Chapter 653: The Executives

Imperial Capital, Outskirts.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

More and more demons gathered here, filling the sky with their turbulent magic power, dark clouds obscuring the sun. Shrouded in a black mist, they unleashed their full aura towards the Imperial Capital.

“Hand over the Hero!”

“Hand over the Hero!”

“Hand over the Hero!”

Their cries echoed like the war horns of an invading army, booming like thunder.

The entire Imperial Capital, surrounded by the black mist and the powerful magic of the demon army, looked like a lone city besieged by a horde of beasts, appearing incredibly fragile.

And behind this demon army, several figures observed the scene.

They were beings whose magic power and aura surpassed every demon present, their forms grotesque and bizarre.

Some were in beast form, some had extra limbs, some were entwined with vines, and some even had three heads and six arms, a terrifying sight.

Among them, a demon resembling a ferocious beast, standing upright, bared its fangs and claws, seemingly impatient.

After a while, this beast demon couldn’t hold back any longer.

“How long are we going to stand around like this?” the beast demon said impatiently, “We’ve been warning them for days, and these trash humans still haven’t handed over the Hero. It’s clear they’re not going to cooperate.”

The three-headed, six-armed demon echoed this sentiment.

“Ireza is right,” the three-headed demon said, seemingly eager, licking its lips, “It’s time for us to attack, to charge in and start a massacre, to show them we’re serious, right?”

Its bloodthirsty words were chilling.

However, someone stopped them.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, if you do that, the God Race and the Human Race will definitely retaliate,” said a demon in revealing clothing, her figure voluptuous, like a courtesan.

This demon woman, simply standing there, exuded a dangerous charm that stimulated hormones, clearly a woman who could drive men mad.

She glanced at the beast demon and the three-headed demon, her voice seductive,

“Don’t forget, we came to the Human Realm on our own. Our masters might not even approve of this. If we cause too much trouble, then Ireza, Chibul, you will definitely be killed by Lady Lid and Lady Millu, especially you, Chibul. You, as a direct subordinate serving Lady Millu, shouldn’t be unaware of the consequences of displeasing her, right?”

The seductive demon’s words made the three-headed demon, Chibul, stiffen, his eyes filled with uncontainable fear.

Even Ireza, the beast demon, couldn’t help but shudder.

However, his impatience didn’t subside.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Ireza shouted at the seductive demon, “Are we supposed to keep waiting like fools? I don’t have that much patience!”

“I know,” the seductive demon sighed, looking pitiful, “That’s why I don’t like demon men. All of you only know how to train your muscles, but your tempers are worse than anyone’s.”

“What did you say!?” Ireza was instantly enraged.

Just as the beast demon was about to do something, a demon man with horns on his head, a human upper body, and the lower body of a goat, holding a greatsword, spoke.

“Alright, stop provoking Ireza, Guran,” the horned demon man said in a deep voice, “You know that once he loses his temper, he’s capable of anything. Even Lady Lid has punished him countless times, yet he’s still like this. Why do you still provoke him?”

“I’m bored,” Guran said listlessly, “There are no interesting men here to play with, so I’m just teasing this big oaf. Are you unhappy about it, Alid?”

“Unhappy?” Alid shook his head, “I just don’t want to see you fighting amongst yourselves after coming all the way here.”

“Alright, I forgot, you’re also boring.” Guran sighed again, then, as if remembering something, she smiled and looked to the side, “You’re more interesting, Giacinta. Why don’t you come and chat with us?”

Guran was looking at a handsome young demon man standing there.

Behind the handsome man were a pair of twin demons, looking apprehensive.

These twin demons were Jess and Liz.

And the handsome demon man was Giacinta.

Giacinta appeared here, looking at his colleagues who seemed about to start fighting amongst themselves, seemingly unfazed, and said casually,

“Don’t drag me into this. I’m just here to make sure you don’t lose control, not to join in your nonsense.”

That’s how it was.

Giacinta came here to prevent his colleagues from going too far.

This wasn’t unnecessary.

These demons weren’t ordinary individuals.

They were all, like Giacinta, direct subordinates of a Demon Lord.

Ireza was one of the six executives under Liddomar, the Beast Demon, level ninety-five, hot-tempered and impulsive, a typical example of brawn over brains.

Chibul was one of the seven executives under Millu Pesh, the Ghost Demon, level ninety-three, bloodthirsty and belligerent, cruel and considered a dangerous figure even among demon executives.

Guran was one of the eight executives under Shafney, the Succubus, level ninety-two, and enjoyed toying with men, manipulating them and making them obsessed.

Alid was one of the ten executives under Kamina, the Poison Demon, level ninety-one. Although not as eccentric as the other three, he was somewhat gloomy and a descendant of one of the most feared races among demons.

Coupled with Giacinta, one of the four executives under Airi, the Dragon Demon, all the demons present, except for Jess and Liz, were direct subordinates of Demon Lords.

In other words, among the demons, besides the Six Demon Lords, these executives held the highest positions.

Now, some of these direct subordinates of the Six Demon Lords had come here.

And most of them belonged to the more radical and difficult-to-persuade factions.

