Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 968- Acquiring Few Henchmen (2)

Their imposing frame was enough to even make him a Demon Viscount appear small in comparison. GULP… Without him knowing, he gulped and involuntarily took a step back.

Simon's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the henchman who put his hands on his shoulder. It only took him a moment to assess the demon's rank—a low-tier Viscount, clearly used to throwing his weight around against weaker beings.

 It was a familiar scene to Simon: demons trying to assert their dominance through intimidation, seeking pleasure in belittling others. Especially now, in the middle of a war, that kind of behavior was more unhinged and rampant.

The chaos of battle had loosened the demons' restraint, making them more brazen and prone to seeking conflict. However, it was one thing to do it with another but with him… they chose the wrong opponent to mess with.

The Viscount's bravado faltered when he met Simon's cold unreadable gaze.

"Um…" It was then a frosty voice sounded beside his ears.

"What are you doing backing down? Are you defying my orders?" It came from none other than Demon Earl Melkan himself.

Immediately coming to his senses, the Demon Viscount tried to cover up his momentary slip. He shouted "Didn't you hear me human? Why are you running around free? Who is your master?"

It was common to use subjugated enemies as slaves of war. It was no wonder that these bunch of demons thought that he was one of those enslaved humans here.

Simon did not answer immediately, he looked around and after seeing that their small commotion was not attracting any attention, he guessed that it was either a common occurrence here or the high ranking demons were too busy to bother with something of this level.

Simon's eyes then brushed past the demon Visocunt and landed towards the demon earl in the distance. The leader of this group and the one behind this charade.

Did they say his name was Melkan? For someone like him to fall so low and behave like your alleyway thug, Simon could easily guess that his rank among the demon army was at the bottom and he was one of those countless expendables being bossed around by the other demons.

As for his intent, it was as clear as day. By this show of force, he was expecting the human to cower, to show fear or submission to indulge his superiority.

However, too bad for them, the opponent they chose this time was someone beyond their level. Simon had faced countless creatures like this before, and he knew their tactics well.

"Why am I here you ask? Let's just say I have a very important task I have been given by a high ranking demon".

'Wha…' Not expecting an answer like that, the demon henchmen was taken aback. A high ranking demon… if what the human said was true, then messing with him would mean messing with their plans.

Something that would warrant them a fate worse than death. The group instinctively started backing down when the Demon Earl shouted.

"Lies!! Don't fall for his trap. This human is clearly lying" He pointed at Simon and scoffed.

"Directive from a high ranking demon you say? Tsk, there is no way a high ranking demon would use a mere human slave". n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

His words seemed to have convinced others as they also stopped backing down and looked visibly enraged.

"You dare try to trick us human!!" The Demon Viscount closest to Simon raised his hand to strike but he easily dodged it. When the demon was about to continue pulling his punches, Simon grabbed his fist thus stopping all of his assault.

The Demon Earl narrowed his eyes whereas his entourage looked visibly shaken. They didn't expect a human, a mere slave at that too to easily stop a Demon viscount's attack. This was a humiliation.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to make me lose face? Stop holding back and quickly apprehend that slave. Make it so that he cannot mutter such nonsense again"…

"This…" The Demon Viscount's expression was grim. As the one attacking, he knew full well whether he was holding back or not.

In that attack, he had used most of his physical powers that could easily apprehend any human even if they were warriors. However, when he attacked the human in front of him, all of his strength disappeared in an instant.

It was like throwing a stone in a lake, all of his power and momentum vanished in the water. What's more, the hand holding his fist were like pincers he was unable to break free of.

"You…" the demon viscount tried to say something but his voice was cut short by a punch in his solar plexus.

BANG… there was resounding low rumbling along bones being crushed. The next second, to the group's surprise, the demon viscount bent down and kissed the ground knocked unconscious.

All eyes even the ones in the surrounding went wide as they shifted between the human and the demon viscount on the ground. This was an outcome none of them expected.

Even Melkan was stunned for a long while unable to believe his eyes. Neverhtless, no matter how low his standing was among the demons, he was a demon earl.

"Very good… very good" his body trembled with rage as he pointed at Simon "You have some nerve, human, to act so brazenly in this place. Are you looking to die early?"

Melkan stepped forward, he was looking to close this one himself. Fights in the demon camp were not unusual. As such, even if they fought here with all their strength, it wouldn't alarm the high ranking demon of the demon lord army.

Simon's smirk slowly faded, his eyes narrowed dangerously. This had gone on long enough. He was here on a mission, and he couldn't afford to let these demons interfere any longer.

He took a slow, deliberate step forward, closing the distance between himself and the earl. The other demons flinched, clearly unsettled by the lack of fear in his eyes.