The demon’s movements were highly concealed, yet they gave the Goddess of Life a feeling of being riddled with errors.
It seemed like a lure, or perhaps… a provocation.
“So arrogant?”
The Goddess of Life momentarily ignored Truth and began summoning a projection into the twilight above the camp.
Simultaneously, Truth felt a flicker of anticipation for what was about to happen.
She had also sensed the demon that was creeping over while intentionally leaving a trail. Based on the scent, it seemed to be a High-Rank Shadow Demon.
‘Hmph, it’s been lingering nearby. Is it waiting for something?’
The Goddess of Life’s projection had already descended quietly, waiting for the Shadow Demon to get a little closer.
‘Speaking of which, where did Omili go? Has she not detected the demon’s approach yet? Tsk, she is somewhat excusable since she is only a 9th Rank Elementalist; her scouting is a bit weak. But what about Olivia? The demon is practically on top of Truth, and she hasn’t given so much as a hint. What is she even doing?!’
The Goddess of Life felt a prickle of anger. Usually, when a demon was about to approach a Saintess, Olivia would begin her prophecy warnings. Yet, until now, Olivia had remained silent.
‘Or is it that the demon’s purpose today isn’t the Saintess but something else, which is why Olivia didn’t issue a warning? Forget it, I’ll just ask her when I get back. For now, I’ll see if I can just one-shot that demon.’
After waiting for a while, the Goddess of Life noticed that the High-Rank demon in the distance was not getting any closer to the camp, so she decided to take the initiative.
…
At the same time, on the plateau about 10 kilometers away from the camp, a 9th Rank Hidden Demon was waiting anxiously.
It had already released about 5% of its aura, which was quite obvious. Anyone with strength above the 9th Rank should have been able to discover it.
However, that Shadow Guard still showed no reaction.
‘What is going on? I’ve already gone this far, and that Shadow Guard hasn’t noticed? Are they useless?! Is this how they guard a Saintess?!’
The Shadow Demon was getting impatient. The task Soros had given it was to lure away the 9th Saintess’s personal Shadow Guard temporarily, giving the Curse Demon a chance to deliver the letter to her.
But no matter how it tried to lure them, that guard remained motionless, steady as a rock.
Soon, Soros also began to press for updates.
“What’s wrong with you? Why haven’t you lured the Shadow Guard out yet?”
‘I’m wondering if that Shadow Guard is just slow-witted or if they’ve already seen through our scheme,’ the Shadow Demon replied.
It then increased its aura release to 10%. Now, even those at the 8th Rank could feel its presence.
Yet, the 9th Saintess’s Shadow Guard still did not appear.
In reality, there was no other reason than the simple fact that Truth did not have any Shadow Guards around her.
At that moment, Omili was in a cabin in a nearby forest, researching the herbs she had gathered that day.
‘Let me try the steps for making an Invisibility Potion. Truth must have used some kind of invisibility potion to hide from my sight back then! Herbalism, Herbalism… I want to see just how magical it is!’
…
“Something is very wrong. I’ve done all this and the Shadow Guard still hasn’t appeared. Soros, check quickly to see if the enemy is stalling for time and waiting for reinforcements!”
The Shadow Demon was starting to panic and asked quickly.
“No, I am monitoring the entire plateau area. I don’t feel any High-Rank humans moving rapidly. This is indeed strange… How about this, try getting a bit closer. Maybe that Shadow Guard is trying to ambush you.”
Thus, the Shadow Demon began to advance cautiously toward the Fourth Frontline camp.
As one of the most powerful Shadow Demons in the world, it had the confidence to face any ambush.
Even against an ambush by a God, it could successfully escape.
However, to be fair, if it were besieged by two or more gods, it would still be a near-death situation.
When the sun had completely set, a faint, eerie shadow quietly approached from the northwest of the Fourth Frontline camp. No Demon Hunter was able to detect it.
3 kilometers… 2 kilometers… The Shadow Demon drew closer and closer to Truth.
The Shadow Guard still had not appeared as desired, but the Shadow Demon’s sixth sense told it that something bad was about to happen.
Suddenly, a glow began to flicker in midair without any warning, looking like a miniature sun.
‘It’s here!’ The Shadow Demon’s entire body tensed.
To think that this 9th Saintess’s Shadow Guard actually had the Holy Attribute.
That was a direct counter to its own nature. Fortunately, it had already prepared to flee, so this Saintlight attack was destined to miss!
“Everyone, look at the sky! What is that?!”
The soldiers on watch in the camp also discovered the “sun” in the sky. Instantly, the entire camp went onto level one alert.
