novelraw Chapter 425 - 424 - Adapt or Die
Chapter 425 - 424 - Adapt or Die
"I hate this place. When can we leave?" A voice broke the twilight shadows of the trees in sight of the village wall. The setting sun would blind anyone looking their way but the demons knew to wait until it full set before moving.
"Our target may be ahead, or at least a lead. If you really want to leave, then make sure as few humans as possible die. We will need to question them." A larger demon answered but all of them seemed to shimmer into the shadows.
Not a tremor of demonic Qi was used so normal defensive arrays would not trigger. They welcomed the fall of the sun as the simple wall became clear to them. The village could keep out World Realm beasts at best.
Many of the demons sneered but did not try to hop over until they used some artifacts to check for traps. Nothing seemed apparent but one of the rods suddenly glowed cobalt blue.
Shock flooded them as it was rather rare but then they remembered, the Circle lived on Yinande. East End was not that far away so finding weavings was not unusual. They were only mid grade 2 at best so no issue but effective defenses for the walls.
"Break them." The terse order was quickly followed as 2 tripods were set up. They had a sphere and pyramid metal pieces placed on them. The sphere slowly filled with Qi but then the flow moved towards the pyramid.
It began to float and pointed at the walls. A dark beam gently extended from the tip until it reached the wall. The weavings suddenly began to break down as expected. Souls were used to make weavings and these demons had the perfect artifacts to break the sigils' bonds.
The large leader smiled but then frowned as a few sigils blazed like a fireball before going dark. If any guard was nearby, they would send a warning but no noise came. The demon's leader frowned but he held up 2 fingers and made a forward motion.
The fastest 2 of them moved as if they were flickers of shadow. Even demons that had mastered the shadow element would be hard pressed to find them as like before, no demonic Qi was used.
The leader waited for a short time but then the 2 returned without issue. He frowned even more as they seemed amused.
"There is no one on the walls. The weavings seemed to seal the gate as it is unlocked with no one on it. There are signs of our brethren going in and out often the last few months." The large demon did not like it.
He had laid siege to several tough cities and while desperation or lack of personnel could push some strange tactics forward, none of them abandoned their defenses. They especially would not abandon them if their people had gone missing!
What was going on?
"Leader! Let us go and wreak havoc!" A slim demon seemed feverish. The large demon knew that look. He shattered the demon's core immediately.
As the one died, the others hardly flinched or looked surprised.
"We have our clear orders from our Lady. Do not break them or you know the price!" More than a few eyes cooled at the reminder why they were about to head in, yet they felt nothing for their dead comrade.
If they could not control the technique, death was all that awaited them.
"There will be a team to circle around to the east. Once in place, we will begin the assault." The large demon did not like what he heard but it would not change what he had to do. Death awaited him if he retreated.
He had already been alive for over a million years so he had no desire to die. The longer he lived the less he wanted to stop moving forward.
It only took a few breaths for Nightfall demons to move around the tiny village. He felt the vibration of his jade stone and chopped down with his right arm. The empty area between the wall and the forest had irregular movement as the demons seemed to slither across the land.
While they cooled their burning anticipation of the slaughter to come, the demons reached the wall. Without the weavings, they did not even pause to scale over them. Flying could still reveal them so they simply used their strength to leap.
The wall was not high enough to stop even the weakest Sky Realm.
The village was laid out in darkness with only a handful of lights here or there. The large demon wondered exactly how many humans were still alive but before he could advance, he felt a chill down his spine.
His many siege experiences had honed an instinct when things were too easy. He was about to order a retreat when the night changed.
Points of light flared around the wall with ear piercing sound! A trap! It was all a trap! The demon could not even signal his men as sound and sight had been robbed from them! He flared his aura and fell back.
It was all he could do and hope the others followed. His quick action helped speed up his recovery of his eyes but the sound still made his ears bleed.
