Author's Notes

In the Demon Valley...

The Bi Yi Bird Tribe...

Aranya's Decision to Ye's Despair...

Chapter 33 – Xiangli Aranya's Decision and Shen Ye's Despair

"Yes. I was dumbfounded. She even had an escort and the two of us assigned as servants."

"She was so disadvantaged."

"Well, disadvantaged is an understatement."

"Yes. But now, she is in the same splendor as the first princess who has always been the most favored in the kingdom."

"It was a sudden change."

"Could it be that this change was caused by her helping to capture the merman?"

"So it's true?"

"It's a rumor I heard. After all, they are powerful and many soldiers who witnessed the fight noticed that the jiaoren didn't seem to fight with all their strength because she was there."

"Well, looking at the events, it was probably because of her."

"Yes. Thanks to that, he was captured without much of a fight."

"It was certainly intentional. If it wasn't on purpose, why would she receive so many favors? After all, the second princess A-Ji was never favored and now, she was incredibly favored overnight."

"Yes. Helping to capture the merman would cause such a change considering how much the first princess appreciated him and came to desire him. It is certainly a wonderful gift."

"Of course, the rumors are correct."

Then, they went back to talking about a few more subjects and then walked away.

Even on the verge of unconsciousness, the crown prince of the oceans heard everything and assimilated this information, making him believe it was true.

After all, this would explain why she did not move away from the beach when he started fighting, causing him to be unable to use all of his powers.

Furthermore, Chang Yi saw A-Ji's omission of the information that she was part of the royal family of Dacheng as a lie. If he had known this, he would have been extremely cautious considering the grandmaster's fame and the rumors about this demon master favoring a princess because his fame reached the depths of the ocean as Ning Qing rose to power over the decades.

However, as he was very weak and in excruciating pain, the merman ended up surrendering to unconsciousness and could no longer think.

Dozens of kilometers away from the Demon Valley, the demonic birds had just finished feeding and were now resting on the outcrops of a cliff, exhausted from the relentless pursuit while believing that they had managed to lose their hunters. All were in their human forms to help hide their demonic power, except for a few cubs who had not yet mastered the art of assuming a humanoid form.

Since it was necessary to keep vigil in case the demon masters managed to catch up with the flock that had fled their homeland due to being mercilessly hunted, there were always a few members who stayed awake to watch the surroundings and who took turns to ensure that they got some rest.

The crown princess Xiangli Aranya and the archmage Shen Ye shared one of the steep slopes of the rough rocky wall. The title of crown princess given to Aranya was automatically passed on after the capture of the king and the other princesses by the demon masters and because her older brother had declined the title because he knew that in the current situation they were living in, she was the most suitable for the position.

The young princess slept soundly while her beloved kept a close watch on the surroundings along with a few other watchmen.

The archmage was in charge of the dawn and had just taken over the vigil after having taken a short nap earlier during the evening while his beloved kept watch. He was one of those responsible for the night watch and considered by everyone to be the main member of the group that kept watch during the evening because although all demons could see at night, in terms of long distance vision at night, his clan's vision was better than that of the other clans.

Then, astonished, he saw movement in the distance and used his powers, spreading a magical wave that woke everyone up while also alarming those who were awake.

His beloved quickly wakes up, and then they both help the person responsible for coordinating the escape by deciding the best route to take while questioning themselves how the demon masters managed to find them so quickly.

After all, they had managed to open a huge distance between them, in addition to having hidden the gang's trail as much as possible.

Xiangli He, Aranya's older brother, was responsible for organizing the escape because he had great organizational skills, while Ye and Aranya took on the defense alongside the soldiers.

Both of them fly by summoning only their wings while being followed by soldiers. Prince He doesn't have time to take a second look at his sister while praying in his mind that no one would be captured.

Then, to the fear of the flock, several demon masters appear and promptly, an intense battle occurs with the demons using the terrain in search of a tactical advantage while they become worried when they see demonic bird slaves that follow the orders of their masters.

There was a consensus among them that if someone began to be pulled into a capture box or was caught in a trap to be captured and in both situations they were unable to escape, whoever was closest should launch a deadly attack because death was much better than slavery, even more so when they heard the rumors of the brutal and equally cruel methods that were used against them.

In fact, those who stayed behind to fight preferred death to capture. Initially, the couple and other members of the gang responsible for the battle were able to face the threat because it was necessary to buy time for the others to escape, while the casualties consisted of only two who were killed to avoid being captured. The other soldiers were able to deal with the attacks of enslaved demons and demon masters.

However, they despaired when they saw the unexpected emergence of more demon masters and demon slaves, causing the situation to begin to be brutally reversed, with the attackers gradually managing to suppress the defenders while many were killed by the others so as not to be enslaved.

Fearing the worst when she saw that they were being suppressed and that the other part of the group had not managed to move far enough away, the young woman remembered the only technique that could give her a chance to end the hunt, at least in relation to the group that was chasing them.

Aranya was filled with unbreakable determination and without hesitation, she prepared to execute the technique by concentrating her powers, and then summoned her bow, as well as three special arrows that appeared after making some seals, with Ye widening her eyes when she understood what her beloved was going to do as she raised the bow towards the sky with unwavering determination in her eyes, much to the despair of the archmage.

He tries to stop her, but a barrier she has erected appears between them.

"Aranya! No!"