I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

The only ones directly addressed as "Ancestor" by the Lesser Ancestor are naturally the three Ancestors of the Demon Race.

The Den Den Mushi, a precious ultra-long-range communication device capable of traversing most of the starry sea to contact the progenitor of the demon race, is unique in the entire Eastern Universe Sea. It is rarely used unless there is a very important event, such as the discovery of another planet in the demon race's liberation plan.

While the demons were discussing the matter, one of them suddenly sighed: "There is something I shouldn't tell you. Just two days ago, Lord Athos, the Demon Prince, secretly infiltrated the Eastern Universe Sea. I wonder what mission Lord Beelzebub entrusted to him."

"Lord Yato?"

The others were initially surprised, then delighted.

The demons who light the three lamps, if they are not progenitors but blood-borne hybrids, are called demon children. They are the most powerful force under the progenitors of the demon race, and their numbers are small. Even Beelzebub, one of the three progenitors, only had seven of them!

Ato is one of them. He has made a great name for himself on the battlefield against the Celestial Dragons’ extermination army. How could he secretly sneak into the East Universe Sea?

This wasn't the first time; Lord Ato had secretly come to the Eastern Universe Sea several times. The demon who spoke thought to himself, and therefore, he felt that Ato wasn't carrying out any important mission.

"I will contact Lord Athos."

The progenitor of the demon race took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed a number. After a brief exchange, Ato on the other end of the Den Den Mushi said calmly, "Wait for my orders."

Chapter 168 The Only L4 Demon Hunter

A desolate planet near Peploton.

The towering demon man, over six meters tall, lay on his back, hung up the Den Den Mushi, and dialed Beelzebub, saying, "Father, the intelligence is wrong. Gaston Figo, the newly crowned number one swordsman of the Eastern Universe Sea, is a barbarian whose body and weapon are both enshrined in fire, not a swordsman."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. Beelzebub had clearly not expected this to happen either. After a moment, he asked, "Have you already met him, Athos?"

"Not yet." Ato told Beelzebub the information he had just learned, "Father, are we still going to take action? Killing such a guy will cause quite a stir, and I'm afraid I won't be able to hide my tracks and it will be exposed that I did it."

Once exposed, it won't be easy for him to return to the Central Universe from the Eastern Universe Sea. The Celestial Dragons won't let go of the opportunity to kill him, one of Beelzebub's seven demon sons.

“Then let’s do something while we’re at it,” Beelzebub said hoarsely. “In 17 days, a group of our people who have been captured will be transported to Tianlong Star by airship from East Cyos. Coincidentally, the people of our people in the East Universe Sea have gathered because of Gaston Figo. You can lead them to rescue the captured people.”

"That's what happened to Gaston Figo..."

Is he still with Ana?

“It seems so. I had only confirmed that Pengli Ana had stayed in Peploton for three months, but now it seems that she was waiting for Gaston Figo to return from hunting down her people.”

"...Waited for him for three months?" Beelzebub seemed somewhat surprised, with an intrigued tone: "This is the first time that human girl has spent so much time with someone else. It seems that the 'First Sword Saint' is someone she trusts very much. I really want to see her expression when that sword saint dies because of her, Athos."

However, if they don't happen to be on East Cyos, then don't kill him this time. Save your people, and return to the Central Star Region immediately. I'll have Sangzi come to pick you up.

"Yes, Father."

"Also, if you encounter them, do not harm Ana." Beelzebub paused, then added, "Atho, this will be very dangerous, so be careful."

A flicker of emotion finally appeared on Ato's triangular face: "Yes, Father!"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Ato looked up at the starry sky.

'Ato, go and kill XX, but don't harm Ana.'

'Ato, go and kill XXX... but don't hurt the human girl.'

Memories of the past flashed through his mind, and Yato's red-rimmed eyes flickered slightly.

Father, that woman must be more than just a plaything to you, right? Every time, you would specifically instruct me not to harm her life, without missing a single one.

