The reef camp was unusually silent.
A variety of food lay on the wooden tables.
The problem was, some of the food looked normal.
Two or three of them didn't look like food to eat; they felt a bit like something filthy.
Especially Matresa's bowl; everyone could even sense a faint trace of poison.
What did this mean?
Want to eat poisonous food?
And the dishes that looked like food didn't look quite edible either.
A tangled smell lingered in the tent.
They had to open a hole to dissipate the foul odor.
"How about we just grill the meat? That's easy."
"No problem, no problem."
Everyone quickly agreed.
They felt their own cooking was poor, yet they still disdained others' cooking. This was their current situation.
Only Juanlu, his hands bound, stood nearby, a smile on his face.
Having not cooked their own food for a long time, they simply grilled some meat for a meal and then rested in the camp.
It wasn't long before Narvi, wrapped in bandages, regained consciousness.
He sat up abruptly, as if startled.
The intense movement of rising made his body ache, causing him to hiss in pain.
Then he turned to survey his surroundings.
He discovered that the entire camp seemed brand new, with no signs of battle. Alka and the others were also nearby.
For a moment, he felt a sense of wonder.
"Don't worry, you're not dreaming," Juanlu said, waving his bandaged hands as he stood nearby.
"Where's Karuto? Did you kill him?"
Hearing this, Alka shook his head. "He got away."
Sighing, Narvi leaned back against the bed, watching the others' gazes. He knew what they wanted to know.
Adjusting to a more comfortable position, he began to speak.
"You should know that the former Nafas family was wiped out overnight for unknown reasons.
The only ones left with blood ties to this family are those of us who were expelled for various reasons."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Alka knew even more.
Narvi, looking at the crowd, asked, "You've probably heard many versions, all sorts of speculations about the reasons why this powerful family was wiped out overnight."
"That's right, but there's no concrete conclusion," Simon said after a moment's thought.
Hearing this, Alka remembered. They only knew from Gilliana the exact details of the Nafas family, which had yet to be shared with the public.
Mainly because this information was no longer of much use, he had forgotten it.
Hearing this, Narvi sighed, "Although there's no concrete conclusion, anyone with even a passing understanding knows that the Nafas family's demise stemmed from their collusion with demons."
Alka nodded, though he was tempted to say that this was all he knew.
The Flower Fairy believers connected to their family, as well as those within the church, knew it all.
However, for the sake of reputation or perhaps other reasons, they kept the specific reasons secret.
"My grandfather was once a member of this family, but for some reason, he seemed to have a change of heart.
He began to resist, then deliberately committed an unforgivable sin and was expelled from the family, under a spell that prohibited him from revealing the secret.
This spell lasted until the Nafas family was completely wiped out. Only then did we realize we belonged to a powerful family.
This was a huge surprise to my young brother and sister."
At this point, Narvi's face showed sadness, and he sighed heavily.
A hint of nostalgia crossed his face.
"Because I was young, my grandfather didn't tell me more specific details.
We began to worship that now-extinct family, and there were many rumors at the time, such as that the Church of Our Lady was the culprit behind the family's destruction.
To us young children, such stories were extremely credible.
So we believed them."
That's normal. Adults and children alike prefer to hear the more bizarre versions, often ignoring the information provided by already established evidence.
"As we grow older, through experience and understanding of the world, we realize that what we believed as children isn't necessarily true.
But childhood beliefs are deeply ingrained and difficult to dislodge. People always believe what they believe. And the person most deeply affected was my younger brother, Kalutor."
"He firmly believed his family was great and was being persecuted. He decided to find the reason."
"So he became what he is now?" Jason asked from the side.
Narvi nodded, then shook his head.
"That's part of it, but it's not the whole story. I don't know the exact circumstances that led him to this state.
But later, he went crazy, dug my grandfather's body out of the grave, killed my father, murdered my older sister, and then eliminated my younger sister."
As he spoke, Narvi's face remained calm, as if he had grown accustomed to it.
Everyone was slightly shocked, but remained silent, offering no response.
Any reaction would only bring back painful memories.
But they knew how devastating this blow must have been for Narvi at the time.
"That's why I wanted to find him. I wanted to kill him, but he also wanted to kill me.
There must be a reason for his blind pursuit of his loved one's bloodline.
