“Naga?”
The commotion outside the castle naturally caught the attention of Zyra and Maive in the secret chamber.
Their sentries, established with Shadow Magic, were spread throughout the castle; no corner could escape the surveillance of these two demons.
“Lady Maive, what is happening? Are these reinforcements you invited?”
Zyra looked up in surprise.
Maive also furrowed her brows.
“No, we have no connection with the Fourth Demon Realm. The relationship between the Fourth Demon God, the ‘Chaos Fog Spirit,’ and our Lord, the ‘Eternal Night Pluto,’ has always been poor. Or rather, the Fourth Demon God has a bad relationship with all the Demon Gods.”
“Is there no peace… even between Demon Gods?”
Zyra’s eyelid twitched.
Maive nodded.
“Between Demon Gods, there are naturally disputes over their paths. For example, that group of brutes from the First Demon Realm is incompatible with the temperament of our Second Demon Realm. Their vile and stupid warmongering is simply a profanity to the word ‘Demon.’ They should all be locked in a cage with beasts.”
Mentioning the First Demon Realm, Maive’s tone was filled with resentment; she had clearly been provoked by those simple-minded brutes many times.
“But if there is no connection, why would the Naga suddenly attack this place?”
Zyra fell into thought.
Maive, however, did not care.
She shrugged.
“Who knows? I advise you not to think about it. Everyone in the Fourth Demon Realm, from the Demon God down to the maggots, is a lunatic. The stronger they are, the crazier they get. The Naga race is especially insane and a bit stupid. If you could understand their logic, then the Fourth Demon God would be the one admiring you.”
“…”
Zyra remained silent for seven or eight seconds.
She suddenly had a very subtle premonition.
It felt as if she hadn’t turned toward the darkness to gain a new life, but rather… stepped into an even bigger pit?
“Lady Maive,” Zyra’s tone was suddenly a bit apprehensive, “you said before… that our Demonkind frequently suffers defeats in the Empire because the Lord does not care. You… weren’t lying to me, right?”
Maive glanced at her. “Naturally.”
“Then I am relieved.”
Since things had come to this, Zyra could only choose to continue believing.
At least the Lord had indeed bestowed upon her the eternal life and youth she craved.
Gazing at the guests below who were being chased all over the place by the Naga, a cruel smile appeared at the corners of Zyra’s mouth.
She whispered softly, “Letting these Naga kill all the sacrifices I intended for the Lord would be too wasteful. Although it is not yet time for the stars to align, it is not a bad idea to start ‘The Feast’ early tonight and welcome the Lord’s grace.”
“Is that alright, Lady Maive?”
She turned back to ask for Maive’s opinion.
Maive was currently kneading and pulling a mass of struggling shadows on the table, casually molding them into various shapes.
She responded indifferently, “Whatever. Early or late, it is all the same. As long as the plan is executed, the Qianhe Domain will sooner or later become the Lord’s pasture.”
Zyra felt a slight sense of relief.
She feared unexpected changes that might cause displeasure to the Lord or the Arch-Demon Envoy.
Since the envoy had said so, she naturally had no more concerns.
“I am sorry… my friends. Your souls shall all be offered to me!”
Recalling the wonderful pleasure of Devouring Shadow Souls before, Zyra could not help but lick her lips.
A deep hunger and emptiness rose from within her, spreading throughout her entire body.
It was a pity the Hero had interfered before, causing the number of dying Doom Victims to decrease.
Furthermore, groups of mysterious living people had started swimming in the rivers everywhere, making it inconvenient for her Raven Spirit Envoys to gather Shadow Souls.
Otherwise, she had not actually planned to make such a big scene.
If possible, she would have preferred to complete her transformation by sacrificing Doom Victims and Devouring the Shadow Souls of a large number of weaklings.
Instead of executing the current plan — sacrificing all the Nobles at the birthday feast, modifying some of them into Shadow Puppets, and “sacrificing” herself gloriously to retreat behind the scenes and manipulate the situation of the entire Qianhe Domain using the Shadow Puppets.
After all… this was very risky.
If the investigation team sent from the Empire Capital discovered any clues, the foundation she had built as a Human in this life would be destroyed.
Ultimately…
‘It is all the fault of that brute of a Hero who keeps handing out “justice”!’
‘The Hero should be held responsible for the deaths of these people!’
Zyra squeezed a few hypocritical tears from the corners of her eyes.
To avoid suspicion, she had even invited her niece, her best friend, and even her former lover.
When they died, how much her heart would ache.
‘But there is no other way. It is all the fault of that hateful Hero, forcing me to strike at my friends and relatives!’
*Snap.*
As Zyra twisted the Lifebox in her hand, a soft sound echoed.
The Contract binding all the Shadow Demons and Shadow Puppets shattered.
At that same moment, all the servants and Raven Spirit Envoys she had converted within the castle revealed their true fangs.
