Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22: The Demon Race
As his Divine Sense spread outward, nearly half of Gerson City fell within his perception.
The black night was still and silent. In Gerson City’s stone-paved streets, only the occasional sound of clashing armor echoed through the darkness.
The knight from earlier was leading his soldiers on patrol through the deserted streets, leaving no hidden corner unchecked.
Even the homeless men sleeping beside piles of garbage in the dark alleys were shaken awake and warned that the area was unsafe.
On another street, a different patrol, led by another knight, was making its rounds.
Gerson City seemed to have entered a state of martial law.
When the two knights met, they began exchanging information about what they had found.
“Sir Leon, perhaps the demons have already fled. What we’re doing may not mean much.”
One of the knights came to a stop. His armor gave off a faint silver sheen beneath the moonlight, and the red cloak over his shoulders fluttered in the wind.
“That is precisely why we need to patrol, Sir Riley. An incursion by the Demon Race is a major matter for our Gerson territory.”
Knight Leon was younger than the knight named Riley. He was not particularly handsome, but there was an upright firmness about him. Over his silver-white knight armor hung a pure white cloak.
He looked exactly as Jiang Lin had seen him in the tavern.
The knight named Leon continued,
“The City Lord has already sent a letter to the kingdom. Until the Church’s Holy Temple Knights arrive, we must make every possible preparation. We cannot allow the people of Gerson City to fall into danger.
That is our code, is it not?”
Knight Riley looked a little helpless, but he still nodded and said,
“All right, all right, righteous Knight Leon. I admire your spirit, but we can’t patrol the whole night through. I mean, even if we can endure it, the soldiers need rest too, don’t they?”
“Of course,” Knight Leon replied, nodding. He lifted his head to look at the sky before continuing, “But until the soldiers are exhausted, we must continue, Sir Riley.”
With that, Knight Leon turned and led one squad of soldiers away, vanishing into a street they had not yet patrolled.
Knight Riley shrugged, called out to his men, and led his own squad off into the distance as well.
Jiang Lin heard their entire conversation clearly through his Divine Sense.
Inside the inn room, under the dim glow of the Kerosene Lamp, Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes.
“It seems Gerson City is deeply afraid of a demonic incursion. And the old lord’s death also seems to have been caused by the demons. If that’s the case, they probably won’t be able to spare any manpower for Wheatfield Town anytime soon.
Perhaps the old lord never even told his son, Knight Kline, about what he had done.”
If so, then Jiang Lin would still have enough time to use the Mana-Gathering Array in the Underground Palace to recover his strength.
In Jiang Lin’s view, the fact that the Underground Palace was located in the Dusk Forest was the best possible cover.
The Monsters in the Dusk Forest were the best guards he could have.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, he could remain in the Underground Palace and cultivate in peace.
That had been the main reason for his visit to Gerson City this time. Originally, Jiang Lin had only intended to observe the movements within the lord’s castle.
He had not expected that the old lord’s death hid another layer of truth.
Nor had he expected it to involve a race like the Demon Race.
He was rather curious about what exactly the Demon Race was, and what kind of strength they possessed.
But none of that had anything to do with him. As long as it did not interfere with his cultivation, that was enough.
Of course, if there was a way to obtain Magic Crystals, Jiang Lin was still willing to try for it.
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged on the bed and once more extended his Divine Sense through the area around him.
The silent streets were now completely empty. The squads led by the two knights from before had also left this district.
The night had grown utterly deep, and the lights in the houses lining both sides of the empty streets had all gone out.
Only the moonlight cast a faint radiance, blanketing the whole of Gerson City.
At the center of Gerson City stood the castle of the Gerson City Lord.
As the ruler of the Gerson territory, the city’s main sources of income actually came from merchants and farmland.
This border territory had no mineral resources at all. Like the neighboring territories, it could only rely on reclaiming wasteland and cultivating fields to maintain its economic growth.
Naturally, every City Lord wanted his territory to become more prosperous, whether in military strength or in resources.
None of them was willing to let go of any opportunity that could make their domain stronger.