And later, I discovered that the reason for his madness was most likely related to the demon or evil spirit that the Nafas family had encountered."
Then he shook his head helplessly and said, "If they could eliminate the evil from the entire family overnight, how could they not also have a way to affect the remaining bloodline?"
From then on, he basically recounted their experiences.
This information gave Alka and the others a deeper understanding of this madman.
In other words, the evil god that Kalutuo currently worships is most likely the culprit that once destroyed the Nafas family.
"He will surely die at our hands."
Arka said, looking at the map in his hand.
The red cross on the map now replaced the image of a skull impaled by a dagger, signifying Kalutuo.
And his current location was at the edge of the already chaotic area.
It was extremely far from them, at least three or four days' journey.
The gaping maw that swallowed him stretched across an immense distance.
But it didn't matter.
His precise location, as long as it was on this map, would be untraceable.
Arka thought, looking at the symbol on the map.
"We can't be complacent. According to Narvi, there's something fishy about the cult that Kaluto belongs to and the strength he's displayed.
Our intelligence might be wrong."
Jason keenly sensed that this information wasn't entirely consistent with what they knew.
After hearing this, everyone pondered it and realized it was indeed the case.
It seemed they had to be cautious.
…
After three days of hunting, Alka and his team had nearly wiped out all the demons in the area.
"Ready to go back?" Sofia asked, writing something in his hand.
Alka nodded. "Yes, we'll have too much to pack if we don't."
At this moment, everyone in the camp was packing up.
They hadn't brought anything with them when they came, thanks to the pocket rings, but they had to carry a lot of stuff back home.
They had no other options. Although the demons weren't numerous, they were incredibly well-stocked.
Furthermore, they had cleared a large area. Even though the number of demons was small, the materials they had dismantled had already filled their pockets and rings to the brim.
They couldn't just throw away the remaining materials; they were all money. Not to mention that a large portion of them would be needed by Alka, Simon, and Matresa.
This resulted in everyone carrying backpacks and luggage containing the processed materials.
A vast pile of black, strangely twisted, horned objects of various shades lay in a heap. They were stored in simple wooden boxes.
The evidence within these boxes was proof of how many demons they had dealt with.
If there was one thing these demons had in common, it was that they all had horns.
"That's a little strange. Why are all these horns black?" Jason asked, dragging the box out.
Most horns are pitch black. Alka and the others had never seen a horned demon with horns that weren't black.
"That's because most negative energy manifests in dark colors. And the abyss where demons reside is a gathering place for negative energy.
It's normal for monsters that have lived there for years to have black horns, as it's a place where residual energy accumulates.
This also makes the horns stronger.
Have you ever seen a demon with bright, bright skin? Unless they're a special race or have some special needs, normal demons are all dark in color, representing a collection of negative energy."
Simon responded to Jason's question with a very professional answer.
Not only Jason, but everyone around him looked as if they'd learned something.
"However, if you do spot a brightly colored demon, it's best to run away."
If the color doesn't fit in, it means it's rare. For demons, there's only one type of person who survives despite being a misfit.
That person is powerful enough, so powerful that they surpass most of their kind.
In this situation, running is the best option.
They quickly dismantled their makeshift camp, clearing away any traces of it, even breaking up the entire reef and sinking it to the bottom.
They piled the packed materials onto the thrusters.
"Let's return."
The Flying Swallow, propelled by its thrusters, swiftly sailed across the water, creating two waves.
They made their way back home, and perhaps because of their faster speed, they reached their temporary camp outside the Land of Fragrance in less than a day.
For those within the Land of Fragrance, this area essentially became Alka and his companions' temporary residence.
So even after they returned, it remained intact. They could even see the soldiers who had helped patrol the perimeter when they first arrived.
"Ah, I'm exhausted! I need to rest," Simon said, lying on a small steel cot within the camp.
Everyone lay down in their respective positions.
This week had indeed been quite exhausting, after all, hunting the surrounding demons. So, in that environment, they'd barely gotten much sleep and remained on high alert.
Furthermore, the hunting trips involved shift work.
Add to that the rapid return journey.
The cumulative effects of all this fatigue, instantly reflected in their bodies and minds as they relaxed.
Observing the expressions of the crowd, Alka gave a helpless smile and lifted the wooden box containing the large basket of evidence above his head.
"Then I'll take care of one last thing."
