Volume 2, Chapter 27 – Returned

Under the glow of the midday sun, a very strange thing was happening within the modular zones of the eastern outskirts of the Deepwinter Forest.

Three mysterious figures dressed in white robes, their bodies radiating dense battle aura and magic power, stood fearlessly in a quiet ‘confrontation’ with several Abyssal Demons! Facing the humans who had suddenly intruded into their territory, the Abyssal Demons unusually refrained from any hostile behavior and simply lay on the ground without emitting a hint of enmity as if the two sides were interacting right there.

If those who believed in the Ashurmos Church were to see such a scene of harmony between Abyssal Demons and humans, their faith would likely have shattered on the spot.

However, the ones communicating with these three mysterious men were naturally not these sixth tier Abyssal Demons. These demons were merely acting as ‘bodyguards’ or ‘mounts’. The one truly communicating with the trio was the black-haired woman with peerless beauty dressed in black gossamer robes, sitting atop the head of a giant serpent-shaped Abyssal Demon—Lady Yumo, the incarnation of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

At this moment, after gazing at the three men in white for a while, Lady Yumo could not help but sigh inwardly.

‘Sigh, time flies so fast~’

The three humans before her were naturally no ordinary people, but members of the Blackrose Knight Order of the Blackrose Family, effectively members of Xiao’s direct unit. Although the total number of this unit was less than a hundred, every member’s strength started at the sixth tier! Each possessed the formidable strength of a warrior capable of holding a pass against ten thousand. Back then, Xiao had relied on this elite knight order to flatten the opposition in the eastern Sadik Empire in one fell swoop, becoming an Imperial Duke in the process.

Aside from their individual combat prowess, this unit had another characteristic. Without exception, every member had been sent out from the Deepwinter Forest. They were the children who had once been captured and offered as sacrifices to Yumo.

Though these children had not stayed in the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons for long, some had left a deep impression on Yumo, such as Qiu Mingtong back then, and Beckrom now.

Looking at the scarred, weather-beaten male knight in the center of the trio, Yumo’s heart was filled with emotion. To think that over twenty years ago, he was just a small child, yet now he had become a steadfast man.

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‘Time really does pass quickly~’

“La… Lady Yumo?”

Seeing such a noble person staring at him so intently, Beckrom could not help but show a trace of confusion. Then, the sixth tier knight knelt on one knee with utmost respect. “Lady Yumo, may I ask if there are any further instructions?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, nothing else.”

Hearing Beckrom’s question, Yumo immediately snapped out of her sentimental state and laughed awkwardly while covering her mouth. Indeed, there was official business to attend to now; it was not the time for sentimentality. With that thought, Yumo’s crimson eyes narrowed slightly.

In the next moment, accompanied by a surge of red Shadow Essence, a sleeping silver-haired girl floated before Beckrom, protected by Blood Butterflies. This girl was undoubtedly our Miss Mengxi. However, at this moment, Mengxi was once again wearing her blood-stained white knight uniform, and her pretty face had been deliberately smeared with a layer of black soot. At first glance, she looked no different from a knight returning from a battlefield.

After controlling the Blood Butterflies to deliver Mengxi into the arms of one of the female knights, Yumo asked once more for safety’s sake, “So, to be safe, I will ask one more time. Do you know how to handle this later?”

“Yes, Lady Yumo, we know how to handle it,” Beckrom replied solemnly. “Early this morning, we discovered Miss Mengxi and a group of Fort Garros defenders in the Crane Wave Valley area, northwest of Fort Garros. However, by the time we arrived, the defenders had fought the Abyssal Demons to the last three men to protect Miss Mengxi. After we drove the demons away, the three survivors unfortunately mutated due to infection from Shadow Essence. In the end, we were forced to kill them with heavy hearts and bring Miss Mengxi back.”

“Mhm, that’s roughly it.”

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After listening to Beckrom’s statement, Yumo nodded with satisfaction. “Then I’ll leave it to you. Don’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes! We guarantee the mission will be completed!” The three replied in unison with perfect synchronization.

Seeing this, Lady Yumo nodded with great relief. Her primary goal in cultivating the Blackrose Family had been information gathering and to have them protect and care for Li Mo and the others if she was ever destroyed. After all, the Blackrose Family’s territory was in the southeast of the Sadik Empire, where Abyssal Demons rarely appeared and would not attract the attention of the Main Character Group.

