Luo Li looked at the bubbling seafood medley in the pot.
Even as hungry as she was, she couldn't find anything appetizing about this mess.
These demons had low intelligence, so the fact that they could even start a fire and cook their food was impressive enough.
Inside the large pot were crabs, mantis shrimp, squid, and shells—basically everything one could find on a beach.
There were even some rotten fish bones.
She didn't even know where they had gotten the water.
"Sigh... I'll just dump it out."
After a moment of thought, Luo Li looked up at the sky, which was still covered in dark clouds.
Although she had considered every possibility during the retreat, she had still ended up with the worst possible outcome.
She was stranded alone on the demon island.
Was this a case of even the best-laid plans being no match for fate?
Her sharp nails lightly gripped the rim of the pot.
Even though the large pot looked like it weighed at least two or three hundred pounds, it felt light as a feather to her now.
She lifted it effortlessly.
At the same time, she had to be careful not to puncture the pot.
In her demonized state, her gauntlets were as sharp as any sword.
With just a little force, she could easily poke a hole through solid rock, let alone a thin iron pot.
She dumped out the contents of the pot and then placed it under the heavy rain to rinse it.
She had been a bit curious about how these demons cleaned their pots, but seeing the dried sponges nearby, she couldn't help but sigh.
Necessity really was the mother of invention.
These demons had actually learned how to use sponges.
She left the iron pot outside to collect rainwater.
Rainwater was at least fresh water, far better than the bitter and fishy seawater.
Hiding back in the cave, she looked at the three or four-meter-high stack of dry hay.
At this moment, she missed her Saint's Carriage immensely.
The industrial revolution of this era hadn't fully manifested yet. Although some things were beginning to touch upon industrialization, most had not.
Furthermore, clean energy made up a large portion of this world's power, as mana itself didn't produce any waste.
Because of this, the sky and clouds in this world were very clean, and the rainwater contained no impurities.
She placed the pot full of rainwater over the stone-built fire pit and spent some effort cleaning up the corpses.
Though a faint scent of blood still lingered in the cave, the sea breeze quickly blew it away.
Watching the steam gradually rise from the iron pot, Luo Li began to analyze her current situation.
First and foremost, she was likely stranded alone on the demon island.
A very critical problem now was that she had to return to the mainland in a short amount of time.
Otherwise, the Kingdom of the Moon would completely defect to the Holy See.
If that happened, the entire human kingdoms would inevitably fall into chaos.
The seven Saintesses keeping the Pope in check was the balance the Eight Nations of the Holy Church had maintained for a thousand years.
Once broken, internal conflict within the human race would erupt instantly.
The Kingdom of the Sun was currently being invaded by the demon army, and its four islands were uninhabitable for the time being.
Momoka was heavily injured, and though Luo Li didn't know the full extent of it, the term 'heavily injured' implied serious trouble.
With Momoka of the Kingdom of the Sun out of the picture, the pressure on the Holy See had naturally decreased.
If the Kingdom of the Moon defected now, the balance of power across the human kingdoms would be shattered in an instant.
Before she left, she had made preparations for various scenarios, mainly focusing on the possibility of her own death.
Of course, she had given herself a buffer period.
Three months.
If she truly fell into the hands of the demon race, within those three months, she would either be completely finished or she would have enough time to return to the mainland.
She had thought of every possibility, except for one: she didn't know where she was.
However, judging by the direction of the ocean currents and the movement of the clouds, she was fairly certain she was currently east of the evacuation point.
It was hard to say exactly how many kilometers away she was, but it had to be at least a hundred.
After all, there were massive ice floes, groups of soldiers, and dragons back there.
Looking toward the west, she couldn't see a single trace of a dragon.
So... where on earth was she?
Staring at the cloud-covered sky, Luo Li fell into a daze.
She didn't know what lay ahead, nor what would happen next.
This was the demon island!
From what she had seen of the demon army, there wasn't a single female soldier.
