The Great Plains of Stanza (2)

Vivian suddenly stopped running and squinted her demonic eyes.

Is that what I think it is…?

Up ahead was a group of caravans gathered around a campfire. To be exact, three caravans were forming like a triangle and in the middle was the bonfire.

Should I approach in this form…?

Or...

She shook her head.

What am I even thinking…?

What is the point of going there in human form…?

Vivian was currently in her 3-meter-tall Lesser Demon form so she only had 4 arms and one of her hands was holding all of her belongings wrapped with a blanket. 

Back when I attacked that rogue settlement at the Mobius Mountains, I didn't notice it…

Or to be specific, I forgot about it…

Demons are rare in this world because Greater Demons rarely interact with this world…

The average demon that people in this world encounter are Lesser Demons…

Forget about Greater Demons, if word gets out that there's a Demon lurking around this area, I wouldn't be surprised if the local authorities would come and search for it…

She began moving towards the camp.

***

Within the middle of the camp, there was a bonfire and four men gathered around it -- three were lying down on the floor and sleeping with a blanket wrapped around their bodies and one was sitting on a small chair and brandishing a poleaxe.

All of a sudden, the animals in front of the caravans became restless and they tried to run away but were unable to because others were trying to run in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, thanks to the whining that the animals were making and the noises that the caravans were making due to being moved, it alerted everyone who was inside and outside the caravans.

"La-Calm la-the la-animals!" a person said in a foreign language.

While most of the people were busy calming down the animals, a few were looking around to see if there was any enemy or enemies nearby. They were, after all, at the Great Plains of Stanza which is known to be a place where demons, bandits, monsters and other dangerous beings lurked.

"La-A la-demon!" another person shouted and pointed, causing everyone to turn to him and then look toward where he was pointing.

They saw a 3-meter-tall Lesser Demon casually walking towards them.

Vooom!

One person, a man in his early 20s carrying a halberd, charged and activated a skill.

[Power Spear].

Wooo-Chud.

The demon easily caught the tip of the halberd with one hand, shocking the young man because his attack didn't even leave a single scratch.

"This is how you greet a guest? How rude!" Vivian said with her demonic voice, surprising everyone who heard her.

Given that Vivian was only 3 meters tall, her voice was still clear. Nevertheless, it still carried a heavy distortion and had a slight screeching sound, thanks to the mouth structure of demons -- a chinless jaw and circular mouth with four layers of teeth and a 15-inch-long tongue. However, they weren't surprised to learn that the demon in front of them was a female. They were surprised to learn that it was speaking the Zonian language instead of the local languages.

While Vivian had her attention on the young man who attacked, another man took advantage of the situation by throwing his poleaxe with a skill.

[Power Throw].

Woooh!

Some of Vivian's eyes noticed the poleaxe flying straight at her body but she felt too lazy to catch it. Based on the speed alone, she could tell that it wouldn't be able to hurt her.

Still holding the tip of the halberd with her hand, she grabbed its blade and yanked it violently from the young man's hand.

Tic.

Thud.

The poleaxe that was thrown at Vivian with [Power Throw] finally reached her but it simply bounced against one of her arms before falling to the ground. And just like the first attack, it didn't leave any scratches.

"This is how you do it, boy."

Chaaa-riiip!

Thud.

Vivian stabbed the young man with the opposite end of the halberd using [Power Spear], causing an invisible force to shred the skin, meat and bones, creating a huge hole with a diameter of almost 2ft at the center of his body before falling to the ground.

Crack… Psss…

The halberd on her hand made a cracking sound and then disintegrated into dust.

Hmm…

Too weak…

One of Vivian's demonic eyes darted to the poleaxe on the ground while the rest were locked on the man who threw it at her and the other people around as she knelt and picked it up.

A man in his mid-30s suddenly stepped forward.

"GREAT DEMON, PLEASE STOP! WE MEAN NO HARM! TAKE ANYTHING YOU WANT! WE ONLY ASK FOR YOU TO SPARE OUR LIVES!"

Some of Vivian's eyes turned towards him.

"Didn't you know the rule of demons? An eye for an eye."

It was a lie. Or at least, she has never heard anyone, even at Basic Training and the Training Course that demons practice such a rule.

"An eye for an eye…?" the man in his mid-30s said with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Vivian finally got up and aimed the poleaxe at the man who threw it at her.

Seeing what Vivian was doing, the man's face became pale.