She had originally only expected them to fulfill those two main goals, but it now seemed the Blackrose Family could help her in far more ways than she had imagined. They were a group of very reliable children.

‘Sigh… Damn it, if only the other human units were this reliable…’

At the thought of the overall poor performance of the Fort Garros defenders earlier, Yumo could not help but show a look of slight frustration. However, at that moment, Yumo’s brow furrowed slightly. A flash of displeasure surfaced in the girl’s crimson eyes.

Then, under the puzzled gazes of the three Blackrose Knight Order members, Yumo slowly raised her hand. In the next instant, a ten-meter-tall little fellow radiating pitch-black mist and possessing six heads suddenly burst from the ground upon receiving Lady Yumo’s command, arriving at its master’s side protected by terrifying Shadow Essence.

At the same time, in the sky above the outskirts of the Deepwinter Forest, a sixth tier powerhouse named Ye Xiuhu, who was soaring high in the air on the back of a wyvern, looked toward the forest through a telescope with a gaze of pure terror.

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‘Is… is this for real?! Humans are communicating with Abyssal Demons?!’

As a member of the Snownight Empire’s Royal Guard, Ye Xiuhu considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, but the scene he had just witnessed left him dumbfounded. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. His two subordinates were in a similar state, both staggered by the interaction between the three white-robed figures and the demons.

More importantly, that woman being escorted out by the Abyssal Demons?!

“That silver-haired girl seems to be the one the Crown Prince asked us to find recently!!”

A scout named Amok flew his griffin toward Ye Xiuhu’s side. “Commander! That… that woman is the Chosen Maiden! The person the Crown Prince is looking for! Bu… but, that woman seems to have a connection with the Abyssal Demons!”

“You don’t need to tell me that! I can see it!” Ye Xiuhu snapped irritably.

He then continued to observe secretly from within the clouds using his specialized telescope. After seeing Mengxi’s face clearly, the sixth tier powerhouse held his breath. At this moment, he finally understood why his Highness remained obsessed with that Chosen Maiden despite already having a harem! A woman like that was enough to steal anyone’s soul. In all the world, perhaps only the Crown Prince was worthy of such a woman.

However, why was she being sent out by Abyssal Demons? Had this Chosen Maiden been in the Deepwinter Forest all these days while she was missing?! Shouldn’t the Chosen Maiden’s aura provoke the demons into a frenzy? Then why was she still alive?! Could it be that the demon king tier existence from before took the Chosen Maiden back and performed some kind of… transformation?! If that was the case…

In an instant, countless doubts and anxieties flooded Ye Xiuhu’s mind like a spring, causing his brain to stall momentarily. However, Ye Xiuhu was an experienced warrior after all and quickly recovered from his shock. No matter what had happened to the Chosen Maiden, the current situation had to be reported to the Crown Prince immediately! With that thought, Ye Xiuhu hurriedly prepared to command his griffin to leave the area.

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But just as he was about to retreat, a piercingly cold wind suddenly swept through the eastern forest. Abruptly, the leaves that had been obstructing much of Ye Xiuhu’s vision were blown aside.

In the next moment, an exquisitely beautiful black-haired woman appeared in the field of view of Ye Xiuhu’s telescope. The moment he saw her, Ye Xiuhu’s eyes shrank and he gasped.

Yes, the girl was beautiful, her beauty not at all inferior to the Chosen Maiden’s. But that was not the reason Ye Xiuhu’s heart stopped. The fundamental reason his heart nearly ceased beating was that the girl’s gaze had locked directly onto his own!!

In a heartbeat, a bone-chilling coldness surged through Ye Xiuhu’s body, and his soul began to tremble instinctively! Even though the girl had not released a shred of power, he felt an unprecedented pressure—a pressure even stronger than that of the Great Guardian General he had seen before!

“No… oh no! We’ve been spotted!!”

However, the very instant Ye Xiuhu cried out, a massive black shadow rapidly grew larger in their terrified eyes.

The next moment!

Boom!!

Accompanied by the explosion of horrifying Shadow Essence, a brilliant burst of fire suddenly bloomed in the high altitude.