NOVEL NEXT CCXXXIII – Following the Prey to its Lair
As fate would have it, Esperanza found a clue that answered her questions not a week after the group departed from Landeboug.
They were traveling further to the south and west, deeper into the demon-held territory that once belonged to the human kingdom, avoiding the larger roads as they usually did. The route they were taking would ultimately lead them to a large city that used to be named Sevarin, which according to Alissa was known as the kingdom’s “Jewel of the South” when it still belonged to them.
It was the largest, most prosperous city in the southern end of the human kingdom, and even if the demons damaged the city when they took it over, chances were that most of the damage would already be repaired in the decades since they took over. According to Alissa the city would also likely house quite a few of the demon side’s more important people, at least amongst those not living in their homeland further south.
If her group wanted to find more clues about the demon [Champions] as well as their clergy, it was there where they would most likely find some results. Since it was a large city, all the demon races would likely be represented as well, so it would be easier for them to infiltrate without causing unwanted suspicions. The only drawback was the distance, as Sevarin was a good month or so away from Landeboug even with the direct route they were taking.
What the group ran into along the way, however, might well answer some of their questions sooner.
The group, or rather, their scouts, discovered the presence of what seems to be a group of demons making their way through some less-traveled road, with one of them noting that the demons looked a bit like religious people out on a pilgrimage. That sparked Esperanza’s curiosity and she went along with the scouts to track those demons once again.
Sure enough, there were around forty to fifty demons, most of them in the lower third tier, who were traveling together in a progression that reminded Esperanza of religious pilgrims she saw on some documentaries back in her previous world. She carefully tried to check the class of the tall Nevilosk demon garbed in elaborate clothing that led the procession, while keeping her aura and presence to a minimum at the same time.
High tier people often could feel if someone used [Identify] or [Analysis] on them even from afar, though Esperanza was quite confident that she would be able to get away with it unnoticed thanks to her skills covering her presence.
[Orphan Lv20 / Cleric of Znehctyi Lv20 / Voice of Change Lv20 / Grand Shaman of Wiles and Guile Lv18]
was the result she received, making the demon one of the highest leveled ones she had ever seen so far.
“That’s got to be an important person for the demons, all right,” mumbled Esperanza as she read the result. The scouts who came with her asked her about it, and soon nodded their agreement as well. People that high up on the fourth tier were almost always of great importance, so it was curious to see one out on their own like that.
Though perhaps calling them “on their own” was a bit of an exaggeration, given the congregation the demon traveled with, which included four fourth-tier demons that were each in the middle of the fourth tier, all with warrior-like paths to boot. If they had to fight the whole congregation, it would probably be a rather close fight even with their entire group working together.
Only Ani was actually in the middle of the fourth tier amongst their warriors, after all. While Esperanza herself could muster up power that roughly matched one herself, the rest of their group were mostly able to match up to lower end fourth tiers at most. The difference that levels made just got more pronounced the higher one’s tier was, so the high end fourth tier demon shaman could probably take on their whole group on their own.
Because of that, Esperanza signaled to the scouts to keep themselves hidden while they followed the demon procession from a distance. At the same time, she also sent one of the scouts to relay the information to the others further behind, to make sure that they wouldn’t give away their presence by accident.
Given the long distance, it was an unlikely thing, but it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with an enemy that powerful.
Carefully, the group tailed the demon congregation from a safe distance, with everybody prepared for battle, and suppressing their presence to the utmost. They followed the demons through winding paths that seemed to be rarely taken by people, crossing through many regions of wilderness towards their quarry’s destination.
Normal people would not have dared to take such a path. Many of the monsters and wild beasts that inhabited the area were equivalent to third tiers, which were serious threats for civilians. The congregation was well-prepared to deal with such threats, however, and took care of any beast that foolishly attempted to prey upon them with ease.
Needless to say, Esperanza’s group also made short work of any beast that came across their path, though they did so while ensuring that the scuffle was either silent or disguised as one between two wild beasts to avoid suspicion. They followed behind the demon congregation for four more days and night in that manner, skulking in the dark while keeping themselves unnoticeable.
It was nearing evening on the fourth day, as heavy rain poured from the skies and a thunderstorm raged over the region, that they finally reached their destination.
Fortunately the weather condition had not negatively affected Esperanza’s perception by too much. Her inhuman eyes were perfectly capable of keeping track of the demons, even while everyone else was hampered by the rainstorm. She watched as the congregation entered a large stone building that looked like some sort of tribal temple, built deep in the wilderness, situated within the central region of a dungeon full of monsters that reached power capable of matching early fourth tiers.
Naturally, her curiosity was piqued by the odd temple, but she dared not approach too closely even under the storm. The five demon fourth tiers within gave off a strong sense of threat, the likes of which she had not met often. She estimated that each of the four warriors were at least as powerful as that human bishop she killed back in the kingdom, while the shaman was even stronger than them by a good bit.
No, if there were opportunities to jump on the demon fourth tiers one at a time, she would gladly take it, but for the time being, she wanted to know what they were doing deep in a dungeon, first and foremost.
Eventually, as night fell and most of the demons went to sleep, with only some of the third tiers posted on guard by the temple’s sole entrance, she encouraged herself to take the risk and inch closer. She bit the rest of the group to stay behind while remaining on guard just in case she was discovered, while Esperanza herself adopted the guise of a six-legged feline monster, the sort that populated the dungeon, and carefully stalked towards the temple and its sleeping demons.
Her passage through the dark of the night left neither trace nor sound, her presence kept to the lowest point she could, which was fortunately something the creature she assumed the form of was also noted for. That enhanced the chance that even if she was discovered, the demons might mistake her for a native monster that got too close.
Silently, she moved as close as she dared to, her eyes peering through the dark and scouring over every detail she could.
