Chapter 297 Inherited His Lord's Demonic Nature.

"Do you now understand how difficult it is for a renowned artist to draw a masterpiece? Greed is an idiot who doesn't know how to appreciate art; Luna is obsessed with the red color only, which makes her paintings too hideous. As for Darka, oh, let's not even talk about him; this guy constantly says that art comes from within; because of his crows. Apart from my lord, I certainly remain the most talented artist among them, don't you agree?!"

"...Huh? ...Just what you talk about since the start, master?"

Hearing Nicco's question and seeing the confusion in Helen's emerald eyes, Alvine's clone felt like he was surrounded by people from other planets who did not speak the same language as him.

"Sigh, information is crucial in a war; it is a weapon so sharp that if used well, it can kill the enemy by the wind that accompanies its blade. But this weapon is also sharper for its owner than for its enemy. Bad information leads to the total extermination of a group of intelligent donkeys. That's why I've always insisted on verifying the information that our spies give us every time. Not only is it to discover double agents, but also to check if our enemies have not used our spies to sell us false information and use us as intelligent donkeys walking behind a piece of dried wood!" He said, focusing his attention on Helen's cute face, which now had a surprise that was no less than Nicco's.

"... It's incredible how stupid intelligent donkeys are." She murmured.

"Kekek, as I often say, the smarter a person is, the easier it is to deceive him if you act like an idiot. That's also one of Sylvia's favorite strategies." He said to himself as he got up from the ground and wore the black armor that was hung on an iron mannequin behind him.

"It's time to start too. Don't forget something; our enemies are our prey, not predators. Secondly, they are here for the treasure, so by walking in the direction we want, these bastards will follow us no matter what happens because of their greed. That's why you need to stand out as much as possible in order to attract the big hats among them and drive them into one of the traps we had already set up." He gave these explanations while looking at Ashia, who had just finished communicating with Sabrina.

"Master, according to Mistress Rina, She will need a day to complete your request. But it does not guarantee the shadow core since she does not have the shadow attribute. As for the person who has this attribute outside of the lord, he is with her on the planet of Freyja; but the only problem is that this guy is too vicious when it comes to these kinds of things. So she prefers to manage without him and offers you a vampire envelope. She will wait for the lord's return, who is in another dimension to wage war alone, to offer you a core capable of resisting your powers from the shadow."

Ashia ended these words with this last sentence.

"Hmm, I don't have time to analyze everything by hand, thank you. Does this mean we will have about twenty-four days to help me change my body envelope? Kekek, I look like a spirit on this train; it's not to displease me!" These were the only words that Alvine added after hearing all of Ashia's explanations. He finally hung his two long swords on his back with a mocking smile.

"Master, are you sure it's a good idea to fight in this state? Your combat power has been reduced by at least 60%~70% after this incident with your original. You have to wait for us here and--

"Rah, don't worry about me. Even with a fighting force of 20%, I would have no trouble surviving against this army. I brought you back here only because I want none of these dickheads to escape. Unlike my lord, I am not a fan of loyal battles. A battle where only the most cunning and not the strongest wins, that, I call it a fucking exciting battle!" Just after these words, he disappeared before the eyes of the three maids.

"Nee, do you think it's a part of the master? I have never seen or heard of a spell that can create an identical copy of its caster. It's normally impossible, isn't it?" Nicco barely asked that Alvine leave the tent.

"Hmm, I'm not sure either. But it doesn't matter. The considered as a copy or a substitute is as we are considered as such as too. Once created, with an independent consciousness, the latter becomes an existence in its own right, no matter what he thinks or not." Ashia replied without taking the situation too seriously.

Seeing her calm response, Nicco looked at Helene, who was, until now, silent. "What do you think, little Helen?" She asked, looking straight into her emerald pupils.

Instead of being dressed in armor like both, she wore a long plain black dress with red Wyvern scales on the dress as decoration.

Upon hearing Nicco's question, she did not change her expression. She opened her pink lips and spoke calmly: "During the master's first appearance, I was present with the lord. If I'm not mistaken, his goal at that time was to strengthen his soul to resist spiritual attacks such as charms, illusions, etc., but when he learned the technique that was supposed to help him in this channel... puff! He appeared!" She said, gesturing to describe the scene she had seen.

"H-huh? Couldn't you be a little more precise than that?"

