The Martial God: Demonic Cultivator in a World of Magic [Isekai LitRPG]

Ralian sat down with a sigh, having returned from the Matriarch’s chamber with a heavy mind. She hoped things would get better, but they were far from it. 

When she poured herself a cup of herbal tea, the door clicked with knocks. She looked up at it, her sense of smell had already recognized who it was, and she nodded. “Come in.”

The door opened, and a man stepped inside. He was wrapped in black, and even his face was hidden underneath a mask. Such was a common sight for the [Assassin] classes within the tribe.

“Clasius,” she recognized him.

He kneeled and took off the mask, unwilling to show disrespect to her, which revealed his Wolf Demi-Human features. Knelt before her, head low, Clasius began his report, “Acting matriarch, my lady. I have done as instructed and followed the Romani young brat until he sent the messenger bird away.”

“Mhm. Anything unusual?”

“None. In the beginning, he…” He began in great detail, starting from when he first stepped inside the inn to when he reached the horse stable. 

After describing all that, he reached the final part. “After the bird was sent away, I and the rest of my group followed after it. We caught it midair, snatched its letter, and read through it. There was nothing unusual there either. I don't think he really suspects anything. Then we reattached the letter and let the bird go,” he finished in a single breath.

“Hmm,” Ralian considered those words.

When she met the Romani brat in the forest, she wasn't expecting him to come to Lockdarn. If she had, she'd have warned him to stay away. Then again, that'd have been too suspicious.

Regardless, it was a surprise to her when the city guards reported that the Romani boy was at the city gate and that he wanted to come to stay in the Baron's guest house. She had no other choice but to let him in, when the guard threatened that they would return and report to the Count.

Something doesn't add up, though. From what she had seen personally, that boy was observant. He could see through what others couldn't. That encounter had made her assume that his bad reputation was simply a facade.

Did someone like him truly not see anything suspicious in the mansion?

Or were her tribe members acting just that good?

Maybe he was just too focused on the Baroness. She shook her head. Even if he had observation skills beyond his age and level, he was still a young man. Getting wooed by an older woman wasn't that surprising.

Coincidentally, that flirty and slutty Baroness ended up helping us. Ralian concluded with a small smile. 

Humans were too lustful for their own good.

“Alright, keep observing him whenever he meets with his knights. However, leave him alone for the rest of the day,” she said. To begin with, even if he learned something, he could only deliver that news after meeting his Knight Order. So it's a foolproof plan to only observe him during his exchange with his knights.

“Understood! In that case, I'll return to observe him immediately,” the assassin wolf said, and she nodded. He vanished in a blur of shadow, leaving her alone to sip tea and think about the tribe again.

A single battle.

All it took was a single battle against that Ancient Vampire for the tribe to be reduced to such a state. 

…All of the other members of that god-forsaken Obsidian Vampire Family were bearable, but their Patriarch was an overwhelming force of nature that the tribe’s Matriarch lost against despite her immense power. He was a monster.

At the very least, he too was greatly injured even if he earned victory. That meant, at least, he wouldn't come running to find them to end the fight that's been started.

“Goddamned bats,” she let out a sigh and leaned further back into the chair. The damage was done though, even if they didn't come to pick another fight. Their matriarch was dying. Ralian was nowhere near enough to replace her.

She felt hollow, remembering how many of her people had died in the battle. They couldn't even give them a proper burial, rather choosing to hide in this foreign land. 

Ralian closed her eyes and decided to catch some sleep.

Half an hour later, the same [Assassin] returned to report something that made all her sleep vanish and her blood go cold.

****

Sir Carlos and I returned to the inn and met up with the rest of the group. We spent the day outside, roaming around to learn about the situation a bit more, if possible. We didn't have much expectations since the situation at the mansion was largely concealed within the walls. 

But if Professor Amelia's words were true, the underworld of this city had been overturned by werewolves when they first came here. There should be at least some rumors still around. 

So we decided to ask around the parts, although very subtly since those stalker wolves from earlier were still following around. Stopping before a fruit shop, I opened my mouth, “So the Dread Wolves in the forest haven't done any damage so far?” I asked the shopkeeper. 

He was startled when I stopped in front of his shop and looked uncomfortable when I started talking to him. But when I grabbed an apple, throwing him a whole Gold coin, he began to sing. “Ah, yes! That's probably why the Baron hasn't acted against them, young master! Otherwise, I’m sure he would have asked for assistance a long time ago. You wanna buy anything else?”

Yeah, the Dread Wolves were probably a part of this werewolf tribe. Moon Wolf Tribe, right? Probably their hunting dogs. That's why they couldn't allow the Baron to hurt them. They probably kept those things around as observers.

I hummed and asked the shopkeeper some more questions. Officially, we were here for a Dread Wolf Subjugation mission, anyway, so it's not weird that we're asking around about that. I hope our stalker friends will understand that. “Any idea where they came from? I hear they popped out of nowhere. Could they be controlled by someone?”

