Two days later, deep in the Abyss hinterlands—the Red Zone.

The so-called Red Zone was a special region marked on maps after human military scouts, adventurers, and explorers went deep into the Abyss for on-site investigations.

Green, orange, red, black—four grades—split the Abyss map Muen was carefully studying into a mess of abstract-art-like color blocks.

Green represented ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) wilderness with no demonfolk living in it. The only things to watch out for were magical beasts wandering the wilds, and all kinds of poisonous plants and fruits. Here, as long as you had rich experience surviving in the field, even an ordinary person with no real strength could hang on for about two or three days...

As for after two or three days...

Once an ordinary person’s supplies ran out, either they’d try those Abyss plants whose records were still incomplete, with the resolve of playing roulette... or, for the sake of water and food, they’d pick a real-man’s fight with the magical beasts squatting near the water source.

Fortunately, there shouldn’t be any ordinary people who were sick of living and would set foot on this land.

Orange represented regions where demonfolk roamed and hunted. Generally speaking, such areas wouldn’t be too barren, and you wouldn’t have to slaughter each other to the death over a water source the size of a puddle... but more resources meant the magical beasts living here would be even more terrifying and ferocious. All kinds of poisonous mists and swamps, magical beast nests—those things were about as common as roadside weeds. Every year, many adventurers who came for precious materials that only existed in the Abyss ended up buried in this region.

Above the Orange Zone was the Red Zone—where Muen was now.

This meant he was already inside an area where demonfolk tribes had settled.

In terms of sheer danger, this place might not be as deadly as some magical beast nests in the Orange Zone, but for any human, it was an area that had to be treated with the utmost caution.

Because most magical beasts were only guarding their own territory and nests, but these demonmen... would chase a human infiltrator a hundred li just to skin them alive and pull out their tendons.

As for the final Black Zone...

That was unexplored territory, and it still occupied a large part of the map.

“But Gutongs Fortress didn’t appear in the Black Zone. It didn’t even appear in the Red Zone where demonfolk settle. Instead, it appeared in the Orange Zone, where many adventurers wander. Why?”

Muen stared at the map, sinking into thought.

It was a problem he’d noticed two days ago.

According to the intelligence Funal had given him, the reason Gutongs Fortress had been discovered so easily was because the region where it appeared was simply too conspicuous.

In the strata beneath that wilderness, there was a special raw material called Tepol Stone. Contrary to current magic-guided materials, this Tepol Stone had extremely strong magic-insulating properties. Whether used as anti-magic weapons or as armor, the effect was excellent.

And this Tepol Stone had only ever been excavated from that wilderness, in limited quantities, so it was extremely valuable. When Gutongs Fortress appeared, quite a few speculative adventurers had actually been there searching for that material.

There was no way it wouldn’t be discovered.

But then the problem was obvious—if it was something that was clearly not good, something that would alert humans, and if it really was extremely important to demonfolk, then when demonfolk made it, did they not know how to hide it?

After all, it was a city. As long as they put it in the Black Zone—an area humans knew very little about—even if it couldn’t be completely concealed, it would definitely be able to delay discovery for a long time.

So...

Either there was no need to hide it at all.

Or...

That city wasn’t built as a temporary construction in the first place. It might have been there all along, and only revealed itself now.

It wasn’t a new city—it was a relic?

“Looks like there really is a mystery worth digging into...”

Muen muttered to himself and put the map away.

Thinking about this right now was meaningless. The region where Gutongs Fortress was located had already been marked as a Red Zone. Large numbers of demonmen were gathering in that city and around it. In Funal’s words, that city had become the current transfer hub for demonfolk gathering and circulation. It was a heart, connecting the main arteries of demonfolk’s operations. You could say it was one of the most dangerous regions in the entire Abyss for humans.

“So I can’t just rush there directly.”

Muen stood up and pulled a black hood over his head.

Not far away was a demonfolk tribe that wasn’t very large.

This was a Red Zone bordering the wilderness where Gutongs Fortress was located. But even among Red Zones there were differences. A scattered demonfolk tribe like this couldn’t be called prosperous at all. In fact, because of demonfolk’s war against the Empire’s frontline—after wave after wave of conscription—just looking at the outskirts of the tribe, you could clearly sense a withered, deathly silence.

“According to Funal, the last contact was already a month ago. I hope I’m not running here for nothing.”

Muen prayed to the goddess, hoping she would, for Liya’s sake, grant him a bit of luck.

Then he took out a packet of spice and smeared it on his body.

This strangely scented spice was also something Funal had given him. Supposedly most demonfolk liked to smear all kinds of spices on themselves, and this one was the most common, able to perfectly mask human scent.

But smell alone wasn’t enough.

After smearing the spice, Muen snapped his fingers.

The light around his body quickly began to twist.

It was already evening. The Abyss, which never received sunlight’s favor to begin with, grew even dimmer. And under Muen’s exquisitely precise manipulation of a lighting spell, through this layer of distorted light, the figure hidden in his black robe instantly grew taller by several degrees. Two long horns also grew out of his head, piercing through the hood, extremely conspicuous.

Just from appearance alone, Muen now completely looked like an ordinary demonman who didn’t like to show his face in public.

“This should be fine now, right?”

In the mirror-like surface reflecting light, Muen cautiously examined his disguise. Because if this disguise was seen through, then next he would face an entire demonfolk tribe’s siege.

He didn’t know whether there were high-ranking demonmen stationed in this tribe, but either way it would bring huge trouble.

“But it still feels like something’s off...”

After thinking for a while, Muen suddenly clapped his hands in realization, then pulled out a blood pouch.

It came from a magical beast he’d conveniently dealt with along the way.

Muen squeezed hard and crushed the pouch.

Warm blood still carrying heat flowed out, dripping down his palm drop by drop.

And that pungent stench of blood began to mix with the spice scent smeared over his body, forming a composite smell that only long-term living on raw flesh and blood would produce.

This was the true smell of demonmen. In an environment as brutal as the Abyss, it was impossible not to be stained with blood.

“Now there really shouldn’t be any problem.”

Only after confirming that, whether in appearance or smell, there was nothing wrong, did Muen finally start walking toward that demonfolk tribe.