"La-W-W-Wait…!" he begged and made a stopping sound with his hand. However, he saw that his pleas fell on deaf ears so he turned around and looked at one of the caravans. And before he could even run towards it, the poleaxe already went flying.

[Power Throw].

Wooo-riiip!

The poleaxe shot through the man and he suffered the same fate as the first man. The weapon also disintegrated into pieces once it landed on the ground.

Vivian turned to the man in his mid-30s and began walking towards him. When she finally got in front of him, she leaned down and stared at him.

"Are you the leader of this group?"

"Y-Y-Yes… M-My Lady…" he said and then bowed deeply. "I am Felisimo, a merchant from La Uccello Town of the La Spada Kingdom and this humble merchant is at your service."

Vivian tilted her head to the side slightly and her demonic eyes blinked a few times.

My Lady…?

Well, I am, after all, a Noble…

At least was offered to be…

She let out a small chuckle and the tentacles on her mouth wiggled.

When Felisimo and some of the people nearby heard Vivian chuckle, or what they perceived to be a chuckle because her voice carried a heavy distortion and had a slight screeching sound, thanks to the mouth structure of demons, a sliver of hope started to appear inside their hearts. They also took note that she spoke to them in the Zonian language which wasn't the common language in this part of the continent.

"Where's my chair?"

Felisimo who was still bowing deeply raised his head.

"Where's my chair?" he said with a puzzled look on his face and his eyes blinked a couple of times, unsure of what she was saying.

Wooo-!

"Yes, a chair!" the moment he finally understood what Vivian was trying to say and opened his mouth, a large demonic hand was already about to slap his head away but stopped a few millimeters. Nevertheless, he still felt the strong wind against his cheek that caused a chill to run down his spine, his knees to wobble and pee his pants a bit.

Thud!

Bam!

Felisimo fell to his knees and slammed his forehead against the ground.

"Please forgive this lowly human for being slow in the head, My Lady Great Demon…!"

Bam!

"Please forgive this lowly human for being slow in the head, My Lady Great Demon…!"

Bam!

"Please forgiv--"

"Enough!" Vivian said and waved one of her hands.

Felisimo stopped but continued pressing his head against the ground.

Vivian suppressed the urge to scratch her head because aside from her mouth, her entire head was filled with eyes, giving her a 360˚ vision.

"Raise your head."

"Yes, My Lady Great Demon…" Felisimo said and raised his head.

And after noticing that Vivian didn't say or do anything, he spoke once more.

"Do you wish me to fetch you a chair, My Lady Great Demon…?"

What the fuck is a My Lady Great Demon…?

"Do you have a chair for my size?"

"I… I have a crate you can sit on, but I can add a carpet and bed on top of it to make it comfortable, My Lady Great Demon…"

Vivian let out a snort.

"Never mind. As expected of humans," she said and sat down on the ground cross-legged.

"M-My sincerest apologies, My Lady Great Demo--"

"My Lady would be fine."

"Yes, My Lady…" Felisimo said and offered a bow. "As what I was trying to say, my mind has yet to recover from the elegance you've shown so I wasn't able to answer right away…"

"Say another empty flattery, and I will open your stomach, pull out your intestines and make you wear it like jewelry while you're still alive."

Felisimo's face which was already pale, became even paler and he felt his soul almost leave his body.

BAM!

He slammed his forehead against the ground so hard that even Vivian could see his body wobble a bit and hear him suppress the urge to moan in pain.

"PLEASE FORGIVE MY INSOLENCE, MY LADY…!"

"You're a merchant, right? Tell me, human merchant, if I were to make you my minion, what can you do for me?"

With his forehead still pressed against the ground, Felisimo's mind went on overdrive until he finally thought of something and raised his head a bit while still maintaining a bowing position.

"My Lady, if I were to be your minion, you would find my connections very useful…"

"Much more useful than that of a Noble's?"

"There are places that only a merchant can reach, My Lady…"

"Like what?"

He cleared his throat before answering.

"Information, My Lady. Although the Nobility has the advantage when it comes to old and forbidden knowledge, the merchants have the advantage when it comes to the latest and day-to-day knowledge because we interact with people from all walks of life."

"So you interact with Kings and Emperors?"

"No, My Lady. The highest class people I've met were only Aristocratic Nobles."

Felisimo didn't hear a reply from Vivian but he felt that she was growing annoyed.

