Chapter 641: The Demon-Folk
Strategy and the Valley of the Dead
The news Adam (the former Akorn) brought was terrible. The Underworld is the realm of the dead; humans had never been seen here. Now that this rule was broken and the news was spreading, the four heroes would face endless trouble.
The atmosphere was heavy. Luke looked around, his gaze finally settling on Adam.
"Adam, what do you think we should do?"
Adam hesitated. "Are... are you asking me?"
"That's right. You're a local, and the former City Lord of Dragonhold. I trust your judgment. Go on, tell me your thoughts."
Was this his first test?
Adam felt an inexplicable nervousness. He thought carefully before answering.
"We should leave. We need to avoid the Dragonhold army and head somewhere else."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Luke smiled and countered, "Why not stay and fight? You've seen our strength; we're strong enough to defeat or even kill the Underworld Dragon. Wouldn't getting the information straight from him be better?"
"There's no need for that."
Adam was increasingly sure the Young Master was testing him. "There are many ways to get information. We could go to the Valley of the Dead, which is the intersection of all major powers and has the most extensive intelligence network."
"Clashing head-on with Avogadro isn't a good choice. Even if we win, he might not know anything about the Valley of No Return."
Luke translated this for the others, who looked at Adam with surprise.
"What do you think?"
Diana nodded. "He has a good point. Our goal is to return to Earth through the Valley of No Return. There's no need to fight Avogadro."
Clark and J'onn agreed.
With the three heroes in consensus, Luke looked back at Adam.
"Lead the way. We're heading to the Valley of the Dead."
Adam was overjoyed. He quickly replied,
"Don't worry, Young Master, I will definitely find the information you want in the Valley of the Dead!"
With the plan confirmed, the group immediately set off. Luke carried Adam, flying toward the Valley of the Dead. Flying at full speed, it still took them nearly an hour to reach their destination.
The Underworld was vast. On Earth, at their speed, they could circle the equator ten times in an hour. Here, they had only crossed one region.
The Valley of the Dead—as its name suggested—was a city built within a gorge. It was a volcanic region. Not far away stood a towering black mountain range, its peak a volcano. Legend claimed that every ten thousand years, the volcano would erupt violently, with enough lava to cover everything within several hundred kilometers.
Of course, these were just legends; no eruption had occurred since the Valley of the Dead was founded.
The residents of the Valley of the Dead were mostly ethereal beings. Lonely ghosts were everywhere, along with unique elemental spirits.
Adam was familiar with the area and easily bypassed the guards' inspection. The group passed through the gate and walked into the valley. The architecture was unusual: large and small caves were carved into the cliff face, looking like bird's nests, while below were simple stone houses. From the outside, it was far less imposing than Dragonhold.
However, the commercial atmosphere was thick. Sales pitches and shouts were constant.
Adam whispered,
"The master of the Valley of the Dead is named Klind. He's a Blaze Spectre who has lived for an unknown number of years. His power is immense; even Avogadro doesn't dare provoke him easily."
Luke asked curiously, "Did he set these rules?"
"Yes. The original inhabitants of the Valley of the Dead are mostly spirit-forms and don't require flesh and blood. To avoid trouble, Klind simply banned slave trading and switched to using magic metal as currency. Surprisingly, this worked wonders."
"The Valley of the Dead was already at the intersection of several major powers. After switching to magic metal, many people came here to trade. It gradually became a renowned City of Commerce."
Adam continued to speak, leading the way until they stopped in front of a weapon shop.
"Young Master, wait a moment. I'll be right back."
He turned and walked into the shop, returning a short while later.
"The Valley of the Dead has a very mature intelligence network. No matter who you are, as long as you pay enough, you can get the information you want. This shop is an intelligence point. I've already notified them. We should receive news about the Valley of No Return within a day at most."
Luke understood. He had to admit, this guy was quite useful.
The group found a cave-suite to settle in. The living conditions were extremely simple, lacking even basic doors and windows. The only advantage was good ventilation.
"Young Master, would you like to go out and look around? You can find a lot of good things here."
"Do you have money?"
"I have a stash hidden in the Valley of the Dead. There are quite a few goods there."
When Adam was the City Lord of Dragonhold, he set up safe houses in many places, just in case. He never expected to use them now.
Learning he had money, Luke immediately invited Diana to go shopping, but was rebuffed. The distracted Amazon Princess had no interest in shopping; she only wanted to return to Earth.
The Underworld was too awful; every second here was a struggle.
Clark and J'onn also declined, so Luke had no choice but to go with Adam.
The two first went to the hiding spot to retrieve the goods, then headed to the busiest street. The area was densely packed with people, and they could see all sorts of creatures.
Adam quietly described the background, origin, race, and abilities of these creatures. Luke listened with interest. When they got to the Demon-Folk (Mo Ren), he couldn't help but ask,
"Are you sure the Demon-Folk are a mixture of Human and Demon?"
"That's what everyone says," Adam pointed to the right. "That shop, the one wearing the black tight armor, that's one of the Demon-Folk."
Luke looked over and his eyes immediately brightened.
What a beautiful, sexy woman!
She was 1.8 meters tall, with horns on her forehead and dark red skin. Her appearance was about 70% similar to that of a human. Her ears were pointed, giving her an elven look. None of that was the most important thing, though. Her figure was perfect: big where it should be big, small where it should be small, round where it should be round, and curvy where it should be curvy.
Adam explained,
"The legend says the ancestors of the Demon-Folk were the offspring of a God from the Human World and a local Demon. After thousands of years of evolution, they gradually became a distinct race. Their strength is formidable; every Demon-Folk warrior has the potential to become a demigod. However, they have a serious problem with fertility."
"What do you mean?"
"They can't produce offspring."
Luke's mind was filled with the topic of "mules." Hybrid offspring had certain congenital advantages but could also face all sorts of problems.
Adam continued, "Most of the Demon-Folk spend their entire lives without having a single child. The sorcerers say it's a bloodline issue—that they are cursed."
"How many Demon-Folk are there?"
"Around one hundred people."
"That few?"
Luke was genuinely stunned. After thousands of years of reproduction, only a hundred descendants? Even the giant panda wasn't that rare.
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