The entire demon army was composed entirely of males.
Why?
Did the demon race not have females?
No, from a biological standpoint, that was highly unlikely.
There had to be female demons, but where were they?
Were they in the Demon King's Castle?
Were they all being used as breeding beds?
Surely not. She could understand using females of other races as breeding beds, but would they do the same to their own kind?
As she pondered, the drowsiness that comes after a full stomach began to wash over her.
She had barely slept in the twenty-four hours since the retreat began.
Now, after falling from the sky and being pushed to this beach by the undercurrents, fatigue had seeped deep into her bones.
The exhaustion made her thoughts sluggish, and her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open.
"I'll just sleep for a bit... Hopefully, when I wake up, I can go home."
Even though she knew it was impossible, she said it anyway to soothe her uneasy heart.
She didn't know how long she slept. The wind continued to howl outside, and the storm showed no signs of stopping. If anything, it seemed to be intensifying.
"Hey! You wild dogs! Where did you all go?"
In her haze, a coarse voice suddenly reached her ears.
Luo Li, who was naturally alert, was jolted awake from her dream!
She instinctively turned her head toward the cave entrance.
Outside the cave, she could vaguely see two or three figures.
She looked back into the cave. The fire in front of her had gone out, leaving only a few lingering sparks.
She might have slept for an entire day. She wasn't sure exactly how long.
But now, there were people outside?
No, they were demons.
Hearing the voice, Luo Li instinctively stood up. She glanced around and quickly dove into the hay bale.
She pulled some hay over herself to hide her body, leaving only a small gap to peer outside.
"Hmm? Where did all these wild dogs go? Don't they want this month's supplies?"
"Yeah... Usually, on a day like this, these wild dogs would rush up like crazy to grab the food. Why is it so quiet today?"
Those two voices sounded very rational.
To possess reason, they had to be high-level demons. At the very least, they were level ten or twenty.
"There's a scent of blood. They were probably killed by some wandering kin."
A third person spoke. His tone made it sound as if he had just seen a dead rat on the side of the road.
There wasn't a hint of pity in his voice, not even a shred of grief. He just said it casually.
"Well, that's fine. Without these wild dogs, we won't have to come to this remote place next time."
"Hey! Did you hear? Apparently, the Saintess of the Moon fell into the sea."
"Why'd you change the subject so abruptly? But... yeah, I heard His Majesty had the feathered serpent tribe knock her into the ocean."
"Yeah! Could it be that they were the ones who..."
"Are you joking? That Saintess of the Moon is only level ten. She doesn't have any combat ability at all."
"True. No matter how weak these wild dogs were, there were still over a dozen of them. They couldn't have been killed by a level-ten human."
"Hahaha! Alright, since the wild dogs here are gone, let's head back. I'm already losing my patience."
"Right, right. A new batch of females just arrived recently. They're real tender~"
As they spoke, the three demons walked directly into the cave.
Two of them approached the fire pit, while the third stayed at the entrance, not coming inside.
Behind the three of them, there seemed to be a massive creature whose body blocked half the cave entrance.
This almost completely blocked her escape route.
"Haha, I knew it. You'll probably just eat them after you're done. What a waste. Anyone who falls into your hands gets eaten alive. Can't you use them as breeding beds first before eating them?"
"What do you know? Is the meat still good after you're done with it?"
The two demons approached the fire pit as they spoke.
But just then, the demon outside suddenly shouted.
"Who's in there?!"
The two demons who had already entered turned back to look at their companion at the entrance, completely bewildered.
"Are you blind? It's just the two of us in here."
"Exactly. We're right here. What are you shouting for?"
The demon at the entrance had been prepared for a fight, but the idiocy of his companions left him breathless and furious.
"You two are the blind ones! I'm asking you, if you were the ones who killed the wild dogs, would you have cleaned this place up?"
"Look for yourselves! That iron pot is full of clean water. If you had killed the wild dogs here, would you be boiling a pot of water?"
