LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 974- Acquiring Few Henchmen (8)
974 Chapter 974- Acquiring Few Henchmen (8)
"My identity must remain a secret—not only for my sake but for yours as well. If the demons suspect you knew of the Dragon Lords' interference in this war and failed to act... Well, even a Duke's standing is not invincible."
Vordana narrowed his eyes, he was well aware of the consequences if he were to reveal it. Simon had explicitly told him that he was not the only one who had been placed to monitor the war by the dragon lords.
There were many others, perhaps there were even some high ranking demons in the demon lord's army who might have been monitoring the situation for the dragon lords. If he carelessly leaked the information, it would spell disaster for himself.
"Then why me? Why did you disclose this to me?" Vordanaz questioned.
'It seemed easier to deceive you rather than the others'… there was no way Simon could say that. He racked his brain and continued spouting his bullshit.
"As I said before, it is for my own redemption. If you hadn't found me back there in the human camp, then perhaps I wouldn't have come here to reveal all this information to you. I hope you will make the right judgement"
With that, Simon exited the room.
.
.
"Sir Melkan… there is no need to blame yourself. Nobody expected that human to turn out to be a Demon Noble"
In a dark corner of the demon camp, far away from Vordanaz's stronghold, Melkan and his group finally stopped for a breather.
They leaned against jagged rocks and trees, their breaths uneven, and their faces pale. The oppressive tension from the confrontation in Vordanaz's chamber still clung to them, suffocating their throats.
After a while, one of Melkan's henchmen spoke "Sir Melkan, there's no need to blame yourself. No one could have expected that... that human to turn out to be a Demon Noble!"
Others chimed in, nodding fervently... "Yeah, who could have known? And besides, we didn't actually do anything to him. You held us back in time."
Melkan's expression darkened, his glowing eyes narrowing as he shot them a furious glare.
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
He snapped, his voice cutting through the silence like a whip. The henchmen flinched, falling silent under his wrath.
"It's a good thing we stopped before we did anything untoward to him. Who knows what consequences might have followed."
He snorted, crossing his arms and leaning against the rock as though to dismiss the situation entirely.
"So what if he's a Demon Noble? I'm a Demon Earl. Even if he's noble-born, there's no way he outranks me," Melkan declared, his tone filled with confidence.
His henchmen exchanged glances, their uncertainty slowly fading as Melkan's words began to sink in.
"You're right, my lord. A Demon Earl like you stands leagues above a random noble. That guy just got lucky!"…
"Exactly, no way someone like him could ever compare to you, Sir Melkan."
The tension in the air eased slightly as the group began to relax, but that illusion was shattered in the next moment.
"Oh? You really think so?" The voice was calm yet carried an unmistakable edge. It was much too familiar, chilling their blood.
Though it was foreign, the reason it rang so familiarly in their ears was simple: they had heard it just moments ago.
The laughter died abruptly and Melkan and his lackeys quickly turned around towards the direction of the sound. There, Sitting casually atop a jagged boulder not far from them, they saw the Demon Noble.
His posture was languid, one leg resting over the other as though he had been waiting for them all along. His heterochromatic eyes gleamed faintly as they stared at them.
Since when? This was the first thought that arrived in everyone's head.
"You—since when did you get here?!" Melkan questioned stammering midway.
"?" Simon tilted his head "Oh, I've been here for a while. I couldn't resist sticking around after that touching hospitality you all showed me".
The group froze, it was they expected the demon noble resented them for their earlier conduct.
Faced with the other party's clear hostility Melkan forced himself to stand tall, "Hah! So what if you're here? You may have fooled Duke Vordanaz, but you don't intimidate me. I am a Demon Earl, and I don't bow to anyone of lesser rank."
Simon raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
"Lesser rank?" he chuckled "Is that what you think?"
Melkan's jaw tightened "That's exactly what I think. A demon who mixes with the humans like you may have some tricks, but you're nothing compared to me."
Unable to see the difference between him and his opponent, Melkan was exactly the demon Simon thought he was.
"I was hoping to avoid this but I guess it cannot be helped… [Demon Marquess' Intimidation]"
He sighed and stepped down from the boulder. The moment his feet touched the ground, a wave of pressure swept over the area.
At that very instant The air grew heavy, crackling with invisible power as Simon's aura began to bleed out.
BANG… the ground ran with cracks for several meters and within seconds a pressure visible to the naked eye descended onto the place.
Facing that kind of pressure head on, the henchmen fell on their butts, their faces aghast and froth coming out of their mouths, about to faint any moment.
As for Melkan, the moment the pressure settled on his shoulders, His breathing grew laboured, and his knees threatened to buckle. His eye which were clouded with arrogance and superiority complex, cleared up allowing him to finally realise what; no, who he was up against.
This feeling… the sensation that generated from the core of his being, raw, untainted, and far purer than his own, told him that the being he was facing was no low ranking demon.
"You!!?... This... this isn't possible, No ordinary Demon Noble has blood like this. This... This is...!"
Melkan didn't have the courage to say it out loud after all, the feeling he was having was clearly the bloodline suppression.