Omni-Mastery

"Tell me more…"

Despite the considerably powerful collective strength of the Dragon Clan, I was surprised to hear they even managed to do something like cutting off the access of a Demon Base.

After all, while one base may not be a lot, even reaching the base itself was enough trouble considering the Corrupted beastmen that infested the domain, let alone identifying one. As such, even though I gave them information, I didn't expect much progress during the eight or so days that I was away for…

My main concern was still the fight in the demon base, even I had to use tricks the first time I fell into one, moreover, passing the legacy trial was something a limited amount of people could do, so I couldn't help but wonder how a few lesser humanoid dragons could survive and even destroy a base!

"After waiting for the first day of your disappearance, we couldn't wait for your return any longer since you have mentioned that time is tight, so we sent several large squads to clear a straight path towards the Dark Hollows we knew of…"

A slight expression of apology appeared on the Dragon Clan Leader, but I didn't mind, this was actually what I hoped that they would go for instead of acting like sitting ducks.

"At first, a few squads suffered enough to clear paths to their target only to find that it was already closed. Some squads were even annihilated, which was why we decided to take a different approach."

As the Dragon Clan Leader recounted, I could easily deduce that the losses weren't small just from his expression. In fact, I felt slightly gloomy at this point, this was another price that was paid due to me being locked away…

Whether my strength would have been useful against groups or not, I was at least confident in my scouting skills. If the situation was reversed, those who sacrificed themselves could have done so when it really mattered.

"Instead of sending large squads, we divided them to follow all the paths that the Shadow Alliance's tribes and clans used to take, relying on stealth, and we managed to find a pattern. The clans were moving around with big escort parties built around the clans' strongest warriors or their greatest prodigies, some were using hostages instead."

'It seems that the influence of the demons runs deeper than I thought…'

Even if it was for the sake of the Corrupted Elemental Crystals, the Shadow Alliance seemed to have become a complete puppet that worked for the sake of freeing the demons.

At the very least, back at the Light Domain, while the ruling force of the Light Empire, as well as the Light Association, was under the influence of the demons, the citizens of the Light Empire itself were simply ignorant, and they even worked towards clearing Dark Caves.

'I hope the next domain hasn't already fallen…'

If this was the state of just the third domain, then I couldn't imagine how the last two domains were faring. I might have even considered sticking to here if I didn't know that the demons would eventually still be able to invade the Fire Domain using spatial artifacts.

"Rather than confronting them and exhausting our battle force, we tried to deduce their destination and reach it first. Those who actually managed to reach the target Dark Hollows didn't hesitate to enter them."

'Not bad.'

So far, while the situation wasn't optimistic, they were at least doing what they could with what they have, but even now, I was still wondering how they succeeded in the following step.

Disregarding the difficulty of legacy trials, just the time spent clearing the way to them and undergoing the trial itself could be a bit overboard, so success in 8 days definitely felt out of place.

"Unfortunately, it has already been days since they entered with no news, most of them have even been confirmed dead through my special ability. However, a squad managed to send back one survivor with the 'Key' to that special part of the Hollow!"

'Eh?'

Although I had experience with these 'keys' from my last trip to a Demon Base, I was stunned to hear the Dragon Clan Leader's words.

After all, as far as my experience entailed, the only way to leave a Dark Gate that was linked to a Demon Base was to go out and leave the door open behind you. Had I chosen that option back then at my first Demon Base, the demons would have been freed early. Only by entering the base itself and destroying its core would the path truly close…

"How exactly did he get sent out…?"

Considering the outcome of this possibility, I didn't wait for the Dragon Clan Leader to explain at his own pace. If their efforts had actually helped the enemy then this would truly be a bad joke.

Nonetheless, I didn't take it as an immediate result. Both Dark Gates and Demon Bases came in all shapes and sizes. Although I had only entered two, they had different mechanisms and access modes. Perhaps this one had simpler conditions.

"...According to the survivors' words, they had to clear an abnormally hard Dark Hollow before they reached a mini hollow core. They heard a strange voice that gave them two choices…"

'A Demon Hunter…?"

"Either to proceed with a special test to enter the next stage, or to allow one of them to destroy the core, sacrificing the rest of the team to allow him to teleport away, completely sealing the path to the next stage. So, considering the situation…"

"I understand."

There was no need to continue with the explanation as it was already obvious. It seemed like the squad was 'lucky' enough to meet a trial giver who didn't push them into the trial without mentioning a word. Ironically, this luck had barely enabled one of them to survive.

"It might be too late to start working on preventive measures at this point, preparing for the war to come takes the top of the priority list at the moment. As such…"

'Time to ask the hard questions.'

"I believe it would be for the best if you reveal whatever this demon had paid such a price in order to capture." 

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