Those two sentences instantly stunned the other two demons.
The two looked at each other.
Meanwhile, alarm bells were screaming in Luo Li's head.
From their conversation, she could tell that these three demons had come to deliver supplies to the low-intelligence demons.
Probably food.
Luo Li never expected to find such a sense of care within the demon race.
But on second thought, she understood.
This wasn't care; they just didn't want the demon population to decrease too drastically.
Furthermore, these low-tier demons they called 'wild dogs' were likely meant to be used as cannon fodder.
There was no better cannon fodder than them.
They had strong vitality and could be left to fend for themselves most of the time.
They were only fed occasionally.
At critical moments, they would be used as cannon fodder.
Watching the three demons enter, Luo Li could only pray that they weren't smart enough to notice anything else.
Otherwise, she would have no choice but to start a massacre.
Besides... it seemed the unknown creature at the entrance was carrying a lot of food.
She was currently worried about what to eat next. Now, it seemed food had been delivered right to her door.
She just didn't know how high their levels were.
But even if they were level forty or fifty, it didn't matter.
One special class skill and three special Authorities were enough for her to deal with a level-forty powerhouse.
The key was that her special class Authorities in her Moon Witch state were literal killing machines.
So, despite her thumping heart, she felt no fear.
The moment the demon at the entrance shouted, Luo Li had already activated her skills.
Skill—【Bloodlust】! (Allows for rapid stamina recovery based on the blood gathered during battle.)
Skill—【Soul-Devouring Claws】! (Grabbing or scratching an enemy allows for the consumption of their soul. Each strike consumes 5% of the soul. If the soul loss reaches 30%, the target falls into a permanent coma; at 50%, they die.)
She slowly lowered her body and crept out from the hay bale.
She circled around behind the iron pot, and in the instant the two demons were lost in thought because of their companion's words, Luo Li's body suddenly exploded into motion!
'Whoosh!'
Luo Li was like a bolt of black lightning. In the blink of an eye, she was between the two demons standing side by side.
The sharp nails on both her hands were pressed directly against their throats.
"Don't move!"
Her sharp command instantly silenced all three demons in the cave!
The eyes of all three demons shifted to her in a split second.
Luo Li's heart couldn't help but tremble.
But now, there was no turning back.
Run?
The entrance was blocked by that massive, unknown creature.
Surrender?
She'd rather die.
Now, the only thing she could do was gamble.
Gamble that these three demons weren't high-level.
Otherwise, she was truly dead!
The demons' gazes swept back and forth over the girl's body.
It gave her so many goosebumps that they could have fallen to the floor.
"Who are you? Where is this? What are you doing?"
No, she couldn't reveal her identity!
As for that war, the less she said, the better.
She had to prevent them from making any connections.
However, none of the three demons answered her questions.
Instead, they stared at her blankly, their eyes filled with a look as if they were staring at some 'treasure.'
"What are you looking at? Look any longer and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
"A female?"
Luo Li's heart skipped a beat in fear.
She didn't dare speak or move.
With her fingers pressed against the throats of the two demons, she stared at the one standing at the cave entrance.
"A female? And she's alone?"
The demon at the entrance looked at Luo Li with suspicion and uncertainty.
The other two were filled with even more shock.
Luo Li's height hadn't changed; she was still around 1.6 meters tall.
However, the high heels she was wearing were over ten centimeters tall, which made her appear much taller and more imposing.
Still, compared to these three demons, she appeared quite small.
"You haven't answered my question yet!"
Luo Li pointed her finger at the demon.
"Where is this place? Who are you? What are you doing?"
"Don't... don't be impulsive. We are part of Western Demon Emperor Asacreus's army. We came here... to deliver food to the wild dogs."
The demon at the entrance suddenly lowered his posture.
Was his change in attitude because of her gender?
Three giant question marks popped up in the girl's head.
What the hell was this now?
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