Book 9: Chapter 504: Hildes Canyon Encounter and the Demon King Crusade

At the upper reaches of the Claudine River by the entrance of Hildes Canyon of Gabriel Empire (Nation of the Sword), near Gabriels City (Sword Capital), Scott (God Chosen Knight) and his companions were fiercely fighting with the demons. Since the demons here were not under the command of any Demon King, they did not stand a chance against the warriors. They were quickly killed, leaving their armors in pieces.

The warrior accompanying God Chosen Knight Scott was far more experienced and stronger than the team that followed God Chosen Holy Sword Akmans. Akmans’s team had no famous warrior aside from himself, but Scott’s side consisted of three out of the four-man warrior team who originally followed the Magic Dragon Knight Lisha. 

“Hand of Resurrection” Wolff, “Berserker War Demon” Bartus, and “The Enchanter” Hayden were all part of Scot’s team. After joining him, they manage to quickly gather a full set of artifact equipment. Including God Chosen Knight Scott, the warrior team was made up of four famous warriors. It was no wonder that Akmans and his team could not even compare to Scott’s team in terms of combat power since Akmans alone carried his whole team. In fact, it was considered a miracle that his team could hold out until today.

The demons battling with Scott and his companion were not the subordinate of Moon Demon King Gonias. Every Demon King had their own exclusive emblem. Their subordinates would carry them to show which Demon King they were following. Even the new Twelve Demon Kings like Bella had to strictly follow the system set by the Ancient Twelve Demon Kings and used different emblems.

Looking at the demons, Bella realized that they were carrying two different Demon Kings’ symbols. She instantly figured out that they belonged to two Demon Kings, meaning that there were at least two Demon Kings that had established themselves at Hildes Canyon. Though Bella knew it, the information was not widely known by the human race. Warriors like God Chosen Knight Scott would immediately try to defeat the demons upon sight regardless of which Demon King it belonged to.

The demons that did not belong to any Demon Kings realized that they did not stand a chance against the warriors and quickly retreated. While Scott and his companions were busy cleaning up the battlefield, Bella and Kriss wandered around in masks. They had ordinary swordsman armor to disguise themselves. However, when they appeared behind Scott’s team, they were quickly spotted by the warriors.

“Who are you? It’s dangerous here. Hurry up and leave!”

“Bartus, don’t be so rude to the two ladies. Calm down, Hayden. These two ladies are dressed as warriors who come to participate in the crusade!”

“Well, we were here under God Chosen Holy Sword Akmans, but when our team was defeated by the demons, we got separated.”

Not only were Bella and Kriss wearing masks and disguises, but they also had temporarily dyed their hair and used black fuel that they found as makeup. Without her iconic silver hair, most people would not be able to identify Kriss. It was even harder to recognize Bella. Her golden blond hair, though common in another world, was very rare in this world where black hair was aplenty. With her hair dyed black, no one was able to identify her.

God Chosen Knight Scott took one glance at Bella and Kriss before he agreed to let the two join his team of warriors. It wasn’t uncommon for warriors to join a team in the middle of the crusade. Due to their disguise, both Bella and Kriss looked like ordinary girls. Seeing their appearance, Scott had no interest in them and thus, didn’t pay much attention, relieving them from harassment.

The other male warriors also judged them on their looks. After Bella and her companion joined them, the two were assigned on an errand to pick and collect equipment, as well as materials from the fallen demons. According to them, this was the “best errand”, as one would not be fighting on the front lines. All they had to do was pick and collect the items, making them safe. There would also be chances for them to find a rare material, and if one was lucky enough, they could even get rich just from this.

The only shortcoming was that usually, the bodies of the dead demons were filthy and mostly covered in blood. Even the male warriors were disgusted by it, not to mention the females, as they did not want to accidentally touch the blood of a demon. Luckily, Bella and Kriss were no strangers to demons and did not mind doing this. However, since they were in disguise, they both pretended to act like normal human girls.

At least forty percent of the warriors in God Chosen Knight Scott’s team were female. Every male warrior had their own harem. Even though these girls were considerably pretty, they were still far from the girlfriends by Bella’s side. Regardless, it was at least better than the team of God Chosen Holy Sword Akmans, as they had no female warriors with them.

Among the beautiful warriors, the most pretty one was Wendy, the fire wizard whom Bella recognized as the person who once had an intimate relationship with the brother of Princess Felia, Prince Copperfield. The last time Bella saw her, she was doing well with Prince Copperfield, but after not contacting him for some time, Bella was surprised to see her here with God Chosen Knight Scott.  She felt as if her brother had been cheated upon.

Wearing her red fire magician suit, Wendy stood closely behind God Chosen Knight Scott, making their relationship apparent. Like most magicians, Wendy was relatively arrogant, making her ignorant of both Bella and Kriss, who now looked like a common person under their disguise.

