25 Offering A Deal

*CRASH–!*

"What happened?!"

"Our tent broke apart, that's what happened!!"

"Then fix it quickly!!"

With the sudden collapse of their tent, chaos immediately ensued among the gang of ogres.

Even though the tent was quite big by human standards, for the tall and bulky ogres, it was barely enough to rest comfortably.

With the wooden log hoisting up the tent now broken, the entire structure swiftly collapsed, causing the raging storm outside to slowly uproot it from the ground.

....*cough*....*cough*....*cough*....

Crimson sand quickly invaded the insides of our tent, sending some of the ogres into a coughing fit.

"We can't fix it in this storm!! Just cover your face and wait!!"

After someone said that, no more words were exchanged among them. Everyone was busy holding their breath and shielding their faces from the crimson sand.

The two ogres sitting near us also covered up their faces tightly, before crawling over to us and covering our heads with a heavy and smelly piece of cloth.

Taking advantage of the darkness and initial chaos, I quickly put the chains I just slipped out of on the Lycan woman sitting beside me.

She jerked back at first when I touched her body, but she soon relaxed when she realized that it was me, letting me tighten the new chains on her body.

*CLANK–!*

After binding her, I jerked the chains that held me with a loud clanking noise, assuring the two ogres sitting near us that both of us were still there.

The two ogres silently took hold of our chains respectively, not feeling that anything was amiss in the darkness, and sat down while pressing the cover on their faces to keep the sand out.

I sat in place for some time, making sure they cluelessly settled down on the ground, and pulled out my trustworthy whip and a piece of cloth from the inventory space.

Covering my own face with the piece of cloth, I got into a crouching position – waiting for the perfect opportunity…

*WHOOSH–!*

…and the moment I heard the wind intensify and lift up the tent's cover, I immediately dashed ahead, targeting the ogre's presence I had been tracking all this time!

In the blink of an eye, I was behind the leader of this group of ogre slavers, activating the most basic racial skill I inherited from the Demon King.

'[Aura of Evil]!'

====================

>> Skill Name: Aura of Evil

>> Skill Level: MAX (Racial – Cannot be upgraded).

>> Skill Description: All sentient creatures bear both 'good' and 'evil' in their hearts. As a being born from the Abyss, the mythical 'Origin of Evil', the Devil is able to influence and manipulate the 'evil' that dwells deep within others' hearts. 

✦ The darker their 'evil' is, the more powerful the effects will be. However, the target's willpower can be used to resist this manipulation.

>> Skill Cost: Exercising overwhelming control over any 'evil' target slowly corrupts your psyche, gradually turning you into an extension of the Abyss.

====================

The ogre gang leader's bulky body suddenly tensed, his hand immediately trying to reach out for the large machete hanging on his waist!

'No, you don't!'

But before he could grab it, I manually wrapped my whip around the ogre's body, and then grabbed onto his mouth with an iron grip…

"Mmph–!"

*SWISHHH–!*

And pulled him in my direction, away from his clueless subordinates!

Next, placing my mouth close to his ear, I mumbled in a low voice.

"[Bind]"

The dim red glow coming from my whip went unnoticed in the crimson sandstorm, as it automatically tightened around the ogre's torso like a living snake.

"UMMPH–!"

Yes, I knew that it was painful. 

*creak~*

That's why I strengthened my grip over his mouth even more, to the point of making his jaw bones creak from the excessive force.

With one hand pressing his head against me and keeping his mouth shut, and the other one keeping his bindings secure, I felt that it would be enough for holding him down for a while.

Keeping my mouth close to his ear, I finally started addressing my future collaborator, speaking in a low voice that only he could hear in this loud storm.

"Hello again, Urgus. Since your subordinates aren't too far away, we won't get enough time to have a leisurely chat between us, unfortunately."

"So, I'm going to keep things simple here. I will tell you exactly what I need from you, and you either nod if you agree, or shake your head if you disagree. Do you understand?"

"..."

The ogre leader seemed to be in a disoriented state as he didn't answer my question, but I felt the tension slowly rising in his body.

*Creeak–!*

And since I couldn't afford to wait for long, I simply gripped harder on his jaw until I felt the ogre shuddering in my grasp.

"Don't make me repeat myself again. Do. You. Understand?"

-Nod.

The leader of the ogre gang stiffly nodded his head with much difficulty, and I stopped applying more pressure on his jaw.

