The Broken Halo

"Interesting."

Mira looked at Simon for a few seconds.

For some reason, she felt that the moment Simon said that word, those who owned rock gambling dens were going to suffer quite a loss.

That made her expression become slightly strange.

"Do you plan on trying it?"

Simon did not answer immediately.

He looked outside the window, watching as the busy streets of Vashar City slowly became less crowded.

The carriage was already leaving the inner part of the city, and the buildings outside were becoming fewer and rougher. The number of guards also increased the closer they got to the eastern gate.

After a few seconds, Simon spoke.

"Maybe."

She shook her head and spoke.

"You should be careful. Rock gambling is not as simple as it sounds. A lot of demons think they can become rich or powerful from it, but most of them lose everything."

Simon glanced at her.

"Why?"

"Greed." Mira replied immediately. "And ignorance."

Simon said nothing.

Mira continued.

"Most demons don’t know how to stop. They buy one shell and get nothing. Then they buy another one because they believe the next one will have something good. Then they buy another one again. Before they know it, all their hell stones are gone."

She paused for a moment.

"And the worst part is that even when some demons win, they still don’t stop. A demon can open a shell and find an artifact or a rare ore, but instead of leaving with his profit, he would use everything to buy more shells."

Simon nodded slightly.

"Normal."

Mira blinked.

"Normal?"

Simon looked outside the window.

"That’s how gambling works."

Mira stared at him for a moment before she released a soft sigh.

"You’re right."

The atmosphere became silent for a few seconds.

Sonya’s head had already stopped bobbing, and her eyes were now closed. It was difficult to tell if she was asleep or if she was just resting.

Akaza still had his eyes closed, but Simon knew he was listening.

A few minutes later, the carriage passed through the eastern gate of Vashar City.

No one spoke.

The road outside the city was rougher, and the carriage shook from time to time. Each shake sent faint pain through Simon’s body, but his expression did not change.

He only leaned against the side of the carriage and looked outside the window.

Even as he say, UnholyRegeneration was still working.

It had been working since the moment they escaped the Shadowgrave Clan.

It had healed his flesh, restored his body, closed his wounds, and dragged him away from death countless times. But Simon knew that his current condition was far from good.

His body was no longer completely useless.

He could walk now.

He could move his arms and legs.

He could even fight if he was forced to.

But his demonic pathways were still badly damaged.

That was the real problem.

A demon’s body could be injured and still recover with enough time and resources. But once the demonic pathways were damaged, everything became troublesome.

Simon had a lot of hell stones in his spatial ring.

If his demonic pathways had not been seriously damaged by Lilith’s techniques, he would have used them to speed up his recovery. He would absorb the demonic energy inside them with Devour, circulate it through his body, and allow UnholyRegeneration to work faster.

But he could not do that yet.

The demonic energy inside hell stones was not gentle.

It was much denser and harsher than the demonic energy in the atmosphere. Normally, that was a good thing. It was the reason why hell stones were valuable.

But for the current Simon, it was dangerous.

His pathways were like cracked roads. If he forced too much dense demonic energy through them, the cracks would only become worse.

So for now, he could only absorb the thin demonic energy in the atmosphere little by little.

It was slow.

Very slow.

But it was safe.

’Just a little longer.’

Simon silently closed his eyes.

Once his pathways healed to a certain point, he would use hell stones without hesitation. At that time, his recovery speed would increase by a lot.

Until then, he had to be patient.

And patient was one thing Simon had learned to be.

The carriage continued forward.

The driver’s voice suddenly sounded from outside.

"We’ll stop before nightfall! Don’t ask me when! We’ll stop when I say we stop!"

Nobody replied.

Mira glanced at the wall of the carriage, then she looked back at Simon.

"Drivers like him are usually annoying, but they know the road well."

Simon opened his eyes.

"Do you know if he’s experienced?"

Mira nodded.

"He is. No sane driver takes passengers to Velmora without knowing the route. The road is not safe."

Simon looked outside the window.

"Bandits?"

"Bandits, beasts, wandering demons, fake toll groups, and sometimes worse things."

"Worse things?"

Mira’s expression became a little stiff.

"Well, that’s what I heard from some demons who have passed this road. Might be rumors."

Simon glanced at her for a second, then looked away.

He did not ask further.

The carriage moved for several hours.

At first, the road was busy. There were other wagons, traveling merchants, and small groups of demons moving in the same direction.

But as time passed, the road became quieter.

The gaps between travelers became longer.

The beasts pulling the carriage also stopped making as much noise. Their steps became steady, and only the sound of wheels moving over stone and dirt filled the carriage.

Sonya eventually opened her eyes.

She yawned softly, then glanced outside.

"We’ve still not reached Velmora?"

"No." Akaza replied without opening his eyes.

Sonya stretched her arms a little, then looked at Simon.

"How’s your body?"

Simon did not look at her.

"The same."

Sonya stared at him for a moment, then she nodded.

"Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll recover and do crazy things again."

Pat

Pat

She gently patted Simon’s back causing Simon to grimace and glare at her. However, she only gave him a mischievous smile.

Mira watched the short exchange silently.

For some reason, she felt that the relationship between Simon and these two was strange.

They did not speak much, but there was a certain understanding between them.

It was not the sort of relationship ordinary companions had.

The carriage suddenly slowed down.

Simon opened his eyes fully.

Akaza also opened his eyes at the same time.

Sonya’s lazy expression disappeared.

Mira noticed their reactions, and her heart skipped a beat.

’Could it be?’

A second later, the driver’s voice came from outside.

"We’ve got company."

His tone was no longer rude.

It was serious.

The carriage stopped, and silence followed for a few seconds.

Then a rough voice came from outside.

"Leaving Vashar with passengers and goods, but you didn’t greet us?"

Another voice laughed.

"That is very rude."

Mira’s expression changed.

Devia, Brukk, and Orven immediately became tense.

Simon calmly looked outside the window.

There were more than twenty demons standing on the road.

Some held axes.

Some held spears.

Some held rusty swords.

Their clothes were rough, and their eyes were filled with greed.

The demon standing in front had a scar across his face and a large hammer resting on his shoulder.

He grinned at the driver.

"Pay the road fee, and maybe we’ll let you keep your wheels."

The driver did not speak.

Inside the carriage, Mira’s face became pale.

"Bandits..."

Sonya blinked, then rubbed her eyes.

Akaza cracked his neck softly.

Simon looked at the bandits for a few seconds.

Then he leaned back into his seat.

"How troublesome."