Upon joining the demon crusade’s team of God Chosen Knight Scott, Bella and Kriss decided to conceal their true identity and strength, displaying only the strength average for a high level-swordsman. Realizing that Bella and Kriss had neither beauty nor strength, the other warriors in the team quickly lost interest in them, treating them casually.

After the frontline warriors finished their battle with demons, Bella and Kriss, who followed from behind, would sweep the battlefield, collecting valuable items and artifacts. Both of them weren’t disturbed by their new position. In fact, it was much in line with their casual style. Although climate change might seem uncomfortable, neither of them could be considered humans, so they aren’t as troubled by this either. 

Along the way, Bella and her companion decided to make slight changes to their initial plan. They now intend to join the “Earth Travelling Fellowship” of the God Chosen Knight Scott so that they could quietly enter and investigate the Hilikas family at the Sanctuary of Swords. Even if Scott and his companions attracted the enemy’s attention, it wouldn’t be a problem. If they couldn’t defeat her, Bella would just have to pretend to not be able to hit her either. She didn’t want to harm her fellow Demon Kings.

Reaching Hildes Canyon, the deep gorge was formed by supernatural power. It was apparently split by the Original Sword of God, causing the gap in between the mountains. Located at the end of the canyon was the most ancient empire, the Gabriel Empire (Nation of the Sword), which was where the Hilikas family was hiding at the Sanctuary of Swords.

Regardless of whether it was God Chosen Knight Scott or God Chosen Holy Sword Akmans, they had all come here accidentally while chasing the Demon King. However, their target was different from Bella’s. These warriors didn’t participate in the imperial rebellion in the capital of the Gabriel Empire (Nation of the Sword) at Gabriels City (Sword Capital). In fact, the warriors seemed to be oblivious of the rebellion.

There were no demons to be seen at the entrance of Hildes Canyon. The demons belonging to two different Demon Kings that were previously guarding the canyon’s outside did not enter inside. It was suspected that the Father of Creations could be the one supporting God Chosen Knight Scott behind the scenes, as well as arranging the tasks of defeating the Demon King to him.

The previously defeated Akmans, God Chosen Holy Sword, should also have been commissioned by the Father of Creations just like Scott.

Unfortunately for Akmans, his fate was gloomier, as he had encountered Moon Demon King Gonias at the edge and was defeated.

“It’s really quiet. Hayden, please open the Magic Forbidding Enchantment. It’s too quiet here. There are many masters above the sword master in the Hilikas Family, so there won’t be any dead body left.”

“Okay, Brother Scott, don’t worry, my Magic Forbidding Enchantment could defeat any demons… all!”

Not long after entering the canyon, the team of warriors was suddenly attacked by a bunch of foreign enemies as a large group of people dressed in black rushed in. The men with blood-red eyes attacked the warriors frantically with their long swords. Hayden the Enchanter’s Magic Forbidding Enchantment was only useful against demons. It did not affect the human race.

The people in black belonged to the Hilikas family, and they were all above the level of Sword God. After getting infected, their combat power skyrocketed to at least twice their normal strength. Since the difference was too large, the team of warriors could not stand against the swordsmen. After a round of battle, more than a dozen warriors were beheaded on the spot. The swordsmen’s attack speed was so fast that the warriors were taken down before they even managed to turn their heads.

Many of the fallen warriors wore a puzzled expression because they were all wondering why they were attacked by the same clan. Unknown to them, a more terrifying problem was heading their way. The headless corpse of the previously beheaded warriors stood up by themselves and attacked the rest of the warriors, who were their companions before their death.

The team of warriors under attack by the enemy soon dispersed and retreated. After scattering, the frontline defense of the whole team completely collapsed. Being the core spiritual leader of the team, God Chosen Knight Scott couldn’t even protect himself. He was attacked by five Sword God level men in black. Caught in a tough battle, he couldn’t get out to command his warriors to continue fighting. 

The rest of the main members of the team, “Hand of Resurrection” Wolff, “Berserker War Demon” Bartus, and “The Enchanter” Hayden, were also suppressed. All six masters from the Hilikas family, as well as the previous few Sword Gods who had disappeared, were all being controlled by the mysterious power.

God Chosen Knight Scott might be strong, but he has yet to fully master all his powers. As such, he was not good enough to fight with the five Sword Gods. Only a few people like Bella, who had fully mastered her power, could go against them, but she had no intention of supporting Scott. He might not be on par with his opponent, but Scott wasn’t out of options either. If he was smart, he would retreat later.

Bella and Kriss followed the other heroines and retreated to the rear. The Demon King’s crusade led by Scott was trained and had a plan to deal with such emergencies. Even though Wendy and the other wizards tried to launch magical attacks to support the frontlines, their magic couldn’t be used to enter Hildes Canyon. It seemed to be enchanted by something similar to the Magic Forbidding Enchantment.

“Our magic is of no use, damn it. Everyone, follow me to the entrance of the canyon. Leave the rest here to Scott and the others. Let’s first…”

“The canyon… the entrance to the canyon is missing.”

