Reincarnated With The Strongest System
chapter-986

Adam was currently in the midst of training as he tried to push the memories of his encounter with the Dark Wraith to the corner of his mind.

Ever since he had returned from the Ancient Ruins, he had never ventured inside it again. The things he witnessed inside it was more than enough to chip the confidence he had when he first arrived at the stronghold.

Back then, he thought that the world revolved around him, and he was the one that was said to become the Heir of Darkness. It wasn't only the Elves who had a prophecy in regards to the Dark Prince, the Demons had one as well.

Surprisingly, the Oracles of the Elves and the Demons received the prophecies on the same day. While most of the contents were similar, there was also differences as well.

In the Elven Prophecy, they called the chosen one the Dark Prince.

In the Demon's Prophecy, they called the chosen one the Heir of Darkness.

Adam didn't care whether he was hailed a Prince or an Heir. The only thing that mattered to him was power. A power that would make everyone submit to his will. Unfortunately, his arrogance had been taken down a peg after his brief encounter with the Dark Wraith that could have easily ended his life if it wanted to.

For now, he just focused everything he had into training the Dark Arts while Felix waited for the report of the explorers he had sent inside the Ancient Ruins.

Adam didn't bother to report to Felix that the explorers wouldn't be coming back, because it would reveal that he had taken a little excursion inside the Ancient Ruins. This was something that Adam didn't want to happen because he didn't want to become the center of attention.

He was already being eyed critically by Felix, as well as the nobles of the different factions. As one of the candidates, and most talented user of the Dark Arts among the prodigies that were gathered all over the realm, they assumed that his chances of being the one in the prophecy were higher than everyone else's.

Several days later, Felix finally gathered all the candidates inside the Stronghold in order to relay the decree of the Demon Lord, who had become very impatient with the slow development of the exploration of the Ancient Ruins.

"Three days from now, the Great Demon Lord has decreed that I send several elite warriors, as well as some of you to explore the Ancient ruins," Felix stated. "It has been more than a week since the explorers entered the ruins, and none of them had returned. I am assuming that all of them are now dead, so waiting for them will just be counterproductive.

"Of course, your safety is my utmost priority. This is why I decided to send a few of my elite bodyguards to accompany the team that will enter the ruins in three days time to ensure that none of you will be harmed.

"All of you are the prized geniuses of our realm. I expect that each and everyone of you will cooperate with the people that will explore alongside you, and bring glory to our race. Do any of you have questions that you would like to address?"

Felix scanned the surroundings, and saw a hand shoot up in the air.

The Demon Prince nodded his head and made a gesture for the Demon who raised his hand to speak his mind.

"If ever we made important discoveries inside the ruins, will we gain rewards for our troubles?" the Demon asked.

He was not the only one that had thought about this. Several of the other prodigies had been thinking about this as well. They were quite glad that one of them took the initiative to ask this question, so they didn't need to bother to ask it themselves.

Felix smiled and nodded his head. "Of course. Those who make significant merits in the exploration will be given rewards befitting of their contribution to our cause. I promise that the rewards will satisfy all of you, so do your best and try to bring back as much information about the ruins as possible."

The Demon nodded in satisfaction. Although they didn't show it on the surface, all of them were competitors, so it was only normal for them to look for benefits when doing something very dangerous.

Just like Adam, all of them could hear a voice calling out to them inside the Ancient Ruins. Unfortunately, they weren't aware of the secret entrance that Adam had used to enter it. If they knew, then they would have snuck out of the stronghold in the middle of the night and explored it on their own, just like Adam did several days ago.

"If there are no more questions then I advise all of you to make the necessary preparations for your exploration," Felix stated. "Everyone, dismissed!"

After the Demons had returned to their dorms, Felix returned to the Commander's Office and activated a long distance communication crystal to talk to his father. He reported that he had passed his decree to everyone in the stronghold, which made Lucien nod his head in satisfaction.

"I have heard about your little antics in the stronghold," Lucien said. "It is not a bad strategy to pull the Demon candidates into your faction. As expected of my son, you sure know how to take advantage of the situation."

Felix felt a chill run down his spine as he saw his father's deathly gaze locked onto his body.

"Relax, I don't mind this petty move of yours," Lucien stated. "As long as you are able to produce good results, I am willing to turn a blind eye on this small transgression. You will produce good results, right, Felix?"

"O-Of course, Father," Felix stuttered. "I will not disappoint you."

"You'd better not, because if you do…" Lucien smiled and left the words hanging in the air. He was the one that raised Felix, so he already knew that his son understood what he was trying to say.

Just as he expected, Felix affirmed once more that he would do his best to meet his expectations. Lucien then ended the call because he still had other matters to address.

"Joash, just what are you doing behind my back?" Lucien muttered as he read the report of the subordinate that he had placed in the Fortress City to spy on the Demigod's movements. Although he and the Black Dragon were allies, he understood that Joash was quite displeased with how the war in the Silvermoon Continent had ended.

Although the friction between the two of them wasn't enough to burn their bridges, it still made their relationship a little shaky. A shakiness that had continued to be present ever since.

There was a time when the Demon Lord had proposed that Felix marry Joash's daughter, Vesta, but the Demigod politely declined his offer. Lucien didn't make any further moves because he understood that the Demigod wasn't interested in deepening ties with him.

Since that was the case, he made sure to send several spies into the Fortress City to regularly check his movements.

When his subordinates reported that Vesta had left the city alongside a slave trader who was carrying Elf Slaves, Lucien's interest was piqued.

Anyone who was able to bring Elves into the Demonic Continent was not a simple character, so he sent men to secretly monitor where the slave trader was headed.

Fortunately, Vesta's entourage didn't do a good job in keeping a low profile. Several complaints had arrived in the Capital City, which all pointed to a black-haired slave trader, who managed to tame Flying Armored Elephants.

According to the reports, the slave trader was using the beasts to threaten their cities if they rejected his request for safe passage.

Lucien found this overbearing slave trader to his liking, so he sent several of his best agents to look for his whereabouts, with the intention of offering him an opportunity to work exclusively for him.

For the Demon Lord, risk takers were worth befriending, especially those with the guts to make Flying Armored Elephants mounts.

Each of these monstrous beasts were led by a Myriad Elephant that served as their Alpha. They were existences that would give anyone a hard time because of their overwhelming strength and abilities.

Whenever a Myriad Beast went on a rampage, the assistance of a Demigod was vital in ending the conflict. This was why not many people dared to tame an Elephant and use it as a mount.

Only those who were prepared to face off against a Myriad Beast, which was considered to be at the peak of the food chain, would dare to make one of the Elephants their own.

"A Vampire named William?" Lucien read the documents that his subordinates had gathered about the slave trader with an amused expression on his face. "It might just be a coincidence, but it doesn't hurt to be careful."

Lucien made a gesture and several shadows materialized in the air in front of him.

"Find this person and investigate him," Lucien ordered. "If he is really the son of that man, I want all of you to bring him to me alive. Do I make myself clear?"

The shadows nodded before disappearing.

Lucien allowed himself to smile as he set the documents down on the table. Deep inside, he hoped that his suspicions were true.

That way, he could personally torture the boy whose father had made him face the greatest humiliation in his life, after he had lost his battle against him in the Silvermoon Continent, many years ago.