A Demon's Journey

Even though Jonas had found a lead regarding the disappearance of the cart driver and a couple of guards, there was no follow-up.

He didn't find just who made them disappear. There were too many mercenaries who had entered the Wrihull City in that period.

It was impossible to find and interrogate all of them within a short period. He had to be patient about it.

Azaroth had already ordered Josephine to subtly gather information from Jonas. Jonas casually narrated the information to Josephine and hence, Azaroth became aware of the fact that Jonas had already calmed down and was calmly searching for the perpetrator. It wouldn't be easy to fool him.

But any more actions from Azaroth's end would only make him more suspicious. In his opinion, the best action would be to do nothing.

The more time passes, the less evidence would show up.

The fact that the communication system in this world was so mundane aided Azaroth greatly.

It had been about two weeks since Jonas began his investigation, and nothing significant about Azaroth had surfaced since then. Clearly, Josephine's hired assassins were able to cover their traces and escape Wrihull City.

Neither Azaroth nor Josephine were suspects so life was going smoothly.

Azaroth's retainers were training keenly except for maybe Laura. Azaroth was also preparing a few array formations to train himself and his retainers.

The guards had considerable leeway, which was a good thing.

But this was merely the calm before the storm. Because this smooth life continued only for one week.

Azaroth sensed the presence of a couple of auras coming closer to Kloras Town.

These couple auras were plenty strong. They were 4 Star Warriors in strength and seemed quite proficient in stealth.

After all, they were just a mile away from Azaroth when he began sensing them.

'They should possess some sort of bloodline that enhances their stealth.'

Since they weren't coming from the forest, even Laura couldn't pinpoint their position.

'Who are they?'

Azaroth wondered with a frown.

These two didn't seem to be regular men under the Rhodes House. Atleast, Azaroth had never sensed their auras there.

It's conceivable that they were dispatched on a long-term mission or stationed on the battlefield and Azaroth's senses were never exposed to their auras.

Azaroth called out for all his retainers.

"I am going to change your training method. From now on, you won't use your elements and will only work on your physique until I am satisfied." Azaroth ordered them, not telling them the time they needed to train their physique.

He kept the time hidden largely to ensure that it didn't damage their morale daily.

The one who was the happiest about this training was only Ralph and Noah. The rest of them, especially Laura had a scowl.

Laura spoke with some dissatisfaction, "What use is training my physique when I can just deal with my enemies from a distance using my Wood Attribute? In fact, what I need to do is become more proficient in using the stronger techniques of my race."

Azaroth remained emotionless at Laura's protests and then turned towards the other warriors, "Anyone else has any issues?"

Despite their dissatisfaction, Yrellea and Tiana agreed to persevere for the time being. They reasoned that Azaroth should have a reason for them to change their training regimen.

When he noticed that no one else objected, Azaroth proceeded to enlighten them about the physical training.

"I will draw an array on each one of your bodies. This array would increase the gravity's effect on you by nearly 10 times. Your body will be subjected to ten times the gravity it is now experiencing. The first thing you must do is get accustomed to it. This is your physical training. Physical training, however, is only the beginning. Once I feel you are ready, we will move to the next part of the training regimen."

"The second, and perhaps more important, the task will be to push your elements beyond their limitations. Your boundaries should never be determined by your element, but rather by your own strength. Your elements must never be the cause of your failure. There should never be a circumstance where you blame your element for being incompatible with your opponent's elements. If that's the case, you're doomed. There is no longer any chance for progress."

"I will suppress your cultivation to the 2 Star Rank for this training. In training ground numbers 1-6, I have prepared an array for each of you. In this training regimen, your surroundings will be the complete opposite of your elements and will be formidable enemies for you. But at the same time, you will also need to defeat the minions generated by the array. For example, the ones with Ice or wood elements will find themselves in a desert with a hot temperature, the lava plumes will be created and attack you. The one with flame element will find himself in Arctic Region and ice golems attacking him."

"The Lightning or Wind Element User would be in an area surrounded by forests and rocks with gnomes attacking him. For the Earth User, it would be as if they are floating on a cloud, with air blades attacking you. And lastly, the one with the Water Element will find himself in near the clouds, with lightning snakes attacking you."

"You will have only one task. 1000 of your enemies in one hour. If you can't do it, then the trials will be restarted and you will begin from scratch."

"Any questions?!"

Azaroth asked the last question in a commanding voice.

Everyone, including Laura, was surprised at how Azaroth was planning to train them.

Laura was not shocked by the training approach. The use of an array to train was also common in the Elf Kingdom. They did, however, uniquely use the arrays. The elves didn't try Azaroth's counter element array way of forcing one's body's potential out. The elves used a gentler approach, surrounding the person with a dense amount of that element and gradually empowering it. This strategy, which was generally acknowledged amongst the Elven Race, would result in the warrior's development being steady.

