Vol 4. Chapter 9: A Decision He Regretted, Yet Didn’t Regret

“Then, what are the terms of the contract? Do we need to offer up our souls or something?”

After thinking for a moment, Xiumu asked warily.

In response, the black-haired girl smiled faintly. While interacting with Yuan’er, she answered:

“It’s not that kind of contract. Actually, it’s very simple, Marquis. You only need to continue living peacefully with the people of the northern territory around Wind Facing City. Besides, you want to conceal Yuan’er’s identity as an Abyss Demon too, right? If you want to hide it and deal with the citizens, it should be much easier in Wind Facing City, which is under your control and relatively remote. And also~”

As she spoke, the black-haired girl affectionately raised her hand and began kneading Yuan’er’s fair, tender little cheeks.

“This child probably likes staying in her hometown too.”

Yuan’er, who was being fondled, cooperatively nodded slightly.

The sight left Xiumu staring blankly.

He still could not understand why Yuan’er trusted and depended on this black-haired girl so much. After all, the other party was an Abyss Demon possessing terrifying power...

Uh,

although Yuan’er herself was now also an Abyss Demon...

But regardless, after hearing the black-haired girl’s words, Xiumu could not help showing a strange expression.

“Wh-What kind of request is that? You want us to continue staying in the north? Don’t you know that the northern defensive line has already been destroyed? You want the people of my territory to remain in the north? Are you planning to feed them to the Abyss Demons?”

“Hehe, you can rest assured about that, Marquis. If you accept my proposal, I guarantee that Wind Facing City will never again be attacked by Abyss Demons. The Abyss Demon hordes will certainly not treat your citizens as food either.”

!?

“This...”

Hearing this, Xiumu’s eyes abruptly contracted. After his brief shock, he immediately revealed a suspicious expression.

“You... what gives you the right to guarantee that? And why should I believe you? Even a Demon King-class existence couldn’t possibly control that many Abyss Demons...”

Demon King-class Abyss Demons indeed possessed the ability to command ordinary Abyss Demons.

Xiumu naturally knew that.

However, according to the investigations humanity had conducted into Abyss Demons over the past several centuries, Demon King-class beings could only command the Abyss Demon hordes within the range covered by their power. The northern territory was so vast that it was obviously impossible for a single Demon King-class existence to keep all of it under control.

Her?

What right did she have to claim that she could ensure the Abyss Demons would not attack Wind Facing City?

Faced with Xiumu’s doubts, the black-haired girl merely smiled noncommittally.

“What makes you think you can believe me? Ummm, Marquis, you can think about it carefully.”

“Think about what?”

“If the Abyss Demons that attacked Skyvault today had attacked Wind Facing City instead, would you have been able to defend against them?”

“This... no. We couldn’t have...”

“Then tell me, why hasn’t such a massive attack occurred once in the past several centuries? And also, why wasn’t Wind Facing City attacked this time?”

The girl smiled meaningfully.

“...”

Hearing this, Xiumu held his breath and stared at the black-haired girl before him with an incomparably grave expression.

Xiumu was not stupid.

The meaning behind the girl’s words was already self-evident.

At the same time, as his peripheral vision swept across the blood-colored butterflies floating around the girl, Xiumu recalled the overwhelming pressure he had once felt from the Blood Butterflies near Garos Fortress...

Even now, the memory still filled him with lingering fear.

“You... aren’t some newly born Demon King-class Abyss Demon, are you?”

“Indeed, I’m not. In fact, strictly speaking, I’m not even Demon King-class.”

“You’re... an existence of an even higher level?”

“I suppose... you could say that.”

The girl tilted her head and placed a finger against her lips as she slowly answered, seemingly somewhat uncertain about her own rank as well.

After taking in the black-haired girl’s reaction,

Xiumu fell into silence and thoughtfully gazed northward.

After several seconds of contemplation, Xiumu helplessly continued:

“You only want us to remain in the north? Surely you need us to do something else too?”

“Mhm, there are a few things. Aside from living your normal lives, you’ll also need to serve as border defenders. Under the leadership of your ‘Peak Eighth-Tier’ Guardian Beast, Lei Jie, you’ll ‘repel’ wave after wave of invading Abyss Demons.”

“Peak Eighth Tier? Lei Jie?”

Hearing this, Xiumu frowned.

“Our Duke Family’s Guardian Beast is clearly only close to the Mid Eighth Tier...”

“That doesn’t matter. It only needs to play the role of a Peak Eighth-Tier beast properly. As for how? Someone will teach it when the time comes.”

“...Then why are you doing this? And what is this ‘repelling’ supposed to mean? Why do you want us to ‘repel’ the Abyss Demon hordes?”

“Well, that’s... a little complicated to explain. Anyway, sigh... those children seemed to go a little too far this time. It was basically a complete one-sided crushing... which left people with a bit too much negative emotion... ummm, how should I put it? I guess I’m planning to help humanity regain a little confidence...”

“Confidence... what exactly are you talking about?”

Why?

An Abyss Demon wanted to help humanity regain its confidence?

