Perhaps the demonkin had already built a base somewhere, perhaps their base was the fleet in outer space. At least Qianye could be certain that this viscount was very likely a member of their mobile unit. If all of their members were as fearless of death as this person, it would be fairly problematic.
From the conversation between the two demonkin, Qianye noticed a new term: young lord.
This worrisome honorific was similar to the holy sons and daughters of the vampire race, a person who had gained the recognition of all families in the race. A fellow crowned thus was akin to Zhao Jundu in the empire—not only would they stand out from the rest of the demonkin young geniuses, but they could also mobilize unimaginable amounts of resources.
If a demonkin young lord had arrived in the neutral lands, it could be assumed that something big was going to happen.
Qianye suppressed the restlessness in his heart. At least Song Zining was prepared, and it wasn’t that easy to make him take a loss under such circumstances. On the other hand, it was also likely that Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan had secret protectors watching over them. They themselves were also quite strong, so Qianye didn’t need to worry about them.
At the present moment, the best strategy wasn’t to hole up in Southern Blue but to move out proactively and hunt in the wilderness. That was the best way to restrain the demonkin’s power and make it difficult for them to operate with ease.
At the thought of this, Qianye picked up East Peak and slashed at the demonkin viscount’s head, shattering it from afar. This wasn’t done out of savagery but as a message for the other demonkin coming to check.
Qianye then put his sword away and vanished in the direction of Seagaze.
There was a slender, elegant warship hovering in the depths of the void. Its numerous long masts were swaying gently, like long, dancing wings. This was an ordinary warship, at least on the surface. Nevertheless, taking a closer look, one could observe that it had undergone obvious remodeling—these masts were a representation of demonkin technology. They could raise the vessel’s overall speed and reduce consumption at the same time, a system unique to the race.
Both the other dark races and the empire had sought ways to design, steal, or imitate this technology. Nevertheless, even the empire’s usual high-quality reproductions couldn’t compare to the demonkin warships.
Apart from the characteristic masts, there was no other noticeable equipment. Its armor was mediocre at best and so were the ship-cannons, meaning that this vessel had no other advantage except fast movement.
The interior, on the other hand, was refined and luxurious. The furnishings were old school yet that didn't deprive them from being lavish. The interior of the ship was decorated in shades of black and gold, a true expression of mysteriousness and nobility. A young demonkin was standing in the command room, gazing at the distant Eastern Sea continent.
At this moment, the command room doors opened, and a demonkin count walked in. “Young Lord, Number Forty has returned with the latest report, but Thirty-Nine… didn’t return.”
The young demonkin’s expression shifted slightly.
“I remember that the two of them are fairly excellent in concealment and hunting. They should be able to flee even against a powerful enemy. Why didn’t Thirty-Nine return? Could the Wolf King have gone back on his words and attacked personally?”
“It’s not the Wolf King. According to Number Forty, it’s Qianye.”
The young demonkin turned back with a surprised expression. “Qianye? The one who injured the Demoness back in Indomitable?”
“That’s him.”
A layer of dark energy emerged on the young man’s smooth forehead, almost as though a complicated diagram was about to emerge. Nonetheless, the image merely flickered in and out of existence before fading away. This demonkin young lord was a riddle through and through—no one had ever seen what his innate talent totem looked like, and it was rare to see any emotional fluctuation from him throughout the years.
People were fated to be disappointed yet again as the young demonkin quickly reigned in his emotions. “Who would’ve thought he would still be alive and quite well in fact? This makes the world more interesting. What did Number Forty say? Was he able to gauge Qianye’s strength?”
The demonkin count said awkwardly, “Forty left the battlefield immediately after seeing that Thirty-Nine had been captured… His conclusion is that Qianye’s combat strength decline, if any, is very limited.”
The young demonkin nodded. “This means he never fought with Qianye, and neither did he stay to observe the fight between Qianye and Number Thirty-Nine.”
“Indeed.” The demonkin seemed worried that the young lord would blame the agent. “In my humble opinion, Forty wouldn’t have been able to return if he hadn’t turned to flee immediately. I believe his judgment in this scenario is correct.”
The young lord remained silent for a moment and then said, “I don’t mean to blame him. It’s just that, running without a fight just to send word back to me… so that I can gauge his strength...”
