Chapter 1137: Section 1138: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
As Angel pondered in the shadows, the battle had already reached its end.
Fafnir swung her arm, sending a Wind Blade to dispatch the last minor demon before slowly descending from midair to the ground.
At this moment, the ground within a hundred meters was littered with blood and flesh remnants.
After Fafnir landed, her expression was somewhat grim. Although the strengths of these minor demons were not significant, their reckless and fearless way of fighting had given her some trouble.
Furthermore, Fafnir also had an inkling that Canaan might be right; another force seemed to be manipulating these minor demons from the shadows. This was where Fafnir felt confused. If the hidden hand in the darkness truly aimed for Angel, it was entirely capable of acting on its own, yet it chose not to, preferring instead to manipulate the minor demons to act. Was it being overly cautious, or was it… diverting her attention or weakening her strength?
Or perhaps, both?
Of course, all this assumed that the target of the other party was Angel.
Nevertheless, Fafnir couldn’t understand why such a powerful opponent, evident in its manipulation of the minor demons, would have such a fixation on Angel.
Fafnir couldn’t figure it out, but she knew that regardless of whether their aim was Angel or not, this was definitely not the end.
Without voicing her thoughts, Fafnir signaled Angel with a look and continued walking expressionlessly toward the core area.
Angel and Canaan immediately followed her.
When they were about to reach the Void Tower, they were ambushed yet again, this time by a number of demons similar to before. Canaan still took cover, and Angel stood still without moving away from the gentle breeze’s range.
Everything seemed the same as before.
But Angel felt vaguely that something was different. However, he couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly had changed.
Until a minute later.
As Fafnir fought fiercely in the distance, Angel suddenly realized something—why were there no demons attempting to ambush him this time?
Every previous time, there had been demons attacking him stealthily, but now, it seemed as if the ambushing demons had vanished?
While Angel thought so, he suddenly smelled a strange stench coming with the breeze that surrounded him. As he wondered, the gentle wind abruptly vanished, and at the back of his neck, he felt a foul, hot breath.
Ambush! By the time Angel realized this, the breeze had disappeared exceedingly fast!
Fafnir, too, sensed that the breeze had dissipated; she quickly turned her head and saw a dark shadow behind Angel—and that figure wasn’t a minor demon!
Curved horns, a beard blown by the wind, sinister eyes, and legs with muscles on the verge of exploding.
This was a Sheep Demon!
Moreover, the speed at which it had broken through the breeze indicated that it was at least an Intermediate-Rank Sheep Demon at the peak of its power!
“So the true intention was to divert my attention before making a move?” Fafnir thought, and in an instant, she turned into a gust of wind rushing towards Angel.
However, the Sheep Demon had come prepared to fast break through the breeze and reach Angel’s back without making a sound.
“Huh—” After a gush of air, its two muscular legs, swollen to the point of bursting, suddenly bulged with countless veins, looking extremely terrifying.
Seeing this scene, Fafnir instantaneously realized it was a Sheep Demon known for its speed!
This type of Sheep Demon could move so fast they could even tear through the void, and most importantly, their speed stemmed from physical strength, which meant they had considerable endurance! Their speed also brought immense explosive power, making such Sheep Demons extremely difficult to deal with!
Even someone of Fafnir’s caliber felt uncomfortable facing this type of demon because the Sheep Demon’s speed was too swift, and even if she could kill it, the effort and time spent were entirely disproportionate!
If Angel were intercepted by it, it would be incredibly difficult for Fafnir to catch up.
“Damn it!” Fafnir cursed, using even greater strength, so fast that she nearly turned into a dark arrow tearing through the sky, hoping to avert the interception of Angel before it happened.
However, Fafnir’s speed was ultimately slower than the Sheep Demon, who had planned in advance.
The Sheep Demon curled its lips, speaking in Demon Language,
“It’s over.”
The next moment, the Sheep Demon placed its hand on Angel’s shoulder, and its hooves turned into mist, vanishing instantly.
Canaan, hiding behind a building’s fence, peeked out stealthily and witnessed the scene. A look of dismay crossed Canaan’s eyes as it muttered without thinking: “It’s over…”
Fafnir’s thoughts were similar to Canaan’s; she had indeed considered the possibility that the opponent wanted her to let her guard down, but when she began to fight, she had forgotten about it! This made her feel helpless, with even more complex emotions stirring inside her.
As it looked like the mission for Odeclass might be interrupted, Fafnir felt very upset.
All she could do was to chase with all her might.
But just then, the situation took an unexpected turn!
“What’s going on? Where did he go?” the Sheep Demon up ahead suddenly stopped, exclaiming loudly.
As Fafnir looked on with bewilderment, she heard heavy breathing near her: “Huff… lucky I ran fast.”
Fafnir glanced back and saw Angel’s soul returning to his body.
