( Meanwhile within the Demon Capital )
The situation within the Demon Capital was the exact opposite from StrongHaven City, with the general populace celebrating the victorious return of their King after he destroyed a human city.
For the Demons, this was the first time that many had seen their king take action personally and everyone was eager to hear tales of how legendary the battle was.
Naturally, the general population had to wait for the news to reach them, however, the court members got it first.
Of the 12 Demon Counts that flew with the king only 9 returned, and the first question that everyone had was about how those three Demon Counts died.
"We thought that the humans were nothing but weaklings, since once King Anos attacked, most just fled the city without even having the spine to defend it. However, we were wrong.
There are some powerful warriors amongst the human ranks too and one of them fights like a ghost–" said one of the Demon Counts who had flown into battle with the King, as he shivered slightly at the memory of Ben Faulkner.
"He came at us out of nowhere, finishing even the strongest fighters within seconds before disappearing into the shadows again.
He was so powerful that he even managed to scratch the King.
Of Course he was no match for our King, but the fact that he could land a hit was still very impressive.
The King entrusted us with one job, which was to kill him, however, we failed miserably–" The demon count added, as he hung his head in shame.
Those who heard this tale could not believe that there existed warriors within the human ranks who were strong enough to kill Demon Counts within seconds. As the counts were the next strongest warriors in Demon Society after the Demon King himself.
"So the humans have not lost their way…. Perhaps strong warriors like those during the ancient war still exist within their ranks–" A demon count who did not have the honor of joining the king in battle said, as he fantasized about dangerous wars that were to come in the future.
"Conquering human lands is going to be challenging for sure.
They don't only have their weapons to rely upon. They also have some genuine fighters within their ranks" Another Demon Count said, as instead of getting demoralized the blood thirsty demons got excited by the thought of facing worthy opponents.
"And what about the King? How strong is the King?" A young Demon Count asked, as the demons who had followed King Anos in battle, all sighed collectively.
"The king…. He's even more powerful than we assume him to be.
The black dragon he rides can easily kill all of us Demon Counts alone, however, the King might be even stronger than the Black Dragon…..
He's simply in a power realm of his own" A demon count said, as everyone within the throne room gasped at this revelation.
All of them knew that the King was strong…. Just his aura alone was much stronger than an average Demon Count, however, nobody really knew just how strong he was until now.
"The King struck down an enemy, no weaker than a Demon Count level fighter with a simple flick of his wrist.
That man had unleashed his strongest attack on our lord, which was extremely formidable, however, not only did the King defeat his attack, but he also obliterated the enemy to ashes without even breaking a sweat.
It was truly breathtaking to witness…." Another Demon Count added, as the status of Anos as the supreme fighter had been successfully cemented in the minds of all Demons today.
For a while, the upper echelons of demon society discussed a bit more about the attack and how the humans must be cowering in fear by now, before dispersing as they awaited for the King to issue his next instructions for them all tomorrow.
**********
( Meanwhile Leo )
With the route passing through the Elven Forest back to the Eastern Duchy being closed because of the unexpected Elven rebellion, Ben and Leo were forced to take the long route back home, which unfortunately added two more days of uneventful traveling to their schedule.
On one hand, this worked out perfectly for Leo, who could not stay awake and use his brain properly with all the splitting headaches he was suffering from, however, on the other hand, his worsening condition daily became a source of genuine concern for his master Ben, who could not understand the reason behind his sudden odd behavior and the constant desire to sleep 24x7.
"What's wrong with you boy? Ever since we have left Thumba City you have been acting weird" Ben inquired, as Leo pushed up his groggy head and looked into Ben's eyes with great difficulty.
"Travel sickness master….. for some reason I've picked it up" Leo replied, as Ben felt helpless as he heard this response.
The two of them were elite level assassins who could even kill Demon Counts, and to see one of them defeated from something as petty as travel sickness was truly frustrating for Ben.
"You're no fun boy…. I quite miss the company of miss Sophia now, at least she would help kill my boredom" Ben complained, as Leo simply ignored his words and went back to sleep.
Just the thought of having to log out of this game and perform that stupid meditation for 6 hours more made him want to kill himself, however, he had no other choice but to do it.
Meditation was the secret to unlock the path to becoming a master and to the rapid mastery of his skills and hence even if he did not enjoy doing it, Leo knew that he had to do it anyhow.
Thankfully, for the first few days where the meditation was the most brutal on him, he did not need to focus much on gaming too and could spend his entire day sleeping within Terra Nova Online, as the rest he got during his gaming hours helped him a lot to stay fresh during the torture hours.