West Demon City

In Luo Li's view, it was almost impossible for the demon race to build a decent city given their intelligence and capabilities.

However, she was wrong.

As the ox-horse beast advanced, the clamor in the distance gradually became clearer.

The rock ceiling above seemed to have been reinforced by some kind of magical element, as no water seeped through.

This indicated that the demons had also done waterproofing work.

This project was not something an average person could achieve.

The massive tunnel grew wider as the ox-horse beast moved forward.

After traveling about five or six hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up!

Right before her eyes, a city as vast and magnificent as Brilliant City came into view.

On the streets, countless demons were walking about.

Some were buying things, while others were simply strolling.

What caught the eye was that almost every demon had a female creature by their side.

As a result, every demon walking the street appeared to be part of a pair.

The massive city was built entirely of stone, but there was a strange sensation lingering within it.

It made her feel a bit uneasy.

"Lady Queen, this is West Demon City."

"Mmm."

Luo Li nodded without saying much. She had seen cities of this scale before.

However, seeing so many demons gathered together was truly startling.

No one would have expected that the real Demon King's Castle was actually this far from the fake one above.

"I will take you to the inner city. The outer city is full of trash; they are not worthy of your attention."

As Bryce spoke, he directed the demon driving the carriage toward the inner city.

The ox-horse beast trudged forward. From the entrance to the city gates was a massive slope.

From this vantage point, one could see almost half of the Demon King's Castle.

How did the demons build such a massive city?

With their intelligence, could they really establish such a prosperous city?

'Impossible... absolutely impossible!'

'Unless the demons used other races for construction. Based on my understanding, they don't have this kind of capability.'

Upon reaching the city gates, Bryce showed his face from the ox-horse beast.

The guards immediately allowed them to pass.

Luo Li sat in the carriage, observing the streets through the window.

It was almost identical to what she had just seen, whether it was soldiers or ordinary demons.

Almost everyone had a woman by their side... and these women were not demons.

In other words, they were all slaves.

As Luo Li looked at these women, who were dressed in thin veils that could hardly cover their bodies, she felt a wave of revulsion.

Suddenly, the roars of two demons came from the roadside.

It was a meaningless sound, like the grunts of a crazed gorilla.

Luo Li's gaze instinctively turned toward the two demons.

Just as her eyes fell on them, the two demons collided with a crash.

Then they began to scuffle.

Seeing this, Bryce's expression turned sour.

"Please forgive them, Lady Queen. They have offended your eyes."

"It's fine."

Luo Li spoke softly, continuing to watch the struggle between the two demons.

Although she didn't know the reason for the fight, she was happy to see demons fighting among themselves.

However, the battle ended surprisingly quickly.

The two demons crashed into each other, and one threw the other to the ground.

That was considered a victory.

The victorious demon then immediately claimed the woman who had been with the loser.

As for how?

The demon directly tore the woman's clothes and, right there on the street...

Countless demons gathered around, cheering and shouting.

Not a single demon showed pity for the loser or the crying, screaming woman.

Seeing this, Luo Li took a deep breath.

It was hard to imagine that a race with such an absolute lack of moral bottom lines could exist in this world.

But on second thought, it made sense; demons were naturally such creatures.

Driven by violence and the desire to procreate, this race had completely devolved into one without morals.

'Morality?'

'Shame?'

'Such things are only cared for by normal intelligent beings.'

Demons, however, didn't care at all. They weren't ashamed; they were proud.

The victorious demon stripped the two women by his side in one go.

The shouting on the street grew even louder.

The surrounding demons seemed to have their own desires stirred up as well.

The street instantly fell into chaos.

Luo Li furrowed her brow and slowly turned her head away.

She didn't want to keep watching.

Because she was currently in her witch form.

In this state, even the slightest abnormality could become a wildfire.

Anger... instantly transformed into tyrannical desire.

And everything before her also stirred a trace of the desire to procreate.

However, this only strengthened her resolve. No matter what, she had to make the demon race disappear from this world entirely.

Just as the chaos outside intensified and began to affect the entire street, a group of fully armed demons ran over from a distance.

They rushed in without a word, drawing their blades and hacking away.

Against the ordinary demons, none of their strikes were aimed at vital points.

They only slashed them a few times as a warning.

But when it came to the women, they didn't hesitate for a second.

In other words, these soldiers had absolutely no regard for the non-demon women.

They killed them all, one strike per person.

Then they rounded up all the demons.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Luo Li's eyelid twitched as the tyrannical desire in her heart grew stronger.

At this moment, an impulse rose within her.

She wanted to rush down and slaughter all these demons.

"Please forgive us, Lady Queen. There are simply too many half-demons in West Demon City."

"As you know, half-demons have very poor self-control. We had no choice but to resort to this."

"These half-demons lose control at any time or place. To force them to strengthen their self-discipline, public procreation is forbidden on the streets."

"Once discovered, their breeding beds are immediately executed, and the demons are detained for a short period."

Hearing this, Luo Li's brow furrowed tightly.

"You are also a half-demon, but you seem to be doing quite well?"

"Haha, you flatter me, Lady Queen. My level has exceeded sixty, meaning I have achieved control over every muscle in my body."

"Therefore, I will not fall into madness like those trashy half-demons."

'I see. Can high-level demons suppress their inner desires?'

However, the butcher Zuka she had seen before didn't seem to be like that.

'No... they can't be compared.'

'Zuka had no intention of suppressing his inner desires. Even on the battlefield, he would continue his behavior.'