"Report!" He bellowed but no one answered right away. He could make out some blurs so likely they could not hear him still. He waved his arms and went to move back to the forest but then the ground shook!
Metallic points rose up out of the earth before the Qi ignited into a wall of flame! Its intensity was at least equal to a tier 6 or 7 Sky Realm!
Such power was far above them all!
The large demon did not freeze. He picked up the first moving shadow he could and then ran at the flames. Others mimicked him and the ones grabbed fought fiercely yet the disorientation made them unable to land a solid hit.
The flesh and robes were instantly burned away but then the Fiend Qi soared as demons fed on each other to restore themselves. The only one that did not struggle was the one with the large demon.
He had broken their spine with his cold flame Qi the moment he grabbed them. He was enraged as his vision finally returned and his ears could hear again.
Without even seeing the enemy, their forces had been decimated!
"Interesting, it would seem your winning streak has come to an end, Galder." A voice came from the night that made the large demon turn. He was now stark naked but his dark lavender skin was pristine after feeding on his former comrade.
His wild black hair made him look very imposing in the night as his strangely empty eye sockets glared at the trees.
"If you could do any better, Saman, I welcome you to try." The roaring flame wall was still there while a much larger group of demons emerged. Galder's group was only a handful now with likely more dead inside.
"If I had been here, I may have but we got here when that lovely blaze lit up. I enjoyed seeing you run away after all these millennia." The demon speaking was not as broad as Galder but his body was well muscled. The scimitar openly on his waist spoke of his agile style.
"Why are you all here?" Galder had not heard of any change in orders. His storage bracelet was fine but he sensed nothing. Saman actually shrugged.
"We simply got the order to come. Apparently, Lady Xin is after a bigger target." Galder frowned but then recalled the information on their current target.
The Fierce Fairy had been a nightmare on 2 legs for many wicked organizations as well as their own activities. When she left the Heavenly Maiden Sect, no one knew where she was exactly but then it was leaked she was at the Lily Sect recuperating.
Many wanted to go after her but the presence of the Babylon Guild kept them away. Angering that guild was suicide no matter the benefits. Then she vanished.
They had wasted 10 years on Yinande because she had come there but the place had no solid network of informants by design. So leads just trailed off until they had to search place by place.
The fact they were on the fringes of the island meant the search was nearly over one way or the other but there was a name attached to her. A name they had been explicitly told to avoid.
"Lind Frey, he is here!" The strange tactics and artifacts would align with a Forger's skill, but where did the weavings come from? A new companion?
It did not matter, Galder knew they had to change how they approached the village. He had just suffered a humiliating defeat without even seeing a single living person!
"So, we face the dragon man. I am curious if the dragon will taste any different." Saman seemed far too calm. Both he and Saman were tier 5 Nightfall Realm.
They were powerful, but they were facing a low Heaven grade 5 Forger and elixir master. A normal grade 5 item could harm them, but a Heaven grade 5 was likely the current culprit for the shallacking Galder just took.
Their power was evident.
"There is a weaver with them. They had engraved some on the wall but the rest was likely Lind Frey. That is only the wall defenses." Galder began to analyze his failure and frowned at the wall of flame.
How did he know to trigger the flames?
"What power?" Saman's question made Galder recall the mid grade 2 weavings they destroyed. They were harmless but they took no chances, yet now Galder thought it was a mistake.
"A trap, we triggered the trap the moment we destroyed the weavings. They were never meant to defend or secure but to let them know we are here!" Galder had been a fool! He should have tested the weavings before destroying them!
Saman looked confused but Galder relayed his thoughts as the flames finally stopped. As he expected, the artifacts retracted into the ground.
"If we go back in, the wall of flame will return. I suspect if we fly, a nasty surprise will await us. That leaves only one method to get there without massive losses." Galder pointed at the ground and Saman sighed.
He wanted to disagree but it seemed likely that Galder was right. He had a saying he liked to tell all his men. It was brutal but effective.
Adapt or die, there is no in between.