“It’s a small world.” Blue Maple said plainly.

Blue Maple could tell who was here from his voice. They had just met, and he was one of the generals who was leading the last transport team that Blue Maple had attacked: Garillo.

“Sir, this place is relatively closer to the place where I was treating my wounds. That’s the reason why I was sent here.” Garillo was still knelt down on the ground as he spoke.

Wounded? This Demon General was wounded? Blue Maple caused that?

Klubdi and the others were utterly shocked in that moment. Their eyes, which were still wide open, recovered a little as they closed their opened jaws.

“Are you demons all like this?” Blue Maple asked coldly.

“No, except grunts like us don’t have any dignity.” Garillo spoke truthfully, and he didn’t have any shame at all. He paused for a few moments before he continued, “The only thing we want to do is to continue living. Of course, that excludes the battlefield.”

Blue Maple glanced at Garillo plainly before he used Heavenly Fire to lift that long knife. He looked at it in his hands and seemed to think that it was a decent toy.

“Tell me about your journey here.” Blue Maple said coldly.

He continued looking over the long knife in his hands and didn’t even look at Garillo, who was still on the ground.

However, blue light flickered in Blue Maple’s eyes as he activated his Eyes of Heavenly Fire, and he unleashed the power that was suppressed in that instant. Blue Maple’s intention was clear: he wanted to scare and intimidate Garillo.

So he is holding back some of his power. Even that small pair of glasses is suppressing his power. He’s not wearing a single piece of gear on his body now. If… Garillo felt his heart tremble as his thoughts stopped there before he thought, Uh… seems like he wasn’t wearing any gear back then, either. I should be honest with him. I haven’t recovered from my wounds from the previous days yet.

“Uh, sir, I haven’t recovered from the wounds that you have inflicted upon me several days ago. You burned our provisions, and I have been punished for that. I was transferred to a Demon Ancestor to recover from my injuries several days ago, and the same Demon Ancestor sent me here.” Garillo continued explaining while kneeling on the ground.

Blue Maple was the one who had wounded him!

The dwarves around them had very interesting expressions on their faces, and they were all staring at Blue Maple with complicated looks. Respect? Surprise? Confusion? Yes, there was a bit of everything…

Klubdi was already preparing to battle until Garillo started behaving like this.

Were demons not supposed to be brutal and ruthless? Was he not just fiercely trying to cut Klubdi down with his knife? Shit! How was he suddenly kneeling down before Blue Maple?

And he just fucking slid over on his knees, like he was Blue Maple’s grandson. The only thing he hadn’t done was lick Blue Maple’s foot!

“Continue.” Blue Maple said.

Blue Maple casually placed the long knife back into his backpack. He felt like this knife was an excellent piece of gear, and it was a Crystal-tier item at least. Even though he wasn’t particularly interested in worldly possessions, how could he just pass it back if it was already sent into his hands? That didn’t seem possible!

Garillo could feel his heart aching when he watched Blue Maple pocket his knife, but he could only keep it inside as his life was more important.

“That Demon Ancestor’s subordinates found the ring at the buffer zone at the borders between the humans and the demons. Somehow, news leaked, and you found out about it and intercepted us. We had no choice but to let a Demon General escape with some of his subordinates, and we were forced to break through one of the humans’ weak defensive spots.” Garillo continued speaking respectfully.

Garillo believed that Blue Maple’s subordinates were the humans who had intercepted them, even though Blue Maple was just passing by…

But thinking like that was understandable as Blue Maple was already appearing here not long after the interception. Furthermore, Garillo could sense that the ring was here, even though he didn’t know who was in possession of it. His guess was that Blue Maple had the ring.

As for all the talk about sacrifice and whatnot before this, Garillo believed that everything was just bullshit, and they were all part of a plan for him to give himself up.

Fuck, that lightning dwarf is a piece of shit. His acting was so good that he managed to trick me over. Now, I’m screwed. Garillo was cursing at Klubdi in his mind, and he was filled with bitterness.

Evidently, he believed that Klubdi was also acting and was trying to deceive him into walking forward on his own accord.

Garillo was thinking like that in his mind, but his answers were honest as his life was on the line. Blue Maple showed him mercy previously, so maybe Blue Maple would let him go back again.

Furthermore, Garillo was still wounded, and he knew that Blue Maple possessed spatial power. There was no way he could run!

“So, we sent several demonized wild beasts over, but all that seemed useless, so the Demon Ancestor sent me instead. He wanted me to make up for my mistake in getting our provisions burned, but who knew…”

Garillo couldn’t continue anymore. He was feeling extremely bitter inside about his terrible luck!

“Oh? Looks like you are here to steal the ring.” Blue Maple’s icy voice made Garillo tremble on the ground.

“Uh, sir, I’m just following orders. You are very benevolent, so please show mercy on me again. I will never dare to return!”

Klubdi and the others’ felt like their world was turned upside down when they heard Garillo’s request. They had never seen a demon who was so timid and afraid.

Wait! Show mercy again? Did Blue Maple deliberately let him go previously? How powerful was he, exactly?

“I’ll think about that,” answered Blue Maple plainly.

Garillo was immediately overjoyed. He had a chance!

“No, you can’t let him go!” Klubdi was immediately worried.

Garillo immediately cursed in his mind. Fuck you, lightning dwarf. Can you shut up? Is it not enough that I’ve given myself up? I finally have a chance to escape, and you still want to try and stop me. Can you not see that your master has already decided?

