Demonkind had casinos as well, and the two went in disguised. Vera exchanged all her money for chips and bet everything on the highest stake. The odds were worse than winning the biggest lottery.
"Another fool dreaming of getting rich." "I love watching this kind of show."
The onlookers laughed until the result came out, and their faces froze in disbelief. After Ham casually demonstrated crushing solid alloy with her bare hands, the owner warmly handed over a bag of money and closed early to celebrate.
"Now we have money. Stop right there. If you want to eat, wait until we gather information." When a blonde woman traveled with a dragon, at least one of them could eat a lot, and Ham's appetite matched her abnormal physique.
"We need to find out why these Demonkind are so desperate to hunt you when they see a Black Dragon. You do not want to be chased every day, right?" "Alright, Ham thinks you have a point."
They needed information brokers and underground markets, places that required connections. Vera had none, but she had Ham. What followed was absurd even to someone who had seen it before.
Ham bought skewers with her allowance, only for a street dog to snatch them. While chasing the dog, she crashed into an alley and headbutted open a hidden entrance to an underground market. Covered in dust and smoke, she looked so mysterious that a passing broker immediately thought she was unfathomable.
Before she even understood what was happening, the broker greeted her enthusiastically. After some confused babbling, she accidentally triggered the correct code and gained access to buy information openly. "Information on Black Dragon? Looks like you ladies are interested in that position. Very well, I have some deeper inside details about this competition."
Competition?
Vera frowned, pulled her hat lower, and used her custom bow-shaped voice changer. "The price is fine, as long as it is worth it."
"One of the Four Heavenly Kings, who has never appeared publicly, is selecting subordinates to become territorial the Lord generals. The requirement is not only hunting strong and rare prey in this competition. What matters more is pleasing their taste, and the best gift is Dragonkin. I can even lock the target to Black Dragon, and some upper-level figures already know this."
"Further details and secret rules are paid content."
They left with heavy thoughts. Ham looked blank, actually terrified, because a hidden Demonkind Heavenly King was holding a hunting competition. The rules were simple, kill strong and rare prey, whether monsters, humans, or even other Demonkind.
A leaked message said that this Heavenly King favored dragons, especially Black Dragon, which meant instant advancement. The news had spread among the upper circles, explaining why so many powerful Demonkind had chased Ham. Hunting Dragonkin was not hard for them, the real challenge was finding and preventing escape.
Now Ham was stunned because it meant countless Demonkind lords wanted her head, like a massive blockbuster. Some major factions had even gathered armies of over a hundred thousand to sweep the entire region. Many Gold Rank competitors were also involved, making the situation far more dangerous than any lighthearted story.
"Next, Ham, we need to move faster and run." "Before those armies fully surround this hunting ground, they will not show mercy."
Vera let out a long sigh.
"Parak, you failed."
"My task was to hold them back. Do not blame me for a goal you could not achieve, Greyfang." "And no matter what I say, you would not believe it anyway. Of course, you would never imagine what I saw."
The huge Troll forced his way into the hall, drawing many strange looks, and at the front stood a werewolf with gray-white fur covered in scars. He was tall and carried a sharp, intimidating presence, with every strand of fur like a cold blade. He had only one eye left, but the ferocity from the missing one seemed to gather into the remaining eye, making him even more frightening.
His name was Greyfang, a simple name chosen only because a name was needed. The dark look on his face was naturally because the expected outcome had not happened. That annoying fortress should have been wiped out by the bomb, allowing him to lead his forces from above and work with the humans of Faris Empire to strike inside, whether to take the capital or force the eastern line to retreat.
But after waiting so many days, nothing had changed, and only that same fortress remained. "What did you say you saw?"
"What did I see? Heh, then I will tell you." "I saw a Black Dragon so huge it was damn unbelievable swallow the explosion whole, gone. Then I rode the spatial disturbance of that guy Vidoras back here. That is it. Are you satisfied with that result?"
"Enough. I do not care what you saw anymore, but the fact is we still have no opening against Parret. Right now, we still have one chance."
Greyfang knew that for Parak to be in this state, something unexpected must have happened. To make even a Ascendant Hall level figure helpless meant anger was useless now, and breaking through required methods beyond himself.
"We now have a chance to gain the support of another from the Four Heavenly Kings. Now we…"
"Heavenly King? Again with the Four Heavenly Kings!" "Did we not trust that Dragon Heavenly King last time? The bomb did explode, but some cursed thing showed up too. I will not be used as a weapon again!"
Parak sneered at this, since without showing overwhelming strength and real benefits, no Demonkind would take the so-called Demon King or the leaders of the Four Heavenly Kings seriously.
"I do not care what you think, and honestly I do not want to," Greyfang said. "The problem is that several neighboring Demonkind territories are already making moves." "Even if we want to do nothing, we must prepare because they want to do something."
Greyfang looked gloomy, having already received news that several old rivals nearby were stirring because of that unknown Heavenly King's ridiculous competition. The feeling was like everyone suddenly going off to do their own thing, leaving only him behind, and that kind of feeling was dangerous. What he worried about was not the unknown Four Heavenly Kings, but whether old enemies would use the competition as cover to stab him in the back.
He had to consider whether to take part in that foolish competition to gain another Heavenly King's support. "The eastern line cannot be pushed anymore. I will pull back several legions from there to defend against our nearby old friends."
Mentioning it made Greyfang irritated again, thinking of those people hiding behind walls and giant cannons. In the past decade, weapons like fire pokers but with terrifying power had appeared. They were not much of a threat to strong individuals, but fodder troops were another matter.
"For now, we cannot afford to lack Ascendant Hall level combat power," he continued. "Also, inform your subordinates to go hunting as well." "As for targets, Black Dragon would be best."
"Black Dragon?"
Parak paused, recalling the shadow of a Great Dragon that made even his huge body feel small, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes. Forget swallowing destructive weapons, that size alone surpassed any creature he had ever seen. Even if it was called a Great Dragon, the connection seemed to be only in appearance.
He suddenly felt foolish, sitting safely in the stronghold yet fearing something he had only seen. It was like a hatchling being scared. "Maybe that was just some special large ritual Magic. How could there really be such an enormous Great Dragon?" "And it is just small tasks anyway. What danger could there be?"
Even so, hearing that Greyfang would pull back several legions from the eastern border of the Paraten Empire meant millions of troops for such a small game, which left Parak feeling dismissive. It was just catching a dragon.
"Do not rush. Take this with you," Greyfang said, pointing to a crate nearby. Inside were unknown objects encased in iron shells, each with a small glass screen.
"These are our current advantage," he said. "They came from Dragon Heavenly King. Within a certain range, they can directly detect Dragonkin bloodlines." "In short, have your people carry these to search."
…
"Based on spatial positioning, we have entered Demonkind territory," Sylvia said. "I am not sure which Demonkind domain this is."
Despite heavy lightning and storm clouds around them, she found she could still see the ground clearly. Though they were moving fast, she could roughly recognize the terrain. This area was close to the Faris Empire side of Demonkind territory, ruled mainly by Orcs, Troll, and others.
Although Demonkind was called a single race, in reality different territories were occupied by different races that constantly fought each other. More Demonkind died at the hands of their own kind than by humans. No one obeyed anyone else, and the only nominal higher authority was the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings under them.
"Why are so many Demonkind troops heading in that direction?" Sylvia frowned, noticing what looked like a town in the distance, and lightly patted Belial. "Did something happen over there?"