Chapter 77

It wasn't exactly a secret, Xiu Er revealed the reason without even thinking.

—In the explanation by Xiu Er—

After Xiu Er's simple and easy-to-understand description, the two apprentices finally understood the whole story.

At this point, the two people reacted differently.

Volumen remained calm, while Takuson became agitated immediately after learning that someone was plotting against Xiu Er; in simpler terms, he was almost at the red-hot threshold.

Because of his relationship with Xiu Er, Takuson always puts Shul first in his heart.

Now that he knows someone is plotting against Xiu Er, how could he possibly stand it?

"That damned Demon, I will personally cut off his head."

"Brother Takuson, calm down. Look, even Teacher Xiu Er didn't say anything."

Xiu Er looked at Takuson calmly, his face showing no sign of anger about the matter.

"..."

Xiu Er didn't say anything, because he had seen this situation many times before. Whenever it involved his own affairs, Takuson was always more excited than he was.

Xiu Er had reminded him of this several times, but to little avail.

Furthermore, although he was quite excited, Takuson was able to complete his tasks and fights in an orderly manner, so Xiu Er stopped saying anything.

"Sister, there are people ahead."

Volumen, who had been using the [Detection Magic], immediately reported the situation to Xiu Er after discovering that there were people ahead.

However, when she sent people out, Xiu Er had already ascertained the number and characteristics of the target individuals.

There are three individuals in total: two humans and... one Demon?

As Xiu Er analyzed the intelligence he had obtained, he realized that it was an inconceivable thing for humans and Demon to be together, and there must be some reason for it.

They got even closer, entering Xiu Er's audio inspection range.

"Sir, that village is just ahead. We hope you can leave us some when we get there."

"..."

"Brother, aren't Demon full of lies? Can we really believe them?"

"Of course we can't believe that, but we have no choice but to do it to survive."

"By the way, have you seen a human girl with blue-purple hair?"

"Huh? Blue-purple hair... No, I've never seen that before."

"Really? Then you're useless."

"Sizzle—"

"What are you doing, sir?!"

"Brother! You damned Demon, I'll fight you to the death—..."

"..."

The above is the audio that Xiu Er intercepted in real time.

Two lives disappeared, and Volumen immediately noticed this.

"Sister, I don't know why two people are suddenly missing. Could they have gone into hiding?"

"[Negative] Make preparations for engaging the enemy."

Xiu Er didn't explain anything. He simply reminded his two disciples and then immediately opened a golden passage, walking in and disappearing from their sight.

Takuson and Volumen exchanged glances, looking at the Golden Gate that was so familiar to them. The fact that the passage was open meant that it was reserved specifically for them.

Although they didn't know what had happened, the two still followed in Xiu Er's footsteps.

When they crossed the passage and came to the other side, the scene that came into view was that Xiu Er was flying in the air, but his small hands were gripping the neck of a "person" who was much taller than himself.

No, the pair of giant horns on that person's head indicate that the other party is a Demon.

At this moment Xiu Er was flying in the air, strangling a Demon.

Besides that, there were two humanoid corpses lying on the ground nearby, charred and burned by electricity.

The culprit behind all this is already obvious.

"You... are the one Lord Shulahart spoke of..."

Even though his body was under control, the Demon did not care about his own safety. Instead, he immediately confirmed Xiu Er's features, but the latter did not let him continue speaking.

Instantly, he used [Memory Search], extracting everything the other party knew, and then golden light gathered in the hand that was choking his neck.

After blasting the Demon's head apart, Xiu Er landed in front of his two disciples who were watching the spectacle.

"So, teacher, what new things have you learned?"

Takuson knew exactly what Xiu Er had done.

"[Doubt] No results were found."

"?"

"[Supplement] Aside from knowing that Shulahart sent them to intercept us, we gained nothing."

This Demon was unaware of the inside story, and when Shulahart sent him to his death, he didn't reveal much information.

The only information available is his personal address.

The Demon named Shulahart was no longer in the Demon King's Castle, but was hiding somewhere far to the east of the Demon King's Castle. However, without coordinates, he could not directly open a "Teleportation Gate" to reach the other party.

Moreover, this memory has no expiration date; the information about Shulahart in it is from half a month ago.

It looked like he was escaping Xiu Er's pursuit, but... it was more like a lure, deliberately leading him away from the direction of the Demon King's Castle.

