42 Book 3 Chapter 38

The demons Lavos killed decayed at a visible rate, quickly becoming ashes in the wind, while the ground absorbed any blood spilled. The only thing left behind was the sea of essence dropped by demons slain by ascenders.

Everyone went out to gather the loot after a brief period of mourning. Thankfully same tier essence could be stacked in an inventory, so there was no need to count them one by one. Who knew how long that would take?

"Come on, Pete, tell us already!" The essence ended up in Peter's hands, making him the only one privy to the final tally. Looking around at the greedy gobli- er, no, his comrades, Peter cleared his throat and announced slowly. "2,142,190 tier one essence."

"My god!"

"Holy hell!"

Everyone's jaws hit the ground. Peter's division hunted countless demons over the past week, yet even added together, they killed but a tiny fraction compared to last night. Their feelings were akin to a farmer harvesting crops after a bountiful season. How delightful!

In the silence, someone asked. "What about tier two?"

Peter gathered his wits after hearing the question. He didn't know either, so he took another glance at his inventory. His face dropped as he spoke through clenched teeth. "98,111 tier two essence."

"Hm? That's good, but…"

"Doesn't that mean?" People glanced at their companions as they simultaneously came to the same realization. The struggle and hardship they endured for hours, all of it was against the weakest demons?! Sure, there was some tier two demons sprinkled in, but they were a minority.

Shenlong stood next to Peter, his voice flat. "How many tier three?"

"112," Peter's shoulders dropped as he replied.

The excitement of triumphing against the blood moon vanished, replaced by the grim realization that they were but ants. Yes, ants. The culmination of various professions came together to create the best defense humanity could offer, yet it was barely enough for a horde of tier one demons. How many ascenders would have died if Lavos didn't step in? Half of them?

"What are you all despairing for?" Lavos appeared behind Peter when everyone felt demotivated. Perhaps it was because he was old, but Lavos felt the need to lift everyone's spirits. "First of all, the scale of the monster horde is based on the number of people in a haven. Let's say you lost half last night. Next week, the horde would be much more manageable."

Peter shook his head. "Then wouldn't we lose half again next week?"

Jason stood among the crowd. Unlike his companions, there was no emotion on his face. It seemed like whether they won or lost didn't matter.

After a moment of silence, Peter clenched his hands and pleaded. "I'm unwilling to lose another person. Please, Lavos, is there anything we can do?"

The minotaur didn't respond immediately. At first, Lavos wanted to say 'how arrogant,' but the fire in Peter's eyes reminded him of his youth. He remembered the sense of loss upon losing his parents and how he wanted to become a hero to protect his tribe. He was naïve. No matter how hard he trained, or how many demons he slaughtered, the fate of his tribe seemed inevitable. The once ten thousand strong tribe now numbered under a hundred.

It wasn't fair.

Pure demons and demons like Lavos could grow stronger by forming runes, yet pure demons could fully extract the essence of any living creature. Just like these humans. They didn't need to extract essence by consuming flesh inefficiently.

So why was he hesitating?

Hadn't he already decided when he stepped in earlier?!

"There is a method," Lavos' deep voice broke through the silence. He held Peter's gaze. "Upgrade your haven."

Just as Peter was about to say something, Lavos continued with a crazy glint in his eye. "You need a blueprint, and there's only one place to get them. You need to raid a pure demon stronghold!"

"Ah, I thought as much." Peter clicked his tongue. They found a pure demon town on the first day, but he wanted to avoid confrontation until they were stronger. Now, it seemed, they had no choice.

"There is one problem," Lavos explained with a sigh. "Many years ago, I wanted a blueprint for my tribe, and I even acquired one after wiping out a small stronghold. I just didn't expect some pure demons to arrive from afar to investigate the disappearance of their kin. As for the rest, you know what happened."

Peter touched his chin and mused aloud. "We can ignore the strongholds nearby. That way, they won't be able to trace it back to us."

"That might work, but I have a better idea." Lavos broke into a toothy grin. "If, say, a monster horde attacked, they'd only think the stronghold was unlucky."

"Do monster hordes happen without a blood moon?" Peter inquired. He thought it was possible to mask their attack by using a monster horde as a scapegoat. No, it was more than possible.

"It's rare, but occasionally a demon with both strength and intelligence appears. To them, a pure demon is the finest delicacy, so they usually target strongholds. Most fail, though." Lavos licked his lips just thinking about it.

"Okay, good." Peter released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. This was great news. With a goal in sight, the gears in his head began to turn as he formed a plan. They had the strength to wipe out a pure demon town; he was sure of it. The only problem was how to get a monster horde to hide the evidence. Damn, if they had Eboni, she could shapeshift into a terrifying beast and form a monster horde. It was a shame she died.

As Peter looked at his companions, his gaze eventually settled on Andy. The kid had shivered in fear the entire night. It was time for him to work, coward, or not.