The method Azaroth spoken incurred an innate abhorrence within her.

Even Azaroth didn't know that there was such a difference in their training method and Laura seemed to hate it.

But even if he did know, he wouldn't have changed his training approach. He was a firm believer that change was universal. Staying rigid was never a good idea.

The gentler approach of the elves had worked for them because the elves were at peace. They had no immediate enemy who intended to kill them.

The same couldn't be spoken about Azaroth. He intended to fight in a battle. He didn't have time to waste in making them stronger, so he didn't bother with the usual procedure.

Sargan wasn't surprised by Azaroth's methods. He had seen such a training regimen in his clan but it was considered an extreme difficulty for even the greater demons. They were only allowed to attempt it once they had some good control over their elements. But this wasn't the case with Azaroth's training regimen.

It was like being tossed over a cliff and having no idea how to fly.

"Boss, Boss, I have a question!" Noah was the one who enthusiastically raised his hand.

Azaroth asked him in a neutral voice, "What is it?"

"I don't know my element. What will be my training regimen in that elemental training?" Noah asked very curiously.

"I know of your element already. And also, you will have a very special training regimen. Yours will be the toughest one." Azaroth calmly informed him.

Laura gasped when she heard Azaroth's words. It didn't seem like he was lying.

A somewhat unhappy look appeared on her face as she faced Azaroth, "What are you thinking? Noah is just a little kid. You can't just shove such an intense training regimen on him!"

In response, Azaroth said, "His training is the hardest because I have faith that he can handle it."

As soon as Noah heard those words, he closed his eyes and lightly bowed, "I won't disappoint you, boss!"

Instead of his usual enthusiastic voice, it was a serious tone filled with conviction.

"Alright, everyone except Laura can leave now. Eat yourself to full and I will begin drawing the gravity array on your bodies."

With those words, all except Laura began to leave the area.

Before leaving though, Noah looked at Azaroth with a pleading gaze and requested sincerely, "Please don't punish her too heavily, boss."

During these days, Noah had grown rather close to Laura. He had connected to her very deeply and thought of her as a friend or an elder sister. The emotion was completely unknown to him and he was still figuring it out but he knew that he didn't want to see her get hurt.

Yrellea also spoke up, "Please master. I promise she won't disobey you anymore."

Laura unhappily stared at Yrellea and wanted to protest but turned silent when she saw her foster elder sister glaring at her.

"Alright. I will think about it." Azaroth dismissed them almost immediately.

Once they had left, Azaroth glared at Laura with a deadly aura emanating from his body.

Laura wasn't scared at all as she faced him with a royal aura leaking out of her body.

"I won't stop using my elements. It is how I will train at the fastest speed most easily." Laura seemed ready to go into a debate against Azaroth using this argument.

"Wood element? Feel free to use it. But do remember that some spies are arriving to keep an eye on me. Maybe all of us here. If they see you using Wood Element, they will try to figure out your identity. The news will sooner or later reach the Silent Death Organization and if that occurs, we are all dead."

Azaroth finished speaking with a serious face. The confident look on Laura's face immediately turned pale.

She definitely didn't want to be captured by the Silent Death Organization again.

"Now, you have two choices. Follow my orders or die. Because if news spread that you are along with me, I will be killed for freeing you." The deadly aura condensed over Azaroth's body and he seemed ready to attack Laura as soon as she was done making her choice.

Laura was scared. Not from the Silent Death Organization this time but Azaroth. The killing intent she sensed was intense.

She was sure he would attack if she chose to disobey his order.

There was a slightly uncomfortable look in her eyes and she asked him, "Why did you rescue me?"

She was now wondering whether this guy wanted to use her identity to harm the elves or not.

It was typically stupid to ask a question from the other person. However, Laura was somewhat proficient in her emotion-sensing skill. She could sense when someone was lying. And if Azaroth did lie to her, she would rather die.

Azaroth coldly replied, "Because I thought your abilities would be beneficial to me. However, my own life is most precious to me."

This response was truth spoken by Azaroth. It was because of her abilities as a member of the Royal Family that he rescued her.

However, Laura was somewhat relieved to hear his response. To know that he had actually rescued her for her abilities and not to put her up against the elves was relieving.

"Alright, I will follow your orders."

Azaroth was carefully observing Laura's emotions using his Mystic Eyes of Perception as well.

She appeared to be reluctant but still speaking the truth.

This was more than enough for Azaroth.

The deadly aura vanished and he coldly instructed her, "Join the others."

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