Hearing this, Marquis Xiumu simply could not understand it no matter how much he thought about it. Avnora behind him was equally baffled, and both of them revealed confused expressions.

Seeing this, the black-haired girl shook her head bitterly, waved her hand, and gave up on continuing her explanation.

“Forget it. You don’t need to care about what I’m talking about. I can’t explain it clearly in a short amount of time anyway.”

Then,

the girl’s scarlet eyes narrowed slightly as she solemnly met Xiumu’s hesitant azure gaze. Countless blood-colored butterflies began drifting around Marquis Xiumu, inexplicably giving the old Marquis an indescribable sense of pressure.

“Anyway, right now, I only need your answer. Are you willing to cooperate with us? You continue staying in the north and appropriately cooperate with us in putting on this act. In return, I’ll ensure the peace of Wind Facing City and Yuan’er’s safety. Marquis Xiumu, what do you think?”

“...”

“Before I make a decision, can I ask you two questions?”

“Of course.”

After receiving permission, Xiumu slowly shifted his gaze toward his granddaughter, who had been interacting with the black-haired girl for quite some time. Looking at his granddaughter behaving so differently from usual and recalling the inexplicably doting expression the black-haired girl had worn while interacting with Yuan’er, Xiumu could not help asking:

“Why... are you so good to Yuan’er?”

“Ah, that...”

...

--

Back to the present,

“There’s no need to evacuate. We’re very safe.”

After answering, Xiumu paid no further attention to Sikta’s subsequent questions and instead continued guiding his warhorse toward the Marquis’ residence not far away.

Recalling the conversation he had with Blood Butterfly at the time,

a complicated expression inevitably surfaced on the old Marquis’ weather-beaten face.

To tell the truth,

even now, Xiumu remained only half-convinced by what Miss Blood Butterfly had told him. The hostility toward Abyss Demons that had accumulated over most of his life made it impossible for him to completely trust that unfamiliar black-haired girl.

However, he had no other choice now.

Aside from Wind Facing City, what other place could accommodate the Duke Family? What other place would accept Yuan’er? After all, because of Xue Tianao’s propaganda, nearly everyone outside the northern territory already regarded the Duke Family as traitors to humanity. If they fled south in their current situation, what kind of fate would await them?

The answer was obvious.

Humans rejected them, yet the Abyss Demons had chosen to accept them.

What a truly absurd reality.

Furthermore, the northern defensive line had now been breached, and countless Abyss Demons wandered throughout the region. If he refused the other party’s proposal and forcibly attempted to evacuate the people of Wind Facing City, what would she do?

They did not possess enough rare spatial magic stones.

If the other party intentionally launched an attack while the citizens of Wind Facing City were evacuating, then only complete destruction would await them.

Accepting the black-haired girl’s proposal seemed to be his only path forward.

With no better option, Xiumu ultimately signed a soul contract with the black-haired girl.

The feeling that he had seemingly sold his soul, signed a contract with a demon, and perhaps even become a so-called ‘traitor to humanity’ weighed heavily on Marquis Xiumu’s heart.

But...

at least for now, he did not regret it.

As the head of the Duke Family, his duty was to protect the northern territory. And now? With his own strength, it was clearly impossible to protect the north from the threat of the Abyss Demons. It was impossible for him to protect his people.

In that case, signing a contract with the black-haired girl could perhaps be considered another way of protecting the north.

However,

if others learned about what he had done, his name might be permanently nailed to humanity’s pillar of shame.

But if he did not do this? What else could he possibly do?

Compared to what the other people of Anqieka Continent thought of him, Xiumu cared more about the lives of Wind Facing City’s citizens and Yuan’er’s safety.

If that black-haired girl truly intended to protect Yuan’er as she had claimed, then all of this would be worth it.

At least, that was how he saw it.

Furthermore, there was another reason Marquis Xiumu was in such a gloomy mood right now. One reason was the contract he had signed with the black-haired girl to cooperate with the Abyss Demons.

The other was Yuan’er’s current situation...

Thinking of this,

Xiumu bit his lip and dejectedly glanced toward the little white horse beside him.

This horse was the one Xiumu had specially prepared for Yuan’er earlier.

But now?

The pink-haired girl who should have been sitting on the little horse was nowhere to be seen.

This inevitably left Marquis Xiumu feeling rather depressed. After all, the old Marquis had been planning to return home and properly enjoy life together with his granddaughter after their long-awaited reunion, experiencing the happiness of family life.

Who would have thought that Yuan’er would actually run off halfway through the journey to go back and find that black-haired girl?!

Damn it...

The thought that he, her own grandfather, had simply been abandoned like this left Xiumu with mixed feelings, and a conflicted expression inevitably appeared on his face.

Sigh.

That girl actually cared so much about a stranger she had only met a few times...

Uh,

actually, that did not seem quite right either.

After all, according to what the black-haired girl herself had said, she was the one who had given Yuan’er her second life. In a certain sense, that also made her Yuan’er’s mother...

Thinking this, Xiumu felt somewhat relieved.

However, very soon, a strange expression appeared on the Marquis’ weather-beaten face.

‘But if she’s her mother...’

Why did their family relationships suddenly feel so confusing?