Even I'm a little jealous of your 'concern' for her. This is the first time you've told me to 'be careful,' Father.

A hideous smile appeared on Ato's triangular face.

……

Pepplowton, Hunter's Guild.

Figo and Ana were reviewing the intelligence gathered over the past three months in front of the cyborg.

Two of them mention the destruction of the three demon race teams hunted by Figo, and some people are wondering which demon hunters were responsible.

One of the comments mentioned the dragon again, finally showing its face, with a clear shoe print on its profile.

There was no intelligence on the movements of the demon race.

Ana wasn't surprised. "The eight demon teams were wiped out within three months. If we don't tell them, it might take the demon hunters a year or two to find out. But it's definitely spread within the demon race. It will be harder to find them now, but it's nothing to me."

As a veteran hunter, Ana has a strong ability to filter intelligence. Previously, Hobilon was also a source of information she selected at Figo's request, indicating a possible encounter with a powerful demon race.

She quickly helped Figo choose a target and asked, "Shall we rest for two days before setting off? This time, the target doesn't seem to require such a rush."

"Yeah, let's have a good meal first. It's been so many days since we had a proper meal." Figo nodded. "Oh right, I almost forgot. Did that demon hunter who was looking for the hometown of the four Lox responded to the intelligence you released last time?"

At this point, Ana's expression turned strange, she shook her head slightly, and switched to the intelligence report.

'Is that Lady Pengli Ana, the Forgotten Daughter? It's no secret that the newly crowned First Sword Saint of the Eastern Universe Sea, Gaston Figo, suddenly appeared and became famous on Sword Star. Lady Ana joined forces with him to kill the Sharp-Toothed Demon Tilleya.'

If this is you, is this the intelligence that Lord Gaston Figo deliberately passed on?

I didn't expect him to be from the same planet as the Rocks Pirates. I apologize for the offense; I will not pursue the matter further.

"How should I answer?" Ana asked with a smile.

Figo paused for a moment, then smiled.

The fact that they noticed the Rocks Pirates and deduced that they came from a planet with a demon liberation plan shows that they are indeed quite intelligent. This is the first time that their sting operation has been so easily and decisively exposed.

But the fish might still take the bait!

"No need to answer, just leave it here."

Ana nodded, returned to the intelligence interface, and let out a soft exclamation: "There's a newly released intelligence report that's marked as urgent?"

"I have learned by chance that six groups of demons, each with lit lamps, have gathered unusually. The specifics are unclear, but their target may be captured demons to be transported from East Cyos to Tianlong in 17 days. I hope L-rank hunters will be prepared."

Ana and Figo exchanged a glance.

"Gathered for me?" Figo immediately deduced, "Then what about the captured demons transported from East Cyos?"

"It's probably because of a misunderstanding on your part."

As I told you before, captured demons are transported to the Demon Suppression Prison, where their bloodlust is dulled and they are then turned into Devil Fruits by the Celestial Dragons.

That place is a transit planet, home to at least five beings at the second level of the Light Realm, and one king who has lit the Light three times. Its defensive capabilities are extremely strong, and the demon race of the Eastern Universe Sea lacks the power to attack it.

Ana said, "It seems that your operation of hunting down eight demon race teams within three months has indeed aroused the demon race's suspicion and targeted them..."

She looked at Figo, letting him make the decision himself. Figo thought for a moment and asked, "Are there many demons transported to East Cyos?"

Ana was taken aback: "There are probably several hundred in the same batch. Most of them are guys who didn't light their lamps. It's very difficult to capture those who did light their lamps alive."

“I want to go and see,” Figo said.

Uh, why? It's because of your misunderstanding. The demons won't attack that place.

Ana didn't understand.

……

Meanwhile, in the central star region.

Beelzebub, who was only three meters tall and unremarkable, stood in front of a cyborg life form about the same height as Figoana, looking at the light screen.

'Pengli Ana, I have read it.'

"What a coincidence," he murmured, and exited the intelligence he had just posted.

