Chapter 273 — Entering the Hollow

Liora and the Slave Lord stood silently above the gate, as if they were observing something.

It was only a few minutes later that the Slave Lord broke the silence.

"Go in!", she looked at one of the slaves behind her and ordered.

The slave did not try to argue, nor did they plead for mercy.

As if they were born to follow her orders, they jumped into the hole and entered the Hollow’s gate.

"We don’t know what exists on the other side. Although I have gone inside once already and found nothing wrong, some time has passed since then."

"Perhaps someone has set up a trap on the other side during this time.", the Slave Lord explained to Liora, though there was no such need.

Her purpose was obvious.

Liora merely nodded her head and didn’t ask further questions, waiting for the slave inside to send back a message.

Time slowly passed.

None of the True Devils spoke, and the same held true for Alpha and the army of slaves.

They were all waiting for the slave, for the signal to enter the Hollow.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait for long.

A couple of minutes later, the gate of the Hollow shook, and a figure emerged from inside.

It was the slave who had just walked in.

Looking at the two True Devils who were staring at them with inquiring eyes, they didn’t hesitate and spoke up:

"There’s no danger on the other side. I investigated the perimeter and found nothing."

"It’s completely safe."

The slave’s words made the Slave Lord breathe a sigh of relief.

She had been making preparations to go inside the Hollow for quite some time and had spent a lot of effort.

If she were to find that she was blocked outside and could not gain any benefits, she would have gone into a frenzy.

"Let’s go, then.", the Slave Lord said, gesturing for her subordinates to come.

Without speaking up, the slaves jumped inside the hole one after another, passing through the gate and entering the demi-plane.

After she watched the last of them leap inside, the Slave Lord nodded to Liora and did the same.

Only Liora and Alpha remained outside.

For a second, Liora had the strange thought to block the gate and trap the Slave Lord inside.

She really wanted to see what would happen if this True Devil faced such a situation.

However, she quickly suppressed that thought.

"I don’t believe that this woman is that stupid."

"Since she dares to invite me to explore together, she must have the confidence to escape or even defeat me in case of my betrayal.", she analyzed.

Since that was the case, there was no reason to give it a try for now.

At the very least, Liora had to see some benefits before betraying her ally.

Thinking of this, she didn’t linger any longer.

After activating Void Whisper and making sure that there was no danger, she also jumped into the hole, followed by Alpha.

Liora’s downwards momentum only stopped for a brief moment, during which a dozen scarlet drops were scattered around.

Then, both she and Alpha passed through the gate.

The gray sand’s speed increased and engulfed them both, as the gate swallowed their figures and led them to another space.

--

Liora remained alert as her demonic energy surged, ready to meet any sneak attack that came her way upon her landing.

She was cautious, not only towards the Hollow and its dangerous environment, but also towards her so-called ally, the Slave Lord.

Yet, all the preparations she had made proved meaningless.

The moment Liora opened her eyes again, she didn’t face any attack, nor any danger.

Instead, she found herself in a large green plain filled with colorful flowers and beautiful plants.

The air was fresh and devoid of the pungent smells native to the Demon World, while the atmosphere was calm and quiet.

All in all, this place looked completely different from the dangerous place described by the Slave Lord and the rumors Liora had heard in Bloodflower City.

"It’s strange, isn’t it?", Liora heard a voice from behind, coming from the Slave Lord.

"Although this place is rich in fire elements just like the Inferno Valley, its environment is nothing like it."

"If anything, this Hollow looks more like those carefree worlds found in the Origin Sea.", the Slave Lord commented.

Though she had seen this place in the past, she was still surprised by its wonderful appearance.

After all, one had to know that this demi-plane was considered a part of the Demon World.

Yet, its appearance was so bizarre, completely out of place.

After giving Liora some time to take in the environment and calm down, the Slave Lord spoke up again.

"However, don’t be fooled by its appearance."

"Even though this place looks beautiful, it’s still quite dangerous, even for True Devils like us."

"I didn’t go too deep last time I came, but I was attacked several times during my short journey. According to my experience, a strange type of creature exists within this Hollow.", the Slave Lord reminded her.

"This creature is composed of fire, just like the Fire Elementals. Though they are not as powerful as them, they possess a strange ability: they are undetectable to both—"

Before the Slave Lord could finish her words, a loud shout rang out, interrupting her.

When Liora turned her head, she discovered that it came from one of the several hundred slaves, who found themselves being attacked.

The creature who injured them possessed the form of a large cat, like a cheetah, except that its body was composed purely of flames.

Its strength was not very strong, equivalent to an ordinary Lesser Devil, yet it was able to injure one of the army’s members.

The next moment, Liora understood why that was.

Just when the slaves around the attacked person worked to kill the cat, another creature emerged from the ground and rushed at them.

This creature was also composed of flames, with the difference being that it was snake-shaped.

With its mouth opening, the snake swallowed several of the army’s members in one gulp.

Liora did not take any action to stop them.

Her eyes flickered as her consciousness swept around and tried to investigate the attacking creatures.

However, she was surprised to find that her soul could not detect them. It was as if they were not real creatures, but ghosts existing in a different dimension.

"A type of creature invisible to consciousness search?"

"No wonder the Slave Lord brought so much cannon fodder with her.", she couldn’t help but think, secretly taking a glance at this True Devil, wanting to see how she would react.

Although the Slave Lord had no feelings towards these people, she was still quite angry when she witnessed several of them die in front of her.

Just like Liora thought, all these people were her slaves.

However, despite their identity, she had spent countless resources and many years cultivating them.

Each of them was an elite among Lesser Devils, an elite that would follow her orders and would never betray her.

"Damn it!", she couldn’t help but curse, and without any hesitation, she took action.

Several black chains emerged from her back and shot forward, whistling through the air and firing at the flaming creatures.

Although these beings were obviously not very powerful, it remained a fact that they were only Lesser Devils.

Facing the Slave Lord’s casual attack, they were unable to resist.

Within moments, the chains had reached them and wrapped around their bodies, before tightening and causing them to explode.

In mere seconds, the two creatures were dead, transforming into lifeless flames that soon burned out.