Having descended from the skeletal dragon, Hektor confirmed that the panicked Lisa opposite him was indeed his target.
For tonight's operation, the four apostles were each assigned their tasks by the Wisdom Demon.
Leo specifically chose this lady, whose appearance was the easiest to identify and most unique, for the Great Demon. He even lent the skeletal dragon to Hektor, fearing that Hektor might not find his target.
However, Hektor circled in the air for a long time without noticing her, until Lisa, in an attempt to attack the Eagle Mercenary Group, released the undead warriors, causing such a commotion that he finally spotted her and immediately rushed over.
Such negligence.
Hektor shook his head at himself inwardly.
On the other side.
"Who are you? The Empire? The Lord's guards?"
In Lisa's understanding, such terrifying monsters could only possibly come from the most mysterious and powerful empire in this world.
As she tried to buy time with her words, she quietly retreated. Regardless of the identity of her opponents, the fact that her most beloved treasure, the undead warrior she summoned with all her effort, was now reduced to a pile of bones on the ground proved that the other party had no good intentions.
Seeing that the robust demon with red skin and giant claws in front of her did not answer, Lisa seized the opportunity to activate her power, attempting to flee into the distance.
Unfortunately, before she could take half a step, the skeletal dragon beside Hektor, with a flick of its tail— which to humans was like a steel bar—viciously struck Lisa, sending her flying back with several rolls. It took Lisa a good three or four seconds to barely climb up from the ground.
By then, Lisa had no more illusions. She immediately unleashed all her power, perhaps sensing the "host's" danger. The "insect" inside her no longer merely dwelled within her but started to control the host, causing Lisa's body to wriggle and change.
In just a few breaths, the previously nearly two-meter-tall, full-bodied lady had transformed into a blood-flesh worm, resembling a "large flapping moth."
Her mouth turned into an oval-shaped mouthpart, which she violently opened to spray out a stream of filthy toxins. Then, attempting to use the toxin to buy time, Lisa spread her slime-coated fluffy wings and was about to flee into the sky.
It was evident that even when controlled by the "insect" within, there was no desire to fight; the only thought was to have the host flee quickly.
But the next moment, Lisa's ankle was seized by a giant claw, and no matter how much she struggled, the claw below felt like the most solid iron pincer.
Following that, Hektor forcefully swung, pulling down the "moth" that had just risen less than half a meter into the air, then violently smashed it towards the ground.
Bang!
It was like slapping a blood-filled mosquito to the ground; the "insect form" of Lisa looked extremely pitiful. The Great Demon's smash directly caused her abdomen to burst open on the ground, splattering a large amount of insect juice onto the surface.
These "insect juices" were the precious essence obtained by Lisa through the constant trafficking of people via the Five Flowers Alliance, relying on blood sacrifices. It was her valuable asset for future breakthroughs.
Now that everything was destroyed, and knowing survival was hopeless, Lisa being a fierce character herself, no longer attempted to flee. Instead, she opened her sharp mouthparts to the fullest and lunged at Hektor, seemingly determined to bite the Great Demon before dying.
Regrettably, due to the burst insect abdomen and the loss of insect juice, which caused her size to shrink, Lisa could now be easily held in the air by the Great Demon with just one claw.
As the "moth" fluttered its wings, struggling up and down, Hektor slightly tightened his grip.
"Uh ah... Let... let go."
The Great Demon's "You may go now" was, without a doubt, the most beautiful sound all the members of the Eagle Mercenary had ever heard.
Apart from feeling fortunate for "surviving," they were also shocked that the Great Demon had spared them after seeing the medal, indicating that this Great Demon was also one of Reji's subordinates.
And a member of the force known as the "Demon Race."
Compared to Sword Demon Pierre, the Great Demon Hektor, whether in terms of size or the level of violence in combat, brought much more shock and awe.
To Sea Tiger and his members, the current Reji and the Demon race seemed like just the tip of the iceberg, with each revealed "tip" shocking and awe-inspiring them, making them wonder about the true enormity of the actual "iceberg."
The Great Demon, along with the previously mentioned blade-tipped demon, amounted to two terrifying beings.
But Sea Tiger himself suspected that there might still be more, perhaps a third or even a fourth party.
So after thinking deeply...
"Sir, we no longer have the strength to leave. Could we humbly ask you, humbly ask the demon race to give us shelter?" Sea Tiger said this sentence knowing that they had no turning back, and the Eagle Mercenaries were destined to join the monsters' side and could no longer return to human society.
But so what?
Luna looked around at the members slaughtered by the death knight, thought of the families and villagers killed by the Five Flowers Alliance, and realized that if they wanted revenge, if they wanted to make Ilinor a better place, if they wanted to fight against those who were like the real demons, they would have to become demons themselves.
"I understand."
Hektor nodded without refusal.
Being given a token by the king indicated that these humans were of value to be cultivated. Therefore, they were the property of the demon race, and he, as an apostle, should rightfully protect them.
Seeing the Great Demon's agreement, the adventurers felt a relief they hadn't experienced since the start of the night. They were truly, completely free from the tension of danger, truly and thoroughly at ease.
While they felt secure,
A person in the distance felt the exact opposite. The Imperial Envoy, originally a handsome blond man named Kasm, had witnessed the entire process. It wasn't what he wanted to see; from Lisa's resistance to her being crushed by the Great Demon, it all happened in less than half a minute, and he was just coming back to his senses from the shock.
Run! I must run now!
That demon gave him a feeling a thousand times more terrifying than the Empire's "Hunters." For someone from Ilinor, still seen as "the countryside" and lacking in broader understanding, as an Imperial Envoy with a wider perspective, he naturally had a better grasp of Hektor's strength.
Not just the Great Demon.
The skeletal dragon alone was unprecedented, and if it were to appear in the entire Empire, it would undoubtedly cause a tremendous shock.
I must take this message back!
As Kasm was about to activate the magic power in his body and use the wind magic to escape, a certain existence that had been hiding in the dark seemed to finally lose patience.
"Idiot."
Lordan cursed and then raised a dark green magic array under Kasm's feet. The next moment, the magic array flashed, and Kasm disappeared before he could react.
At the same time, the Great Demon looked toward the distant high place where the imperial envoy had been hiding, but he did not find anything and soon turned his head back.