The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World-Chapter 86: Demons and Misunderstandings

Illiya was a bit curious. He didn’t quite understand why Ke’Oth would say that. To demons, even if an enemy were lucky enough to be teleported into the central region of the Demon Realm through the border, wouldn’t they just be quickly driven out as "invaders"?

That was what Illiya thought, and so he asked.

Ke’Oth chuckled after hearing the question and gave Illiya a somewhat weathered smile. "Your Esteemed Elf, you’re just too naive. But then again, you’re still just a young elf. What could you possibly know?"

Illiya: ???

Why did that feel like a personal attack What’s wrong with being young elf? Did being young mean he was eating Ke’Oth’s rice?

N’zall sharply caught the subtle shift in expression on a certain golden-haired elf’s face—it was growing more and more hostile. At this critical moment, he quickly jumped in to take over the conversation, desperately trying to save the not-so-bright demon’s head.

"Ke’Oth’s got a screw loose!" N’zall declared without blinking, completely ignoring the stunned expressions of those around him.

Everyone else present: ???

He then elaborated, "You see, Your Esteemed Elf, here’s something you might not know. During the period when there was no Demon King, the Demon Realm did produce seven demon lords. But you have to understand, demons are all battle maniacs. They’re usually too lazy to manage their own territories. Unless, of course, another demon of equal power attacks their land... uh..."

N’zall stumbled a little at this point, unsure how to phrase the next part. He paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up as inspiration struck.

"Let me use Ke’Oth and myself as an example."

"For instance, if a demon of our level tries to invade the territory we’ve staked out, then we’d react. But if it’s some other race that came to the Demon Realm via the border? We couldn’t care less. To be blunt, they’ve got nothing to do with us."

Everyone else: "..."

Something about that didn’t feel quite right!!!

After gathering his thoughts, Illiya managed to grasp what N’zall was getting at. He had practically said outright that "demons are disunited." To put it simply, demons lacked empathy and national consciousness.

That was probably it.

When other races launched offensives against the demons, it was usually in the hopes of gaining benefits. But to the demons, these invaders were like a bunch of annoying fleas—just toss them a bone and they’d scram, giving the demons peace and quiet for a good while. Wasn’t that a great deal?

Demon logic could be baffling at times.

Illiya now had a more nuanced thought: Did those other races that came cheerfully to attack the Demon Realm even know what they looked like in the eyes of the demons?

Perhaps... those ambitious invaders had no clue. If they did know, they’d probably fly into a rage. Then they’d have another excuse to break the "battle every fifty years" rule and launch another "righteous" invasion of the Demon Realm.

Those utterly hypocritical races—yes, they really would do something like that.

Elves had never underestimated the levels of shamelessness and ambition that other races could reach.

Out of the corner of his eye, N’zall caught a glimpse of a young elf clearly deep in thought, and the boulder in his heart finally dropped. He let out a sigh of relief.

It was best to leave the previous episode in the past. Whether young or adult, elves were not beings to be trifled with.

Any demon with common sense knew that elves were the pettiest race, and they firmly believed that vengeance must be served on the spot. Even a one-second delay was considered a sign of self-disrespect.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... but that kind of comment couldn’t be said aloud. It would definitely be remembered and held against the speaker.

N’zall was highly adept at gauging the situation.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be thriving so well in the demon realm, a place where demons devoured their own, nor would he have emerged from among the many demons to become the current Demon King’s top favorite—one of the famed "Red Demons."

Yes, he had the ability to read the room.

Illiya cast a glance—devoid of any visible emotion—at the smugly self-satisfied N’zall.

Under the dazzling sunlight, the brilliance of those golden eyes made N’zall feel as if he had been completely seen through. Cold sweat burst down his back, soaking his clothes.

Damn it... should he not have said anything Why did it feel like the elf could read his mind?

N’zall was filled with regret.

Damn this sudden, misplaced sense of kinship.

Illiya was puzzled by the wary and fearful expression in N’zall’s eyes.

He had merely looked at N’zall once, hadn’t he? What in the world had this demon imagined on his own? Why had his attitude suddenly changed so much?

He truly did not understand.

Were demons also the type of race that tended to fill in the blanks with their imagination?

In that strange atmosphere, Illiya and the rest of the party fell silent. Under the guidance of the teleportation array atop Ke’Oth’s peak, they proceeded to the very heart of the demon realm—to the Demon King’s palace, where they would meet the Demon King.

Only midway through the teleportation did Ke’Oth belatedly realize what a foolish thing he had said to the elf.

Help... was there any saving him now?

Throughout the journey that followed, Ke’Oth was constantly on edge, terrified that the elf might take revenge on him at any moment.

Conveniently, he chose to forget that the elf was actually far weaker in strength than he was.

Illiya never noticed this detail. On the way to the Demon King’s palace, he only felt that Ke’Oth and N’zall were acting strangely off. But he didn’t think too much about it, assuming the two demons were just getting overly excited at the prospect of meeting the Demon King.

Demons, after all, lived and breathed the Demon King.

That much, he understood. He really did.