The Demon King's First General
Chapter 92: Exploration Begins

Chapter 92: Exploration Begins

On the day when the expedition would commence, the town center became very crowded, even though it was still dawn.

The chosen mercenaries’ families and friends went there to bid farewell while hoping for their loved ones safe return. There were even others who just wanted to spectate and take a look at the team’s composition.

Meanwhile, the people who were part of the expedition had mixed feelings inside themselves. Excitement to explore a new place and conquer it, and fear of not being able to return alive.

Then the chattering around the place came to a halt when somebody yelled.

"It’s the duke; the duke’s party is coming," said a man.

And all eyes were directed on the group of five people marching their way towards the center. Three of them had a pendant with a white crystal embedded on its surface, signifying their class.

The moment they came closer, the man who conducted the recruitment stepped forward.

"I hereby call the twenty mercenaries who got qualified into this mission. Please line up sideways," Royle ordered, and the people began to move into the front like they were told.

"One, two, three, four. There are only nineteen of them; someone is missing," Allesanah commented as soon as she counted the group of people.

Upon hearing her remark, Royle looked at them and tried to identify who was not present.

"That man! That Amethyst-class is still not here!" He exclaimed, almost yelling.

"Maybe he back—Wait! Did I just mishear it or did you really say Amethyst?" Allesanah replied.

And upon hearing that, Royle nodded at her question.

"Let’s leave him! What are you thinking? Letting a greenhorn join this dangerous mission?" She added, complaining.

"Cut it Alles. I’m sure Royle has his own reason, am I right?" Jez butted in to the conversation.

"We will just be delivering him to his own grave," Alles uttered while crossing her arms.

Afterward, a man from the line spoke, which captured the group’s attention.

"He’s here!" He said, pointing at the silver-haired man who had just arrived at the scene.

The duke’s party looked at him and examined him from head to toe, especially the mage. She knitted her brows and even took a step forward.

’That good looks is a waste for an Amethyst-class,’ Allesanah conveyed inside her thoughts.

"You’re late!" She exclaimed while staring at the man.

Upon hearing her, Zeno yawned and looked back with a bored-looking glare.

"I’m not; it’s just that you guys are too early to be here," he answered, which made Alles drop her jaw.

She couldn’t believe that the man had the audacity to reply to her. She tried to speak but failed to find the perfect words to say, leaving her speechless.

’An Amethyst-class dares to talk back to me,’ she thought.

Meanwhile, Royle’s laughter caused the others to laugh as well; even the duke chuckled upon hearing the man.

Then, as he stared longer at the newcomer, he recognized him.

"You! You’re that man from yesterday!" He exclaimed, smiling.

Upon hearing his remark, Zeno looked back and replied with a smirk.

"Your stunt yesterday sturtled me; such an astonishing move," he said.

’If it’s not too flashy, I would love to have it, though it’s still nice to see it in my collection,’ he added inside his thoughts.

Without any idea what the demon was thinking, Jez nodded as a reply before looking at the mercenaries in front of him.

"I know that not all of those who are present here know who I am. Maybe some of you even consider this as our first meeting," he paused while his eyes were surveying the group.

"My name is Jez, and I will be the leader... your leader in regards to this mission," he said.

Then he looked at Royle for a few seconds before he reverted his gaze to the mercenaries.

"I presume my comrade already informed you the day before yesterday about all the details about the task, so I would not delve into it any further," he added.

Afterward, a small cracking noise sounded in the area as he moved his head sideways.

"Anyways, before we jump into the place, I would like to remind you that we cannot guarantee your safety, so those who still have doubts about this, you can take your leave," he stated with a straight face, but upon seeing that no one moved from their positions, he let out a smile and spoke once more.

"Alles, please, shall we?" He said, before taking a glance at the woman who was still glaring at Zeno.

However, Allesanah stayed motionless as if she didn’t hear the duke; her entire focus was on the silver-haired man, so Jez repeated himself.

"Let’s begin, Alles," he said, trying to capture the mage’s attention.

Then her small, rounded eyes started to move as she looked at Jez.

"Fine! But that man—I still can’t accept him as part of this mission," she uttered, and Royle swept his hair backward upon hearing her complain.

"Just trust Royle’s judgment," the priestess chimed in, patting the mage’s head while Jez nodded, looking at her.

