Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 81: Demon Man and Stone-Eating Ape

About a hundred miles south of the Bafolk territory lies the Demonic Man territory. Among the many subhuman species, the Demonic Man is a particularly powerful one.

They are relatively rare, yet naturally adaptable to magic. With normal growth and training, they naturally possess the ability to wield fourth-tier magic upon reaching adulthood. Furthermore, they possess four slender, swift arms and a pale, yet exceptionally strong, skin. Their appearance resembles that of a seahorse, but their heads, with multiple mouthparts, can block air pollution, provide excellent perception, and, most importantly, an average lifespan of four hundred years.

Compared to humans, they are a superior race, vastly superior in every respect except fertility. They are considered one of the most powerful forces in the entire Demihuman Hills. The royal family among them is naturally even more powerful, and after years of training and practice, mastering fifth-tier magic is a given. While further advancement is difficult, this undoubtedly represents the combat power of a veteran hero.

hero.

Hero is a widely recognized class title across the entire continent.

Because only those who can stand up to the invasion of foreign enemies, defeat the powerful enemy and protect their tribe can be called heroes. In other words, a civilization without "heroic" guardians has no reason or meaning to exist in this world.

Therefore, heroes generally became kings, unless the king possessed or controlled a greater combat power than the hero. It was a well-known folly in this land for power not to be attached to those with power. This principle was always strictly enforced in the demihuman kingdom, where strength was respected.

Nasurini Hilte Chule—such a hero. Queen of the demonic beings, she had made a resounding mark throughout the Abelion Hills a century ago. Both mortals and demihumans knew her as a veteran hero capable of wielding fifth-tier magic, mastering the elemental powers of ice, fire, and thunder. She was nicknamed "Ice, Flame, and Thunder."

It stood on the top of the Demonic Palace, on top of the mountains, overlooking its country and people.

Unlike most demihumans, the demons, born powerful and few in number, do not feed on humans, nor do they have any interest in slaughtering them. In their eyes, they are superior and higher than humans, yet they share similar limbs and agile hands and feet. In other words, aren't humans born to be ruled by them?
They felt this was perfectly true. The slow-moving yet numerous mortals were simply the slaves the world had prepared for the demons—all the tedious, tiring tasks could be completely handed over to the mortals. For example, in order to build this vast demon city, which housed hundreds of demons, approximately one million mortals had sacrificed their lives over the past century.

After all, the downside of mortals is that they need to eat after working for a while. Feeding them with the dirt and weeds they find everywhere significantly reduces their lifespan. While they can be easily controlled with charm spells, they always need a break after working for up to forty hours, which undoubtedly significantly reduces their efficiency.

It was a bit of a headache, but not something to worry about. After all, mortals were born faster than weeds, and if they were consumed too quickly, they could recycle their corpses as food, out of the sight of the demons. Even if their efficiency was low, their lives did contribute to the demons, and that was the meaning of mortal existence.

"Unfortunately... there are always some fools among mortals who don't understand what's being said. Looks like it's time for another hunt. Let those fools hiding behind the rocks understand their place."

The Demon Queen muttered to herself, having learned of the Goatman Tribe's demise. While that was somewhat unexpected, it wasn't a surprising development in the vast Abelion Hills.

"Be careful," a gruff voice echoed from the other side of the palace. "It's said that only one individual has been able to defeat King Hao's little goat and destroy the entire Bafolk territory. You should know Baza's abilities; he's no mere street urn to be easily defeated."

A cautious voice.

A cautious voice, accompanied by the sound of chewing—the queen turned with a hint of disdain, and watched as a several-meter-tall, white-haired giant ape gnawed at a heart. Several disemboweled slaves lay at her feet, their filthy blood staining the palace she loved.

The giant ape wore a crown and golden armor. The one who appeared here was the King of the Stone-Eating Apes, a powerful demihuman race that gained various abilities from consuming minerals and could also spew rocks like cannonballs. Respectfully called "White Old Man," the king had lived for over a hundred years. He and the queen undoubtedly had a long-standing friendship, and upon receiving the news, he happened to be visiting with his personal guards.

