Chapter 88 - 31: [Ederic’s Wall]

Chapter 88: Chapter 31: [Ederic’s Wall]

"It’s no big deal," Samael shook his head, answering in a low voice. "We’ll play it by ear and deal with it later."

The convoy passed the checkpoint inspection, and the captain paid the tariff for the demonization materials. Soon, they were moving forward again.

Passing through the Empire’s checkpoint, the winding road ahead led to prosperous towns on the horizon and golden fields of rolling wheat. Flocks of sheep buried their heads in the grass on a distant slope, their raised rears firing non-stop like chocolate-bean machine guns.

RRRGH... RRRGH... Accompanied by a low, beastly growl that sounded like rumbling wind, two desolate beasts lifted their rhino-like hooves. They opened giant jaws resembling bulldozers to reveal massive tusks, dragging a fortress-sized armored chariot to a halt at the edge of the Kana Wasteland.

CRACK! SNAP!

"Taqadama! Taqadama!" The two dark-brown-skinned Demonized men in blood-red leather armor at the front of the chariot cracked their long whips, lashing the desolate beasts and shouting in the language of the Eastern Desert. However, the beasts still refused to move forward.

"What’s going on?" an impatient growl rumbled from inside the chariot fortress.

The heavy doors of the chariot fortress slammed open. A brown-skinned figure emerged, holding a long whip fitted with barbs and a flying-blade tip. He wore a Gold-inlaid Long Curved Saber at his waist, and faint wisps of black smoke flared from his nostrils.

He possessed the light brown skin typical of the Eastern Desert, along with dark gold, lizard-like vertical pupils. Dark red scales covered his jaw and the sides of his face, and sharp fangs jutted from his lower teeth, making it look as though the jaw of a fire-breathing reptile had been grafted onto a human face.

He was clad in lightweight blood-red leather armor and matching leather boots, both lined with crimson scales and adorned with jingling Gold chains and pendants. A loose, Eastern-style white robe draped over his armor, revealing scarred brown muscles on his chest and abdomen through its wide opening.

This was the equipment style of the hot desert regions. The lightweight gear wouldn’t sink into the sand and hinder movement. The baggy white robe offered sun protection and breathability while shielding against sandstorms, and the exposed skin allowed for rapid heat dissipation during combat to prevent heatstroke.

"Musa-Salamander." The two Demonized men bowed respectfully. "We are approaching the Ederic wall ahead. The Empire’s War Mages are operating an Exorcism Array within the wall’s fortresses, and the desolate beasts are terrified."

The high-tier member of the Demon Race known as Musa narrowed his eyes, gazing at the distant Ederic Empire wall.

"The wall... those stupid contraptions of the Northern Men." A low rumble echoed from his throat, spilling sparks and black smoke from the corners of his mouth. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a Gold Compass that gleamed with a faint blue light.

In the center of the compass, a Quartz Tube held a single drop of blood. As the complex outer ring of scales rotated, the Gold needle, radiating a faint blue glow, pointed straight toward the city gate.

"She’s right there... She’s already entered the Ederic Empire, hoping to use the Northern Men’s soldiers to hold us back." Musa scrutinized the Witch Gold Compass’s direction and scales. "The Northern Men are blind donkeys. They can’t even spot a Mixed-blood Demon Race."

"The military strength at the front of the city gates is too formidable; we can’t force our way through," he said, stroking his scale-covered chin. "The Northern Men’s wall is a remnant of the Ancient Eudric Empire. It’s been in disrepair for years and has many collapsed sections. You two—follow the Northern Men’s border north for a while and scout for a collapsed area. We’ll find a way into the Empire through a breach in the border wall and continue hunting the Ronov."

"Musa-Pasha," the brown-skinned Demonized man reminded respectfully, "the Lord of Kana once warned us not to get too close to the Empire’s border."

CRACK! The Demonized man clutched his face, collapsing to the ground in agony. A jagged whip mark had torn his face to shreds. However, thanks to his constitution as a [Sand Dune Battle Scorpion] Demonized individual, his mangled flesh slowly began to heal. He cowered backward, not daring to utter another word.

"If we don’t retrieve Talia Ronov’s head soon, the Gawana Desert Tyrant will boil you alive in a pot of mutton." Musa retracted his bloody barbed whip. "And I’ll be reduced to chopping carrots and onions into your boiling pot just to shut you up. If we fail, Lord Sittika will no longer trust my abilities. I will lose his favor and be relegated to the Second Ring’s underground kitchen to stack charcoal, carve roast meat, and wash dishes while the rest of the Demon Race laughs at me."

"Now get lost and scout the way. Come back and report if anything goes wrong." He cracked his whip in the air, the sharp blade at its tip letting out a sharp JINGLE.

Not daring to delay any longer, the two Demonized men took off, hurrying north along the wall.

After traveling north for dozens of miles along the ancient Ederic wall, the two finally spotted a dilapidated breach in the wall through the shade of the trees.

The collapsed section of the wall lacked the tight defensive formations found at the city gates. However, large fortresses flying Ederic’s Sword Crown Banner were stationed at regular intervals along the Ederic Empire’s border, acting as border outposts.

"The border outposts shouldn’t notice smugglers..." the male Demonized man murmured.

The two carefully crossed the border line between two outpost fortresses, using the shade of the trees to conceal their figures as they sneaked in to scout.

The area around the outpost fortresses was inexplicably quiet, with no signs of patrolling soldiers. Only the gentle chirping of birds and the rustling footsteps of rabbits echoed among the low shrubs and small trees.

However, the moment they set foot inside, a bell mechanism—connected to a bubbling Magic Potion Bottle and a simple Magic Array—suddenly sprang up near their feet. In the next second, amidst a blinding flash of blue light, the bells began ringing furiously!