Ch.312Chapter 312 – The Encounter Between Humans and Demons

The demon reconnaissance team ascended to the surface following the Elder’s orders.

The Elder had commanded them to “find a place where they could survive.”

Needless to say, not a single demon refused this order.

This was partly because the Elder was the highest-ranking demon, but the main issue was the problem that had arisen in their current residence.

The underground facility where they had been living automatically circulated air and supplied water and food, allowing them to live quietly without doing anything.

If they hadn’t created crystals to supply demonic energy, perhaps they could have remained there quietly until their natural extinction.

However, by creating crystal pillars to supply demonic energy, they had attracted the attention of the gods.

Moreover, due to the abilities of Pathos, a member of the allied forces hunting demons, the crystal pillars leaking demonic energy were destroyed.

Even worse, the devices in their living quarters had completely ceased functioning, making food production impossible.

To recover demonic energy, they needed to consume food for four people, and every demon knew they had to venture outside the facility to obtain it.

That’s why the demons selected for reconnaissance readily obeyed the Elder’s orders to go outside.

Additionally, these demons were quite skilled with weapons even among their kind.

The Elder had included those adept with weapons in the reconnaissance team in preparation for any unforeseen situations.

And sure enough, the demon reconnaissance team that had come to the surface in search of food and settlement encountered a scouting party from the demon extermination alliance.

“Humans!”

“Demons!”

The moment the two reconnaissance teams spotted each other, they drew their weapons.

They had to be ready to deal with the situation immediately if the other side attacked first.

‘Our goal is to return quietly without anyone discovering we are demons, but we’ve encountered the worst possible situation.’

The demon leading the reconnaissance team realized that the situation was turning unfavorable for them.

After all, the demon reconnaissance team’s objective was to avoid revealing their presence to humans.

‘Whether we return alive or dead, we’ll end up revealing that demons exist in this land. Therefore, we must steer the situation toward returning alive as much as possible.’

Conversely, the demon extermination alliance needed to report their contact with demons, whether they survived or not.

In this situation, the demon reconnaissance team was clearly at a disadvantage.

If the demon extermination alliance’s scouts didn’t return? An investigation would reveal they were killed by demons.

If they returned alive, they would report their contact with demons. Either way, humans would learn that demons existed in this land.

‘We need to subdue them at once, but their momentum is formidable.’

‘Demons, huh? They look quite formidable. This won’t be an easy fight.’

This was the conclusion reached by the leaders of both reconnaissance teams as they observed each other.

With both sides evenly matched in skill, a battle would inevitably break out the moment someone made a mistake.

‘Either way, it’s only a matter of time before our existence is discovered. In that case…’

After about ten minutes of standoff, the demon reconnaissance team made the first move.

“Eliminate them.”

Now that they had been discovered, killing everyone to delay the revelation of their existence as much as possible was the best option available to them.

Negotiation with the other side? Would dialogue work with those wearing surcoats emblazoned with symbols of the gods of the Pantheon?

“The vicious demons are attacking! Everyone, prepare for battle!”

However, while their skills were evenly matched, there was one crucial difference…

“Sacred power! Protect us! [Power of Great Faith]!”

Most members of the demon extermination alliance could cast minor buffs on themselves.

This was completely different from the demon reconnaissance team, who were restricted to using only their physical abilities due to their leaking demonic energy.

Moreover, after the demonic god’s demise, the gods of the Pantheon could intervene in this world more easily, making the paladins’ buffs slightly stronger than before.

The demon reconnaissance team leader, wielding a short sword, charged at a paladin armed with an arming sword.

Compared to the armored paladin, the demon with the short sword was relatively faster and tried to get inside the paladin’s guard.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

But the paladin he faced was someone who had trained his body through martial arts every day.

Moreover, he was a paladin serving the God of War, where weapon proficiency was considered a measure of faith.

As the demon approached, the paladin lunged forward and attempted a knee kick to the demon’s face.

“Oh no!”

The short sword-wielding demon hadn’t expected the paladin to counter-attack with a knee kick.

Additionally, he was in a position where changing direction was difficult, so the knee kick landed squarely on his face.

“Ugh!”

“Is charging all you can do in battle, demon!”

After knocking back his opponent with the knee kick, the paladin readjusted his stance and charged at the demon.

He deliberately didn’t imbue his sword with holy power. Unless he was certain he could kill his opponent, conserving holy power was more beneficial in battle.

As the paladin charged toward him, the short sword-wielding demon wiped the blood from his nose, raised his sword, and rushed toward the paladin.

As they charged at each other, with just five steps between them, the demon leaped high into the air.

Being lighter than the paladin, he jumped to an awkward height where his opponent would have difficulty attacking.

Adjusting his posture in mid-air, the demon gripped his short sword with both hands and thrust it toward the paladin.

“What a cheap trick.”

But the paladin, still in his charging stance, rotated his body and deflected the demon’s incoming thrust.

“What?”

“Ha, I may not look it, but I’m a paladin serving the God of War! I’ve experienced such cheap tricks in training long ago!”

The paladin’s sword delivered a heavy blow. The powerful impact transmitted through the short sword made it difficult for the demon to maintain his composure.

‘Damn, I thought he was too skilled in combat, and he turns out to be a paladin serving that battle-crazed god!’

He realized he had chosen the wrong opponent. Those who served the God of War were all exceptionally skilled in one-on-one combat, surpassing most swordsmen.

“Damn it.”

The demon realized after just a couple of exchanges that he couldn’t defeat this opponent.

‘I didn’t want to use this if I could avoid it.’

He took something from his pocket and threw it toward the ground.

“What are you doing! Focus on the battle! How dare you get distracted during sacred combat!”

“Hmph! Survival is all that matters!”

The object the demon threw hit the ground, and thick smoke began to billow from the round ball-shaped item.

“Ugh! This bastard! Using such cowardly tactics!”

The paladin was furious that the demon had obscured his vision with smoke, but the smoke was so thick he couldn’t see where the demon was.

Meanwhile, the demon was escaping from the scene with his companions.

“Lord Beriton. Is it really okay to flee like this?”

“Now that we’ve been exposed to them, it’s only a matter of time before they discover our existence. Our purpose is one: ‘to check if there’s anything suitable for food.’ As long as they don’t discover the location of our dwelling, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But…”

The demon who had called the short sword-wielding demon Beriton seemed hesitant.

“Get a grip. We are demons. There’s no such thing as sacred combat. We only need to win. And we’re taking one step back now to take three steps—no, even more—forward later. So let’s hurry to locate food and return.”

“Understood, Lord Beriton.”

Encouraged by the words of Beriton, the short sword-wielding demon, the two demons following him gained strength and ran after him.

Meanwhile, the human reconnaissance team, realizing the demons had fled, quickly returned to their base.

They had confirmed through the recent battle that demons were indeed here, just as the oracle had predicted.

The demon extermination alliance’s reconnaissance team sheathed their weapons and hurried back to base.

“During reconnaissance, we encountered what appeared to be a demon scouting party and confirmed they fled. As the oracle stated, demons were indeed here!”

“Hmm, so the oracle was correct after all!”

Learning of the demons’ presence through the reconnaissance team’s return, the demon extermination alliance began preparing for a full-scale operation.

Meanwhile, the demon reconnaissance team also discovered naturally growing fruit trees, harvested the fruit, and returned to report their encounter with humans to the Elder.

“Hmm, then they must certainly be here to capture us.”

Through the reconnaissance team’s report, the Elder was relieved to learn that plants were growing in this land but also realized that humans would eventually find this place and attack them.

Of course, the discovery of this place was a worst-case scenario, but he could only hope that humans would not find it.