NOVEL NEXT Chapter 226: Hunting Down
Reign hovered down, his wings creating a gentle downdraft that scattered the sand below.
As his feet touched the ground, he noticed a deep, long dent in it, as if something massive had hovered down, causing the sand to part like a plane passing by.
The disturbed sand and the pattern of the drag marks indicated that a large flying object had passed here recently.
"That thing is moving fast to make this big of a mark," he muttered.
By measuring the width of the shifted sand, he tried to estimate its speed and size.
Next, he flew in the direction where the marks ended, noticing the disturbed sand area was much larger.
This meant the creature had flown higher, needing more power to increase altitude. It was safe to assume it had large wings to carry its own weight.
As all the variables came together, Reign's first thought was of a winged lizard, or as it was known in his old world, a dragon.
That large serpent from before didn't worry him much, as it could have evolved from a normal snake.
However, the existence of a dragon was a different story.
Dragons were powerful and proud creatures in the fictional books he read as a kid.
In this world, it could very well be considered a type of demon
'Isn't this getting dangerous?' he thought to himself.
It had been days since he had killed almost all the humans in Crestwood City, and now the hypothetical dragon in his mind seemed to be heading toward that very same city
Chances were that some powerful individuals were already on their way to check the damage he had caused and hunt him down.
If he get anymore closer, he risked exposing himself instead.
"It's not worth it," he sighed aloud, weighing his options.
Charging head-on into an unknown enemies without any information would be reckless and potentially fatal.
Despite his boredom and the thrill of killing powerful enemies for experience and points, he knew better than to rush into battle blindly.
If he did, he would be committing the same mistake as the arrogant Angela, who had died miserably at his hands.
Beside it would also defeat the purposed why he was flying under the radar on the first place.
"Time to get out of this place," he muttered.
He decided to backtrack and focus on hunting corrupted nests instead.
The allure of gathering dark points and enhancing his power with little to no risk was more appealing than an uncertain battle that could jeopardize his current advantage.
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<30 days later.>
A few weeks had passed since the incident in Crestwood.
The C.H.O. had managed to neutralize the virus, and now the whole city was undergoing changes.
People from overpopulated cities were being enlisted and incentivized to repopulate the city so that the industrial sector could function.
Citizens were not typically inclined to move on their own.
However, offering money and perks like five years of tax exemption tempted normal citizens along with those who were struggling to make ends meet.
As for the information regarding what really happened to this place, it was all hushed down by the government.
And even if they knew what happened, it would be too late because they wouldn't be able to leave the city on their own.
"Humans are really interesting creatures, to think that they were able to bounce back this fast," Zet muttered to herself as she sat down on one of the building rooftop that managed to survive the previous battle .
When their group arrived here, they checked the battlefield and looked for remnants of the said demon. They found a sample—a black, hardened bone.
They had hoped to track their target down using an artifact that could locate a demon as long as they had a sample or part of its body.
This object required a huge amount of power to use, and the user had to be more powerful than the demon being tracked for it to work.
This was why she, a Peak Demon Lord, had come here .
However, something interesting happened: when they used the artifact, it did not react at all.
It wasn't because she was weaker than the demon in question; rather, the artifact did not even register its existence, which irritated Avet.
That artifact was one of their family heirlooms, renowned for its efficiency in tracking demons. But now, it had failed them.
"Who are you, and how did you manage to hide from the artifact?" Zet muttered aloud.
There was a smile on her lips because she found the existence of the savage demon interesting.
This was also one of the reason why she insisted on staying behind.
They had used a node to travel to this region faster than normal because it was an emergency, but the journey back to their region would take at least two weeks.
So, she decided to stay here under the guise of a mission.
If that interesting demon struck again, she could fly and confront it head-on.
SWOOOOSH!
SWOOOOSH!
SWOOOOSH!
Three figures landed behind her, their katana blades gleaming in the sunlight.
Each bore the distinctive kimono attire of a hunter, their faces devoid of hostility as they recognized Zet, as a representative of the Abyssal Alliance.
"Did you get any news from the other cities?" Zet asked casually. Her voice carried no arrogance, making the Hunters find her easy to work with.
"There's been no news yet, Demon Lord Zet," the team leader spoke. He possessed brown hair, dark eyes, a beard, and an overall bulky figure.
Despite speaking to a demon, he addressed her with her title, knowing well that without her, hunting and killing a rogue Demon Lord who had gone insane would require sacrificing a lot of manpower.
They couldn't afford to lose any more hunters due to the increasing pressure from the corrupteds.
"Then why did you come here?" Zet asked, she could tell from their faces that they wanted to say something important.
"Demon Lord Zet, we received news that another Tier 4 city has been attacked by corrupteds. The higher-ups sent us to ask for your support. Of course, we are willing to compensate you for the trouble," he explained.
They had approached her because the higher-ups knew that she was one of the few and rare demon lord who was not aggressive or overbearing towards humans.
Zet paused for a moment.
With her power, she could indeed single-handedly aid a Tier 4 city.
However, as a demon lord, she couldn't act impulsively, especially in human territory.
The Abyssal Alliance and humans collaborated, but only for mutual benefit.
She knew that despite humans losing cities, it wasn't critical enough for the Alliance to take action.
In terms of numbers, the existing human cities still provided enough resources for the demon region.
And if worst came to worst, the demons could just use the humans it had in stock in their territory to repopulate, thereby addressing any food shortages.
"I can't do that. The peace treaty only requires the Alliance to assist humans against powerful demons and High Ranking Corrupteds . I am not obligated to do anything," she replied.
"We understand," the team leader nodded, gesturing for the others to follow him.
When the hunters left, she looked out on the horizon and contemplated. "I should go to a different city," she mused.