Chapter 262: Sylph Betrayed
Three figures moved like ghosts through the forest.
Eileen and Airi, the Twin Thieves, and Sylph, the magic archer, all possessed incredible speed, gliding through the trees like a gentle breeze.
Airi cast an invisibility spell on Sylph, and the three of them moved undetected through Lomond’s territory. Even passing Demon Beasts couldn’t sense their presence.
Just as Sylph’s reconnaissance had revealed, there were no guards patrolling near the imposing palace, while the dungeon teemed with Demon Beasts.
They knew they didn’t have much time. No matter how well they concealed themselves, the traces of their presence would eventually be discovered. They had to find Jie Luo’s soul fragment and Ronald quickly.
They held their breath, their heartbeats slowed, their footsteps silent.
Many Demon Beasts had keen senses, and they couldn’t risk being detected. Even with their skills, they couldn’t afford to be careless in this place. They hid in the shadows as patrolling Demon Beasts passed.
They silently approached the dungeon, the stench of Demon Beast filth almost overwhelming, making them gag. As Sylph had reported, thousands of Demon Beasts guarded the entrance, as if to advertise the importance of the prisoner within.
Meanwhile, Lomond sat smugly on his throne, waiting for the Hero Squad to infiltrate his palace.
A classic case of misdirection: one side overthinking, the other underthinking…
The three women waited patiently outside the dungeon, and finally, during a shift change, they slipped inside.
The stench intensified, almost unbearable, especially for Sylph, with her sensitive elven nose. Her face paled, and she fought back the urge to vomit.
The dungeon was filthy, prisoners’ waste littering the floor, a normal condition for Demon Beasts, perhaps, but a hellish scene for humans.
A wide corridor led to the cells, each one made of metal, the walls above carved with images of the Demon King, his massive form seated on his throne, a crimson axe by his side, a constant reminder of his power and authority.
Compared to the thousands of guards outside, the inside of the dungeon was sparsely guarded. The cells held Demon Beasts who had offended Lomond, their roars echoing through the corridor.
Although large by human standards, the cells were cramped for some of the larger Demon Beasts, their bodies curled up, the thick chains binding their limbs rattling with every movement.
This made the three women frown. Their plan seemed to have gone awry.
They quickened their pace, reaching the end of the corridor.
Nothing. Ronald wasn’t there.
“What’s going on? Could there be a hidden cell?” Airi asked, looking at Sylph.
Sylph shook her head.
“No Mana fluctuations, no magic barriers, no hidden cells… There’s nothing here,” she said, her gaze fixed on Airi, “We’ve been tricked.”
The implication was clear: Eileen and Airi’s judgment had been wrong. They had underestimated the Demon Beasts.
Eileen and Airi couldn’t accept this. They felt a surge of frustration and anger at being outwitted.
Just then, a group of Pig-headed Men, their ranks disorganized, approached.
The Twin Thieves, without even exchanging a glance, moved as one.
Their bodies blurred, becoming phantoms.
With a series of hisses, thin, cicada-wing-like blades flew from Eileen’s hands, slicing through the air and embedding themselves in the foreheads of the Demon Beasts in the cells.
Hundreds of Demon Beasts died instantly.
Meanwhile, Airi moved through the approaching Pig-headed Men like a venomous snake.
They felt a gust of wind, then a strange tightness around their necks.
Airi materialized, her small hands manipulating thin, nearly invisible metal wires, specially forged for their flexibility and sharpness.
The Twin Thieves weren’t just proficient with daggers; they mastered any weapon that could easily end a life: poisons, crossbows, daggers, short swords, thin wires, hidden weapons…
The Pig-headed Men froze, staring at the barely visible wires around their necks.
“Who are you?” their leader growled.
“Too loud,” Airi said, a cruel smile flickering across her face. She flicked a wire with her fingernail.
With a hiss, the leader’s head was severed, rolling across the floor.
Blood spurted from his neck, his headless body collapsing. The stench of blood filled the air.
The other Pig-headed Men were terrified, not daring to move.
Airi’s voice, cold and hard, echoed in the dungeon. “Where is Ronald being held?” she asked.
The Pig-headed Man she addressed trembled, his eyes flickering with hesitation.
