Chapter 43: The Startled Mr. Nan Dao

Mr. Walter, known as Nan Dao, was a great demon general of the Ghost Warrior Tribe. In the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, although the tribe wasn’t one of the three major pillars, it was still a considerably powerful clan, especially skilled in using and crafting various weapons, with a level of craftsmanship that surpassed most human artisans.

Walter was no exception; he was not only proficient in forging swords but also exceptionally skilled in wielding them. About a hundred years ago, he reached the level of a great demon general and, after numerous trials and selections, became the disciple of the great Gatekeeper. He gradually became famous in the mountains and established the name of Nan Dao.

Nan Dao wasn’t an inherited title, and there were no North Dao, East Dao, or West Dao; Walter called himself that simply because he had lived in the southern part of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons for many years, serving under the orders of his master, the Gatekeeper, to guard the hub peak connecting to the United Kingdom of Humans.

When he learned that the “Young Prince” had been captured by human poachers, Walter was actually very angry.

As the disciple of the Gatekeeper, he understood the significance and importance of the “Young Prince” better than other demons. So, when he heard that the Moonshadow Clan was preparing to gather elite forces to infiltrate a human city and rescue the “Young Prince,” he decided to ask a fellow disciple passing nearby to temporarily take over his duties while he volunteered to join in as one of the leaders of the rescue team.

Humans were truly weak, weak yet cunning. After arriving in this city known as Demon Town, Walter had witnessed far too many human ambushes and tricks, yet no one had ever been his opponent, capable of defeating him in a head-on confrontation. Several encirclements had all been broken through by the demons’ overwhelming strength.

Thus, Nan Dao, with his continuously swelling confidence, became a bit careless.

Upon hearing the information that his companion had “coincidentally” gathered, Walter immediately decided to mobilize forces and break into that underground black market base to rescue the “Young Prince,” whom they had finally found after a long search.

Although the legendary demon generals Aiste from the Moonshadow Clan and Iwen from the Puppeteer Clan did not quite agree with this decision, believing that they needed further verification of the information and to investigate its authenticity before taking action, Walter, the highest-ranking individual, looked down on the weak humans and thought that delaying any further might cause the enemy to move the “Young Prince” again. Thus, he insisted on his viewpoint. Aiste and Iwen could not sway him and ultimately had to agree to act together.

Originally, everything went quite smoothly.

The group of over ten demons quietly entered the hidden black market beneath Demon Town through special means. According to intelligence, they quickly found the building that seemed to be closed for business but was actually a secret stronghold of the Ghost Thieves.

The strongest, Nan Dao, infiltrated alone, responsible for finding the entrance mentioned in the intelligence and scouting for the enemy.

The infiltration went smoothly. To prevent the enemy from sending a warning, Walter even utilized the forbidden secret technique taught by his master, the Gatekeeper—”Your head will meet my blade!”—successfully killing all dozens of humans present in an instant.

However, this technique was too powerful; even he couldn’t perfectly control it, resulting in the blade intent splitting the entire building in half.

The black market went into chaos, and the demons waiting outside rushed in. Eventually, following the methods provided in the intelligence, they found the hidden underground room and the teleportation array, successfully arriving at the location.

They meticulously searched the labyrinthine cavern, eliminating all despicable poachers they encountered and rescued a batch of magical beasts locked in a secret room, mostly immature cubs.

Although Walter wanted to send these poor children home immediately, rescuing the “Young Prince” was of greater importance. He could only let the children escape quickly to find a place to hide temporarily.

After all, Walter was unsure where this location truly was; the intelligence only mentioned a certain spot in the northern mountain range of the United Kingdom, and allowing the cubs to run around in the human realm was undoubtedly very dangerous.

As long as they could find the “Young Prince,” they could take those cubs north all the way back to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, meet up with the support team, and put an end to this calamity.

But Walter discovered that he had underestimated the cunning of humans. Only after searching for a long time without a trace did the cave begin to rumble, and as the stone pillars and ceiling collapsed, he angrily realized that there was no “Young Prince” here at all—the intelligence was false!

Back in this familiar, mist-shrouded deep mountain, Walter looked around at his companions, who were still trembling with fear, feeling a mix of regret and relief.

