To realize his ambitions, Clayman had planted spies in the Jura Forest long ago.
First was the Ord Lord, along with the hundreds of thousands of orcs he led.
He also had the majin Gelmud monitor them, reporting the situation there to him at any time.
However, not long ago...
Gelmud's reports had completely ceased.
This gave Clayman an ominous premonition. "Could Gelmud have encountered the ogres in the forest and met his end?"
"Or perhaps..."
"Has Gelmud betrayed me?"
Clayman did not trust his familiars.
He was known as the Marionette Master.
This was because Clayman possessed the ability to forcibly control others.
In other words, the monsters under Clayman's command feared him alone, and most only obeyed due to his coercion.
"How goes it?"
The clown Laplace appeared before Clayman. "The work of a Demon Lord isn't easy, is it?"
"You're back!"
Upon seeing Laplace, Clayman immediately brightened. "What's the situation with Frey?"
"Bad news."
Laplace replied, "There's a high probability that Frey has completed the Harvest Festival."
"She has become a true Demon Lord."
Crack!
Hearing that Frey had become an Awakened Demon Lord, Clayman subconsciously crushed the wine glass in his hand.
"Damn it!"
Clayman's face contorted in rage. "That woman... on what grounds?! It's impossible! How could she surpass me?!"
Differences existed even among Demon Lords.
Yet Clayman did not believe himself inferior to Frey.
But somehow, Frey had taken that step before him.
"If that's the case!!"
In that moment, a desperate resolve surfaced in Clayman's mind.
After all, if even a woman like Frey could awaken successfully, then surely he could as well!
"Hey, hey, Clayman, don't be rash."
Laplace hurriedly cautioned him. "Absorbing souls on a whim isn't a wise choice~."
One shouldn't assume that the process for a Demon Lord seed to acquire souls and awaken is simple, just because Damien had helped Ogerpon, the Snow Empress, and others in their awakenings.
Frey, who had battled Damien previously, had already demonstrated the difficulty of a Demon Lord's awakening.
She had failed.
Despite over 600 years of accumulation, Frey had still been unable to awaken successfully.
This illustrated the fundamental difference between absorbing impure souls and pure ones.
Moreover, this was merely the first step of the Harvest Festival.
Assuming sufficient soul energy was met, evolving into a true Demon Lord also required a breakthrough in magicules.
The threshold of one million magicules marked the divide... crossing it meant entering the realm of Demon Lords.
Failing to cross it signified that a monster's body could not endure higher-density magicules.
Each failure depleted a portion of a Demon Lord seed's potential.
This was why Clayman, Frey, and Carrion dared not take the risk lightly.
"The number of souls you possess falls far short of what's needed for evolution."
"Moreover, Clayman, it's been far too long since you've trained your body, hasn't it?"
Laplace continued to douse Clayman with cold reality, warning him against recklessly attempting evolution.
Most crucially, possessing magicules alone did not make one an ultimate true Demon Lord.
Without evolving, one couldn't defeat those genuine Demon Lords.
Even after evolving, victory remained elusive.
In that case, it was better to develop steadily, amassing strength and awaiting the moment for a decisive breakthrough.
"I'm no longer the man I once was, Laplace!"
Yet Clayman paid no heed to Laplace's words, even suspecting that the other was envious of him.
He had established a Demon Lord's domain, holding sway over countless lives and fates.
He was, after all, one of the Ten Great Demon Lords!
Power, status, honor, wealth...
Clayman lacked only true strength to utterly surpass the other clowns and become the mightiest among them!
In doing so, he would no longer be the weakest of the clowns.
Instead, he could rise to lead them!
"However, there's one point where you're correct, Laplace."
Gradually, Clayman quelled his inner turmoil and regained his composure. "I have no real need to oppose Frey."
The territories of the four Demon Lords, arranged from south to north, were the Harpy Queendom of Fulbrosia, the City of the Forgotten Dragon, the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania, and the Puppet Nation of Jistav.
He and Frey shared no conflicts over land or interests.
If anything, the one truly pressuring Frey should be Milim.
Indeed, even though the events had shifted due to Damien's arrival...
Clayman had still conceived the plan from the original tale.
He intended to ally with Frey and gain control over Milim.
Then, leveraging Milim's power, he would destroy the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania, creating the pretext for him to wage war.
In this manner, Clayman could harvest sufficient souls for his evolution from the beastman civilians.
'However...'
'To secure such an alliance...'
Clayman thought, 'I'll likely have to pay a certain price...'
If Frey were still the unawakened Sky Queen of old, Clayman would have discarded her without hesitation once she outlived her usefulness.
Upon his successful evolution, the territories of both Frey and Carrion would become his!
Regrettably, Frey had now become a true Demon Lord.
Even if all evolved, Clayman would not be so foolish as to clash head-on with a true Demon Lord to the bitter end.
"Are you serious?"
Laplace, upon learning of Clayman's scheme, was utterly dumbfounded.
Setting aside why Frey would ever collaborate with him...
The mere notion of controlling Milim sounded utterly implausible.
She was a Demon Lord who possessed the ultimate.
In this world, scarcely anyone knew the true extent of a Demon Lord who had mastered the ultimate.
For all who had opposed them had perished without exception.
And now, with a casual declaration, you intend to control such a monster?
What a ridiculous jest!!
"Rest easy, Laplace."
"I have absolute confidence in my marionette manipulation technique!"
Clayman's hubris left Laplace at a loss for how to dissuade him.
With no alternative, he could only allow Clayman to attempt contact with Frey.
In Laplace's estimation, Clayman's proposal was bound to be met with rejection.
Yet, to Laplace's disbelief, Frey actually accepted Clayman's request for an alliance!
"What?!"
"You want the territories of all the Demon Lords?!"
Clayman stared at Frey's cold, haughty visage on the communication display, grinding his teeth. "That's impossible!"
Frey had agreed to cooperate with Clayman.
But on the condition that he cede the territories of the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania and the City of the Forgotten Dragon entirely to her.
In essence, trading the domains of two Demon Lords for a single opportunity to awaken as a true Demon Lord.
***
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