Chapter 265 - The Demon Kretos

In the past long forgotten by most of the races, the demons waged an endless war against each other. The demons were a race with different tribes and clans. Most demi-humans with high amounts of mana or the so called intelligent monsters were considered demons by the other races.

The other races considered these demons to be a threat but at the same time, not a threat. They were a threat since every individual tribe of the demons were powerful beings. But at the same time, they weren't a threat since those powerful beings were too busy fighting against each other to even notice the other races. 

...

The land were the demons lived consists of half the continent and in that land war was a common sight. To the demons, going to war was as natural as breathing and eating. It was a common occurrence to see tribes and clans having small skirmishes, here and there. 

In this place full of blood and death only power was righteous. Among these powerful demons, there were five tribes that rule over a large portion of the land. The succubus tribe ruled the lands to the South. The Vampire tribe ruled the lands to the west. The Kitsune tribe ruled the lands of the East. The Tengu tribe ruled the land or to be more precise the skies of the North. Ruling the land located in the middle of all those four powerful tribes was the last of the five, the Lycan tribe.

These five powerful tribes dominated all the other tribes in their respective area, and the one to rule above them all were the most powerful member of each tribe those that were called demon lords.

The succubus tribe to the south had the Demon Empress Nimune. Among the other demon lords, her mana capacity was of the highest tier. She also had her racial ability that is to charm and ensnare opponents with weak wills. She has the largest army among all the other demon lords. With her army by her side, she has the grand dream of uniting all the tribes other one banner, her banner. 

The Vampire tribe to the west had the Vampiric Lord Darius. The Vampire lord had both the physical and magical strength that could overwhelm most foes. He was a cunning individual that uses his subordinates as chess pieces. He was mostly satisfied with playing with the lives of the weaker tribes by using schemes and deceptions. 

The Kitsune tribe to the east had the Demonic Fox Tsukiko. The Demonic Fox was the weakest among the demon lords when it came to physical strength. But she overcame that weakness with a variety of skills and spells. She was the demon lord with the highest mana capacity. Her personality was rather playful and unlike most demons disliked going to war. 

The Tengu tribe to the north had the Overlord of the skies Jiro. The Overlord of the skies ruled over the mountainous area of the north that was filled with flying demonic tribes. He was a prideful warrior that believed that those that could only walk on the ground were ants that were beneath his notice. Among the Demon lords, he was the quickest and most prideful of the bunch, and that meant something since all the demon lords were rather prideful individuals. 

The Lycan tribe that was situated in the middle of the four powerful demonic tribes had their clan chief, the Mighty Lord Kir. Among all the demon lords, Kir had the greatest physical abilities. Kir was the only demon lord that lived by a code of honor. He was like Tsukiko and didn't really like war, but if someone were to attack his territory he would retaliate with all his might. His fangs show no mercy to intruders. 

...

In the Southern demon tribes under the rule of the Succubus tribe, was a mysterious tribe called the horned demons. The horned demons had no special attribute except for the different shaped horns that grew on their forehead. They were a rather weak tribe and were very similar to humans with the only difference was having horns. Within this weak demon tribe, hides the strongest clan of the South.

The Shadow Clan of the Horned Demons. This clan was a clan of assassins that uses the shadows as their weapons. They were only a few Horned Demons of the Shadow Clan. As every year only ten of their children get to survive. 

...

From an early age, the Shadow Clan train their young in the art of assassination. Through this ten-year training course, the weak ones would die before the final examination.

The final examination happens when the young ones of the Shadow Clan turn sixteen. Despite the ease of which the Shadow Clan procreates their clan consisted of only a few members, and this was because of the final exam. 

The final exam was a battle royale between the young ones, and the final ten to survive would be able to become true members of the Shadow Clan. Yet even such a clan was shocked to see the results of one particular final exam. 

...

It started out like any other final exam of the Shadow Clan. The young ones who had turned sixteen years old were sent out to the examination area which was a nearby forest. In this forest were a lot of deadly creatures, so aside from worrying about attacks from their peers the young ones would also be wary of attacks from the monsters in the forest.

So usually at the start of the examination, every young one would use their greatest advantage which was hiding in the shadows. There they will wait for the opportunity to strike the others. That's what would usually happen, but this year one of the young ones didn't hide and boldly stood in an open area. 

This would have been a foolish move to make for any Shadow Clan member, yet to the young boy, it didn't seem to be a problem. Most of his peers thought that he was a sitting duck and was going to be easily subdued yet the moment they attacked was the moment they died. 

The boy in the middle of a pile of dead bodies smiled viciously at the surrounding area and shouted. "Come and attack me! I will not hide, nor will I run, so come and attack me!" 

...

The senior Shadow Clan members were surprised by what they saw. Some of them knew that boy as he was considered the worst student in the clan. He was someone who was always going out of the village and never practiced a single assassination art. They assumed that he would be the first to die in the final examination. So no one even bothered to remember his name. Yet the reality was different from their expectations.

Not only did the boy survive, but he killed every other examinee. He was the only one left standing. The senior Shadow Clan members were going to stop him when he had killed most of the examinees and the final ten were left. Yet the moment they saw him looking at them with that vicious smile of his as if he was waiting for them to make a move, the group of seniors were frozen in place. 

Those eyes were that of a ferocious monster eyeing their prey. The seniors who had survived through multiple battles of life and death couldn't move. Their instincts that had been honed from all those battles were telling them not to move. This scene would shock most of the Southern Demons who knew the Shadow Clan. 

...

Even after the boy had killed the remaining examinees the seniors couldn't approach the boy to congratulate him. They felt like the moment they approached they too would suffer a similar fate as the dead examinees. 

After waiting for a whole day the boy looked at the senior members of the Shadow Clan and sighed in disappointment. "Well, that was rather boring. You guys can continue to stay here and hide within the shadows, but I'm going out to have some fun."

The boy waved his hands at the seniors before he left. Once the boy's stillhouse was out of sight the senior members of the clan finally showed themselves. Each one of them looked at their companions and saw that they were all shaking from fear. 

"What was that boy's name?" One of the seniors asked the examiner in charge. 

"Student number 302600, Kretos."