Chapter 413: Back At Delwig

Arielle sat across from Damien in the carriage as they both made their way back to Delwig, her brows furrowed in frustration.

She kept muttering under her breath about “reckless triggers” and “damned traps,” while Damien simply leaned back, eyes closed, as if the ambush they had barely fought out of hadn’t fazed him in the slightest.

The streets of Delwig were alive even at nightfall. Torches lit the fortified walls, and patrols doubled their pace after news of strange movements outside the borders.

When Damien and Arielle arrived at the gate, they stopped and picked up Captain Apnoch before they continued into Delwig.

The Captain rode alongside the carriage, his expression hard, but his gaze kept flicking toward Damien as if measuring him anew.

When the carriage rolled through the military quarter, the guards at the gates didn’t even stop them. The moment they saw Apnoch, they saluted and waved them forward.

Word of his escort carried weight, but the glances at Damien were not missed. Whispers followed them, the kind reserved for figures who didn’t quite belong but demanded attention regardless.

Finally, the carriage stopped before the stone stronghold at the heart of Delwig. General Ivaan’s seat of command.

General Ivaan sat at the head of a heavy oak table, surrounded by maps, markers, and a few of his senior officers. His eyes—sharp, calculating—locked onto Damien the instant he entered.

“Report.” His voice was like gravel grinding stone.

Arielle opened her mouth, but Damien raised a hand and stepped forward first. “We found one of the sites, General. East of the city. An old hideout—abandoned, at least on the surface.”

Ivaan’s gaze narrowed. “Abandoned?”

Damien nodded, pacing slightly as he spoke. “It was once used to hold and experiment on mana beasts. The kind your men faced days ago. The interior carried heavy demonic essence traces. Whoever worked there left in a hurry—but not before setting up a failsafe. The moment Arielle touched the core seals, a trigger activated, summoning remnants. These remnants were prepared to die just to stall intruders.”

Apnoch cut in with a scowl. “From what they said, they fought like fanatics, sir. And they weren’t just stationed there to protect—it felt like they were waiting for them specifically. As if they knew the hideout would be discovered eventually.”

The table stirred with murmurs.

Damien let them finish before continuing. “The worst part isn’t the ambush. It’s what the hideout tells us. The beasts weren’t born demonic. They were made. Someone is systematically infusing mana beasts with demonic essence, turning them into something new. And from the signs of broken cages, a lot of them escaped. Or maybe that too was on purpose.”

That silenced the room.

General Ivaan leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. His weathered face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes betrayed the weight of the words. “You are saying this is not random corruption—but organized creation.”

“Yes.” Damien’s tone was flat, unwavering. “And it fits what we saw in Greshan and what your men fought along the roads. This is not chaos—it’s design.”

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Ivaan dismissed his officers with a simple gesture. They bowed, casting sidelong glances at Damien and Arielle before filing out.

When the door closed, only Ivaan, Apnoch, Damien, and Arielle remained.

The general finally broke the silence. “You are too young to speak with such certainty. And yet…” He studied Damien, as if weighing every word. “Your eyes are not those of a boy. Tell me, why are you so certain of your theory?”

Damien held his gaze. “Because I’ve fought demons longer than I should have at my age. Because I’ve seen beasts and men twisted by essence in ways that don’t happen naturally. Centuries of battle never produced these variants. Why now? Why here?” He shrugged. “The answer is obvious. Someone is pulling strings. Someone wants to weaponize demons.”

Apnoch exhaled heavily. “He’s right, General. Everything points to deliberate tampering.”

Ivaan chuckled dryly, though there was no humor in it. “You speak like you’ve already walked the path we are only beginning to glimpse.”

Damien’s lips curled faintly. “Maybe I have.”

The general rose then, a tall figure of steel and scars. He walked around the table, stopping before Damien. The air grew heavy with his presence, as if the weight of decades of battle pressed down on the room.

And then, he extended his hand.

Damien clasped it without hesitation.

“Well, on behalf of Delwig,” Ivaan said. His voice was deep, steady, final. “I say a very big thank. We haven’t done anything but accommodate you and yet, here you are. Risking your life to find answers to unanswered questions.”

The words carried both greeting and acknowledgement. In that moment, Damien felt the shift—he was no longer just a wanderer or mercenary in Delwig’s eyes. He was someone the general himself acknowledged.

Apnoch bowed to Damien and Arielle. “Thank you both.”

Damien inclined his head. “Generous of you. But don’t expect us to sit idle. We’ll keep searching. That hideout won’t be the last.”

“Good.” Ivaan’s eyes gleamed faintly. “Because we’ll need hunters who can see what others cannot.”

The walk back through the city was quieter. Apnoch led the way, explaining that arrangements were already being made for their lodging.

Arielle walked beside Damien, arms crossed, clearly still mulling over the ambush. Damien himself was unusually silent, thoughts turning inward.

Once they reached a secluded courtyard, Damien paused. “One moment.”

“Summon Luton.”

Then, with a ripple of essence, a blue portal formed and Luton emerged from within, the crimson slime pulsating eagerly.

Damien inspected it briefly, then nodded. “Good. Store it again, Luton.” The carriage shimmered into view as Luton’s body shifted, pulling it into the depths of its (Universal Space).

Luton quivered and absorbed the carriage back into nothingness.

“Now, cancel both summons.” Damien dismissed both summons—Fenrir which had been waiting outside with the carriage and Luton which he’d just summoned—immediately after.

By the time he returned to Arielle and Apnoch, they were both staring at him with raised brows even though he could tell what Arielle’s expression meant.

“What?” he asked casually.

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A/N: Dear readers. I apologise greatly for my inconsistencies so far. I know I have promised and failed a thousand times. I’ve always brought up with excuses every now and then as to why I haven’t been able to consistently update the book and I am sorry for all of it.

Right now, I’m trying to start a stockpile as I have decided to release all of my privilege Chapters for next month and then start filling it all over and I ask you all to bear with me for a while.

I promise to be consistent this time with only very few days of “no update” unlike right now where I rarely update. Thank you all for staying and enjoying the book. You all are the real VIPs.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep