The first couple of weeks passed quickly. The great forest was big and covered a wide area with several types of creatures. Thanks to their contacts, most of the tribes were on friendly terms with Underworld.

Traveling was easy, and sometimes they could stay inside a tribe house for the night. After that, the real danger and uncertainty began.

The great desert occupied most of the central part of the continent. One of the most powerful countries in the land, the Demi Human Council, was located in the middle of it. They weren’t the only nation to have a piece of the desert. Several other small towns, villages, and nomad tribes inhabited it.

Thanatos knew that the ruins of Rabase, Zek’s old nation, were on the east side of the desert. He only had some vague memories of it. With only that notion, he started this journey. He wasn’t going to go blindly, but thanks to Kit, he already knew what to expect.

"The desert is filled with beasts and tribes. We should avoid contact with them. Most of the animals are wild and predators. The majority of the tribes are going to try to steal from us and maybe kill us. Since you’re a human, they could even think of capturing you and then selling you to the Demi human Council."

"What the hell? Why do they keep people as slaves? Didn’t they found that country because their ancestors were slaves?" Neo was angry. The things she saw her people suffer at the hands of that despicable noble made her blood boil.

Now she was learning that a whole country of demi humans did the same on humans.

"I don’t know, that is just how they operate. Which takes me to the next point: if we find a group of their soldiers, we should run away."

"You’re saying because we don’t want to put a target on our backs by antagonizing them?"

"Yes. You two were living on the west side, so the reputation may not have reached that far. But they are strong. The only reason that no other country could take this land is because the alliance of demi humans is massive. If the independent tribes of this desert joined forces, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Council."

"Have you fought against them, Kit?"

"No, but rumors about their power are widely known in the desert. The council is led by the ten most powerful demi humans in the nation. If a large force from another nation threatens to reach the center of the desert, a single member of the council can kill whole armies alone."

"Are they that strong?"

"The attack that went the furthest was a few years ago, led by the strongest member of the Black Order of Los. Dante, the puppet of the Faith. He killed one of the council members and reached halfway across the desert, but then three council members ended up forcing him to retreat."

Thanatos could imagine who he was talking about. The image of the young man with white eyes chasing him was still fresh. He wasn’t sure if he could win if they had fighters of that caliber.

"Then if we see them, we’ll run or hide depending on the situation. I’ll handle anything that comes in our way. Kit, Neo, you will support me."

"Yes!"

"Yeah, yeah."

The sun was high in the sky. The heat could make a normal person pass out, but they were prepared. They had plenty of water, and in an emergency, Thanatos or Neo could use magic to make some ice.

The easiest way was also the most dangerous. They could take a detour by going south in the forests between the desert and the Draconic Empire, but that would take almost twice as much time. As long as they move on the frontier and don’t call attention to themselves, they should be fine.

Suddenly, the sand erupted, and a giant scorpion came from below. It was lying underground, waiting for prey to come closer.

"A sand scorpion. Be careful, its stinger is filled with powerful poison." Kit warned them and prepared to fight. "If we work together, we can take him down!"

Giant scorpions were common in the desert; they were formidable beasts. Most tribes could deal with them. One person needs to act as a shield and block the stinger, while two other people deal with the pincers. Then the others can pile on the scorpion.

Instead of doing that, Thanatos walked straight ahead. The scorpion grabbed him at the waist with its pincer and aimed the stinger at his chest.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"[Strengthening]" Thanatos’s arm was covered in magic, and the stinger was broken by the impact. Before the scorpion could retract it, he grabbed it with his hands and yanked it out of the body.

The scorpion made a noise as he bled out from the back. It tried to attack one last time before dying. He squished Thanatos with his pincers, but it was like trying to crush a rock with the palm of your hand. After that, the scorpion died, and the fight was over in an instant.

Kit watched in awe how Thanatos killed it with a single spell and his own strength.

"I already got the feeling when we met the first time, but you are really strong. Not only for this scorpion or when you fought Arin in his underground office. How strong are you really, Thanatos?"

"He’s a monster. You'll get used to it. It took me a while to accept that he was a beast trapped in a human body. But after watching him closely, I can tell you he won’t hurt you if you don’t provoke him."

"Why are you talking about me like some wild animal? I can hear everything you say!"

Thanatos could feel he was stronger than before. Devouring Zek’s last piece of soul had given him more power. It was time to test it.

He opened his jaw and his mouth grew to a monstrous degree. Something came from the dead body. It was the scorpion's soul floating toward his mouth, like a piece of food he ate.

