Descendants of Nobility

At midnight, the city's defensive barrier stood watch, glowing faintly gold as it kept the wind and snow completely at bay.

Qiongfang City was silent at this hour. Only the cold white streetlamps stood along the roads, watching quietly over the peaceful city.

Unlike Chen City, where the climate was relatively warm, Qiongfang City sat at a higher elevation and had lower temperatures.

Although development and construction in recent years had made travel by road much easier, the harsh conditions outside Qiongfang City still put off many merchants and tourists.

As a result, commerce developed slowly within the city, and there was little entertainment at night. Residents usually went home shortly after dark.

Lou Shisui was walking along a deserted, empty street. He had slipped out of the trading company's dormitory building.

The Youhe Trading Company provided lodging for caravan personnel, an employee benefit written into their contracts. Those below the Fifth Realm shared four-person dormitories, while those above the Fifth Realm got private rooms.

Shisui moved through the streets and alleys, reconstructing the three-dimensional layout of Qiongfang City from the map in his head and the routes he had taken making deliveries that day.

He was also looking around for the "rats" hiding in the gutters.

In no time, he found a group of wanderers beneath a bridge.

There weren't many of them, seven or eight at a glance. Dressed in rags and wrapped in discarded cardboard and newspapers, they huddled together for warmth.

This Demon Race city was built at varying elevations, so gaps had inevitably been left between buildings to keep them from interfering with one another.

Those dark gaps didn't go to waste. They were filled with homeless demons from the lowest rung of society.

Demon Race society was shaped like a pyramid. In a place where resources were concentrated in the upper class, there was never any shortage of exploited wanderers at the bottom.

Shisui needed those numerous, inconspicuous people.

Blade Scales carrying the [Bone-Deep Rot] toxin fell, quietly crawling onto the wanderers' bodies and slipping inside them to lie dormant.

He crossed the bridge without deliberately lingering. The night was still long, and there were many places he had yet to visit.

Apart from a few oddballs looking for thrills, some thieves taking desperate risks, and people with ulterior motives like Shisui, there was another group that roamed Qiongfang City at night.

They were the Demon Race's Qiongfang City night patrol.

They belonged to the city defense forces, but compared to the regular troops on the walls, this team not only rotated through four shifts a day but also had a particularly easy and comfortable job.

As for why... these idle street loafers were all descendants of nobility.

Those who knew, knew.

At that moment, three young demons wearing patrol armbands were sauntering beneath the streetlights, a bunch of ornaments jingling at their waists.

Their similar animal features meant they were most likely related by blood.

They had been wandering the empty streets for a long time, looking for a target to hunt that night while passing the time.

"Big brother, it's already two. Let's just pick a target."

"Yeah! We'll have to stop once the visiting delegation arrives in a couple of days, so we'd better hurry up and enjoy ourselves!"

"Let's patrol a little longer. There have been a lot of tourists lately, so some might still be awake."

"Ah, there's nothing to do here at night. Eight times out of ten, they're all asleep too."

"Yeah. I remember there are little ones in that alley over there. How about we pick them tonight?"

"Tsk, the little ones have good meat, but how would we divide them up? Don't forget, we have to bring some back for everyone else."

"Don't be so impatient. There's a whole litter over there, about seventeen or eighteen."

"All right! Let's pick them, then."

Talking about the displaced demon children, the three headed straight for a pitch-black alley.

There, eighteen young orphans were curled up together, a jumble of discarded junk barely forming a shelter around them.

But how could that trash possibly stop three adult demons?

"Thump."

The sound of the obstacle being pushed aside was quieter than expected. With a mere wave of his hand, one of the young men exposed the children in the pile of trash.

"Who are you? Help—"

"Third brother, make it quick."

"Fuck, you little bastard, what the hell are you yelling for?"

The cardboard and scrap around them blocked the demon children as they struggled to escape, leaving them unable even to call for help.

Just a moment ago, this had been a temporary haven where they could rest for a while. Now it had become a hell that trapped them inside.

"Boss, how about a barbecue tonight?"

"Sure!"

The three demons wantonly snapped the homeless demon children's necks, letting crimson stain the alley floor.

All the while, they merely talked about cooking techniques, as though what lay before them wasn't their own kind but livestock.

Each of the three carried several corpses that still retained some warmth as they walked out of the alley.

Just as the Human Race firmly believed in eating an organ to nourish the corresponding one, demons also believed that "you are what you eat."

This pastime had grown alongside the system of nobility and been passed down for over five hundred years, gradually evolving into the eating of their own kind.

The younger demon could hardly restrain himself. He sneaked a bite, and bright red ran onto the ground.

"Third brother, don't leave too many traces."

"Second brother, tell the people at the city gate to temporarily shut off the security system."

The city wall's defenses couldn't allow unregistered corpses through.

At the same time, to cover up what they had done that night, they had to take the corpses back to their station for disposal.

So they could only tell someone they knew to temporarily "cut the power" and shut down the wall's detection system.

"Tsk, we're in for a feast tonight."

"Have the first team clean up afterward. If they want a share, they should at least do their part."

"Hey~ How about I clean up for you?"

A voice spoke from above them in a playful tone. The three looked up sharply and spotted Shisui sitting on the eaves, where he had been for who knew how long.

He had actually arrived long ago. He had only wanted to see whether he could use the three of them to explore the city wall at night.

A Ghoul's sense of smell could easily pick up the scent of blood from far away. Shisui had smelled it as soon as they began attacking the wanderers.

"Who are you, sir?"

Shisui ignored him and jumped straight down from the eaves.

"Whoa, you guys are filthy."

In the alley and on the street, scarlet-red splashes and trails wound everywhere, as though they had been smeared there deliberately as a prank.

The instant Shisui landed, his Blade Scales whipped out cleanly.

"Psh! Crack, crack, crack—"

After the faint, hair-raising sound of bones cracking had continued for a while, three brand-new, flawless puppets were ready.

How interesting. The city gate's detection system could actually be switched on and off manually!

And even this bunch of trash who hadn't reached the Seventh Realm could access it!

Qiongfang City's defenses really were eager to advance!

Looks like I got lucky tonight. I ran into some young masters out looking for food, and now I have a chance to slip inside and take a look.

Shisui thoughtfully cleaned up the traces the noble masters had left at the scene, then led his puppets toward the city gate at an unhurried pace.