Truth’s tent was surrounded by guards, leaving her to observe the sky through a small window.
‘Oh, it’s a charged AOE. I’d like to see how strong a charged skill from a 12-Rank God can be. And that Shadow Demon, who is so arrogant and disdainful of hiding, should be running… Eh? It’s not running…’
Truth was stunned. ‘You’re a demon with an Assassin profession, yet you’ve exposed yourself voluntarily. Now you’re even ignoring someone’s charged AOE? What? Are you planning to just tank it?’
If the Shadow Demon really intended to tank it, Truth would truly admire its grit. As long as it wasn’t one-shot, Truth would definitely give it some face in the future and try to make friends.
After all, if Truth had to handle a charged AOE like that, she would only have two options: either interrupt it quickly or widen the distance immediately.
Yet, the Shadow Demon chose a third option—tanking it. Truth couldn’t help but be impressed.
In the sky, the Goddess of Life was also a bit surprised.
‘Oh? You’re actually approaching? You’re not choosing to run, but approaching me instead? If you’re that cocky, then I have to get serious!’
Thus, the Goddess of Life continued to charge, intending to see just what this demon was made of.
The Shadow Demon did not disappoint and continued until it was 2 kilometers away from the camp, maintaining its confidence.
However, that confidence vanished after 10 seconds.
This was because the Shadow Demon suddenly realized that the energy contained within the growing Saint-attribute “sun” before its eyes had already reached the level of a 9th Rank, and it was still rising.
There was even evidence of space compression!
This indicated that the space in that area could no longer support the energy of the “sun” and had begun to collapse!
“Something’s wrong, something’s very wrong! This doesn’t look like a move a 9th Rank Shadow Guard could use… Soros! What exactly is the situation? Do you know who the opponent is?!”
The Shadow Demon asked in a panic.
Originally, Soros had said it only had to deal with a 9th Rank Shadow Guard, otherwise it never would have come.
As it turned out, was it really facing a 9th Rank?!
After a long pause, Soros replied with a hint of a tremble in his voice.
“Just run if you can… The plan was flawed. It seems there is no Shadow Guard beside the 9th Saintess. Instead, the Goddess of Life… is personally protecting her…”
“What?!”
The Shadow Demon froze for a moment.
‘What do you mean “the Goddess of Life is personally protecting her”? Why would a border Saintess have the Goddess of Life come to protect her personally? Is this 9th Saintess His Excellency’s illegitimate daughter?!’
In the next second, the “sun” in the sky exploded.
The flash instantly turned the entire plateau from night back into day.
The Demon Hunters and soldiers hurriedly covered their eyes, but fortunately, the light of the “sun” did not cause them any harm. They only felt a pleasant warmth.
In contrast, the demons imprisoned in the open air within the camp let out agonizing wails.
Large clouds of thick smoke rose from their bodies, and they were quickly vaporized by the Saintlight.
“SOROS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
The Shadow Demon sent its sincerest regards to Soros and then began to transform into a ghostly dark shadow, fleeing with all its might.
It activated all its skills and buffs, pushing its speed to the limit!
However, the propagation speed of the Goddess of Life’s Saintlight was the speed of light.
It easily caught up to the Shadow Demon’s escape speed.
Seeing that it could not leave the range of the strike, the latter tried other methods, but unfortunately, they were all useless.
It wanted to dive into other spaces, only to find that both the Shadow Space and the Spirit World had been compressed by the Goddess of Life’s Saintlight.
If it dove in, it would be rapidly sucked into the core of the “sun’s” explosion.
It tried to cast an instant movement spell, only to find that nearly all the mana in the surroundings had been sucked dry by the “sun”…
It was pure despair. The Shadow Demon now had to tank the vast majority of the damage.
“Eh? Why did this guy suddenly run away? Doing that really kills the cool factor. I thought it was some peerless tough guy. Points deducted!”
Truth said with disdain, looking in the direction where the Shadow Demon was fleeing.
Boom!
A few seconds after the Saintlight illuminated the entire plateau, a violent roar finally reached them, followed by the shaking of the earth.
“Look at the dark shadow on the horizon! That looks like a demon!”
The Demon Hunters, who had quickly adapted to the piercing Saintlight, soon discovered the Shadow Demon in the distance being tortured from all sides by the light.
As an Assassin-type demon, the Shadow Demon could usually rely on its movement to dodge a vast array of skills.
However, this time, the Goddess of Life had released a large-scale AOE with no blind spots.
Maneuvering was useless. Unless the Shadow Demon knew how to turn intangible, it was truly difficult to avoid damage.
Screee—! The Shadow Demon let out a mournful howl.
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