"Mmm, no, not much." He compared him with Zek. It was like comparing a single french fry from a fast food combo to a five-star dinner. He didn’t notice any difference or gain in power.

Do I have to eat thousands of souls to gain some power? What a hassle. I’ll just eat the strong opponents I see.

He looked back and saw Neo and Ki watching with their mouths open.

"What... did you eat his soul? How can you do that?"

"Is it good if we’re close during that?"

Neo was shocked, and Kit was afraid.

"Don’t worry, I was just testing something. I won’t do it again unless there is someone really strong."

"I can’t feel his spirit. I can’t summon or call him either. You really eat its soul."

"Sorry, I’ll let you have future beasts, so you can use them."

"You better. If I don’t have spirits, I can only fight at half my strength. Well, that’s done. Let’s keep going."

Thanatos and Neo started moving again like nothing had happened. Kit watched from behind, asking himself what type of group he had gotten involved in.

***

Two more weeks passed. They were around the half-point of the desert. They had seen several types of creatures in their way, but they defeated them with ease.

Neo collected spirits, and Thanatos used a couple of them like zombies. Kit didn’t have special powers or magic, but his hunter instincts were on point. Thanks to him, they hid from three different tribes and avoided pointless fights. Things were going great.

"I see some tramps in the distance. We are very close to the Demi Human Council. I’ll move forward and let you guys know of anything I see." Kit said after doing reconnaissance.

All kinds of traps were there. Mostly to deal with animals and sometimes to capture intruders that try to sneak inside the city. Kit smelled them one by one and walked forward.

SLAP... He stepped on something. A rope caught him, and an iron cage emerged from the ground, swallowing him.

RRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG... A bell sounded loudly across the desert, an alarm. Not a real bell, but instead a magic spell [Alarm]

"I didn’t detect anything. Smell or weight... magic traps?" His lack of magic knowledge cost him. He was trapped.

He saw the iron bars. They were around the same quality as the shackles in the underground fighting arena. He couldn’t escape alone.

"I’m coming! Hang on!"

Thankfully, Thanatos came to his rescue. He slashed the cage with a single attack.

"Thank you. Some of the traps are enchanted with magic to keep them hidden from trackers or hunters like me. Sorry, I should have thought about it. Now they know we are here."

"We need to run. I can hear horses coming this way."

They ran across the field, dodging the traps. They were hidden too well, and thanks to the spells, not even Thanatos could detect them.

"They spent a lot of time and resources protecting their border."

Explosion and acid traps, lighting and poisonous smoke. All kinds of spells and tricks were waiting in the desert. It was an uphill battle.

"This is not going to work. They are going to catch us."

"What should we do? Are we going to fight?" Neo was ready for battle, but Thanatos raised his hand.

"No, if we kill them, they are going to send more. Right now, we need to keep Underworld's existence secret. If we are lucky, they won’t know about us. Kit, do you think we can negotiate something?"

"Maybe it was just Neo and I. They would never stop to hear a human, they would throw you into their coliseum without asking questions."

"What if I pretend I’m your slave?"

"Too suspicious. We could have used the main road instead of sneaking across the border."

There was no time left. He could choose to fight, but he wasn’t sure with Neo and Kit at his side. After the raid, he didn’t want to put his subordinates in unnecessary danger. Thanatos could revive with time, but that only applied to him.

He took his black book and threw it at Neo.

"What’s this?"

"Take it and hide. I’m going to run the other way and get their attention. You two run back from the way we came from and then south, wait for me there. I’ll escape and regroup with you."

"What are you going to surrender? They are going to imprison you, or they could kill you on the spot!" Kit protested, but Thanatos was not going to fight a whole country right now.

"I give you my word, I won’t die. Neo, you can wait, right?"

"How long?" she asked with a fierce look on her face. She trusted Thanatos, but she wasn’t going to abandon him.

Thanatos thought about it for a moment. "One week."

"Okay, if I don’t see you in a week, I’ll walk here and fight everyone who gets in my way. Understand?

"Yes. Keep that book safe."

"Let’s go behind that Kit!"

"Seriously?"

They ran away and hid behind some rocks. Thanatos ran the opposite way and sprung all the traps in his path.

"Come here, you got an intruder!" The horses didn’t take long to catch up to him, and a dozen soldiers surrounded him.

"Looks like you got me!" he raised his hands in surrender.

What will the demi humans do?