He gazed at the silver figure slowly resting on a tree branch, surrounded by countless fluttering colorful butterflies, and bowed his proud horn in gratitude.

“Lord Tiyelu, thank you for your help; otherwise, this would have turned into a major disaster… It’s all my recklessness to blame.”

The Silver Butterfly unfurled her delicate wings, and the tinkling sound of her voice carried some helplessness.

“Oh, Little Nan, we know you were eager to rescue, but could you think a bit more next time before acting? If it weren’t for little Iwen giving a heads up, you all would have just been buried alive this time! That crafty and scheming jerk, how could the Gatekeeper have taught such a foolish disciple?”

Though Tiyelu’s words brimmed with sarcasm and reproach, Walter didn’t feel angry; not only because the little butterfly’s reprimand was indeed warranted, but also due to her lofty status and the fact that she had just saved their group.

“I’m truly sorry; I accept full responsibility for this mistake, and after returning, I will personally ask Master for punishment… By the way, weren’t you out running errands? Why did the entrance to the sacred land suddenly appear here?”

“Ugh… Don’t mention it, Little Nan. You guys better stay here a while longer before going out; there are two super—troublesome guys watching outside, and I can’t even see through their backgrounds. I have no idea what they’re sneaking around for. Really… I wish I hadn’t unnecessarily helped earlier; what a blunder…”

Perhaps feeling embarrassed, Tiyelu lowered her voice for the last part, and none of the demons, including Walter, could hear it clearly.

“Followers…?”

Lord Nan Dao furrowed his brows in thought.

“By the way, when the explosion happened earlier, I did see two female figures at the cave entrance in a hurry. Are you referring to them, Lord Tiyelu? But now the outside has collapsed like that, and they haven’t entered the sacred land to take cover. Except for a powerful being like Master who’s beyond comprehension, how could there be any creature that can…”

The little butterfly fluttered her wings in agitation, her crisp voice now tinged with impatience.

“Ugh! Just don’t go out, okay? Not only those two, but there are many humans ambushing outside; you guys have fallen into a den of thieves! I’ll figure out a way to rescue those kids later; just stay here for a while. After all, the sacred land is absolutely safe… Huh? Uh-oh!!!”

Mid-sentence, Tiyelu suddenly screamed and shot into the air, and the colorful butterflies surrounding her scattered in a panic, disappearing into the bushes in the blink of an eye.

“…?”

As they watched the silver butterfly flapping around in a state of panic, the demons exchanged glances, completely baffled by the usually unassuming guardian of the sacred land who seemed to have lost her mind this time.

Only Walter, who was relatively familiar with the little butterfly, tentatively opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Lord Tiyelu’s small figure began to fly erratically as if losing balance, even emitting a series of easily misunderstood, delicate cries.

“Yikes! They’re coming in, they’re coming in! Why can they come in directly?! It’s so violent, you idiots; the passage isn’t meant to be used like this! Ah! Ah! I’m gonna die, I can’t take it anymore, really can’t take it… If it continues like this…”

“Pfft ~”

After several seconds of flailing, the silver butterfly suddenly fell from the air like a kite with a broken string, spinning helplessly, and Walter quickly caught her in his hands.

“T-Tiyelu?! What’s wrong? Are you okay?! What’s coming in???”

However, the butterfly lady merely revealed her small belly, sprawled on Nan Dao’s palm, her antennae drooping pathetically, completely unresponsive to the world around her, as if something indescribable had happened to her.

“???”

Walter was dumbfounded.

It was the first time he had seen this guardian of the sacred land, who had served for many years and was even more senior than his master, the Gatekeeper, in such a disheveled state. Tiyelu, though appearing delicate and whimsical, was actually very smart and powerful; otherwise, the Demon God wouldn’t have entrusted the management of the sacred land to her.

Even if only Tiyelu’s avatar were present, it was already astonishing enough. Combined with the previous events, Walter even began to hypothesize that he might be dreaming.

Just as the surrounding demons were anxiously and nervously gathering, unsure of what to do, a silver, sparkling door suddenly opened in the air, where the little butterfly seemed to be flapping around chaotically.

“Swish ~”

Two exceptionally graceful young ladies leaped out one after the other and landed on the ground with a soft “thud.”

“What’s going on? It’s not the first time we’ve entered here; last time, you took the initiative to come in…”

   

---