Chapter 104 - 103: Human Captives, A Great Shock

Inside the dim Underground Space.

By now, over two thousand five hundred Commoners and slaves had gathered in this space.

And that wasn’t all. On the other side of the space, a very long and wide tunnel had been carved out, leading toward some unknown region outside.

In the three days since the tunnel’s completion, anywhere from several hundred to a thousand humans were driven into the Underground Space each day.

Watching over this group of humans was a horde of over one hundred Entry Tier Magical Beasts.

Under their watch, not a single human dared to resist.

At that moment, amidst the crowd of Commoners and slaves, there were a dozen or so humans who, despite their clothes and complexions appearing no different from the others, were far more composed than the actual Commoners and slaves.

"What in the world is going on with these Demon Beasts?"

"Why would they dig such a massive Underground Space in the Wilderness of the Western Realm? And why do they keep capturing humans and forcing them here?"

"Could it be that Demon Beasts are performing some kind of evil ritual?"

"I’ve never heard of such a thing."

A man squeezed into the center of the crowd, sitting properly just like an ordinary commoner, and did his best to whisper to his companion.

"Hah, Clint, why do you even care about this stuff?"

"It’s a miracle we’re still alive for now. You have the time to worry about this?"

"But I agree, the situation is a bit strange. These past few days, the Entry Tier Magical Beasts around us have even been bringing us beast meat to eat. It’s raw, but it’s better than starving to death."

"I just feel like something is off about these Demon Beasts."

"Right, young lady of some noble house?"

His companion glanced sideways at a cloaked woman being protected by three rather strong-looking individuals, his expression full of scorn.

Clint and the companion who had just spoken were both Mercenaries.

They had been ambushed by Demon Beasts while fleeing with a group of refugees.

Many of the Mercenaries protecting the refugees had died in battle. Only the two of them, after noticing the Demon Beasts didn’t seem intent on killing the humans, had quietly blended into the crowd and managed to survive.

But everything that happened afterward was beyond their comprehension!

After a five-day journey, they and the refugees had been herded into this bizarre Underground Space.

And there were quite a few other Mercenaries in a similar situation.

There was even one human who, with a single glance, you could tell was a noble lady in distress.

A Mercenary’s eye is no joke.

Whether someone was Nobility or a commoner, they could tell in an instant!

That was the problem with Demon Beasts capturing people.

Although most Entry Tier Magical Beasts possessed intelligence, they didn’t know much about the Human Race.

As long as they didn’t meet resistance when capturing people, they just sent them in!

The Demon Beasts paid no mind to the old, weak, sick, or disabled. Anyone who died during the forced march was simply an extra meal. As for the survivors, it was enough to feed them a bit of captured livestock or even the meat of their dead companions each day.

They kept the humans from starving, but they certainly never let them eat their fill.

As for water, a Water Elemental Demon Beast could just create some. In a world of Magic, water was the one thing that was never in short supply.

"What did you say?"

"You damn lowly Mercenary, how dare you speak to our lady like that?!"

The Squire guarding the young woman lowered his voice and glared, but all he got in return was the rolling of eyes.

"Hah! ’Our lady’!"

"In a hellhole like this, it’s a question of whether we’ll even get out alive. And yet the noble Knight’s Squire is still acting like a lapdog for the Nobility?"

"Believe it or not, one shout from me and we’ll all die here."

In response, the Knight’s Squire glared furiously, but the young woman stopped the Squire’s impulsive action.

She raised her head, looked at the Mercenary, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

"My apologies. Hahn doesn’t know how to speak properly. Please don’t mind him."

"Since we’re all trapped here together, we should be thinking of a way to escape. There’s no benefit to acting on impulse, is there?"

"You, a noble lady, are surprisingly well-spoken. But if you think a few nice words will make us risk our lives to save you, you’re far too naive," the Mercenary said with a sudden laugh.

"Take a look, young lady. There are over a hundred Entry Tier Magical Beasts around us, and even a few Middle Tier Magical Beasts among them. In a situation like this, you want to escape? You’d have better luck dreaming it."

"If you’re looking to die, don’t drag us down with you. I’d like to live a few more days."

At this, the noble young woman couldn’t help but frown.

’She did indeed want to win over these Mercenaries and find a chance to escape, but she wasn’t a fool. Under the current circumstances, it’s definitely impossible. She would have to wait until more humans were gathered here to find an opportunity. The Demon Beasts must be capturing live humans for some incomprehensible purpose. As long as she waited for more people to arrive and then created some chaos, she felt there should still be a chance. Especially if more Mercenaries or even Entry Tier Transcendents were captured among the later groups of humans. The chance of success might be even greater then. For the Demon Beasts to be able to build such a huge space underground, and for it to be constructed on such a massive and orderly scale... Clearly, something extraordinary was happening. As long as she didn’t die, there was still a chance for everything. Even as she looked at this massive space, at the metallic walls and the huge pillars standing within, she felt it didn’t seem like the style of Demon Beasts at all. It was more like something the Human Race or Beastmen would do. And seeing the Fire Attribute Middle Tier Magic Crystals lighting up the space only deepened her confusion.’

