Chapter 953 - Infiltrating The Demonic Continent
"You do know that it's rude to barge in a lady's room, while she's getting her beauty sleep, right?" Celeste asked as she glared at William who was calmly sipping a cup of coffee in front of her.
The Elven beauty wasn't really angry at William for barging inside her room, while it was still dark outside. She just wanted to vent out her frustrations for not being able to sleep for the past few days due to the contents of the letters she had received from the Silvermoon Continent.
Due to William's sudden appearance, the beautiful Elf was still in her nightgown and didn't have the time to change it. Even so, William didn't even spare a glance at her body, and just sipped his coffee in silence.
Right now, the Half-Elf was not in the mood to appreciate the beauty that was seated across him.
"Tell me about the situation in the Demonic Continent," William didn't even bother to answer Celeste's question and jumped straight to the point. "Also, give me the letters that you received. I need to read them as well."
Celeste grumpily took a stack of letters out of her storage ring and placed it on the table in front of her. William put his cup down and reached to take the letters that had been responsible for canceling his planned, albeit short, vacation in the Port City of Alabaster.
A few minutes passed in silence as William read the contents of the letter. He was supposed to arrive earlier, but Ashe, Princess Sidonie, Chiffon, and Lilith managed to convince him that he should take a few hours of rest first, before going to Hestia Academy.
Since he could travel using the power of his Lightning Strider Skill, arriving in the academy in a short amount of time was not a problem for him.
Celeste sipped the coffee that Chloee had prepared for her and found it to her liking. This was a novelty for her, who preferred to drink tea most of the time.
Several minutes passed before William finished reading all the letters that had come from the Silvermoon Continent.
The Half-Elf frowned as he put the stack of letters on the table before looking at Celeste who had just finished drinking her cup of coffee.
"So, basically, the Oracle of the Rayleigh Family foretold that the Prince of Darkness will awaken soon, and it will take place in the Demonic Continent," William stated. "It doesn't state who the Prince was, or where exactly in the Demonic Land he will make his appearance. There is also no time frame and only the word 'soon' indicates that it will be happening in the near future."
The frown on William's face deepened as he looked at Celeste, who was looking back at him with a serious expression on her face. The two looked at each other for a full minute before the Half-Elf voiced the question he had in his mind.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" William asked.
Celeste took out a map from her storage ring and laid it on the table for William to see.
"This map was given to me by my sister before she went to the Demonic Lands," Celeste explained. "You don't have to worry about the accuracy of this map because it was made by a Demigod who likes to travel. Also, that Demigod is my sister's Master, which makes her your Grandmaster."
William nodded his head to acknowledge Celeste's words. There was a time when Celine had briefly explained to him about the old, and ugly hag, who had raised her with love and care during her stay in the Demonic Continent.
It was for this reason that Celine went to the Demonic Continent to find her Master, in order to talk to her one last time, and say her final farewell before the prophecy of the Dark Prince came to pass.
"What I want you to do is go to the Wicked Thorn Forest where my sister has gone to look for her Master," Celeste stated. "Her Master is a Demigod, so for now, her safety is assured. However, things will change once the prophesied Prince is born. You already know that one of us is meant to become that bastard's bride, and no matter what we do, we will not be able to fight our Fates.
"However, all hope is not lost. As long as you can bring her here to Hestia Academy, before that bastard appears, the protection of this place will keep him at bay. This is also why I am staying in the academy. While I am here, no harm will come to me."
William eyed the map where the Wicked Thorn Forest was located. It was a very dangerous place to go to, and it was located in the Northwestern Region of the Demonic Lands. The only reason why Celine was able to go there instantly was due to the special artifact that her Master, the Old Hag, Baba Yaga, had given her as a gift.
Without it, it would have taken her at least two months to reach her destination because of its distance from the Central Continent.
The Half-Elf scratched his head as he tried to conceive a plan on how to reach his destination. It was at that moment when a beam of light shot out from William's chest and reappeared beside him.
Chiffon glanced at the map on the table with an anxious expression on her face. Before meeting William, she had spent the majority of her life within the Demonic Realm. If possible, she didn't want to return, but since her husband was planning to go there, she would help him to the best of her abilities.
"As long as we don't wander into the Central plains of the Demon Realm, we will mostly be fine," Chiffon commented as she looked at the map. "The Demonic Continent has four Demigods in it. One resides in the Central Plains, one in the West, one in the South, and the last in the Northeastern Regions."
Chiffon pointed the location of the Demigods on the map based on her memory. During her stay in the Demonic Lands, she would often go to the library to read books in order to escape her brothers and sisters.
Just like Chloee, Chiffon had a photographic memory, and she could easily recall things that she had seen, heard, read, or experienced. Using the knowledge she possessed, she immediately drafted a route, while using a marker that William had handed to her.
"The Demonic General's forces are focused on the South," Chiffon continued her explanation. "This is in preparation for any possible invasion by the Humans into the Demonic Continent, as well as their stronghold for a preemptive strike on the Human Lands."
"Wait," William interjected his wife's explanation because he had a question to ask. "Did the Humans try to invade the Demonic Lands?"
""Yes,"" Chiffon and Celeste replied in unison.
"After your father dealt with the Demonic Invasion, the Empires of Humanity used that opportunity to try to conquer the Demonic Lands," Celeste explained like the professor she was. "The Humans succeeded, and would have probably taken more lands, but their plans were single-handedly ruined by the strongest Demigod in the Demonic Continent, which is none other than my sister's Master, Baba Yaga."
Celeste took a short break and took a sip of the freshly brewed coffee that Claire had given her. After wetting her throat, she resumed her explanation, which allowed William to understand the history of the place he was about to visit.
"After a series of negotiations, the seriously injured Demon Lord was forced to pay a vast amount of resources, in order to ransom the lands that the Humans had taken from them," Celeste narrated. "However, this only happened because Baba Yaga had intervened. Due to her presence, the Humans were forced to give up their lands in return for resources exclusive to the Demonic Continent.
After regaining their lands, the Demon Lord, along with his remaining Generals, had turned the entire Southern Region into a shield, as well as a sword that is always aimed outward."
"In short, your greatest obstacle is infiltrating their lands from the South. As long as you are able to bypass their blockade, you will be able to explore the Demonic lands with relative ease, as long as you stick to the Eastern Regions of the continent."
Chiffon, who listened to the side, held William's hand and pointed at the Southern Part of the map.
"A Demigod guards the Southern Regions," Chiffon said. "Although it isn't as strong as Baba Yaga, it is the second strongest Demigod in the Demonic Continent. It will be hard to bypass him unless you can hoodwink his senses."
William rubbed his chin as he looked at the map in front of him. Although he had two Job Classes that could make his rank jump to the Demigod level, he was not too keen on having a direct confrontation with the Demonic Race.
It was also at that moment when the Half-Elf realized that he was overthinking things. Although he couldn't use the Einherjar Job Class, he could use his Vampire Progenitor Job Class to blend in with the Demons without arousing suspicions.
He just needed to change the color of his hair, and adjust his facial features a bit, which could easily be solved with a few potions from the God Shop.
Having thought of the perfect way to infiltrate the Demigod's surveillance, William and Chiffon decided on the route they would take, just in case his cover was blown. Although the Half-Elf was confident in his acting skills, he was not conceited enough to think that his plan was foolproof.