In the bustling frozen soil construction site, a Metal Slime transformed into a giant hammer and, with all its might, drove a thick rivet with a loud "clang" into a massive log, before being bounced off and landing on a roof beam.
It proudly wobbled its body, about to admire its masterpiece, when it suddenly seemed to sense something. It looked up and emitted a puzzled metallic chirp.
In the lightless night sky, fine snowflakes fell silently. Illuminated by the glow of Gray Gravel Crystals from the distant construction site, they looked like dancing silver dust.
Apart from the sounds of slimes transporting materials, hammering rivets, and the howling blizzard, there was nothing unusual around.
But why did it feel like something had just flashed overhead a moment ago?
The Metal Slime thought with its simple mind for a bit and soon tossed this minor confusion to the back of its head.
Never mind.
It lowered its head again, staring at the rivet it had just hammered in, looking at it over and over, growing more and more satisfied with each glance.
The rivet was embedded perfectly flush, positioned precisely, struck with just the right amount of force, without a trace of unnecessary deformation.
On a nearby snowdrift, an almost non-existent figure moved slightly. Yebarton glanced at the Metal Slime that seemed to have detected a slight disturbance.
He had to admit, the slimes here were far more intelligent than he had imagined. They didn't seem quite the same as the lowly, squirming slime creatures described in rumors.
However, he had no interest in such worthless "little things" that might expose his own whereabouts.
In an instant, his figure blurred again. With a few leaps, he silently crossed several hundred meters, approaching the castle within the crystal sphere.
Watching the slimes carrying Goods in and out of the castle, Yebarton grew increasingly convinced. This castle, seemingly isolated on the snowplain, was definitely not simple. It must be hiding some secrets of the Slime Kingdom.
His gaze swept over the Spiritual Chains extending from the castle's surroundings.
Moreover, such large-scale fissure growth couldn't possibly be triggered by Mana disturbances. What's more, these planar rifts, anchored by the strange chains extending from this castle, were even more stable than he had imagined.
If this could be applied to the opening and maintenance of deep fissures, the Demon Legion might be able to descend upon various parts of the continent through the fissures at any time, instead of being confined to the Golden Radiance Valley, relying on costly temporary summons and blood sacrifice rituals.
This was undoubtedly a piece of intelligence with immense strategic value.
As for whether this secret intelligence should be truthfully reported to Casaric... a cold smile flashed across Yebarton's face, covered in shadows.
That would depend on whether Lord Casaric was willing to pay a soul reward delicious enough.
He was not Casaric's subordinate. From a human perspective, beings like him, wandering the depths of The Abyss, were more like mercenaries.
The number of Shadow Demons in The Abyss was not large, but each one was a born master assassin.
They were born in the darkest, most chaotic energy vortices and sediment pools of negative emotions in The Abyss. Their bodies were composed of pure shadow and malice, without a fixed physical form. They could change their shape at will to blend into any dark environment.
They possessed an almost instinctive affinity and control over shadow energy, making them natural stealth experts, assassins, and intelligence thieves.
However, precisely because of this, Shadow Demons were often shunned, feared, and even viewed with hostility by other demon races within The Abyss. They found it difficult to integrate into any fixed Demon Legion or serve under any lord.
Therefore, the vast majority of Shadow Demons ultimately chose to become solitary wanderers of the deep Abyss.
They served whichever greater demons, lords, or even human factions within The Abyss needed their services—stealing confidential intelligence, assassinating important targets, carrying out various unsavory tasks.
Wherever the price was right, their figures might appear.
Yebarton was one of them.
Having walked the borders between The Abyss and the Prime Material Plane for years, he had assassinated countless enemies—among them kings of human Kingdoms, high mages guarding towers, Magical Creature Lords dominating regions, and even Greater Demons from other factions within The Abyss... He fought battle after battle, never having truly failed once.
He had relied on his shadow abilities to enter and exit countless perilous situations—repeatedly infiltrating Magical Creature Lord territories, wandering the labyrinths beneath Kabul, strolling through elven back gardens... Even when directly facing the siege of the holy hammer Dwarves from the White Tower city-state, he could easily escape by relying on his shadow abilities ingrained into his very being.
Within The Abyss and among the Extraordinary circles aware of his existence, "The Silent Reaper" Yebarton was almost synonymous with "success" and "lethality."
Shadow Demons were feared and excluded by other demons due to their unique power, but that very fact was enough to prove their strength. And he, Yebarton, was among the elite.