However, the retreating team ran into another trouble. The entrance of Hildes Canyon was no longer visible to their eyes because of a collective illusion. To them, the scene behind them was a canyon with no end in sight. Ever since entering the canyon, the warriors were all focused on advancing to the front. None of them were aware of what was happening behind them; thus, no one knew when their path to retreat was sealed off.

The illusion used was exactly the same as the one Bella and her companions had experienced at the Elite Plains on Claudine River. It was probably cast by the blue phantom. Fire Wizard Wendy, leading the retreat team, panicked because she mainly cultivated fire magic instead of spirit magic. This rendered her magic useless against the illusions made using spirit magic.

The retreat team consisted of many warriors, but there were only a handful of magicians. They were at a loss when it came to such strange phenomena. As the warriors were pondering their fate, the ground started to shake vigorously. A mutated demon plant emerged, blocking the team’s escape route.

It was a gigantic datura flower with a strange human-looking face on the front. These thin demon plants belonged to a type of mutated demon that carried an array of poisons. Since there were few of them on the continent, there were almost no records of such demons. Even an experienced warrior might not have come across them in their lives.

While the other warriors are still in shock, Bella and Kriss quickly squatted down with their hands covering their ears. As soon as they did so, the datura demon flower let out a harsh scream. The sonic wave attack could deafen the ears of the receiver. Even after covering their ears tightly, Bella and Kriss could still hear the loud noise emitting from the demon plant.

In between the sonic attack, the datura flower plant was also launching some venom. Alternating between the two, the team of warriors was quickly defeated. In order to prevent the toxin from seeping into their eyes, Bella and Kriss kept their eyes closed. Bella did not feel anything strange apart from the sound waves hitting their bodies and shattering the items that were hanging around.

The venom from the datura demon flower was not able to corrode human bodies. Bella didn’t know the effect of the venom because she was immune to most poisons. She didn’t feel anything. By the time she and Kriss opened their eyes, it was foggy all around them. They couldn’t sense anything happening in the thick fog. Furthermore, they could no longer feel the breath of other warriors, and there weren’t any corpses lying around either.

“Bella, where did the rest of the people go? There were so many of us just now. Could it be that they have all melted away?”

“No, Kriss, I think we should lose some weight. Uh, don’t be nervous. I was just kidding.”

“Really, Bella? How could you still joke about it? You scared me half to death. I am obviously not fat.”

Bella looked around at the traces on the ground and finally understood the reason. The warriors hit by the sonic wave were sent flying off. The reason why Bella and Kriss were unaffected wasn’t that they were fat but because they were strong. When the sonic wave attacked them, the fighting instinct that resided within them unconsciously helped them block the impact, leaving them unscathed.

At a glance, the datura demon flower seemed to be fighting for the first time on the battlefield. However, the team against it wasn’t far off either. It was made up of rookie warriors and novices who were here to clean up the battlefield. None of them could swing their swords properly against the demon. Bella and Kriss could not find any traces of them. It also appeared that the human face on the datura demon plant was only for decoration, and it had no sight function. It wouldn’t even be able to see a fish slipping off the net.

Aside from the buzzing in their ears from the sonic attack, Bella and Kriss had no other injuries. The only other loss was that the armors on their bodies were shattered by the sonic waves. Some parts were also dissolved by the venomous poison secreted by the datura demon flower. Hence, the two of them had lost their sets of armor and clothes. 

It wasn’t until they felt a little chilly all over that Bella and Kriss realized their lack of clothes. Most of the hostile monsters that Bella had encountered seemed to hate clothing, as if they came right out of a movie set. Being accustomed to this experience, Bella immediately took out two sets of clothing for them from her storage ring. The most resources she had in hand were clothes, so they did not suffer the embarrassment of having no change of clothing.

Bella wondered about the fate of the female warriors that had been blown. However, since they were the warriors from the Earth Travelling Fellowship and God Chosen Knight Scott’s girls, Bella didn’t concern herself much with them. She also didn’t feel the presence of the male warriors leading the front of the team, as well as protecting the team from the rear. It was uncertain if they had been defeated.

Bella thought that even if Scott’s warriors were not able to make it through the Hilikas family’s Sanctuary of Swords, they should be able to make it through half of the journey. Who would have guessed that they weren’t even able to cover one-third of it before they were defeated? Bella did help Akmans’s warrior team before, but that team was full of male warriors. If they were in this situation, they would have been able to hold out for much longer without stepping back as opposed to this team that was made up of a large number of female warriors who retreated before halfway through the fight.

“Scott would not have surrendered just like this, right? This savior can’t do it! Krissy, you… what did you find?”

“Bella, look over here. The flower headdress on the head of this female Sword God seems to be the Spirit of the Sea that we were looking for!”

“The Sword God! Where is the Sword God from the Hilikas family? Unless it is…”

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