He scoffed, “You must jest, young master. Who could control Dread Wolves?”

I moved on from this guy to find someone more knowledgeable, but sadly I found none. We spent the next hours like that, but we didn't learn anything. It was as if we were running a fool’s errand. Amelia wasn’t lying when she said one of the werewolves had been a part of the underworld from before, so perhaps he suppressed all of the rumors? That was the only possible explanation for this absurd lack of information.

At one point, we sent away most of the trainee knights to the large opening around the stable to train their swords. It was useless to have them occupied in this stupid place when we failed to learn anything at all, especially when they could better use their time to train instead. The Vice-Captain of the 5th Knight Order, a man of few words, was sent away with them to watch over their training.

Now, just six of us made up the search party. We asked around for a bit more, until finally giving up.

“Fuck,” I grumbled and leaned against the wall. We were occupying an outskirt alley now, deciding to hang out here for a while. There were nothing but empty boxes and trash cans kept around, and my eyes locked on a black cat diving into one of those cans, searching for food.

The trainees exchanged glances, also burnt out from this meaningless crusade, while Sir Carlos rubbed the back of his head. “It's okay, young master. We'll find some lead sooner or later,” while he said that, I saw no hope.

A lazier man would suggest I should just stay put and wait for reinforcements to arrive, but I could never sit still doing nothing in such a scenario. The thought of returning to the guest house itself was fear-inducing, what if they ended up changing their mind and murdering me in my sleep?

Just that maid from earlier was [Level 38].

I sighed. “I-”

“No way, it can't be. Is that little Carlos?” All of a sudden, a mocking voice called from the side. We all turned toward it, and I looked at Carlos due to the sudden change in his expression.

He was clenching his jaws as if to break his teeth. The look in his eyes was not funny.

Damn. I hadn't seen him angry like that ever before.

“What are you doing here, Joseph?” He asked towards the man who had called his name earlier.

I took a better look at him. It was a tall man with lean muscles, messy black hair, and a necklace with a blade attached rested from his neck. He looked like a typical alley ruffian. He wasn't alone.

 A large group followed behind him, all looking similarly. It was a group of thugs. 

“You know them, Sir Carlos?” Tyrone asked, his hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

I wasn't the only one who had sensed the tension in the air. These thugs didn't come with good intentions.

“Oh, he does, of course he does. He knows me, and I know him just as well,” that guy named Joseph cackled. “We're from the same slum!”

Sir Carlos’ face darkened while the trainees behind us began to murmur in shock. Huh. Were they really this shocked to learn that their squad leader was from the slums?

Sir Carlos glared at him, but spoke to me, “Sorry you have to see this, young master.”

“It's alright. I don't presume he's an old friend?” I asked.

“Quite the contrary,” he replied.

“That's not good,” I judged as I returned to take a look at them. It wasn't a good thing if they truly were enemies. After all…

[Level 39]

[Level 31]

[Level 25]

[Level 25]

[Level 24]

[Level 24]

[Level 21]

There were six of us, and there were seven of them. All but one of them were stronger than our group. Our highest was Sir Carlos, at Level 49 but the second strongest in our group, Rony… stood at Level 20. 

Everyone else was below that, including myself.

“Joseph, I asked you a question. What are you doing here?” Sir Carlos asked, and the leader of the ruffians shrugged.

“What else? I’m here for my job. I started doing mercenary skits after our last meeting. Since you went out of your way to give us a… lesson,” his last word sounded quite venomous as he spat. “I’d decided I had to grow my power too, like our precious little Carlos. Today, I came here to Lockdarn due to one of the mercenary missions I was hired for. Heh, I'm Level 39 now, can you believe that?”

“Good for you. What do you want with me?” Sir Carlos did not care that his old acquaintance was at Level 39. In his blunt question, the man's smile dropped but his eyes lit up.

“Oh, I'm sure you know. After the beating you gave us last time when you caught us stealing, trying to make a living, I've been itching… itching to get back at you. Now, we've coincidentally come across like this.”

That's not good. Something was wrong with him. His eyes, especially. The sky was growing darker, and I think his eyes were growing redder. Is he another werewolf?

“If you want to fight, come find me at the inn I'm staying at. I'll tell you the name. Leave me alone now, I'm on duty, serving the young master.” Sir Carlos replied sternly, which put all the attention on me.

“Hello,” I waved at the ruffians, who looked at me in silence as their eyes fell on the family insignia.

I expected them to back off immediately. Usually, typical thugs would be scared of any Noble families, especially a Count family like the Romanis. Instead, their lips spread into a grin, “No fucking way, Carlos.” One of the guys following the punk named Joseph said. “You're following that twink around and calling him ‘young master’?!”

“....”

