"You don't seem to believe it."
Tatsuma saw through Stella's thoughts.
"How about this? Let's make a bet."
"What bet?"
"I'll let Cao Cao stab me with one strike in his strongest state. If I can handle it, you'll join my Peerage."
"Peerage?"
Stella was startled, then shook her head in refusal. "Sorry, I can't agree to that."
Tatsuma asked, "The reason?"
Stella raised her hand to her chest, her eyes showing determination. "I am the Sword of Vermilion, I must protect my country and people until the last moment."
Tatsuma thought for a moment and said, "After becoming a part of my Peerage, you can still serve as the Sword of Vermilion, perhaps even better."
"Hmm? Is that so?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Stella's eyes.
This isn't quite the same as the rumors she heard.
"I heard that after joining a Devil's Peerage, you have to work with your master and perform tasks, and even in your free time, you have to serve by your master's side, waiting for orders."
"That situation does exist, but my subordinates can be a bit more relaxed."
Tatsuma pulled out a business card belonging to himself and said, "Allow me to introduce myself, I currently hold the positions of leader of the Akatsuki and President of MAR, with countless members under me."
"To join my Peerage, the only thing you need to do is make up the numbers when participating in the Rating Game. You won't need to perform any tasks or missions."
"Furthermore, I can set up a long-distance teleportation array between the Gremory clan and Kuoh Town, making it convenient for you to travel anytime."
"That sounds pretty good."
After hearing this, Stella was a little tempted.
As the princess of the Vermilion Empire, what she cared about most was whether she could protect her nation.
If Tatsuma didn't restrain her, then joining his Peerage would be entirely beneficial with no drawbacks.
Not only could she train under him and fight him to become stronger, more importantly, with the identity of the Red Dragon Emperor's Peerage member, the Vermilion Empire would gain a deterrence buff. No matter who wanted to act against the Vermilion Empire, they would need to think repeatedly before doing so, weighing the pros and cons.
"How about it? Want to make the bet?" Tatsuma's questioning voice sounded again.
Stella shook her head and replied, "No need for the bet. The True Longinus is too dangerous for Devils, there's no need to do something so risky for a bet."
"As for joining your Peerage... could you give me some time? I can't decide this alone, I need to go home later and discuss it with my parents."
Tatsuma thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go back with you later, I'll talk about this with your family myself."
Stella was startled. "You're going to the Vermilion Empire?"
Tatsuma nodded. "Is that not allowed?"
Stella hesitated. "It's not that it's not allowed, but... it just feels a bit weird."
Joining Tatsuma's Peerage, to some extent, means living together with the other party for a lifetime.
This current situation is like going out for a stroll, bumping into a guy, and then bringing him home.
Stella wasn't sure what reaction her family would have, but she felt a bit awkward.
Tatsuma said, "No need to be nervous, I'm not going there to fight. As long as we discuss the gains and losses properly, your family will agree."
"Alright, I'll inform my family now."
Stella took out a phone from her pocket and began contacting her parents far away in the Vermilion Empire.
Seeing this, La Folia, who had been walking ahead, slowed her pace and came beside Tatsuma, blinking. "Tatsuma-san, are you interested in recruiting another member?"
Tatsuma asked, "You want to join my Peerage?"
La Folia took out a handgun from her pocket and said, "Although I can't compare to the Crimson Princess, my strength is decent, I won't embarrass you."
Tatsuma's gaze moved downwards, sensing the assets on La Folia's body. "It is indeed alright. Do you need to discuss it with your family?"
"No need, I can decide this matter myself."
La Folia noticed Tatsuma's gaze, and instead of being shy, she puffed out her chest, showing off her own assets.
"Tatsuma-san, can I be the Queen?"
"You can't, you don't have the qualifications."
"Alright."
La Folia felt a bit regretful.
To be honest, when she first heard Tatsuma wanted to recruit Peerage members, her first reaction wasn't surprise but confusion.
Recruiting Peerage members requires Evil Pieces, and only high-ranking Devils can have Evil Pieces.
