One of Simon’s reason for picking Velmora City and not another city was because of a major ingredient he needed to evolve his one-horned demon bloodline into a Daemon bloodline.
The nine hundred and ninety nine (999) demon hearts of two-horned demons.
The Darkness Kingdom was a kingdom that was ruled by Two-Horned Winged Demons.
Simon wanted to obtain more information in Velmora City so that he’d know where he could find a settlement of two-horned demons he could kill.
He was not planning on destroying Velmora City since that would be beyond him with his current level.
However, Velmora City was the closest city to Vashar City in the Darkness Kingdom, and he planned on using the city to figure out the location of one of the main ingredients for his bloodline evolution.
But to his surprise and disbelief... A rift was opening near Velmora City.
A rift to Earth was nearby, and an invasion into Earth was on the horizon.
It was so sudden for Simon, and he truly shaken when he heard the conversation of the four demons.
The opportunity to go back to Earth left a strange feeling in his heart.
It was not something he thought about often, and whenever he thought about it, he subconsciously believed that he would only go back to Earth when he was strong enough to kill his past comrades or if a group of humans somehow encountered him in the demon realm and he decided to wipe out the remnants of that group on Earth.
Although Simon was taken aback by the revelation of an invasion and a rift, he knew what he was going to do.
He was going to join the invasion.
For quite a number of reasons.
Simon shifted his gaze toward Mira.
"Did you know about the rift, recruitment, and invasion?"
Mira shook her head.
"No. I had no idea Velmora City was preparing a recruitment, and I definitely didn’t know they were planning to invade Earth."
She frowned slightly.
"This is the first time I’m hearing about it."
Simon looked at her for a few seconds, then looked away.
Mira wanted to ask why he reacted strangely when he heard the demons talk about Earth, but she stopped herself.
She was certain that Simon would definitely not answer her.
Or rather, he would have spoke more about it if he wanted to.
The carriage moved forward again.
The line was shorter now, and the massive gate of Velmora was only a short distance away. The guards were checking carriages quickly, but not carelessly.
When it was finally their turn, two guards approached the carriage.
One went to speak with the driver, while the other walked to the side of the carriage, opened the door and swept his gaze across the carriage’s interior.
His gaze moved over Mira, Devia, Brukk, and Orven first.
Then it landed on Simon, Sonya, and Akaza.
The guard paused.
The guard was a Supreme Archfiend, but to his slight disbelief, he was struggling to sense their exact rank.
He was not blind though.
He had met demons like these before, and after observing them a little bit more, he realized that they were Archfiends like him so he relaxed a little bit.
However, Akaza and Sonya’s calmness and nonchalance slightly bothered him.
Simon’s aura felt unstable and weak, but for some reason, the guard did not like looking at his eyes.
"Passengers from Vashar?" the guard asked.
The driver quickly replied,
"Yes. Paid passengers. Heading into Velmora."
"Goods?"
"Only personal belongings."
The guard looked at the bloodstains on the side of the carriage.
"What happened?"
The driver swallowed.
"We encountered bandits on the road."
The guard’s eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"Two days away from the first resting point. More than twenty of them."
The guard looked at the passengers again.
"And you survived?"
The driver did not know how to answer for a moment, then his gaze subconsciously moved toward Akaza.
The guard noticed.
Akaza sensed their gaze but his eyes remained closed. He did not speak.
The guard stared at him for a few seconds, then looked at Simon and Sonya.
The atmosphere became slightly tense.
Mira’s hands were clenched.
Devia lowered her head, pretending she had nothing to do with anything.
Brukk and Orven did the same.
Simon calmly met the guard’s gaze.
The guard was silent for a moment before he spoke.
"Entry fee. Ten hell stones per carriage. Two hell stones per passenger."
The driver immediately released a breath of relief.
Mira also relaxed slightly.
Simon’s expression remained indifferent.
Mira and her companions paid for themselves, while Simon paid for himself, Akaza, and Sonya.
The guard collected the hell stones and gave each of them a black token with a faint rune on it.
"This is your identity token. Pour your demonic energy into it so that it’ll have your signature. If patrols ask for it and you don’t have it, you’ll pay a hundred hell stones to get another one."
The driver nodded repeatedly.
"Understood."
The guard stepped back, then waved his hand.
"Move."
The carriage entered Velmora City.
The moment they passed through the gate, the noise changed.
It became louder, heavier, and more alive.
The road inside the city was wide enough for several carriages to move side by side. Tall buildings stood on both sides, some made of dark stone, some with wooden balconies, and some with glowing signs hanging above their entrances.
Demons moved everywhere.
Merchants shouted prices.
Beast handlers dragged stubborn creatures through the road.
Guards stood at street corners, and patrols moved in groups of five.
The air was filled with the smell of roasted meat, smoke, metal, beast blood, herbs, and demonic energy.
This was Velmora.
Sonya looked outside and smiled.
"This place is definitely better. I can sense stronger demons already."
Akaza opened his eyes.
"Don’t bring us any unnecessary trouble."
Sonya scoffed.
"No promises."
Simon ignored them as usual and watched the streets silently.
However, his mind was on quite a number of things, especially the recruitment and invasion.