Chapter 1061: 1060: No Need To Run
Through Sky Eye, the approaching figures became clear.
They were travelling in several tight groups. Some wore matching shoulder guards and carried long spears. Others had different weapons and clothing, but they kept their distance from one another without breaking formation.
This wasn’t a gathering of curious passers-by.
Simon examined the demon nearest the front.
He was a heavily built demon with bronze-tan skin, a shaved head, golden eyes, and several old scars across his chest and arms. He wore a sleeveless coat over dark armour.
"A Garrun."
Simon studied him for another moment.
This demon was a Half-Step Demon King.
His attention moved past the demon.
Among the approaching demons were several familiar-looking figures. Ash-grey skin, faint red runic veins, and eyes whose glasslike surfaces were marked by dark lines.
Daegrins.
Simon glanced toward the distant city.
He could guess what had brought them.
The feeding frenzy had already caused enough disturbance. Then the Brineback Mauler had appeared, and his fight with it had sent waves, ice, and crimson lightning across the sea.
It would have been stranger if nobody noticed.
His gaze returned to the corpse.
He had killed it without suffering much, but that didn’t make it an insignificant creature.
Even a Minor Catastrophe Beast was something most demons would spend their lives hoping never to encounter. People relied on Demon Kings to face such threats, and there were few Demon Kings even across the entire Demon Realm.
For a city without one, survival might depend on how long its defensive formations could hold.
Simon looked at the island again.
The Mauler had been dangerously close.
Had it approached the harbour instead of the floating carcasses, it could have destroyed ships and attacked the city before anyone stopped it.
He didn’t know whether Vhal-Sar possessed someone capable of killing it.
The Daegrins had wealth. They could purchase formidable artifacts, employ powerful demons, and build defences that weaker cities couldn’t afford.
But he hadn’t seen those defences yet.
Either way, the group was probably coming because of the Mauler.
And whoever had killed it.
Simon looked at the creature’s ruined head.
There was another possibility.
What if the beast belonged to someone? Or its appearance here had been part of some arrangement he knew nothing about?
He could imagine a powerful figure cultivating a sea beast, directing it toward a rival’s ships, or keeping it alive for a purpose that would become his problem now that it was dead.
"Don’t tell me I’ve stepped into some annoying bullshit already."
He couldn’t confirm any of that.
They might simply be relieved that someone had killed it.
Simon withdrew his hand from the corpse.
Should he devour it before they arrived?
He could also store it and leave. His Space affinity had improved considerably. There was no reason to remain here simply because someone had noticed his battle.
Or he could wait.
He considered the three choices while the wind pulled at his sleeves.
The Sovereign’s instructions came to mind.
Assist four Daemons in the capital city of the Daegrins.
That was all.
He had no names, no descriptions, and no idea what assistance they needed. He didn’t even know whether they were hiding, imprisoned, or walking freely through the city.
Enigma’s book might help him understand Vhal-Sar, but it hadn’t been written to explain the Sovereign’s test.
Simon looked toward the approaching group.
These demons belonged to the place he needed to enter.
Speaking with them could be useful.
Whether they would welcome him or consider him a threat was another matter.
His eyes lowered toward his chest.
The Abyss’s insignia remained clearly embroidered on his robe.
He frowned.
"That should come off."
He brought out a plain charcoal-grey robe, exchanged it for the one he was wearing, and stored the embroidered garment in his spatial ring.
The Chaos Wraps remained beneath his sleeves.
He also drew the pressure of his bloodlines inward.
There was no need to announce that he was a Daemon.
He knew too little about the relationship between The Abyss and the Daegrins. The four people he had been sent to assist might be involved in something that made his membership inconvenient.
Perhaps identifying himself would help.
Perhaps it would make them disappear before he ever found them.
Until he learned more, he would keep it to himself.
With that settled, Simon looked toward the newcomers again.
He would wait.
None of the presences he could examine made him feel threatened.
A Half-Step Demon King and several Demon Lords were approaching him. Once, that would have been reason enough to flee before they even noticed his existence.
Not anymore.
In the Shadowgrave Clan, he had needed to consider who stood behind every person he offended. In Velmora, surviving had depended on preparations he could not afford to get wrong.
He had been weak.
Experience could help him choose a better course of action. It couldn’t stop a much stronger enemy from crushing him if he was caught.
Now he looked at the approaching demons and considered what they might know.
He wasn’t wondering which of them could kill him first.
The difference made him smile faintly.
He believed he could kill every member of that group if they forced him to.
The Daegrins themselves no longer inspired the same apprehension they once had. Their artifacts remained worth considering, but he had powerful abilities of his own.
Even the six great kingdoms felt different to him now. He wasn’t so worried about them anymore.
That didn’t mean he could defeat every Demon King they possessed. Winning a battle and surviving it were two different things.
But against a demon, even a Supreme Demon King, he was reasonably confident that he could find a way to remain alive.
A Daemon of that rank was another matter.
Severin had given him enough experience to understand the distinction.
Simon adjusted his hold on the Mauler.
Strength hadn’t made it necessary to pick a fight with everyone he met.
It had given him the choice to stay and hear what they wanted.
When he was weak, a careless answer could cost him his life. Now the people approaching him would have to consider their own words too.
He settled cross-legged in the air.
The corpse remained suspended beside him.
Supporting its weight still required a steady supply of power, but he spread his Will along its body until it stopped shifting. From a distance, the enormous carcass seemed to hang there without effort.
Simon rested his hands on his knees.
He would leave Devour for later.
For now, the corpse might save him the trouble of explaining why he wasn’t moving out of their way.
The group slowed down as they approached.
Several demons looked down at the frozen patches of sea and the floating corpses. Others followed the holes through the Mauler’s torso, their attention lingering on the damaged head.
One tightened his grip around his spear.
The Garrun raised a hand.
They stopped.
Simon counted them properly.
’Twenty of them… Not bad.’
The Garrun remained the strongest, his Half-Step Demon King aura was restrained but was still distinct.
Six others had reached the Demon Lord rank.
Two Supreme Demon Lords.
Two Superior Demon Lords.
Two Prime Demon Lords.
The remaining thirteen were Greater Demons, their equipment and formation suggesting they hadn’t been selected merely to fill the numbers.
Simon examined the six more closely.
A broad demon with a heavy blade across his back stood among the Supreme Demon Lords. Beside him was a female Daegrin dressed in a long, dark-green coat.
She was the strongest Daegrin present.
Silver-grey hair had been secured at the back of her head. Fine red veins showed along her throat and the backs of her hands. Several rings adorned her fingers, and a flat gold clasp held her collar closed.
Her eyes moved from Simon to the carcass.
Unlike some of the others, she didn’t immediately look away from its wounds.
Simon continued examining the group.
The two Superior Demon Lords had taken positions slightly apart, giving themselves room to move. The Prime Demon Lords remained closer to the Greater Demons.
They were cautious, and he couldn’t blame them.
They had approached a powerful sea beast’s presence and found it dead beside someone sitting comfortably above the water.
Simon looked toward the Garrun, expecting him to speak.
Instead, the female Daegrin stepped forward.
The man lowered his hand and allowed her to pass.
Simon raised a brow slightly.
So the strongest among them wasn’t necessarily the person making the decisions.
The woman stopped a short distance ahead of the others.
She studied his face, then the enormous corpse floating beside him. When her gaze returned to Simon, her expression was solemn.
"Who are you?"
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[A/N: Please read the author’s thoughts below.]