Chapter 142: Window To Helmand
Joe Joe was instantly stunned by the rock that hit his face, although it didn’t do much damage.
"What the—" he exclaimed as he tried to ascertain where the rock had emerged from. He senses another one flying towards him at a higher speed and swung his body to the side, the weapon just whizzing past his face.
It was at that moment that he could suddenly hear squeaky, nasal sounds that seemed to echo from all sides, he knew what the sound was instinctively.
"Fucking Kobolds." He muttered as he grit his teeth.
There was maybe twenty of them, they were all shorter than him, wielding small clubs in their hands. They looked like slightly short men, with the face of lizards and scaled on their body, they hissed as they approached Joe Joe with their weapons.
It was immediately obvious how far behind they were from the rest of the world.
They waved their clubs in the air and swung at Joe Joe, but he knew, their mistake was revealing themselves.
They all swung at once, aiming for the man’s lower body. With a subtle push against the ground, Joe Joe rose into the air, conveniently avoiding their attacks, then he pulled out his rapier and threw it downwards.
The weapon had been infused with so much Qi, it now acted as though it had a mind of its own. It circled in the mist of the Kobolds, piercing each and every one of them violently through their chests.
Only the screeching sounds of agony could be heard as every one of the Kobolds was cut through like a piece of paper.
In less than five seconds, the Kobolds were defeated, their corpses rested on the ground in a pile of their blue blood. Joe Joe had landed safely a few paces ahead of the Kobold heap and his rapier flew back into his grasp with practiced ease, covered in blue.
He suddenly began hearing sounds emitting from all ends, he knew instantly that there were more Kobolds hiding in the shadows. Killing them all was going to waste his time, he threw his rapier in the air and jumped on it, dashing towards the red dot at the exit of the cave.
He could hear the snarls and the screeching sounds from behind him as he dove through the air, he regretted why he hadn’t just flown through in the first place.
As he neared the exit, the red dot increased significantly, it’s size expanding until Joe Joe reached it. It was like a small window, he quickly ascertained that on the other end of that passageway was Helmand.
He grabbed his rapier, the blade humming softly in his grip as he cleaned it, and sheathed it carefully. He reached out to touch the window, his hand passed right through.
It was surreal, he pushed his other hand through, then his head, and before long, his entire body had passed through the threshold. Helmand wasn’t completely dark. It was more dim, not entirely devoid of light.
The air was thick, and the roads were made of red soil. He looked around, there was no one. He sighed and looked back at the window that he passed through.
’No wonder nobody knew about it.’ He mused as he stepped closer to it.
It appeared to be a hole in the floor, but it was very well hidden, to the ordinary eye it seemed like there was no hole at all. He looked carefully and took a mental picture for when he would eventually leave.
He didn’t have a long time to stay here, frankly, he didn’t know if he could be here more than one week.
He turned around and moved towards the main city.
***
With the cloth on his face, and his muscular build, under the dim lights, he was very indistinguishable from the rest of the demons. He had also slung a hood over this head, so his identity was very hard to ascertain.
He moved deeper into the city, he could see the demon king’s castle in the distance, towering above every other building that stood in the entire city.
To the naked eye, it wasn’t hard to understand that the entire city of Helmand was in peril. There were demons scattered everywhere, most of them were malnourished and underfed, they struggled for even the minutest piece of food like animals.
The stories he heard were true, he turned his head away and kept moving forward, the path was narrow, and lined with small houses and merchant stores that made the above world look like heaven.
He walked into a small store on the corner, he was instantly met with the sight of unconventional artifacts, ones that would only pass as garbage in his world.
There were Kobold teeth, lizard eyes, dragon snake scales, and the likes. There was a small merchant sitting at the end of the shop, a small book was open infront of his eyes.
By his looks, he was a demon, but his demeanor was like that of a human.
"Welcome to Xani’s store! What can I help you with, we have an assortment of artifacts for your use, kindly make your preference know—" the demon immediately began reciting, giving Joe Joe the impression that he had bee in in this business longer than he could remember.
"I’m not here for that." Joe Joe said, cutting him off.
"Oh—my apologies, stranger." The demon gave him a look that suggested he was curious to see what lay behind all the facial coverings. "What is it that you seek then sir?"
"What’s the safest way to get into the castle?" Joe Joe asked.
The demon gave him a suspicious look and then—without saying a word—turned his back to pull out another book, this small demon was taking his time to respond.
Joe Joe was already frustrated as the demon began to whistle. He slammed his fist on the counter and walked closer to intimidate the demon. "Are you going to answer my question."
Xani didn’t flinch. He kept whistling and looked into Joe Joe’s eyes, not a hint of fear was in his.
"Who are you?" Xani asked.