The Demon King's First General
Chapter 98: Deep Inside The Dungeon

Chapter 98: Deep Inside The Dungeon

Zeno, along with three other people, marched their way deep inside the dungeon. The duke cancelled the expedition, and their main objective now was to bring Alles back to life, but he still promised that each one of the mercenaries would still receive a respective amount of compensation once they returned.

However, the people’s opinions differed from each other, so the duke divided their group into three.

The first one’s composition had the demon, along with Royle and Jez. The mercenary with the machete as his weapon was with them as well, while the snake led the way in front.

The others chose to be left behind at the near entrance. Rye and Goomer were there, mostly as part of a group of mercenaries that still wanted to witness the unfolding of things but were too scared to go along with the first group.

The last one had the rest of the mercenaries that chose to go back and return to the surface. They were scared shitless for their lives. However, without Alles’ help to create a teleportation spell, they were forced to fly their way outside the sinkhole.

. . . . .

"Is it really okay to trust that demon and monster?" The man with the machete asked as he walked beside the two Diamond-class mercenaries.

Royle looked at him but didn’t say a single word, and it was Jez who replied to his question.

"We have no choice but to believe in them for now," he said while traversing the path in front.

There were few distances that separated them from Zeno and the giant snake when the man glanced at the demon first before whispering again.

"But duke, that demon... He’s a total unknown. No one from us recognizes him, and he doesn’t emit any demonic presence," the man said, his curiosity regarding Zeno’s existence now reaching its peak.

However, upon remembering what happened a few moments earlier with the monster with several sets of wings, he gulped and spoke no further.

But the man’s statement made the duke think for a while.

’He’s not wrong, but he’s not in the right either; I’m pretty sure of it; this man here is the most dangerous entity in this place right now,’ Jez thought while staring at the demon’s back.

’But his personality... It is different from the other demons. He doesn’t look at us like some sort of food. I need to observe him a little longer to know if I should tell Ren about his existence,’ he added inside his mind.

However, his contemplation came to a halt as soon as Tencent stopped crawling, and one of its heads looked behind.

"Prepare yourself; we’re entering the first section of this underground place," he uttered.

The next second, all of them looked at the path they were going ahead on and noticed that the crystals scattered across the site changed in color; from a viridiscent hue, they were now glowing in a splendid yellow radiance, and aside from them, various trees could be found there with pastel-colored leaves.

"It’s like we’re entering a whole new world," Royle said.

Amazement was present in their eyes, especially at the Ruby-Class mercenary who was with them.

"Don’t get fooled by this trick; behind that wonderful scenery is a monster stronger than me and the other one you saw earlier." Tencent warned the humans about the danger in that place.

"Oh, it looks fun, though," Zeno said before proceeding to saunter towards it.

Afterward, he uttered Eliana’s name inside his mind, and the white line emerged as him in the center; however, it faded upon reaching the walls, which made his brows furrow.

’It’s still the same as earlier,’ he thought.

Since the moment they entered the dungeon, Zeno kept Eliana’s Legacy active throughout the whole time, though he just used it around him to minimize the energy consumption. However, before killing the monster earlier, he widened the area of effect of the Legacy, but it shattered upon touching a part of the walls inside.

With the knowledge on hand and without looking back, he stated a few sentences that were directed towards the snake monster.

"I’ve already tried to scan the area several times, but something keeps blocking me from freely peeking around. I don’t know if it’s been like that since we entered the tunnel," he said, informing the others about the failure of his ability.

Then he took a moment to glance at his back and see Tencent’s response.

"Do you know the reason behind this odd reaction?" He asked.

"It’s a spell made by the Deity of Abstinence, restraining all the beings inside to leave while ensuring that demonkind could not cross the threshold of this place, though one had managed to slip by," Tencent replied, staring at Zeno, then paused and moved himself beside the demon before continuing his words, "So any detection ability is deemed useless inside."

The demon clicked his tongue upon hearing the monster’s explanation.

’As I’ve expected,’ he thought.

Then, without further ado, Zeno dashed towards the next place, and the rest of his company came after him. A wave of furry little monsters greeted the group; their color completely blended in with the surroundings, yet they could be spotted without any hindrances.

Jez looked around, searching for the demon. He went so fast that he disappeared from the eyes of those following him behind.

The Ruby-class mercenary pulled out his weapon and prepared to slice the furball monsters upon seeing them walk in his direction, but Tencent stopped him from doing so.

"Don’t! They are harmless creatures if not provoked," he said.

"And if provoked, what would happen?" Jez asked after picking up one of the monsters.

He inspected it and noticed that the creature had no eyes or nose underneath its thick fur. All it had were four short limbs with claws hidden inside its paws and razor-sharp teeth protruding from its wide, open mouth.

"If you want to be like your hot-headed friend, then go ahead. Though don’t blame me, I’ve already warned you," Tencent’s other head replied regarding Jez’s query while the other head was staring faraway from their position.

"A warning from a monster who killed that friend of mine and fought with the aim of killing me as well!" Jez exclaimed before freeing the creature from his grasp.

Afterward, their group felt several shockwaves coming from the location where the silver-haired demon was headed.

"They are starting!" Royle yelled, and the three of them ran towards the center of the aftershock.

"That demon! He doesn’t listen at all to what I say!" Tencent snorted, then began to crawl and move to follow the humans.

After a few minutes, they reached the target area, but all they found was the silver-haired man sitting on top of a huge monster corpse.

"I-It’s not a fight, it’s a murder." Tencent was the first one to make a remark, even though he was the last one to arrive.

’I think I need to reevaluate my assessment in regards to that demon. Who is he for real?’ He added inside his thoughts.

Jez and Royle lost their ability to speak upon seeing the dead creature, speechless about the reality in front of them, while the Ruby-class mercenary felt his chest tighten all of a sudden. Then, the next moment, he fell to the ground, almost dying due to the lack of air in his body.

"W-What’s happening? I-I can’t breathe," he said, still having the strength to utter a few words.

It all happened due to the monster’s energy still lingering around the place. Despite it being dead, its body was still emitting a strong presence, enough to put the man in such a state.

"I thought it was a pretty strong one; how come it died with a single punch from me?" Zeno said as he leaped down from the carcass.

The monster resembled an ape, which had three arms on each side. A part of its fur that appeared golden in color was dyed red with its blood. On its chest, there was a huge hole, which was the reason for its death.

The next moment, the demon put his hand on the monster.

’Tigrid,’ he thought.

Then the ape’s body disappeared without a trace, and the human who was dying a few minutes ago returned to his casual self; his breathing stabilized as the strong presence was gone.

Meanwhile, the other three widened their eyes in surprise.

"What happened? It vanished into nothingness!" Jez exclaimed, confused.

’Did he send it somewhere?’ Royle thought.

He experienced the same level of amazement as his friend, but he chose to stay silent.

Upon seeing the expression on their faces, Zeno smiled as if teasing them before focusing his sight on the giant snake.

"Is there no shortcut towards that place to get that thing?" He asked, then stepped forward upon seeing that the monster just kept staring at him and not responding to his question.

Then he was about to take another step when Tencent began to speak.

"You!" He said, his voice filled with contempt.

Zeno’s expression turned grim, but he didn’t utter a single word and just waited for the monster to continue speaking.

. . . . .