Chapter 228: Plans Can’t Keep Up with Changes

Suddenly, night fell.

Although the City of Saint Sanos was under the rule of demons, due to the war and panic-induced fleeing, the population was now less than half of what it once was, yet the city still maintained its regular operations.

Demons, without a doubt, held the highest status in this city.

Especially those high-ranking demons, like the succubus Clisia who encountered Vilyric today, enjoyed absurd privileges, almost resembling high aristocrats.

No, comparing them to nobility may not be quite right.

After all, the nobility in the United Kingdom, at least nominally, is bound and restricted by the law. While everyone understands how it actually is, on the surface, they still dare not be too outrageous.

However, in this city of demons, overwhelming hegemony and the law of the jungle were vividly illustrated.

The status of demons was higher than any native beings, and internally, they were strictly divided into a pyramid-like class system. While high-ranking demons were few, they could do almost anything they wished, with one standard measuring their status: the absolute power represented by their race.

Among the same race, like in the cases of Clisia and Eudora, they might take care of each other, but with different races, especially non-demons, the enslaved and weaker native residents of the Holy Kingdom hardly had any “human rights” to speak of.

During the day, Vilyric saw high-ranking demons more than once blatantly taking things from roadside shops without paying or deliberately provoking others by doing things that easily sparked anger, igniting conflict.

Of course, if Vilyric guessed correctly, this behavior wasn’t so much about their enthusiasm for oppressing these native residents, but rather a method to stimulate their emotions in order to absorb the strong feelings that emanated from them, completing their “feeding” purpose.

Demons needed to absorb emotions as food, but just like individual tastes vary in food preferences, different types of demons likely had different favorite emotional “dishes.”

For instance, the followers of Killing likely preferred aggressive emotions like anger, killing intent, or fighting spirit. Many of those bullying in the streets during the day belonged to this faction.

The followers of the King of Corruption, led by succubi, generally preferred nuanced and fervent emotions, engaging in mental erosion and transformation to make the other party generate emotions more palatable for their “food.” The so-called corruption that the people of the Holy Kingdom feared was largely based on this faction.

The blonde girl who followed the succubus Clisia during the day was the strongest proof of this point.

At merely around twenty years old, she elevated her Holy Emblem level to silver four wings, indicating that her faith in the Church of the Goddess must have been exceptionally devout. Being able to act as an insider to breach the temple showed her status in the City of Saint Sanos was undoubtedly not low.

Even so, she still couldn’t resist the erosive and brainwashing power of the succubus, not only betraying her former beliefs and people but appearing to find delight in being subjected to such humiliating acts in public.

The Corruption faction might lack strong direct combat capabilities, but its power to infiltrate and corrupt minds definitely lived up to the Church of the Goddess’s historical emphasis and vigilance.

As for the Unclean, one could easily guess how they absorbed emotions.

And lastly, the King of Chaos…

To be honest, this monarch seems to have never appeared or invaded the current world, not even once, since ancient times. It is said that he is the most powerful among the four demon monarchs, having individual strength that is nearly crushing compared to the other three, allowing him to form a faction by himself.

However, because of this mystery, the Priestess became curious.

If it was as she suspected, that the demon realm itself was facing some issues, forcing the other three monarchs to join forces to invade this world, what was the most powerful supreme monarch doing at this moment?

Forget it… Thinking too much about such nebulous matters was pointless.

Ending her thoughts, Vilyric turned her gaze to the now-dark surroundings, with only the bright moon in the sky casting its soft silver glow over the night.

This was somewhere on the edge of the central temple in the City of Saint Sanos. According to the arrangement with the souls and others, they would meet up with Miss White Fox nearby.

“It’s about time…”

The other three girls, either sitting or leaning in the shadows, gazed into the distance through the silver-blue eyes of the White Fox Girl, yet the figures of their quartet still hadn’t appeared under the tranquil and deep night.

“Why aren’t they here yet? Could something have happened?”

Sitting on a large stone near the ruins of the temple that had collapsed due to past wars, the blue-haired girl propped her chin up in boredom and couldn’t help but voice her mild worries.

Among the four girls, only Tilysha was a bona fide human, making her vision and visibility in the dim night the lowest, even Eudora in her succubus form was better than her in this respect.

Beside the blue-haired girl, a pink-haired loli with a heart-shaped tail wagging sprightly behind her supported herself with her hands on the stone, swinging her delicate little legs like kicking water, looking up seriously to reassure her.

“Sister Tilysha, don’t worry. Those big brothers and sisters are really strong, they definitely won’t be in trouble!”

“Eh… getting comforted by Eudora somehow feels a bit peculiar, what’s that all about?”

“Master… Xī, there’s a living creature approaching.”

As always, the dragon girl with the keenest perception sensed the change in environment and air flow first, stepping away from the wall she leaned against to come beside the White Fox Girl.

“Is it them? No, wait…”

Raising an eyebrow under her mask, Vilyric signaled to her alert pet, who immediately understood and pulled the still somewhat clueless duo to hide behind the wall, gesturing for them to remain silent.

Miss White Fox also took out her already-off-duty Chameleon Cloak from her bag, vanishing from sight in an instant.

About half a minute later.

“Quick, quick, everyone follow!”

A group of around ten people, consisting of humans, beastmen, and half-breeds common in the Holy Empire, dressed in snug black outfits for nighttime movement and concealment, with most of their faces covered, arrived at the spot where the girls had been, cautiously surveying the surroundings.

“Boss, aren’t we being too reckless? The temple is now the old den of demons in this city. Even in these war-ravaged ruins, there might still be Demon Guardians patrolling…”

“What are you shouting about? Do you not understand that fortune favors the bold?! If you had objections before, keep them to yourself now that we’re here. Do you think I won’t take you out right now?!”

“I-I was just saying it casually! Don’t be mad, boss!”

Hearing their somewhat crude banter, as well as the bottles and tools at their waists, the White Fox Girl suddenly realized.

This group… was a bunch of thieves.

   

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