Chapter 971: A Frightful Experience in a Demon's Memory
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Hearing the prolonged blast of a horn, all the demons fell into silence simultaneously. The Red Mist which looked like a crystal a moment ago started to surge like boiling lava inside the gigantic sinkhole.
Two demons stepped out of the crowd and walked on the slender stone bridge.
Roland found that one of them was clearly a Mad Demon whilst the other looked like the Lord of Hell Agatha mentioned.
Though the former was the biggest Mad Demon he had ever seen, it looked mediocre in front of the giant crawler shaped Lord of Hell.
Neither of them wore armor, however, the relationship between them was obviously confrontational. They were pushing each other all the way to the island.
Seeing this situation, the demons around the island did not show even the slightest surprise. Instead, they all seemed very excited.
What're they doing? Is it a duel?
Roland guessed that it was a kind of ceremonial battle which most barbarian races enjoyed. It was a duel to the death and a show of strength. The one who survived in the end would be venerated as a hero.
He despised such duels. It was not because of racial prejudice, he just thought that it had no meaning except providing the audience with an exciting fighting show. Besides, it may cause the race more harm than benefit. People on Earth also enjoyed these kinds of shows long ago. The only difference was that they usually watched some slave fighting a wild animal. Thus, no matter which party died, they would not feel sad.
As the only human being here, Roland did not care about the demons in the duel at all. Instead, he decided to take a closer look at this fierce battle. To the demons, he was now intangible and invisible like a ghost. Given that, he walked directly through the crowd and followed the two demons to the stone bridge.
When he got onto the island which was as large as Neverwinter's square, he found that someone was already there.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the creature clearly.
It seemed to be a female demon!
He was not sure about this impression at first, but he could not deny that it resembled a woman in many ways.
Besides, she looked quite attractive.
Wait, it's not scientific at all!
He became alert.
"How can an alien species who are completely incompatible with mankind produce an individual who's so much like a woman! It's reasonable that some of them may have evolved to walk upright since height would give predators a better view and a practical advantage in hunting. However, it's really hard to believe that this extent of similarity was purely coincidental."
On second thought, he believed that other people would hardly agree with him that this female demon was attractive. She had livid skin, prominent horns, an extra eye on the forehead and bony spurs all over her shoulders and arms. Different from a time traveler with wide experience like Roland, they would probably be terrified by her appearance.
Before the duel, the two demons bowed to the female demon who wore a white robe before moving to either side of the island to take up their positions. They stood close to the edge of the island, facing the Red Mist Lake solemnly.
The female demon walked slowly to the island's edge and began to sing a soprano.
The lake vigorously rippled as if something was about to come out.
Roland wondered, "Maybe, it wasn't just a duel, or maybe these two demons weren't dueling at all..."
Suddenly, two stout tentacles popped out of the lake. They swung respectively at the Mad Demon and the Lord of Hell. It looked like they were going to crush the demons at any minute, but surprisingly, both of the demons raised their arms as if they had willingly given up resistance.
The female demon shouted out, causing the tentacles to reluctantly stop above each demon's head. They wiggled for a moment before each spitting out some mucus and a crystal gemstone.
The demons used their fingers to rip open their chests before inserting the gemstones into their bodies without the slightest hesitation.
Instantly, a strong light radiated from their bodies, making it difficult for Roland to open his eyes.
His heart sank.
"Are those magic stones? Is that how the demon warriors get their supernatural power?"
"No, it can't be. Mad Demons are just common soldiers. There are thousands of them in the demon army. How could the demon city afford to hold a grand ceremony like this to convert each Mad Demon?"
A few minutes later, the blinding light gradually subsided, revealing a shocking scene.
The mighty Lord of Hell curled into a ball under tremendous pain. All the spiracles on its back opened as it continuously leaked white fog. It seemed as if its body was melting.
The Mad Demon appeared to be much better compared to the Lord of Hell. Although its body also shrank after absorbing the Magic Stone, Roland believed that this was just a common side effect. Its arms and legs were not as stout as before and distinct blue veins appeared from the wound on its chest. It looked miserable, however, at least it was still able to stand.
Looking at the two demons, Roland could not help thinking of the incarnation ceremony of the God's Punishment Army.
"Do demon warriors also need to sacrifice their lives to get magic power?"
The next moment, the Lord of Hell issued a piercing cry. It lifted its upper body and sprang towards the female demon on the island.
With a loud bang, the entire floating island trembled.
Roland thought that he was going to see a crushed body under the Lord of Hell, but to his surprise, there were only a few shattered stones instead.
The Lord of Hell had missed its target. It got irritated and shifted its red eyes to the Mad Demon combatively.
"That's it."
"I've understood why they acted this way."
"A demon won't die after absorbing a Magic Stone, instead, it'll change. The Lord of Hell, who was an intelligent lifeform a moment ago, now looked more like a crawler and behaved as if it was an irrational beast."
The Mad Demon did not flinch at all. It fought the giant crawler fanatically!
After absorbing the magic stone, it seemed to obtain a new ability along with a smaller and agiler body!
The seemingly powerful four-legged crawler was forced to retreat by the Mad Demon. The hot steam it emitted could only damage a corner of the Mad Demon's garment whilst the Mad Demon's waves of black light were able to easily cut the Crawler's body. Roland could see the crawler's bones from its open wounds.
In less than five minutes, the duel was drawing to an end.
The Mad Demon tore off the crawler's tail. It quickly peeled the skin and flesh off the tailbone before throwing it back to the dying crawler to give a decisive blow!
The bone pierced the Lord of Hell's head and killed it. The whole process was as fast as lightning.
Roland who was standing by watching the whole duel, now looked grave. He noticed that the Mad Demon's arm did not wither after throwing the tailbone.
The frenzied Mad Demon walked step by step to the dead crawler. It grabbed the magic stone from the Crawler's dead body and swallowed it along with the flesh and blood adhering to the surface.
The audience suddenly burst into exclamation!
The female demon somehow appeared on the island again before Roland realized. She seemed to raise her eyebrows in surprise.
Once again, the Mad Demon revealed a painful expression as steam discharged from its nostrils and ears... Roland clearly saw that it was grinning. It seemed to be enjoying this torment very much.
This time, the converting process was much longer. It did not gradually recover until roughly half an hour later. Tearing off its old blister covered skin, it revealed a completely different appearance.
Roland could not help gasping at its new figure.
Its face now resembled a human being's.
Seeing this, the audience all cheered simultaneously.
"Charita!"
Roland did not know who called out this word first, but quickly, all the demons followed and repeatedly chanted together!
"Charita!"
"Charita!"
"Charita!"
Hearing the reverberating roar of the demons, Roland's heart further sank.
He thought of the rumor Pasha mentioned.
"The rumor was that, long before the beginning of the first Battle of Divine Will, someone had got in contact with the demons."
"That person had taught knowledge to the demons, who were no different from beasts."
"This might be the reason why Senior Demons looked more and more like humans."