anything. However, if she married Demacia, it would be a good thing for both the Royal Guards and Demacia. It would greatly reduce Demacia's losses.
I've already married the leader of my faction to you. You can't treat me badly, right?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this matter was very suitable. So, she looked at Li Ke and continued speaking in a hesitant tone.
"What do you think? I think this matter is very feasible. If you have any ideas about my body, or if you want me to get pregnant during this period of time, then I can appease Demacia to the satisfaction of both of us. "
Li Ke's expression was as if a ghost had just seen him.
"… Esteemed Karina … No, Kiana … Miss Teana, you don't have a fever, do you?"
Teana's hatred and disgust toward him couldn't be faked. However, it was precisely this kind of Teana that said something like this after thinking about it for a while. This really dealt a blow to his young and fragile worldview.
"I'm sorry, you don't really think that I like you, do you? You disgusting and disgusting demon king, the only reason I said that I want to marry you is for the sake of this country. All I have for you is hatred, so you don't have to worry about hurting anyone at all. You've already hurt me enough, and this degree of hurt is not enough to make me feel any pain. Besides, even if I marry you, I don't think my life will be any different from the life of a widow now, right? "
She looked at Li Ke with a disdainful expression. Her condescending attitude made Li Ke, who was still a little mentally ill, feel a slight sense of excitement.
It couldn't be helped. This was how Li Ke felt after his desires were unshackled. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Mai Yisha get hold of him so easily and become a little complacent.
Fortunately, his rationality was still intact.
"Then what about your happiness?"
"You have the face to tell me that? If you really want me to be happy, then the best way is to kill me. "
Teana pulled out a dagger from the side and handed it to Li Ke. She was currently in a state where she felt that everything was fine. If she could preserve Demacia and the Royal Guards, she would do her best. However, if Li Ke really insisted on destroying everything, she would be more than happy to be free.
"You've never been on my purge list, even if you don't agree with me."
Li Ke accepted the dagger and placed it back on the table. When the dagger came into contact with the table, it had already turned into a red rose.
"Then take responsibility. Since you call yourself the demon king, then you should have the self-awareness of a demon king. Or is your magnanimity only to this extent? You're willing to sacrifice the greater good for your own glory and ideas? Since you're already so willful that you want everyone to live according to your ideas, then you have to accept the consequences of your willfulness. "
When Li Ke put down the red rose, Teana picked it up again like a sword and pointed it at Li Ke again.
"The happiness you want me to obtain has never been part of my fate from the very beginning, so please don't feel burdened. We're only together for the sake of a better life for the people of this land. I will treat this marriage with loyalty, and I don't ask you to respect this marriage as well. I'm not marrying you, Li Ke. Instead, I'm marrying the stability of Demacia. All you have to do is marry me or marry Lux. "
"Isn't there a better way?"
"With the conditions you've offered, there isn't."
"Then let's do this."
Li Ke heaved a long sigh as he accepted the rose from Teana. A golden light appeared on the flower that had been transformed from the dagger, and after the light dissipated, the flower turned into a shimmering platinum ring.
"In my name, Teana, from this moment onwards, you will become my wife and my strength. I will not betray this loyalty, and I will treat you with sincerity and regard you as an indispensable arm of mine. "
Teana extended her hand, and Li Ke slipped the ring onto her ring finger before kissing it.
In that instant, Teana felt a burst of warmth spread throughout her body and mind. Li Ke had injected his power into Teana's body, causing her features to gradually become younger, and her body was filled with immense power. When Li Ke let go of her hand, she stared at her own hands with a bewildered expression, marveling at the power within her body.
She instinctively waved her hand, and a burst of golden light enshrouded her body. Golden longswords emerged from the void and the earth before piercing deeply into the buildings of the Crown Guards' castle. She could sense that she could summon these longswords from anywhere, and at the same time, she could use the power that Li Ke had given her to strengthen and protect her own body.
She didn't have any magic talent, but she could sense the boundless magic power around her that she could use at will, as well as the world that was beginning to change.
Most importantly, this wasn't all there was to this power; there was so much more that could be unearthed.
"Don't disappoint me, Teana."
Li Ke's body slowly faded away, and the castle of the Crown Guards also erupted into an uproar due to the sudden emergence of the countless golden longswords.
He had given Teana enough power to take care of everything, so all he had to do was leave the rest to her. As for the marriage, he was confident that Teana would be able to take care of it as well. All he had to do was send a message to Lefran, and the rest would be up to the two of them.
Thus, Li Ke had one less thing on his to-do list.
However …
"Tsk tsk, how do you always meet women like this? With your cunning, you'll be able to achieve great feats no matter what era you're in. I really have nothing to say about your luck with women. "
Mai Yisha looked at Li Ke with a gloating expression. She had witnessed the entire process, and seeing as Li Ke hadn't taken her to the castle, she naturally didn't want her to say anything. As such, all she had to do was mock and remind him.
"It's fine as long as you've achieved your goal. Besides, you don't really think that I care about this marriage arrangement, do you?"
Li Ke shook his head. He and Teana were only using each other. If Teana really was like what she appeared to be, there was no way that she would be able to reach an agreement with him.
She could only say that she was quite lucky. Li Ke had a very good impression of her and the other members of the Crown Guards, and he didn't want to ruin their relationship.
As for treating her as his wife?
Was Li Ke someone who cared about that kind of status? They were just business partners.
However, Mai Yisha reminded Li Ke of something that he had overlooked.
"Then what about your wives? They haven't been formally proposed to by you yet, right? "
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