Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 11, Part 1)

18 Stabilizing the Realm

The dragons hesitated for a moment but finally, one of them pulled out a transmission stone. Much to Ye Yang's regret, the one they contacted wasn't An Bai but Xiang Yong. On a positive note though, he did back him up on what had happened.

The dragons cut the connection and finally pulled to the side, letting the demons pass. With that, the battle in the dragon realm came to its end only shortly after it had begun. Neither side's reinforcements had managed to arrive before the end of the battle and even the cleaning up on the dragons' side could likely be done fast. The only doubtful question was how they would deal with their king's situation.

Ye Yang couldn't help but worry about that. He had somehow taken up the mantle of being the demon king even though he had never wanted that position. Now, he would have to sit on the hot seat of their realm that had managed to bring each and every demon king before him a premature death.

This would be even more likely for him to happen if the situation in the dragon realm destabilized. After all, the other demons would see that as a chance to take over. The dragon realm being in a state of turmoil and their king being incapacitated was a prime opportunity. If he didn't want to risk his own death and another invasion of the dragon realm, he'd have to plan well.

His gaze slipped toward Xia Wei. The other demon had stayed quiet since the end of their fight but he knew that in his mind, he was likely replaying every second of it. He couldn't believe that he had been on the losing end and he would go over it again and again until he found something he felt he could have done differently to win. That kind of person ... he was valuable. But that was something to deal with later.

The demons made their way back to the demon realm without further disturbance. Ye Yang went to the demon king's palace, sighing when he walked through the gate. Well, this really wasn't what he had planned. It wasn't what he wanted either. But at least for the time being, he would continue on this path. Maybe in the future, there would be a possibility to get out of this without risking another war or his life but he'd have to see about that. For now ... he simply wanted a few moments to himself.

The place where he finally went was the suite of rooms where Jin Ling usually stayed. Looking at the familiar furniture and remembering the time they had spent here, he couldn't help but sigh again. To think that Jin Ling was gone just like that ... he still had trouble believing it. But then, it had happened almost directly in front of his eyes. What was there not to believe?

He sat down and rubbed his face, thinking back to the battle. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. The person he had been pursuing for years had died, the dragon king had most likely gone crazy, and he had somehow become the demon king. What was next?

He couldn't even begin to imagine but something told him that it wouldn't be anything nice. No, in this type of situation, the only thing waiting for him and everyone else could only be another disaster. He wasn't so delusional as to expect anything else.

Ye Yang lowered his hands and stared blankly. He had to solve this mess Yong Hai had left for him step by step. Regarding the dragon king, he couldn't do anything other than stay in contact with his advisers and hope for the best. No, the only part he had any influence on was the matters in the demon realm.

He had to keep them from trying to start another battle or vying for the throne again. The latter shouldn't be too difficult. He had killed Yong Hai in front of many eyes and the fight against Xia Wei who was known to be strong had done its part to ensure many wouldn't even dare to think about challenging him.

The next best thing to do was to surround himself with some supporters that would be somewhat loyal and discourage the demons even further. As for who that might be ... he already had the answer: Xia Wei.

He naturally wasn't completely happy with this person considering that it was him who had killed Jin Ling but then, Yong Hai was the one who had caused the situation. He wouldn't assign blame to the one who had simply been caught up in the circumstances.

Also, right now, he couldn't be choosy. He had to find people he could trust somewhat and Xia Wei was perfect. After all, he had a clear goal so Ye Yang had a way to convince him. As long as he was able to give him what he wanted, Xia Wei wouldn't have a reason to betray him. With others, it would be more difficult. But then, Xia Wei might be the lead he needed to find more people he could pull to his side.

Ye Yang finally got up again, marched back to the throne room, and pushed open the door.

The two guards outside who hadn't followed along to the battle tensed and stared at him with apprehension. They had already heard that the king had changed and that was never really a good thing for guards like them.

They had known Jin Ling well and knew what to expect. With Yong Hai, it had been enough to simply lower your head and treat him like he was the greatest thing that had ever happened to them and the demon realm. But when it came to this latest king ... well, it was difficult to say and that always posed the risk of being disposed of.