CHAPTER 470: RETURN TO PLATEAU VILLAGE

For the most part, Aishael fulfilled her role admirably as the leader of this new city, or at the very least, she wasn’t at a disadvantage in any negotiations with the Matriarchs. To begin with, the Half-Elves weren’t exactly an entirely new race in the Underdepths, they had merely gained their independence, that’s all.

More importantly, the matter with the Half-Elves was finally settled. It was now time for me to journey into the Western Human Realms and find Nicole.

While Paliseth might have strongly objected to this, I wasn’t about to let some old hag get in the way of me finding Nicole. Yet it was also a fact that I was no longer the same Devil as I was before. I was now the Holy Child of the Dark Elves, and as such, it would be unbecoming of me not to bring a suitable entourage. And that’s why… we brought along an entire army’s worth…

It went without saying that Jezsere and Reyage would accompany me. Zurnalin stuck herself fast to me while Mo Ning changed back to her black horse form in order to accompany me discreetly. Finally, just as a precaution, the other Matriarchs prepared a contingent of five thousand Blood Drake Riders, three thousand elite Assassins and twenty thousand seasoned soldiers to guard me.

I thought I said I was just going to find Nicole, not start a war. Why the fudgecakes did those old hags send an entire army along to guard me? I know they mean well, but wouldn’t an army just make things worse? How the heck do they want me to hide a whole army of Dark Elves amongst Humans? I can already imagine the panic that will cause when one of the most infamous races in this realm starts popping up in the tens of thousands -a war will start, that’s what!

However, there was no way they would allow me to go into the Western Human Realms without an escort either. Finally, after much discussion, I picked out a hundred of the most elite Assassins to follow me. Each of these Assassins were at least Seven-star with some being Eight-star. There were, however, no Nine-stars as that would cause a panic if they were to ever step onto the surface world…

Such a bother, I swear… I know they are just concerned for my safety, but still… I guess I will just have to endure the mountains of gifts they force on me as well. Why am I such a saint?

It was worth mentioning at this point that the various Matriarchs had also gifted me with Soulstones, raising my power up to Five-star before we set off on this journey.

This time, my power up did not bring with it any new abilities, the reason being due to my Consciousness Impartment. As an ability, Consciousness Impartment was considered a divine-class ability. In other words, only divinities were supposed to possess such an ability. But that was only to be expected, seeing as it was an ability I had gained after absorbing Lucifer’s feather. At this point, I was basically a son of Lucifer thanks to that feather remolding my being. Thanks to the unnaturally high level of this ability, every other bloodline or power within me had been completely suppressed to nothingness…

What a scam…

Strictly speaking, the transformation magic of a Lust Demon could take on two basic forms. The first was where you simply became more humanlike. The other was where you would transform into a mold of your choice.

Naturally, I chose the first, seeing as I was already devastatingly handsome! Clearly not because I had already forgotten what my previous self looked like!

As expected, my new human form was gorgeous… I mean, handsome!

By using a teleportation array, it only took an instant for us to reach a human territory. Being a race of Assassins, it wasn’t a surprise to me at all that these Dark Elves had hidden teleportation arrays scattered throughout the Western Human Realms. When Reyage and Jezsere fled their home, they did not dare take such a teleportation array so their escape ended up taking longer than necessary. Their return was the same as well; they did not know their clan’s attitude towards them so they dared not use the array.

Under the guidance of the Dark Elves, we quickly emerged from the underground teleportation array to the surface, coming out right in the middle of an unknown forest.

Being the first time in ages since I was above surface, the sun’s glaring rays immediately hit me like a truck. Thankfully, everyone present had come prepared with eye protection already.

The hundred-strong Assassin company’s main mission was to ensure my safety. Upon acclimatizing themselves to the surroundings, they quickly disappeared into the shadows, never to be seen by normal beings. In actuality, it wouldn’t have mattered at all even if they were found out. They had already employed magical transformation tools to mask their distinctive racial features. Their otherwise pointy ears had turned rounded but their skins remained mostly the same. If there was one thing bad I had to say about these transformations, it would be that they all ended up with black hair and black eyes. In that very instant, it felt like I returned to the land of the star-spangled red banner once more… but in ancient times…

“Master! This is the forest near Old Plateau Village, Jezsere has been here before.” Seeing a familiar setting around her, Jezsere couldn’t help but get a little excited as she pointed ahead. “Roughly ten kilometers ahead is the village!”

