Chapter 252: Black Flag

Max’s worst fear had finally come true.

The atmosphere fell into a depressing silence, and Lancelot couldn’t resist breaking it.

"Why is it bad, to be honest? The Authority of Salvation still works its wonders. The Demon Lords needed to place seals on themselves."

Max glanced at him and explained, "It’s exactly why we have to worry. They can now enter, and that’s a huge progression for them. Right now, they need seals, but in the future, they won’t have to."

Lancelot frowned.

"How could that be?"

Max shook his head.

He turned toward Angelo and said, "It’s good that you were able to react immediately. Also, it’s normal to feel the huge disparity between you and the Demon Lord in terms of strength. They are naturally stronger. They also came from the Kingdom of Endless War, so what can we expect?"

Angelo nodded and asked, "That’s indeed the case. Should we still continue our plan to expand our exploration into the Ashen Expanse after this revelation?"

"Of course." Max furrowed his eyebrows. "Don’t tell me you’re already afraid."

Angelo shook his head.

"I’m not. I’m just being realistic."

Max nodded.

"I understand where you’re coming from. But if we can’t progress, the Empire won’t. We are just giving them time to adapt and eventually come up with ways to make us lose our place."

Angelo could not retort.

He began reassessing himself.

Although he was already old and had reached the limit of his progression as an Arcane Overlord, compared to his ancestor, he was far weaker.

His successor was also a Demon Hunter after expressing his desire to become one, and he was now fighting on the frontline.

Although his successor, his own grandson, was more talented than his father and seemed to possess innate talent no lesser than his own, he had still managed to progress rapidly compared to Angelo’s own progression.

His successor’s spell proficiency had become absurd after participating in so many wars.

In fact, Angelo had to admit that his successor had only been able to survive primarily because Angelo was protecting him. Yet, throughout the past few nights, his successor had been able to survive without his intervention.

Soon, once the war ended and his successor was allowed to return to their family, he would be more than qualified to inherit his father’s position despite being in his early twenties.

His successor was still a C-rank Elementalist, but he was far stronger than any other Elementalist in the Demon Hunters Guild.

In other words, what the Guildmaster needed for his desire to conquer the Ashen Expanse was not a pioneering figure like him and the other A-rankers, but the future Demon Hunters who were bound to fight demons unlike any generation before them.

Angelo believed that once his successor reached the same rank, he would be able to fight toe-to-toe with the Demon Lord who had taken his life.

Max’s conquest would begin in a year or two, if Max ever changed his mind, but Angelo believed that was more than enough time.

The Demon Hunters, especially those who survived the great war, would be far more powerful by then.

Angelo asked, "When do you plan to explore the Ashen Expanse, Guildmaster?"

Max glanced at him and replied, "We will talk about it soon once we successfully defend Mirefall Province."

Angelo nodded.

Max scrutinized him and said, "Do you want to take a rest? We can take care of it. At any moment, a demon might slay a Demon Hunter if we continue to delay."

Angelo hastily shook his head.

"I will fight."

Arcane Mana began to gather around his body and lifted him into the air.

Almost immediately, he scanned the main battlefield and saw some Demon Hunters being injured by Greater Demons.

Angelo did not hesitate to cast offensive spells to take down the Greater Demons that posed a threat to the Demon Hunters.

Just like that, the Demon Hunters regained their advantage and slowly forced the demons to retreat.

Max returned to his horse and observed from a distance.

He was about to summon his Radiant Knights when Angelo suddenly said, "Guildmaster!"

Max glanced at him and saw where Angelo was pointing.

Max cast a Radiant Weave at Angelo, and the latter allowed the Radiant Weave to cling to his robe.

Max was immediately pulled toward Angelo, and he hung in the air at a height sufficient for him to survey the Southern Frontier battlefield from the sky.

Max didn’t need to ask where Angelo was pointing, as he immediately saw a strange, massive black flag approximately eight meters tall being carried by a gigantic demon almost twice its height.

The black, heavy fabric flag had dark-red demonic runes all over its surface, with a symbol at the center representing the Demon Lord they currently served. Its edges constantly released thin streams of black smoke.

Max’s heart skipped a beat.

The black flag gave him an ominous feeling.

He suddenly turned toward Angelo and strictly ordered him.

"Get it for me."

Angelo nodded.

His body dissolved into Arcane Mana as he continuously teleported toward the direction of the gigantic demon.

Max, on the other hand, quickly looked for a physical object to reduce his fall.

But there was no taller object to which he could cling his Radiant Weave.

He clucked his tongue in annoyance.

In the end, he could only wait for his character to fall to the ground and calculate how much of his health bar he might sacrifice.

Thankfully, though, Angelo soon reappeared above him, and he quickly reacted.

He was able to reduce his fall and safely landed on the ground.

He hastily glanced upward, but Angelo reappeared in front of him.

Max could not spot any sign of the black flag.

He glanced at Angelo, and to his surprise, he wore a grim expression.

Angelo said, "Guildmaster. The black flag is being constantly monitored by nine Demon Lords who were concealing themselves with the seals.

I could not steal it because the demon carrying it turned out to be nothing more than bait.

It ran faster than I could ever imagine, and the Demon Lords quickly tried to catch me."