"Successor to the clan? What are you talking about?!" Agares growled.
The man in the black robe with red pupils kept staring at Agares. From his dark eyes, he could faintly sense a pure and powerful darkness, even stronger than the dominant darkness element of the Demon Emperor Vael'Tharon.
Despite that, Agares was still weak. His strength wasn't even enough to catch the Princess's attention. He still needed to grow further.
The man stepped forward and walked a short distance away from Agares. Agares' face paled and his body went limp. The mysterious man handed him two mana potions.
"After you've restored your mana, return to Caer Vireth and practice hard. When you reach the officer stage, come to Stormgarde!" he explained.
"Stormgarde? The ruins of the Saber City?" asked Agares.
"There is someone waiting for you there. If you insist on going there in your current condition, she will kill you!"
As the two were talking, they turned and saw a group of undead knights limping up from the mountain valley. They had come because they sensed a human aura in this place.
"I have done my part. Now, it's in your hands!"
The mysterious man in black robes flew quickly away from the Morgor Mountains, leaving Agares to drink the two mana potions. His pale face returned to normal, and his strength returned as before.
Agares smiled slightly. He stood up, drawing his sword from its sheath, facing the undead knights directly. The only way for Agares to leave this place was to defeat the undead knights.
He knew he couldn't kill them, but at least he could knock them down and make it difficult for them to chase after him.
"Come here, you undead knights!"
Elsewhere, a mysterious man in a black cloak flew across the border using his magical camouflage ability, a high-level magical ability that was difficult to detect by the magical knights guarding the border.
The man continued flying through the skies of the human realm, aiming to reach Stormgarde City in the Kingdom of Virelion. He must report what he had seen to the Demon Emperor's Princess, Liel'Tharon.
His swift flight allowed him to arrive at the ruins of Stormgarde City. Once a magnificent and luxurious city, it was famous forits many talented Saber knights.
But since the Empire's decree was announced, Stormgarde City had been in decline until it was completely destroyed by the forces of the 6 Knights' Halls alliance. Now, Liel was using the city's ruins as her base.
A mysterious man in black robes arrived at an empty house, opened the floor door, and stepped down the stairs. There, he saw a large space similar to a small underground city.
Liel and many demon races had built it over hundreds of years, with a total population of 7,000 people living in the small underground city, which continued to grow every year.
He flew back into the sky above the city to reach the stone castle where Liel ruled. Several demon races in human camouflage stood guard, wearing armor and holding spears. The only thing that set them apart from humans was the color of their pupils.
"I wish to report the results of my surveillance to Her Grace Princess Liel," replied the man.
"Of course, Officer Goro."
The two guards opened the door, revealing a magnificent hall made of rocks and natural minerals, with large pillars supporting the structure. The hall reminded the demons of the 1000-Star Palace in the Athanor Region.
At the end of the hall, Liel sat casually with her hands folded. Liel could sense a spiritual aura approaching her. When she opened her eyes, Officer Goro entered, removing his black cloak to reveal his black mage uniform.
"Goro?" Liel asked.
"My deepest respect to Your Grace Princess Liel," said Goro, bowing.
"What is it?" asked Liel.
"It concerns the heir to His Majesty the Demon Emperor, Princess Liel."
"How is he? Is he ready to be taken to Athanor?" asked Liel, starting to stare intently at Goro.
"I'm sorry, Your Grace. In my opinion, he is not ready yet," replied Goro.
Liel clenched her hands on the armrest of the throne, causing a powerful magical energy to ripple through the throne room. Officer Goro bowed his head, explaining in detail his opinion of Agares.
"His name is Agares, he is one of the chosen heroes of Caer Vireth," explained Officer Goro, who had successfully investigated Agares.
"Chosen Hero? What's his job?" asked Liel.
"That… Saber," said Goro, softly.
"HAHAHA!"
"How interesting! I didn't expect there to be someone with the job of Saber after hundreds of years."
"What's the situation?" asked Liel, growing more curious.
Officer Goro explained everything, starting from Helderic's pursuit of Agares to Agares' mission to the Morgor Mountains. Right now, the people in the palace only know that Agares was killed.
"The Great Empire's hatred towards people with the job of Saber is undeniable. This could be an advantage for us," replied Liel.
"Advantage? What do you mean, Princess?" asked Officer Goro.
"Make the entire world hunt him down," Liel said firmly.
Liel rose from her seat on the throne, gracefully descending the stairs until she stood directly in front of Goro.
Her long black hair flowed freely, her tall and slender figure adorned in an elegant black-and-purple gown, her eyes a pure red. At first glance, anyone would be mesmerized by Liel's appearance.
However, Officer Goro knew very well how terrifying and cruel Princess Liel was. She was willing to do anything to ensure the rise of the demon race.
"Call the first and second Demon Teams here. I have an important mission for them," explained Liel, grinning with a sharp gaze.
"Y-Yes, Princess Liel."
"Agares… I want to see how you respond to the world that has turned against you.
***
Two days later.
Zoragul Border Castle.
Agares successfully left the Red Line Region and entered the border castle. With his access token, he stepped from the border exit to the castle gate. He intended to return to Faircallen Village and hand over the herbal plants he had obtained to Priestess Ara.
"Are you done?" asked one of the gate guards, the one who had given Agares the access token.
The man pressed his magic pouch and brought the access token into his hand. He returned the access token to the guard.
The guard smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that the access token had been returned to him. Agares walked away without riding his horse, leaving the border castle behind. He reactivated his smart navigation to quickly arrive at Faircallen Village.
"Nyx," Agares called.
[Standby Mode Deactivated]
[Do you need anything, Master?]
"Set the best route to Faircallen Village," Agares replied.
[Performing smart navigation]
[Destination: Morgor Mountains]
[1%] [100%]
[Route found]
[I've found two fastest routes to Faircallen Village. Which one do you choose, Master?]
From the system panel in front of Agares, he could clearly see that the two routes Nyx was referring to were a route through the city and a route through the forest. Agares had an idea.
'It would be dangerous for me to cross the forest without a horse, especially through the Banyan Tree Forest. I'm out of asparagus,' replied Agares.
'Maybe I should visit the city and sell what I've got,' explained Agares.
"Take the route through the city," said Agares.
[City route selected]
[Estimated arrival at Faircallen Village: 5 days]
Agares nodded. At the intersection ahead, Agares had to take the left route to reach Hurdor City, the city that supplied weapons and food to Zoragul Border Castle.
The man continued walking, still wearing the black cloak that covered his body and head. Occasionally, he stepped over the knights on horseback heading for the border castle.
They rode with full armor and spears, plus the flag of the Kingdom of Caer Vireth fluttering between them.
'Why are there so many soldiers now?' asked Agares, narrowing his eyes.
Arriving at the gate, he saw a line of people and horse-drawn carriages waiting to enter the city. When Agares looked closer, one of the guards was holding a piece of paper with a sketch of Agares' face.
'What? They're after me? Don't Helderic and the people at the palace know that I'm still alive?' asked Agares.
'Who told them? Priestess Ara? I doubt she did,' replied Agares.
'Damn! What should I do?'