In the middle of the night, Ren proceeded to sneak out of the Tengu clan territory.

Unfortunately every lake in Tengu clan territory was occupied by Yaks, and Ren was too afraid to go anywhere near them.

Master Korgan and Sento were able to subdue the Yaks just fine, but Ren was not convinced they will not try to squash him when the opportunity presents itself.

Which is why, going outside the clan territory was a necessity if he wanted to find a good lake for fishing in peace.

Since it was night, Ren presumed that he will have a very relaxing time; at the very least he will have some time to unwind and relax.

Recently, he found himself in more and more danger, now the Yaks were practically everywhere, with the stronger members of Tengu clan being assigned to obtain meat and milk from them.

Ren could only wonder how brave those members of Tengu clan have to be to deal with Yaks in such nonchalant manner.

What he was not aware of was the fact that these clan members were inspired by Ren’s ‘example’.

If their leader could subjugate two hundred giant Yaks by himself, they should be able to handle at least one Yak each; at least that is what they told themselves. And since they were under the control of two Demon Lords, the giant Yaks posed no threat to the Tengu clan members, making it a very efficient source of food and milk.

After going a considerable distance away, under the night illuminated by three moons, Ren found a perfect fishing spot over the lake.

With his fishing rod ready, he lowered the bait into the water, hoping at least one fish would bite it.

Even if he does not catch any fish, just the atmosphere was most enjoyable.

While sitting there for at least a couple of hours, he ended up dozing off, not noticing that someone was approaching him.

“Uhm, hello there”

Ren ended up jumping up after he heard the voice.

“Do not worry, I mean you no harm”

He was obviously trying to calm Ren down.

Looking at the person before him, Ren immediately recognized him.

A tall and muscular Phoenix demon.

Sprouting from his back were two golden wings. Everything about him looked golden, even at night, his skin color, hair and eyes. Ren thought for a moment that some sculptor must have made a golden statue that suddenly came to life.

He only saw one person who possessed such majestic aura.

“Zirc? Zirc Altyn?”

“That voice…could it be? Refeng Peng?”

“Oh yeah, that’s me all right” Ren ended up muttering.

“Wow, it really is you, huh. No longer wearing that ridiculous disguise, I see”

“I didn’t realize it looked so fake.”

“Oh no, it was pretty convincing all right, it’s just the horns looked a little unnatural. Do not worry, I don’t judge a demon for having or lack of horns.”

“That is good to hear”

By now, he knew that Altyn clan was the arch enemy of the Tengu clan, and its heir, Zirc Altyn, was likely the most dangerous adversary he would have to face.

After finding that out from Shaula, Ren was quite terrified of the mental image he conjured of Zirc Altyn, and now the demon himself showed up.

“If it is not a bother, can I please join you in your endeavor? I have a fishing rod of my own as well”

Zirc proceeded to pull out the fishing equipment from his storage ring.

“By all means”

Ren was too terrified to refuse.

“Thank you”

* * *

After silently fishing for a few minutes, they ended up talking, and by the end up of it, they were both sitting next to each other, drinking wine.

Apparently Ren had a couple of bottles of wine in his storage ring and Zirc happened to have cups in his, so it worked out rather well.

Ren could tell that Zirc, despite looking a little intimidating at first, was actually a rather lonely person, so much so that he was desperate for a company.

Since they were drunk, they were talking a lot more openly.

“….And then I got chased by a couple hundred Yaks! I barely made it out alive! Why do such things keep happening to me?”

“That sounds rough buddy” Zirc patted drunk Ren’s back.

“And then there is my clan members…They have crazy high expectations for me. They think I am some sort of a perfect leader and now I have to play the part or they will exile me! Ooooooooh….”

“You are the leader of your clan?”

“Only by technicality, you see, my father and grandfather were the previous leaders of the clan, and now I am expected to follow in their footsteps” Ren admitted.

“Well, isn’t that a great coincidence? So am I.”

“They say that you crack open the skulls of humans and demons and make cups out of them.” Ren spoke hesitantly.