That was precisely why the former lord had sent Knight Kline and the others into the Dusk Forest.
At this moment, when Jiang Lin focused his Divine Sense into a single point and swept it across the lord’s castle, he discovered something unusual.
Within one of the rooms in the castle, a dense and strange magical aura was slowly spreading outward under the scan of his Divine Sense.
It was a powerful fluctuation of magic that Jiang Lin had never encountered before.
Judging by the division of power levels, Jiang Lin guessed that the owner of that magic had likely reached the level of the third or even fourth tier.
“A Third-Tier Mage?”
“There was nothing about this in the intelligence. If I rule out the possibility that that knight lied to me, then there is only one answer left.
The Demon Race those knights are searching for is very likely hiding inside the lord’s castle.”
“If it really is one of the demons, then the new lord’s life is probably in danger as well.”
Jiang Lin kept watching, with no intention of intervening. The greater the chaos here, the less likely anyone would pay attention to the Underground Palace in the Dusk Forest.
That would spare him a great deal of trouble instead.
At that moment, after lingering in the castle for a while, the magical aura slowly emerged from within.
On the rooftop, the moonlight was bright and clear.
Within the fluctuations of black magic, a small and slender figure revealed itself.
Under the moonlight appeared the face of a young girl. What set her apart from an ordinary human, aside from the strange magical fluctuations emanating from her body, was the pair of goat-like horns on her head.
Her appearance was peculiar, leaving Jiang Lin with a feeling he could not quite put into words.
So this was the Demon Race.
The demon girl walked barefoot across the rooftop as leisurely as if she were out for a stroll.
The moonlight fell upon her face, making her seem indescribably eerie.
Then, all of a sudden, her foot did not come down again. It paused in midair, her pure white translucent foot swaying lightly, while a dark violet magical symbol suddenly appeared within her eyes.
The instant Jiang Lin noticed her reaction, his Divine Sense was abruptly cut off, as if it had been severed by force.
“She noticed me?”
Jiang Lin was startled at once. He immediately rose to his feet and headed for the door.
He could not stay here any longer.
But at the very moment he opened the door, he abruptly summoned the Cangwu Sword and slashed toward the demon girl standing outside!
“Heaven’s Autumn Rain Falls with a Mournful Cry!”
The longsword moved, rippling and surging like autumn water as layers of sword shadows spread outward!
The demon girl outside did not even have time to react. The instant she instinctively raised a hand to block, that pale, slender hand was severed at once, and blood splashed across the floor.
“Y-you… don’t kill me…”
The demon girl cried out in alarm and retreated in terror. Her delicate, beautiful face was filled with fear, and even her eyes trembled as if they were about to well up with tears.
Hunched over, clutching her severed arm, she kept shaking her head as she staggered backward.
“I mean no harm. I was only curious…”
the demon girl pleaded in a trembling voice, utterly humble and pitiful.
Jiang Lin said nothing. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes, and the Cangwu Sword struck again, driving straight toward the demon girl’s chest!
The demon girl was clearly stunned for less than a second. After surprise appeared on her face, a defensive spell instantly formed before her.
The moment it touched the Cangwu Sword, the defensive magic shattered on the spot.
This time, the demon girl was truly shocked. The black magic around her surged violently, the dark violet symbols reappeared in her eyes, and an obscure Incantation poured rapidly from her lips.
In the next instant, a wave of magic suddenly arose beneath Jiang Lin’s feet and enveloped his entire body.
He could no longer move even half a step.
Jiang Lin did not hesitate in the slightest. In that same instant, the Cangwu Sword completely pierced through the demon girl’s chest.
At this moment, what mattered was who was more ruthless.
Jiang Lin had not withdrawn just because he himself had been trapped. Instead, he chose to eliminate the target first.
He looked at the shock and fear in the demon girl’s eyes.
Yet in the very next moment, a strange smile appeared on the demon girl’s face.
She looked at him with amused interest and gave a light laugh.
“You’re the first human I’ve ever met who remained completely unmoved even when I acted weak and begged for mercy. How interesting…”