“Oh… that was unexpectedly smooth sailing…” To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by how well everything was proceeding. Unbelievable, even! As a perennial stepson of RNGesus, my luck can only be considered deadly.

“Did you say something, master?”

“Nothing.” I quickly answered then turned around to wave at Reyage and Zurnalin. I then patted the mane of Mo Ning who had turned into a black horse. “Let’s hurry, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Ancarin and Regine.”

It really has been a while, hasn’t it… three years, if I’m not mistaken. Also, wasn’t Ancarin pregnant when I last left her, thanks to that scum of a human, Duran. She even said she would kill her child if it was a boy… I guess we should all be thankful that the child is born a girl then.

Then there’s that wife of a bandit, the former wife of that poor sucker, Moranthal. She gave birth to a daughter that had wolf-like features. Based on what Jezsere told me, that daughter was delivered to Ancarin by Moranthal himself… I wonder if she even has enough juice for two little rascals…

Ah… a reunion, at last.

For the most part, we remained silent throughout the short journey to Old Plateau Village. Under Reyage’s guidance, it took only half a day before we reached our destination. By now, the village had undergone massive changes, the three disparate villages had combined into a single new county.

In actuality, Old Plateau Village wasn’t an impoverished region at all. Its hills contained an array of local specialties that could be easily sold. It was only held back by the threat of bandits, but now that they were gone, the village had started to receive new merchants. Because of that, the villagers had experienced an increase in living standards as well.

Even before we had reached the village, we could already spot a bunch of boys running about and having fun. The adults happily watched them from the side while chatting idly with each other -every bit the idyllic village.

However, something had struck me as odd right away… why were they all boys?

What happened to all the girls? Where are all my adorable little girls hiding? Don’t tell me it’s because they’ve gotten wind of my coming?

Because the Assassins were all hidden from plain sight, it was easy for me to come up with identities for those around me. Reyage was my butler. Jezsere was my maid and Zurnalin was my bodyguard. Mo Ning… was clearly just a horse. Our current grouping was that of an adventurous nobleman and his servants.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players, am I right?

I would have loved to say hi to some of my old acquaintances in the village, but for some reason or another, we never met a single one even after passing through the entire village. Not Moranthal, not Dioh, not Io, and not even the likes of Eddison. Man… where has the old gang gone off to?

I honestly didn’t mind much, seeing as my face wasn’t even the same anymore. They were just acquaintances too. And just like that, we made our way straight to the Demoness Abode.

Because the Demoness Abode had been constantly taking in fleeing women, the Abode had now grown considerably into a miniature village.

Rows after row of well-built wooden houses lined the clearing before us neatly. Perhaps it was because only women lived in this clearing, but I could have sworn that I could smell a faint fragrance in the air as I stepped in.

“It has only been two years since I’ve visited, this place has really changed a lot.” Jezsere gazed about in wonder at the dozens of children running about in the grass. Seeing so many young girls frolicking about, she couldn’t help but have an urge to hug them. “Look at all the cute children. Oh… how adorable…”

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“Give it a few decades and they will all be old hags.” In contrast to Jezsere, Zurnalin was a lot more callous about the children, happily pouring cold water on our resident timid girl. “That’s the problem with humans: their lifespan is just too short.”

Hearing that, our resident timid girl first thought was to try and refute that, but even with her naivety, she knew that Zurnalin was speaking the truth. Because of that, she could only swallow her unhappiness and pout.

I had originally planned to comfort her, but it was at that point that Mo Ning suddenly licked her lips and gave off a strange look. “Their souls look rather tasty.”

“Hey! No eating them, they are my faithful!” Hearing what she said, I almost exploded on the spot. But seeing as Mo Ning was a creature of Purgatory, it was only second nature for her to pursue delicious souls. Yet that only served to worry me even further. As a precaution, I made sure to warn her once more. “I do not want you eating anyone’s soul without my permission! Otherwise I will send you right back to Purgatory, got it?”

“Okay dearest, I’ll listen to you.” Faced with my stern warning, Mo Ning surprisingly did not argue at all.