Chapter 29: There Is Only One Sun in My Heart!

The demon race’s bodies weren’t as fragile as humans’, but a demon’s life was still a life—they needed to survive just the same.

The warriors of the Demon King’s army also required various essential supplies to maintain their morale in battle.

Although demon physiology was indeed tough and resilient, they were not made of iron; ultimately, they still needed a material foundation.

However, their long-standing hostility toward humans made it extremely difficult to obtain sufficient goods.

The Church closely monitored the borders between both sides to prevent anyone from illegally selling products to the demons.

As a result, the vast majority of goods within the demon race had to be produced by themselves, but since most of their technological points were focused on magical applications, they lagged behind humans in mass production.

Currently, the Demon King’s army could suppress the humans purely because they controlled enough territory and Lilith was rigorously managing internal demon production.

This only eased pressure at the front lines.

The army commanded by Viya still often struggled with supply shortages.

The demons needed food—grain, meat, even blood or corpses—their consumption was a massive undertaking.

Not to mention the ore and magic crystals required for manufacturing weapons.

Until now, these materials were controlled by the Demon King, with each major demon lord applying for their respective quotas from him.

After Via captured Saint Anso City, she almost immediately began preparing a new route to obtain resources on her own.

“I’ve been scouting the city these past few days. Demon Lord, you need quite a lot of supplies. I can’t figure out all the methods to get them for you. You’d better pick out the ones you need most right now.”

The old merchant said straightforwardly.

In fact, this wasn’t anything unusual.

When Saint Anso City was first invaded, Via, to ensure a smooth capture, had immediately unleashed powerful magic suppression after battle began, paralyzing the city’s defenses in an extremely short time.

That allowed the demons to flood in in large numbers.

Now that the offensive had shifted to defense, Via naturally needed to rebuild the city.

The resources required for reconstruction were no small matter.

Just the cost of fortifying defenses and repairing streets was substantial, and transportation became a huge problem.

“Can you get me some magic crystal ore? High purity, preferably refined ore.”

Via said.

“High purity refined ore? That’s not easy. Right now, only our side has refined ore, and it’s tightly controlled by the Church. If you want to get high-purity refined ore from the humans, it will be very difficult.”

The old merchant immediately explained the situation.

At the magical level, high-purity magic crystals were a crucial resource.

They could serve as core power sources for magic arrays or magical devices, or be used as explosives or consumables.

Since demons were stronger in magic, they naturally were more familiar with using magic crystals.

However, the demon race itself didn’t produce much magic crystal ore.

Most of what they produced was prioritized for higher-ranking demons, and those fighting on the front lines rarely received enough allocation.

Even the allotments were controlled by the Demon King.

Since he was currently preparing plans to fight the blood race, he definitely wouldn’t allocate many resources to his own forces.

“If I can’t get refined ore, then raw ore will do.”

Viya looked at the old man, calculating the transaction in her head.

“Ore is currently controlled by the Church. Outsiders don’t seem to be able to trade it, and even if we manage to get some, it has to pass through the Church’s checkpoints and strict inspections. It’s not that I’m refusing you, but this matter is truly difficult.”

Via, as a succubus, didn’t mind, but the old man was a living human—and a merchant who would frequently deal with people in the future.

Sneaking around the Church to smuggle ore was a bit too reckless.

He was indeed planning to take a risk, and as an old man with little to lose, he wasn’t afraid of death. But he couldn’t just blindly rush into danger.

“You don’t need to negotiate personally. Just tell us about the sources you know. And you won’t be working for free; there will be payment.”

Via wasn’t expecting the old man to conduct business himself, but as a veteran of Saint Anso’s merchant guild, he knew the city’s routes better than anyone.

For the Church’s state, Saint Anso represented not only the glorious center of faith dedicated to the Holy Lord, but also the economic heart.

As a former vice president of the Saint Anso merchant guild, he couldn’t be unaware of this.

“If I tell you about the sources, I don’t ask for payment. I only hope that when my grandson needs help, you will be willing to lend a hand.”

The old man said quietly.

Via pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“That condition is acceptable. Your grandson is talented. If he goes into business, he will surely become a merchant as great as you—or even surpass you.”

“Thank you for your praise. I hope so.”

The old man breathed a sigh of relief.

If he still had any attachments now, it was only his grandson.

Being under the Demon Lord’s protection meant that at least his grandson would have some safety net.

“As far as I know, the one who controls the most refined ore at the moment is a man called Grand Duke Youwen. The Church regularly spends huge sums buying refined ore from his territory.”

“But recently, it seems there’s been some small conflict between this duke and the Church. The Church might soon stop purchasing refined ore from Grand Duke Youwen’s lands…”

“Grand Duke Youwen? I remember he’s a grand duke of the Vici Empire, right?”

The Vici Empire’s emperor now held centralized power, so there were no longer strictly defined grand dukes.

If anything, there were only two grand dukes with some degree of independent authority—

One was Grand Duke Youwen, and the other was Grand Duke Cecily.

One controlled the complete technology and factories for refining magic crystals; the other was a noble with military achievements, still holding an important position in the Vici Empire’s army.

Despite their considerable power and relative independence, surprisingly, both grand dukes were staunch royalists.

They ignored the Church’s attempts to bribe or threaten them.

Both firmly believed there was only one sun in their hearts: the honorable Emperor Liute.

So, the Church’s threat to cut off purchases of Youwen’s refined ore was likely an attempt to coerce the duke into siding with them.

Upon hearing this news, Viya’s first reaction was…

This could really embarrass the Church.

How thrilling.