Imperial Crown.

Chapter 630 Mr. Krabs
To be or not to be

"Is it this way or that way?"

"This is a philosophical question about life."

In a long, narrow, completely dark room with drawn curtains, a husky, magnetic, and sexy voice rang out.

As the camera slowly zooms in, a colossal figure appears in the frame. He sits on a soft armchair, his buttocks deeply embedded in it, as if he's sitting on the floor. His bulging body on either side firmly grips the armchair's handles, forcing the originally straight sofa into a trapezoidal shape. It's slightly unsettling to look at. His large right arm gently holds a slender, beautiful, swan-neck-like, transparent glass, crafted as if cut from a diamond.

The glass was two-thirds full of blood-amber-colored Angel's Tears.

The faint light inside the room, almost invisible to the naked eye, refracted into dazzling, shimmering fragments on the diamond-like facets.

Like a dream, a bubble, a shadow floating on the wall.

"The best way to kill a bird." "It's actually quite simple." The sexy, deep voice continued, the enormous pincers constantly shaking the wine glass, keeping everyone on edge, as if the glass's slender, fragile stem would be crushed to dust at any moment. This caused everyone in the room to unconsciously hold their breath, their mental focus heightened, watching the other's movements and listening to their words. "That is..." "Whether the bird is arguing or calling," "you say the bird is singing." "Whether the bird is cursing or crying," "you say the bird is singing." "Whether the bird is pleading or groaning," "you say the bird is singing."

"in this way"

"One person tells ten, ten tell a hundred," "Three men can make a tiger," "A lie repeated a thousand times will naturally ferment into the truth."

After finishing his story, the narrator chuckled to himself, a smug smile playing on his lips, seemingly quite pleased with his tale. Perhaps thirsty, or perhaps deliberately pausing, the narrator picked up his wine glass and gulped down two mouthfuls. "Lord Raven," "Oh no," "Father Raven," "Your Excellency Viscount"...

"Did you like this story?!" "When Serafino told me this story back then, I was absolutely amazed." "For so many years, he has been searching for a suitable scapegoat."

“The Holy See is no good. It’s too powerful. They’re unwilling to cooperate, and without them, he has lost his biggest support.”

"Even the Hand of Death won't work. It's too outrageous; the world won't believe it."

"The other dukes in the country are not suitable either, because no one is willing to do so; they would rather perish together with Serafino."

"Orcs, elves, dwarves, dragons... that's even more absurd..."

"He searched and searched, waited and waited...it was very hard." "Finally, he found that perfect guy." "This guy was not only quite popular on the continent, but also had an irreconcilable conflict with King Habsburg, which was known to all." "Most importantly," "people would instinctively believe that this person had the ambition and strength to rebel."

Seemingly having been cooped up on the sofa for too long, Chunzhuer shifted his crab legs a few times and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp. "My story is finished." "Raven." "I value this highly." "No." "It's the Holy Church that values ​​this cooperation highly." "They specifically sent me and two elders." "One is an old acquaintance of yours—Fedilan, who recently advanced to the fifth rank." "The other you've also met once—Nehemiah."

As Chun Zhu'er finished speaking, the camera began to pan forward, probing deeper into the narrow room. After a Hitchcockian perfect zoom, a silhouette finally emerged from the pitch-black, impenetrable darkness. It was a thin man with unusual clothing, a slightly flamboyant bright red rose tucked into his left handkerchief pocket, and unusual short black hair.

After listening to Chun Zhu'er's words, the young man seemed unmoved. However, the way his five fingers gripped the wine glass, creating distinct knuckles, and the way his lips were tightly pursed in anger, all betrayed the turmoil within him.

"I really liked the story." - Mr. Krabs

In the darkness, Raven's voice slowly rose. His resonant chest voice was more captivating than Mr. Krabs'. And it was youthful. Two months later, on September 23rd, Raven had finally rested enough and began to lay out his first step.

He knew Mr. Krabs hadn't lied to him. Compared to the complex and massive organization of the Holy See, the structure of the Hand of Death was much simpler.

Death Overlord #1 – Gurocharon Negal. Tier 7. Specific star rating unknown.

The two Pale Patriarchs are Mr. Krabs (rank 6) and Sisyphus (rank 6). Their exact star ratings are unknown.

The nine Necromancer Elders are all fifth-tier powerhouses.

Mr. Krabs said Ferdinand was an old acquaintance of Raven because he had once been a commander of the Skeleton Army in the Nord Province. However, he was only at the fourth rank at the time, serving under Elder Sachani. Now, almost 17 or 18 years later, he has finally broken through to the fifth rank and become one of the nine elders of the Hand of Death.

