Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 18 First Encounter with the Demon Ruler

Suren stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully examined the three items.

The first item is a peculiar cylindrical object that feels like jelly. This is the "Source Knowledge Condensate," which is generally known in the market as "Evil Spirit Dust Crystal" for a Level I demon.

The other item was a liver, which was clearly the "Heart of the Devil," with a scale pattern constantly appearing on its surface.

The last item was a scale that shimmered with a purple glow.

Suren was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought the monster was some kind of water demon, but judging from the pattern on the material, the giant serpent used the same ability as the Libra Church, and its performance just now matched the Battlefield Alchemist's [Matter Conversion].

According to what Suren learned from the book, [Matter Conversion] is not a panacea. The converted matter must be of equal value, and the greater the difference, the greater the consumption of "Source Knowledge". This is why the giant serpent chose to convert water into ice.

Karl staggered over, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly, after all, his performance in the previous battle had been terrible.

Suren turned to look at Professor De Went and found him engrossed in taking notes in his notebook, seemingly unaffected by the battle that had just taken place.

"Is it out of habit, or out of a sense of entitlement?"

While Suren was still pondering this, Cole strode over and unceremoniously took the "Source Knowledge Condensate" and the scale: "Bullets are quite expensive, taking these two isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Suren, of course, didn't believe the other party's nonsense. These two materials together cost at least 200 pounds, so how expensive could two bullets be? That kind of power was most likely due to the gun.

However, Suren didn't say much, after all, Cole was indeed the main force in the battle just now.

Suren tossed her document to Karl, telling him to put it in his bag. Suren added at the end, "It's just temporarily stored with you; it's not a gift."

"This is really troublesome. If I hadn't added that sentence, I would have been exposed, and Karl might even have suffered a backlash from the rules."

Suren sighed inwardly. The price of being a superhuman in this world was too troublesome; one wrong step and you could step on a landmine.

Suren looked around. Fortunately, most of the demons acted based on territorial instincts and hunting instincts, so the gunshots did not attract other demons.

After a short rest, the group resumed their journey. After eliminating another evil spirit with no special abilities, the exploration was nearing its end, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the trip would soon come to a close.

The group took a short rest under a large tree. It was close to the lake where the giant serpent had been. The reason they chose this spot was because demons have a strong sense of territory, and there wouldn't be two demons in one area for a short period of time.

Suren stroked his chin, subconsciously organizing the information. From his observation, the professor didn't seem to be recording the environment; rather, he was recording the ecology of the demons.

Having witnessed all this, Suren began to wonder: "Why do these so-called demons seem more like animals? The first demon was a snake, the second looked like a frog. Could it be that hell in this world is actually a zoo?"

Suren remained vigilant towards Cole, keeping a close eye on his movements. Cole was leaning against a large rock, seemingly just resting.

Professor Derwent flipped through his notebook and smiled. "My research report will be complete once I find the last demon habitat."

"Awoo!"

Before the professor could finish speaking and before Suren could respond, a terrifying howl suddenly came from afar. Suren stood up abruptly and looked in the direction of the howl.

Because the terrain here was relatively open, Suren could clearly see the distant scenery, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink.

A giant wolf, about 3 meters long, was howling at the sky. Its fur emitted a dark red light, as if it were surrounded by lightning bolts. It was chasing a creature that looked like a zebra.

The specific details were unclear, but Suren clearly determined that this giant wolf was at least a Level II demon, the "Dominator Demon".

The area it was in was quite a distance from here. Suren turned around to call the group to leave, but then he noticed Cole's somewhat unnatural movements.

Cole held his left hand out in front of his chest, emitting a blue light. His five fingers were spread out and moved rhythmically as if playing the piano. Suren could vaguely see some silvery-white threads flowing between his five fingers.

Without hesitation, Suren drew his revolver and fired, but Cole simply turned his body slightly and easily dodged the shot.

The light in Cole's hand gradually faded, and he turned to grin at Suren: "Enjoy it, rookies."

Then he flipped over and hid behind the rock.

Suren couldn't afford to pursue Cole at this moment, because something even more troublesome was about to happen.

Seemingly influenced by Cole, the zebra, which had been running in the opposite direction, turned around and galloped towards Suren and the others. The giant wolf and two wolf cubs followed closely behind.

At this rate, Suren and the others wouldn't have time to leave.

Suren quickly made a decision in his mind. He sprinted towards Karl, shouting, "Alchemy Bomb! Take care of those two little ones first!"

Having experienced two real battles, Karl had made some progress. He quickly pulled two bombs from his pouch, threw one to Suren, and then gripped the other tightly, ready to throw it at any moment.

Professor Devont showed no sign of panic. He quickly changed positions, his steps as brisk as someone who spends long hours conducting research indoors.

Suren caught the alchemical bomb steadily, and at the same time, he turned the revolver to reload and replace the bullet that had just been fired.

Suren knew that even if the three of them managed to defeat the giant wolf, they would still be doomed when facing a fully-powered Cole in the end.

"We have to think of a way." Suren's mind raced.

At this moment, the giant wolf was less than 4 meters away from the group, and its attention was focused on the prey in front of it.

Suren raised his hand and released the bomb infused with Yuanzhi. It flew through the air in an arc and landed precisely beside the giant wolf—in front of the little wolf.

The next moment, a blinding flash of light exploded, covering the wolf cub with dirt, gravel, and grass clippings, before a loud "boom" finally followed.

As the firelight faded, the little wolf lay on the ground, barely alive, its belly rising and falling weakly. It soon breathed its last.

On the other side, Carl tried the same method, but his aim was much worse, and the bomb landed at the giant wolf's feet.

The fire also affected the giant wolf and the second wolf cub. The cub, not being at the center of the explosion, was only thrown by the blast from the edge and struggled briefly before getting to its feet.

The giant wolf let out a miserable howl, its massive head aimed at Karl, its scarlet eyes radiating piercing hatred.

Its red fur moved without wind, and a scarlet chain appeared out of thin air, shooting towards Karl like an arrow.

Just as Karl was about to pull out the second alchemical bomb, chains were already wrapped around his entire body. He felt stiff all over, and his mind was throbbing with pain, making him unable to move.

Along with the chains shot out a giant wolf, its massive body like a small mountain, crashing towards Karl!