( Ben and Leo's POV )
The closer that Ben and Leo got to the Demon Whisperer's tent, the harder it became to pass through open distances undetected.
Even when the two of them were super fast and did their best to move without a sound, once they were inside an area full of high demons, everyone seemed to pick up sudden changes in their environment, almost on instinct.
Hence, whenever Leo and Ben made a sudden run that impacted the air currents, the scent of humans, or if a shadow caught the periphery of one of the high demon's eyes, they were immediately alerted and began searching for any signs of irregularities, which made Ben and Leo's mission frustratingly difficult.
The longer they took, the higher were the chances that someone stumbled upon the trail of dead bodies that they had left on their way, as although the two of them had thoroughly analyzed the guards patrol patterns and precisely picked the guards, killing whom will not alert anyone, the chances of someone stumbling upon a dead body eventually were still incredibly high.
'These demons have incredible survival instincts. Everytime we move, half a dozen high demons glance at our direction as if to see if something is wrong.
This mission is indeed not easy–' Leo thought to himself, as he noticed that it wasn't just one or two especially perceptive high demons who were spooked by their movements as almost every high demon in their vicinity seemed to share the same unbelievable instincts for danger.
Although demons were not particularly intelligent compared to humans in terms of general knowledge and development, they possessed an extraordinary sixth sense as warriors, likely stemming from their societal values.
In demon society, only the most formidable fighters earned the privilege to mate with females and hence, over generations, this led to the selective passing down of genes best suited for warfare.
Thus, taller, stronger demons with heightened sixth senses became the ideal mates, with high demons, in particular breeding like they were fine race-horses who refused to put their seed into a common demon/ farm horse.
Hence, although not the brightest, the high demons were excellent sentries that made the job of slipping into the Demon Whisperer's tent that much more difficult for Ben and Leo.
[ No killing from here on out. We move with speed and silence– ] Ben signaled to Leo, as Leo acknowledged the command with a nod.
The closer they got to the Demon Whisperer's tent, the harder it became to get away with murder and once they were close enough, Ben gave Leo the command to not kill any demon anymore, as doing so now would compromise the mission.
Instead, Ben focused on creating a distraction for him and Leo to exploit, using one of the human slaves coming out of the Demon Whisperer's tent as a prop.
The slave was walking absentmindedly, carrying a bundle of rags in his hands and Ben knew that he was the perfect target to choose because of how clumsy he looked while walking.
Ben knew that he needed to create a commotion without moving from his hidden location or drawing attention to himself and to do so, he already had the perfect tool in mind.
When observing the 'Grand Tournament' as a spectator, Ben was intrigued by the use of almost invisible threads by Jerome during his match against Leo, and after the tournament ended, he purchased a batch for his own use.
Today, faced by this situation, he carefully pulled out the small, nearly invisible thread from his pouch—and tied one end of the thread to a small, lightweight hook.
Timing his throw perfectly, he expertly flicked the hook towards the slave's bundle of rags, with the hook catching on to the fabric without the slave noticing.
Ben then carefully pulled the thread taut, positioning it at ankle height across the path where a high demon was patrolling.
The slave, oblivious to the thread now stretched across his path, continued his routine. As the high demon turned and began to walk back along its patrol route, Ben gave a slight tug on the thread, causing the slave to stumble forward directly into the path of the high demon.
The collision was immediate and dramatic. The slave fell heavily against the high demon, the bundle of rags scattering across the ground. The high demon roared in surprise and anger, shoving the slave away, while the other high demons, drawn by the noise, turned their attention to the commotion.
Accusations and angry growls erupted as the high demons argued and pushed each other, trying to understand what had happened. The slave, terrified and confused, scrambled to gather the scattered rags, only adding to the chaos.
Ben and Leo took advantage of the escalating confusion as with the high demons' attention diverted, they slipped past the distracted guards and moved silently towards the tent. Their movements being quick and precise, as they covered the final stretch to reach the demon whisperer's tent.
Reaching the entrance of the Demon Whisperer's tent, Ben paused for a moment to ensure they hadn't been detected.
Looking around, he found the high demons to be still squabbling over the incident, which gave him the satisfaction that the distraction had worked and that nobody suspected anything yet.
[ Let's go in boy, time to nab the guy ] Ben signaled to Leo, as the two infiltrated Eren's tent.
Meanwhile, the high demons, still engrossed in the chaotic scene outside, remained oblivious to the intruders, giving Ben and Leo the window of opportunity they needed to complete the most difficult part of this mission.
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/// A/N - It's 30 July, and I'm proud to announce that in the last 30 days, I have released a total of 100 chapters, averaging above the 3/day mark even with all the problems along the way.
It's been a challenging experience for me, especially since I write not one but two books a day, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! ///