Chapter 466 - 299: The Devil Is a Witty Imp (Part 2)
He quite liked *Silence of the Lambs*. He found these kinds of Shadows of Evil, which seemed both terrifying and thrilling, to be very addictive.
Unfortunately, the imitators were never very good. It seemed this new genre called "thrillers" was especially prone to producing terrible movies.
"Is it really appropriate for me to be a cultural exchange ambassador?" Morris asked, a little hesitant.
"Appropriate? Of course it’s appropriate! Look at you, you’re a Tiefling. Racially speaking, you’re a natural bridge for communication between Devils and Humans!"
"Maybe not so natural. I was turned into a Tiefling; I wasn’t born one."
"Makes no difference. Who even distinguishes between natural-born Tieflings and others these days?"
"Besides, I gained my fame by protesting an unjust war. It doesn’t seem to have much to do with Devils."
"What a coincidence!" Asmodis slapped the table. "It’s perfect. Your first duty as ambassador will be to join me in announcing that the Devil Mercenary Corps will be joining the war against Villain’s tyranny."
"Huh?" Morris realized he had just stumbled upon some incredible breaking news. "The Devils are sending mercenaries to fight Villain?"
"Yes. This is the perfect opportunity to change people’s perception of Devils."
Asmodis said smugly, "You can’t judge a race by what they say, but by what they do. Therefore, the Devils must do something truly righteous to make the other races understand we aren’t the absolute villains from the stories."
Asmodis had been thinking about this for a long time.
What were Devils best at?
There was no other answer: war.
After all, there was virtually no peacetime in the history of Devils. Most of the time they were fighting external enemies, and when there were no external enemies, they fought civil wars.
So, the best way for Devils to gain public acceptance was to fight a war on the side of justice.
To that end, he had specifically studied the current, most popular "viral" war.
His conclusion was that neither Villain’s leadership nor Augustine’s leadership seemed particularly righteous.
Only the Augustine People were righteous. They had no ulterior motives; they were simply doing everything they could to survive.
They were worthy of respect.
But when it came to the leaders of the Augustine resistance, things were a bit off.
They had a touch of religious fanaticism and had done many things that weren’t exactly moral.
So, Asmodis’s final conclusion was to support neither side’s leadership. He would only support the Augustine People. The goal was to bring the war to a halt by making Villain suffer unbearable losses, forcing them to call a truce.
This was different from fully aiding the resistance forces.
There was a subtle distinction.
They would only be responsible for the fighting, not the political issues.
If they publicly supported the resistance, who knew what strange things the resistance might do in the future, forcing the Devils to take the blame along with them.
As for the war itself...
That was well within the Devils’ comfort zone.
Devils on the Feilin Continent had never feared death to begin with. The best way to deal with a Devil was to use a Divine Art to banish them back to Hell, which was more convenient than physical destruction.
The Church was the best at this, but they had also issued a statement condemning Villain and would not interfere.
Besides, without being able to strike into Hell itself, it was impossible to cause any substantial harm to the Devils, and Villain certainly didn’t have that capability.
Therefore, for Asmodis, this was a war destined to have zero casualties.
As for weapons, they could rely on the ones Zog had crowdfunded.
The Devils were practically guaranteed to make a killing.
Morris thought it over and realized this plan actually seemed quite sound.
He also hoped the war would end soon, and with Villain’s defeat.
The Devils’ proposal matched his own hopes, and becoming a cultural ambassador fit well with his career plans.
It was a job that could last a lifetime.
"Alright, Mr. Asmodis, I agree to cooperate with you."
"A very wise choice. The Devils will remember the help you’ve provided."
And so, the next time Morris appeared before the public, it was at a press conference for the Devil Mercenary Corps.
His presence attracted countless reporters, and by extension, the Devils received an unimaginable amount of attention.
This was exactly what Asmodis wanted.
What he needed was attention.
For the Devils, this war was essentially a show. Who they fought wasn’t as important as who was watching.
After the press conference, they demonstrated astounding efficiency. A large number of Devils immediately set off for the battlefield.