"Good. Now, as you might have already guessed, I'm the same 'young master' you were so happy to capture for ransom a while ago. But that's not important now, is it? The important thing is, I can kill you all, right now! But I'm choosing not to do so…"

"...mmph…ummh…!"

Hearing my words, the ogre suddenly started thrashing against my whip's bindings, which immediately proved to be a useless struggle.

"[Bind]"

"UUMMPH–!"

"...You should really learn to listen till the end, my friend. I'm not killing you all only because you can be of use to me. But if you're useless…"

I paused, letting the gravity of the situation slowly sink in, before continuing my words.

"...then, I can't really guarantee that any of you and your gang members will come out of this alive."

"..."

Knowing that he was feeling rather confident of his puny gang's tactics, I added my next words with a dark chuckle.

"Hehe, and because of this storm, no one will ever know what happened here…" 

I turned his stiff neck sideways in a sweeping motion, half to make him act like he could actually see his subordinates in the darkness…

"Look!"

"...umhh!"

…and the other half, just to make him understand just how easily I could snap his neck if I wanted to.

"Even your gang members two meters away don't know what's happening to you. Even if you refuse to cooperate with me, I can still kill all of you and weather through this storm to lay a similar trap once again..."

I felt the ogre's struggles die down, making a wide smile slowly spread on my face under the covering. 

But I knew better than to relent now. Since [Aura of Evil] was constantly weakening his psyche even now…

'Now is my best chance!'

What better opportunity would I have to completely break his will, other than right now?

"How many times would I need to repeat this same stunt to get one of you to work for me? How many of you will refuse, before one of you gives in?"

'Yes, you lot are demons after all.'

How many wouldn't choose to betray their previous boss, if their own life was on the line?

As far as I know, not a single one…

So fear for your life, lose all your hope, and then…give in to despair!

Even if I couldn't keep repeating this stunt thanks to the Hobgoblin tribe, I only needed to make this one ogre believe that I could!

"...Because one of you definitely will, and the more of you I kill.....the better chances of someone accepting my offer!"

I only told him the inevitable truth, and he knew that everything I said would happen in reality.

"Just imagine, they will get to live, and even get the bonus of catching two rare specimens like us, while you will stay buried under the sand here… DEAD FOREVER!"

The ogre shuddered, as my skill dug deeper into his already corrupted psyche. 

In the end, all demons were inherently 'evil'. 

In their society filled with deception and treachery, the only factor keeping things running normally was their strength!

And among these irredeemable trash who couldn't live like proper demons, even in a world where strength was the only thing you ever needed… these worthless rabble that made a living by selling their weaker kin to an 'enemy' world…

Would there anyone who could possess willpower strong enough to counter the influence of a Devil's skill?

'The answer is – No.'

With my overwhelming suppression grinding down his willpower to dust, there was no way for such demons to resist my manipulation.

"I'm not telling you to betray anyone. Your job will not have any risk, only the rewards from catching both of us without needing to spend any of your members in a battle."

Now that I showed him the might of my stick, it was time for some carrots.

"All you need to do is to stop your subordinates from letting the big-shots in your base know about us, and then sell us to the richest buyer you can manage on the other side, as a combined package offer." 

Calm and hypnotic, my sweet voice laid down the flowery road of temptation in front of the confused ogre, giving him the convenient justification he needed to accept my deal.

"I don't care how, but you will find a way to do it. And you will make a pledge to never reveal this deal to any soul, no matter what."

I laid out the terms of the contract, and now I only needed to provide some incentives for him to completely fall into my control.

"If you can do that for me, I will give you an entire tribe full of demons for you to sell. Enough to make you one of the big-shots in your base!"

The color of emotions radiating from the ogre seemed to be in turmoil as he considered his options. 

"Just think how they will react once you bring so many demons that no one else could? All you need to do is to agree to my deal, and I can make this promise into a reality."

With each and every one of my words further pushing his mind into chaos, his decision was inevitably twisted in my favor.

'Now, the only thing holding him back is…doubt?'

Most probably, he was doubting whether I could fulfill my promise or not, not knowing that I had fulfilled that promise before I even voiced them…

…in my own way, obviously.

'Never trust The Devil.'

The saying existed for a reason.

"Don't worry, my promises hold weight. If you don't believe me, we can even establish a contract between us."

I dealt him the final blow, tilting his chaotic mind to work in my favor.

As the color of doubt slowly disappeared from his emotional spectrum, I asked him in a solemn voice.

"Do you agree to the terms of my contract?"

"..."

The ogre paused for a moment, before his head started lowering in a nodding motion.