novelraw Chapter 426 - 425 - Demonic Fiends
Chapter 426 - 425 - Demonic Fiends
Lind sat in the hall but it looked vastly different from before. He had stored away the remaining corpses for later study and now an array of flickering squares floated above several metallic artifacts.
He had watched as the demons finally arrived but one of the floating screens made him frown deeply. There was hardly any demonic Qi being used. It was similar to the 3 demons they found in the village.
Despite still having demonic Qi, they did not use it. His analyzer results confirmed only Fiend Qi was being used. It was valuable data he imprinted into jade slips for later.
"Big Brother, I used the last of Big Sister Annabelle's formation plates." Lind nodded as he infused his senses into the artifacts he seeded outside the village. They were all connected but all he could confirm was more demons.
Still, not a flicker of demonic Qi was noticed.
"What is wrong?" Fey pulled him back to the hall. He looked up at her and finally wanted to get some clarification.
"The agents you found, were they human?" She nodded. "Did they use normal Qi?" She seemed confused by his question but nodded again.
"The Cimmerian guards did too. Even at the end, they were still using normal Qi to fight but their bodies were horrifically altered. The demons are different." Lind stood up and began to pace. The differences were important but the thing that bothered him was more than that.
"Despite how efficient shadow Qi would be, like us demons are a mixture of combinations. None of the 3 demons we confronted had a shadow shard in their core." Lind had only briefly glanced but he had no compunction delving into his enemies.
The 3 had cold fire, dark light, poison, and acid between them. Yet they had all 3 blended into the shadows and very air like they had mastered illusions. Demons used shadow and dark light for their version of illusions but such a combination was very rare.
So why was there a whole force able to perform such a similar technique. Fiend Qi had 6 versions, the same as demonic or normal Qi, but why did the demons seem to have access to the same kind?
He at first thought it was more techniques but the demons did not use anything in their retreat. They sacrificed half their numbers to survive the flames. It showed the terrifying effectiveness of their recovery.
But again, they did not even try to use defensive or offensive techniques of demonic or Fiend Qi. Why?
The actions from what Fey described and what he experienced were very different from his expectations with these demons. Did demons have some other difference? Did they have something that made them compatible with Fiend Qi?
Lind had never been able to really use his anti-Qi in anything. It refused to enter arrays and it did not have any naturally occurring resource for him to experiment. The demons seemed able to use it for anything and had all 6 versions.
How was that possible?
They had no dantain of Fiend Qi but they could use it so easily. Lind then froze.
He summoned a diffuser and anti-Qi filled the air. It was still his Qi but rather than try to force it to some normal use, he simply willed what he thought. The anti-Qi that had resisted so much of what he tried suddenly made complex shapes that brought wonder to his Eyes.
He could not comprehend it but a light that seemed to be from beyond any reality lit up and made the simple wood and stone fixtures appear from a higher world. He felt no revulsion and looked to see Fey was in just as much awe as he was.
Fiend Qi seemed to elicit a similar reaction no matter who came across it, but his anti-Qi did not. It was not the same! Any doubt was removed!
It also made him understand the demons.
They were no longer demons. They looked like demons and maybe they were still the same soul inside, but they gave up being demons to mimic their masters, the Fiends.
They fed on countless lives and now Lind understood the true cost. Despite all the demonic Qi they held, they could no longer advance at all! By feeding, they not only became dependent to stay alive, they lost all ability to use their Qi!
No wonder humans did not do it, they could not hide it! Demons were battle orientated and used their bodies far more than Arts or conjuring. They could hide the change easier but also, demons only cared about power.
The source did not matter and if they had existed for that long, all they had to do was make the very cover Lady Xin used. The rot was so well covered no one had found out about it for certain for who knew how long.
"Demoic Fiends, that is all they are." Lind now understood his enemy but all that meant was he grasped how they worked, not what they would do. Still, he now could better detect what he needed!
Qi began to blaze around him as metals were summoned. Fey was snapped away from the strange light to see Lind Forging as if it was as easy as breathing. While she had been to his workshop and seen his finished works, he rarely showed off his skill to her or anyone.