"I don't know myself since I was so confused at that time about my identity. In short, contrary to what the master thinks, the lord cherishes him more than he thinks himself; that's all I know." Following these last words, Helene also left the tent, followed by the other two.

"Helene, follow the master and intervene if necessary. As for you, Nicco, your role is to assist the three squads in the proper functioning of the traps that are in the artificial forest. Do not relax in this kind of situation, be serious for the smooth running of the mission." Ashia took command in Alvine's absence and left their teams this way.

"Despite the master assuring us that he will not need our help to exterminate these people and that he and the troops already in position are more than enough, our role is to watch in the shadows and prevent any unforeseen events that will happen. As for me, I would stay here to survey the entire front and assist those who will find it harder to get rid of their opponents to minimize losses as much as possible."

Just after completing this brief strategic focus, the two girls disappeared in front of her, leaving her alone in front of the tent.

The place where Alvine and his convoy were now was far from the kingdom of the elves, more precisely, hundreds of kilometers to the extreme south of the continent! The most mysterious and dangerous area, according to rumors, on the planet!

The southern area is covered with a bloody and toxic red mist, which even blocks the perception of divine mages.

In front of the entrance to the misty area, a colossal army consisting only of demons had arrived in front of this entrance. But for some reason, none of them had moved yet; because of the order of their chief general, a 300cm demon with a long black horn on his forehead and his bestial tusks that exceeded his chin.

He had dark black skin and rode a magic tiger with saber teeth that were also an emperor-ranking beast with an attribute of darkness.

"Head General, it's been an hour since our scouts left, and they still haven't returned; I think our opponents kidnaped them. What do you propose? Do we have to sound retirement? Or continue the exploration and prevent our opponents from having this artifact in their possession?" One of the three generals of the elite squad with the same demonic appearance asked respectfully.

The flag they had was not that of a golden lion (the symbol of King Brave), nor a black tree (that of the black elves), but a flag with two halberds crossed on a red background that represented the blood of their enemies. This badge was none other than the symbol of one of the three divine kings, the demonic king who governs over the demons on the planet of rank two that the divine trio rule; Artaros Falde, the demon king.

His impatience and desire for power due to his inferiority complex and ego did not allow him to ignore this information.

But strangely, he had not shared this information with the other kings since he wanted to complete this mission in secret and be the only beneficiary of the gains to get even a little closer to his other pairs.

But his greed will cause the destruction of fifty percent of the overall strength of his army.

To guarantee the success of the mission, he did not hesitate to send half of his most competent men to follow Alvine's troops in an incognito mod to test the ground in order to discover this mysterious tomb, collect all the gains and, at the same time, exterminate the opposing forces.

"Hmm, I don't really know; this situation is too strange. Even if our most reliable spies discovered the information, this area is perfect for an ambush with our field of vision already limited by these blood mists." He said, frowning while petting the mane of his tiger.

"Also, even my little poppy shows unconditional fear for the first time. It is--!

Before he finished his sentence, the ground began to shake fiercely, followed by a golden and blinding light that brightened the red mist as if a deity were coming down from the heavens!

"Fuck! Don't tell me that these bastards have already discovered the entrance to the grave?!" Seeing this glow, the only thing that came to his mind was the treasures.

"Head General, I understand your hesitation, but if we remain undecided for too long, there will be a problem if our opponents come out with this blood flute from the god of war! That's the moment to never attack them before they get their hands on them!" The general of the first elite squad stammered these words with the same conclusion as the head general.

"Tsk, Tsk, I know! Make the horn ring! We will exterminate these wild dogs and come back victorious before dawn!" He yell these orders, raising his spear in the sky.

-Hiyah!!

Subsequently, he rushed into the heap with his tiger into the mist, followed by the others.

-Tuuuuuut-!!

At the same time, more precisely at the bottom of the forest, whose trees and hills were black, Alvine stopped using the manifestation of his aura and retracted his hand with a salacious smile.

"My faith, so you needed a motivation to join the party, Huh? Kekek, I like to see hard ones; it will only be juicier when they are well-cooked!" He whispered with a smile going all the way to his ears.

"Sigh, I would never have imagined that I needed such a large amount of energy to make a simple manifestation of my aura. Well, well, it was worth it." He then continued while wearing his helmet.

-Only the second phase of the initial plan: Prey hunting!