Hero of Darkness

Chapter 991  Devil in Disguise

Due to the twists and turns of fate… the Emperor of the Zivot Empire ended up asking for help from Misthios Mercenary Guild, the very guild created by the Hero of Darkness whom he had declared to be the killer of most of the members of the Hero of Life's party in front of the whole world.
As a consequence of his own choices, unbeknownst to him, he ended up contacting Legolas Ragnarsson, originally the very person who played a part in his daughter's death.
The most outstanding feat of this specific guild which made even the imperial authorities inclined to hire them was that it had a total of 14 Saints, the highest number of saints in any mercenary guild in the entire Elven Empire.
This was a formidable number of Saints that not even Dukes, Marquises, and the High Kings class of the Elven Empire had in their respective forces.
If there came a day when there was a feud between different classes or factions of the empire due to some power struggle, those who hired Misthios had up to an 80% chance to win that feud solely based on the sheer number of saints and their ranks.
Currently, there was one 5th-stage saint, then 3 of their members were at 4th-stage saint rank, 6 at the 3rd-stage rank including the guildmaster Legolas Ragnarsson himself, and 4 members at the 2nd-stage.
This was a formidable force that even made the Emperor feel a sense of caution.
That's why, a month ago, they approached Legolas Ragnarsson with respect instead of ordering him to visit the Capital like usual.
The person who led the Imperial Envoy to Alfheim and met Legolas in his office situated at Sparta was none other than his brother, who was the Abbot of the Monastery of Life and also a peak 7th-stage saint.
The 2nd strongest person in the entire Elven Empire who held as much authority as the Emperor now met with Legolas, the doppelganger of Kahn who shared everything in common with him except for his core and original body.
Through a detailed conversation, Legolas learned the seriousness of the issue and considered a few aspects of his self-preservation.
He also found out through the Abbot that all the Heroes needed to attain the Conclave of Heroes no matter what if they wanted to stay alive.
And hence, their protection was of the utmost priority for all the empires. Due to their current situation, they needed the Misthios guild's assistance.
Obviously, the Abbot also shifted the blame on the Hero of Darkness as part of the official story and tried to convince Legolas to send his best people to assist and protect Ervalen Baaslark, the Hero of Life during Conclave of Heroes.
[If I'm still alive, means my real body is also alive and well.
But if I don't know about this whole Divine Essence part of being a chosen Hero, then I'm as good as dead after the Conclave of Heroes.
Still, there's a chance I will be present there either by luck, coincidence, or the machinations of the God of Darkness.
The problem is I can't personally go there since this is but a doppelganger body and I will be found out very quickly.
But that's not the case for my subordinates who have real bodies and can hide their true forms as well. Some of them even have Psuedo-Souls so no one will be suspicious about them.
And if the original me somehow arrives at Conclave of Heroes, I will need allies who can aid me once I enter that so-called God's Domain.
The original me will have to enter the peninsula created by God of Darkness to keep my core intact and even if I hide my identity like I usually do…
It won't be possible to have extra sets of eyes. If anything, I need more manpower.] thought Legolas long and hard after hearing everything from the Abbot.
"I accept this offer. However, I will not be able to participate there myself since I'm the guildmaster and thousands of people rely on me to maintain order in Sparta.
At best, I can send you my most talented warriors to aid the Hero of Life in this Conclave of Heroes.
However… do note that we will neither be pledging any alliance or loyalty to the imperial family or the monastery. This will be pure contract-based work like we normally do.
As for the payment… I would like something worth the risk since my guys may not return alive due to this threat you call the Hero of Darkness." proposed Legolas to the Abbot.
"I wouldn't have it any other way either, child. 
And what do an Ironborne Elf like you want as fair payment?
Do you want a Title or do you want a seat among the High Elves?
As long as I and the Emperor give the word, anything can be done." spoke the old high elf who was more than 600 years old.
"A title such as a High Noble is useless to me because it doesn't come with much authority.
I'm not like those desperate humans who risk their lives and spend decades just to get recognition from the High Elves." responded Legolas with a composed demeanor.
"And neither do I want a seat amongst the High Elves since I'm an Ironborne.
I will always be an outcast there. So instead, I want something of value, something far more worth than a title of a noble or the right to sit among the High Elves." he iterated calmly.
"And what is that?" asked the Abbot curiously.
Both of the options he presented were something people in the Zivot Empire would kill for.
For centuries, Humans in this empire had devoted themselves to the nation and served the imperial rule in one way or another to receive titles and authority to control regions of the empire once recognized by the imperial family.
Many had received place in Military and some even become Counts and Viscounts in the Zivot Empire.
Even the normal Elves, who were part of the upper class by default due to their hierarchy system among the races, could only dream about being accepted into the High Elf class which was the main ruling population of the empire.
Yet, for some reason, this Ironborne Elf who descended from the bloodline of Bjorn Ragnarsson, the 4th Hero of Life, a heritage frowned upon by the High Elves… chose to decline both of them.
At this point, even the Abbot was anticipating what reward Legolas wanted to send his people on this suicide mission.
What he didn't know was that he was trying to make a deal with Kahn Salvatore, the man who forced beings like Rathnaar Whitlock, the former Peak Saint of Vantrea, and the former Lightning Dragon Emperor, Vildred Mortelix to enter a life-and-death Soul-Oath as well as Contract of Familiarity with him even when he was at the brink of death.
Kahn was the kind of greedy man who wanted everything he could squeeze out from the other side even in the face of imminent destruction.
No way he was going to let this chance go when the other side didn't know that they were making a deal with the devil himself.
"To send 9 of my best warriors to their possible deaths just to protect a Hero… I want something that's worthy of being part of the 9 realms." spoke Legolas with a devilish smirk.
Chill! 
Even the Peak 7th stage saint felt a chill running through his spine as he saw the face full of unending avarice on Legolas' face as the guildmaster of the Misthios finally declared…
"I want ownership of the entire Alfheim."

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