I Became The Vampire Progenitor

"From now on, in the Dark Pact, everyone is to address me by my 'true name'—Iro. Regardless of whether outsiders are present."

He was a bit uneasy and made sure to give this instruction clearly.

"Yes, Your Majesty Iro," the others responded in unison, none of them were fools.

Only Betty sat idly in her chair, watching the exchange with an uninterested expression.

She had only been pulled in by Li De as temporary muscle. Unless something major came up, she wouldn't normally appear in the Dark Pact. As such, this wild Valkyrie of the North had no interest in getting involved.

Li De didn't mind. As one of his top combat assets and one who had made significant contributions, she naturally had certain privileges. As long as she obeyed orders when it mattered, that was enough.

"Stanley, from today on, you'll manage the Dark Pact together with Grote, with Emi assisting.

For now, there are three main priorities you need to focus on.

First, stabilize the interests of the Dark Pact.

Due to attacks from Green City's military, the Dark Pact has lost many strongholds that took years to establish. Now that Demon Heart has joined us, our strength will stabilize.

So in the short term, I need you to rally as many of the Pact's members as possible and secure its previous assets."

Li De didn't waste time with pleasantries and got straight to assigning tasks.

Now that the system officially recognized the Dark Pact, he had fully embraced it as his own.

A disorganized faction was the last thing he wanted.

What he aimed for was a faction like the Crimson Mage Tower or Dawn City, one that could become a sharpened blade at his command, ready to strike at his enemies' throats.

Reorganizing the half-crippled Dark Pact was now his top priority.

"Second, solidify mutual interests with Demon Heart.

For the foreseeable future, Demon Heart will be a key ally of the Dark Pact. You must learn to leverage that.

I'll secretly supply you with a batch of magic scrolls. The Dark Pact can trade part of its profits for support from Demon Heart."

Li De had a deeper understanding of Demon Heart. One should never casually trust the promises of dark beings.

Their promises weren't ironclad, contracts could be torn up if doing so benefited them.

This wasn't a world bathed in light; in the Underworld, trust and betrayal often meant the same thing.

For the Dark Pact to return to the strength it enjoyed under Viscount Berna would require a massive investment of power, and the help of Demon Heart.

Thanks to the presence of Wales Ronal, this would be much easier.

And if the Dark Pact and Demon Heart could form an alliance of shared interests, it would lead to even greater support.

The magic scrolls were Li De's trump card.

No one could resist the allure of magic scrolls.

"Third, expand the Dark Pact's intelligence network.

I want the Dark Pact to become my eyes and ears, able to provide me with information at a moment's notice."

By its very nature, the Crimson Mage Tower was not positioned to gather valuable intelligence.

After all, its partners were merchant guilds and nobles, people who wouldn't willingly share any useful information with a mage tower.

Even if some information did get through, it likely wouldn't match what Li De actually needed.

But the Dark Pact was different. This underground organization had countless unorthodox channels.

Casinos, taverns, brothels, inns. These lower-tier businesses were often hubs of intelligence.

The Crimson Mage Tower had no presence in these areas in Green City. If not for Emi this time, they might have been attacked without even realizing it.

The incident with the Dark Pact had taught him a hard lesson, and the plan to take control of the Pact was in large part born from this realization.

"Yes, Your Majesty Iro."

Stanley and the others nodded immediately. As Bloodline Descendants, they could never disobey their Progenitor's commands.

Li De looked at Stanley with satisfaction. Though they had once been enemies, now that this dark priest from the Evening Bell Church had been converted, he found him quite agreeable.

"You must also reorganize the existing structure and business operations. Divest from any overtly wicked activities.

I only want the Dark Pact to run businesses like taverns, brothels, inns, casinos, these common industries."

That's right. In the criminal-ridden Western District, brothels and gambling were considered ordinary enterprises.

"Later on, I'll assign a specific type of magic scroll for the Dark Pact to use in its operations.

I need you to expand your reach as quickly as possible."

Li De's deep gaze swept over the group, laden with meaning.

The Crimson Mage Tower operated in the open, the Dark Pact worked from the shadows, and Dawn City served as the stronghold behind them.

His desired development system was finally complete.

A tri-core structure, truly blooming in three directions.

No matter where a threat came from, he would now have enough strength to counter it.

The existence of the Dark Pact had perfectly filled the Crimson Mage Tower's greatest weakness. It provided powerful and effective protection for Li De's sources of wealth.

On the surface, the Crimson Mage Tower was under Spark's protection, with Betty as a deterrent. In the shadows, the Dark Pact served as a shield, and he had a potential ally in Demon Heart.

And at this moment, no one knew that the owner of the Crimson Mage Tower, Spark's disciple Li De Kachar, this so-called genius mage had quietly become a major power in Green City.

The true strength hidden beneath the surface of the Crimson Mage Tower was enough to astonish all.

This deepwater predator had gone still, waiting for the moment its prey approached.

And so, the super boss who could dominate both the light and the dark officially stepped onto Green City's stage today.