The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 286 Experimental Village

Eric's plan was always to probe the situation here while ensuring his and Natalia's safety.

With Toynbee's cover, they could live openly in the demon village while waiting for their chance, avoiding the cold in the wild.

"Assassinating Xinmagu is obviously unlikely. Even if I had another chance to get close to him, it would be difficult to kill him with one blow."

After lighting a fire in the house, Eric discussed the next steps with Natalia. "According to Toynbee, Sinmagg won't need him most of the time until we kill the new test subject. Staying here for a day or two shouldn't be a problem."

He also specifically inquired about the situation of the demon patrol cavalry and learned that they would be gone for five or six days at a time, and their disappearance would not attract the attention of the camp for the time being.

"Do you still want to go over there and take a look?" Natalia asked.

“Since we’re already here,” Eric nodded. “This is a rare opportunity. We’ll have to deal with Sinmag sooner or later, and the more intelligence we have now, the better for the future.”

Natalia took a deep breath. "I just hope you don't take any risks."

Eric took her hand. "I understand."

The two sat by the fireplace, which was gradually warming up. Natalia pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you think the Old Demon King will come here?"

Before parting ways with them, the old demon king Digott said he wanted to reclaim all his power, and according to Toynbee, the old demon king's Thorn Soul Crown was underground in the camp on the other side.

“When he parted ways with us, he seemed to know where he was going,” Eric said. “He should be coming here.”

Natalia looked at him: "Then he and Simmagus..."

"It's either conflict or cooperation."

Eric continued, "Judging from the old Demon King's attitude towards me, he should be very willing to recruit Simago to his side. However, Simago's attitude is hard to say. It's uncertain who will live and who will die if these two fight. Even if they reach an agreement, it would be a betrayal for the new Demon King on the front lines... In any case, the Demon Clan's rear will be in turmoil."

Natalia said thoughtfully, "Then we should look forward to the old Demon King appearing here soon."

Eric warmed his hands over the fire. "Whenever the Demon King takes action, it will create chaos, which will also help us escape from here."

Natalia responded, and Eric stood up. "Before we go explore the camp, I have some questions for Toynbee. Would you like to come along?"

“Can’t we bring him here?” Natalia retorted. “It’s too cold over there.”

“If it’s too warm, he might not be willing to cooperate, and he’ll have to freeze,” Eric said.

Natalia glanced at him. "So Your Highness has such skills in interrogation and torture."

"It'll only take a few words, come on."

Natalia went out with him, and before entering another wooden house next door, she stopped and looked around. Not a single demon could be seen moving around in the village.

"Is it because Toynbee told them to go back inside when he came in?"

“This is probably the only place where humans can command demons at will. These demons must come from a tribe that the Demon King dislikes,” Eric said, not paying much attention, and pulled Natalia into the house.

Toynbee was lying on the ground, already awake. When he saw the two of them, he mumbled something.

Eric removed the rag from his mouth.

Tears streamed down Toynbee's face. "Please spare me, Your Highness! I won't say anything. If you leave me here, I'll freeze to death!"

“That depends on whether you’re willing to cooperate with me,” Eric said, looking at him.

"Yes! What else do you want to know? I'll tell you everything I know!"

Eric nodded, then asked, "When you move around the camp, do you need any credentials, like a token to enter and exit?"

“No need,” Toynbee replied. “This is the depths of the Demon Realm, Your Highness. No other humans will appear here.”

“Aren’t we?” Natalia asked.

Toynbee looked at her, "The High Priest failed to anticipate that the two princes would travel thousands of miles to assassinate him; it was his mistake..."

"So, if I suddenly appear outside the camp with this unfamiliar face, can I just walk in?" Eric then asked.

"This……"

Toynbee hesitated for a moment, “I’m afraid that won’t work. Just like I told Your Highness, there won’t be any other humans here. The faces of those who came with the High Priest have already been memorized by the demons, and any unfamiliar faces will definitely be questioned.”

He paused, then said, "Why don't I take the two princes in? They recognize me, and as long as one of them recognizes me, they won't suspect anything."

Eric didn't reply. He and Natalia exchanged glances, and Eric said, "It seems unlikely that I can sneak in alone."

She nodded. "I already said it was impossible. You should leave as soon as possible."

Eric glanced at Toynbee. "What about him?"

“Kill him.” Natalia drew her dagger.

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh—"

In the face of life and death, Toynbee struggled like a man who was not weak at all. He kicked his legs wildly with great energy, and Eric almost couldn't hold him down.

"I lied! I can get in!"

His voice suddenly became shrill and hoarse, "No one will stop you, go wherever you want! Your Highness still has a chance to assassinate, don't give up!"

Eric and Natalia exchanged a glance.

"How can you do this to Xinmagu? Didn't you just say you've known him for over ten years?"

Toynbee's face was covered in tears and snot. "What's the use of knowing him for over ten years? Can he come and save me now?"

