"..."
After listening to Lucius's tearful complaint, both Shiroyasha and Canary were a little speechless.
So that's what you're mad about!
As a commercial community, having your weapons looked down upon was something that would damage your reputation. To be belittled like that in front of a major client, it was understandable to feel angry.
For Perseus, what was more damaging than being plundered by a Devil King was that the Devil King didn't even care for their pride.
However—
"When faced with a Devil King, you're lucky to have survived!" Shiroyasha retorted, then asked with doubt, "By the way, since that Devil King looked down on your weapons and had no intention of plundering them, why did he say they were trash?"
Recalling Saber Alter's cold personality, Shiroyasha believed that she could give such an evaluation, but she didn't believe that she would pay attention to such insignificant things.
"This... this is because..."
At the mention of this, Lucius's expression became a little unnatural, but he still told the truth.
"Because there was a guest present, in order to protect the guest's safety, I took the initiative to offer these weapons in exchange for our safety, but I didn't expect to be rejected by the Devil King."
"...Didn't you bring this on yourself?" Shiroyasha was even more speechless.
The Devil King hadn't even made a demand, and you went up to him to offer tribute. You said it was to protect the guest, but with his personality, it was most likely just that he was afraid of dying.
The weapons you offered as tribute were despised by the Devil King, and you felt you had lost face. But you didn't dare to cause trouble for the Devil King, and only came over to make a fuss after the Devil King had left.
This guy was really twisted. If it weren't for the fact that Perseus's weapon forging skills were indeed good, Shiroyasha really wouldn't want to deal with this kind of person.
"How can you say I brought it on myself! It is our Arcadia Grand Alliance's duty to subjugate Devil Kings. This time, our Arcadia Grand Alliance must wash away our shame!" Lucius was very dissatisfied with Shiroyasha's words.
After correcting her, he remembered that he couldn't fight, and that the matter of subjugating the Devil King still depended on the two Floor Masters before him. So, at this point, he showed a fawning smile to the two of them.
"Don't you agree, Lady Shiroyasha, and Lady Canary?"
Seeing his sycophantic posture, Shiroyasha and Canary exchanged a glance, but did not refuse.
"Don't worry, Lucius. It is Arcadia's job to subjugate Devil Kings. What's more, this time it was an attack on our ally. Our Arcadia will not stand by and watch!"
After glancing at Shiroyasha, Canary took the initiative to speak and accepted the matter.
Hearing her say this, Lucius's face lit up. He rubbed his hands together and then said, "Lady Canary, I have an impertinent request. I don't know if I should say it."
"Go on!" Canary supported her cheek with one hand and nodded casually, not even looking at him.
"It's just... this time, in the subjugation of the Devil King, can we also participate?" Lucius requested.
"I've been thinking about it. The best way to restore our reputation is to use the weapons we've forged to deal a fatal blow to the Devil King. This can also serve as publicity for our community, which is also a good thing for our Arcadia Grand Alliance!"
His idea was obvious. It was to use Arcadia's power to eliminate the negative public opinion and then promote his products.
"..."
Although she had anticipated Lucius's foolishness, Canary couldn't help but sigh when she heard this.
"Lucius."
"Yes!" Lucius raised his head eagerly, thinking that this small request would not be rejected.
But—
"Do you think that subjugating a Devil King is child's play?" the golden-haired young woman asked in a rather light tone.
"N-no! Of course not?!" Lucius immediately shook his head, his eyes wide with surprise, clearly not having expected to be rejected.
"Although our Arcadia has never been defeated, the subjugation of a Devil King itself is a matter that allows for no negligence. To think that you have the leisure to decide how to take a Devil King's life is a fatal arrogance," Canary shook her head, her eyes slightly disappointed. "Although you are a logistics department, you are also an important ally of our alliance. I didn't expect you to be so naive."
As the strategist of the Arcadia Grand Alliance, Canary's words could be said to be a subtle warning.
Normally, even if he didn't agree with her, Lucius would have obeyed this vixen's command. But this time, he was indeed eager to recover his losses. So, Lucius gritted his teeth and said, "Our Arcadia Grand Alliance can even defeat a Last Embryo of humanity, let alone these Devil Kings with no background?"
"I know what Lady Canary means. You want us to be cautious, but there's no need for that now... If Lady Canary is really worried, we of Perseus can personally go into battle. I only hope that if the opportunity arises, you will allow us to complete the subjugation."
As he spoke, his gaze became firm, as if he had made a great sacrifice.
"..."
Canary was once again speechless.
A mere logistics department, talking about going into battle personally... did this guy think he was very good at using reverse psychology?
And was the battle against a Devil King something that just anyone could participate in? Not to mention messing up the arrangements, you even plan to steal the kill at the end? And you're so righteous about it?
She began to reflect on whether Arcadia's track record had been too good, making these allies too comfortable, to the point that they completely didn't understand the harshness of reality.
Thinking this, she, who had originally wanted to refuse directly, nodded. "If you insist on participating in the battle, it's not impossible!"
