Badge in Azure

Chapter 94: Demon Trick (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nailisi stuck out her tongue. It was over a foot long and she licked the burned face of the silver grand swordmaster, taking a deep breath. For some reason, with a delicacy in front of her, she was no longer stammering at all.

“Young punk, I haven’t had anyone to eat for ten thousand years. I remember that it’s best to start from the legs. You have a strong will to live, so by saving your heart and brain for last, you won’t die so quickly.”

The silver grand swordmaster’s face was licked clean by Nailisi. His face was twitching. He was controlling his fear, and still had not begged for mercy.

“Actually, I don’t want you to confess anything either. Only then will I have a reason to eat you. I know my master doesn’t want me to do that. Hence, I need you to cooperate with me. When I start eating you, you need to scream helplessly. Let everyone outside know that I tried to force you to confess but you were too strong willed, okay?”

Nailisi laughed as she said this. Her pair of dark green eyes were looking at the silver grand swordmaster as though he were food.

“You, you have a master!” The silver grand swordsman hated the person who had given him information. Everyone around Viscountess Lex was so strong, but his information had said that there would only be four low-grade bronze grand swordmasters. For someone to have reduced a demon to submission, they must have been at least a Grade 8 sorcerer.

“It seems like you’re willing to talk?” Nailisi was disappointed.

“If I talk, will you let me go?”

“No, I will pass you to my master. Even though your end will not be any better, he is a benevolent person. You can choose a clean death or stay loyal to my master. If you follow my master, we will be partners. How could I eat you then?”

Seeing Nailisi lick her lips, the silver grand swordmaster had no courage left in him.

“Even if I died, you wouldn’t eat me?” The silver grand swordmaster could not understand what he was saying either. He was only afraid of being eaten by the demon. If that happened, his soul would not be saved.

“If you speak the truth, I cannot inhale your soul directly. I can tell if you’re telling the truth or not.” Nailisi said sincerely, “If you don’t believe me, how about I make a pledge?”

“Yes!”

Anger flashed past Nailisi’s eyes but she quickly covered it up. She placed her hands on her chest and said, “In the name of my master, I swear that if the person before me does not lie, I will let his soul return to his religion. If I break my promise, I will fall into a deep abyss to suffer in eternal flame.”

The silver grand swordmaster heaved a sigh of relief. The feeling of despair had lifted. He was not afraid of death, but when one was face to face with a demon, death was merely the beginning.

“I have an accomplice in Hadisai City. Whether you all attack Hadisai City or not, he will kill the earl and blame it on all of you…” The silver grand swordmaster felt a little ashamed after saying this secret. This was akin to him betraying his god, and the sin for betrayal was a grave one. However, god should be lenient and understand my pain. God of Light, oh my father, forgive me. Let my soul be saved.

“That’s all?” Nailisi asked seriously, having listened quietly to the silver grand swordmaster’s words.

“This is all I know.” The silver grand swordmaster was completely relaxed “Could I die now?”

“One last question. Am I pretty?” Nailisi kneeled down, her hair falling over her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to have been enveloped with a layer of mist, making them dazzling with just a glance.

“Yes, you are pretty.” The silver grand swordmaster had desired his release and answered without much thought.

“You’re lying!” Nailisi suddenly turned savage. Using both her hands to grab the silver grand swordmaster’s neck, she tugged with all her might and the already broken armor broke into two pieces. The silver grand swordmaster gave a loud cry as Nailisi sat down beside him, patiently stripping away the armor at his neck. She opened her mouth and bit down hard.

The silver grand swordmaster was shocked beyond belief. Only then did he realize that Nailisi’s last question had been to deceive him.

“You…tricked me!”

Nailisi stopped chewing and answered in surprise, “Of course. Does that need further explanation?”

“Why?” Despair filled the eyes of the silver grand swordmaster, as well as a small amount of anger. How could her master allow her to do something like this? He had chosen betrayal for the chance of salvation.

Nailisi was even more surprised than him and asked, “Do you not know that demons naturally love to trick others?”

The silver grand swordmaster gave a bitter laugh and asked, “Can you kill me first?”

“Hah.” Nailisi laughed softly and said, “Don’t you understand? I don’t care about the information you’ve given me. I was just playing a game with you to make you feel even worse than you already did. Tell me, do you think I’ll still kill you first?”

He felt a chill run down his spine. He really should not have come this time.

Nailisi ate away at a hand before turning to his legs. She said, “Your flesh is really good, so your soul must be delicious too. However, I will give you another chance. If you are loyal to me and give me your soul, I will spare you. How about it? It is but a small contract.”

The silver grand swordmaster steeled his will and answered firmly, “I won’t believe you any longer.”

Nailisi grabbed his legs and pulled with all her might. He grit his teeth, not making any noise. He knew she loved torturing him and she wanted to hear his cries of pain.