So, ignoring the Mercenary’s words, the young woman suddenly spoke up:

"I’m not about to do something suicidal."

"But let’s put that aside for now. Aren’t you all curious? Don’t you think this Underground Space looks man-made, rather than something Demon Beasts could create?"

Hearing the noble lady’s words, the Mercenary from before, Clint, nodded and spoke up.

"It certainly doesn’t fit the style of Demon Beasts."

"But it’s hard to say when it comes to High Tier Magical Beasts. Especially those ancient monsters among them. Their intellect isn’t necessarily lower than ours, so it wouldn’t be surprising what they could accomplish."

"Besides, to command a Beast Tide to capture people... I think aside from those ancient monsters, ordinary High Tier Magical Beasts don’t have that kind of control."

The noble lady heard this and nodded in agreement.

"That’s true."

"But if it’s really those ancient monsters trying to perform some evil ritual, I haven’t seen any traces of ritual patterns on the floor of this Underground Space."

"Over the past two days, I’ve already sensed and inspected it in detail. Forget the floor; even the places on the walls where the Magic Crystals are embedded lack the necessary conditions for a ritual, like runic grooves."

"This matter is truly strange, and it’s precisely what’s been puzzling me."

"Wherever a Demon Beast Tide passes, death is the norm. But capturing people alive... that’s simply unheard of."

"Surely the Demon Beasts haven’t learned to use human captives as bargaining chips for negotiations with the Empires, have they? That would be a truly unprecedented, history-making event."

"..."

These people were still talking in low voices.

However, in the next moment, a tremendous noise suddenly came from above the Underground Space.

And so, everyone—whether they were the captured humans or the Demon Beasts guarding them—abruptly looked up toward the ceiling of the Underground Space.

"What’s happening?!"

"..."

A commotion rippled through the captive crowd.

But in the next instant, on a high platform on the southern side of the Underground Space, a large number of Magic Crystals suddenly lit up.

And then, in the very next moment.

"ROAR!!!"

An extremely terrifying roar suddenly echoed throughout the entire Underground Space!

And at that very moment, both Demon Beasts and humans whipped their heads around to look.

And so, all of them—Demon Beast and human alike—saw it!

A Giant Dragon, its entire body possessing a gray, metallic texture, had appeared on the high platform!

Its enormous form was so imposing that, for a moment, the Mercenaries and the noble lady thought it was a High Tier Magical Beast!

"A dragon!!! A High Tier Sub-dragon!!!"

"I knew it! A place like this could never be built by ordinary Demon Beasts!"

"But if it’s a dragon, then everything makes sense!"

The Mercenaries and the noble lady stared in shock at the enormous Rock Steel Giant before them.

Each one’s expression was more panicked than the last!

’A High Tier Sub-dragon! Create chaos? Escape? How is that possible! The most desperate situation has finally come to pass!’

But in the noble lady’s eyes, if it was a Sub-dragon, perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

After all, although some Sub-dragons sided with the Demon Beasts, the Human Race, Beastmen, and even the Elves all had Sub-dragons among them.

Sub-dragons were still considered a Dragon Species, and by nature, they weren’t limited to serving any single Race.

Furthermore, their attitude toward humans was not one of blind hostility like that of other Demon Beasts.

Some Sub-dragons even had inexplicably complex connections with the Dragon Descendants of various races.

After all, throughout the ages of Giant Dragons, many of them had been rather promiscuous.

Therefore, it wasn’t hard to understand why there might be Bloodline ties between Sub-dragons and Dragon Descendants.

It was perfectly normal!

However, striking up a conversation would be incredibly difficult, and this particular noble lady was no Dragon Noble.

Just as the noble lady was still pondering how to break the stalemate...

Suddenly, a flurry of loud sounds came from above and behind her.

On the western side, in a large, upward-sloping tunnel, a behemoth even larger than the Rock Steel Giant suddenly appeared first.

"An Earth Bear!!!"

"And it’s definitely a Dragon Descendant! A High Tier! Another High Tier Overlord Level Demon Beast!"

"No, look behind it!"

"..."

The captive humans began to discuss in a panic. Some women and children even couldn’t help but start crying loudly!

This naturally caused the surrounding Entry Tier Magical Beasts to roar at the crowd!

The crowd huddled and shrank further toward the center. The women clamped their hands over their children’s mouths and quickly fell silent themselves.

They were terrified of angering these horrifying existences and losing their lives.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, after the Earth Bear appeared, four more Tier Seven Demon Beasts emerged from behind it!

However, the most unexpected thing happened!

Because right beneath the four massive Tier Seven Demon Beasts, there were human figures!

Eleven Human Knights dressed in exquisite armor!

They appeared as if they were being escorted by the Tier Seven Demon Beasts!

In that moment, the crowd was stunned into silence!

"Humans!!!"

"And they’re all Entry Tier Knights!!!"

The Mercenaries were deeply shaken, but the one who was most astonished and found it hardest to believe was the noble lady.

"Viscount York?!"

’That’s right! It’s him!!! When the Viscount was returning to his domain, he passed through our Earl’s Domain! I saw him once! I’d never mistake him!!!’