Bryce was more restrained and would suppress his own urges.

"Lady Queen, the inner city is just ahead. It is inhabited entirely by purebred demons. Relatively speaking, it is much better than those trash."

'Only relatively speaking?'

'It seems the demon race is truly beyond saving.'

As the ox-horse beast trudged forward, the cries of women could be heard from small rooms along the street.

Luo Li glanced in that direction, and Bryce quickly followed up with an explanation.

"Those rooms are prepared for demons who cannot hold back. Of course, using them requires paying a certain price."

'Demons will be demons. As they say, a dog can't stop eating filth. No matter how much they suppress it, this is the final result?'

Seeing this, Luo Li really didn't want to watch anymore and closed the carriage window.

Bryce seemed to sense Luo Li's displeasure and stopped speaking.

In this manner, the ox-horse beast stepped into the inner city.

The outer city had no gates, only checkpoints.

The gates to the inner city, however, were significantly more luxurious.

"Lady Queen, this is the inner city."

As he spoke, Bryce pointed toward the ground below.

When Luo Li saw the city, a flash of disbelief crossed her eyes.

The inner city before her was like a completely different world compared to the outer city.

They were simply not in the same league.

The outer city they had just left was muddy, with streets full of trash.

Some of those demons didn't even bother to cover their bodies, walking down the streets with total abandon.

They had absolutely no sense of shame.

In this inner city, the situation was entirely different.

All the demons appeared to be dressed very cleanly.

Furthermore, the appearance of these demons was very similar to humans.

The only difference was that they generally had a pair of horns on their heads.

Most of the savage demons outside had only a single horn.

One look at these demons in the inner city told her they were completely different from the average demon.

They had polite expressions. Although they also had females by their side, the outfits on these women were no longer so revealing.

Instead, they were very exquisite.

Yes, exceptionally luxurious and beautiful.

Some women even wore solid gold ornaments.

One could tell at a glance that these accessories were worth a fortune.

Yet the demons hung them on these women without the slightest hesitation.

From this perspective, it was clear that these demons were entirely different from the ones she had just seen.

The streets in the city were clean and tidy, with no filth visible on the ground.

It appeared that people cleaned them regularly.

In terms of hygiene, even Brilliant City might not be able to compare.

It was hard to imagine that such a prosperous city belonged to the same demons she had seen earlier.

"Lady Queen, what do you think? Compared to the demon cities on the outer islands, our West Demon City isn't so bad, is it?"

Luo Li gave a slight nod but continued to observe the environment in silence.

Seeing her look interested, Bryce continued his introduction.

"This is the inner city of West Demon City. Everyone allowed to live here is either a high-level half-demon or a purebred. The demons here are quite rational. I wonder if any demon has caught your eye? If you are willing, I'm sure none of them would refuse."

"No need."

Luo Li looked down at the street. These demons were all handsome, and one notable feature was that almost no purebred female demons could be seen on the street.

Thinking of this, Luo Li couldn't help but ask a question.

"Are there no purebred females in this inner city?"

"Haha, you joke, Lady Queen. Noble existences like yourself all have your own palaces. You wouldn't be out with these ordinary purebreds. Of course, if you wish, we can prepare a palace for you in West Demon City as well."

Luo Li's brow furrowed slightly, but she remained silent.

Luo Li couldn't see exactly where the difference between purebreds and half-demons lay.

However, judging by Bryce's attitude, the title of Queen seemed to carry another meaning among the demons.

Based on the situation with the Demon Emperor earlier, the military force here should be controlled solely by him.

In other words, he should be the first-in-command.

So the question was, what did the Queen do?

A thought flashed through her mind.

'Could it be that the demons actually practice a separation of military and civil administration?'

'The Queen manages internal affairs, while the Demon Emperor manages the military?'

'If that's the case, it would explain why the Queen's status is so noble.'

Furthermore, no purebred female demons were visible on the street right now.

This suggested that the birth rate for females among the demons was extremely low.

The ratio might be as low as one in ten thousand.

Or perhaps even higher.

After all, from the time she entered the city until now, Luo Li had not seen a single female purebred demon.

'From the looks of it, these female demons must all have their own palaces?'

"How many purebred females do you have here?"

Luo Li was curious. Since this city was like this, other cities should be the same.

Moreover, she wanted to learn more about the demons.

As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated. Only by knowing more would she have the confidence to completely exterminate the demon race.

"In response to the Lady Queen, our city has seventy-three Lady Queens and one Queen Empress."

'Oh?'

Luo Li already understood that there was a distinction between them.

But from the current situation, the distinction became a bit blurred.

'The difference between Her Majesty and My Lady should be a gap in official rank, right?'

'In that case, this Queen Empress must be managing certain affairs within the West Demon City.'

At this thought, Luo Li couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation about meeting this Queen Empress.

On the contrary, she also felt a bit reluctant to meet her.

After all, such an existence might have a very high IQ.

If she were to slip up, she would have no way out.

'A level thirty demon... no matter how invincible I am, I can't fight my way out of the enemy's headquarters... right?'

Luo Li looked down at the streets outside.

The people on the street all wore kind smiles on their faces.

But those seemingly kind smiles made her shiver.

The exquisite clothing and taste of these demons were all built upon the exploitation of the half-demons outside.

And those half-demons were exploiting other races to survive.

Seen this way, the demons were not just bandits; they were a group of massive parasites.

"Lady Queen, we have arrived at the palace for your temporary rest."