Ronald’s imprisonment was a closely guarded secret. If he revealed it, the Seventh Prince wouldn’t spare him.
As he hesitated, Airi flicked her wrist, and another head rolled.
Although they were Demon Beasts, she showed no hesitation, the blood splattering on her white dress and stockings, creating a strangely beautiful contrast.
She moved to the next Pig-headed Man, her voice still sweet and innocent, “Now, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”
Seeing the fate of his companions, and the thin wire around his own neck, he didn’t hesitate.
Betraying Prince Lomond might mean death.
But not answering this girl’s question meant certain, immediate death.
“I’ll… I’ll tell you…”
“Ronald is being held in the Seventh Prince’s palace,” he blurted out.
Although this was what Sylph, Eileen, and Airi had suspected, it was good to have confirmation.
But he wasn’t a good liar, his shifting eyes betraying him. Airi frowned and flicked her wrist, and another head rolled.
“My patience is wearing thin,” she said coldly, “I want to know everything about Ronald. Whoever tells me, lives. The rest… die.”
She twisted her wrist slightly, and the wires around the Pig-headed Men’s necks tightened, drawing blood.
Finally, unable to bear the fear of death, they screamed, “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
As the first one spoke, the others chimed in, eager to save their own lives.
What Ronald had endured was revealed, bit by bit.
“Prince Lomond captured Ronald… He’s being held in a cage, put on display for all the Demon Beasts to see.”
“He… entertained… thousands of Demon Beasts. He’s practically broken…”
“Any Demon Beast, as long as they pay, can have their way with him.”
“Even Demon Beasts from other territories have come to… taste… him.”
“He kept begging for mercy…”
“It was so pitiful, even I, a Demon Beast, couldn’t bear to watch.”
“It seems Prince Lomond made a deal with someone named Horus. It was all done according to Horus’s instructions…”
Lomond, a braggart, had told some of his subordinates about the deal, and their loose lips had betrayed him.
Hearing this, Eileen, Airi, and Sylph trembled, their faces pale. They finally understood what Ronald had endured.
It was the cruelest torture, a hellish nightmare.
For a nobleman like Ronald, so concerned with his dignity and appearance, this was a fate worse than death.
Horus, that damned bastard, who was he?
What grudge did he have against Ronald to torture him so cruelly?
“Where is he now?” Eileen asked, her voice cold and hard, her small body trembling with rage.
Thinking of Ronald sacrificing himself so she could escape, only to suffer such torment, she wanted to slaughter every single Demon Beast.
These filthy creatures didn’t deserve to live.
“Dead…”
“I heard he’s already dead, his body dumped in the forest.”
“Probably eaten by wild beasts by now.”
The three women’s faces turned ashen.
Ronald… was dead?
Eileen’s mind reeled, her heart aching, a murderous rage surging within her.
“Prince Lomond told us not to reveal his death, to pretend he’s still alive, to lure the other Hero Squad members into a trap…”
So… it was all a trap.
From the very beginning.
When had that idiot Lomond become so cunning?
“What about his belongings? His storage ring?” Airi asked, her voice trembling.
Even if Ronald was dead, they had to at least retrieve Jie Luo’s soul fragment.
“All his treasures naturally belong to Prince Lomond now.”
Silence.
Eileen and Airi, their gothic dresses seeming strangely out of place in this grim setting, their faces pale as death, their auras like vengeful spirits.
Ronald had been tortured, his body discarded, his soul fragment stolen.
And Lomond, powerful and surrounded by elite Demon Beasts, was beyond their reach. They had gained nothing, only the tragic news of their comrade’s death.
Airi couldn’t accept this. With a low, mournful cry, she lashed out.
Swish, swish, swish…
Dozens of heads rolled, the floor awash in blood, the headless bodies twitching.
Although Sylph also felt a pang of sadness, it wasn’t as intense as the twins’. She took a deep breath. “Let’s go back,” she said, “we need to reconsider our plan.”
Eileen and Airi agreed and followed Sylph out of the dungeon, moving as silently as they had come.
Everything seemed normal.
But suddenly, a Demon Beast sensed something, a flicker of movement, a faint human scent.
Its large eyes widened, and its claws lashed out instinctively.
Rip!
At the same time, Sylph materialized.
Her clenched hands suddenly opened.
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