Chapter 13: Subcontracting Layer by Layer_1

"..."

The flickering candlelight.

Four people sat in the cave.

Eyes on the nose, nose on the heart, each remaining silent.

It was as if the passionate atmosphere from before was just an illusion, that it never happened.

There was no helping it, the Demon Lord was severely injured, which meant picking up a ready kill. Whoever managed to kill him would gain unprecedented prestige and a bounty of rewards.

But if he wasn't severely injured, going there would be tantamount to delivering their own heads to him.

Thus, probing the Demon Lord's condition became especially dangerous.

Talking big was one thing.

But actually doing it?

Wasn't that just sending me to my death?

"None of you are willing to go?"

The old man with the necklace made of human bones spoke in a hoarse voice.

"If anyone is willing to scout it out and kills the Demon Lord, they can have an extra twenty percent of the treasure."

"..."

No one uttered a word.

"I am willing to give up my own share as well,"

"..."

Still, no one made a sound.

Instead, the sleazy Swordsman sneered and said,

"The treasure is indeed tempting, but let's not forget, we are the demonic sect members. It is our tradition to be despicable and shameless, engaging in constant infighting. And we are the elite among them. Who would trust the word of a vile believer of the demonic faith?"

"..."

Speech that was rife with righteous indignation.

So reasonable that the others found themselves without a retort.

It was the demonic sect, after all...

There's no need to hold too high a standard of morality.

And like that, everyone sat awkwardly in silence.

It wasn't until much later that the beautiful young married woman chuckled, pulled her husband aside, and strode over to the sleazy Swordsman.

With a graceful and swaying figure, she approached the Swordsman.

She bent down.

Peaks and valleys formed, waves seemed to rage.

A faint scent wafted into the nostrils of the sleazy Swordsman.

Causing the Swordsman's eyes to light up.

A Swordsman is tested by his eye for detail.

And being a top-tier Swordsman, his eyes were extraordinarily good.

"Madam, what do you mean by this?"

"What do you think?"

The married woman's delicate fingers traced the Swordsman's neck.

"Are you seducing me, Madam?"

"Don't put it so crudely, I simply wish to have a deeper conversation with you," she replied.

"But, Madam, you still have your husband..."

"Would a lecher like you care about that? Or are you saying you're all lust and no courage?"

"That would be such a disappointment."

The married woman sighed faintly, appearing truly disappointed.

But the sleazy Swordsman spoke with earnest righteousness,

"Madam may have misunderstood. I merely hope your husband would watch, perhaps even offer some assistance when necessary."

"..."

The married woman's expression momentarily stiffened.

Sight of the Swordsman's face brimming with a lecherous smile crossed her eyes, followed by a flash of disgust which she quickly suppressed.

Straight to the point, she said indifferently,

"Enough talk, if you are willing to go to the Demon Lord's stronghold and scout out the situation, I can give you a copy of 'Sword Scripture'! It is a high-quality Earth-grade Cultivation Technique. Besides, I can also spend a night with you. What do you say?"

"This..."

"What, unwilling? If so, never mind."

"Killing the Demon Lord makes no difference to me anyway."

"Willing? How could I not be willing? But, Madam, you need to provide a deposit, don't you? As I said before, I do not trust the promises of those in the demonic sect."

The sleazy Swordsman's hands rubbed together eagerly.

The married woman huffed coldly.

A jade slip appeared in her palm, which she then threw to the Swordsman.

"Inside is the 'Sword Scripture', consider it a deposit. As for the rest, once you finish the recon, I will fulfill my promise."

"Madam is indeed generous. I will infiltrate the Demon Lord's stronghold and gather intelligence in these two days. Madam should just prepare earlier."

Saying this, the sleazy Swordsman stuffed the jade slip into his chest and twisted his body to fly out of the cave. When he reached the mouth of the cave, as if he had thought of something, he dropped another sentence.

"Please also have Madam's husband prepare..."

Soon after, the sleazy Swordsman left.

The old man also found an excuse to leave.

Inside the cave, only the young wife and her husband remained.

The man's face was an iron blue, and he emitted an overwhelming killing intent.

"What did you mean just now?"

He angrily questioned the young wife.

"It doesn't mean anything, I just wanted the Swordsman to scout for us, that's all."

"And you were really going to spend a night with him?"

"Of course not."

The young wife rolled her seductive eyes with disdain.

"Although I may be rather flirtatious, I also have my standards. With that sort of fellow, I would find him disgusting even with the lights off."

"Then why did you agree to his terms?"

"Because he is as good as dead. I have already poisoned the jade slip. Once the poison enters the spirit, it is difficult to remove. But once it takes effect, it will be easily controlled by me. Do you understand now?"

"So that's it."

The man eased his breath a little.

"But if we just kill him off like this, won't it really affect our plans?"

"Affect what plans? If the Demon Lord falls into demonic madness and gets seriously injured, we don't need his help."

"If the Demon Lord does not succumb to demonic madness, then he won't survive or leave alive. Isn't this a foolproof strategy?"

"You're right."

The man nodded, and as if something occurred to him, he gritted his teeth and said.

"Tonight... the moonlight is beautiful. Shall we turn off the lights and rest together?"

Upon hearing this, the young wife gave him a look of disdain, her eyes full of confusion. Finally, furrowing her brows, she said.

"You seem to have forgotten what I just said."

"I don't like ugly."

With that, the young wife floated away, completely disregarding the dark, frustrated look in the man's eyes.

She quickly arrived at the hot spring behind the mountain.

Seeing that there was no one around, she slipped off her long dress and soaked in the hot spring.

Amid the steaming mist,

the sky was the color of ink, and the young wife's face was the color of red.

...

Meanwhile, after the sleazy Swordsman left the cave, he reached a small courtyard.

"Protector!"

"Protector!"

A row of subordinates knelt on the ground, greeting respectfully.

The Swordsman did not make a sound but simply called his most trusted subordinate to his room after returning.

"I have a task for you. In the next two days, secretly infiltrate the Demon Lord's stronghold and investigate whether that demon is severely injured. Once successful, I can give you an Earth-level Cultivation Technique."

The subordinate hesitated, his expression uncertain.

"What, you're not willing?"

He asked coldly, radiating a faint killing intent.

"Willing, your subordinate is willing to go through fire and water for the Protector."

"Good, off you go."

The sleazy Swordsman waved his hand, and after his subordinate left, he revealed a cold smile.

"Trying to seduce me? Not so simple! I am not a fool; how could I just walk to my death. As it is just to probe the reality, the strength of this subordinate is also not bad, and it makes no difference who goes. To exchange for a Heaven-level Cultivation Technique, it's worth it."

He sneered continuously.

...

Half an hour later...

In another courtyard.

His left and right hand, with a serious expression, said to a man.

"You are the inner court disciple I value most. I have a critical task for you. If you are willing, I can give you a Human-level Cultivation Technique. If not, then go to your death."

"...Your subordinate is willing."

The inner court disciple hesitated for a long time before finally nodding his head, leaving the courtyard with a heroic expression.

...

Yet another half an hour later, in the outer sect of the demonic cult.

The inner court disciple looked indifferently at the person kneeling before him.

"Did you clearly hear what I just said? Here is a basic Cultivation Technique of our demonic cult. Once the job is done, it's yours."