A single leaf falling heralds autumn, revealing just how arduous cultivation is! And this is a true heretical cultivator!

As for Nehemiah, he was an envoy who went to Holoburg around the same time as Duke Ochison of the Insa Empire to try and win over Raven. However, Raven simply scolded him and drove him away.

Therefore, we met once.

One sixth-tier and two fifth-tier. This is enough to demonstrate how much the Death Order values ​​this cooperation, and... how much they favor Raven personally. Some things don't need to be said too bluntly, nor do they need to be laid bare.

"but"

Raven took a sip of his drink and held up his index finger. "Even though the blame has been firmly placed on my head," he said, "I still have to say it. I really didn't kill His Majesty King Habsburg, much less am I a true regicide." "I, Raven," "have always been kind, benevolent, elegant, and noble... and most importantly... I am exceptionally filial."

When he mentioned the word "filial piety," Lei Wen deliberately paused and emphasized the pronunciation.

After saying that, Raven tossed out a ring.

Chunzhu grabbed him, his expression immediately changing to one of embarrassment… He deliberately mocked, “To betray your widowed aunt in front of your uncle whose body is barely cold?!” “To cut off your brother-in-law’s head as a pledge of loyalty to gain a rank of earl?!” “To sneak up on Lux and kill her beloved master with a single punch?!”

"Raven, oh Raven"

Chunzhu'er shook his head. "How much I trusted you!" "You've disappointed me so much!" "You must have consulted the Mage Guild, right?!" "They quoted at least 700 million gold coins." "And me?!" "I traveled all the way to Eagle City to cooperate with you, with all my sincerity." "I was willing to accept your order for only 300 million gold coins." "And you only offered 50 gold coins to fool me?!"

Raven swallowed hard. "Crouch... Senior is dead?!" "How come I didn't know?!"

"Humph"

Chunzhu'er scoffed dismissively, "Haven't you heard the saying, 'If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place.'" However, Chunzhu'er clearly didn't want to dwell on this issue and immediately steered the conversation back to the main point: "A sixth-order magic array is no small matter." "At least 300 million gold coins." "Besides, you also need a large number of orcs, skeletons, corpses, elves, magical beasts..." "None of these are cheap!!"

With that, Chunzhuer stood up, pointing his massive pincers at Raven. "Don't try anything funny, Raven." "If you anger me, I might just tell Lux the truth about how you killed Crouch." "A sixth-tier powerhouse falls, the heavens and earth grieve." "A seventh-tier powerhouse dies, the universe mourns." "You really think you've gotten away with it?!" "Then you've seriously underestimated the heroes of the world! You've underestimated the mysterious power of this continent!"

"At least pay me half first, 150 million gold coins!!" Chun Zhu'er stated his bottom line.

The dimly lit room fell into absolute silence once again.

Clearly, Raven has found himself at a significant disadvantage in this negotiation.

But sitting idly by and waiting for death after being put on the defensive has never been Little Bee's style. Raven also stood up in the darkness. This darkness had no effect on fifth and sixth-tier powerhouses like them. Although he was less than half the size of Mr. Krabs, Raven's aura was in no way inferior. "1 million gold coins." "Plus 10,000 bottles of Angel's Tears." "2000 bottles of Corrupted Soul Essence." "This is the deposit amount I can accept at the moment."

The essence of corrupted souls can be considered pure negative energy. It belongs entirely to the dark and evil energy category. It holds an irresistible allure even for bone dragons, let alone these necromancers.

Upon hearing this, Chun Zhu'er's eyes flickered subconsciously a few times. However, he still managed to remain calm.

"but"

"but"

Raven sniffed the rose in his left handkerchief pocket, trying to appear unfathomable and full of hidden tricks. "Woosterwood Province has been taken by you." "But I'll set a red line: a maximum harvest of 30 souls." "If you cross that line," "I will show no mercy and wipe out the forces of the Hand of Death." "Mr. Krabs." "You're a smart man; you know I have that ability!"

Raven spread his hands, "There's no way around it." "This is a task left to me by Serafinu, and I must complete it." "After all, I am still a member of the Keynes Empire, still a member of the nobility." "Therefore, I must shoulder the responsibilities and mission of the nobility."

"Of course." "We should fight when necessary, and talk when necessary." "We can fight each other while cooperating." "I still maintain that the door is wide open for talks." "If we fight, I'm ready to fight to the bitter end!"

Never easily agree to the other party's demands in a negotiation. Instead, continuously offer new and favorable terms, forcing the other party into a passive, self-defeating dilemma. This is the essence of negotiation.

“Raven,” “I have to admit,” “you are indeed a master negotiator.”

