Neo knew that if not for Devour providing him with essence, this damned technique would have drained him in a few seconds.
Even the Nascent Essence Loving River Snake could not replenish his essence fast enough to perform this technique at its current scale and duration.
The demons charged at him, who was the source of their agony, with unmatched fury.
Their eyes red and fangs bared.
Their minds were devoid of all rational thought.
They didn’t hold back their strength.
They charged with full force.
Neo took to his heels, the demons chased.
With unrelenting fury.
Heavens be damned…
Mia’s mouth opened in surprise.
Was Neo crazy?
Taunting this many demons.
She didn’t waste time though.
Her next command was sharp and concise.
“Lancelot.
Get ready.
Don’t let that idiot get himself killed.”
Lancelot now understood what Neo meant with his earlier words.
He had found them cryptic at first.
But it looked like he had thought too much into it.
His words had been as straightforward as they could be.
He was already in the proper stance.
Now, all he waited for was the best moment.
The other team was just as surprised.
They made use of the relief Neo had provided them well.
They got themselves into a proper formation.
They waited.
They had no idea what was coming next.
Waiting seemed their best option.
Neo had been keeping a short distance from the demons.
With no warning, he increased his speed.
His sudden move left the demons far behind.
Dashing all hopes of ever catching up to him.
Lancelot knew this was the best moment he had been waiting for.
The projection from his shield was fast and heavy.
It smashed into the demons who were too consumed by fury to put up any defence.
What followed was a brutal slaughter.
Arrows.
Daggers.
All sorts ranged weapons assaulted the downed demons.
The other team hadn’t been slow too.
They knew that this was exactly what they had been waiting for.
When the ranged fighters stopped.
The melee fighters followed.
Neo’s sword cut the demons with ease.
It was the same with Mia.
Members of the other team also did their own part.
The whole thing was quick and brutal.
*
Now, there came up a situation.
The division of spoils.
There were two teams, one larger than the other by a large margin.
Humans were strange in their ways.
And it showed here.
The demons had been piled together in one place, and the discussion on how to share the merit and demon parts was in motion.
The two teams faced each other.
The fighting was done, and everyone’s blood had calmed.
There was no longer any perceived or imminent danger.
Humans showed their most ugly sides when they felt most secured.
No threat to their being.
No greater authority to keep them in line.
“Seeing as our larger team did most of the killing, we will be taking 90% of the military merit and 70% of the demon parts.” A gruff man who was their leader said.
He spoke his words like they were fact.
Not even a hint of shame in his tone or bearing.
Neo who was beside Mia almost burst into laughter.
Almost.
There was nothing funny.
It was just a rage that was slowly building up.
“Why don’t you damn well take it all.” Derek didn’t hold back.
He fired at the man.
“If your team leader is satisfied with this arrangement, we can all get to work.”
The man wasn’t concerned with Derek’s outburst.
He looked at Neo and Mia, he wasn’t sure which one of them was the actual leader.
“You sure know how to tell a good joke.” Mia looked him in the eye.
The man smiled.
It was one of someone secure in his perceived position of strength.
“We have the larger team, we did the most work.
See.” The man asked for them to look at his team of twenty-six adventurers.
“We have the larger team.” He emphasized.
It was a subtle threat.
The true outlands were a lawless place.
Whatever happened in the true outlands stayed in the true outlands.
“A larger team.” Neo nodded.
He looked at the demons piled together.
He pointed at them.
“They had a larger team too.
Look where they are now.” He wasn’t subtle.
“They had a larger team.” His presence became suffocating with every word.
“Now, they are about to be torn apart.
Cut open like chicken and lambs.
Everything of value within their bodies about to be removed and sold like common goods.
“They had a larger team, but they will be forgotten.
They will rot here in the true outlands.
Swallowed by this uncaring place.
Turned into manure.”
Neo stared into the eyes of everyone of them, but they were quick to avert their eyes.
None dared to meet those fiery eyes.
They felt that if they looked even a moment longer.
Those eyes would crush their souls.
Without knowing it, their heads were bowed.
Their eyes glued to the ground.
“I want you to remember that they had a larger team.”
The leader of the other team was shaking in his pants.
Those eyes that stared into his soul.
They didn’t seem to be looking at a human.
It felt like a mighty being beyond compare looking at something utterly insignificant.
He saw no humanity in them.
Not even an ant deserved such disdain.
He dared not push.
He knew he had lost.
Mia’s counteroffer was brutal.
Her team would take all the merit.
Ninety percent of the demon parts would also belong to her team.
All the work and clean up would be done by the other team.
With Neo there, her words were final.
There was no dispute.
Mia resolved in her mind to thank Neo later, when there were no outsiders.
And maybe press him for answers.
“That was so cool.” Sofia didn’t seem to find anything wrong.
Lancelot looked Neo over.
His thoughts varied.
Derek kept his mouth shut.
He didn’t see Neo’s eyes, but his presence had been scary.
Neo knew the fear he imposed upon them was the effect of a technique.
But it required a very strong conviction.
He didn’t know if he could kill a human.
But he would never allow that question to take root and disturb his conviction.
He would kill them.
If that was what needed to be done.
There was no room for doubt.