In the upper right corner of the screen, it is marked: Demon Hunter, Level L4, with the highest privileges.

The only... Level 4 in Devil Hunter!

----------

Chapter 169 East Cyos

'Your spaceship has arrived at the East Cyos Star Ring. Please...'

Accompanied by the broadcast of the Den Den Mushi, Figo and Ana stepped off the airship one after the other.

The ground beneath his feet was unusually thick and heavy, enough to affect his Observation Haki, but not enough to stop Figo's senses. Using his Observation Haki to probe downwards, he could detect the presence of a membrane a thousand meters away.

That is the protective membrane of the planet East Cyos.

So in fact, Figo and Ana were still in an extraterrestrial environment, in the cosmos. Ana, whose body had not yet been ignited, did not feel lost at all. In fact, some ordinary people with only R-level or N-level powers could walk freely in their vicinity.

Everything originates from a silvery-white dome, resembling a planet's protective membrane, located thousands of meters above the ground.

It is called an artificial star ring, one of the Celestial Dragons' highest technologies. It can use the protective membrane of a planet as a base to expand the planet into an outer layer for defense and protection.

Figo walked and observed.

I really want to make one for Qinghai too.

Once Qinghai is exposed to the demon race's sight, he is not worried about the attacking demon race, but he is afraid that if the battle breaks out on its own territory, Qinghai's islands and buildings will suffer large-scale destruction.

With this thing, we'll be safe.

After hearing his question, Ana said, "In the entire Eastern Universe Sea, there are only a dozen or so planets with star rings. Without exception, those planets have all produced kings who lit three or even four lamps, and they have all accepted the Celestial Dragons' recruitment and fought for the Celestial Dragons. Some of them have even become Celestial Dragons themselves."

Figo immediately understood the conditions and stopped considering them for the time being. His Observation Haki activated again, and he looked into the distance. He felt a slight tremor in the earth, and several earthen mounds appeared in the distance—no, several people carrying earthen mounds a hundred meters high on their backs!

Those people, regardless of gender, all had extremely strong muscles and were all over five meters tall. From their appearance, they were almost equivalent to Figo after he fully unlocked his physique. Their facial features were also extremely rugged, and their curly hair and thick body hair were wet with sweat. They emitted an unpleasant smell from a kilometer away, like wild beasts!

"They are the barbarians responsible for maintaining the star ring."

“This is the first time I’ve seen this, but I’ve been called a barbarian quite a lot,” Figo laughed.

Barbarians are also a branch of the human race. They are born with strong physiques, but compared to other races, they are far inferior in average intelligence and have a poor living environment, so they work for other races everywhere.

For these reasons, barbarians are looked down upon by many races, and calling other races' physical kings "barbarians" is a derogatory term!

At this moment, two of the barbarians who were walking on the mountain in the distance suddenly stopped. They looked like a couple. The male barbarian carefully unloaded the earthen mound on his back and quickly went over to help the female barbarian wipe the sweat from her eyes.

As the two interacted, they exchanged simple and genuine smiles. Then, seemingly noticing Figo and Ana's gaze, they turned around and gave them a憨憨 (simple and honest) smile.

Figo responded with a smile.

"It seems your first impression of the barbarians is quite good?" Ana asked.

“Not barbarians, but them. That barbarian man just said, ‘Hang in there a little longer, Naika’s tuition is still a bit short.’ Parents like that deserve respect,” Figo said. “But speaking of tuition? What are those barbarian children learning?”

"It's probably on Academy Island on the planet East Cyos. Every year, many children from various planets in the Eastern Universe are sent to Academy Island by their parents to receive elite education in the Celestial Dragons' style. Children with outstanding grades can even win the opportunity to move to Celestial Dragons after graduation."

Ana smiled wistfully, with a hint of sarcasm, "This was a chance to 'change my fate' and even become a Celestial Dragon. If that hadn't happened on Planet Eisen, I might have been sent to the Academy Island on Planet Ciceoz."

Studying abroad or getting a green card?

Figo smiled and said nothing more.