Mixed Blessing System

Following Lothur's orders to Blood and Smoke, the two cats separated from their creator and traveled south to Concordia.

At the same time, Lothur headed to the information about Cykad to rescue his companion before heading to the Castle of Shadows.

It would have been better if Blood and Smoke had gone with Lothur. But at the moment, neither of them was strong enough for that. Therefore, the young Ritter wanted to let them grow up a bit more in Ashen first.

Given their current level and goals, they would probably grow enough in the coming weeks.

Then, it would be time for him to deal with the Castle of Shadows and deal a fatal blow to the demons' plans!

As both sides moved, three days would pass.

...

Meanwhile, in a forest in the south of the continent, a man sat in a lotus position in the middle of a dark area where several cells could be seen lying around.

In these cells, some beasts and humans were bound, with chains on their wrists, heels, and necks, most of them with depressed expressions, those seen on those who have already given up on life.

You couldn't see their pallor because of the mist over their bodies, but they would look close to death if examined by a doctor.

But that was to be expected! They all had serious injuries on their bodies, and what prevented them from getting worse was the chains around their bodies that glowed when a special energy entered their bodies.

In some of these cells were Lothur's four women, stuck in different cells but very close to each other.

Elke had been hurt the most and was sleeping while Rebecca, Annaliese, and Viktoria were awake.

"What might have happened to him?" Rebecca asked in a quiet voice to Viktoria, who was closest to her.

"I don't know. But he must have escaped. Maybe Blood and Smoke helped him somehow." Viktoria said, remembering those two hadn't participated in the previous battle against the level 24 demon.

"I hope so. But what will happen now? I'm afraid it will come after us." The green-haired woman said with a sigh, unsure if this was a good thing.

She wanted to see Lothur again, and most of all, she wanted to escape the clutches of the level 24 demon who probably wanted to devour her.

As a high-level human, her body would be very nutritious for demons!

On the other hand, she didn't want to risk Lothur's life.

She didn't know if he had obtained another Soul Bone, but even if he hadn't, as long as he put them aside for a while, he could make great progress in no time.

The best thing for Lothur would be to leave them behind and get on with his business!

Viktoria thought like Rebecca and sighed when she heard her harem mate's weak words. "He'll come after us, even if it's dangerous for him. So don't worry too much. We can't influence the situation anymore. All we can do now is wait."

"But what about this place?"

"This must be a high-level demon outpost." The brown-haired woman narrowed her eyes as she looked at the other beings in that place. "This is probably where the demons keep the experts they want to devour."

Gulp!

Annaliese heard it and swallowed her saliva, naturally afraid of ending up as demon food.

Having come so far in cultivation, it seemed wrong for her to meet her end this way.

Every cultivator should die one day, but after reaching the peak, she expected to die of old age or in a high-level battle. It was truly humiliating for her to be in that situation!

A beast with a long horn on its head, a horse's body, and white fur looked at the young human beside it and saw a bit of what it had seen in many others in this place.

"Human, did you also fight the Demon Emperor?" It asked Annaliese, who was the only one in its cell.

Looking over and seeing the beast lying on the ground with a wound in its abdomen, Annaliese looked into the eyes of that level 23 beast and asked. "Fight the Demon Emperor? No, how would we do that? We fought demons that were trying to bring him back to the continent."

"It's the same." The beast smiled and showed its teeth. "The ultimate goal of every demon is to bring the Demon Emperor back to our world and exterminate all races on the continent.

There are only two kinds of people on this continent. Those who are with the Demon Emperor and those who are against him. If you're not on his side, then you're on mine."

"Is that why you ended up here?" Annaliese was interested. "I thought none of the Sages on our continent were interested in hunting demons anymore. Weren't you in the coalition to hunt the hybrid?"

Another beast heard that from its cell and turned one of its three heads toward Annaliese.

"Hybrid?" The beast next to Annaliese looked at her with curiosity in its eyes. "Human girl, I've been here for over a thousand years. Is there a hybrid traveling through our lands again? Why would there be a coalition of Sages against him?"

"Because he's already reached the 2nd Catastrophe," Annaliese said. "Then it is really serious... It's not for nothing that the demons have been getting bolder lately." The three-headed, lion-bodied beast, who was also lying on the ground in a cell, carrying wounds on its body, said in a low voice, only for them to hear.

Annaliese frowned and asked. "Why have you been here so long? Isn't this a place for demons to store their food?"

The three-headed creature laughed bitterly and answered instead of the other beast. "You are not wrong. But we are not here to provide food for 'ordinary' demons."

The white-furred being next to Annaliese completed its fellow prisoner. "We are the Demon Emperor's food. This place was where he died thousands of years ago when the singularities were removed from his body.

He will reappear in our world from this place if the demons succeed in their plans. Then we will be the Demon Emperor's food for him to recover from his dormant state."

Not only Annaliese but also Viktoria and Rebecca heard that and got worried looks on their faces.

Annaliese murmured. "Lothur will save us. I'm sure of it."

The three-headed creature heard that but said nothing more as it laid its head on the ground and closed its eyes.

'I used to hope, too, Miss. But what good is hope? Against the 3rd and 4th Catastrophe Sages, not even the strongest on the continent would dare to act just to save beings like us.

You've come a long way in cultivation but must accept that you've lost. We all lost.'

It sighed, totally disappointed with its journey, even though it had reached level 24, like some of the women of Lothur.