The next second, Alles sighed before placing her scepter on the pavement.

"Oh space hidden in reality, open up a passage to travel towards thee," she chanted before slamming her right hand on the ground.

Then, from both ends of her scepter, two dots came out and drew a magic circle underneath the entire group of mercenaries.

It took a minute for the circle to be formed, and as soon as it was completed, it emitted a gray hue. Then Alles looked around, and upon making sure that everyone was inside the magic circle, she uttered, "Mass teleportation."

Afterward, the light on the ground shone brighter and covered the entire place, and as soon as it diminished, the people stepping on the circle vanished without a trace.

. . . . .

A bright light that turned into a blackout all of a sudden—that was what the group of mercenaries experienced as they were sent directly inside the sinkhole. Anxiety consumed their minds as they looked around and saw nothing but complete darkness. They were afraid to the point that they felt shivers upon bumping into each other’s bodies.

"Calm your minds!" Jez yelled while Alles summoned a ball of fire that lit up their surroundings.

"Prepare yourself; here they come!" Royle notified the group.

"Aim for the wings and head," he added while spinning his spear on his hand and recalling the appearance of the strange creatures they first met.

Seconds later, howls from hundreds of monsters sounded in the area, which terrified some of the mercenaries, while others remained in high spirits, wanting to impress the duke and his party.

"Come on! I’m ready!" Screamed a man after raising his machete up in the air.

However, contrary to the duke’s party’s expectations, what came out of the two tunnels were four-legged monsters with glowing red eyes. On the top of their heads, two horns that resembled a v-shape letter were protruding from their heads, and several spikes were present on their backs.

Their fur had touches of crimson, and instead of having a snout, what they had were beaks and talons that could be seen on their front legs.

"Are those griffins?" Allesanah asked, confused by the monsters’ appearance.

"Does space magic make you blind?" Royle retorted, teasing the woman.

"Stop it, you two. Rye and Goomer, please lend a hand at the Ruby-classes," Jez ordered.

Upon hearing their leader’s command, the priestess and the masked man nodded before going towards the twenty people.

"How about us?" Royle asked while staring at the horde of strange creatures running towards them.

"Feel free to wreak havoc," Jez answered, smiling as he charged at the monsters while his two comrades jumped in on the fun as they heard his reply.

’Not that hard compared to those shell-like bastards,’ Jez thought.

In every swing of his hand, several monsters succumbed to their own deaths, and as he slammed his foot beneath him, the land began to tremble, and a giant foot made of energy curved an engraving on the ground while flattening the monsters beyond recognition.

Meanwhile, at the back of them, in the other part of the group, Rye could be seen emitting a sanctified energy while kneeling on the ground. Her eyes were closed, and her brows were knitting every time one of their group members received damage.

The mercenaries’ bodies were glowing an aureate color that acted as protection to keep them from receiving lethal wounds.

’They keep on coming,’ Goomer thought after slicing one of the griffin-like creatures on the neck.

Then he took a moment to glance at the group; they had twenty people, and almost all of them knew how to fight. They were considered one of the best in the town, and he couldn’t deny that fact upon seeing the continuous fall of the monsters.

However, he believed that if they were given enough time to know each other’s abilities, their harmony would be perfect and those monsters would never be a serious treat. Then, curiosity piqued his interest as he remembered the Amethyst-class mercenary.

’Is he doing fine?’ He thought, but as he saw him just yawning behind the mages and doing nothing, he sighed.

"He’s hopeless; maybe Alles is right," Goomer uttered before going back into murdering monsters with just a pair of daggers in hand.

In contrast to this scene, Zeno was busy fidgeting with the black dice between his fingers when he clicked his tongue.

"Just a bunch of Alce, and these guys are almost dying doing their best to preserve their lives," he uttered before whispering, "Chrysantheum."

Then, dark clouds began to gather above the place, and the rumbling of thunder echoed before a black lightning strike descended on the battlefield.

The high voltage of electricity hit no one, but hundreds of black thorns with flickering sparks of lightning appeared from beneath the ground. They pierced every monster’s body, electrifying and killing them on the spot in just a glimpse of time.

’What in the world happened just now?’ Goomer thought, stunned by the scene that transpired before his eyes.

. . . . .