"My point, My Lady, is that for powerful people such as yourself, the everyday struggles and concerns of weak humans like myself become insignificant to beings like you because beings like you see the world on a higher plane. With that, there will be things that only weak beings like myself will notice and understand, and there will be things that only powerful beings like yourself will notice and understand."

"Okay, then tell me something that only a merchant would know."

Felisimo was about to answer but was interrupted.

"Make sure it's INTERESTING. And if I sense I hint of a lie, well, I believe I don't need to tell you what's going to happen."

He swallowed hard.

"M-May I ask something, My Lady…?"

"What?" Vivian replied with a clearly annoyed tone.

"If I were to tell you something interesting which I believe I definitely can, will you guarantee all of our lives and not make us slaves to the Master you serve…?"

Vivian let out a chuckle and the tentacles on her mouth wiggled.

"You're already counting your eggs, human?"

Felisimo had never heard of such an expression, but he got the gist of what it meant.

"If I were to bestowed with Chaos by you, My Lady, although it would be a great honor, it would also be impossible for me to continue using my connections as a merchant in human settlements. And if my companions would also be bestowed with Chaos, it would also pose a problem to me because gathering capable and trustworthy underlings is not an easy task and it will take a while for me to regather them in order to become really useful to you and your Master -- assuming that you have a Master, My Lady..."

"So you want free passage for everyone, huh."

"It's not every day I get to come across with a powerful being such as yourself so I'm simply taking the necessary steps in case we meet again in the future. And plus, I'm a merchant from the La Spada Kingdom. Although it's frowned upon, it's also not prohibited to conduct business deals with demons and demon-kins."

"So you're headed back to the La Spada Kingdom?"

"No, My Lady. We're headed to Plano Town of the Marbleam Kingdom for the upcoming Feugo Festival."

"To do what?"

"To sell my wares there. I sell mostly fighting gear, My Lady."

"Tell me the information first and I'll decide."

He swallowed hard once again.

"Is there any particular topic that interests you, My Lady…?"

Vivian didn't say anything but he felt a cold and murderous intent wash over him.

"A-Are you familiar with a man named Ronaldo G. Castlerock? He used to be the Supreme Captain of the Luxen Kingdom but rebelled and kidnapped Queen Cassandra and her son, Prince Caspian."

Vivian continued to remain silent and also continued to project a murderous intent.

"I-It's true that he used to be the Supreme Captain of the Luxen Kingdom. However, it isn't true that he kidnapped the Third Queen and her son. The truth is, the Queen and her son ran away with Ronaldo.

"In the past, when the Queen was still young, wasn't yet married to King Locnar of the Twin Kingdom, and was just one of the daughters of the Marquis of the Luxen Kingdom, she secretly snuck out and joined the Adventurer's Guild. And that's when she crossed paths with Ronaldo and his party who also used to be Adventurers at that time and joined them."

Vivian still didn't say anything, but Felisimo noticed that her murderous intent lessened.

"They went on several adventures together and saved many people, demon-kins and monsters that Ronaldo received a number of Lore Magic, making him very powerful that he could stand toe-to-toe with a person with 5 Magic Art Affinities despite only having 3 Magic Art Affinities himself."

"What's your proof?" she asked.

"Proof that Ronaldo could stand toe-to-toe with a person with 5 Magic Art Affinities despite only having 3 Magic Art Affinities himself?" he said and then shook his head. "Please forgive me, My Lady, I don't have any, only stories. One of the stories I heard is that back when Ronaldo was still an Adventurer, one of his party members, a female named Linda who was rumored to be his lover and childhood friend, was born with an incurable sickness that didn't give her that long to live and it was her dream to see the world before she dies so they became Adventurers together and even traveled to the Southern Continent along with the Queen of the Luxen Kingdom or Cassandra who wasn't a queen at that time."

"What are Ronaldo's Magic Art Affinities?"

"Fire, Soul and Earth."

Vivian studied Felisimo for a moment.

"Continue with the main story."

"Yes, My Lady," he said and bowed. "Unfortunately, as their party's fame grew -- they even reached Platinum II Rank -- eventually, Cassandra's true identity got revealed to the public, which of course, caused a huge problem for a lot of people, especially for her family. And in order to save her family from treason, because she was an Aristocratic Noble, she accepted King Locnar's proposal to replace the former Queen of the Luxen Kingdom and become his Third Queen and the new Queen of the Luxen kingdom."

