The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

"Then why are you still open?" Erin asked in confusion.

"Well... I have to live too," the stall owner said with a bitter smile. "If I don't put up a stall, there's nothing. Before the busy farming season, at least I can exchange for a little."

Erin's cheeks blushed slightly, realizing she had asked a foolish question, and apologized in her heart.

She changed the subject.

"Where do you live?"

"In a nearby village."

"How's it there?"

"Oh," the stall owner waved his hand, unwilling to talk more, "don't mention it... It's chaotic everywhere."

Erin's mood became somewhat complicated.

"Sir Knight," the stall owner suddenly gathered courage and asked expectantly, "Do you know... when they will leave?"

Erin looked at the soldiers' cold backs, silent for a moment.

She placed a small bag of copper coins on the stall: "It should be soon. Take it, I'll take all the apples."

Without waiting for the stall owner to give change, she picked up the not-so-heavy bag of apples and turned to merge into the sparse crowd, heading towards the city gate.

Today's wander time is enough, and she has learned some new situations. Although she wants to roam more, her identity is really not suitable for staying outside for too long.

However, just as she turned a street corner, Erin's footsteps suddenly stopped.

Since becoming part of the Blood Race, her sense of smell has become incredibly acute, along with her perception of darkness.

A vague aura came, gently touching the nape of her neck with a probing gaze.

That aura...

Could it be Luo Yan?!

'We will meet again.'

Recalling the whisper she heard in the cave, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, instinctively looking back but only seeing crows on the rooftop, which flapped away after a few "caws."

Those birds seemed scared away by her sharp gaze; it was likely them looking at her just now.

"An illusion..."

Erin instinctively touched her chest, murmuring softly.

If it wasn't an illusion, it would only mean Hell's Demons were also entangled in Twilight City's situation.

It's hard to say whether they were drawn by the Judicial Court or vice versa.

Erin fell into troubled thoughts.

She felt like a piece on a vast chessboard, and the battlefield she could see was only a corner of the board.

Almost at the same moment she withdrew her gaze, she suddenly felt a distinct aura brush past her!

It was a cold deathly aura, unlike the Demons in the Maze, closer to pure malevolence.

Erin's pupils contracted instantaneously, she turned, her hand inadvertently reaching for the sword hilt.

Who?!

She cautiously scanned the surroundings, yet the passing pedestrians blocked her view.

In the bustling market, there were hurried people everywhere; she saw a few farmers driving skinny donkeys, a vacant-eyed man leaning against a wall, several vendors conversing softly... All seemed normal.

And in that short searching moment, the evil aura had disappeared.

It didn't seem directed at her, merely passing beside her.

As for why it caught her attention, maybe it was just a coincidence...

After all, Twilight City is crowded with all sorts of people now, many factions have been drawn in.

Erin furrowed her brow, standing still for a long time.

Was it another illusion?

Perhaps this was also a Blood Race aftereffect.

Regarding things in the dark, she felt sometimes she was overly paranoid.

She wasn't like this before...

Just as Erin withdrew her gaze and quickened her pace back to the city inn, a man in a tattered cloak shuffled resolutely across the street from the opposite direction.

His face was emaciated, resembling a skeleton, a Cross Pendant hanging on his chest, hoisting a Chain Whip with a suspended cross on his shoulder, like an Ascetic.

People like this aren't scarce on the Aus Continent; they offer their souls to the Divine, view the flesh as sin, and achieve spiritual sublimation through austerity until the soul is liberated from the body.

The Holy Sis Church Court holds a reverent yet distant attitude toward these self-proclaimed madmen.

Although the populace's abstinence is advocated by Priests, these self-flagellating madmen evidently went too far, at least not finishing what the Priests had to say.

Such cases are common.

Just like the Lords, who enjoy erecting statues for the civilians to worship, there's always some crazy folk who smear saliva on them, causing them to frown.

Of course, let's not talk about the crazy ones; many Ascetic monks are worthy of respect.

They don't just punish their bodies but also do good deeds when sober, vanquishing countryside Demons the Holy Knights are too lazy to take on.

Ascetics revered by the commoners often have stronger Soul Levels than typical Adventurers, although their Strength doesn't derive from self-mortification, achieving legend itself is also a path to becoming powerful, unexpectedly aligning the two.

Just akin to how Gunter believes he became a Sword Saint through swordsmanship, he indeed accomplished legendary feats by pursuing the path of "sanctifying through the sword," hence there's no contradiction.

Due to most Ascetics' peculiar personality, many regular believers prefer not to provoke them. The theologians from the Holy City especially keep a respectful distance.

For instance, at this moment, a theologian belonging to the Judicial Court frowned as he moved his gaze from the beggar.

The soldiers standing beside the theologian completely ignored him.

Their attention was all on the lurking vendors and whispering civilians around, completely overlooking the "Ascetic" like a mere roadside stone.

What a shame, following the rules meant they were bound to not achieve legends.

If only they brought this beggar over, wash his face clean, and feed him well for a month, they might discover he matches the image on the wanted poster perfectly.

Beneath that filthy cloak revealed a pale, gaunt face, with bulging eyes under the brows exuding frenzied madness.

None other than one of the twelve leaders of the Green Forest Army, the rat who escaped alive from the chaos—known as "Burier"—Harlow.

Just like his nickname, before joining the Green Forest Army, he had been a tomb raider seeking renowned graves.

Before his imminent demise, he was saved by Kelan and subsequently joined the Green Forest Army uprising against the Lords, and after its failure, was recruited for a sacred mission by a formidable figure.

"Mission... mission..." He tightened the tattered cloak on him, muttering manically, resembling a true believer immersed in divine tasks.

A genuine grand figure promised him that once he accomplishes a task, he will no longer hide like a rat in gutters, begging for survival by fawning.

He would acquire a new identity, even walk under the sunlight, becoming a real Noble!

It must be said, people find it hard to act as something they've never seen; no matter how they act, they'll inevitably show flaws, even the acting Demon King.

Whether it's members or leaders from the Green Forest Army, which emerged from the fields, their deepest yearning is to become a Lord above others, the difference merely lies in whether they have clarity about their own desires.

Harlow belonged to those clear about their own desires.

He didn't tomb raid because a Baron exhumed his ancestors or persecuted his family. The true reason wasn't so complicated; he merely wanted the gold from the coffin.

Precisely because he had a clear understanding of himself, even though the immature uprising of the Green Forest Army failed, he successfully survived till the end, avoiding becoming a sacrifice for Chaos.

Other madmen might truly be mad, while he clearly feigned madness.

Passing through the bustling crowd, Harlow didn't enter the city but went the opposite direction from Erin.

It's south of Rapids Pass; he was heading to Campbell Duchy.

The King needs him to kill someone.

With the Strength bestowed by "Eternal Hunger Claw"...

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