***
In the lounge area.
A noble gentleman was pinning a handmaiden, whose skirt he had torn, against the wall, attacking her from the waist.
Suddenly, the handmaiden, whose movements had been mechanical and numb, experienced a surge of spirit.
She snapped her head around, her orange-yellow eyes revealing a strange and excited light.
“How does it feel? I told you, if you lack spirit, doing this will fix it,” the noble gentleman joked with a chuckle.
However, in the next moment, the flesh on the handmaiden’s face rapidly withered and fell away.
In less than a few seconds, only a skull remained.
From the bloody cranium, misty shadows drifted out.
The shadow opened a giant mouth filled with sharp, serrated teeth and bit down on the noble gentleman!
Not only here, but outside the gates, on the city walls, and in the hallways, Shadow Puppet monsters that had finally escaped the shackles of their corpses were everywhere.
The bards, servants, actors, and prostitutes recruited from outside to serve the nobility suffered the most miserable fates.
They were targeted by these shadow monsters and Shadow Demons almost immediately.
They knew very few Magic spells, and the handful they had mastered were all for performance or service.
Their Magic Power was pitifully thin.
Fighting against shadow monsters and Shadow Puppets was nothing short of a fantasy.
And once they encountered a genuine Shadow Demon converted from a Raven Spirit Envoy, they did not even have a chance to resist.
Their shadows and souls were sucked away in an instant and sealed into the Jade Boxes prepared for the Master.
***
The chaos soon spread to the banquet hall.
At that time, Lia was still inside talking business with everyone.
“This Knight Commander of mine has strength that goes without saying! Tsk, don’t ask about his title or track record for now. Just look at his ability to shatter seven thick wooden boards in an instant. Is it enough to impress you?”
The surrounding Nobles were full of doubt, but just then, the main doors of the banquet hall were burst open.
A disheveled gentleman stumbled inside.
He was terrified, his lower body completely bare, with a bloody bone hanging between his legs — it looked suspiciously like a woman’s hip bone.
“De… De-De-Demon! There is a demon!” he shrieked, his lips pale.
Immediately, a long, slender ghostly hand constructed of shadows reached out from the darkness behind the door and violently dragged him back into the pitch-black hallway.
“Whoa!”
Lia’s body jolted.
‘Is there another expert here?’
‘Oh, kind, unknown friend, thank you for your powerful assist!’
Sure enough, as soon as this eerie event occurred, the noblewomen who were far removed from war and barely knew any combat Magic were the first to break down.
They immediately sought out Joen in a panic.
“Young Knight, I will give you all my jewelry! Please, you must protect me!”
“No.”
Lia stepped in front of Joen, sternly refusing on his behalf.
What kind of joke was this?
I’m going to steal that jewelry later anyway!
Using my money to hire my Hero?
That absolutely would not do!
She immediately said to the noblewomen, “My knight is not a greedy person. He only accepts intangible assets! Alchemy formulas, Magic data, important Intelligence… only these can be used to pay the reward.”
Upon hearing this, the leading noblewoman’s expression changed slightly, her eyelids twitching as she asked, “The alchemy formula for Magic-Patterned Fine Steel?”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!”
Lia nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
“Fine. But a Contract must be established under the witness of the God of Justice!”
“Deal!”
Lia agreed immediately.
The noblewoman found a Saint of the Church of Justice to grant the supervision of the Power of Order to their upcoming Contract.
Lia pulled Joen along and raised her right hand, swearing solemnly, “I guarantee that as long as you give me the alchemy formula for Magic-Patterned Fine Steel, my knight and I will protect you from any external enemies.”
‘—But I don’t guarantee you won’t be harmed by me,’ Lia added silently in her heart.
Compared to the panic of the noblewomen, the male Nobles were generally martial and had mostly studied combat Magic.
Regardless of how well they had learned it, they had at least tried.
Several young male Nobles immediately formed a group, suppressing their inner fear and bracing themselves, preparing to fight their way out together.
They looked with disdain at the noblewomen who had signed Contracts with Lia.
“How ridiculous. A group of short-sighted, gossiping women. At a time like this, if you won’t believe in elites like us, you actually choose to believe in a commoner knight wearing stupid armor.”
In the small group, the tallest and most handsome blonde man stared at Lia, his tone dripping with jealousy.
He had previously invited Lia to dance, but she had declined using the knight as an excuse.
‘Sorry, but I only dance with my knight.’
Another young follower echoed, “Exactly…”
He stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly spotting his own mother walking toward Lia.
He was stunned.
“Wait, Mom, where are you going?”
“Finding some insurance.”
“Mom, you’re my mother! How can you not believe in me?”
The boy’s eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
The plump noblewoman turned back and gave him a sharp, annoyed look.
“It is precisely because I am your mother that I don’t believe in you!”
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