Chapter 31: Prime Demons

There was little light in the tunnel, but that did not affect their sight.

It was not so dark that they couldn’t see in front of them.

Neo looked around at the wide tunnel they were in, its walls were rough.

It was a tunnel carved by natural forces.

He wondered what caused a domain like this to form in the true outlands.

With the little he had seen of the domain now.

He could guess that it was a very vast one.

This entrance had only the Adventurer Guild using it.

There was the military. They used another entrance.

And there was also the demons.

All of them were using separate entrances.

If those entrances were anything like this one, then this was one vast domain.

There might also be other entrances which the military would have used to enter the domain while investigating it.

He had no doubt that the cultivators and bloodline bearers from other powers would be entering through their own separate entrances too.

He had been learning about the situation of the mortal world.

He had learned about the different powers. There were not only the Adventurer Guild, and the military which seemed to be a directive from the Immortal World.

There were the families, which was where most of the bloodline bearers were gathered.

There were also the kingdoms, empires, and all manner of city-states.

The City of Immortal Glory was one such power. A city-state governed by a S-Rank cultivator.

These other powers had their own domains, but they were nowhere near the first three in strength, influence or resources.

The mortal world might not be anywhere near the Immortal World in size, but it was densely populated.

"What are you thinking?"

Raela who was next to him whispered.

Although, Neo was keeping up with the group. She could tell that his mind had drifted somewhere else.

"Nothing."

Neo looked behind.

Apart from the bloodline bearers, there was no one else.

It seemed the remaining adventurers had yet to enter.

The Adventurer Guild had their schedule for this mission. He just had no idea what it was.

Nothing had happened since the group entered the domain.

All that happened was just a long trek in the middle of nowhere.

When Neo thought that there was not much excitement.

The domain decided to create one for the group.

The strange entites Kotil had warned them about were the first to show up.

They came out of the tunnel walls around them.

They were strange, ghostly etities that took on the form of rocky humanoids.

Their height twice that of the tallest person in the group.

They swarmed the group with a ferocity that was uncalled for.

It was sudden, but everyone had been prepared for anything that might occur in the domain.

Their response was immediate.

All sort of techniques flew across the tunnel.

The strange creatures that had come out of the tunnel walls were blasted into smithereens.

All the bloodline bearers here were experienced adventurers.

The whole place became devoid of the strange creatures in no time.

Neo had taken note of the techniques that flew across the room.

All of them were considered good techniques in the Immortal World up there.

They were taught as the basics to every child.

It seemed the families were propped up by the heritage of the Immortal World.

The appearance of the strange creatures was just a small disturbance.

The group didn’t wait.

They moved onward.

The tunnel looked like it had no end.

It went straight ahead, with no diversion.

Although, the tunnel walls still had that rough, natural feel. Neo was beginning to doubt if the tunnel was truly natural.

Domains formed in the Immortal World too.

The essence up there was more than dense enough to create all sorts of miraculous wonders.

He had read about them.

This domain they were in was looking less and less like one.

The occasional encounter with the strange creatures crawling out of the tunnel walls was the only break from the monotonous sight of the tunnel.

It was otherwise just boring.

They were all still vigilant, but everyone had become less tense than when they entered.

There was a sudden shift in the tunnel.

Everyone felt the change, subtle as it was.

All traces of relaxation faded from their bodies.

Kotil raised his hand.

It was the signal for everyone to stop.

"The entrance we are in has joined with another entrance. Everyone should be on the highest alert."

He didn’t need to say that last part.

Everyone knew what their entrance joining with another meant.

Anything could approach them now.

Whether it be demons or whatever strange things this domain would throw at them.

And it did throw something at them.

The tunnel which had only been going straight ahead, now had a branch joining it from the side.

A group of humans rushed out of it, and entered their tunnel.

They were disheveled and out of breath.

Their eyes widened in shock and darted about.

It was as if they had just witnessed the most scary event of their whole life.

Whatever it was must have scared the hell out of them.

There were fifteen of them. They weren’t wearing the uniform of the military.

That could only mean one thing.

They were from one of the other powers.

Everyone in the group observed them.

They rushed towards the group.

It was as if they had seen something that could finally stabilize their worldview.

Not long after they entered the tunnel the group was in, what had been chasing them appeared.

Everyone did a sharp intake of breath when they saw what appeared.

Not one, not two.

Hundreds of prime demons.

They outnumbered the group which had less than two hundred people in it.

The prime demons were unhurried.

It seemed they hadn’t been too intent on wiping out the fifteen people that ran into the group’s entrance.

The prime demons stopped at the intersection where the two entrances joined.

They observed the group.

Everyone in the group also observed them.

Prime demons.

Neo now realized why Raela had said meeting one was never good news.

Demons were already tough to deal with.

Their bodies were made for physical combat.

The prime demons were the perfection of the demons.

All of them had the normal features of the demons. Fangs, claws, tails.

Then added to that was their own perfection.

Their whole physique was compact. Their bodies concealed far greater strength than was apparent.

Each was at a height of two meters.

But that was just part of it.

There was the scales that covered their whole body. It vibrated.

Almost like it would shoot out from their body, and pierce their opponents.

If they still had anything special even after all this.

Neo knew they required one to be truly and fully vigilant.

The two groups continued to observe each other.

The fifteen people who had ran out of that entrance were hiding behind the bloodline bearers.

Their hearts didn’t seem to have calmed.

The prime demons didn’t cross over, but everyone had readied their techniques for whatever might come.

Essence aura were already released.

Bloodlines activated.

They waited for the demons to make their move.

This went on until the entrances which had joined together separated, and the tunnel returned to its previous state.

Now, the only way they could go was forward.