Chapter 21: You Thought of That Again?

Ignoring the Meeting Hall that had suddenly fallen into silence, that demon continued:

“The Great Demon King has been slumbering for ten years. Although the Demon Race generally enjoys long lifespans, ten years is still a considerable amount of time. It is not a simple task to catch up with the changes that have occurred during this period.”

These words were not incorrect. Even for long-lived races, the development of an era does not remain completely stagnant. Furthermore, after the Demon Race was unified by Great Demon King Ai Yue, they began to make a qualitative leap. To put it another way, the demons, who had stopped fighting amongst themselves and started to unite, were able to exert their full potential.

A period of ten years was enough to create a difference equivalent to a generation, and that was without even considering the influence of shorter-lived races like the Human Race.

However, none of them knew that Ai Yue had not actually been slumbering for ten years. As the developer, she sometimes used different identities to participate in the game for testing. This body with the identity of the Great Demon King was simply one of the avatars with more permissions. After all, its strength was greater, allowing her to test more things. It was just that her tests were mostly conducted in secret rooms, so she never ventured outside.

Back to the point. Because of this, the only time period Ai Yue truly knew nothing about was these past two years. Compared to ten years, the duration had been shortened fivefold, making things much easier for her. Not to mention, as a genius game developer, she had already looked through countless error logs and debugged the program many times; reading documents was no challenge at all.

Therefore, what that demon said was actually utter nonsense.

“You are too insolent! How can you question the abyss-like wisdom of the Great Demon King!?”

“But, we cannot say he is wrong, can we? Ten years is still a long time.”

“Since we have not personally experienced the Great Demon King’s capabilities, it is only natural to have doubts.”

Gradually, the demons in the Meeting Hall began to split into two factions. One side insisted that Great Demon King Ai Yue was an absolute existence who could not be questioned, while the other believed they had to wait and see how things developed first.

The situation seemed to have returned to the initial state of endless bickering. However, right at that moment, Ai Yue noticed a gaze directed at her.

Zold, who had initially guided everyone toward the idea of letting Ai Yue decide, was currently looking at her. His expression seemed to say, ‘I’ll leave it to you.’

‘Me?’

…While Ai Yue really wanted to ask that aloud, she could only choose to keep her mouth shut because there were other people present — especially that old man whose thoughts were a mystery.

What exactly was that man’s intention? First, he guided everyone to focus their attention on her, and then, once everyone’s focus shifted again, he stepped aside and ignored the situation.

Could it be… he was trying to put her in her place?

It was highly likely. If she showed even a hint of something being wrong or revealed a single flaw, this veteran would probably seize upon it and never let go.

In other words, from the very beginning, this meeting could have been a conspiracy. Ai Yue had been set up.

Dammit! Looking at that old man who acted as if none of this concerned him, a nameless fire rose within Ai Yue!

“You all…”

Anger having flared up, Ai Yue could not help but speak.

Unlike the brevity of her voice, however, everyone who heard it felt their entire bodies tremble violently for some reason.

To them, that voice carried an extremely terrifying Pressure that was suffocating.

In an instant, almost everyone’s back was drenched in cold sweat. No one dared to make a sound.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

Seeing everyone suddenly fall silent again, Ai Yue, who was originally a bit angry, felt momentarily confused.

However, the meaning of this question changed completely in the ears of the demons.

The Great Demon King was questioning why they had dared to ignore her just now! How could they dare to doubt her!

The Great Demon King was right before their eyes, yet they showed not the slightest bit of respect, merely talking to themselves and even offending her!

“We are incredibly sorry! We were disrespectful!!”

Feeling Ai Yue’s Pressure, no one dared to doubt her any longer.

Bringing such overwhelming oppression and suppressing the entire room with just a single sentence — be it in terms of strength or control over everyone’s hearts, Great Demon King Ai Yue had reached the pinnacle!

“Please forgive our crimes!!”

Everyone bowed ninety degrees toward Ai Yue. They did not dare to raise their heads to look at her, for fear of making her even more displeased.

And Ai Yue, who was feared by them, actually began to fear this group of fickle people instead.

‘What is this? They were arguing so passionately just a moment ago, yet now they’re all bowing together. Am I some kind of cult leader?’

Fine, she should probably respond for now.

“All of you, stand up. It is no — “

Halfway through, Ai Yue suddenly realized something.

‘No, this could also be a trap meant to make me let my guard down.’

As the Great Demon King who ruled the entire Demon Realm, no matter how kind she was, she could not simply overlook those who offended her authority. Otherwise, she might be seen as someone anyone could look down upon.

She had to maintain her dignity as the Great Demon King, and for that reason, she had to issue a certain amount of punishment.

“Hmm… Since you have all realized your rudeness, then put your hands behind your backs, increase the angle of your bow, and support yourselves with your heads against the floor.”

Ai Yue rested her head on her hand. Although she was petite and seated, she looked as if she were peering down at everyone. The smile on her slightly upturned lips was extremely cold, yet mixed with a hint of playfulness.

“This… this might not be appropriate…”

Just forming the idea of that movement in their minds made the demon nobles, who were accustomed to an elegant and noble style, want to retreat.

This was no longer just an apology; it was a form of humiliation!

“Hmm? Did I ask for your opinion? Or is the rudeness you realized just some trivial, child’s play?”

“!”

Hearing those words, everyone realized that if they refused, what awaited them would be an even more terrifying punishment — an end that would carve despair and pain into their very souls.

Without any hesitation, everyone lowered their heads to the ground in unison, just as Ai Yue had commanded.

“My, my… this is certainly…”

Seeing this sight, even Zold could not help but sigh.

However, he could no longer laugh in the next second.

“What are you doing? You do it too.”

Ai Yue looked at him and spoke without the slightest bit of politeness.

“Er… well, please do not make things difficult for an old man like me…”

“What old man? Aren’t you still hale and hearty? Not a single person present is exempt. All of you, do it.”

The truth was, Ai Yue was tired of Zold’s ‘none of my business’ attitude and his face that always seemed to be hiding something.

“I… I understand. So you had even thought of this layer.”

Hearing Ai Yue’s command, Zold seemed to have realized something, and he subsequently performed the same action as the others.

‘Wait, what exactly did you think of this time?’