CHAPTER 769: AMBUSH

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"Oh, Demon God, give me the strength..."

Boarding a rather strangely shaped spaceship, a demon sat in his room with legs parted and his head down. His eyes were closed shut as he prayed.

"Give me the strength, oh Demon God."

Skittle, Skittle

The corners of the demon’s lips twitched imperceptibly, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. Still, he kept his head down and his eyes shut. He kept praying, asking for the Demon God to bless him.

Skittle, Skittle

He prayed for the Demon God to grant him strength, to bless him with the ability to accomplish this mission. He prayed for luck, fortune, and—

Skittle, Skittle

"-patience because I swear to god, I’m about to kill this son of a bitch of a roommate!" The demon’s eyes snapped wide open into a glare, landing at the figure of his roommate, who was the source of all that irritating skittering.

As if trying to irritate him more, his so-called ’roommate’ just tilted its head at him, seemingly confused about his sudden outburst, before going back to whatever the fuck it was doing, creating those insanity-inducing skittering sounds as before.

More veins throbbed at the man’s forehead. God help him because he’s so close to actually killing his own roommate with his bare hands.

Unfortunately, as much as he is tempted to, he can’t do that. And the idea just makes him weak and hopeless.

"God, of all the possible roommates you could ever give me, why does it have to be the one who’s noisy?" The demon complained weakly as he collapsed on his bed.

Actually, that’s not his real complaint. What he’s really sour about is the fact that they’re working for the Horde.

Yes, working for, not working with. The group of demons he’s part of were nowhere near strong enough to actually talk on an equal level against the Horde group they met. It’s either they obey or they get devoured.

That’s how they ended up in this strange ship, which turns out to be a living organism of the Horde.

’Weakness is a sin,’ he mused to himself, feeling rather hollow currently.

They’re no different from slaves on this ship. They can’t resist if they want to live; the Horde group that got them won’t let that pass.

They said that they’re planning on infiltrating the Heavenly Star Chaos Realm to build a nest of operations there. Their goal was to injure the human race from the inside.

They, the Demons, actually wanted no part in this. They were nomads just a couple of days ago. Living was difficult for them, and they essentially have no home to speak of, but at the very least, they were free.

Their group had no interest in clashing with humans. They’re not stupid. Humans were strong. They occupy an entire chaos realm on their own for a reason. A small group of defeated foes like them were nowhere near qualified to threaten the dignity of the human race.

Sure, demons had better physiques compared to regular humans, but that hardly gave them an advantage. Humans of the current era were just too strong and capable. While they could kill a few, it wouldn’t be long before other groups of humans came to eradicate them completely.

That’s why they wisely stayed out of trouble. They skirted around the edges of Chaos Realms, not going in but not going too far either. They visit one place after the next with their heads and presence low, only collecting enough resources for their needs and never staying behind for too long.

This kind of survival was challenging and demoralizing, but at the very least, they were alive.

Alas, it seems that their luck ran out.

Out of the many creatures they could ever encounter, it just had to be the Horde, a strong group at that. And whether they liked it or not, they were taken in and were forced to do their bidding, because if they don’t, they will die.

That’s how he and his brothers ended up in this situation.

This demon wanted to cry but had no tears. Had he known that it was going to be like this, he would’ve chosen to stay behind on one of the previous worlds they visited before.

Risking his life amongst other stragglers would’ve been a way better fate compared to becoming slaves of the Horde, because it’s almost certain that this will not end well for them.

BOOM!!

OOOUUUUUUU!!!

Hiss!!

The demon nearly leapt out of his bed in shock and fright. His pupils constricted the moment he felt the aftershock of the explosion that happened just now.

Their ship, which was a living organism, groaned in pain, and his roommate hissed angrily before skittering out of the room to see what’s going on.

For a second there, the demon was petrified. What was he supposed to do? It’s obvious that they’re under attack, and he could almost guess that it was the humans who did it.

He knew that this was going to happen. Their group warned those who abducted them that this was going to happen, but they didn’t listen. Now, they’re doomed too. The humans will surely not show any mercy to them.

"Come out, you foul creatures! How dare you taint our lands with your presence!!"

A strong shout from a strong man reverberated at every corner of the ship. The demon’s mind shook at the man’s spirited voice. That sound contained such a strong and domineering fighting spirit that it intimidated him, making him doubt his own abilities.

"Oh, we are so fucked," the demon swore under his breath.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

That was followed by more explosions. The ship writhed and groaned in pain, clearly under duress. The mad skittering and scrambling of every bug inhabiting the ship echoed everywhere. The demon knew that the Horde were doing their best to defend their ship and continue their mission.

But it was clear that they’re having a difficult time because the demon could hear the pained screeches of those hateful bugs and their dying wails.

He couldn’t tell what’s happening outside, but it must be a massacre.

Gritting his teeth, he was yet again forced to choose. Should he help the bugs or surrender to the humans? The one thing he knew is that whichever he chose, his ending would not be kind.

"Damn. Damn! Damn it all!" He spat and cursed his luck before he weakly kneeled on his bed and raised his hands behind his head in clear submission.

’I just wanted to live, goddamn it! Why is it so fucking hard!? ’

The demon’s heart was breaking. His act was the ultimate humiliation for his kind. Demons would rather die than surrender; that’s how it was in the past.

But this was the present. And he had long since shed any arrogance and hope for their race. He never entertained any delusions that he could save or be saved by his people. They were defeated long ago. It’s all about survival at this point.

Helping the bugs will give him nothing. At most, he will be turned into one of them, and that’s probably the worst fate he could ever have because he’d just be enslaved by their hive mind. He knows he can’t resist that, and he’d only be miserable.

Surrendering to humans, on the other hand, at least had a small chance of allowing him to survive. It won’t be free, but at the very least, he could live.

Of course, the chance of him dying in their hands was greater. But even though his chances of survival were very low, at least it’s there. That’s already way better compared to his inevitable ending at the hands of the Horde.

The storm outside continued. The dying wails of the bugs continued echoing through the interior of the ship. The ship itself also writhed and struggled in pain. There had been several times when it tried to flee, only to fail miserably.

He could hear the frustrated hiss of the bugs around him; he could also feel their mounting anxiety. He fought the urge to gloat and say that they deserved this fate.

BOOM!!

And then, the demon saw a sharp and blinding light passing through the ship, which was then followed by the guttural wail of the ship before it was sliced in two.

All of a sudden, the demon found himself floating in the vacuum of space and among the ruins and debris of the ship. He held his breath and tried his best to relax despite his mounting anxiety.

His eyes searched for his friends, and to his surprise, they too were kneeling down with their hands behind their heads like him. Seeing this caused a bitter feeling to rise in his chest, one that was forcibly suppressed.

Gasp!

The demon felt someone forcibly yanking his body. It was a human, a Space Marine to be exact. Looking around, he saw it was happening to his friends too.

All of them were being taken into the human ship instead of being killed. They were being treated rudely, but at the very least, they’re alive.

"Alright, men, clean up here! Make sure that there are no traces left, or else I’m docking your salaries. I’m taking these demons to our Lord."