I stayed silent, while Sir Carlos growled. “How dare you insult the young master?”

“Take out your sword, Carlos. You wanna get back at us? Take out your sword-”

“You think I won't, you little punks?!” Sir Carlos yanked his sword out and burst towards them. His speed was extraordinary, my eyes failed to follow him. My Sphere barely tracked him.

The eyes of the punk who had just spoken went wide. He closed his eyes instinctively, crossing his arms in front of him. Carlos’ sword flew towards his neck.

Another sword stopped it.

Joseph, grinning like a maniac, stood between Carlos and the punk he swung his sword at. His own sword blocked Carlos' attack, as he chuckled. “Isn't it amazing? I can follow your movements now, unlike last time.”

Sir Carlos’ expression contorted. The same happened to me. “Joseph,” he growled. 

“Yes?”

“What have you done to yourself?!” He shouted in the face of the red-eyed, pointy-eared thug. I realized that no, this bastard was not one of those werewolves. Although he might be something much worse than that.

A Vampire.

Immediately, his five subordinates kicked the ground and rushed toward us. They too had red, glowing eyes, and pointy ears. Six Vampires. 

Sir Carlos tried to stop them, but Joseph held all of his attention. I withdrew my blade, while the trainees did the same. Our swords clashed against the thugs’ daggers and blades. 

One of them even welded an ax.

That punk swung it toward me.

[Level 31].

Why did the strongest bastard have to come to me? I wondered as my sword blocked the ax. It was of no use, as he easily overpowered it.

My sword shattered immediately, the weight difference between the two weapons was too much. The trainees around me shouted in shock when the ax came toward my chest next.

I ducked.

The ax cut through the air above me, and my legs slammed behind his knees on the thigh, a calf kick. He was way stronger and heavier than me, sadly, so it did not have the exact effect I had wished for. He did not budge.

Around me, the trainees were too concerned for my life, and consequently their own because they’d be hanged if they failed to protect me, to fully focus on their enemies. Tyrone and Rony held off well, but the other two were thrown around like ragdolls. An enemy sword cut through one of their arms, causing them to shout, while the other was sent flying backward in an attempt to block an attack.

The situation was not looking good. The enemies had elongated claws in one hand, drawing blood with ease, while their other hand wielded their usual weapons. My trainees were getting injured fast, and at this rate, they would fall to their deaths. Sir Carlos was too concerned to focus on his own battle, which caused him a few wounds as well.

Then, there was me. I, who had lost my sword.

“Little punk, die!” The ax-wielding bastard shouted as he swung his ax towards my shoulder. He wasn't aiming for my death, probably planning to hurt me, kidnap me, and ask for ransom from the Count.

“Y-young master!”

That was a mistake.

I did not need a sword to continue fighting. 

I circulated Qi through my body, my fist began to glow like a fire torch, as the images of myself in the ring flashed before my eyes. Avoiding the ax’s trajectory with practiced precision, I locked eyes with him. Adrenaline burned with the Qi, and my eyes felt clearer than ever before.

[Experience from another life has flooded into your veins…!]

[Advanced Skill: Kickboxing has been unlocked!]

My jaws clenched, and my fist grew brighter. It flew toward his face, a jab. A red aura, shaped like the head of a bull, bloomed from my fist. It hit him and I could see that he was surprised by how weak it was. 

He let his guard down as came in for another punch, a one-two is what they called it in the gym. My left arm glowed early, I stepped forward and put my weight into it. Turning my waist, shoulder, and qi at the same time. A devastating left hook landed on his face. 

True Demon Fist Art, First Form— The Burning Barrage of the Bull of Heaven…!

[You've performed the True Demon Fist Art. The skill related to it, ‘Boxing’, is fidgeting…!] 

[Basic Skill ‘Boxing’ resonates with the Advanced Skill ‘Kickboxing’. Synergy can be achieved. Would you like to—]

“Yes.”

[Skill ‘Kickboxing (Expert)’ has been upgraded to ‘Kickboxing (Master)’.]

My fist slammed and exploded with the power of a super bull, and I could see that he felt it. His eyes went blank briefly, he lost consciousness for a second, and his ax dropped from his hand. Usually they stayed down after such a clean hit, but this was a superhuman, and a vampire to boot. He regained consciousness even before falling to the ground. 

He looked at me in shock, but it was too late. He was wide open, and I unleashed a barrage of attacks. He was basically just a punching bag for me. A right hook that went into a spinning elbow. Question mark kicks, and then roundhouse kicks. He tried to cover his face but it made no difference to me.

My left hand slipped behind his head and grabbed it in place, a clinch was what we called this move in kickboxing. He let his guard down and tried smashing at it with his hand, but it was too late. I had gathered all my Qi in my right arm, the technique was ready, and I unleashed the first form of the demonic art again. 

