Published at 2nd of June 2026 6:53 am

Chapter 1773 Devil's Promise

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The Allied Forces erupted in cheers at the arrival of the Dark King.

Earlier, the Union Magi had been anxious about the youth's absence. They had been told by the higher-ups that he was privately recuperating, but some of them couldn't help but assume the worst.

But now, after finally witnessing his arrival and seeing him actually land a blow on the Cult Leader — the very man responsible for this great war — the Allied soldiers were exhilarated.

Now, not only had reinforcements arrived, boosting their numbers to nearly match the enemy's, but the Dark King himself had returned as well.

It went without saying that the Union army had already witnessed firsthand what the youth was capable of. As for the Magi of Ulier, they had been familiar with his legend for the longest time. Even the powerful figures of Nahua had heard of his exploits. Moreover, the beasts of Mabi also recognized his strength.

Now, with the Dark King fighting alongside them, they received a tremendous boost to their confidence. Truth be told, no other commander could evoke such feelings from them. None came close to the youth's charisma.

With only an hour to go before the battle officially began, the Allied army quickly began making preparations. Orders rang out across the massive encampments as Mana Vortex Magi hurried to reorganize formations.

Proper cohesion across the entire army was impossible to achieve in such a short amount of time. Nearly half of the forces had only just arrived on the battlefield, and many of the factions had never fought beside one another before.

As such, under the commanders' orders, the various factions fighting beneath the banner of Tron were encouraged to remain alongside the allies they were already familiar with.

The great houses of Acadia regrouped with their own bannermen. The clans of Nahua formed their own battle lines. While the beast of Mabi prowled freely, for they were used to fighting alone.

It was not the most unified formation. But it was the most stable. And on a battlefield consisting of nearly a million combatants, stability itself could be considered priceless.

Still, they could never compare to the flawless discipline and orderly formations of the devils and cultists.

***

"So what do you think?"

Inside the main command tent, almost all of the Mana Core Magi of the Allied Forces had gathered.

The Dark King calmly sat on a stool as healers circled around him, cleaning up his ghastly wounds and applying medicine to accelerate the healing.

It was the first time most of these people had ever met this prodigious young man. But they found that their feelings of awe and respect were quickly being replaced by dread.

After all, the gaping injuries on the youth's body were too frightening!

They couldn't help but wonder just what he must have gone through. Worse still, they couldn't even begin to imagine the level of the enemies for them to even be able to deal such injuries to him.

"What do I think?" Adam arched an eyebrow as he gazed at Lucian.

Then he answered with a shrug, "Devils are indeed lawful creatures. And generally, they do not casually break rules."

No one in the room questioned how or why he even knew such things. Earlier, when the Dark King shared his knowledge regarding the possible devil species invading Tron, the commanders already realized he possessed a great secret to be aware of such matters.

Moreover, every bit of information he had shared with the army had turned out to be accurate and extremely valuable. So they saw no reason to doubt or question the veracity of his intel or its source.

Adam looked at Lucian, then Berger, and finally, the Hermit. He then said in a solemn voice:

"Agreements with the devils become psychologically tricky. People who don't know much about them expect them to break their word. Those who have an idea about their character usually think that they might keep their word."

His expression turned grim, and he added, "And the terrifying part is… they usually do. Just not in the way people hope."

"You're saying they'll exploit loopholes in the agreement?" Berger couldn't help but ask.

"They'll honor it technically," Adam said. "But they're notorious for exploiting the gray areas. They might provoke you into breaking the agreement first. Or they might orchestrate situations where the agreement becomes void."

"So, you're saying, we can take their word for it?" Elmer, King of Baja, suddenly said, his voice laced with doubt.

"…Yes." Adam nodded after a brief pause. "I know it's hard to believe, but…"

His voice trailed off, and he looked every commander in the eye one by one.

"This is how these creatures are," he continued. "That is literally who they are. Their entire identity is built around hierarchy, contracts, structure, and order. The essence of who they are revolves around their core characteristic trait… that they always stay true to their words."

He heaved a sigh and concluded, "Chaos is more demonic than devilish, anyway."

Hearing that last line, the Hermit suddenly said, "Yes… that devil leader said something similar. He said devils are not agents of chaos like those demons."

Adam nodded. He didn't want to get into details about the history of devils and demons, of order and chaos.

He simply said, "But do not misunderstand me. That does not make devils trustworthy. As I mentioned earlier, devils may not break agreements, but they'll twist them, exploit them, and interpret them in whatever manner benefits them the most."

His lips curled into a sneer, and he added, "If a devil gives you his word, then you should fear the exact wording far more than the promise itself."

Everyone slipped into silence as they mulled over Adam's words. His information proved to be invaluable to the commanders. If not for his explanation, they would have spent so much time trying to predict when the devils would break their agreement outright and betray them.

"Dark King," A Union Magus called out. "There's something that has been bothering me, and I hope… I hope you can clear my doubts."

Adam waved his hand and dismissed the healers pestering him. As he put on his robes, he signalled for the man to continue.

The Magus inhaled deeply, then finally said what had been on most people's minds.

"That devil… he said if we surrender, he will grant us passage to the Greater Universe," he began. "He also said something about the Eternal War. And lastly, he promised us arcane resources."

The Magus paused and subconsiously gulped. "If what you said about the devil's defining characteristic is true, that they always remain true to their word, then do you think… do you think that he was really actually telling the truth?"

Everyone's attention focused back on the Dark King.

Although none of them would ever surrender and go on to the devils' side, Volgron's words had undoubtedly stirred something within them.

"A devil is true to his words," said the Dark King, "and that is precisely why he is the greatest liar."

"The Eternal War, as its name suggests, is a war between devils and demons that has been going on since eternity," he added.

His lips curled into a mischievous smirk, and he continued:

"The devil said he will grant you passage to the Greater Universe? Then he will. He said, he'll shower you with wealth, power, and knowledge? Best believe, he will. The devil will never break his word. The true horror lies in how he will keep it."

The Dark King rose to his feet, his expression now utterly solemn.

"He'll fulfill every promise he made. But in return, he'll demand a life of servitude, a life spent endlessly waging war against the devils' greatest enemy… the demons."

Seeing how grave most of these Magi had become, Adam knew he had succeeded in getting his message through.

And now, it was time to offer them a better promise — his promise.

"If you wish to reach the Greater Universe, then fight alongside me," he proclaimed.

His dark eyes swept across the room, burning with conviction.

"And I swear upon the mana coursing through my veins… when the stars align, I shall lead you to the depths of the universe, where we may pursue the higher arcane arts together."

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