The Broken Halo

Simon was a little bit surprised that Black Midnight took such a route.

He expected the Grave Lord to either take him more seriously or for the Grave Lord to try and take control of the chaos he created.

But it seems that Black Midnight was more clever than he made himself to be.

With the announcement he just made, he made things more difficult for Simon.

And the reason for this is not because of the fact that nearly everybody in the clan was looking for him

No.

It was because of the slaves.

No matter how much the slaves respected him and saw him as their king, he was completely certain that some would choose to betray him after hearing the reward Black Midnight gave out.

The slaves were very crucial to his escape.

If one of them betrayed him, it would be detrimental to his plans.

’This is not so bad after all. There’s still a way for me to escape.’

Simon’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

A second later, Sonya whistled.

"A million low grade hell stones for your head? That’s a lot of money, little kitty."

Simon and the others glanced at her.

Akaza looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes that contained a suspicious light in them.

"You want to betray us?" He asked with a cold tone.

Sonya blinked behind her mask, then she laughed.

"How cute of little kitty’s slave. You’re so overprotective of him."

Akaza’s eyes flashed with a cold and threatening light.

"Do you want to die?"

Sonya scoffed and nonchalantly waved her hand.

"Try it."

The air became tense, and for a moment, it looked like Akaza and Sonya were going to battle.

However...

"That’s enough."

Simon’s cold voice shattered the tense air.

Akaza, Sonya, and Sunless looked at him.

Simon’s gaze was utterly indifferent as he stared at the trio, then he turned and looked at the slave who had been there the entire time.

Simon’s gaze was utterly indifferent as he stared at the trio, then he turned and looked at the slave who had been there the entire time.

The slave immediately lowered his head.

"My King."

They were currently standing in a narrow alleyway between two stone buildings.

The alley was dark and damp. Above them, several bridges connected different sections of the ravine while the sounds of shouting demons echoed from afar.

"Any problems?" Simon asked.

The slave shook his head.

"None at all."

Simon remained silent for a moment, causing the slave to become anxious.

Had he done something wrong?

Fortunately for him, Simon finally spoke.

"What do you think about the reward the Grave Lord talked about? Although you might not be able to arrest me because I’m stronger than you, but I’m sure you’ll still be rewarded if you gave out my location and exposed the plan."

Simon tilted his head slightly, and his eyes glinted with a coldness that sent a shiver across the spine of the slave.

He quickly shook his head and spoke.

"I have no intention of betraying you, my king."

"Even if they give me a million hell stones, I would not be able to enjoy it because I’m a slave. My master would most likely take the money from me."

"And it cannot buy my freedom from him. So what’s the point?"

Simon’s eyes flickered with a suprised light, then he nodded.

"I appreciate your answer, and I’m grateful for your words."

Akaza, Sunless, Sonya, and even the slave had a stunned expression.

None of them expected Simon to say such words.

The slave was about to respond, but Simon raised a finger.

"Do you have a spatial ring?"

The slave nodded, though he was baffled.

"Good." Simon said, then he snapped his fingers to his right.

Space became distorted for a moment, then a pile of hell stones appeared from thin air, shocking every single person.

Even Jorra and Merath looked at the pile of hell stones after perceiving the sudden increase in the concentration of demonic energy in the air.

"Take it. Everything is for you. That’s a hundred thousand low grade hell stones."

The slave’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief the moment he heard Simon’s words.

He looked at Simon, then he looked at the pile of hell stones in shock.

He believed that he was dreaming.

Sunless’ eyes flashed with a surprised glint when she saw this.

’When did he become so rich?’ She wondered.

"It’s- it’s for me?" The slave asked.

Simon nodded with a calm gaze.

"Yes. Take it quickly before other demons notice it."

At Simon’s words, the slave quickly stored the pile of hell stones in his spatial ring.

It took a lot of mental energy and demonic energy for him to accomplish this. He was not a monster like Simon who could do many things with ease for a demon his age and rank.

After storing the one hundred thousand hell stones, he immediately got one knee.

"I’m eternally grateful for this, my king. Thank you."

’Your plan to make the slaves betray me might have worked if not for the fact that I’m rich now.’

’You want use money to force them to betray me? I’ll use money to make them respect me more.’

Simon’s eyes flashed a dark and calculating glint as he had these thoughts, then he looked at the slave and finally responded.

"It’s alright. Just lead the way for us."

The slave lowered his head the more.

"Yes, my King."

He stood and walked toward the end of the alley. Moments later, he stopped before a seemingly ordinary stone wall.

He pushed a particular part of the wall.

Click

A hidden door swung inward, and a cold tunnel appeared before them.

"This passage leads beneath the Third Terrace District. No patrols use it because of the current chaos."

Simon glanced at the tunnel then he looked at the slave.

"Leave here and go somewhere that’s far away from here. Some curious demons and the Grave Lord are most likely going to show up any moment from now."

The slave nodded.

"Thank you, my king."

Simon glanced at the tunnel once again before stepping inside.

The others followed.

The door closed tight after Simon and the others entered, and the slave took a quick look around before running away.