"Hey!" At this time, Shiroyasha suddenly spoke up. She was worried that Canary would act impulsively.
Canary patted Shiroyasha's arm, signaling her to calm down, then took out a report from her Gift Card and continued to add, "Coincidentally, we've received information about this Devil King from Laplace. Since you dare to participate in the battle, you should also understand the Devil King's background."
Hearing this, both Shiroyasha and Lucius looked up.
"So soon?"
"The information on that damn Devil King is out?"
One was surprised, the other was pleasantly surprised. Lucius rubbed his palms together and said, "Lady Canary, who is that person? To dare to attack our Arcadia Grand Alliance at this time, they must be either a Devil King from the backwoods or have no background. This time, I'll let them know what regret is!"
"To get straight to the point, the opponent is a Four-Digit level Devil King," Canary said frankly, revealing the key information.
"A Four-Digit?" Lucius was slightly taken aback, a little nervous, but not too surprised.
As a descendant of the hero Perseus, he had had a divinity since birth. Although he was not good at fighting, he was still at the level of a Five-Digit. With the weapons he possessed, such as the Helm of Hades, even a Four-Digit level Devil King might not be able to withstand his sneak attack.
Seeing Lucius's calm appearance, Canary continued to add, "In addition, the opponent's spiritual rank is suspected to be of the Strongest Species, or at least strongly related to the Strongest Species!"
"The... the Strongest Species?" Lucius immediately shivered.
Yesterday, their entire community had been defeated without a fight, so he had no idea of the opponent's specific strength. Hearing Canary say this, he only now felt that it was a tricky situation.
The three Strongest Species of Little Garden—the Primordial Gods and Buddhas, the Pure-Blooded Dragons, and the Celestial Spirits—any one of them was a first-rate standard among the Four-Digits. The demigods and heroes in mythology were no more than that. An existence of this level could not be solved by a sneak attack with a weapon advantage.
"It's... it's fine! We still have Koumei! With him fighting in the front, we can just set up a finishing blow from behind!" After the panic, he still thought of a solution.
The strategist of Arcadia was Canary, but Canary was not skilled in martial arts and was a genuine weakling. The reason this community was able to continuously subjugate Devil Kings was mainly due to the combat power of its leader, the hero who had maintained the highest challenge record to date, Kasukabe Koumei.
Kasukabe Koumei, who had mastered the power of the "Genome Tree", had a record of defeating the Strongest Species multiple times. With him around, there was no need to fear even if the enemy was of the Strongest Species.
Hearing this, Canary's expression did not change as she added, "According to Laplace's speculation, the opponent's spiritual rank's origin belongs to the Celtic pantheon and may be related to the Halloween Queen."
"The Celtic pantheon? The Halloween Queen?!"
Hearing the Halloween Queen's name, Lucius finally couldn't hold it together. He wasn't afraid of anything else. No matter how bad things got, Arcadia would be there to back him up. As long as he teamed up with Arcadia, he believed that even a Devil King couldn't hurt him.
But after hearing the Devil King's background, he undeniably chickened out.
Although she had long since stepped down from the position of a problem child and no longer appeared as a Devil King, the Halloween Queen's capricious personality was still greatly feared.
To rashly attack someone related to the Queen, regardless of whether they were a friend or an enemy of the Queen, could easily bring disaster upon oneself. And once you were targeted by the Halloween Queen, that was far more dangerous than being targeted by a Devil King.
"L-Lady Canary, I suddenly feel that professional matters should be left to the professionals. I'll have to trouble you with this Devil King matter. We in the logistics department can just wait for the results."
Lucius immediately spoke up, ready to slip away.
"Oh? You're not insisting on having your community's people subjugate the Devil King anymore?" Canary asked deliberately.
"No, no! We don't have the ability," Lucius hurriedly waved his hands, afraid that Canary would really drag them to subjugate the Devil King.
"Heh~ It's best to know your own limits." Canary snorted coldly and did not press him too hard.
Knowing that he had offended someone with his request just now, Lucius shut his mouth and did not dare to say anything more.
At this time, Shiroyasha, who had been listening to the information on the side, finally had a chance to interject. She pretended to be indifferent and asked casually, "Canary, you said the Devil King is related to the Queen and the Celtic pantheon, and you're sure they're likely of the Strongest Species... has the Devil King's identity been confirmed yet?"
"Not yet... but we already have a suspect." Canary glanced thoughtfully at Shiroyasha, whose expression was changing drastically, then changed the subject. "According to the current clues, the Strongest Species this Devil King corresponds to is a Pure-Blooded Dragon. There are quite a few existences in the Celtic pantheon who have the aptitude of a Devil King and are related to dragons."
"Who?" Shiroyasha's eyes widened as she asked. Had Artoria's identity been exposed so quickly?
"The White Dragon who once ruled Britain, Vortigern the Tyrant!" Canary stated her previous judgment. After seeing Shiroyasha's expression, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Looks like I guessed wrong?"