Chapter 18: Bad News
If youth and vigor are like sap and water, then the eyeless succubus on the altar is almost synonymous with dried radish.
Her skin is shriveled, her body skin tight against her bones, her golden hair lifeless, resembling a deep drug addict.
Even so, Jima still remembers that she was left with a life. Not only is she alive, but her mouth has been moving non-stop, chattering endlessly, a miracle indeed.
After she repaired the dream seeds planted in the frost leaves.
Jima closed her eyes, gazing at the black smoke emitted by the “dream seeds.” Now that she is immensely powerful, her gaze pierced through the city walls and mountain ranges, catching the direction of the black smoke.
Through the map hanging in the command room of Vanguard City, she confirmed the location of Eve Frost Leaf.
Her finger landed on a place marked with a black skull on the map, the province of Sylvania. The area is ravaged by dead winds, filled with swamps, making life harsh, and it nominally falls under the empire’s rule.
In reality, anyone with deep knowledge of the past history, or who has ventured there and lived to tell the tale, will surely know that the real masters of that place are the vampire nobility.
Jima has experienced both sides; she once ran to Sylvania with a romantic fantasy about vampires, hoping to develop a few vampire lovers and perhaps take in suitable ones as maids. Then, she fled Sylvania at ten times the speed she came in.
She remembers.
There had once been an undead army that swept across half the empire, boasting overwhelming advantages, nearly capturing the empire’s capital, only to suffer a crushing defeat, greatly validating the Naga’s curse.
Only foolish historians, who read too much, believe there were no vampires. The so-called vampire war is merely the victors’ jealousy and vilification of the vanquished.
By the way, George didn’t request that the sacrifice wait for him to arrive.
Jima tapped on the table, pondering whether she could use this information gap to benefit herself.
A bit of heroism to save the damsel in distress would help restore the favor she had lost by backstabbing George. This way, it would be much easier to be affectionate in the future.
As for George? That guy filled with holy water? Let him pick a few bodies of the Lust Demon army lying around the body-laden Vanguard City and take care of it himself.
“Ha ha…” a familiar cold laugh rang out: “The foolish hero’s failure to request an audience for the sacrifice is his biggest mistake. You must be plotting to set a trap for him.”
Jima wore a dignified expression: “What do you know? I’m worried about my sisters and his third wife.”
“You can fool others, but you can’t fool me,” the eyeless succubus said. “Do you have any idea how much pain power you carry each time I see through you?”
“Zero.”
“Picking up discarded clothes that don’t fit or match, it’s so ugly it makes me want to vomit.” Her words were venomous: “You don’t even have a custom-made dress; you’ve always been envying how my clothes look, haven’t you? Don’t worry; I’m very generous. After I die, you can wear whatever you want.”
Jima took a deep breath, feeling that the legal process was truly frustrating; she almost wished she could chop the eyeless succubus up right then. But what could she do? After all, her man is the one who insists on procedures and laws.
“Before you die, this is the only trick you have left to take revenge,” Jima said. “At the very last moment, you can only use a pitiful bit of magic to sow discord between me and my personal maid, divide us as a couple.”
“Ha ha ha…” once again, the familiar and unpleasant cold laugh emerged: “As a demon, as a succubus, you’d rather live a life where you can only pick up clothes from the dead with the hero. You have far-reaching goals; I know you too well.”
“Our acquaintance hasn’t even lasted half a day.”
“Precisely because of that, the smoke bomb you set off hasn’t obscured my vision. And you were in great pain before, and you’re still in pain. You made it real this time, didn’t you? Don’t worry; we succubi will always adhere to our original intentions and follow our true nature at the last moment. Why did you choose to be with the hero at the start? You know it in your heart.”
Jima remained expressionless and said, “Alright, good child, have a good sleep. When my man arrives tomorrow, I’ll take you for judgment.”
Saying this, she turned and left the eyeless succubus, now deemed “medical waste,” behind and walked outside.
That icy laugh that Jima despised followed her.
Thinking back to that day.