Evidently, he thought Blue Maple was their superior.

“You guys only need to return to your tribe peacefully.” Blue Maple turned and spoke to Klubdi plainly.

Blue Maple’s meaning was clear. Without him, Klubdi and the others were probably done for, so he was the one who would decide what would happen to this Demon General.

Klubdi was momentarily stunned and was rendered speechless. Kruje and his sister exchanged a look, and they didn’t know what to say.

Furthermore, Blue Maple really didn’t want to kill such an interesting demon.

Yes. Go back by yourselves, dwarves. Don’t get yourself involved for no reason! I still want to live! Garillo hollered excitedly in his own mind. He had a chance to live!

“But sending you back will give me a lot of trouble.” Blue Maple continued talking plainly.

Garillo immediately felt a constriction in his heart.

Blue Maple didn’t want to cause trouble because of this. Even though his chances of going to the frontlines on his own accord was very low, he still had to be careful as he didn’t know how powerful that Demon Ancestor was. He would be in trouble – if for some reason he was on the frontlines – the Demon Ancestor set his sights on him.

“Don’t worry. I promise not to say anything about you, sir!” Garillo immediately recovered as he stood up and patted his chest with determination.

“Oh? What do you say if the Demon Ancestor asks you?” Blue Maple got straight to the point.

“Uh… let me think…”

Garillo immediately thought as hard as he could. Do I tell him that I ran into an elite squad? But we did sense that our target wasn’t strong. Do I tell him that I ran into a formidable human opponent? But how do I fabricate a story if he asks about how this human looks like? No…

Garillo was still thinking of what he would say when Klubdi and the others were overjoyed. There was a good chance that Garillo wouldn’t be allowed to leave!

Blue Maple was also thinking…

What an interesting fellow. It’ll be quite a pity to kill him, but not killing him will bring me a lot of trouble. But I want to avoid letting him expose me… Blue Maple’s mouth curved into a faint smile.

He came up with a very interesting idea!

“Stop thinking. Go back, and report to your master that you ran into an heir of Looming Shadow, and you were casually repelled and sent back. This man kept your weapon as a warning.” Blue Maple was expressionless as he spoke.

He didn’t have any conscience about doing Mystery a dirty one!

“Looming Shadow? That’s a great idea!” Garillo’s eyes glowed.

Klubdi and the others were momentarily stunned. Looming Shadow? Why is he bringing in Looming Shadow’s heir? Can it be… that Blue Maple had some problems with Looming Shadow’s heir, and he’s deliberately trying to cause trouble for that person? Klubdi and the others weren’t the only ones thinking that way.

“Uh, sir… did you have some problems with Looming Shadow’s heir?” Garillo asked carefully.

Klubdi and the others’ ears stood up as they all wanted to know what had happened.

“Eh?” Blue Maple glanced at Garillo coldly.

“Uh, I didn’t mean to ask if you, sir, if you have fought Looming Shadow’s heir before. I’m only curious about what he, or she, did to make you unhappy.” Garillo hurriedly tried to explain himself, and his voice was full of flattering.

Klubdi and the others all stared at Garillo with a contemptuous look in their eyes. That flattering!

Bootlicker!

Garillo was just saying that Blue Maple had defeated Looming Shadow’s heir, except his opponent was cunning and played a dirty trick on him and made him unhappy. Furthermore, Looming Shadow’s heir was a Thief, so that was very possible.

But Blue Maple had other thoughts.

Mystery’s personality was very similar to his, and she could do something like dealing with her opponent and subsequently taking her opponent’s weapon as a warning. Even though that wasn’t likely, wasn’t that true?

More importantly, Mystery’s chances of going onto the frontlines was even lower than Blue Maple. Mystery was a Thief, so her tracks were even harder to determine. Furthermore…

I’ll give Mystery some trouble. That seems interesting. Blue Maple couldn’t help but grin.

Blue Maple enjoyed interesting things most. However, everyone else interpreted his grin in a different way.

Shit, I have a chance! Garillo was elated. He interpreted Blue Maple’s grin as a sign of his successful flattering, while Klubdi and the others felt the same way.

Blue Maple was a cold and heartless fellow who enjoyed being alone, but he would sometimes cheat somebody without conscience when he encountered something interesting.

The most important part was that the party who was cheated, Mystery, didn’t know anything at all!

I wonder what expression she’ll have on her face when trouble finds her. That must be interesting, no? Blue Maple thought to himself unscrupulously, and nobody could tell through the cold look on his face that he had this side to him.

Blue Maple swung his blade casually and left a wound on Garillo’s body, which left traces of Looming Shadow’s power.

Blue Maple was half Looming Shadow, so being capable of this was very normal for him.

“This is Looming Shadow’s aura. Remember, Looming Shadow did all this.” Blue Maple continued expressionlessly.

“Yes. I will definitely say that everything was because of Looming Shadow!” Garillo’s face was overcome with joy as he patted his chest and made his promise to Blue Maple.

Blue Maple and Looming Shadow are enemies!

This was what everyone, aside from Blue Maple and including all the dwarves and Garillo, were thinking! Otherwise, why would Blue Maple try to cause trouble for Looming Shadow’s heir for no reason?

Even though… the truth was… Blue Maple only wanted some fun. He was lonely and cold, and finding something interesting to do wasn’t easy.