Chun Zhu'er twisted his neck and smiled with a complicated expression. His smile was somewhat enigmatic. "You managed to jump out of my threat trap and then put me into yours." "But there's something you might have misunderstood."

“Yes.” “We need souls.” “We need sacrifices even more.” “But we understand the principle of draining the pond to catch all the fish better than you nobles.”

"Do you know Raven?"

"When our Hand of Death conquered Worcesterwood and slaughtered all the nobles," "you have no idea how much the common people welcomed us!" "They cheered with raised hands, they knelt and worshipped." "Everyone was in tears, shouting that we were the true Lords of Light."

“We, the Hand of Death, control the province. We don’t need them to work 996 or 007, and we let them eat white bread and meat to their hearts’ content. We even let them enjoy their first sexual experience.” “So, when it comes to killing nobles, they seem to be more active than we are. They lead the way for us, they inform us, and they even personally attack castles to burn, kill, and plunder.”

"In the end," "Do you know what they said?" "They said that we gave them glory, gave them dignity, and they were willing to give up their souls."

"This is an indisputable fact."

"Raven," "open your eyes and see the real world." "The underlying rules of this world are this filthy and corrupt!" "And don't underestimate the despicable and deserving nature of the nobles!" "I assure you," "even if all the nobles were sent to the stake or the guillotine!" "there would never be a single wrongful conviction."

“Ferdinand is right.” “You should put away that hypocritical, disgusting, and self-righteous idea that you are the only one who is sober in a world of drunks.”

After Mr. Krabs finished speaking about the two claws carrying the turtle, his voice became more urgent, indicating the importance of what he was about to say. "Raven," he said, "power is not what you imagine." "If you believe, it exists; if you don't, it doesn't!" "That's not it!!" "On the continent of Middlesex," he continued, "power comes from divine authority and bloodline!" "It's not a deceptive trick!"

"If it weren't for the blood curse proving that you have Griffith's bloodline within you," "Do you really think you would have survived until now?" "Do you really think everyone in this world is a fool, an idiot, or a complete idiot?" "And that you are the only good, wise, and kind person?!"

"Why does Crouch hate you so much, Raven?!" "Huh???" "Because you slaughtered all the principled and loyal ministers and generals of the Keynes Empire." "As I said before," "None of those dukes would accept Seraphim's terms; they would rather perish with him!" "That's why the world firmly believes you, Little Bee, are a kingslayer!"

"A precious sword lies buried in a wrongful prison, a loyal soul lingers amidst the white clouds."

"One general can make a thousand bones wither!"

“Take a good look at the Nord Province. Nearly 20 years ago, there were more than 400 million people here.” “After all the mess you’ve made over the years, there are now less than 200 million left!” “They are flesh and blood, living ‘people’ with parents, not just ‘ten thousand’!” “They are not just cold, hard numbers on your path to the pinnacle of power, Raven.”

"Oh"

"You treat everyone like livestock you raise in your lewd world, like free supplies for your lewd world." "Finally, I've gotten rid of all the troubles on my body and unloaded the heavy burden on my head!"

"Yo~"

"So now you've transformed yourself into a high-and-mighty human rights teacher, accusing us of not being able to harvest too many souls." "Don't you think you're being a bit too shameless?"

Mr. Krabs' face was both sincere and trembling, as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice and was completely unable to accept it. After saying this, he swallowed hard, extended his large pincers, and finally revealed his true purpose after all this buildup: "One million." "At least give us one million souls." "I can cooperate with you, without forcibly harvesting them, using the locust method." "To do this more subtly and secretly." "That way, you can justify it on the surface."

Raven remained silent.

The dimly lit room had fallen into such silence for who knows how many times.

"so"

Seeing Raven hesitate, Chunzhu pressed his advantage, saying, "The Northwest has suffered a snowstorm, and you must be short of food. If you agree to my terms, I will immediately transfer 13 billion pounds of grain from Eastwood province to you. Including some meat. Enough for the two provinces you control to last until next year. Actually, for us people of the Hand of Death, we don't need to eat or enjoy ourselves. Too much grain is actually useless." However, before he could finish speaking, Raven's voice rang out.

"80 million!"

"I'll give you another 50!" Raven said with a sorrowful expression. "I really can't give you any more!"

Looking at Raven's "compassionate" demeanor, Chunzhu'er felt both speechless and amused. Raven's acting was indeed a bit over the top. Chunzhu'er shook her head helplessly and sighed, "Raven, you are really..." "Too kind."

"make a deal."

As he spoke, Chunzhu'er stretched out his large claws.

Raven reached out and shook Mr. Krabs' claws. "Pleasure doing business with you."

……

(End of this chapter)