This assassin is upright

Chapter 362 Pema's Deal

Lord Pema?

Udir's eyes suddenly darkened.

She quickly turned her head to look at the figure sitting atop the tower, exuding an immense and terrifying oppressive aura like a giant mountain.

The other party seemed to notice Udyr's gaze, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, a sly smile playing on his lips.

Why would the other party target me?

Udir was filled with doubt.

She asked herself if she had done anything special in the demon market, and among the powerful demons, she was inconspicuous.

Could it be because of the scent of blood on my body?
Thinking of this, Udir's heart sank.

"What, do we have to invite you?" One of the demons who was blocking the way looked impatient when he saw that Udyr hadn't moved for a long time. "It's your good fortune to be summoned by Lord Pema."

"If your delay angers Lord Pema, with Lord Pema's power, he could easily turn you to ashes!"

"Hurry up and come with us!"

“I remember…” Udyr said calmly, “In the Demon Market, fighting is not allowed; violators will be executed.”

"Chi~"

Another demon scoffed, "So what?"

"Can you really stay in this demon market forever?"

"You have defied Lord Pema's will. The moment you leave the market will be the moment you turn to ashes!"

“No.” Udyr shook his head slightly, his eyes cold. “What I mean is… this rule should also apply to lords, right?”

She slowly turned around, facing the direction of Lord Pema, and shook her head slightly at Tata, who looked nervous and worried, to signal him not to come forward. Then she walked step by step toward the tower and the figure at its top.

“I’d like to see what Lord Pema wants from me.”
-
"You dare to show yourselves again!"

With a low, angry shout from Lord Paka, the entire Demon Market fell silent instantly. Pairs of eyes followed Paka's gaze and looked at Yu Zhu and Lu Wen, who had just entered the Demon Market.

A bead of cold sweat silently slid down Yu Zhu's forehead.

They had just encountered the other party not long ago, and despite trying every means, they were ultimately unable to completely defeat him. Unexpectedly, they met again on a narrow road, and when they randomly entered a market, Paka was there too.

However, thinking of the words that appeared before her eyes when she entered the light shield, Yu Zhu's tense mood gradually relaxed.

In the demon market, those who fight will die.

This rule was most likely set by the Underworld himself, and it is believed that even Paka, one of the four lords, would have to abide by it.

Therefore, Paka was unable to attack them while in the market!
Realizing this, Yu Zhu quickly regained her composure. She straightened her chest and looked at Paka with a hint of disdain.

"Why wouldn't this Dragon King dare to come?"

“That’s right!” Lu Wen chimed in, drawing his longsword and pointing it at Paka atop the tower, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"A defeated opponent dares to boast? How laughable!"

As his words fell, the entire demon market fell into an eerie silence, with countless demons looking on in horror and confusion.

A defeated opponent...?
Is this referring to Lord Paka?!
Paka, one of the four lords, actually lost?

For a moment, countless demons looked in astonishment at the figure atop the tower, whose towering figure seemed to shatter at that instant.

Sensing the thoughts of the other demons, Paka's expression instantly darkened. He stared intently at Yu Zhu and Lu Wen, his eyes flashing with chilling killing intent. After a long while, he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Good! Courageous!"

The next instant, Paka's figure suddenly disappeared from the top of the tower and appeared in front of Yu Zhu and Lu Wen. His terrifying aura soared into the sky, like two huge mountains pressing down on Yu Zhu and Lu Wen.

Sensing the peak magical power of Paka's rage, Yu Zhu and Lu Wen's expressions tensed up simultaneously. But seeing that the other party made no further move, a sly smile quickly appeared on Lu Wen's face.

"How are you? You can't beat me, are you feeling bad?"

He moved closer step by step, his face almost touching Paka's, and raised an eyebrow at Paka's gloomy, pot-bottom-like expression.

"Killing is prohibited, do you understand?"

As he spoke, he reached out a hand and gently patted his cheek, "You hit me, huh?"

"Hit me!"

"Fight! Why don't you fight?"

Paka: "..."

The demons: "..."

Yu Zhu covered his face in anguish, suddenly feeling a strong sense of helplessness, not wanting others to know that he and Lu Wen were teammates.

