Chapter 148: Royal City Zarven
Nova understood. From the power he had witnessed with his own eyes, he could already tell that his flame was far stronger than ordinary Abyssal Flame. For now, he decided not to dwell on it.
"Next comes my clan," Nyxara said.
"As I’ve already told you, my clan is the Zarok Clan — the strongest and most powerful royal demon clan in the entire Abyss. Our bloodline was personally blessed by the Demon God.
As for why he chose to bless us... I don’t know. My father has never told me."
"We are known for our extremely strong regeneration and adaptive abilities. Members of our clan can adapt and learn the powers of other clans to a certain degree, though the results will never be as effective as those of the original users , still we can with enough effort.
For example, we can learn to use the flames of the Infernis Clan, but we do not gain their fire immunity. We don’t even possess proper fire resistance."
"The same applies to other clans’ abilities, such as the shadow techniques of the Umbrakai. We can learn them, but only with a very high level of comprehension."
"However, our greatest strength lies in our natural demonic power and pure physical strength, which surpass those of every other clan."
"And that is the reason our clan has remained the most dominant among all others in the entire Abyss for thousands of years. Every strongest Demon Lord has come from our bloodline.
For example, it has already been more than a thousand years since Demon Lord Raze died. I was still only a little child back then. After him, my father took control and has been ruling the Abyss ever since."
Nova listened carefully and began to understand what truly made the Zarok Clan the strongest. Their adaptive abilities, powerful demonic energy, and naturally superior physical strength combined to elevate them far above the other clans, allowing them to maintain dominance for so long.
After thinking for a few moments, he asked,
"If your clan is so powerful, then why don’t you simply rule over the other demon clans and force them under your control? Wouldn’t that make the Zarok Clan the sole royal clan?"
Nyxara glanced at him and smirked slightly.
"That’s a smart question. So you’re not completely stupid after all."
Nova barely managed to suppress his anger at her words. He simply sighed and continued listening as she explained.
"We could have done that. It’s the logical choice when you possess the greatest power. Although it wouldn’t be considered a righteous act... we are demons.
Only a few of us, like me, follow the principle of not harming others unless they harm us first."
"However, our clan cannot do it because the Demon God himself established a law. No demon clan — whether royal or ordinary is allowed to harm another demon clan without a valid reason. Anyone who breaks this law must face his wrath."
"This restriction, however, does not apply to other races. If any demon clan, or even all of them together, wishes to attack outsiders, there is no law binding them."
By now, they were drawing closer to the massive walls of the city. Nova asked another question.
"What happens if a clan breaks that rule?"
Nyxara looked at him and answered calmly,
"Their bloodline purity decreases. As a result, their demonic abilities become weaker. For a royal clan or any demon clan — that fate is considered far worse than death."
Nova nodded in understanding. From what she described, this Demon God seemed extremely cunning and ruthless. He did not want his own children killing each other, so he created a law that terrified them into obedience.
Yet he had no problem with them slaughtering the children of other races. It truly sounded like a terrible god.
{ Well... he is a Demon God at the end of the day. What did you expect? And stop thinking that all gods are good beings. }
Nova understood Liya’s point. Still, he was far too weak to involve himself in matters concerning gods. For now, he set the thought aside.
Nova decided to ask another question that had been lingering in his mind. He wasn’t sure whether it would anger her, since it was related to her personally, but he still chose to take the risk.
"If your clan is the strongest and the Sloth Clan is the weakest... why did your father arrange a marriage between the two of you?"
The moment Nyxara heard the question, her steps came to a halt. She didn’t turn to look at him, but an expression of pure disgust spread across her face.
"My father is a very evil man... but he also takes great pride in his word."
"Thousands of years ago, Demon Lord Drazhul did him a favor. In return, my father promised to fulfill one request of his — as long as it wasn’t excessive."
"A few hundred years ago, that fat pig finally called in the favor. He asked my father to arrange a marriage between his son and a daughter from our clan."
"Since my father had already given his word, and the request wasn’t considered excessive, he agreed. And that bastard son of Demon Lord Drazhul chose me... out of all my stepbrothers and stepsisters. Simply because I’m the most beautiful among them."
Nyxara’s face twisted with even deeper disdain than usual. For some reason, the disgust she felt now was stronger than ever before.
Nova thought inwardly, Whoever that idiot is, he at least has good taste in women.
{ Say that out loud and she’ll kill you, } Liya immediately warned. Nova gulped and wisely kept his mouth shut.
Nyxara’s voice grew colder as she continued.
"And my father did nothing about it. Even though I’m the eldest daughter... just because my mother died due to his mistakes, he can do whatever he wants and protect the children of his other women. How far he has fallen!"
Her aura began to leak out little by little as her emotions surged. Nova panicked and quickly tried to calm her.
"Calm down! Please! If you lose control now, our entire plan will be destroyed!"
Hearing his words, Nyxara forced herself to suppress her aura. She knew he was right. At the same time, a strange thought crossed her mind.
Why was she telling him all of this?
It wasn’t as if he was going to become her real husband. She could have simply told him the bare minimum he needed to remember for the act and kept everything else to herself.
She wasn’t obligated to answer every question he asked... yet here she was, explaining everything.
She had even forgotten that only a few hours ago she had been ready to kill him. Now, for some reason, she felt an uncontrollable urge to answer his questions and clear his doubts. Her emotions were in complete disorder, and she couldn’t understand why.
In the end, she forced herself to calm her mind and focus on the plan ahead. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the massive city gates.
Nova saw two red-skinned demons standing guard in full armor. Both of them had bulky, muscular builds and radiated the strength of peak King Realm experts.
Nyxara spoke calmly.
"This is Zarven."
"It is the city where the main family of the Zarok Clan resides. This place is known as the Royal City and falls under the Zarok Clan’s territory. Besides our clan, many other demon clans that serve under us live in the surrounding cities."
"Unlike the human world where you spent your entire life, we do not have kingdoms. We have territories, and under each territory there are numerous cities."
"Every royal clan controls its own territory and has a Royal City where the main family lives."
Nova listened carefully and asked, "So other demon clans and species also live within your territory?"
"Yes," Nyxara nodded.
By then, the two of them had reached the gates. The moment the guards recognized Nyxara, their eyes widened in shock. They could clearly feel the aura of a Sovereign radiating from her. They didn’t even spare a glance at Nova standing beside her.
Everyone in the Zarok territory knew that Princess Nyxara had gone to the Fourth Level a hundred years ago to raise her strength. Now she had returned as a Sovereign.
The guards were too stunned to speak at first. Then, remembering their duty, they immediately dropped to one knee and spoke in unison with deep respect.
"We greet Princess Nyxara. Welcome back to the Royal City."
Nyxara gave a slight nod and spoke calmly.
"Raise your heads... and greet my husband Nova as well."
The two demon guards froze for a moment. Their eyes widened even further in pure shock as they turned to look at the man standing beside her.
A tall, extremely handsome male demon with a powerful and perfectly sculpted physique stood next to their princess — the kind of appearance that could easily capture the heart of almost any woman in the entire Abyss.
And their princess had just called him her husband.
**
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