He suddenly raised his voice. “Do you guys have so little faith in me? Are you so worried that I’ll get wounded in Qianye’s hands?”
The demonkins were all shocked. They fell to their knees in unison. “We don’t dare!”
The young demonkin paced about with his hands behind his back. “The supreme leader has great expectations for me. Our mission is important, so it’s only natural that we should be cautious. But think about it, was the Supreme One a top-genius back in his day? He was barely outstanding. From the demonic realm to the void, from the Dark Abyss to the Sacred Mountain, how many life and death battles did he have to go through? I believe my talents aren’t inferior to his back in the day; why must I avoid such a small battle?”
An old demonkin marquis spoke in a hoarse voice, “The Supreme One couldn’t break away from the shackles of his talents without life and death battles, a stark difference from your circumstances, Young Lord. On the other hand, he has never engaged in unnecessary battles, either.”
The young demonkin chuckled. “You all feel that a battle with Qianye is unnecessary?”
“Your opponent should be Zhao Jundu,” the old marquis replied.
The young demonkin broke into a laugh. “Fine, Qianye hasn’t matured anyway. Killing him will make this world less interesting. Let Eden handle this matter, it’ll also allow us to see if his situation will change after switching from the Misty Wood to the neutral lands.”
A demonkin count clad in heavy armor stepped forward. “Young Lord, should we send someone to monitor Eden?”
The young demonkin said with a smile, “You guys really are cautious about Eden being a threat to me. Why? Just because his recent accomplishments and advancements are beyond expectations? He isn’t even an inheritor-candidate of the Dark Abyss, yet you people think he’s a threat to me?”
That count wasn’t willing to back down. “Young Lord, your safety is imperative since it’s related to our race’s inheritance. Competition must be under fair circumstances, we won’t allow anyone to scheme!”
This time, the young demonkin didn’t insist. “Send people to monitor him if you think it’s necessary. Eden might think something’s up if you don’t send anyone. Okay, just bring up whatever you have to say.”
The old marquis said, “Since you’ve said so, I won’t hold back. This airship isn’t very safe and not suitable for your high status. I would suggest you move back to your own vessel immediately.”
The young demonkin chuckled. “Do you think the one on the Throne of Blood will ignore us if we drive the Demon Edge into the neutral lands? He already knows of our existence. Only this ship can prove that we’re not here to assail his lands.”
“If that person wants to capture you, this ship won’t be enough to escape. We definitely can’t allow you to fall into danger.”
The young demonkin raised his hand. “So… you guys just want me to leave. Rest assured, I won’t stay very long. You just need to let me finish one thing. No one is allowed to disturb me for one day, otherwise, I might change my mind.
The demonkin marquises and counts exchanged glances, eventually giving a nod.
The young demonkin sighed. “What’s the point of deceiving ourselves at this point?”
Everyone in the cabin turned silent, and the demonkin young lord felt bad pressing the matter. He simply ordered, “Give me a copy of everyone’s data related to those people, I must meditate on this matter. Enough, everyone is dismissed.”
Having said that, he returned to his own cabin. After a while, the old marquis entered with a thick stack of papers and placed it on the desk. The old marquis fished out an independent file, saying, “Young Lord, I think this person deserves your attention. He might gain the right to become your opponent one day in the future.”
The young demonkin flipped through the paper. “Song Zining? I know him. He’s the one everyone’s calling god of strategy, right? I’ve never been interested in people like Lin Xitang, perhaps you guys don’t understand me.”
The old marquis said, “I believe that a true expert is one who can contend against people from different areas.”
The young demonkin said, “You’re just hoping I’ll stay away from the battlefield, but you got one thing right at least, it is interesting to defeat people from different fields. Fine, I’ll pay more attention to Song Zining, but he’s not my target right now. I’m looking for an extremely interesting person that I must meet.”
The old marquis was startled. “Who do you want to meet?”
“This one.” The young demonkin pushed an extremely thin file toward the old marquis. This document only contained a half-filled sheet of paper, yet still this person was more important to the young lord than Song Zining. This was quite surprising.
An expression of pure shock crept up on the old man's face as he opened the file.