She had run away from Earth with George to this world.
Truth be told, it was for ambition, to become the eternal chosen one, to be the true Demon Lord.
George didn’t mind; he must’ve thought that the one-sided truth wasn’t the truth at all. People’s motivations often aren’t singular; Jima was just too shy to confess her primary motivation.
Now, however, Jima was also uncertain about what her primary motivation was.
But she quickly freed herself from this trouble.
Because she arrived at the balcony originally used by the commander for military parades. Below, in the inner city square, stood many tormented captives, at least five or six hundred of them.
Seeing her horns and wings, dozens of men were scared to the point of fainting, thinking it was yet another trap. Over a hundred trembled with fear, while the rest screamed madly.
Jima felt a headache coming on; she had originally planned to use Henry and the others as leverage to mobilize hundreds of imperial captives to work and improve the environment of Vanguard City. At the very least, she wanted to take down the various human decorations first.
Jima tried to explain, but no one believed her. Finally, in frustration, she hypnotized them all, which left Henry and the others, now her laborers, quite busy.
Each one settled their comrades.
On the third night.
George finally arrived at Vanguard City riding his long-lost old horse, ready to hear Jima’s report.
“Yes, that’s how it is. The camp resounded with calls. I saw the captives living in fear under the Lust Demon; I just let them sleep peacefully to regain their strength.
“And then? As expected, there are bad people among the captives, some who wavered and turned to the Lust. I initially wanted Arkanis to be a witch-hunter to filter out the corrupted elements.
“But he shrugged and said: Goodbye, I still have to rescue my caravan. He ignored all commands and ran off.
“Then, those who turned to the Lust tried to escape and leak information. You know the Lust Demon army was only dispersed; the main force was still outside the city that day. By the time they came to their senses, we still had to honestly give Vanguard City up.
“I used the curse to deal with a few bad guys. But to the Imperial soldiers who had served and endured as Lust captives, I seemed to be finding reasons to kill their dear comrades. A whole bunch of them sneaked away at night. I caught some, while I couldn’t be bothered with the others; I just let them escape. Well, they were recaptured again and went back to the warm embrace of the Lust.”
As she got to this point, Jima couldn’t help but laugh and then forced herself to suppress her smile, saying:
“Actually, I’m very sad. I understand they were just ignorant, just afraid, and they still have psychological scars. It’s impossible to believe that a succubus stands in the order camp, treating them well, only using them as laborers and not to have fun with them.”
George sighed and said, “You might as well keep laughing; I don’t mind.”
“Hahaha, a bunch of fools, they deserve to die.”
“And then?”
“Two good news, one bad news.”
“Bad news?”
“The remnants of the Lust Demon army are showing signs of regrouping.”
“Good news?”
“I closed the rift. The corruption in this area isn’t that strong now, which also means that the number of demons needing magic to enter the mortal realm is bound to be limited.”
“Another piece of good news?”
“I’ve confirmed the location of Frost Leaf; she’s not in the hands of the Lust. I estimate she’s in the hands of vampires, but I haven’t contacted her yet.”
“Hmm.” George nodded and asked, “Do you think Vanguard City can hold out?”
“Probably not.”
“Why?”
“There are still plenty of mortal armies within the Lust Demon army,” Jima said, “They don’t need magic to exist in the mortal realm.”
“In that case, I’ll first judge that succubus, establish order, and prepare to rescue Eve Frost Leaf tomorrow.”
“Great! I haven’t seen Frost Leaf in a long time, and I miss her. Actually, I have a good relationship with her.” Jima said, “By the way, let me quiz you. Do you remember Frost Leaf? It’s been so many years.”
“Remember.”
“Really? I don’t believe you.” Jima said, “How about this, find some time to sketch and draw Frost Leaf’s face, alright? Only then will I believe you.”
Jima now utilized her hypocritical talents. She wouldn’t just say, “I’ve forgotten what Frost Leaf looks like. What if I mistake and hug the wrong person? That would be embarrassing.”
