Although the Demon Clan claimed victory, Antipa was already considering putting the secretarial office on the agenda while going through a pile of letters and national documents on Lind’s desk. Many things were about to be left vacant on Antipa’s desk.
Antipa did not lack correspondence; among them was a letter sent by the Demon Clan that was still conducting “legitimate business” in the royal capital.
The new Queen of Cape did not like the Demon Clan, and the demon clansmen still relied on Monroe’s connections to maintain some personnel working in the central region of the Cape Kingdom.
It was also through these people that Antipa conveyed false information to Monroe, hoping that the royal capital could respond as quickly as before, nominally ceding some regions to the Demon Clan to achieve the so-called balance.
Although the Demon Clan did not have the capability to actually occupy these regions, it could at least annoy Lind and create a false impression within the Demon Clan that they had truly won.
However, it was unfortunate that the royal capital was indeed a group of incompetent individuals. Antipa wasn’t corrupted to that extent, and although Cape’s intelligence department was a mess, An Zhu’s intelligence department was still very reliable.
Though saying this may be hurtful, it was quite possible that the intelligence obtained from stealing An Zhu’s information by the Cape Kingdom would be more reliable than that from their own intelligence department.
However, the Demon Clan’s allies in the royal capital were not limited to Monroe; there was another unexpected ally that Antipa had not anticipated.
In addition to Monroe’s inquiries, there was also a letter sent by Claire through secret channels.
The name on the letter was a pseudonym, and only Antipa and some high-ranking members of the Demon Clan were aware of the true identity. Even if Monroe exposed it, Claire would not be revealed. She was very cautious about communicating with the Demon Clan.
After reading Claire’s letter, Antipa’s mood did not improve much, but she seriously considered the proposals within it.
Claire’s point was simple: why should the Demon Clan persist stubbornly against the Northern Border? Compared to the Demon Clan’s Eternal Frozen Land, the Northern Border was indeed much more abundant, though it wasn’t the richest land in the kingdom.
The only advantage might be its rich mineral resources and vast territory. Compared to the Eternal Frozen Land, the winters in the Northern Border were actually not much warmer.
In comparison, the Eastern Border was much closer to the Demon Clan and significantly more prosperous.
The reasons the Demon Clan was clashing with the Northern Border were not only to conquer the Eternal Frozen Land but also because the Northern Border was right at their doorstep. More importantly, the Demon Clan held a grudge against the Lars Family, the very family that had pushed them into the Eternal Frozen Land, thus the Demon Clan had always coveted the land of the Lars Family.
Was the land of the Northern Border really worth the Demon Clan’s effort to clash with stubborn determination? Although Graywhite Territory’s technology was enticing, Antipa had a self-awareness of the Demon Clan’s level; those demons who could only use Bloodline Magic were unlikely to proficiently use human technology, leading them to develop solely through the enslavement of humans—a recipe for disaster.
While the Northern Border remained appealing, it was too tough and likely to cause them to break their teeth on it.
In contrast, without even discussing the defensive strength of the Eastern Border in comparison to the Northern Border, and without considering that its land was more fertile, Monroe had already been deceived and weakened by the Demon Clan.
Although the Demon God Offspring had been eliminated one by one on the battlefield in the Golden Ear Plains, it was not that the Demon God Offspring themselves weren’t strong. A few Chosen Demon God Offspring, if placed in other small countries, would genuinely have the capacity to annihilate a nation, capturing parts of the Eastern Border would be well within their reach.
Claire’s suggestion was simple: use the already occupied Sur德 region and other territories to attack the Eastern Border. Once the Eastern Border was acquired, the Northern Border, including the Sur德 region, would all become inconsequential, easily left behind for the Northern Border, and the Demon Clan would only need to maintain a route to the Eternal Frozen Land.
This was essentially an exchange of interests, using the regions already occupied by the Demon Clan in exchange for parts of the Eastern Border. Since attacking the Eastern Border was not considered encroaching on Northern Border territory, the Northern Border was unlikely to respond proactively and would primarily focus on recovering lost lands.
In the end, the Northern Border would regain territories occupied by the Demon Clan without expending much effort, while the Demon Clan would successfully capture the Eastern Border, and both sides could even improve their relationship.
As for the backlash against allies, it was as routine as drinking the wind for the Demon Clan. The Demon Clan was also very familiar with the Eastern Border, where many demons were engaged in trade with humans. The Eastern Border simply had no capacity to resist the strength of the Demon Clan.
The problem of not being able to take the Eastern Border simply didn’t exist; the real question was how much could be taken.
Antipa scoffed and placed the letter back on the desk.
Although she had only discussed the Demon Clan, the Northern Border, and the Eastern Border, one would be hard-pressed to believe that Claire had no ulterior motives in this plan.
The Northern Border had effectively cut ties with the kingdom; they wouldn’t care much even if a war broke out. However, the Eastern Border remained the kingdom’s territory in both name and reality, and moreover, it was the old home of her Majesty the Queen. If her Majesty could not protect her ancestral home, what would happen?
At that time, the Northern Border would be busy recovering its own territory and would have no time to heed the Queen’s calls for help. If An Zhu were to simultaneously attack the southwestern border of Cape, the entire kingdom would be engulfed in flames of war.
With all three borders at war, the Northern Border, in reality, would also detach from the kingdom’s control as it recovered its lost ground, having no time or energy to assist the royal capital.
When Antipa had used Caudic as a pawn, she was already aware of the filth of human politics. The Demon Clan’s population was limited, making it impossible to control the entire Eastern Border. An Zhu would likely also engage in similar exchanges of interests. The Demon Clan and An Zhu could become actors in Claire’s play.
Even if An Zhu did not initiate an attack, simply the flames of war in the Eastern Border would likely be enough for that Queen to have her hands full. At that point, Claire wouldn’t even need to do much; she would just need to come and put on a show in front of Antipa, portraying herself as a heroic negotiator passionately advocating for the people of the kingdom, ultimately persuading the Demon Clan’s princess.
Then, with some casual manipulation of public opinion, the ensuing developments would be easy to imagine.
Antipa sneered; this princess was truly a veritable traitor. Even if the schemes above were merely Antipa’s assessments from Claire’s perspective and not indicative of Claire’s true thoughts, the mere act of inciting the Demon Clan to attack the kingdom’s territory was already exceedingly malicious.
However, one had to admit that this princess truly had a remarkable talent for manipulating politics and was quite intelligent. Antipa’s deductions based on Claire’s envisioned plans would yield outcomes that could make everyone largely satisfied.
The Demon Clan would acquire new prosperous territories, the Northern Border would regain lost lands, An Zhu could take the opportunity to gnaw at a part of the southwestern border, and the people of the Cape Kingdom would receive a hero who turned the tide.
The only ones likely to be harmed in this scenario would be the current queen and Monroe.
But would things truly unfold as smoothly as Claire envisioned? Antipa believed that this princess was taking things for granted. Not only humans, but all races have insatiable desires. Just like cats that continue to tease mice after being fed, the Demon Clan was no exception.
Antipa trusted that Claire’s plan would be more calculated and better balanced among factions. However, sometimes merely satisfying one faction’s interests did not guarantee that faction would act according to your plan. Not everyone would obediently cooperate with the execution of the plan. Perhaps it was because Claire had not received the education befitting Augustus’s heir that she conceived such an impetuous idea.
A web of schemes is the most likely to backfire.
However, Antipa also had no intention of reminding Claire, except to mention in the letter that the Demon Clan still needed to recuperate and was temporarily not in a position to mobilize forces. As for whether Claire truly had any ulterior schemes, let her prepare slowly during this period.