Nailisi did not think much of it. Removing the armor on his legs, she said, “You can choose not to agree to this contract, but once I start eating you, you’ll think about it. Having a choice makes it harder for humans, doesn’t it?”

Despair could no longer be used to describe his feelings. He had finally understood just what a demon was.

Saleen and Sika were waiting patiently outside. First came a loud cry before everything fell silent. Saleen did not know what Nailisi was doing, but no matter how badly he wanted to, he was not going to go in and take a look. After half an hour, Nailisi came out of the tent.

“Ugh.”

She burped and quickly covered her mouth, running hurriedly to Saleen’s side.

“Master, I have managed to find some things out.” Nailisi took Saleen’s hands in her own, almost as though she were sucking up to him. Saleen sighed and cast some cleaning magic, removing the bloodstains on Nailisi’s clothes.

“Has it all been cleaned up?”

“Yes, I didn’t leave anything behind,” Nailisi carefully answered. The silver grand swordmaster had been delicious. It was a pity that humans like him would be hard to come by in the future. Looking at master’s attitude, he had not minded this time. Maybe she would get another chance? If only master were stronger and had more enemies.

While Nailisi was deep in her fantasy, Saleen lightly pulled on her hand and said, “Come, let’s go tell Faerun.”

Seeing Nailisi recoil in fear, Saleen patted her shoulder and said, “Think about Faerun’s hobbies. Even if he were to know, he wouldn’t hold it against you.”

Nailisi turned her head to look at Sika. Sika turned away, not showing any emotion. What was this? Even though Cascausus people were not barbarians, they would often use the corpses of their enemies as fertilizer. The fertilizer was used as nutrients for the fruit trees whose produce was then consumed by humans. This was a natural process and Nailisi had only simplified it. She thought she could scare me? Hmph!

Nailisi thought about the calmness and passion of Faerun as he had explained human anatomy to everyone, and felt that Saleen had a point. Only then did she follow Saleen to Faerun’s tent.

Viscountess Lex was inside as well and her face was very pale. Saleen took a glance at Faerun as he shook his head and said, “Twenty-six soldiers and a hundred and thirty-three reserve soldiers lost their lives.”

Twenty-six soldiers! Saleen felt a sense of pity. If these soldiers had attacked him, he might not have had much of a chance to survive. However, in the face of a silver grand swordmaster, they were nothing much. Without Faerun, even if the silver grand swordmaster had not killed the viscountess, he would have ravaged the entire place.

“Nailisi, tell Sir what you managed to find out.” Saleen was anxious to know what Nailisi had found out and did not ask further about the casualties.

“He had been sent from a place known as the sacred Holy See and had been waiting for over a decade.” Nailisi was no longer stammering and recounted in great detail what she had gathered. The faces of the people in the tent turned pale.

“Who would have known they have been after me for ten years. Nailisi, you mentioned that there is still a Grade 8 professional in Hadisai City waiting to assassinate Earl Mokolari?”

“Yes. That person was not lying.” Nailisi nodded repeatedly.

“A Grade 8 professional. Won’t that mean the death of Earl Molokari?” Viscountess Lex furrowed her eyebrows, no longer understanding what was happening. If they went to save the earl, it would not just a matter of pride. It was possible that the earl would not believe them and it would be hard for them to enter the city. However, if they went around the city and the earl died, their enemies would definitely have someone waiting to push the blame onto them.

“Although there are many experts among the Holy See, they wouldn’t send two Grade 8 professionals to the territory of an earl.”

“Who cares how many there are? If we could kill this one, we can kill the other one too,” Nailisi said heartlessly. She was still reminiscing about the feast she had just had. If the other silver grand swordmaster was defeated too, the energy she would be able to collect would be enough for her body to undergo its changes.

Faerun and Viscountess Lex shook their heads in disappointment. A suggestion like this was akin to daydreaming.

Killing the other silver grand swordmaster was too difficult, and even getting into the city would be a problem. Faerun could fly in alone but the rest of them would have no other way of entering. Unless they sent the army for the expedition into Hadisai City? If that were the case, it would no longer be a conflict between the upper and lower house. It would be the royal family attacking a wealthy person for no reason, and would shake the very foundation of the empire.

Killing a few soldiers in the wild and attacking a wealthy person’s city were two different things altogether. This was something that Nailisi had yet to fully understand.

“Sir Faerun, that warrior’s armor is still here. You can fix it,” Nailisi reminded them nonchalantly.

Viscountess Lex’s eyes brightened. That was a good idea. She could have someone from her side pretend to be this silver grand swordmaster from the Tanggulasi Empire. With a surprise attack, they might still stand a chance.

Saleen felt that something was amiss but he restrained himself. These were the internal affairs of the Qin Empire, and he was only an outsider. He pulled Nailisi to his side and looked quietly at Faerun.