GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



He activated the call for support because he believed that he was safe to act within this world fragment. It is not a baseless belief. He has the Oath of the first Sage to reassure him. He also can't die permanently in this competition, so he should be safe.

He has had many threats, and he has been afraid because of them. Lady Amari is just one of his enemies. She may be small and insignificant, and her death here may be temporary, but he will allow himself to enjoy it. What is life without the little pleasures?

Now that it has been decided that he will crush her. It is time to decide how he will crush her. He can do it on his own. He has the power to. He hasn't used the call for support much yet, but what he already has is enough for him right now. The call for support makes him do what he can do, but he does it better and more powerfully. He was already more powerful than his enemies. Now that his shackles have been removed, he outclasses them by miles.

He would prefer to crush his enemies on his own. He can do it too. He is strong enough to do it. Unfortunately, he shouldn't. If he is to complete the public image that he started to build with that speech, then he mustn't acquire victory on his own. He can't go on to massacre the opposition on his own. It will be another Calamity of the child of the plane again. 

He has to stick to the narrative. If he destroys his enemies with a group by his side, then it will be just a battle for victory, and it will show that those that are on his side will get that victory. Also, no one will be able to blame him alone for the calamity. He wasn't the one that instigated the fight, and he didn't kill everyone alone. 

'I hate this. I have removed one shackle, but I am being bonded by another.' He thought to himself.

He hates to do things this way, but it is the logical option if he wants to create a favorable public image. The boost from his title broke the shackles of the suppression of the world fragment on him, but the need for a good image has shackled him again. Lady Amari was right. His power comes from the people, so he needs them to think favorably of him. But this need for good public opinion is binding him with rules. He has the strength to do what he wants, but he can't do what he wants to do how he wants to do it.

"So, should I call everyone?" Salvini asked him.

He replied curtly. "Yes. Make it quick. I'll show you guys how to trample on your enemies."

"Sure thing, boss." She saluted and went to call his lieutenants.

He looked at his enemies as he waited.

"Smart move." He commented when he saw Lady Amari's new position. 

Lady Amari is not much of a fighter, so she retreated deep within her army. She surrounded herself with layers and layers of people. He will have to go through them if he is to get to her. It is a smart move. The death of a leader will be demoralizing to the army, just like cutting off the head of a snake will make the snake nearly harmless and on its way to death. 

To be fair, Lady Amari is not exactly a snake. She may be smart, but she is not as good a schemer as Salvini is. She knew secrets and some stuff about him, and she used it to plan, but she didn't plan for every outcome. She lacks the foresight that Salvini has and the wealth of information that he has. 

Lady Amari is not the type to spend more than 90 hours creating some sheets of paper with different things written on them for different scenarios so that it will look like she can predict the outcome of a conversation and simultaneously use it to hide information about herself. 

She lacks subterfuge in her plans and the creativity to create plans within plans. He picked her scheme apart and found nothing beneath it. She seems to be someone who really hates him. She doesn't even plan to gain anything by going against him. Her motive is pure, undiluted hatred. It was disappointing to him in a way but also refreshing. It is good to know that people like Salvini and the sage are rare.

Lady Amari is also looking at him and inspecting his army just as he is inspecting hers. Their eyes met across the distance. He grinned at her. His grin made her flinch and turn her eyes away. Even now, she is still scheming. It is a pity that she is doing it poorly. He can see her putting things in place in the background despite looking like she is doing nothing. She knows his victory is set in stone, so she is trying to taint his victory. 

It is all wrong. A good schemer will not be making schemes right now. All the schemes should have been made before this encounter. All the cards should have been played, and all the dominoes should have been set up. Things should be falling into place right now. But instead, she is trying to make the best of the current situation. It is all wrong because she shouldn't be scrambling for the best. It should be expected. It should be inevitable.

He knows what she is doing, but he doesn't care at this point. Her little scheme doesn't matter. The outcome is set. Her defeat is certain. She is only trying to dress it up nicely to make it look good. She is trying to rob him of a perfect victory.

As for him, victory is victory. He can decide to thwart her scheme, but the cost of trying to get a perfect victory is too much for him to care. A perfect victory is not worth it, so he won't bother with a perfect victory. He is not a picky person. An overwhelming victory will just have to do.