However, the current intelligence is still too limited, Xiu Er is still unable to deduce Shulahart's specific purpose.

He needs more information.

Pfft—

Pulling the Battle Axe from the corpse, Takuson ignored the Demon corpse gradually turning to ashes on the ground. He looked at the sky and recalled his recent experiences.

Another half month has passed.

In these short ten days or so, the number of attacks from the Demon gradually increased.

Now, their three-person team is facing harassment from countless Demon teams.

After defeating each enemy, Xiu Er would search their memories to determine Shulahart's coordinates.

Now that Xiu Er has enough information, he has also deduced Shulahart's general purpose.

All the intelligence gathered along the way was intentionally orchestrated by the other side.

The purpose was to lure him, Xiu Er, to a specific location, and the fact that they were willing to sacrifice so many Demons for this showed that they already had a trump card to deal with him.

But what exactly it is, is unclear, and Xiu Er is very curious.

However, he had made thorough preparations and was determined to ensure that Shulahart would not return alive!

What you prepare yourself will surely bring an unexpected surprise to the other person.

"Teacher, I feel like the number of Demon ambushing us has been increasing lately. There are at least a dozen groups of Demon coming towards us."

Although he had killed many Demon before, Takuson felt he couldn't withstand such a drain after fighting dozens of Demons in half a month without Xiu Er's logistical support.

"I feel the same way."

Volumen chimed in from the side. Under Xiu Er's tutelage, her powerful talent began to shine, and Volumen had mastered a lot of Magic, was already resembling the character from the original story.

When facing Demon, they are always in a state of complete ease.

But after experiencing these past few days, she also sensed that something was wrong.

"I always felt that these Demons were plotting something."

"[Agree]"

"The teacher noticed it too, as expected."

Since Xiu Er has already discovered the problem, why should he accept the other party's scheme?

Volumen was worried, but Takuson was not worried at all, because he believed that his teacher could easily solve any problem he encountered.

And that Shulahart will regret daring to provoke his teacher.

"[Confirmed] Coordinates have been analyzed and the target location has been successfully located."

This time, the Demon's memories contained Shulahart's specific coordinates, so it seemed that the other party was finally ready to meet with him.

The two-week-long tug-of-war was actually not a big deal to Xiu Er.

Because his Codex of the Whispers have nearly 100% accuracy in their analysis of this world.

No matter how much the other party tries to stall for time, Xiu Er can directly locate their position.

And this is something that Shulahart, who can foresee the future, will surely understand. His time is running out, which is why the current situation exists.

Having confirmed the coordinates, Xiu Er opened a passage to Shulahart without hesitation. A teleportation portal spanning space appeared before him, and Shulahart would be behind the door.

But before opening the "door," Xiu Er made a choice.

"[Notification] Takuson, Volumen, you don't need to come along."

"Huh?" x2

Takuson and Volumen were both dumbfounded.

No, why are we suddenly going to keep them here?

"I don't know, "Xiu Er said without offering an explanation. After leaving those words behind, he opened the passage at a speed that the two of them couldn't even see, and plunged inside without giving them any time to react.

When they tried to persuade him to stay, Xiu Er had already disappeared.

"Uh..."

Volumen glanced at Takuson beside him, his eyes seeming to ask what to do.

"I'm useless, I don't know either."

Takuson was quite decisive.

"In short, trust your teacher."

"At this point, this is the only way."

Volumen, who originally intended to use his wrist to directly search for Xiu Er's coordinates, also discovered that his connection with Xiu Er had been severed.

If he's already in this state, then Takuson probably won't be able to escape it either.

In other words, Xiu Er was prepared to face the enemy alone this time.

How could they, as his disciples, change Xiu Er's decision?

Since that's the case, we can only wait for news from Xiu Er, just as Takuson said.

At the same time.

Crossing Golden Gate, the scenery before my eyes changed dramatically in an instant.

The eerie atmosphere emanated a strong sense of foreboding, and countless Magic, each with a powerful sealing effect, were cast on the floor beneath their feet.

However, the moment Xiu Er stepped into this place, the instant his foot touched the ground, all the "sealing" Magic became ineffective.

A Demon stood in the center of the space, unmoved by Xiu Er's arrival, as if quietly accepting his fate.

This person was none other than Shulahart, the Demon individual that Xiu Er had been chasing for the past two weeks.

He raised his head and calmly observed Xiu Er's face.