Even the Big Sisters said he kept it private but no one knew why.
Her Sky Core, that had been so ravaged by the heart demon, had made a long recovery with his elixirs and her own cultivating sessions but she was still in tier 4. As she stood in front of his Forging, her Qi seemed to dance in her meridians.
The wall between her and tier 5 fell away but it was not just her. The entirety of the villagers all felt their cultivation agitated and motivated to move forward!
Lind's face was profound as he infused the Qi into the item he was molding with it. Four spikes pointed upward while a column formed the base to the floor. It was a silvery color at first but then darkened to a glittering obsidian.
Each point seemed to then expand into spheres. She was curious about what it was, but she had to focus on her breakthrough.
Lind was well aware of what was happening. Delenn had no idea why, but Lind had his suspicions about why Forging elicited such a strong response. She barely felt anything but the fact she did proved it was insanely strong.
If it was mortal grade, there was little issue, but the moment Lind moved to Heaven grade, the effect became multiple times stronger. He now had a lead on why his harmony might be running wild with Forging but he ignored such thoughts as he completed his task.
The artifact would normally have been fairly simple but he put his all into it due to lack of time. An attack was definitely coming so he had to be done in one go.
For the first time, he built a diffuser into an artifact for more than creating Qi. He needed resonance. The moment he completed the task, he down a recovery elixir so he had his full Qi available.
He was about to test his new item when he froze.
He felt shock flood his body as he carefully looked at the Forged artifact's surface. It was not the smooth metal it was supposed to be, but sigils were engraved into it!
How?!
He had not intended to weave but it was clearly there. He examined the sigils and frowned. They were not grade 2, he was not able to accurately gauge their grade at all!
The more he examined them, the more he felt a trace of fear grow. He put his Qi into the artifact and the diffuser went to work. The sigils did not light up until the anti-Qi appeared. The artifact generated what he desired but the result was far beyond what he wanted.
He simply wanted a directional detection in 3 dimensions of Fiend Qi but instead he got far more! The area between the spheres was transformed into a full schematic of the village!
He had never mapped out the village, yet it was showing. He glanced at the sigils and had an inkling that is part of what they did. He did not feel any wave of Qi coming off the artifact and realized he had no idea what it was doing.
He had made it, but something had changed during the process he had missed. He quickly made some notes into a slip as the schematic showed him a very bad situation.
The demons were coming from underground!
He only had a few days to prepare and limited resources to set up defenses. He was glad they worked to the extent they did but he could not unearth the ground everywhere for all scenarios.
The demons had quickly made the correct call. If they continued attacking directly, they would only thin their numbers without risking anything on Lind's side. By coming from underneath, they would be able to attack directly.
Lind smiled now, but it was not a kind one.
"I have a lot of things to test and it would seem I have volunteers, Little Fey, are you up for greeting them?" He turned but then saw she was still deep into her breakthrough. He glanced at the display and did a quick calculation.
"It would seem I am on my own." He quickly summoned several defensive artifacts for her and placed them around her. They would buy her some time if she needed it. She had done as he asked so the demons were still in for a surprise.
"Let's see if Annabelle's illusions work on Fiends." Lind then left the room for a strangely foggy village. The problem, however, was there was no longer a village at all.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
The earth broke open as Galder emerged. He cared little for how much dirt was trapped on his body nor how miserable the demons were behind him. He was too busy being confused.
They had left some of their numbers behind to give a reference of direction but what they emerged into was not a village. It was unlike anything he had ever seen in any island or legend!
A mist covered everything but a golden castle stood far in the distance. It had massive towers and seemed profound with walls of power that made a chill fill his spine. What was that?!
"Well, it seems our enemy is a bit more impressive." Saman seemed frustrated and Galder realized they were in an illusion but it was not breaking due to their abilities. Who could have made it?!
"Prepare for battle! Our enemy is tricking us but it remains there are only 2 of concern. Do not consume either, just kill them!" Galder gave orders and the demons began to move out. Who would be hunter and prey would be decided in the battle to come.