It was merely a castle surviving in a crack of the material plane. Compared to the dangerous places he had been, this place wasn't particularly special.
In his eyes, it was even utterly non-threatening.
Yebarton stood silently observing in the shadows outside the castle for a long time, initially figuring out the patterns of the slimes' comings and goings and the rhythm of the Mana fluctuations around the castle's periphery.
Then, he moved.
Without any warning, his figure seemed to transform into an intangible breeze, or like a shadow naturally shifting in the sunlight, and he just drifted into the light gate leading to the interior of the crystal sphere.
It caused no disturbance, at least that's what he himself believed.
Inside the crystal sphere, the sunlight from the ceiling was bright and warm, casting a gentle glow like a spring afternoon. A few gray-spotted blue-tailed finches chirped as they flew up from the lush-leaved Oak Trees in the courtyard, lightly landing on the railing of the castle's second-floor wide open-air balcony.
They tilted their small heads, curiously observing the scene on the balcony with their black bean-like bright eyes, emitting clear chirps.
Some particularly bold ones even hopped onto the small white round table in the center of the balcony, covered with a white lace tablecloth, jumping around next to the delicate bone china plates holding exquisite pastries, as if begging the owner here for food.
Olivia was sitting on the comfortable wicker armchair on the balcony, still wearing that simple yet shimmering silver-scale gown. Sunlight spilled over her, reflecting a soft, rippling silver light, making her look like a fairy who had stepped out of a dream, beautiful to an almost unreal degree.
She held a ceramic teacup painted with golden vine patterns in one hand, while the other cradled an ancient magical tome bound in some kind of silver metal and leather.
She seemed undisturbed by these playful birds, her gaze still calmly immersed in the complex, profound Runes and annotations on the pages of the book in her hands. Only occasionally would she take a gentle sip of the steaming amber-colored tea in her cup.
Beside her, Silver Sparrow stood silently, expressionless, like a loyal maid.
It wasn't until she noticed those few gray-spotted blue-tailed finches hopping onto the table, seemingly very interested in the pastries, that her figure flickered slightly.
She slowly picked up the silver Clay Pot on the white table, opened it, and evenly sprinkled some crushed hazelnut kernels onto the clean wooden floorboards of the balcony.
The few gray-spotted blue-tailed finches were immediately attracted by the scent and happily flew down from the table, beginning to peck at the delicious hazelnut pieces, emitting satisfied "chirps."
The dragon and the spirit coexisted wordlessly like this.
The sunlight was warm, a gentle breeze blew, and faint floral scents and the sound of flowing water came from the distant garden.
They both seemed long accustomed to this kind of appropriate silence on a beautiful afternoon, each immersed in their own world, not disturbing each other, yet together forming a harmonious and tranquil picture.
Silver Sparrow would occasionally float to the stone pillar railing, silently watching the slimes busily hopping about in the courtyard below.
Watching them push small carts transporting boxes of Gray Gravel Crystal ore, occasionally emitting soft "plop" sounds, appearing both hardworking and a bit clumsy.
She just watched quietly like this, without any expression, and no one knew what she was thinking.
However, for her, this kind of quiet observation was a good way to conserve energy.
If someone could peek into her thoughts at this moment, they would see an ancient progress bar slowly climbing in her mind—3.23%... 3.231%... 3.232%...
This progress bar reflected the usable energy extracted, converted, and stored by the castle from those Gray Gravel Crystals.
Every box of Gray Gravel Crystal transported into the core furnace chambers at the castle's lower levels, refined through complex Magic Formations, would make this number jump a tiny bit.
She was like a meticulous housekeeper, diligently remembering her Master's instructions, striving to stockpile energy while saving every bit of unnecessary energy expenditure—such as maintaining overly realistic expressions, complex movements, or unnecessary magical light and shadow effects.
In her eyes, the numbers kept jumping steadily. The castle's operation was smooth and orderly.
Time passed. It was unknown how long it had been until a key monitoring node within the castle's operational system suddenly sent back abnormal feedback different from the usual.
This caused her figure, composed of magical light and shadow, to flicker.
Relying on the familiarity and understanding accumulated from her long association with Silver Sparrow in the past, Olivia didn't even need to look up to keenly detect her abnormality.
Her gaze left the book in her hands. She raised her head and asked, "What happened?"
Silver Sparrow responded calmly, "Abnormal energy infiltration detected. Logical judgment—intruder present."