She was momentarily stunned, then remembered the aura of a certain Law she had sensed on Angel and instantly understood.
At this moment, Angel felt relieved. Fortunately, the Sheep Demon only wanted to intercept him, so it had not released any imposing aura. With no pressure bearing down on him, he had used the Gravity Meridian to escape, and even with the Sheep Demon’s speed, it couldn’t react in time.
Once Angel returned to his body, he immediately stowed away the Frostsphere. The reason he had waited until the last moment to run was that he had released an extra Hand of Magic after activating the Path of Soul Threads, to prevent any issues with the Frostsphere.
Fafnir, watching Angel fuss over the Frostsphere, went from being dazed to wanting to laugh. But she knew this wasn’t the time to laugh and sternly told Angel, “Stay behind me from now on.”
The gentle breeze that had been winding around Angel was broken, evidently making Fafnir feel like she had lost face. This time, she cast a small Domain of Wind and then raised her head to gaze at the Sheep Demon in the distance, shocked.
Not only was the Sheep Demon shocked, but Canaan, hiding on the side, was also surprised to see Angel.
Canaan still didn’t understand how Angel had managed to escape.
Although Canaan didn’t grasp it, it couldn’t help but reflect inwardly, “The shop owner really is something…” Capable of creating an awakening journey that could stimulate a Demon’s awakening, and daring to open a shop in Lassudral, he really wasn’t simple at all.
With the Sheep Demon having failed to capture him, relying on the previous method to catch Angel was obviously no longer viable.
And against Fafnir, it was definitely no match.
So, the Sheep Demon’s final choice was to temporarily retreat.
The Sheep Demon ran off, its figure quickly becoming a dot and disappearing into the distance. Fafnir didn’t chase after it, knowing full well that pursuing it might just lead to more trouble.
After all, Lassudral was now like a birdcage ablaze in a fierce fire; escape was impossible. No matter where you ran, in the end, you would have to return to the Void Tower.
After the Sheep Demon left, Canaan asked quietly, “Should it be over now?”
“Over? Maybe not,” Fafnir shook her head.
She knew very well that the Sheep Demon was a tenacious opponent, but definitely not the one controlling the lesser Demons to intercept them.
Canaan: “Will they still come after us?”
By now, the enemy had lost a significant number of Demons. In such a situation, it was impossible for them to give up so easily. Judging by their tenacity, Fafnir had a feeling they would come again soon.
However, this time, when they reached the edge of the Shadow Mist Area, they encountered no resistance.
They sensed the presence of some Demons along the way, but none dared to show themselves. Clearly, these Demons had previously witnessed Fafnir’s bloody methods from the shadows.
The Shadow Mist Area had vanished by now, but there were still many Demons lingering nearby. However, when they approached, all these Demons scattered.
Only one big figure remained on the field.
Angel thought he had encountered another Demon blocking their path, but unexpectedly, he heard a familiar shout instead, “I thought it was someone else, turns out it’s the shop owner~”
Angel looked up in confusion, the backlight casting a halo around the large figure. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust before Angel saw the true face of the figure: a slightly dark-skinned giant Demon with a seductively shaped Succubus sitting on its shoulder.
It was none other than Jinn and Gruda, whom Fafnir had spotted earlier through the wind.
“Jinn,” Angel nodded in greeting.
Then the giant Gruda pointed at Angel and let out a resounding hum, “The order I received before was to capture him.”
Gruda’s words made Angel’s expression change.
However, Jinn said, “So your target was the shop owner… That’s a bit unfortunate. My awakening is all thanks to the shop owner’s efforts.”
After speaking, Jinn stuck out her tongue and gently licked Gruda’s ear, “Are you sure you still want to capture him?”
Gruda’s body stiffened for a moment but said nothing.
Jinn continued, “If you want to capture the shop owner, Lady Fafnir next to him will take action, you know. I won’t be helping at that time. So, are you sure you still want to capture him?”
After a moment of silence, Gruda stepped aside to clear a path.
Fafnir gave Jinn a cold glance and walked towards the Shadow Mist Area without a word. Angel followed suit.
As he passed by Gruda, Jinn whispered, “The only one who can command Gruda is a Great Demon… Well, a Great Demon who has nothing to do with me.”
Angel paused, nodded at Jinn in acknowledgement, and thanked her.
They continued their march towards the Void Tower as Jinn and Gruda remained without taking any action.
It was only after Jinn and Gruda were left behind that Canaan spoke up in a low voice, “Jinn definitely knew beforehand that Gruda’s target was the shop owner.”
Angel nodded; he had seen that much.
“So putting on a flirtatious act and stopping Gruda was all a play to get the shop owner to owe her a favor. Such shamelessness,” Canaan said indignantly.
Angel wasn’t too concerned, “It doesn’t matter, the outcome was good. Besides, Jinn did provide some useful information.”