The queen disliked the stone-eating ape's barbaric behavior, but since they were long-standing friends, she had to concede a little. She waved one of her four arms, and the descendants of the corpses rushed over with cleaning tools to clean up the blood. One of them happened to pass by Bai Lao, and was twisted off the neck and stuffed into the ape's maw.

Clumsy and useless, today's slaves are becoming more and more useless.

"Baza is just a young boy. He might have accidentally ingested poison and was ambushed by unruly slaves. However, there are indeed some difficult slaves, like that female paladin. It will take some effort for me to defeat her."

The queen raised her hand and grasped her scepter. She looked at the Stone-Eating Ape Guards below the palace, who had decimated hundreds of slaves in a single blow, turning the pristine hall into a mess, and sighed helplessly.

"But the reason why slaves are slaves..." Its tone paused slightly.

The King of the Stone-Eating Apes stood up suddenly.

The Demon Queen's scepter burst into a halo of light.

With a fierce wave of its hand, a shield suddenly appeared in front of the palace terrace!

"——It's because they always overestimate their own capabilities!" The shield suddenly shook and cracks exploded.

A magical arrow, launched from afar, came to rest at the end of the shield. The queen recognized this arrow; it was a sneak attack launched by one of the archers known as the 'Nine Colors', among the unruly slaves behind the stone wall. However, compared to her previous impression, this arrow was nearly twice as effective!

How can it be!

A mere scrap of steel-level scum—the Queen remembered clearly that, with the exception of a few individuals, the so-called Nine Colors of the Holy Kingdom were generally of the lower to mid-grade steel. At best, they could wield fourth-tier magic, barely matching the abilities of ordinary demonic beings. In a one-on-one fight, her own people might not be able to defeat them, but in a one-on-two fight, the demonic beings would undoubtedly triumph.

However, if he had not been prepared in time, this arrow would have been enough to seriously injure him, or even take his life!
"Bai Lao!"

The shout had barely escaped him when his companions, in unison, took a stride forward. The ape's fluffy mane suddenly rose with its inhale, and in the next moment, it transformed into a resounding roar that ripped through the night sky.

'Roar--'

The massive stone, mingled with the warrior's aura, was undoubtedly a powerful blow capable of destroying the gates of the slave city. The pre-dawn sky was violently torn apart, transforming into a gust of air that spread in all directions. The end of the stone-spitting area was undoubtedly the archer's hiding place.

In the distance, there was an explosion.

The Queen was stunned to find that the Demon City was unusually quiet tonight. Her people, who should have reacted the moment she took action, had barely responded. Only the courtiers at the top of the palace panicked, drawing their staffs and adopting defensive postures, then becoming alert.

It's an assassination unit.

Only the most elite assassination troops could silently kill so many scattered demonic beings without making any noise. However, even the most elite mortal soldiers could not assassinate nearly a hundred fourth-level users without revealing any signs of weakness.

Is it magic?

But among mortals, is there anyone who can cast such powerful magic?
Could it be that the previous message...

"Nasurini." A companion beside him suddenly raised a warning voice. There was even a hint of fear in that warning.

The smell of blood filled the air.

That is not the blood of a slave.

It turned its head slightly. The palace's lower hall, where a moment before, dozens of orichalcum-grade stone-eating apes, mixed with several fine-steel stone-eating ape guards, were feasting, was now completely silent. In just a moment of distraction, all the stone-eating apes were dead, lying on the ground.

The lights in the upper hall flickered.

The darkness before dawn cast a long and narrow shadow at the end of the hall.

A mortal-like 'thing' stood quietly at the end of the palace door, with no room for communication in its dark eyes.

"Every time I try to reflect on whether I've gone too far, I see something filthy that I can't stand."

That 'thing' emitted a young male's voice.

"Let me know how mysophobic I am."

(End of this chapter)