He was hoping that cups that Zirc provided were not made out of Zirc’s unfortunate victims.

“What a ridiculous rumor. I am not a savage.”

Ren and Zirc ended up chuckling a little at the absurdity of the rumor. Phoenix clan was rather infamous for their brutality and eventually, Ren ended up hearing some strange rumors about Zirc Altyn. At the very least, he was not using some demon’s skull as a wine cup.

‘Maybe he is not such a bad guy after all’ Ren thought.

Maybe if he told Zirc his real name, they could get along.

“Refeng, being a leader of a clan is not an easy endeavor, but at least from what I am hearing; your clan members trust and admire you. In my clan, they only fear me”

“Why is that?”

“Because I am the big scary Phoenix who they think will eat them if they make a mistake.”

“Do you do that?”

“Of course not! I have never done that in my life”

“That is good”

“Though, I cannot say that the others Phoenix clan members haven’t done that. Eating humans and weaker demons that is.” Zirc regretfully admitted.

“You see, my clan is obsessed with power. Everything is determined by strength, and those that are deemed weak are consumed by the strong, to become nutrients for the worthy. Everything is for the sake of power. But because of that, my clan had become something I am ashamed of. And even if we do succeed; wipe out and enslave all the other clans, would it be truly right? If we take on that path, how are we any different from humans? Wouldn’t we be committing genocide against demon kind just like humans had wished for centuries?”

“Humans…the Pishak Priests.... they got their powers by eating demons, right?”

“Exactly, from whom do you think my clan members got the idea to start consuming the other demons? To be frank, I am disgusted with the practice, but father approved it, saying it was for the sake of our clan. If it is for the sake of my clan, I must carry out my duty, no matter how wrong it is…”

Zirc continued.

“While I do believe our clan should be the one to rule the Kalkan Kingdom, I am left wondering, is it worth stooping to the level of humans just in order to gain power?”

“Certainly not” Ren muttered.

“Then, tell me, Refeng Peng, what should I do?”

“Isn’t that simple?”

Zirc shook his head.

“Just follow your heart, buddy. It will not lead you astray”

Hearing that, Zirc ended up laughing out loud.

“I guess you are right on that one~”

“You know I am”

Ren and Zirc were grinning with drunken happiness. Due to alcohol, they were far more relaxed than usual, resulting in an atmosphere where two demons who were unfamiliar with each other feeling like they were old friends.

“I never imagined you were hornless. How did you lose them?” Zirc ended up asking.

“Dunno, as far as I know, they just never sprouted, but I am still a demon.”

“Yeah, but many would consider a hornless demon to be a weakling. I am surprised you were allowed to lead your clan”

“I am the one who was most surprised. I didn’t even know I was the leader before I overheard it! ”

“Ouch. Sounds rough. Then let us toast- ‘To the Burdens of Leadership!’” Zirc raised his cup.

“To the Burdens of Clans!” they ended up making their cups touch before drinking from them.

“My father is very worried, you see. Apparently, his arch nemesis, the old crow, has a third son.”

Zirc ended up clenching his hand into a fist.

“Ren Karatengu” Zirc muttered.

As he heard the sound of his own name, Ren almost ended up choking on wine.

“Within a span of months, he took a declining clan and turned it into a mid-tier clan, with two Demon Lords and large army by his side. And from what I am hearing, he singlehandedly defeated the Kas clan. Even Draco clan, known for their pride, chose to surrender to him.”

“My father fears him. Our forces are strong, but father fears the might of two Demon Lords under him. If our clans battled right now, without a doubt, my Altyn clan would be victorious. Our forces and our numbers are far superior to that of the crow, and yet….Father is a coward. He only managed to injure the old crow when the old crow witnessed the death of his first son, at least that’s what my elder brother told me….”

