Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

If the aforementioned things aren't the reason they were after him then it could only mean that they were after something that he had.

Simon did not bother to interrogate these groups of adventurers after him since he knew that they were just outer members and aren't privy to the actual objective of the guild. The only silver lining in all of this was that this constant chase had increased his level by a total of two.

He did not know what the guild was planning pitting their numbers against him and sending low levelled adventurers, but he could at least tell that their objective wasn't any good.

The sun was about to set, its last rays shone down painting the area in a crimson hue. Simon dived inside the forest and crisscrossed around, trying to throw off his pursuers who were relentless and persistent in their chase.

Currently, he was looking at his mental map skill and navigating his way to the fortress city Volkan, when suddenly he detected multiple presences approaching from his front.

Simon narrowed his eyes, his heart growing cold by the second. The enemy had somehow managed to pincer him from his front and back. He halted his steps and readied himself to engage with his enemies, when he noticed that the group appoaching him this time, were a little different.

All of them were masking their faces and wore black robes to hide their identities. What was more surprising was that the target of their assault wasn't him but the adventurers chasing after him.

A fierce clash began in the middle of the forest at night. Spells and skills flew everywhere making the scene extremely chaotic.

Although it confounded Simon as to why these groups were fighting each other, he didn't stop to think and continued marching towards the exit of the forest. On his way, multiple teams of adventurers belonging to the sea god trident guild tried to ambush him but were stopped every time by another group that wore black robes and masks like the previous bunch.

"Who are you people?" Simon eyed his front and asked a question even though there was no one near him.

The buzzing of the insect in the area stopped at this moment and the space a few meters in front of Simon, distorted a little to reveal a person. Their face was just like the others, covered with a mask and they wore a robe so as to not reveal their identity.

"You don't need to know that. We are assisting you because of our master's wish. Anyways I am here to relay a message 'Don't go near fortress city Volkan' that is all. Right, take this… a parting gift from our master".

As soon as that person relayed his message, he disappeared into thin air using the skill [Stealth]. From their androgynous voice, it was hard to tell whether they were a woman or a man.

Simon caught the thing the other party had tossed towards him and nonchalantly opened it. It was a map that was more intricately detailed than the ones that could be found at the shop in the capital.

Simon fell into contemplation; he couldn't tell what motive the other party had behind helping a demon noble like him nor could he tell whether their intentions were good or bad.

But given that they had gone through the trouble to stop some of his pursuers and even send him a message and a map, he could tell that the other party wanted to help. The other party had told him to avoid fortress city Volakn which meant that the city was currently a red zone for him.

The worst possibility that he had thought of, had come to pass, the fortress city Volkan was an important junction that he must pass through to leave the central area. The central area was the region controlled by the royal family and was also the heart of the kingdom.

If the enemy knew where he was headed at, they would definitely try to set up an ambush there.

Simon finally realised what the sea god's trident was trying to achieve by sending these groups of low levelled adventure at him. They were trying to contain and lead him towards fortress city Volkan where most of their stronger levelled adventurers are stationed.

Now that he knew what his enemies were planning, the question remained whether he should head there even while knowing that there is a trap set up for him or should he avoid that area while knowing that he must pass through the city to get away from the central area.

Simon clenched the map tightly in his hand, the other party knew this would happen and thus provided him a map. When he looked at the map, he saw multiple colours marking the central area where he was currently at.

With how they were drawn and the colours used, Simon could tell which areas he should avoid and the places that were relatively safer. Red was for danger, yellow was for caution and green used to denote safe areas.

"There is only one person that I know would go through such trouble to help me. It seems she intends to keep her promise" Simon said, smiling helplessly.

This map could basically be considered a life saver for him right now. Without even knowing, he was about to march into an area that was marked in glaring red.

After reading the map for a while, Simon locked his brows. The map was extremely useful, but the problem was that the whole area near Volkan city is marked as red. He can't go anywhere near it.

The entire place around the city and even the mountainous regions around it were marked with red and yellow. The only green area that he could see, diverged away from this place and took him towards the extreme western border of the kingdom.

Thinking for a while, Simon decided to believe in the map and immediately changed the direction he was headed. Just like the map indicated when he avoided going near the areas marked with red, the fewer people were on his tail.

Capital city of Ellesmere, inside one of the rooms of Serene Palace, the personal quarters of the princess.

Cynthia sat on a chair while reading the reports from her subordinates. After that disaster that unfolded in the coliseum, almost all of the spectators and participants were knocked unconscious and injured.

In this condition, there was no way they could have continued with the 'Battle of the Finest' tournament. Hence as a result of an anomaly appearing, the final round of the tournament was postponed.

The royal family and soldiers were especially busy rescuing and tending to the injured. The clash previously, not only affected the stadium but damaged the entire capital.

KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK… at this moment she heard a knock on her door and her most trusted aid and friend, Alvara walked in.

Cynthia looked at the latter and asked "Did the shadow guards send any further reports?".

Alvara nodded her and reported "It's been more than six hours that the Sea god's Trident guild lost track of the Demon Noble. The main attack team of the guild that was stationed there are getting impatient, some of them were even trying to leave the scene".

"But because their guild leader has issued a new order stating that those that leave the city, will be punished severely and might even be removed from the main attack team, nobody dares to move from their position".

Hearing the report, Cynthia bit the nail of her thumb with her pearly white teeth.

"For Benny Beckerman to go to such lengths as to deploy his whole guild just to capture a single demon noble. What is he thinking? He is the type of person who never does anything unless it benefits himself or his guild".

"Can it be that demon has also made enemies with them?" Alvara mused.

Cynthia looked at her and rolled her eyes "Are you saying that after travelling with him for over a month".

Alvara opened and closed her mouth, it looked like she had tons to say, but did not know where to start. In the end, she could only helplessly ask.

"Why are you helping him, Princess? If the information that we were the ones who brought him to the capital got out, it would endanger your position and might even give your brother an edge over you. That demon has betrayed us, princess".

Alvara grumbled, she who did not know that Simon was Demon Noble, got quite a surprise when she heard the reports coming in.

Contrary to her, Cynthia seemed more calm and collected to differentiate the situation "He did not betray us, Alvara".

Seeing that the princess was taking his side, she suddenly realised something and could help but ask "Did the princess already know about his identity?".

After thinking that there was no point in hiding it, Cynthia nodded her head.

"Leo was able to see through his disguise the first time he came to meet with us in the branch office of the city of Mountmend".

"If you knew about it then why did you take him with us, your highness?" Alvara had a face that told that she was utterly surprised.

"At that moment, even I was confounded by the situation. I wanted to know the reason behind him approaching us on his own accord even if it meant risking my life. Nevertheless, it worked out in our favour didn't it?" Cynthia said looking at the latter.

If not for the demon, they would have probably died in the northern outlaw forest or worse become a plaything for the bandits.

"Even then, if you help him now, it would make you his accomplice. The people of this kingdom might not see this in a good light" Alvara stated, her face distressed.

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