Therefore, upon receiving the news, Giacinta quickly came here.

His purpose was to restrain these colleagues, preventing them from provoking the Human Race and causing huge trouble for the Demon Race.

“Neither the God Race nor the Human Race wants to see the Demon Race start a war, and many of us in the Demon Race also don’t want to break this peace.”

Giacinta’s gaze swept across the four demon executives, his tone a warning.

“As our masters’ direct subordinates, our duty is to solve their problems, not create them for them.”

Giacinta had said this many times before.

However, Guran chuckled.

“Aren’t we here to solve our masters’ problems?” Guran said with a smile, “Every demon knows how dangerous Heroes are. If we eliminate him, our masters will be pleased, right?”

“Indeed,” Alid agreed, “The Hero is a threat to the Demon Race. This is undeniable. He must be eliminated before he grows stronger.”

“I don’t really care,” Chibul grinned, as if suppressing his ferocity, “I just want to taste the Hero’s blood.”

“You’d better not stop us, Giacinta,” Ireza snorted coldly, his expression unfriendly, “This might be a plot by the God Race. They preach peace on the surface, but secretly restart the Hero summoning ritual. I will never let those women succeed.”

These hostile words made Giacinta sigh inwardly.

He knew what these guys were planning.

The reason these colleagues, who were on the same level as him, came to the Human Realm and targeted the Hero was because they had their own motives.

“Do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”

Giacinta began to expose them mercilessly.

“Guran, you want to eliminate the Hero not because he’s dangerous, but because you tried to seduce him before and failed, so you want to regain your face, right?”

“Alid, you’re the same. You were severely injured by the Hero’s Holy Sword in the war a thousand years ago, and its power still affects you, so you want to use the Hero’s Holy Sword as a catalyst to activate the divine power within you and transfer it to the current Hero with your Unique Skill, right?”

“Chibul, you want the Hero’s blood not just because you’re bloodthirsty, but also to use your blood sacrifice ritual and steal a portion of his power, right?”

“And Ireza, you don’t even need to say it. Your brother died at the hands of the Hero, and you want revenge on the current Hero. But that’s just misplaced anger, you know that yourself, right?”

Giacinta’s words made the demon executives’ faces darken.

Their expressions became incredibly unsightly.

It was foreseeable that the Demon Race would react to the Hero’s exposure. They all had their reasons, and with the Demon Lords absent, they were naturally agitated by the Hero’s appearance, leading to the current situation.

However, the presence of the Demon Lords’ direct subordinates here was intriguing.

The Demon Lords hadn’t issued any orders regarding the Hero.

Rather, several of the Six Demon Lords had personal connections with Shien. Under such circumstances, they wouldn’t allow their subordinates to cause trouble for him, at least not before the truth behind the Hero’s appearance was revealed and whether the God Race had any ulterior motives was determined.

Therefore, while it would be understandable for the subordinates of the Succubus and the Poison Demon, who didn’t know Shien, to appear here, the Beast Demon and the Ghost Demon both had dealings with him and shouldn’t have sent anyone to confront him.

Yet, subordinates of the Succubus, Poison Demon, Beast Demon, and Ghost Demon were all present, and they were the more radical and impulsive ones. This was cause for concern.

Giacinta, relatively familiar with these individuals, immediately saw through their intentions.

Simply put, they had ulterior motives.

“You’re all here for personal gain or grudges, without your masters’ consent,” Giacinta said bluntly, staring at his colleagues.

“I hope you think this through. If you abuse your power for personal revenge, you will be held accountable by your masters.”

Giacinta’s words were met with cold, hostile glares.

They stared at Giacinta, emanating a dangerous aura that made the ground tremble slightly.

The pressure from these Legendary-level demon experts was terrifying. As a race known for their power, demons were generally stronger than humans and even gods. The power of a Legendary-level demon naturally far surpassed that of a human of the same level.

Even Alid, the weakest among them at level ninety-one, exuded an aura no weaker than Legendary-level humans like Rockto and Saliro.

One could imagine the combined pressure of these four.

However, Giacinta remained calm and composed, even shielding Jess and Liz, who were struggling to withstand the pressure.

Seeing this, Guran, Alid, Chibul, and Ireza’s expressions turned serious.

They knew Giacinta was stronger than any of them.

In terms of level, Giacinta was higher.

In terms of strength, Giacinta was a dragon transformed into a human, his physical body comparable to a dragon’s, and he possessed a Unique Skill that could multiply his power.

Giacinta, in his normal state, was comparable to Saliro using his [Dragon Power] Unique Skill. If he transformed into a dragon and multiplied his power, Saliro would be easily defeated.

The fact that Giacinta’s level was similar to Saliro’s showed the difference between demons and humans at the same level.

Frankly speaking, the four of them were somewhat afraid of Giacinta.

Among the Demon Race, the direct subordinates of the Six Demon Lords were all Legendary-level, but the difference in strength between them was also significant, resulting in an inverse relationship between the number of subordinates and their individual strength.

For example, among the Six Demon Lords, Kamina, the Poison Demon, had the most subordinates, a total of ten, but their individual strength was weaker than other executives.

