Xixi

After three crisp cracks, the three black-robed men crashed onto the carriage floor like torn burlap sacks. Every bone in their bodies was shattered inch by inch. They didn't even have time to let out a scream before they were completely dead.

Ye Chuan didn't even bat an eyelid. With a casual flick of his finger, three faintly glowing memory fragments floated out from their skulls and landed in his palm.

Time for a soul search.

These mages had souls as frail as thin paper, unable to even hold intact memories. The soul search yielded nothing but trivial garbage.

After finishing the soul search, Ye Chuan twitched the corner of his mouth. "What the hell? It's all just drinking, gambling, and snatching women. Not a single bit of useful information."

"Going to brothels is one thing... but they only ever picked heavyweights. What awful taste..."

"Hiss."

It burned his eyes a little.

He barely managed to piece together some fragmented information—

Currently, the Demon Race occupied more than half of the Aether Continent. Humanity was barely holding on relying on a barrier, and both sides were in a relentless, endless stalemate.

As for more specific details, such as the current power distribution of the continent or the origins of the demons, these low-level grunts knew absolutely nothing.

Ye Chuan casually brushed the residue off his palm and looked up at Kalisia, who was still frozen in her seat.

The little girl hadn't yet recovered from the scene just now. Her ruby-like eyes were wide and round, and her pink twin-tails trembled slightly.

She had seen it clearly. This man hadn't chanted a spell, nor had he even pulled out a magic wand.

With just a light glance, those three vicious thugs had all their bones shattered, dying as dead as could be.

"Oi, pink-haired loli." Ye Chuan knocked on the carriage's iron plating, calling the little girl's soul back to reality.

"Looking at your outfit and what those guys just said, you aren't some ordinary noble lady, are you?"

Kalisia shuddered violently and immediately jumped down from the seat. Lifting her dust-stained skirt, even though she was tied up, she gave Ye Chuan a solemn and proper noble curtsy.

"Thank you for saving my life! My name is Kalisia, the only daughter of the Storm Duke of the Theocracy of Light, and the sole heir to the Storm Territory."

"As long as you can safely escort me back to the Storm Territory, no matter what reward you desire, my father will do everything in his power to satisfy you!"

"Rare magic crystals, high-tier magic scrolls, enchanted armor, or even an exclusive mount from the Griffon Knights—anything is possible!"

The little girl's eyes sparkled brightly, terrified that Ye Chuan would refuse.

In this desolate fallen zone in the middle of nowhere, having such an unfathomably powerful expert by her side was her only chance to return alive.

Ye Chuan wasn't particularly interested in magic crystals or scrolls. He just casually asked:

"Sure, taking you back isn't impossible. But first, tell me, which direction is this Storm Territory?"

As soon as he said this, the excitement on Kalisia's face instantly collapsed. The little girl hung her head, her pink twin-tails drooping.

"I... I don't know. I was ambushed and knocked unconscious while I was out. When I woke up, I was already in this carriage."

"I don't even know how long we've been traveling or in which direction. It's all wasteland around here without a single road sign. I can't tell north, south, east, or west at all."

Ye Chuan threw his hands up.

He had even fewer ideas himself, because Ye Chuan had absolutely no clue about the power distribution of the Aether Continent, nor did he know where this so-called Storm Territory was.

Although Kalisia was a bit panicked, she tried her best to calm down.

Because the man in front of her was clearly someone she could communicate with, and he didn't look like a lapdog of the demons.

But right at that moment, Ye Chuan snapped his fingers, and a soft, milky-white light fell upon her.

Warmth instantly swept through her entire body. The ropes snapped, and the bloody abrasions on her wrists and ankles caused by the hemp ropes healed instantly at a visible rate.

Even her magic power, which had been stagnant for half the day, began to flow smoothly through her meridians once again.

Kalisia stumbled back a few steps in shock, her voice full of disbelief. "Chantless... chantless magic?! You actually know chantless healing magic?!"

"That's something only His Holiness the Pope can do! Just who are you?!"

On the Aether Continent, even the most genius mages needed to chant spells and use magical hand gestures to cast magic. The higher the tier of the magic, the longer the incantation.

Those who could instantly cast chantless magic were all top-tier experts, let alone this kind of healing magic where the magic fluctuations were practically invisible!

"Just a casual heal, it's no big deal." Ye Chuan didn't dwell on the matter and instead asked,

"Let me ask you, have you ever heard of the Shir Empire? Where is it?"

Kalisia frowned and shook her head in bewilderment, shaking it like a rattle drum.

"The Shir Empire... Never heard of it. In all the geographical encyclopedias I've read since I was little, that country's name has never appeared."

She paused, a heavy expression appearing on her face.

"Right now, in the entire Aether Continent, only our Theocracy of Light remains. Relying on the Hero's Barrier of the Holy Mountain, we are barely holding on as humanity's last stronghold."

"Everywhere else has become a fallen zone belonging to the demons, which is this godforsaken place we're standing on right now. The Demon King has destroyed many countries..."

At the mention of the words Demon King, Kalisia's body subconsciously trembled, her eyes filled with unconcealable fear.

The Demon King destroyed many countries...

So the Shir Empire was destroyed by the Demon King?

His little disciple, that princess, and the little dragonkin...

Ye Chuan's heart sank.

Putting it that way, not only Yisu Town, but even the Succubus Pavilion might be gone.

But Ye Chuan felt an indescribable sense of incongruity. If that were the case... it wasn't like the Shir Empire would leave absolutely no trace behind, right?

At the very least, it should still exist in the records.

Ye Chuan couldn't help but think of that woman, the Demon King, again.

"The Demon King... Since the demons have occupied such a massive territory on the continent, hasn't the Hero appeared?" Ye Chuan asked Kalisia, feeling a bit strange.

He was still thinking that after the Hero appeared, he would strip away the Hero's power so that he could go and ravage that Demon King himself.

"The Hero..." Hearing the word Hero, Kalisia shook her head. "There are records in the Aether Continent that whenever a crisis descends, the Hero will appear to save the continent."

"However—" Kalisia continued,

"For some unknown reason, my father said that it's impossible for the Lord Hero to appear anymore."

Impossible to appear?

"Why?"

"I don't know. If you can meet my father, perhaps he can answer that question for you," Kalisia said.

I have to meet your father to know?

Ye Chuan looked at the harsh surrounding environment and finally said, "Alright then, let's find your dad first."

"By the way, I haven't asked for Your Excellency's name yet."

"Oh, Xixi Chinayega."

Hearing this name, Kalisia froze in stunned silence.