Ch.9393. Evil God Conference (2)

Thus, the First Council of Evil Gods commenced… but.

That didn’t mean opinions started flowing from that moment on.

To begin with, no meeting procedure, speaking order, or even a moderator had been established. Given that they had merely been gathered for a “meeting,” this was perhaps only natural.

‘Someone speak up someone speak up someone speak up…’

‘Whoever speaks first… that’s where it begins, huh.’

Moreover, these evil gods are fundamentally wicked by their very nature, so they feared becoming sacrificial lambs to political maneuvering if they spoke up first….

‘…I-I’m scared!’

‘…That thing is supposed to be an evil god like us…? Then what am I, exactly?’

‘That skull… I hope it can’t read minds…?’

Adding to this was the street-thug mentality common among evil gods—the idea that one must submit to the powerful to survive—which made them all terrified of the Seven Great Evil Gods, especially the most powerful among them, Ma-Duk.

To be frank, even if all the miscellaneous evil gods here attacked together, they wouldn’t be able to defeat even one of the Seven Great Evil Gods, let alone Ma-Duk.

And in this situation, with Ma-Duk being so powerful that he could fight all seven Great Evil Gods to a standstill, the lesser evil gods were like ordinary people thrown into a cage with wild beasts—they could do nothing but read the room carefully.

Perhaps displeased with the evil gods’ behavior.

《…Sigh, then I’ll speak first. Raise your hand if you have any objections.》

With the Evil God of Vengeance breaking the silence, the evil gods finally managed to begin their meeting.

※ ※ ※

《Since no one is raising their hand, good. Then I’ll lead the meeting myself.》

Seeing these evil gods who would likely spend eternity just reading the room if left alone, I couldn’t bear the frustration anymore and started the discussion myself.

Of course, there were some who seemed uncomfortable with my taking charge.

Either rebels who couldn’t stand having someone above them, or those obsessed with power who wanted to lead the meeting despite lacking the ability.

《Ah, speak up if you have objections. I’ll let you challenge me. Though consequences will follow, of course.》

But when I glared at those around me, especially these troublemakers, most of them read the situation and hid their discontent.

《Good, first agenda item.》

I subtly displayed my power to intimidate the rabble and brought up the agenda.

《You, Magica, Evil God of Conspiracy and the convener of this meeting.》

《What is it, B… Red King? Bloodstained Monarch?》

《Since you called this meeting, you must already have a plan worked out. Isn’t that right?》

《…Correct. You know me well.》

As I said, since the Evil God of Conspiracy initiated this council, he must have already devised a plan or conspiracy to bring down the Pantheon.

However, the fact that he didn’t speak until I addressed him…

He was probably trying to divert attention and reduce scrutiny directed at himself by making someone else bring up the topic.

The Evil God of Conspiracy isn’t a combat-oriented deity like me, so he clearly avoids taking center stage for fear of becoming a target due to his relatively inferior fighting power.

He likely planned to step in as a mediator if the meeting descended into chaos, creating a situation where everyone would have to follow his plan even if they saw through it…

But he never expected that I would deliberately draw attention to him at this stage, taking a loss just to pull him into the spotlight.

Those who are clever often make the mistake of assuming others act according to rational cost-benefit calculations, when in reality, that’s rarely how the world works.

Anyway, right after I directly pulled him in.

《Then I’ll explain the plan to overthrow the Pantheon, which is the goal of this Evil God Council.》

The Evil God of Conspiracy, Magica, who seemed displeased with the current situation, began explaining the broad framework of his grand plan.

《The Pantheon’s authority comes from the Rom Empire, which they protect. To bring down the Pantheon, we must inevitably destroy the Rom Empire, but that’s absolutely not an easy task. You all know this, don’t you?》

《Well, that’s true.》

《He’s not wrong.》

《…That is correct.》

At these words, the remaining six Great Evil Gods nodded in agreement, and the other evil gods likewise showed their consent by nodding.

《Of course, if everyone in the Evil God Council united their strength, we might have the power to bring down the Empire, but we know each other well. Even if evil gods join forces, they might still start internal conflicts to minimize their own losses. Am I wrong?》

It was the truth. That’s why they’re evil gods—cooperation only happens under the coercion of the powerful. Betrayal is a constant, a default value to be expected among evil gods.

《So, I propose this: Since none of you can trust this unreliable bunch anyway, we act separately. Each of us builds influence by operating cults behind the scenes in the Rom Empire, and when the ‘time’ comes, we revolt. Simple, isn’t it?》

This plan proposed by the Evil God of Conspiracy was perfectly suited for evil gods. Rather than awkwardly cooperating and tripping each other up, it was better for each to act independently in their own clever way, which suited the evil gods’ nature.

Therefore, most, including myself, seemed to agree with this plan… but…

Feeling that ending things here would be too boring, I impulsively voiced what everyone was thinking but dared not say.

《So, shall we agree on our territories here?》

The moment I said this, the other evil gods glared at me fiercely as if I had broken a taboo.

If I had kept quiet, everyone could have proceeded comfortably on their own terms, but now that I’d brought it up, they would have to fight directly for their interests.

In essence, I had just thrown down the equivalent of “kill each other starting now” in this meeting.

And I’d done it with a provocation that proud deities couldn’t possibly tolerate—essentially saying “back down if you’re scared.”

So after a brief murmur of voices seemingly engaged in conversation, it quickly devolved into shouting, yelling, and threats directed at one another.

This was certainly an ugly scene far from divine dignity, though understandable given that the issue at stake was territory—the highest priority for evil gods.

Well, it’s not my problem. I only cared about securing my own interests; the rest didn’t matter to me.

I wasn’t concerned with how other gods divided up cities and colonies—only that the work of bringing down the Rom Empire was done properly.

《We’ll divide the capital among ourselves. No objections, right?》

So after quickly reaching an agreement with the other Seven Great Evil Gods through eye contact, I boldly declared this to the remaining lesser evil gods.

《Now, let’s hear what areas each of you want.》

Completely ignoring the stares and voices around me, I began discussions on how to divide the capital under the leadership of Magica, the Evil God of Conspiracy. As the first step, everyone started claiming their desired territories.

《I want the slums.》

Horus, the Evil God of Fear, another aspect of Phobos, wanted the slums.

《Then I’ll take the residential districts, hee hee.》

Marus Area, the Evil God of Plague, also known as the Mosquito Lord and Rat God, claimed the residential areas.

《(I’ll take the commercial district, and being a bit greedy, the production district too… I think.)》

[ ], the Evil God of Misfortune, “The One Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken,” wanted the commercial and production districts.

《…I want the military district.》

Panima, the Evil God of Despair, “The King in Black,” claimed the military district.

《Then I would like the research district… but that…》

《That I cannot allow, Magica.》

The Evil God of Conspiracy naturally wanted the research district, but I had already extended my tentacles there, so this would be encroaching on my territory.

《So, Magica. How about we discuss the remaining three districts separately, just the two of us?》

《…Very well. I suppose there’s no choice.》

And thus, the basic negotiations regarding the division of the capital were concluded.

How this will unfold in the future remains to be seen… but at least for me, it shouldn’t turn out badly.