CH 868

Chapter 868: The Demon King City Might Be Inside

The group bypassed the area where the rock lizard was located and continued forward.

The presence of creatures ahead was becoming increasingly intense, and a heavy sense of oppression filled the air.

Xuelu took out the map and looked at it, but Chris chimed in, “No need to consult the map. In fact, we can roughly guess where the Demon King City is.”

“Oh?” Robb curiously asked, “How did you guess?”

Chris proudly explained, “Our small team has been to this deep valley several times. In reality, we have already explored most of the areas here. There’s only one crevice below that we haven’t thoroughly investigated. Every time we approach the crevice, we are blocked by a swarm of small demons. We speculate that the Demon King City is inside that crevice. You’ve joined us at the right time.”

Excitedly, everyone followed behind him. With the hunter and Jike on lookout duty, they managed to avoid many unnecessary battles along the way. The valley was indeed populated with numerous creatures. They encountered creatures such as the Lava Giant just a few steps away and saw a Thunderbird soaring overhead. Occasionally, minotaurs wandered in the distance.

The hunter was skilled at spotting creatures from extreme distances and would signal the team to avoid them. Jike, however, was far less adept and mostly played the role of a student throughout the journey.

Fortunately, Chris hadn’t expected much from Robb’s team, knowing they wouldn’t be of much help. He brought them along out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual support among adventurers.

After a while, the group arrived at the edge of a crevice.

This crevice extended deep into the earth, and standing at its mouth, they could feel waves of heat rising from within.

Robb remembered the time when they faced a legion of demons in the Black Pine Mountains, and the demons often took refuge in crevices. It seemed to be a common practice among the demon race.

“Be cautious of your surroundings. There might be small demons guarding this area,” Chris halted at a distance from the crevice’s mouth and signaled for everyone to hide. He then instructed the hunter and Jike to proceed with detection.

“Only two small demons are guarding the crevice’s mouth, a significant decrease from the previous times we were here,” the hunter reported back.

Chris exclaimed in delight, “It appears that the Demon Army has been dispatched to the Desert Kingdom, likely preparing to counter Godfather of WestWestwind City. As a result, the gatekeepers on this side have diminished. All we need to do is quietly eliminate these two little imps without alerting the Demon Army.”

He turned to the two assassins, and the assassin and Suofa understood each other’s intentions. They stealthily moved forward to investigate.

The assassin possessed impressive strength and an advanced level of stealth. Once they began to move stealthily, Gorda and Jike lost sight of them. However, Suofa was equally skilled; her stealth was so thorough that even a trace of her shadow couldn’t be seen. After all, Suofa was originally an elite assassin in the Desert Kingdom’s military. If her skills were lacking, she wouldn’t have been qualified to participate in battles of that caliber.

Except for Robb, everyone else couldn’t see the current whereabouts of the two assassins. However, Robb could clearly see that Suofa and the other assassin were each approaching a small demon.

Interestingly enough, they shouldn’t have been able to see each other, yet the two assassins didn’t head for the same target. They didn’t need to discuss it; they instinctively chose separate targets. This ability to silently coordinate and quickly allocate tasks might be unique to assassins.

The most intriguing part was that when both assassins had stealthily reached behind the small demons and positioned themselves, they didn’t rashly strike immediately. They understood that they needed to simultaneously attack to silently eliminate both small demons. If the timing was off, one of the small demons might alert others, potentially attracting more creatures.

Suofa tossed a small stone into the air. The stone deliberately arced high and landed right between the two small demons with a soft “plop.” The distraction caused both demons to turn and look. In that split second, both assassins struck.

Four daggers were unsheathed simultaneously. Almost at the same moment, two of the daggers slashed the throats of the small demons, while the other two stabbed into their vital points from behind. The movements were precise and synchronized—a sight to behold.

Chris couldn’t help but quietly remark to Gorda beside him, “Not bad for an assassin on your team.”

Gorda awkwardly thought, “So you mean, everything else is subpar, but the assassins are just passable, right? Fine, I admit I’m not that great, but I won’t argue with you. You’ll see when we compare priests.”

The opposing assassin also couldn’t help but give Suofa a thumbs up.

However, Robb interjected, “Wow, I’ve learned something. Assassins have such a strong tactical coordination during stealth; it’s a true display of professional synergy. Definitely worth learning.”

Chris couldn’t resist his curiosity, “Why are you learning this? Will you use it?”

“Well, of course,” Robb replied, “In case I need to team up with Suofa for a stealth operation, I might be able to put the knowledge I just learned to use.”

Chris thought to himself, [No use in mocking him; I’d lose if I did. Ah well, I can’t resist. ‘A priest like you forming a stealth team with assassins?’]

Robb shrugged.

Chris didn’t want to waste more time in such a situation. After dealing with the small demons at the crevice, the most sensible thing was to quickly enter it. Otherwise, if the creatures discovered the bodies of the two small demons, it could spell trouble.

Chris dug a shallow pit and haphazardly buried the bodies. Then, he waved and said, “Let’s go, time for us to explore inside.”

As they entered the crevice, it was best for the hunters not to take the lead anymore. The underground passage twisted and turned, with a limited field of view. Navigating through the bends and tunnels was actually quite perilous; one could easily turn a corner and come face to face with a creature. In such situations, it wasn’t suitable for the hunters to lead the way.

Chris took the lead, followed closely by Gorda.

The group moved forward in the pitch-black crevice. While the crevice was deep, it wasn’t narrow; in fact, it could even be described as spacious. It was the kind of massive crevice that could house an underground city, as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out.

After venturing deeper inside for a while, natural light all but disappeared. However, an eerie red glow pervaded the tunnel, casting everything in a reddish hue, the very shade demons favored.

“This is the light from magma. It’s being reflected by the walls, giving the whole crevice this red hue,” Chris whispered, “Looks like we’re dealing with an active volcano here. Be cautious; demons love to frequent such places. The demon king city might truly be within.”

Just as he said that, he abruptly halted, signaling those behind him to hush. He swiftly moved behind a large rock, and the others followed suit, taking cover behind dark boulders.

Soon after, the depths of the crevice echoed with the sound of footsteps. A group of seductive succubi emerged from within.