GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



His true power has been revealed for all to see. The rulers of the abyss understand that he found a way to hide his strength from them. And they have now realized that he is more dangerous than he seems. All his pretending have unraveled to show his true sneaky self. So no one will underestimate him when they come after him to kill him. But the progression of events from bad to worse didn't end there.

It is as they say, when it rains, it pours. It is pouring right now. His throne didn't stop after reaching the maximum height based on personal power. It continued to rise higher. The next factor that contributes to the height of the throne is the power of the plane of the demon king. This factor is how strong their plane is. It goes without saying that his plane is very strong. It is probably the strongest since he is a demon king of kings with more than 40 crowns. 

His throne began to draw attention as it rose higher. The conversation with the demon God has already made him a noted figure. Then he said he could handle himself around other demon kings. That could have been baseless bluffing but they can see now that there is some truth to what he said. His throne has risen above 90% of the other demon kings. But that isn't enough for it. His throne continued to rise when the third factor of influence came into play.

The third factor that contributes to the height is the strength of subordinates. The strength of subordinates is a determinant of influence in the abyss and overall strength. Every demon noble has a house with subordinates who have sworn oaths of allegiance. The power of their house is also an indication of their power and influence. 

A demon king will have strengthened their house over the period of becoming a demon lord and then gaining Authority. So every demon king has a large number of subordinates apart from their Heralds. But not every demon king has demon lords as subordinates.

Each demon lord stood on a pillar beneath the thrones. Some that are related or friendly with each other stood close to each other. This is especially the case when they are part of the faction of a demon king. Each demon lord only has a single vote. But their existence adds to the significance of a demon king if they are sworn subordinates of that demon king. 

In the case of Aeternus who has 72 demon lords as his subordinates, then the addition to his influence will be very high. So his throne experienced another massive increase in height. 

"It just keeps coming." He complained inwardly as his throne rose higher and higher. "If there is any chance that I can avoid the fate of being chased by the entire abyss until I die, it is zero now."

He didn't know about the principles of the abyssal council or the mechanisms by which influence is determined. If he knew, he might have rethought his plan to come here. He certainly would have rethought making his subordinates demon lords. He just wanted to have more soldiers so that he would be able to invade a divine plane on his own. 

"I think this is payback for all the demon dukes that were unjustly killed for my greed." He thought in jest. "This will make sure that I join them."

A lot of demon dukes died to fulfill their mission to become demon lords. He sent them on that mission. Some died during the mission and he killed some for failing the mission. 10 demon lords as subordinates is enough. Most demon kings don't have that. But he didn't stop at that. He planned to have all 100 of his subordinates become demon lords. He let his greed run rampant. Too much of anything is bad. Now it has come back to bite him in the ass.

He rose higher for a while until his throne stopped. He finally stopped but he couldn't breathe a sigh of relief. He is not the highest demon king but he is in the top 3. So the damage has been done. If he didn't stand out when he came with his body, or when he spoke with a demon god, or when he said he could handle himself among hundreds of demon kings, he surely stands out now. He stands out very well.

He has eyes on him from every direction. The thrones are arranged in a circle but they have different heights. Then their influence was calculated. Each level of authority grants 1 vote. So there is a maximum of 10 votes for personal strength. The power of the plane adds another 10 points. The last is the strength of subordinates which also adds another 10 points for a total of 30 points.

He got 10 votes for personal strength. The points for their plane are calculated based on percentile. He is in the 99th percentile so he got 9 points. The first abyssal plane is the strongest plane, not his. So he didn't get 10 points for the strength of the plane. It is better than what Kings of the Abyss got. They don't have a personal plane so they only got 1 point. Only Kings of Demons and himself got more than a single point.

The last factor brought in 9 points for him. He is not the only one to think of making their subordinates demon lords. There are others that have done so too and they did it way before him. He is a new demon king but he has very strong subordinates so he managed to reach the 80th percentile. It brings his total to 28 points. 

The first two demon kings have 28 and 29 points. If he had eyes, they would be narrowed at the first two demon kings right now. 

"These two are highly suspicious." He thought to himself. "I might not be the only one."