As he spoke, he held up the wooden box containing the demonic heads and horns. They walked towards the Fragrant Land.
They soon arrived at the camp.
"So many?" Gilliana's voice was filled with surprise.
At the Fragrant Land camp, Alka had already brought over all their gains from the past few days.
The soldiers passing by were also stunned.
Having been dealing with these monsters for some time, they certainly understood what those black sharp corners piled up in the wooden box represented.
They were living demons, one after another. In this large box, the number of demons killed was probably close to a hundred. What an incredible number.
"Could it be you, the purgers around White Three Flower Village?" Gilliana asked, as if she had thought of something.
Alka nodded: "Yes, it's us. Have you received the news?"
The area they had been in could indeed be considered the surrounding area of White Three Flower Village.
"My soldiers have reported that demonic activity in the area has significantly decreased. We've even seen demon hunting and traces of battle."
Gilliana said with a smile.
Then she waved, and two soldiers behind her ran up, pulled the wooden box down, and began to count the documents inside.
"Thank you so much for clearing this entire area for us. We can finally take a break." Gilliana sighed.
Then the demon horns were quickly cleared. Although most of the demons were imps or similar, they weren't very valuable.
But it was enough.
For ordinary soldiers, these imps were a difficult matter to deal with.
Gilliana then handed two different horns, each with a delicate spiral and beautiful pattern, to Alka.
"I'll return these two, as they're more valuable. I'll keep the rest. Is that okay?"
"Of course, use them as you please," Alka said with a smile.
The two he accepted were spoils from the only two fourth-level demons they'd encountered during their recent clearing of that area.
Aside from the horns of these mid-level demons, the horns of ordinary or even lower-level demons were hardly considered particularly valuable.
They were difficult to clean, and most of them were impurities.
"Counting these two and the rest, I'll give you 6,000 gold sails to make it a whole. Is that okay?"
Gilliana looked at Alka and said generously.
Alka nodded and smiled. "Of course, no problem. I even have to thank you, Boss."
"Boss?"
"Don't mind it. It's just a small title."
6,000 gold sails, already exceeding the number they had hunted, was truly generous.
Gilliana nodded, without further questioning. "So, are you planning to take the gold coins, or exchange them for equivalent supplies? Aside from the strategic items we need right now, everything else will be sold at normal prices."
Clearly, she was asking Alka and the others if they needed any.
Gems, or rather, high-level spell materials unique to the Land of the Spirits.
Alka thought for a moment and hand-wrote a list.
"Then please help me exchange 1,000 of those gold sails for these materials."
Most of these materials were needed for the ship's overall needs.
For example, some high-quality seasonings and ingredients, materials for repairing the ship, and even fertilizer to help the trees grow well.
Of course, they also needed the gems Jason needed.
Hmm... it looked like he'd be in debt for a while longer.
Gilliana and the others paid promptly and quickly brought over a large box of coins, along with the materials Alka needed.
Due to manpower constraints, Alka had to carry the materials back himself.
Fortunately, Alka had anticipated this and had already cleared out the materials in his pocket ring back at camp, leaving enough space.
They returned to camp with their haul.
...
"According to our research, the demons' frequent appearances are not only due to a decline in their control over this place, but also due to a fixed energy source and a special magic array hidden within the Land of All Spirits."
A young man dressed as a scholar adjusted his glasses and placed his notes on the table.
At this moment, several people of varying appearances sat around a table made of flowers.
Their clothing could be used to easily categorize them into three distinct factions: the Church of Our Lady, the Church of the Holy Machine, and the Flower Fairies.
"Now you understand. Tell us what you think," said an old man with a scraggly white beard.
Next to him sat the muscular, tall, and burly Rickey.
Hearing this, Great Gardener Furna frowned and asked, "Then can we find the location of the magic circles and clear them out to relieve the pressure in the rear?"
At this time, the final batch of reinforcements from the Holy Mother and Holy Machine Churches had arrived on the front lines, significantly easing the pressure on the entire battlefield.
They had already begun to devise a way to eliminate the demons wreaking havoc in the rear, resolving this problem once and for all.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have the energy to launch a full-scale counterattack and push back the undead at the crossroads of life and death.
"No, some extremely powerful force—I suspect divine—is blocking these magic circles. We've only found the source of the energy," the young man who had just spoken replied.