Paka clenched his fists tightly, his sharp claws piercing his palms, and drops of purplish-black demonic blood dripped onto the ground.

He took a deep breath, barely suppressing the urge to explode, and snapped his fingers.

"Crack~"

With a crisp sound, the tower that was originally located in the center of the Demon Market disintegrated into countless dark fragments, which quickly covered the highest point of the blood-red light shield, and then spread outwards from the highest point, seemingly to completely cover the entire blood-red light shield.

Upon seeing this, the demons in the market cried out in alarm and then ran frantically towards the outside of the market.

“This…” Lu Wen swallowed hard. “What’s going on?”

"I don't know..." Yu Zhu looked around nervously.

Apart from them, all the demons were frantically fleeing the market.

"Should we run too?" Lu Wen muttered softly.

Yu Zhu couldn't help but glare at him.

Where can we run to?
Once you leave the market, there are no rules prohibiting killing!
At that time, Paka will probably make a move against them again.

Moreover, given their status, they certainly don't lack followers.

They're going to get ganged up on!

"Stay here and observe the situation," Yu Zhu said in a deep voice, looking at the blood-red light shield that was almost completely covered.

Even being trapped here is better than being besieged.
-
"Pfft-"

Yu Zhun plunged his dagger into the chest of the invading demon, watching as the man turned to ashes in despair.

The next instant, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Yu Zhun, and amidst the overwhelming demonic energy, a terrifying claw mark ripped fiercely toward Yu Zhun's back.

But before the attack could land on Yu Zhun, he and the attacker were completely consumed by the golden holy fire that appeared out of nowhere.

"Bear--"

With a low, explosive sound, the attacker was burned to ashes before he could even let out a wail.

After the battle ended, Yu Zhun casually picked up the insect coins and beads dropped by the demons and looked at Helmod, who was quickly approaching.

"Another bumper harvest."

“Yes.” Helmod nodded slightly. “The three demons together have a total of two hundred thousand insect coins.”

“The closer it gets to the blood food auction, the more anxious the demons outside the market become,” Yu Zhun shook his head helplessly. “These demons are frantically killing and robbing each other’s insect coins to ensure they can secure one of the four spots.”

"Under these circumstances, who would carefully consider the deeper meaning behind the lord's various arrangements?"

“Yes.” Helmod nodded in agreement, then looked at Yu Zhun, “So we really have to go find Pema?” “You know, that guy is much stronger than Rachel.”

"There is a very high chance that the two of us are no match for each other."

“Even if it’s not, we still have to try.” Yu Zhun sighed. “If our prediction is correct, then Pema may know the rules of the fourth level. If he is willing to reveal these rules, then we can make more preparations before entering the fourth level.”

“If he’s unwilling…” A sharp glint flashed in Yu Zhun’s eyes, “then we’ll have no choice but to have a showdown.”

How far are we from the market where Pema is?

"It's quite far." Helmod glanced at the map of the demon market he had acquired with a high price in insect coins.

"The market where Leki is located is almost opposite to the market where Pema is located. Even if we go at full speed, it will take us more than two days."

"Can you arrive before the auction..." Yu Zhun nodded slightly, "That would be good."

“Besides that,” Helmod paused, “if we go in a straight line, we will most likely encounter Paka, another of the four lords, before we meet Pema.”

"The one ranked third?" Yu Zhun raised an eyebrow. "He's not as strong as Rachel, so he's not much of a threat."

"If we don't run into them, fine; if we do, we'll take them all out at once."

"I'll listen to you." Helmod nodded and said no more.

The two followed the map and walked forward, and time passed little by little. A day later, they both stopped.

"Have you noticed that we've been encountering more demons lately?" Yu Zhun looked around with some confusion.

“Indeed.” Helmod nodded. “Perhaps over time, more and more demons are participating in the hunting and plundering.”

"They're really going crazy for those four spots."

"No, it doesn't seem that way."

Yu Zhun shook his head slightly, disagreeing with Hermod's statement. He frowned and thought of the last demon he had killed. The demon was clearly terrified of him, but still gritted his teeth and attacked relentlessly.

The feeling was like being forced to participate in a killing.

“I have a feeling that something unusual might be happening in this area.” As he spoke, Yu Zhun couldn’t help but look around.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a certain spot.

