Chapter 116 - 43: The Truth of the Demon Attack Incident

Chapter 116: Chapter 43: The Truth of the Demon Attack Incident

As soon as these words were spoken, the other nobles froze. If those Demons weren’t necessarily coming here, then what were they panicking about just now? Wasn’t this a complete waste of emotion!

The knight said awkwardly, "It’s just a speculation. Judging from the marching direction of those Demons, their destination should be the neighboring Siterind County."

Everyone was speechless. Then what on earth were they so anxious about!

At that moment, all their worries and anxieties vanished into thin air. They even began to gloat, discussing whether they should send a message to their old neighbor, informing them that a horde of Demons might soon arrive in their territory.

Although Siterind County bordered Navia geographically, their situations were worlds apart. The land there was equally barren, but it was rich in minerals. As a result, everyone from the Lord to the local squires was filthy rich; even some of their slaves probably lived better lives than the people of Navia. The residents of Siterind County had often mocked them for their poverty.

Well, look at them now. So what if they had money? Once the Demons passed through, everything would be reduced to scorched earth by the hellfire.

Lilia pondered for a moment before saying, "Of course, we must send the message."

"No problem." Belmont readily agreed to this matter without hesitation. "I’ll send someone right away."

By doing them a favor in such a life-and-death matter, the other party would surely give them some benefits in return.

"But we still need to prepare for battle," Lilia continued. "Demons are incredibly unpredictable. No one can say for sure where they will ultimately attack. It’s not entirely impossible for them to split their forces midway and launch a surprise attack on Navia. Besides... once there is a first time, there will be a second and a third. Since the Demons have already appeared, it’s impossible for us to stay out of this."

With the immediate threat to their lives gone, the intelligence of the nobles finally returned, and they naturally understood Lilia’s concerns. They voiced their agreement one after another and went off to make preparations according to her instructions.

As for Lilia... eradicating the Demons was only the first step. More importantly, she needed to figure out their purpose for attacking Sitrind, and... why the Demons, which had disappeared for many years, would suddenly appear here.

Late at night.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Victor raised his head and looked at the door. Ever since he arrived here, Belmont rarely sent anyone to disturb him out of fear of his strength.

Victor furrowed his brows slightly. Before he could even stand up, the room door was pushed open from the outside. A head of black hair peeked in. The girl looked at him, blinking her dark eyes like a kitten testing a human’s attitude. The moment he saw her, Victor froze completely.

"Good evening." Seeing him dazed, Lilia pushed her luck and said, "If you don’t mind, I’m coming in?"

As soon as her words fell, she didn’t even wait for Victor’s response before slipping into the room. She conveniently closed the door behind her, completely cutting off Victor’s route of retreat. Step by step, she approached the desk.

Victor subconsciously lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze. "...Why are you here?"

"I asked Viscount Belmont for the key." Lilia tossed the iron object in her hand and leaned against the edge of the desk. Her light pink dress draped down the corner of the desk, gently fluttering with her movements until it almost tangled with the hem of his clothes.

Victor suppressed the throbbing in his heart, keeping his head lowered in silence.

After a brief quiet, Lilia took the initiative to speak. "If I didn’t come looking for you, would you just never appear in front of me for the rest of your life?"

"...I thought you wouldn’t want to see me again," Victor replied.

"That’s because you kept hiding from me. It’s not like I don’t have a temper. If you didn’t want to see me, was I supposed to throw myself at you?" Lilia demanded. "Why? Even if I’m being abandoned, there should at least be a reason, right?"

Victor did not answer.

Lilia let out a sigh. "...I knew this would happen." She stopped pressing the issue and returned to the main topic, briefly recounting what had happened in the reception room today.

"...Although those nobles are cowardly, they were right about one thing." Lilia looked down at Victor. "Demons haven’t appeared in a very long time. Why did so many suddenly pop up this time?"

Victor was silent for a moment. "You suspect it has something to do with me?"

"To be precise, it has to do with your research in the Valgipps Mountain Range." Lilia smiled. "Originally, this was just my guess."

However, she quickly noticed something was wrong.

Although the time and location matched up, if this batch of Demons really came for Victor’s research, their destination couldn’t possibly be set on Sitrind. While it wasn’t impossible for that knight’s speculation to be wrong, given the marching speed of those Demons, they couldn’t possibly take this long to cross a mere distance of a few kilometers. The fact that Lilia still hadn’t seen them within Navia’s borders was enough to prove that this place wasn’t their primary target.

"Your research on Demons is much deeper than mine," Lilia said. "Why do you think they’re attacking Sitrind?"

Victor thought for a moment. "Strictly speaking, Demons shouldn’t engage in collective attacks on a specific region, even if they are commanded by a High-level Demon.

"The reason is simple. This kind of organized and disciplined attack on a town is generally done to occupy it. Demons are inherently cunning, cruel, and bloodthirsty. Neither High-level nor Low-level Demons would ever have the concept of ’occupying’ human territory. All they want is slaughter; they simply want to extract human agony through sadistic killing. And to achieve such an end, they don’t need to use complex tactics like a formation attack. They just need to swarm in and wreak havoc across human lands.

"Such a purpose-driven attack operation... feels more like a decision a human would make. A decision to occupy Sitrind."

"A human?" Lilia frowned. "How could a human possibly enslave Demons?"

Even if the targets were Low-level Demons, it was absolutely impossible.

"Indeed," Victor agreed. "If it’s just an ordinary human, then exactly as you said, it would be impossible. But... I discovered a special Magic in the manuscript left behind by that Demon Lord. It can fuse a Demon with a human."

Lilia was stunned. "A special Magic to fuse Demons and humans... Does that mean those aren’t Demons, but humans fused with Demons?"

Victor shook his head. "The cost of this Magic is immense. It’s impossible for it to be widely used to mass-produce a Low-level Demon Army."

Lilia understood. Since the Demon Army wasn’t a product of fusion... then the anomaly could only be the person commanding them.

"You mean to say that a human fused with a High-level Demon and gained the ability to command Low-level Demons," Lilia summarized. "And that person is leading a Demon Army, marching towards Siterind County with the goal of occupying that land?"

But why?

Before she could voice the question, a figure suddenly flashed in her mind.

Caius!

If she remembered correctly, among Caius’s subordinates... there was precisely such a person who was suspected of having fused with a High-level Demon!