As a villain, I really don't want to be pursued by the heroine.

"I'm sorry I can't keep you company!"

Everyone's accusing gazes fell on Barkris, who was so aggrieved that his beard wilted.

However, the [Sage] Booker looked serious and thought for a while.

--------

The great hall of Cassandra's house.

The beautiful woman with purple hair and purple eyes lay quietly on the altar in the center of the auditorium with a lifeless face.

However, Diabolos, who was half-kneeling on the ground, had no time to pay attention to her.

Two shadows appeared above his head.

In one of the beams of light and shadow, the blazing demonic flames outlined a huge and majestic figure.

That was the monarch that Diabolos was loyal to, one of the Four Heavenly Kings second only to the Demon King, the Flame Demon, Ifrit.

"After more than a decade of planning, you should have offered me the bloodline of the Imperial Snake. But what's going on with this farce?"

Facing the monarch's question, without waiting for Diabolos to answer, the old man in another group of light and shadow smiled coldly - the leader of the dark demons who had just finished the society meeting.

"Sir, isn't this obvious? Your men aren't as reliable as you think."

"Human! It's obviously your intelligence that's wrong! Lyanna's promotion is faster than expected, but what about that adventurer? You didn't mention that kind of guy would appear!" Diabolos raised his head and asked with his eyes wide open.

"If a mere adventurer can't handle it, the Demon Tribe's cadres are just like that."

"Human, don't think you can just... in front of adults..."

"enough."

An impatient sigh was heard as the terrifying surge of Xiong Ran's energy spread out, causing the two people in the dispute to hold their breath at the same time.

"Accidents are inevitable, so there are no perfect plans in the world, but..."

Looking at Diabolos's broken right arm, the Fire Demon suddenly changed the subject.

"Scars are not shameful, what is shameful is defeat. The demon race does not need losers."

"Answer me, Diabolos, is the human who hurt you still alive?"

Diabolos only felt a terrifying power coming from the projection, and his heart suddenly felt hot and painful, as if it was firmly grasped by a flaming devil's palm.

That was an unequal contract bestowed by the Demon Lord.

In essence, it is the same as the cultists sacrificing their own and others' lives in exchange for the evil god's support.

Except for very few bloodlines, any extraordinary power requires a price to be paid.

It is both a reward for strength and a shackle on life.

This allowed Diabolos to use the magic flame, but he was also controlled by the Fire Demon. The other party only needed to think and burn him from the inside out.

To the demons, the defeated will only turn into dust and will no longer be worthy of being used by the monarch.

But Diabolos grinned.

"Please rest assured, sir. The sword strike that human used with all his might, even at the cost of his life, was far less fatal than the one I inflicted."

"With the frail body of a low-level transcendent, he would have bled to death by now!"

At the same level, humans are generally weaker than demons. Furthermore, with injuries so severe, even throwing them into a holy water pond wouldn't save them.

Not to mention humans, even a demon or a dragon would surely die if their chest or abdomen were pierced.

Hearing this, the Flame Demon nodded slightly.

Diabolos sighed in relief after confirming that the burning pain in his heart had subsided.

Chapter 117: A Fatal Wound

"You haven't brought shame to the demon clan." The Fire Demon snorted lightly, with no intention of pursuing the matter.

"However, the plan must continue."

"Whatever the magician learns to do, Lyanna Cassandra, the blood in her must be mine!"

Diabolos bowed his head and said, "As you wish."

"I will try my best to make some changes to the reinforcements sent by the society, but it won't last too long." After the leader of the dark demons finished speaking, he ended the communication first.

When only the king and his minister were left, Diabolos finally spoke up to remind them.

"Sir, that human has been secretly manipulating things and colluding with the cultists. He cannot be trusted—"

"I know. How can we trust each other with different species?"

The Flame Demon murmured with disdain, "All humans seek is power."

"No matter what he wants to do, as long as he can bring me the bloodline of the Imperial Snake in the end, he will be useful."

The monarch has said this much, and as a subject, I naturally cannot say anything more.

However, just as Diabolos was about to end the projection, the Flame Demon asked a second question.

"Are you sure you killed that human with your own hands?"

The Flame Demon wasn't a suspicious person; rather, he only cared about the results and rarely asked about details like he was doing now.

After all, the life or death of that human does not affect their plans.

Diabolos was a little surprised, but he still answered, "I'm sure."

"Sir, may I ask what is so special about that man?"

"...Nothing, just consider it a whim."

The flames died out, and the projection of the Flame Demon vanished into nothingness.

----------

"Brother Sword Ghost, are you sure you're okay?"

"That's right, Mr. Sword Ghost, please don't try to be so arrogant!"

In the makeshift tent, Roy leaned restrainedly on a simple bed made of iron frames and waved casually to the two adventurers he knew who came to visit him.

"It's just a minor injury, don't worry too much."

Hex and Red looked at each other, both extremely surprised.

Two consecutive terrifying fluctuations of Sequence 5 scared the magicians and adventurers so much that they dared not attack again. After Lyanna and Roy returned to the team, they quickly withdrew.

However, Roy's condition at that time was too mild to be described as hanging by a thread.

The chest cavity was pierced and a big hole could be seen on the opposite side. In this situation, even if a priest of the Church of Holy Light came, he would probably shake his head. Even Lyanna, who carried him back, looked pale.

