Chapter 694 - Plans and Tricks, Beginning the Battle in the Mountain Village (1/2)

Day 151 - 11:15 PM - Mountain Farming Village, Barangay Mabini, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes

”GATHER UP AND PROTECT THE LORD!”

Some higher-ranked Demons shouted in urgency. It was not only because they heard Muggur, but they also began to feel the presence of living beings in the forests surrounding them.

It was strange. These Demons all arrived here and did not detect anyone. Many of them had a keen sense of smell. Although they would not be able to instantly detect their enemies, they would be able to smell them to some extent.

Odors linger around longer and would stronger while the source stayed in place. There was no way that the Demons would not smell anything if there were enemies hiding in the surroundings. And yet, none of them detected anything until the last minute.

Did the Elementals and Spirits learn a way to conceal their presence? That was impossible. Even Nature Spirits that could meld into their surroundings would leave traces for the keen-eyed. It was impossible that different races of Spirits and Elementals would suddenly have the very same ability to hide.

Muggur and Lord Seis looked at each other. They thought differently from the majority.

Why?

It was because even the path that they just passed through had presences of enemies in hiding. Those enemies were definitely not there when they passed by.

Rather than hiding in ambush, it was more like they the enemies suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Due to the immediate response, the Demons succeeded in gathering around their precious leader. They looked unorganized, but they, at least, tried their best to make a perfect circle around Lord Seis.

At the center of it all, Lord Seis smiled. He was not fazed by the situation at all. Instead, he felt thrilled. To be surrounded by enemies like this was the first for him. Nonetheless, he knew that aside from being surrounded, the side of the Demons was in a disadvantageous position.

After all, even if the Spirits and Elementals surrounded the Demons, the Demons still had the greater number.

It would be easy for them to break through the encirclement just through brute force.

The eyes of Lord Seis were glowing red. His excitement was intensifying his aura.

”IRAYA, YOU BITCH!” Lord Seis roared with a laugh. ”I NEVER THOUGHT THAT SOMEONE LIKE YOU WOULD STOOP LOW AND LEARN TO DO THESE KINDS OF PETTY TRICKS!”

The shout of the Lord of Demons came with a surge of his aura. The air was shaking, and the leaves of plants and trees a few hundred meters around him swayed violently. Surprisingly, even the Demons under Lord Seis shivered in fear from his voice.

What was odd, however, was the intense hatred that he had when he called the Diwata's name without any shred of respect. Was this battle only because of the circ.u.mstances and millenniums of antagonistic relations between the magical races?

At Lord Seis' call, a woman walked out of the forest on the west side of the clearing. It was nighttime, and the only light was coming from the full moon. Yet, everyone could clearly see her beautiful appearance despite the darkness of the surroundings.

”It's been a while, isn't it, Argrellius. But I didn't think that I would hear that kind of complaint from one of the Demon Race that was known for such so-called petty tricks.”

Diwata Iraya spoke, looking straight at the Lord of the Demons. Even though the Diwata was speaking from afar, everyone could clearly hear her voice, echoing like a Goddess.

However, like the Lord of the Demons, Diwata Iraya had a strange behavior. She was speaking calmly to the enemy, yet, there was a subtle feeling of regret hidden in her voice.

”Don't call me with that name, you worthless woman. ”

Lord Seis replied, glaring hard at the Diwata.

***

At the roof of a house in the nearby village, several people sat, watching the situation.

It was no other than Mark's group, including Mark himself.

They were currently within some kind of barrier, preventing the Demons from detecting them even when they were nearby. This barrier was created by Berrak, who drew a magic circle inside the house.

And as for why... It was nothing else but to watch the show as close as possible.

Padua and Geronimo were both shocked and excited by what they were seeing. Although they already saw Mark's ancestor and even Berrak's magical creatures, the impact of those was far different from seeing two thousand mixed races of Demons gathered together. Never in their life did they expect to enter this hidden side of the world.

Edzel and Pearl sat together with Pefile near them. Although the two teenagers had seen a lot already, it was the first time they would actually see a war between good and evil. As for Pefile, he was not that interested. His life as a Tamawo was filled with life and death battles. This kind of thing was not new to him.

Berrak also sat at the side. He was looking forward to the battle. However, rather than the people involved, Berrak was more interested in the Demonic animals that the Demons had brought with them. It was clear that Berrak would get the opportunity to catch one or two if some managed to survive tonight's battle.

Lastly, Mark and the girls. They sat together with a camera set ready. It looked like Mark prepared to record this situation. Actually, the girls wanted to join this battle and not just watch at the sidelines. After all, Mark was going to the battlefield soon. Unfortunately, Mark declined them for now. Only Mei and Amihan would be allowed to participate in this event with him. Well, there was also Crimson and Ignis, but that was already obvious.

The scale of this battle was far different from the battles they previously had. The enemies were not humans, and definitely not the infected. The enemies were Demons. It would be dangerous for the girls to face the uncanny magic of the Demons with their current strength.

Because of this, Mark decided to give the girls some upgrades when they return home. Of course, it would be hard to say if he would be giving the children new Mutator abilities considering the painful experience they needed to go through. Maybe, he would give them some upgrades in other aspects like equipment.

”Those two had some history, didn't they?”

While Mark was thinking, the silent Pefile spoke.

The others could not help but nod. Even those with no ability to read minds and emotions would be able to pick things up from how Diwata Iraya and the Lord of Demons spoke to each other.

”Maybe, they're lovers?”

Padua chimed in, making the others look at him. Sure enough, what he had said was incredulous considering the behavior of the two people in question.

Ignoring Padua, Mei spoke to Mark.