Benimaru and his team headed toward the demon army's camp.
For the first time, Benimaru traveled with his army. It felt somewhat novel to him.
Behind their carriage were one hundred well-trained demons of various kinds. Swinefiends were in formation at the front with their shields and spears. Behind them was another group of Swinefiends that used heavy weapons to jump on the enemy after the shielders blocked the enemy. On the sides were Gorebuzz and Raums who protected the sides. In the center were fully armed Raums on Emberhoofs.
Emberhoofs were the summoned beasts that Benimaru got as a reward for his previous task of killing Garner.
Emberhoofs were fiery equine creatures with flaming hooves that left behind scorching trails and could ignite objects upon contact. They stand at an imposing height, like a majestic horse in size and stature. Their muscular bodies are covered in sleek, obsidian-black fur that glistens with an otherworldly sheen. Their fur has an inner heat that radiates a soft glow.
Emberhoofs were best for cavalry and to show your military might.
Benimaru was in awe when he got them from the lucky spins. He even had the thought of keeping them for himself and using them for his own. But thinking things through rationally, he felt his soldiers needed them the most, and he knew what more awesome beasts he would get in the future as he grew stronger—he might even have the chance to ride a dragon.
"Lord, how will we gain their trust in the first place? Or what should we do if they try to attack us and seize our valuables?" Ragnar asked with a serious look in his eyes. These worried him for the entire journey.
"I am sure they wouldn't attack us. The more allies they get, the better for them. But if they did, then we could escape easily, and I am also sure they wouldn't want our soldiers as they are unreliable for them at this stage." Benimaru calmly answered while fiddling with the yaksha mask on his hand. "And about the trust…we will see about that. No one will trust a stranger in the first place, so I am not that worried. But if I can somehow gain their trust, just even a little, that would be best."
Ragnar and Fiain nodded their heads, understanding what Benimaru had in his mind. This also gave them a confidence boost to not be nervous in front of the leaders of the army.
However, a couple of minutes later, Fiain's eyes widened all of a sudden. This caught the attention of Benimaru and Ragnar.
Ragnar asked curiously. "What is it?"
Benimaru was also curious, so he used his [Enhanced Senses] and his eyes widened too, just like Fiain. "I see. You two, do not panic."
Fiain knew what it was, yet she was eager to know why Benimaru dismissed her for panicking. But on the other hand, Ragnar was entirely clueless, so he asked. "Lord, can I see what it is?"
Ragnar's range of mana sense was relatively lower than theirs, so he didn't find anything in his rader. Knowing this, Benimaru said it with a smile, wanting Ragnar to be surprised when the reveal came. "It is nothing. Just some generous guy helped us gain the trust we were worrying about."
Ragnar didn't ask anything further, knowing Benimaru wouldn't tell him. Benimaru would do things like this sometimes, and he seemed to have fun. Ragnar decided to let time dictate everything.
…
After one or so, Benimaru arrived at the demon army camp.
The camp was fortified using wood that was chopped down when clearing this big space in the side of the forest. Meatscrapers were guarding the outskirts, while Gorebuzzes, which had sharper vision, were stationed on towers to keep an eye out for ambushes.
Benimaru's arrival caught the attention of the demons guarding the entrance.
The Meatscrapers went to attack Benimaru's soldiers right after seeing them.
"KRIEK!"
However, the Gorebuzzes stationed on the tower, screaming out loud, probably warned them to stop attacking.
The Meatscrapers listened to their orders and stopped instantly. But there was an unfortunate one that was already close to the cavalry.
The Emberhoof that was majestically standing saw a demon coming to kill it. With a cold snort and without waiting for the order of the master on top of it, it turned around and kicked the Meatscraper's face by surprise.
Bam-Bang!
That kick from two legs, imprinted a burning stamp that flamed up gradually. Eventually, a small explosion occurred, blasting the Meatscraper's face into smithereens.
The Gorebuzzes on the towers didn't think too much about it, as these dumb demons were easily replaceable. They stopped Benimaru from entering and waited for their master's response.
Fortunately for Benimaru, it didn't take long.
The wooden gates that were clucky and weak—not even as good as Benimaru's one—opened. Benimaru's small fleet entered the camp and was greeted with demons of various kinds gathering on the side of the road, eyeing Benimaru's fleet.
Well, most of them are common in this part of the region, so Benimaru also had these types of demons under him.
In short strides, their carriage stopped, making Benimaru and his two generals come out. The demons were aching to know to whom this fleet belonged, as their masters would let them in.
However, they were met with disappointment, as Benimaru and the other two had their faces and bodies covered.
Yes, Benimaru decided to go along with his Slayer persona more and wanted to spread his organization's name far and wide. It would cover his demon identity and his simple business persona too.
Benimaru and Fiain were in their usual outfits. On the other hand, this was Ragnar's first, so Benimaru had to come up with a mask for him, as he had several cloaks like these stockpiled in his storage. For Ragnar, he decided to go with a monkey one.
They strode into a giant tent that a Swinefiend was pointing at. It was made of ragged and torn cloth. But it seems it got torn apart like that because of war and fighting. In normal times, it was the strongest cloth this piece of land could offer. The tent was guarded by four Swinefiends, who were glaring at them.
Ignoring their glances, Benimaru and the other two strode into the tent arrogantly.
After entering, they saw a round table sitting in the middle and two demons in their human forms sitting quietly. Unlike Benimaru and his generals, they had their demonic traits on.
Benimaru became a bit surprised to see them being of different genders, one man and one woman. He was expecting them to be both men, but he just shrugged his shoulders. 'It is what it is.'
The woman had a striking body with gleaming blonde hair. She had red eyes that could entrance anyone. Her wings were surprisingly filled with white feathers, making her look like an angel, but the horns and the tail were present to clear people's doubts. She was wearing loose clothing, but to the dismay of any demon that would lust over her, she wore a silver armor that covered her body.
On the other hand, the man was well built and had an arrogant pose. He had dark violet hair that was waist-length and a pair of black eyes, just like the woman beside him. However, his dark violet wings didn't have any feathers on them. He was wearing black armor that had multiple scratches, making one guess it was used by others before.
Benimaru came in front of the table and greeted them with respect. "Thank you for letting us have a peaceful talk, two lords. I am Slayer, leader of the Masked Fools. These two are my Executors. The one with the monkey mask is called Wukong, and the one with the cheetah mask is called Hunter."
Giving them a few short glances, the woman spoke. "Masked Fools… Your name is Slayer? Can you tell us what you are here for?"
"Before we tell our intentions, don't you two lords have to introduce yourselves first? It isn't very lord-like." Benimaru didn't go into the main topic; instead, he asked them arrogantly yet politely.
"Oho~ You came into our territory and taught us what we should do too? Are you cowardly demons, who hide their faces and traits that we pride ourselves in, even worthy to speak in front of us? Do you have a dead wish?" The woman said it with smugness, taunting them heavily.
"Oh my! Lords. You make me act up in different ways, especially the one that I buried DEEP INSIDE." Benimaru also said in a threatening tone that he was ready to fight them at any time.
They released each other's mana pressure, trying to intimidate each other. Benimaru could feel these two had the upper hand in terms of realm advantage, but one had to remember Benimaru cultivated dual ways, so he had enough mana to fight against them and perhaps even win.
"Okay, stop it. I do not want to destroy the soldiers that I gathered with all my hard work." Finally, the man spoke, warning both of them calmly.
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