It was a tiny black dot at the edge of the field of vision, almost blending into the deep darkness around it, and impossible to detect.

The reason Yu Zhun was able to notice it was because…

“I remember there’s a market over there?” Yu Zhun looked at Helmod and suddenly spoke up, “The market where Paka is.”

“Yes.” Helmod looked in the same direction, seemingly noticing something unusual as well. “That market is a little different.”

Yu Zhun paused for a moment, then slowly spoke, "If I remember correctly, this should be the closest market to the surrounding area, right?"

“Yes.” Helmod nodded, then, noticing Yu Zhun’s expression, his gaze shifted. “Do you have any new ideas?”

“Let’s go take a look,” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice.

For some reason, seeing that black dot gave him a strong sense of unease.
-
"clang--"

Udyr, holding a longbow, slammed it down on the cage in front of him, causing it to explode with a sharp crack.

But this all-out attack had no effect whatsoever.

Looking at the undamaged cage, Udir's expression grew even more gloomy.

Miscalculated.

She never expected that, unable to carry out the killing within the Demon Market, the four lords would actually manage to trap the others.

What they rely on is a special creation called the Lord's Tower, which is a tall tower that exists in the place where each lord is stationed.

This special creation can greatly isolate cause and effect; any action taken using the Lord's Tower will not be considered a killing as long as it does not result in a death.

A shadow as large as a mountain appeared in his peripheral vision. Udyr looked up at Pema, whose strength was terrifyingly profound, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.

Why are you trapping me?

She had been trapped for a day and still couldn't figure it out.

This guy named Pema said he wanted to see her, but when she actually came before him, he didn't say a word and directly trapped her in this unbreakable cage.

Furthermore, she never sensed any murderous intent or even malice from the other party throughout the entire process.

Pema looked at Udir in the cage, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly spoke, "For the deal."

"A deal?" Udyr frowned, his confusion only growing stronger.

Have I been treated as some kind of commodity?
Then...

Who is the other party going to trade with?
Seemingly sensing Udir's confusion, Pema slowly spoke, "When your partner steps in front of me, that's when the deal begins."

"And you are an important bargaining chip."

Udir's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Pema with a strong sense of vigilance and wariness.

How did Pema know that Yu Zhun and the others would find their way here?
What is the deal he's going to make with Yu Zhun and the others?
"arrive."

Yu Zhun and Helmod stopped in their tracks and looked at the dark light barrier in front of them.

“Interesting.” Yu Zhun carefully placed one hand on the light shield, then withdrew it, his eyes gleaming.

"Someone used a special ability to create a new light shield outside the blood-red light shield of the Demon Market."

"This layer of light shield blocks the absorption of insect coins by the blood-red light shield, which is equivalent to preventing the demons from paying the entrance fee."

"In other words... without breaking through this new light barrier, no one can enter the Demon Market."

"No wonder there are so many demons around here. They are probably all demons who were forced to leave the demon market because of this."

“In the third level of the Netherworld, it seems that only a demon at the level of a fourth lord is capable of doing this,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “If I’m not mistaken, it should be the work of Paka.”

"According to the information I obtained about the four lords, Paka's ability is similar to telekinesis, allowing him to create things from nothing and control objects."

"It does correspond to the light shield in front of us."

"However, I don't quite understand why they did that."

“I don’t quite understand it either,” Yu Zhun said calmly, a cold glint in his eyes, “but I intend to shatter it.”

"Break it?" Helmod was taken aback. "If we break this light shield, it's tantamount to provoking Paka."

"Perhaps it would be better to go around here and find Pema?"

"Do not."

Yu Zhun slowly drew his dagger from the void and looked at the light shield.

He felt a strong tremor from inside the light shield, a powerful premonition that was hard to explain.

Within this sealed-off light barrier were his closest people.

"Yu Zhu is inside."

"What?!" Helmod's expression changed, and he raised his staff high, a ball of holy fire appeared out of thin air and quickly spread to the entire light barrier.

Amidst a series of eerie, teeth-grinding sounds, Yu Zhun plunged his dagger fiercely into the ignited dark light barrier.

"Click——"

(End of this chapter)