Everyone thought he was dead.

However, only a few hours had passed, and not only had the Sword Ghost not died, he was becoming more and more energetic. From being on the verge of death at the beginning, he was now able to drink tea and chat with them cheerfully.

You know, even the scratches on Hex and Red haven’t healed yet!

Who would have thought that, looking at the entire army, the Sword Ghost, who was originally only one breath away, turned out to be the one in the best condition!

The two men stared at Roy's bandaged but intact chest, completely confused.

Roy felt inexplicably cold when the two strong men looked at him, and couldn't help but pull his robe tighter.

Roy was willing to fight, but he never thought about losing his life.

The reason why he dared to use Diabolos's hand to trigger the [Iron Blood] life and death battle to upgrade the bloodline mechanism is naturally because he has a way to save his life.

[Blood self-healing] can be said to be the standard ability of vampires.

In terms of healing ability, there is probably no creature in all of Vizea that can compare to the vampires - the ability of the Holy Light Church is more inclined towards healing with external forces, and except for those with destiny like Alice, the effect of low-sequence Holy Light is very limited.

In short, as long as he is not shot in the head, even if he is hit by the Black Tiger Heart-Rip, it is not a truly fatal injury to Roy.

Of course, [Blood Healing] required a large amount of blood, which worsened Roy's already battered body. However, he happened to have a blood-replenishing potion he'd won in a lottery. After two bottles and a satisfying nap, his injuries were completely healed, and his lost blood was almost completely restored.

I just don't know how serious Diabolos's injuries are.

Demons shouldn't have the ability to heal, so that guy will probably just be crippled for a while, right? Roy thought with a bit of amusement.

"However, I didn't expect that the Purple Demon Leader's true identity was actually a demon...

"And since even Mr. Sword Ghost is injured like this, this mission is going to be dangerous, right?"

Both adventurers were still frightened and looked uneasy.

Roy understood their feelings very well.

The people of Viszea grew up hearing stories about demons as villains, and they already have a subconscious fear of them. Even the most adventurous adventurers would be in no mood for excitement when faced with a terrifying existence like a Sequence 5 who could destroy them with a single blow. It's understandable that they're backing off now.

Thinking of this, Roy sighed slightly: "If you don't want to, you can quit."

Both of them were stunned.

After all, Red had taken care of him before. As for Hex, there were some unpleasant things with him before, but not to the point where Roy hated him.

The most important thing is that they came to join in the fun because of a misunderstanding about some kind of reward, which made Roy feel very guilty.

Roy kindly advised, "When facing an opponent who exceeds the mission mandate, it is wise to abandon the mission."

"You don't have to answer me. Just leave if you want before the next magician attacks. The same goes for everyone else."

The two were silent for a while.

Before leaving, Hex turned around and asked, "What about you, Brother Sword Ghost?"

Roy said perfunctorily: "I still have a mission to complete, don't bother with me."

That's where my fate with them ends.

Roy lay on the bed quietly.

Little did they know that after leaving the tent, the two adventurers recalled his calm and fearless attitude and were filled with awe.

The usually carefree Hex sighed, a rare omen: "Brother Sword Ghost, you're still not going to stop even after being injured like that. As an A-rank fellow, I'm truly ashamed of myself."

Reid recalled the moment when Black Claw saved the elf girl during their battle, and he was filled with admiration: "He has always been like this, never giving up on the weak!"

"Together?"

"Together!"

After a few words, the two adventurers shook hands and their expressions became firm again.

The Red Mage, who came to visit Roy on crutches, happened to pass by the two men with determined eyes. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The wills of adventurers these days are really tenacious. After fighting for a whole day, they still walk with a breeze...

This is probably due to the influence of [Sword Ghost].

Malfoy walked into the tent and was a little surprised to see that Roy was able to sit up and drink tea.

"Are you really okay?"

"You hope something happens to me?" Roy was speechless.

Malfoy curled his lips awkwardly: "Of course not, I just didn't expect Mr. Sword Ghost to recover so quickly."

Malfoy was able to save his life thanks to Roy throwing a splash of high-purity holy water in his face - when it comes to healing injuries, no potion can compare to holy water, but this thing is strictly controlled by the church and is quite rare.

Even so, Malfoy's face was frighteningly pale, and he walked with a limp. Compared with Roy who was leisurely drinking tea, he seemed to be the one who was more seriously injured and needed to be visited.

"Mr. Sword Ghost has done me a favor, and I couldn't be happier for you. But please forgive me for disturbing your rest. The battle is going poorly right now, and I have an unwelcome request..."

Seeing the arrogant magician, hesitant and hesitant with an embarrassed look on his face, Roy, who had already guessed his intention, had to speak for him: "Don't worry, I won't leave."

Chapter 118 Secret Rendezvous

The fierce battle during the day caused the magician's troops to suffer considerable losses.

Especially in terms of high-end combat power, two Sequence 6 warriors were killed, the only remaining Malfoy was not in perfect condition, and Lyanna was the only mid-level transcendent left.

In this situation, if Diabolos attacked them, their entire army would be destroyed and they wouldn't even have time to run away.

Sequence 5 is known for being able to defeat ten thousand enemies at once, and their attacks on regular troops and low-level transcendents are no joke.

However, Roy had to deal with the fate-defying node, so he had to stay.

But in Malfoy's opinion, it had another meaning.