The Broken Halo

Chapter 20: I’m A Merchant

As Varkamon’s screams of pain and terror resounded across the entire tribe, demons gathered at his home to figure out what was going on, but the words they wanted to speak became stuck in their throats as they saw their Tribal Chief’s house in flames, with the Merchant seated on an exquisitely crafted wooden chair in front of the burning building.

His expression was one of pure indifference as he seemed entirely unbothered by the flames behind him, and those who were used to seeing the Merchant’s smile knew that a calamity was very nearly upon them.

With silence engulfing the surroundings of the burning Tribal Chief’s house, every demon knew that their lives were currently at stake, and their tribe could very well become extinct at that very moment.

Zaglur had his head placed on his fist, and he indifferently gazed at the dozens of demons gathered before him, the pressure of his gaze made some demons cower and tremble in fear.

After what seemed like an eternity to the demons of the Duskfang Tribe, Zaglur spoke.

”One of you took something from me, and despite my attempts, I’ve unfortunately not been able to get it back.”

The expressions of several demons changed drastically, and many of them could not believe what they heard.

Who would be so bold to steal from a demon who was most likely an Archfiend or a Greater Demon?

And worst of all, who was so bold to steal from a Daegrin?

Daegrins were a race of wandering merchants who were popular in the demon realm for having rare treasures that many shops and stable merchants would never find, and the reason for this was because Daegrins always explored places that very few demon merchants would choose to explore.

The majority of the Daegrins were known to possess a lot of treasures and wealth, and if one became an enemy of a Daegrin, they would potentially become the enemy of the entire Daegrin race.

This was one of the reasons why Daegrins were one of the races that few demons dared to harm.

”Despite the urge I have in me to simply wipe out your entire tribe off the face of the demon realm, I’ve chosen not to do that because I’m a merchant, not a brute.”

Zaglur paused and looked at the demons before him with a malicious light in his eyes.

”Anybody that can bring me the vial containing the Devourer’s blood essence will be awarded with ten low-grade Infernal Crystals.”

Silence.

Pure, utter silence engulfed the entire tribe as Zaglur’s last words travelled across the entire tribe.

Zaglur had used a voice amplification technique so that his words could be heard by everybody in the Duskfang Tribe, and those who were in their homes or performing whatever tasks it was that they were performing heard Zaglur’s words.

Another individual who heard it was Lyssa, who was in her home with Simon resting on her lap.

Even she had a stunned expression when she heard Zaglur’s words.

Ten low-grade Infernal Crystals.

Ten low-grade Infernal Crystals?

TEN LOW-GRADE INFERNAL CRYSTALS?!

Ten low-grade Infernal Crystals was equivalent to TEN BILLION PEAK-GRADE BONE COINS!!!

That was an amount none of them in the entire tribe had ever thought of possessing in a million lifetimes!

To every single tribe member, it was the same as the Merchant offering to make one of them a billionaire.

It was an absurd amount of money to them, and THEY WANTED IT!

To people like the merchant and those who lived in the main cities of the Infernal Kingdom and other kingdoms, such an amount was nothing to them, but to the tribe members of the impoverished Duskfang Tribe, this was an unfathomable amount of money.

And it was a large amount of money even to some of the six major clans.

”You did not hear me wrong. I swear by my name that if anybody is able to bring me back the blood essence, I’ll give them ten low-grade Infernal Crystals... And if anybody is able to bring me the thief who stole what is mine, I’ll give them an extra ten low-grade Infernal Crystals. But if you bring back his corpse, your reward will be reduced to five low-grade Infernal Crystals.”

The eyes of every single individual in the tribe became heated, and seeing their gazes, Zaglur’s expression flashed with disdain, and, for the first time in the past two days, his lips curled into a smile.

”You all may leave and begin the demon hunt.”

Without hesitation and with no questions asked, every single demon of the Duskfang Tribe dispersed in a frenzy.

In fact, some demons began questioning suspicious demons, and some fights and battles broke out less than a minute after Zaglur spoke.

Many demons were extremely anxious and in a rush to be the first person to find the Devourer’s blood essence and the thief.

This was their chance, their opportunity to escape their lives of suffering and poverty, and they wanted to grab that opportunity at all costs.

Screams, battles, tears, pleas, death, chaos, and destruction occurred throughout the Duskfang Tribe as many broke into every house and building in an attempt to find the thief and the Devourer’s blood essence.

Many had no idea, but the Duskfang Tribe was being destroyed by the hands of its members and not an outsider.

And Zaglur loved what he was seeing. The destruction his mere words caused, the act of causing hundreds of demons to die without lifting a finger, was intoxicating to both him and his demonic heart.

”A truly wonderful scene.” Zaglur’s lips curled up even more.

Meanwhile, four demons approached Simon’s house, and without hesitation, they broke into it by smashing the door into pieces.

When they entered, they began ransacking the home, and to their frustration, they found nothing of value, let alone the Devourer’s blood essence.

Aside from trying to find the Devourer’s blood essence, they wanted to find the thief.

One of the demons pointed at the door that led to Lyssa and Simon, and the four demons quickly barged into the room.

However, they found nothing in the room except for an open window.