“And since there are two Demon Lords in his clan, Father is afraid that their combined might would be superior to his own. That is why, he is afraid of making a move without having someone from his clan become the Demon King. Combined with the rumors that Ren Karatengu is a Demon Lord level demon himself, which would mean that his clan has three Demon Lords, father is not willing to make a move….and I can do nothing but obey, for now.”

Zirc continued.

“Without a doubt, Ren Karatengu is a formidable opponent. I never met him in person, but Kin, my younger brother has. Apparently Kin tried to defeat that crow alone, but ended up almost getting killed by him. What a fool. Underestimating that crow is a peak of idiocy!”

Ren was getting more and more freaked out by the second.

The crow demon Zirc Altyn was talking about was right in front of him without him realizing it.

Maybe gulping down the entire bottle of wine will help ease his thoughts, which was exactly what Ren did, abandoning his sense of fear entirely.

“Oh, when I meet him, he will regret the day he was born!”

Zirc was getting more and more carried away with his thoughts. Apparently the alcohol worked too well, making him open up on his innermost thoughts.

“Why do you hate him that much? What did he do to you?”

“It is not as much as what he did, but what his predecessor, Ymit Karatengu, the second son of the old crow, did to my elder brothers”

“Elder brothers? I thought you were the firstborn”

“Only by technicality. Originally, I was the fourth in line, with three elder brothers before me. Twenty three years ago, my clan fought against the Tengu clan, led by Ymit Karatengu. I was just four years old at the time, but I remember the lifeless bodies of my elder brothers being brought back, covered with the banners of my clan. They fell in battle after challenging Ymit Karatengu.”

“My father was terrified of the possibility of that crow one day becoming strong enough to destroy us, so he made a deal with the Palak clan to betray the crow, to make Ymit Karatengu ‘disappear’. And it worked, or at least so it seemed. But turns out the old crow had one more chick, a secret third son he had been hiding all these years. And now, he has started to make his move.”

“So, you don’t have a personal grudge against him, but it is for the sake of avenging your siblings?”

“Yes. That is exactly why the last crow must die.”

“Wow, that’s just petty”

“I will not deny it, but for the dent in my clan’s honor to be erased, I must defeat Ren Karatengu, and become the Demon King, to show all of demon kind that Phoenix demons are supreme and all who oppose us shall perish.”

“Good luck with that”

“Thank you”

After an awkward moment of silence, with Ren trying and failing to come up with good ideas for a talk, the conversation ended up somehow shifting to the topic of females.

“Many females come after me, but they only want me because I am the heir of my clan.” Zirc admitted.

“What about you, do you have any luck in love department?”

“Not really. Every female demon I meet scares the hell out of me”

“Not a single one you found attractive?”

“Hmm, maybe one. I once saw a total hottie. Tall, long coal black hair, eyes as dark as the night, and three tails that looked so fluffy that you could burry your face in them. I saw her only once, but I still remember her, that dark fox demon lady…. Sometimes I see her in my dreams. Such sweet dreams…”

Ren did not realize that the fox demon he was attracted to was in fact the fox demon he spent most of his time with.

Though to be fair, the way she looked back then; anyone who didn’t know better wouldn’t think that those two were the same demon.

By the end of it, Zirc and Ren were cracking so many jokes that it was obvious both of them were having a blast.

Zirc, on one hand, was grateful to have someone to talk to who did not cower in fear in front of him, while Ren was just happy Zirc did not want to kill him, like everything else seemed to want to.

Despite being arch-enemies by nature, crow and Phoenix were laughing, drinking, and joking together for hours, before it came time to go back to their respective homes.

“I hope to see you again, Refeng Peng”

“Same to you, Zirc Altyn”

As Zirc was leaving, Ren could only think.

‘That was too close. If I wasn’t drunk, I would have blurted out the truth for sure.’

Luckily, being drunk prevented him from freaking out, allowing him to act as natural as possible in front of his natural enemy.

And from the looks of things, Zirc Altyn did not realize he just ended up having a bonding time with his arch enemy.

‘And I thought I was dense’

Ren couldn’t help but remark.

The irony was completely lost on the young crow demon.