Chapter 115 - Ally Or Foe?

Alexander looked at Prince Jolto and frowned slightly. Even in such a situation, he was actually trying to recruit him?

"I guess extreme measures have to be taken." Alexander sighed to himself. 

"It seems to me that you still do not understand the situation you're in." Alexander said to Prince Jolto with a smile. "There is no 'us' anymore for you. There's only me… Or death."

Alexander held out his hand casually and a blood red parchment materialized. "This is a twenty-year blood slave contract. After twenty years, it will automatically dissolve. You will also be immune from all other contracts as long as this contract is in effect, so your release is certain. Sign it.."

The blood red parchment floated gently towards Prince Jolto. 

Prince Jolto looked at the parchment bitterly. Not even the cold blooded Prince Marius had gone to such an extent to secure his loyalty. This person was truly vicious. But life was a two way street. He had tried to destroy this person's planet, and now the person was destroying his life. 

A slave for twenty years! A part of him wanted to rebel and just die before taking the knee and signing the contract. But the vast majority of his mind simply told him that twenty years was a small price to pay to get out of this situation alive. 

He had taken a huge risk by invading Arcanus 26 with such a strong force. And although by all considerations he should have succeeded and only lost due to the impossible-to-predict strength of the natives which even Prince Flario himself probably didn't know about, a loss was a loss. 

And in such high stakes games, a loss usually meant death.

In this particular moment though, the winner had graciously extended a lifeline. It was definitely much more preferable to death. Plus, this way, he could probably help his sister as well. 

And so, after a few moments of silence, Prince Jolto signed the slave contract.

Whoosh! The parchment burst into flames and disappeared into both Alexander's and Prince Jolto's body. 

Immediately, Alexander felt a one way connection form between him and Prince Jolto. He could sense Prince Jolto's feelings and thoughts, and could send instructions which he knew Prince Jolto would carry out. 

"Excellent." Alexander nodded in satisfaction. 

"You are proficient in the creation of blood contracts as well? What a powerful man you are!" Regis Darkbane exclaimed after he saw that the slave contract was successfully implemented. 

"You are not able to do that?" Alexander asked in surprise. 

"Of course I can. I am a Devil King! Blood contracts are nothing to me." Regis Darkbane said arrogantly. "But I am surprised that you are able to make that so easily, especially as a denizen of this realm. It requires you to have an extremely powerful will and control over the elements!"

"Ah." Alexander merely said. He was not interested in comparing strength with such a weird person.

After Prince Jolto had signed the slave contract and fell completely under his control, Alexander relaxed slightly. 

"Tell me everything you know about the current situation" Alexander instructed Prince Jolto. "And get out of my Captain's seat please."

"As you command, Master." Prince Jolto jumped out of the Captain's seat and allowed Alexander to sit down on it. 

"Princess Hilda is currently three hours away from us. Once she arrives, the plan was to link up with her and launch a full scale attack on Prince Flario as soon as he appears. 

"Was?" Alexander asked.

"Yes. I noticed earlier when I glanced at that report panel that Prince Flario's Starship has appeared on our radar. He had just exited warp speed. This could only mean one thing, he is activating the Planetary Teleportation System. He will be here very soon. Without Princess Hilda, we would definitely lose the battle. However, with you and your friend, I believe that you will be able to win it!" 

Alexander frowned lightly as he pondered his next steps. 

"King Regis, to better protect Aleyria, I believe that we will need you to prepare your minions to possess the incoming Starship as well." He said.

"It will be as easy as sweeping them away with a wave of my hand!" King Regis proclaimed grandly. "Alas! My time limit in this realm is fast approaching. I can only stay for another few minutes before I have to leave." 

Alexander nodded in understanding. It was reasonable. If Regis Darkbane's power can remain in this realm for a long time, this would be his realm to rule. 

"Alright then. If that's the case, you have my deepest gratitude for making the capture of this Starship so smooth and easy." Alexander thanked him warmly with a wide smile.

"For Princess Aleyria, this is nothing! In fact, when I am able to return to this realm a few hundred days from now, I will be able to capture more starships for her! A hundred starships would only begin to touch upon the gratitude that I feel for her! No, not a hundred. A thousand! Two thousand!" Regis Darkbane shouted loudly.

"There are less than a hundred Starships in existence in the whole of Symphonia." Prince Jolto chuckled. "With a thousand Starships, we would be able to conquer every single Empire in our known Universe." 

"Then I will conquer all the known Empires for her!" King Regis shouted. 

"Really?" Prince Jolto's eyes glinted lightly as his mind raced.

"Hey, stop scheming so deeply." Alexander rolled his eyes at Prince Jolto.

"Forgive me master. But I was thinking, with his power, claiming the throne would be easy. And after that, even the Universe Empires wouldn't be too difficult to conquer as well!" Prince Jolto quickly said.

"Yes! I will conquer the empires for Aleyria! To infinity and beyond!!" King Regis shouted. "To infi- Ah I have to go!"

Whoosh! A massive portal appeared outside of the Starship and King Regis quickly appeared next to it and stepped through.

In a few moments, all traces of the portal and Regis Darkbane were gone. 

All the possessed soldiers immediately collapsed and died. 

Alexander frowned slightly. What a sudden departure.

And that Regis Darkbane was definitely a time bomb that could explode any time. Although he was proclaiming his allegiance and gratitude to Aleyria like some fool, Alexander did not believe him one bit.

He could sense Regis Darkbane's high intellect lurking just beneath the foolish facade he put up. There was no way his only intention being here in this world was to help Aleyria with her troubles. 

Still, it was good to know that his time in this realm was very limited and he could only come back through Aleyria's summons. 

In any case, the best way to deal with timebombs such as Regis Darkbane and all the problems in life was only one thing - Power up. He needed to be so strong that all the other beings in this Universe or from other realms have no choice but to either submit or stay away from him.

"Tell me more about the political situation regarding the fight for the throne." He finally said. 

"The situation is actually very simple. The Emperor is dying. Prince Flario, Prince Marius and Prince Davon are fighting for the throne. All the other Princes and Princesses are either neutral or have taken sides. Prince Flario is in the lead, with almost two fifths of Symphonia's territories openly declaring their support for him. Prince Marius is a close second, with three tenths of the territories supporting him. Prince Davon is third with a tenth in his support. However, Prince Davon is the Emperor's favorite child. He should have much deeper support than what we can detect openly. In fact, I believe that many factions are secretly supporting him. 

The key battle is occurring with resources. All factions are trying their hardest to increase power by building as many Starships as possible. Prince Marius is building three more, and we found out that Prince Flario is building four, possibly five more. At this pace, Prince Flario is poised to win the throne. However, with you and that Regis person, we can easily take over Flario's Starships and put him out of the picture!"

Prince Jolto's eyes shined brightly as he talked. This was the solution to the dilemma that he had been thinking of day and night, the solution to the problem that he had done many, many despicable things to try and solve. 

"That Regis guy? Sure he may be a great asset to us. I believe that getting the throne would be a piece of cake with him on our side. His power is very significantly tailored towards… overwhelming the enemy and winning the battle from within the enemy's camp." Alexander agreed.

"Yes! I believe that too!" Prince Jolto shouted in excitement.

"However, what if he is not on our side? What do you think are our chances of getting the throne?" Alexander asked Prince Jolto with a smile.