As soon as her words fell, the originally transparent, glowing wall of the crystal sphere suddenly lit up with a glaring dark red light. Countless magical patterns rapidly brightened, and various dormant formations began to operate.
"Mmm?"
In the castle courtyard and corridors, the slimes who had been hopping about transporting boxes of Gray Gravel Crystals paused their actions in confusion. Their round bodies, carried by inertia, softly and bouncily collided with each other, then fell to the ground, piling up in a heap.
"Yah!"
Before they could even get up, circular holes, just the right size to fit a slime, suddenly appeared on the castle's marble floor, immediately sucking in these disoriented little creatures to protect them.
Silver Sparrow's unemotional voice sounded again.
"According to Castle Defense Guideline Article Seven: If intrusion is detected and there is no direct instruction from the Master, Silver Sparrow must exercise independent judgment, immediately cease all non-essential activities, and immediately execute the 'Eliminate Intruder' protocol."
As she spoke, a full sixteen different types of detection formations within the castle, each with different emphases, were simultaneously activated. Intangible magical ripples, spirit vision scans, spatial perception, life aura detection... swept over every inch of the castle's ground again and again.
Each scan would capture and amplify the slightest movement. Finally, all detection formations, as if guided by an invisible hand, rapidly locked onto the stone-paved path in the castle's front garden.
And that intruder also seemed not to have expected that he had just infiltrated the castle interior, hadn't even had time to conduct any substantial reconnaissance or sabotage, and had already been discovered.
After a brief silence, he ultimately revealed the figure of a demon covered in armor that flowed like shadow.
Olivia put down the book in her hands, stood up, walked to the edge of the balcony, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Silver Sparrow, and met the gaze of that demonic figure in the garden below.
A glint of interest flashed in her pale, mercury-like pupils.
"A guest from The Abyss? However, that little King didn't mention to me that he had invited any demons here as guests. Hmm... the familiar scent of sulfur and shadow. A rare Shadow Demon at that."
"It seems you didn't come with good intentions."
Her tone was composed and unhurried, as if stating a simple fact.
"Hah, human." Yebarton let out a low, hoarse laugh, gripping a pitch-black blade formed from condensed shadow, its edges constantly writhing, in a reverse grip.
He took a step forward. When his foot landed on the stone-paved path, it left a small patch of scorched black marks.
"Seeing me, Yebarton, and not fleeing, but instead approaching?" His voice carried an arrogant condescension, as if pitying the other's ignorance and foolishness.
"Conserve some energy, Silver Sparrow." Olivia did not directly respond to Yebarton. Instead, she first turned her head and softly instructed Silver Sparrow beside her, her tone as if asking the housekeeper to turn off an unnecessary light.
Then she turned her gaze back to Yebarton, a faint curve lifting the corner of her mouth as she asked with feigned surprise, "So, you're quite famous over there in The Abyss?"
Yebarton's face showed clear disappointment. He shook his head, "Originally thought you might be a decent opponent. Turns out you haven't even heard the name 'The Silent Reaper Yebarton.'"
This wasn't his arrogance.
The title "The Silent Reaper" was not only widely circulated within The Abyss, but even many human Kingdom intelligence agencies, elven city-state elder councils... more or less had records of this name representing lethal shadow and silent death.
Within the secret circles of Extraordinary Professionals and major powers, "The Silent Reaper" was known to all.
This human not knowing him could only mean she was too weak.
He lost interest in continuing the conversation. The shadow blade twirled in his hand.
"Human, to die by this 'Death's Whisper' of mine, you can be considered to share the fame with Grohm·Furnace, the Dwarf King of the Forge Mountain Kingdom... although he was much stronger than you and gave me a bit more trouble."
Before his words even finished, his figure had already vanished from the spot. Without any warning, he appeared less than half a meter behind Olivia.
That pitch-black blade, as if capable of devouring souls, silently stabbed towards Olivia's back, aiming for her heart.
"You can go to your death with gratitude in your heart." Yebarton's icy voice sounded beside Olivia's ear.
But just as the blade was about to fall, time itself seemed to freeze. He seemed to hear the woman's leisurely words whispered beside his ear.
"That truly is a pity. However, many years ago, I did meet someone who called himself the 'Hidden Demon'..."
Hidden Demon?!
This title exploded violently within the depths of Yebarton's soul. He instantly felt his blood run cold.
This human had met his ancestor?