“Besides, even if I got in, I couldn’t kill him, right?” Eric added for him.

Toynbee opened his mouth, but didn't dare to reply.

"It's so cold." Natalia rubbed her arms. "Can you be honest with us? Do you want us to freeze here with you?"

"What I just said is the truth..."

“Here’s what we’ll do.” Eric took a dirty cloth from the side, but it was cleaner than Toinbi’s face. He wiped Toinbi’s face and then helped him up. “To be honest, I just wanted to go in and take a look. I’m not really that obsessed with assassinating Sinmaggu, but I want to come out alive.”

Toynbee stared at him blankly.

“If I come out alive, Princess Natalia and I will leave immediately, and your life will be spared. But if I don’t come out alive, or… well, if a day passes and I still can’t come out, Princess Natalia will stab you to death with this dagger.”

Eric looked at him. "Now you know what to do, right?"

Natalia cooperated by pulling the dagger she had just put away back out.

Toynbee shuddered, tears streaming down his face.

“Your Highness, ride my sheep back. They won’t stop you… If anyone dares to stop you—I’m talking about demons—as long as Your Highness shouts and curses loudly and shows an arrogant attitude, they won’t dare to make things difficult for you.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Humans really do whatever they want here."

Toynbee continued, “But if someone comes out from underground and bumps into His Highness, I’m helpless… They’ll definitely interrogate any unfamiliar human face.”

"Where is the entrance to the underground laboratory located in the camp? Are there guards at the entrance?" Eric asked.

"It's in the middle of the camp; Your Highness will see it soon after you go in."

Toynbee replied, “There are demon guards inside. If Your Highness wishes to go in, they won’t stop you… but as I said before, if other humans discover you, they will definitely have those demons capture you. If you just want to take a look, it’s best not to go down and risk it. Although the underground area is large, there’s not much there, and it’s easy to get lost.”

Toynbee spoke frankly and earnestly, hoping that Eric would cherish his life, because it was his destiny.

"In other words, if I go in and take a look around honestly and don't encounter anyone, there won't be any danger?" Eric confirmed finally.

Toynbee nodded emphatically, and even Natalia hoped he would really behave himself.

"Alright, I'll leave you to suffer a little longer."

Eric tied him up again, and made sure to light a fire for him in the house so he wouldn't freeze to death.

"Is there anything else to say?" Eric asked one last time before stuffing his mouth shut.

"Your Highness, you must come back alive. Please be careful." Toinbi looked at him, his voice choked with emotion.

"Alright," Natalia said, unable to bear it any longer. "You're more worried than I am."

After gagging and tying him up, Eric and Natalia left this side of the house and returned to the other side.

Aside from a final warning to be careful, Natalia had nothing else to say.

Eric thought for a moment, "If I don't come back in a day..." "I'll kill him."

"Why worry about him? Just run away."

Natalia just looked at him.

"Of course, I won't let that happen."

Eric kissed her forehead, straightened his snow sheep coat to make himself look like a demon if you didn't look at his face, and then rode away on Toynbee's snow sheep.

Before leaving the village, Eric noticed that many demons were peering out from the houses by the roadside.

He looked to one side, and the other person did not avoid his gaze, but just stared at him expressionlessly.

On the other side, a demon woman opened the door and completely exposed herself to him at the entrance.

"..."

Aside from skin color, the bodies of demon women are not much different from those of humans; in fact, their bodies, honed by the cold, appear even more voluptuous.

Eric looked away and suddenly realized why Toynbee preferred to stay here.

He was in charge of selecting experimental subjects for Xinmagu here; for these demons, that meant the power to decide who lived and who died.

Right now, in the eyes of these demons, he, who came with Toynbee, may also possess the same power.

Some choose to endure in silence, while others choose to flatter and fawn to survive.

Eric didn't linger. He kicked the snow sheep beneath him and sped away from the village.

After passing through the woods at the foot of the snow-capped mountain and arriving near the camp on the other side, Eric slowed down and glanced into the distance, but did not see any humans.

He took a deep breath and headed towards the main gate of the camp, getting closer and closer under the watchful eyes of the demon guards on duty at the gate.

The two demon guards looked at each other and then exchanged a few heated words in demon language. Eric didn't understand them, but he could roughly guess what they were arguing about.

"Human." Just as he was about to enter, one of the demon guards finally called out to him in broken Common, "Who are you? I've never seen your face before."

Eric remembered Toynbee's instructions, didn't even glance at it, kicked the snow sheep again, and continued to stagger inside.

"Humanity!"

Another demon guard stepped forward to stop him, and just as its hand was about to grab the snow sheep's horns, Eric cursed and forcefully pressed the staff he had stolen from Toynbee against its chin.

"..."

Their eyes met, and the demon guard's eyes were filled with rage, but after gritting his teeth for a moment, he actually managed to hold back.

