Chapter 111: Storm of the Demon Realm

“Eh?”

A sudden movement stirred within Veil, and he instinctively glanced to the side. Around them was nothing but a vast desolate silence; there was no sign of Scanoli anywhere.

“Hmm.”

Veil nodded, motioning for Nasa to lead the way ahead. He followed behind at a leisurely pace. Looking at Nasa, who always seemed as stiff and unyielding as a wooden plank, Veil’s mind suddenly drifted back to earlier events.

What would an ordinary person do if they sensed danger behind them?

They would sound the alarm! Yet Nasa chose to remain silent. No matter how taciturn he was, in that split second, he should have at least warned him. But he didn’t. Following that line of reasoning, there were only two possibilities: either Nasa had no time to warn him and had to rush forward to slay those two undead creatures as quickly as possible, or—worst of all—Nasa had already spotted the undead but hesitated, unsure whether to lend a hand or seize the opportunity to eliminate Veil himself.

With Nasa’s speed and skill, killing Veil at that moment would have been all too easy!

As these thoughts churned, Veil found himself gripping his wand tightly, only now noticing the cold sweat coating his palm.

Casually raising his arm as if to shield himself from the swirling sand, Veil used the motion to discreetly wipe the sweat from his face.

Given Scanoli’s shrewdness, Veil knew that any slight deviation from his usual demeanor would instantly arouse suspicion.

Nasa and Veil hadn’t gone far—just around a small hillock—when they finally caught sight of Scanoli. Yet at that moment, Veil’s gaze wasn’t on the diminutive figure standing barely a sixth his height.

Instead, a smooth, circular energy array suddenly appeared before him, mirroring the ones they had seen in the valley outside. This array was covered in countless intricate patterns and strange symbols unfamiliar to Veil. It hovered midair, fully charged with energy, utterly unsupported. Despite the raging sandstorm roaring fiercely around it, the circle showed no tremors or fluctuations—its eerie stillness was almost terrifying.

“Well? Have you discerned anything?”

Scanoli raised his head, staring at the hovering array for a long moment before slowly turning to Veil. Though his strength exceeded Veil’s by several, even dozens of times, he couldn’t help but ask. Deep down, Scanoli felt Veil should understand this kind of thing, even if he hadn’t before.

“An intriguing artifact,” Veil replied.

Scanoli’s face lit up with satisfaction, about to inquire further, but Veil chuckled softly, lowering his gaze toward Scanoli with eyes narrowed slightly. “Tell me—how do you know the artifact lies in the Demon Realm? Otherwise... hehe.”

“A clever one, aren’t you!”

Scanoli smirked. In truth, this wasn’t much of a secret. He tidied his thoughts, omitting some parts important to him, then explained: “Remember what I told you about the strange phenomena in the wilderness? The undead attacks, the formation of the eerie fog zones?”

“I remember. You said the Beast Clan sent warriors to scout the fog... Old man, don’t tell me you learned about the artifact then?”

Veil furrowed his brow. If that were true, the credibility was only half—half believable, half not.

“Indeed, it was then!”

Scanoli, seemingly oblivious to Veil’s expression, spoke on: “The Beast Clan ran into trouble. They first sent over thirty warriors and two priests into the fog. None returned alive. Then they dispatched a force of four thousand warriors and a dozen priests. Only two came back. One died immediately; the other was insane. The priest Massan forcibly read the mad warrior’s memories and gleaned several interesting clues—one of which was the artifact.”

Scanoli spoke rapidly, stammering slightly near the end before hastily moving on, clearly unwilling to elaborate further.

“Several interesting clues... but only one?” Veil noticed Scanoli’s wording and felt a sudden stir. It seemed Massan had learned more than one shocking secret from the mad warrior’s memories. As a priest himself, Scanoli must have known these secrets too. Yet, for some unknown reason, those once “shocking” clues had now been reduced to just one—the artifact.

How much had this old man been hiding from him?

Veil pondered silently but nodded thoughtfully without pressing further.

“All right, kid, what exactly did you discover?”

Perhaps feeling guilty, Scanoli cleared his throat twice and pointed at the floating array. Veil was about to explain when suddenly, his keen senses detected an alarming disturbance all around.

The surge was swift and fierce—before Veil could react, his eyes caught sight of a black tempest of swirling sand approaching in the distance.

Nasa’s expression changed instantly as he noticed the terrifying storm.

Without warning, Nasa drew the enormous black greatsword strapped to his back with astonishing speed. With a powerful swing, he struck the ground fiercely.

Clearly, Nasa intended to carve out a pit for them to hide in. But to his shock, though the earth sounded a dull “boom” under his blow, the seemingly soft soil cracked only slightly.

Everyone was stunned.

Even Veil, who had spent the least time with Nasa, understood the terrifying force behind that seemingly ordinary strike. Normally, such power would shatter two or three ancient beasts into pieces. Yet now, the strike barely made a bowl-sized dent.

This made them all wonder—was the ground made of iron?

After a brief moment of disbelief, no one had time to dwell on it. The storm was closing in rapidly, halving the distance in moments. Veil could already hear the ear-piercing roar.

The tempest was enormous—Veil even suspected it could engulf the entire Demon Realm. Wherever it passed, nothing could survive. Even massive boulders were lifted like feathers, torn apart into countless fragments midair.

Damn! This was on par with the highest-level forbidden magic spells! No, it might even be more devastating!

Veil’s mind raced as he shouted to Scanoli and Nasa to take cover behind a nearby hillock.

“Hurry! Nasa, dig us a shelter!”

Scanoli’s eyes glowed red with urgency. Knowing well the storm’s destructive power, he crushed the energy crystals in his pouch one by one while shouting to Nasa.

But as Nasa’s first strike landed, Veil suddenly sighed to himself...

It was too late.