Read Novel Full Chapter 763: Hidden Powerhouses
Chapter 763: Hidden Powerhouses
Only a few minutes later, Liora had taken her seat facing the Mountain Demon Lord.
Although she had neither agreed to nor refused his offer of an alliance, the fact that she had stayed here was already an answer in itself.
The Mountain Demon Lord seemed delighted.
Without keeping her waiting or asking for any compensation or promises, he immediately began explaining the so-called secrets that only he could reveal.
“You should have already seen most of the Rulers of the Demon World. Generally, Rulers whose Demon Layers rank among the top one hundred will be or will have combat prowess equivalent to Primordial Devils.”
“The top sixty possess strength that completely surpasses that of ordinary Primordial Devils. As for the top twenty, they can kill other Primordial Devils with ease.”
Hearing this brief introduction, Liora nodded inwardly.
She knew he was not lying.
While the fight had been going on, her consciousness had secretly swept through the Demon World, and she had taken notice of most of the Rulers, estimating their strength.
Even though she couldn’t be certain that their power was exactly what they revealed on the surface, there wouldn’t be too many discrepancies even if some of them were bound to be hiding their strength.
Faced with her silence, the Mountain Demon Lord continued:
“Of course, even among Rulers of the same ‘level,’ there are major differences. Even though you and I are both in the top twenty, we can’t compare to those freaks in the first few places.”
“At the same time, ranking doesn’t mean everything.”
“You can never know another Ruler’s true strength without personally fighting them. After all, a Demon Layer is only as strong as its Ruler allows it to be.”
“Who knows whether they’re hiding their strength or not?”
Once again, Liora nodded in agreement.
In fact, she didn’t even need such a reminder. Her own experiences had already made her aware of this.
Take the Hollow Ancestor and the Fallen Ancestor as examples.
Both of these Devils were ranked around 175th place and should have been two relatively strong Other Shore Devils. Yet their combat prowess had far surpassed that level.
The Hollow Ancestor, in particular, had even secretly advanced to the Antiquity stage, completely surpassing the Other Shore stage he displayed on the surface.
The Mountain Demon Lord glanced at Liora’s reaction and, after a brief moment, resumed speaking.
“However, although you should be careful of the other Rulers, the people you truly need to guard against are the free Ancient Devils, those without a Demon Layer.”
Saying this, the Mountain Demon Lord let out a sigh.
“Throughout the Demon World’s history, an unknown number of people have become Ancient Devils. Some of them have been stuck at the Other Shore stage throughout their lives. Others, however, have continued making rapid progress.”
“Among them, there is a large number of Ancient Devils who have relinquished their status as Rulers and hidden themselves.”
“Although they rarely appear, and even most Ancient Devils do not know of their existence, these beings are all extremely powerful.”
“At the same time, they are the ones with the deepest schemes. You should always be wary of them.”
For the first time since the two had met met, Liora couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.
She was truly surprised by the Mountain Demon Lord’s revelation.
Yet upon further thought, she realized that it made sense.
The Demon World’s history was incredibly long. It was only natural that many powerful beings had been born during this time.
Even though there were only around one hundred Primordial Devils on the surface, it was quite likely that there were many more hidden away. In fact, it was likely that the number of the hidden Ancient Devils was higher than those who appeared.
And as the Mountain Demon Lord said, their age and extraordinary strength allowed them to lay out more elaborate schemes and conspiracies.
Despite understanding this, Liora still had some doubts.
“You mentioned that most Ancient Devils don’t know of the existence of these… free Ancient Devils. But judging from your tone, you sound very familiar with them. Could it be…?”
Liora didn’t finish her sentence, but the Mountain Demon Lord understood her meaning.
The face etched into the mountain shook.
He didn’t rush to reply, answering only a few seconds later.
“To be honest with Your Excellency, I have lived for a very, very long time. I don’t want to boast, but I’m probably older than all the current Rulers combined.”
“Due to my age, I’ve witnessed the rise of many extraordinary individuals.”
The Mountain Demon Lord sounded emotional, as though lost in his memories.
“The Slaughter Demon Lord, the Witch Princess, the Apocalypse Devil…” He called out several names.
“There have been too many extraordinary individuals during my lifetime. Most of them have already transcended. The rest are dead.”
“To be honest…” the Mountain Demon Lord paused.
“The reason I wanted to meet Your Excellency is precisely because I’ve witnessed the rise of these individuals. I can see that you possess a quality that is similar to theirs.”
“I have a hunch that as long as you don’t perish prematurely, it will only be a matter of time before you transcend as well.”
“Over the years, I’ve invested in many people like you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain my ranking for so long.”
Liora remained noncommittal in the face of the Mountain Demon Lord’s explanation.
She didn’t doubt that he had lived for an extremely long time.
After all, there was always a way to verify such a thing. He wouldn’t make up something that could be easily exposed.
What Liora doubted, however, was the latter part of his speech.
Investing in talented individuals so that he could later receive their help?
Liora didn’t believe it!
She was certain that the Mountain Demon Lord must have another reason for contacting her.
Thankfully, she was wise enough not to voice her suspicions aloud.
As though she had accepted his reasoning, she continued her conversation with the Mountain Demon Lord.