In La Folia's intel, she had never heard of Tatsuma being promoted to a high-ranking Devil. In other words, this was a confidential piece of information known only to a very few beings.
Thinking of this, La Folia immediately thought of many ways to gain benefits from this information. And her final conclusion was to volunteer to join Tatsuma's Peerage.
As the most dazzling individual in recent months, the Aldegyr Kingdom had been collecting information on Tatsuma. Precisely because of this, La Folia was very clear about what kind of monstrous talent Tatsuma was.
Once the matter of his promotion to a high-ranking Devil was exposed, countless people would proactively seek to follow him. Therefore, this matter could only be done early.
While this matter hadn't been exposed yet, and the number of competitors wasn't large, proactively sign up to join Tatsuma's Peerage.
And among the Peerage members, the Queen, who had the highest status, was naturally the best choice.
It was just a pity that she was indeed a bit lacking.
Whether in terms of strength or assets, she was slightly inferior to Stella beside her.
Silently sighing in her heart, La Folia regained her spirits.
"Tatsuma-san, may I ask what position you plan for me to take?"
"Bishop, Knight, Pawn, choose one of these three yourself."
Tatsuma snapped his fingers, summoning a row of chess pieces in front of La Folia.
Seeing this, after hesitating for a moment, La Folia reached out and grabbed the Bishop piece.
As the princess of the Aldegyr Kingdom, her biggest characteristic was having a lot of spiritual power. Since that was the case, she would maximize her advantage and further increase her total spiritual power.
"Tatsuma-san, I've chosen."
"Then let's begin."
Tatsuma activated the Evil Piece and integrated it into La Folia's body.
After a moment, La Folia's aura surged significantly, emitting a rich vitality.
"So this is how you become a Devil? The process is more simple than I imagined."
Stella, who had been watching from the side, nodded slightly and chimed in with a remark, "Indeed, I thought there would be dazzling displays, golden lotuses rising from the ground, stars covering the sky, and other such special effects."
Tatsuma rolled his eyes. "I think you two have read too many novels. If you want special effects, cast a magic yourself, you can have whatever you want."
La Folia shrugged, "I only learned Spirit-type Magic, I can't create those kinds of special effects."
Stella thought for a moment and said, "I could conjure a fire dragon special effect, but doing it myself feels a bit embarrassing."
La Folia mused, "From what you're saying, have you already tacitly agreed to join Tatsuma's Peerage?"
Stella: "..."
Oh right, why did she assume she was joining a Peerage?
Stella realized this belatedly, her expression becoming awkward.
Seeing this, La Folia shrugged and muttered that she was being too dramatic, then looked towards Jeanne.
"Tatsuma, how should we handle her?"
Jeanne: "..."
I'm trying so hard to play dead, can't you guys just let me go?
Looking at Tatsuma, who was also looking at her, Jeanne tried hard to force a smile to show goodwill.
"Um... can I surrender?"
"Of course you can."
Tatsuma nodded slightly and raised his fist.
Boom!
[Congratulations, you have successfully defeated Jeanne and obtained the purple trait: Holy Sword Creation.]
[Holy Sword Creation (Purple): After consuming a certain amount of energy, you can create Holy Swords of different attributes.]
A purple trait, not bad.
Tatsuma threw [Holy Sword Creation] into his inventory and reached out to lift Jeanne, who was embedded in the ground.
"Red Dragon Emperor! You liar!" Jeanne accused him, her eyes spinning and consciousness hazy.
"Didn't we agree you would accept the surrender?"
Tatsuma said, "I accepted your surrender and didn't hit you."
"This is mistreating a prisoner!"
"It's fine, terrorists have no human rights."
Tatsuma cast a Senjutsu to heal Jeanne, then released her, letting her fall to the ground.
"Follow along yourself. If I find out you're trying to sneak away, you'll face the consequences."
"I won't run"
Jeanne muttered softly, then obediently followed Tatsuma and the others.
They walked forward and soon entered a large tent.
There were few items inside the tent, mostly temporary furnishings.
***
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