My left hand didn’t let his unconscious body fall, instead I gathered my Qi and simply used it to enhance my elbow. I slammed it in his face. Then another elbow and another. Again and again I kept elbowing him. He must have felt like being poked by bull horns.

I only let go of him once I saw the level up notification.

[You've killed a Level 31 ‘Thrall Vampire’.]

[You've earned tons of experience points.]

[You've leveled up.]

[You've leveled up.]

[You've leveled up.]

[You've reached Level 15!]

The sound of his body hitting the ground was overwhelmed by the sounds of me Leveling up with ‘dings’ going off in my head. If he had taken me seriously from the get-go and used Mana on his ax, I would have been dead meat. But he didn't think I was a danger, so he chose to play with me. That was what earned his death. 

A considerable amount of Qi had left me when I used those two fist arts. However, the level-up filled me with energy. My Core filled to the brim.

I turned toward the other enemies. They were all staring at me, eyes wide. Even Sir Carlos and Joseph looked at me in shock.

I used that moment of distraction for my own benefit. I rushed toward one of the two Level 25s and slammed my fist in his head. A normal punch had the possibility of killing a man if angled right on the head. A super punch, stronger now that I had leveled up, of this caliber all but guaranteed it.

The attack exploded against his brain, and he was sent flying to slam against a wall. The others wouldn’t let me surprise them, so I had to hit them in the chin. Thankfully these idiots didn’t know how to guard, or maybe they were too shocked to do so? One after another, my fists exploded against their heads, and in the process, I failed to dodge one of their slashes, earning me a wound. That didn't stop me, my side bled, but I continued my barrage. 

Half a minute later, all five of them lay around the area, dead. Their heads were cracked open, and brain matter splattered across the floor and walls, while I stood on my feet.

[You've leveled up.]

[You've leveled up.]

[You've leveled up.]

[You've reached Level 18!]

[The Heavenly Demon Skill Tree’s proficiency has crossed 9.99%, rising to 10.44%. You've been enlightened about one technique.]

[....!]

There were some other notifications, but I ignored them for now. I looked at the grotesque dead bodies around me, instead. 

They weren't after my life, unlike the assassin, but the crime was close enough. I didn't feel pity for them. “Fucking bastards,” If anything, I was a little bummed out how I only got three levels killing a whole four of them. Useless bastards.

As they say, leveling gets harder as one leveled up further. The four of them only gave me three levels, when the Level 31 guy had given me three.

I was breathing heavily, but my fatigue vanished as I leveled up. I looked at Joseph, the last of them, who was clashing with Sir Carlos. 

His fingers had transformed into claws, clad in some kind of Blood Qi, as he slashed against Sir Carlos. But Carlos wasn't someone who needed my help, he tore through his enemy's defenses with the slashes of his sword.

Now that he didn't need to worry about me or the other trainees, he was giving it his all. Speaking of the other trainees, they were staring at me in pure shock. They hadn't expected to see such powers from me. Heck, even I am surprised that my blows packed that much power. I was just a Level 12, after all.

“This… wasn’t the young master just on the 1st Ascension? How does he have such powerful skills?” Tyrone asked from the background, eyes wide and grip tight around the sword. Perhaps he had thought our fight was unfair because he couldn’t use the skills he had trained for many years, only to now see that my skills were in a whole other league.

“Don’t kill him, Sir Carlos!” I called, “We need to interrogate him.”

“Alright, young master!” Sir Carlos shouted in return, and while doing so, landed his final attack. If the Vampire enemy posed any real threat, his morale had been shaken after seeing all his subordinates die. He wasn’t strong enough to match against Sir Carlos, who brought his sword down upon his right shoulder. It sliced through, and his arm fell to the floor. His weapon fell too.

Blood did not gush out – vampires did not bleed – but the pain was as real as it could be. He fell to the floor, on his knees, and shouted. Sir Carlos kicked him on the jaw, sending him tumbling to the floor.

“You disappointing bastard,” he loomed over his old acquaintance. “What have you done to yourself? Tell me everything at once!”

“Keke… Carlos…” Joseph spat out a tooth and looked at Carlos with a broken grin. “You’ve never been the interrogator type, have you? What makes you think that I will open my mouth? I—”

A blur of shadow passed over.

Joseph’s body vanished, as the blur did too.

All of the trainees, including Sir Carlos, were alarmed as their heads snapped around. They shouted, asking for the figure in the shadows to come out, but sadly, he was already gone. My Demonic Sphere noted his presence from a long time ago, for he’s been following us the entire day.

So Joseph’s going to be handed over to the werewolves now, I noted. They’ll know that the Vampires are most likely aware of their location. Hopefully, that’ll prompt them to leave the city immediately.

I heaved out a breath and sat down on one of the empty boxes in this place. In my heart, I hoped for the best. But my brain swirled with ideas to prepare for the worst.