Right…

I heard that the Queen before Cassandra was charged with treason and found guilty…

After that, the King of the Twin Kingdom divorced her and replaced her with Cassandra…

I didn't pay that much attention about the former Queen because the Training Course didn't mention that much about her and in the eyes of the Holy Kingdom, the Luxen Kingdom is just another subsidiary kingdom under them shared with the Twin Kingdom…

"How many Magic Art Affinities does the Queen have?"

"She has 3 -- Fire, Ice and Wind. She also received a Lore Magic during her time as an Adventurer that she could pass down to her offspring."

She only has 3…?

As far as Vivian knows, a Viscount and Baron must have at least 4 Magic Arts Affinities while a Duke, Marquis and Count must have a least 5 Magic Arts. But for a King, Light Saint and Emperor, although the ideal number is 6 Magic Arts, because beings with such Magic Arts are extremely rare, some would just settle for 5 but that would also make their reign a bit shaky.

I don't know about the breeding programs in this world…

So it's okay if one party is less talented…?

Or maybe Cassandra has 3 True Magic Arts and 2 False Magic Arts…?

Just like that Adventurer kid named Torr who had True Dark Affinity and False Fire Affinity which is why he could only open [Dark Mastery]…

"What is it?"

"The Lore Magic?" Felisimo said and shook his head. "Once again, please forgive me, My Lady, I don't know. Lore Magic within the royal family is kept a secret that outsiders or people of lower class are even assassinated if they knew about it."

"Then what is the point of this story of yours?" she asked with an irritated tone.

However, instead of fear, a confident smile appeared on Felisimo's face.

"This, My Lady, is where the most interesting part begins.

"Thanks to Ronaldo and Queen Cassandra's experience during their adventuring days where they saved a lot of humans, demon-kins and monsters in the Northern and Southern Continent, they developed a soft spot for all living beings that they dreamed about abolishing slavery and prejudice among all races in order to live under one banner, a truly peaceful coexistence. They even made friends with powerful and influential people from the Housan Empire."

Housan Empire…?

As far as I can remember, the Housan Empire is an empire located in the Southern Continent where all races supposedly live together in harmony… 

At least that's what the Housan Empire and its supporters claim…

"As a matter of fact, Ronaldo isn't just gathering his former party members but is also actively working with the Housan Empire to bring out the new age of prosperity where all species can live together in peace," Felisimo added.

"But the only reason the Housan Empire's system works is because their leader is a very powerful Necromancer named K'azare the Undead Emperor, right? If he dies, then his system won't work," Vivian said.

"You are indeed correct, My Lady. That's why the kingdoms and cities in the Northern and South Continents are secretly preparing for war. In fact, the Housan Empire has tried its best to secretly recruit powerful generals from each race with Ronaldo as the general for the human army. And given that I'm a merchant whose specialty is in dealing with fighting gear, I travel a lot, and my main roots are in the Southern Continent, it was easy to connect the dots."

"Do you know how powerful the Undead Emperor is?"

"There had been many legends, stories and rumors about the Undead Emperor that stretch for almost a millennia. All I know -- and this is information I've gathered throughout the years and some I even paid for -- is that he has 5 Magic Art Affinities and is blessed with many Lore Magic which he accumulated throughout the centuries, making his actual strength at the very least 7 Magic Art Affinities." 

Just like in the records I've read…

"When will this war start?"

Felisimo shook his head.

"Pardon me, My Lady, but for people like the Undead Emperor who are more than demi-gods, but close to literal gods capable of slaughtering countless people with a snap of their fingers, I should be the one asking you that. However, I heard rumors that the Light Saint of the Temple of Priests is about to retire so maybe there's a connection to that. Nevertheless, based on what I've seen lately, I believe it will happen sooner or later and the world will know it once they move."

She let out a snort, causing Felisimo to flinch but she paid him no attention.

The Southern Continent wants peace…?

I doubt it…

Whether they're the good guys or bad guys, human or demon, or whatever, everyone would only do something if they get something in return…

"So you're telling me that the Southern Continent want peace?"

"Since the Housan Empire is leading the charge and their empire was built upon those ideals, then it appears to be so."

"Really now," she said and thought about it for a moment. "Is there anything else to your story?"

"That is all, My Lady," Felisimo said and planted his forehead to the ground once again as he waited to be judged.

Vivian stood up.

"I guess your story is acceptable, human merchant."

Vooom!

She burst out into a run, leaving nothing but a trail of dust.