The only trouble was that too many warbands had enthusiastically signed up. The other Dukes argued for a long time before finally deciding to send a mixed regiment composed of Devils drawn from each of the major warbands.
Such was Asmodis’s art of balancing everyone’s interests.
It couldn’t be helped; the chance to stomp some noobs was just too popular.
Moreover, Asmodis didn’t just dispatch the warband. He also bought a batch of live-streaming equipment and arranged for a group of smart Devils to go to Zog for training.
He needed this war to maintain a high level of public attention from start to finish.
So he began to imagine what Zog would do in this situation.
After observing several of Zog’s operations, Asmodis now saw the Ancient Dragon as something of a "Great Sage and First Teacher" when it came to generating hype.
He had to learn everything from Zog.
’What would Zog do?’
’Although this operation is already profitable enough for me, it definitely wouldn’t be profitable enough for Zog.’
’Zog would definitely build up the hype and achieve his promotional goals, while also making some money on the side.’
’Yes, that’s exactly what he would do.’
Following this line of thought, Asmodis not only brought in a live-streaming team but also had some exclusive stream gifts custom-made.
Looking at the plan he had devised, Asmodis felt it was perfect. He had to have captured at least some of Zog’s true teachings.
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Zog followed the Devils’ stream. He was also curious about what kind of stunt Asmodis would pull.
When Asmodis had come to him earlier to arrange for the Devils’ training, Zog had asked him about his plans.
But that old Devil was being all secretive and wouldn’t say a word.
He’d even had an art team customize a bunch of exclusive gifts. Zog hadn’t paid attention to what they were, but it was clear a lot of effort went into them.
From the fact that he was using a team of Devil streamers, Zog inferred that he was probably planning to stream from the most dangerous places.
Teams from other races would be afraid to die.
’Live-streaming from the front lines of a firefight?’
’That’s probably it.’
’But that’s too violent and brutal. The audience might not like it. In reality, most people can’t handle overly graphic scenes; what they can stomach is the sanitized, less direct violence you see in fiction.’
After waiting for a while, the Devils’ stream finally went live.
Zog had already set a notification and clicked into the stream the moment it started.
It didn’t look like they were streaming from the front lines.
On the screen was the big face of a Deep Prison Demon Refiner, staring blankly at the camera.
He even spoke in a heavily accented Common tongue, "Welcome, Red Dragon Eating Potatoes, to the stream."
Because Zog’s account was a top-tier one, a special effect popped up when he entered the stream, making him hard to miss.
Zog watched for a while but couldn’t figure out what they were streaming. It was just a Great Devil making small talk.
’Making small talk on the battlefield? What kind of streaming niche is this?’
But since the guy had welcomed him, Zog felt he should show some appreciation. So he casually tapped the most expensive gift with his claw.
"Thank you, Boss Red Dragon Eating Potatoes, for the Grenade gift. Wishing you a fortune overnight and eternal life! Mwah!"
Zog had the bewildered expression of an old man staring at a smartphone on the subway. ’Where did he learn this routine? And a "mwah"?’
’Does he have any idea how much of a psychological shock it is for a thousand-year-old Dragon to see a Deep Prison Demon Refiner blow a kiss?’
’Wait a minute, what was that gift just now?’
’A grenade?’
Just then, the Deep Prison Demon Refiner on camera finally moved. He hoisted a grenade launcher onto his shoulder from off-screen.
"Boss, please take a look. This is the grenade you gifted."
Zog suddenly realized what this Devil was planning to do.
’It can’t possibly be as surreal as I’m thinking, right?’
The Deep Prison Demon Refiner ran a short distance with the camera, huffing and puffing as he went. He then cautiously scouted ahead. Not far away stood a Villain Armor.
"Thanks again for the grenade, Boss!"
The Deep Prison Demon Refiner let out a great shout, then aimed at the Mechanical Armor and pulled the trigger.
Zog was stunned.
’What is this?’
’Pay-per-shot?’
At the same time, the other viewers also understood the main point of this stream.
In an instant, the screen was flooded with gift notifications.