The two demon guards bowed down and apologized to him, and Eric then struck each of them once with his staff.

He didn't dare to use too much force, afraid of breaking the slender oak staff.

The two demon guards kept their heads down and endured it until he passed before raising their heads and exchanging heated words in the demon language.

Eric guessed they were either cursing him or accusing each other of being blind.

He ignored them and continued riding the snow sheep, soon spotting a huge tent in the middle of the camp.

That's the entrance to the underground laboratory.

Eric approached that direction, but didn't intend to go in directly. Instead, he wandered around the camp first. What he saw was firsthand intelligence for future actions against this place.

The camp was quite large, roughly square in shape, with watchtowers at all four corners.

In the camp, besides the tent in the middle that concealed the entrance to the underground space, there were many wooden houses around it. The distinct colors of the wood indicated that these wooden houses were not built for long and were probably newly built specifically for Simagu and his followers.

Eric rode his sheep around the camp, feeling the gaze of the demon sentries in the watchtowers above him. He looked up and stared at the demon warrior in the nearest watchtower for a moment, until the latter looked away.

He stopped in front of one of the wooden houses, pushed open the door and went inside. There was no one inside, but the items inside indicated that the house was inhabited.

Eric rummaged through the box but found nothing useful. However, he did find a large gold ingot in the corner. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand. It was quite heavy and looked like it had been recently melted down into an ingot.

He wasn't interested in it, and it was too heavy to carry around, so he put it back.

As Eric emerged from the cabin, the demon sentry on the nearby watchtower looked over again, but as soon as Eric looked up, it immediately looked away.

The more arrogant they are, the less people dare to doubt them; some of these principles also apply to the demon race.

Eric sighed to himself, then swaggered into another nearby cabin, looking as if he were a thief in the act.

Despite breaking into several empty houses, he still didn't gain anything substantial.

He remembered that professionals like mages liked to leave written records, whether it was discoveries in magical research or simple insights, but he couldn't find a single diary or anything like that in these rooms.

After circling around, Eric returned to the tent in the middle of the camp.

Listening carefully to the sounds inside, he lifted the curtain and saw a passage leading underground, constructed of brick and stone, illuminated by cold flames, giving it an eerie white appearance.

On either side of the underground entrance were two demon guards watching him.

"Is Toynbee back?" Eric asked, his tone as casual as if he had just arrived home.

The two demon guards exchanged a glance, their faces showing a complex mix of hesitation. After a moment, one of them shook his head and said, "No."

Eric looked at it. "When did he go out?"

The demon guard seemed to hold his breath, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said he didn't know.

Eric frowned and lowered his head. Seeing this, the guard on the other side dared not ask any more questions.

He glanced down into the passageway, but there was no sound coming from inside.

The line between adventure and death is often blurred.

Eric took a breath and walked down a short distance. A platform appeared in front of him, followed by another downward passage.

He stopped at the platform and looked down. The end of the passage should be the entrance to the underground laboratory, at least twenty meters underground.

The adventure can only go this far; going any further would be suicide.

Eric turned around, and the two guards above simultaneously looked away.

He walked up again and stopped in front of the guard who had spoken to him earlier. "I'm resting in my room. When Toynbee returns, have him come directly to me."

"Yes," the guard replied, glancing at him quickly as if trying to memorize his features.

As Eric emerged from the tent, he glanced around at the watchtowers. It seemed that his trip in and out had granted him some kind of approval, and the number of spying eyes suddenly decreased considerably.

Unless they ventured deeper underground, there was no longer any need to stay here. Eric mounted his snow sheep and staggered out of the camp.

As he passed the guard at the gate, he stopped and poked it with his staff. "If anyone is looking for me, tell them I've gone to see Toynbee."

"Yes," the demon guard replied, his voice colder than the air itself.

Eric kicked the snow sheep and left without looking back.

Once he was a distance from the camp, he picked up speed, crossed the snow forest, and headed straight for the demon village on the other side.

By the end of the day, Eric couldn't even remember how many times he had walked through the woods at the foot of the snow-capped mountain. The sky was getting darker, and it was almost evening.

Upon returning to the demon village, Eric abruptly stopped.

—The demon civilians had already left the house and were now active outdoors again.

Upon seeing him, they all stopped and bowed to him, even more respectfully than when he left.

Eric sensed something was wrong and sped toward the house where Natalia was staying. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw a snow sheep he had never seen before. It was tall but thin and looked quite old.

He glanced around, then went inside. Natalia was unharmed, but her expression was extremely grave.

Their eyes met, and then fell on the person sitting opposite her, Eric's heart sank.

"Despite your repeated rejections, you have repeatedly taken the initiative to approach me. In the end, it was you who chose me, not the other way around, Eric."

Eric walked over to Natalia and sat down, joining her in facing the abrupt visitor.

"It can only be described as a coincidence... Your Majesty the Demon King."

(End of this chapter)