Noah saw the patriarch of the Hive and relaxed.
Chasing Demon had arrived, there was nothing that could threaten the duo now.
Noah released June, who stared at the powerful figure in the sky in awe.
She had never seen a rank 6 existence, and she could barely understand that the man above them was on that level.
After all, her eyes were only able to sense the immense power contained inside him but couldn't define it nor evaluate it.
Even Noah was able to understand the rank of certain powerful beings only when they were magical beasts, he had learnt about Chasing Demon's level due to Divine Demon in the end.
The army of winged beasts tried to resume their offensive, Chasing Demon's arrival didn't make them stop their attempts to gather food.
\"Hmph, mindless creatures.\"
Chasing Demon snorted a softly tapped the air with the tip of his right foot.
A sharp shockwave spread from his foot and reached from the army around June and Noah.
Those hundreds of rank 4 magical beasts showed some confusion when that tremor swept them, they felt as if their bodies had begun to destabilize on their own!
Then, they began to detonate.
One by one, the almost one thousand creatures in the fourth rank that were sieging June and Noah exploded, leaving nothing but puddles of blood behind.
Red drops rained on the azure plain and tainted its surface, creating small rivers that the ground would take time to absorb.
June was mesmerized by the event, but Noah's mind was focused on the behavior of the winged beasts.
'They changed approach when I roared, but they simply ignored Chasing Demon. Maybe there is a limit to the orders that they can execute.'
Noah tried to immerse himself in the peculiar mindset of that species.
'The rank 4 pawns should be controlled by the creatures in the fifth rank, meaning that their orders are tuned around the power of their captains. They can deploy simple battle tactics and modify them according to their prey, but only inside the limits of their leaders.'
Noah noticed that small detail.
According to his hypothesis, the army had changed approach against him because they had received orders that featured the possibility of hunting rank 5 creatures.
However, against something in the sixth rank, they simply continued to attack as if it wasn't there.
'Removing their freedom makes them more efficient but suppresses their instincts. This detail can be exploited.'
Noah was already formulating a battle plan against the leaders of the pack, but Chasing Demon was more interested in the silver-haired woman next to him, and June felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
Chasing Demon had clearly seen Noah taking her in his embrace, but she was the envoy of the Utra nation according to the recent reports.
\"The Demon Prince is safe! Prepare a banquet and apprehend the envoy!\"
Elder Julia's voice resounded in the area, and her figure appeared next to Chasing Demon.
Elder Jason and Elder Hope arrived in that territory too and flew toward the duo, but a chilling pressure soon enveloped their figures.
They stopped when they saw Noah flying toward them, wearing a gaze that radiated a violent coldness.
June followed closely behind him, she had to rely on Noah in that situation to clarify her status.
\"Prepare some quarters. We will share them, and she will be treated as a guest. This is an order.\"
The elders' eyes widened when they heard Noah's words.
They felt surprised, but that feeling didn't originate from the strange relationship that Noah shared with June.
Instead, they felt amazed to see Noah openly using his status as Demon Prince to give orders!
Even Elder Julia felt surprised when she witnessed that event.
Noah had always used his status only to obtain cultivation resources or other items that could be useful to himself.
He had completed missions, but never for his own choice or for a sense of belonging to the Hive.
The elders respected him as a cultivator, but the Demon Prince was supposed to be more than that, it was a title given to someone that would eventually become the leader of a demon sect after all.
Yet, in that situation, he was using his position to command others, it was as if he had begun to accept the entirety of his status.
Elder Jason and Elder Hope ended up in an awkward situation though.
There were Elder Julia's orders on one side, and the Demon Prince's on the other.
Who had the highest authority between a rank 5 elder and the most promising heroic cultivator in the Mortal Lands?
Luckily for them, Chasing Demon interrupted that awkward silence with a laugh and loud words.
\"Haha! Well, you have heard the Prince. Prepare some quarters and accompany the envoy there, I will have a talk with the Prince in the meantime.\"
.
.
.
About an hour later, inside one of the few intact buildings of the city in the invisible dome.
Noah, Chasing Demon, Elder Austin, and Elder Julia sat on the sides of a small table.
Wine and delicacies were laid on its surface, but no one seemed interested in enjoying them at that moment.
Noah felt the eyes of those three powerful existences on him, it was clear that they wanted some kind of explanation about the recent months.
\"The Elbas family has annoyed me for months about its envoy, but a certain Faith Vigny kept on claiming that you were forced to take a hostage and that both the Empire and the Utra nation were biased against you. It turns out that there is something else too.\"
Chasing Demon spoke, and a slight smile kept on appearing on his face, he couldn't help but find that situation quite hilarious.
The Elbas family was accusing Noah, the Council was defending him, and the Empire had simply gone silent.
Also, it seemed that Noah and June were quite close, which made the situation even more interesting in Chasing Demon's mind.
\"Faith is right, I took June hostage to avoid being captured by the other forces.\"
Noah gave an honest answer.
It seemed that Faith's version of the story was being used by the Council to undermine the Elbas family, the Papral nation could only benefit from the troubles of the other big countries.
\"What about your relationship with her?\"
Chasing Demon's eyebrow arched when he asked that, and the focus of the two rank 5 elders intensified at that moment.
\"We are together.\"
Noah's plain answer triggered the reactions of the other three cultivators in the room.
Chasing Demon laughed, Elder Austin sighed and massaged his temples, while Elder Julia simply shook her head before revealing a smile.
She felt that her previous discussion with Noah had somewhat influenced that outcome, but she couldn't complain about that since Noah was showing clear improvements.
Then, Chasing Demon spoke, changing the topic of the discussion.
\"Let's not talk about the envoy, the Prince said that he had a pressing matter to expose to us.\"