Airi, the Dragon Demon, only had four subordinates, less than half of Kamina’s.

However, what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in quality.

Because Airi’s territory was mostly populated by dragons, and once these dragons transformed into humans, their power was extraordinary. Therefore, although Airi only had four subordinates, their strength ranked among the top of all executives.

Therefore, the number of subordinates a Demon Lord had was inversely proportional to their individual strength.

The more subordinates, the weaker their individual strength, needing numbers to compensate.

Conversely, the fewer subordinates, the stronger the individual, a typical example of quality over quantity.

Therefore, as one of the four executives under the Dragon Demon, Giacinta’s individual strength was undoubtedly greater than that of the executives under the Succubus, Beast Demon, Poison Demon, and Ghost Demon.

Among the Six Demon Lords, the number of subordinates under the Dragon Demon was second to last, so the individual strength of her executives was generally among the top ten, some even among the top five, incredibly powerful.

Such a Giacinta was indeed formidable, and even the hot-tempered Ireza didn’t want to offend him.

Of course, while Ireza and the others couldn’t afford to offend him, it didn’t mean others couldn’t.

“Alright, stop arguing.”

As this indifferent and calm voice reached everyone’s ears, all the executives present, including Giacinta, trembled.

The voice belonged to the last demon executive present.

It was a woman.

A demon woman entwined with vines, with long, willow-like hair, two flowers on her head, barefoot, and wearing only a thin, dress-like garment that revealed her back.

The woman was beautiful and seemed slightly older than the seductive Guran.

However, her expression was incredibly cold, her eyes icy, like an emotionless machine. Although she didn’t release her aura like the others, she still exuded a chilling presence.

“Hertleyd…”

Giacinta unconsciously called out her name, a hint of fear in his voice.

Not just Giacinta, but the others also instinctively fell silent. Jess and Liz’s faces turned slightly pale, seemingly terrified of this demon woman, as if wanting to flee.

This couldn’t be helped.

“…I know why they’re here,” Giacinta said after a moment of silence, looking at the demon woman named Hertleyd.

“But I didn’t expect you to come.”

The reason was simple.

“As one of the only three executives under Sara, the Moon Demon, and one of the only three Limit Level experts in the entire Demon Race, I really can’t understand why you would come to the Human Realm without Lady Sara’s permission.”

Giacinta revealed her identity.

Hertleyd didn’t react much, simply glancing at Giacinta.

But that single glance made Giacinta feel as if his blood was freezing.

This wasn’t an exaggeration, but pure fact.

After all, this Limit Level demon expert was rumored to have once “frozen an army of hundreds of thousands into ice sculptures with a single glance.”

Hertleyd retracted her gaze and said coldly,

“I’m here because I need the Hero to do something for me.”

After saying that, Hertleyd didn’t speak anymore.

“Do something?”

Giacinta frowned, wanting to ask something, but sensing the chilling aura around Hertleyd, he quickly closed his mouth.

He knew this woman wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

If he spoke too much and displeased her, even with the Dragon Demon backing him, even as a demon executive, he wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed.

The proof was that even Ireza, that impulsive fellow, looked at Hertleyd with fear in his eyes.

He had once offended Hertleyd and was frozen for hundreds of years before being rescued.

Many in the Demon Race even believed that in terms of ruthlessness, she was comparable to her master, Airi, the Dragon Demon.

Therefore, even Giacinta didn’t dare to provoke her.

Hertleyd walked forward, looking towards the Imperial Capital, and murmured softly,

“Too slow.”

Clearly, this dangerous Limit Level expert was also impatient.

“Hertleyd,” Giacinta sensed danger and quickly said, “If you act recklessly in the Human Realm, Lady Sara will blame you.”

This was the only thing Giacinta could use to restrain Hertleyd.

However, if this alone could make Hertleyd obedient, then she wouldn’t be considered as ruthless as the Dragon Demon.

“If Lady Sara wants to punish me, then I will accept it,” Hertleyd said coldly.

“So, I won’t wait any longer.”

Hearing this, Giacinta knew.

He couldn’t stop what was about to happen.

“I’ve tried my best, brat,” Giacinta smiled wryly, thinking of a certain Kingdom noble who suddenly became a Hero.

Guran, Alid, Chibul, and Ireza, however, were overjoyed upon seeing this scene.

Then, a chilling magic power began to emanate from Hertleyd.

Just then…

“Boom!”

With an explosion, a terrifying pressure suddenly appeared in mid-air, mercilessly suppressing everyone present.

“—!?”

All the demons present changed their expressions drastically, some shocked, some with wide eyes, some incredibly stunned, and some wailing, the constant shouts abruptly ceasing.

“Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!” …

The demon experts couldn’t help but kneel heavily on the ground.

“What!?”

“This is…!?”

“Ugh…!”

“Ah…!”

Guran, Alid, Chibul, and Ireza’s faces changed drastically.

“…!”

Hertleyd’s eyes narrowed, and she abruptly looked up at the sky.

There, several figures had appeared silently at some point.

The leader was a young human man.

“You’re quite arrogant, aren’t you?” he said with a smile.

A smile devoid of any emotion.