The entire group stopped moving as we glanced at the Imps emerge from the bushes, they seemed to be waiting for us by how calm they were after seeing us. Were they spying on us from afar? My senses were unable to even detect them.
Also, they seemed more prepared, they were wearing leather and wooden armor, and were holding not-so-rusty weapons this time around, they also seemed sharper and more vicious than the others we fought.
And to boot, the one behind them was the demon that set alarms on all of us, this thing wasn't a simple run-of-the-mill Imp, this thing wasn't even an Imp.
It had the size of a grown man, slender arms and legs, muscular frame, enormous torso, and gigantic arms that looked like logs, his skin was blue-colored, and it had a single blue horn growing on his forehead, while also having long, green-colored hair, and sharp yellow-gold eyes.
This humanoid-looking demon was a Blue Oni, a more intelligent Ogre-type Demon that often commands lesser demons, such as Imps.
It wasn't wearing armor at all, and it seemed to be observing the place in silence, his eyes seemed to have a greater sharpness than the Imps themselves, he was definitely way more intelligent.
"T-This is… a blue demon?" asked Gradus at my side.
"Wait, don't give a single step…"
"That thing is strong…"
"Can you feel it? the power it emanates…"
"Do we have to fight this thing?"
"If we kill it, we can make a big profit out of it though… I had never seen this thing; it is bound to cost a lot."
The Blue Oni gritted his sharp teeth as he looked at us, and then smiled, beginning to speak in a dialect the hunters didn't understand, except Eleanora and me.
"Pitiful humans, you've walked in the wrong direction, you're walking straight towards our base, and you believe we'll let you pass through easily? We'll kill you and eat your corpses before even letting you give a single step forward."
It spoke with a domineering voice, and seemed highly intelligent, he probably was a guard of this area of the Layer and might be guarding this area from any intruders or monsters that might attempt to pass through.
Nobody heard his warning because they didn't understood his words, and by checking his stats, he seemed to be perhaps twice or thrice as strong as an Imp, he was certainly a higher being, but was he impossible to beat? No.
I will take a shot while I have the opportunity, my EXP Card is already at its last 40 minutes, I cannot waste much more time babbling pointlessly.
I held a stone tightly with my hand, and enhanced it with mana and qi, firing it directly into the Oni's face.
The Oni groaned in pain, he looked down on us way too much to realize he was committing a terrible mistake at wasting his time speaking, I took the opportunity while he spoke to fire a stone directly on his face, breaking his nose and making him groan in pain.
"We don't have time to waste here! Let's kill them and advance." I said.
"You're right, Blake! Let's bring them down, they're money so we can feed our families!" said Gradus.
The Hunters roared as if trying to cheer themselves as we all charged together like a small army, their spears pointing out at the three Imps and the damaged Oni, who locked his eyes on me hatefully.
"I am going to fucking tear you to shreds!" he roared.
"Come and try me." I said with his dialect, greatly surprising him.
"H-How can a human speak demon tongue?!" he asked in surprise.
"You've spent years in this world ruled by humans yet you haven't learned the human tongue, you're the ones behind." I said.
"You stupid child!!!"
The Oni roared angrily as he rushed forward while commanding his band of three Elite Imps, as I call them, who were way more experienced-looking, stronger, and intelligent than the other Imps we killed before.
Gradus moved forward as he unleashed a strong piercing blow against the trio of Elite Imps, but all three of them jumped away from his attack with incredible agility, while pointing their daggers at him and firing them off!
However, the other Hunters, with their newfound Qi fueling their speed and movements, they were able to intercept the deadly daggers with their shields, which I had previously repaired using Nature magic that helped at regenerating broken wood.
One of the hunters thrusted his spear towards an Imp in midair, but the Imp evaded even in midair and grabbed the spear, using his strength to force the Hunter to give him the weapon.
However, another hunter quickly intercepted that Goblin and a second and third one, all three of them tried to attack the Imp, but the other Imps wouldn't let that slide, as they quickly attacked the three hunters together, falling over them like meteors by shrouding themselves in demonic energy.
They were way better coordinated, and amazing at fighting. They were even better at moving in midair by unleashing force through the manipulation of demonic energy, making them incredibly formidable foes. They were really the Elite Imps; they deserved such title.
The trio of Hunters thrown into the ground were quickly attacked by the Elite Imps, as their daggers began to stab them in the legs and arms.
Amidst their laugher, Gradus and Eleanora moved forward. Eleanora used this opportunity to use Shadow Sneak, emerging behind one of the Elite Imps and attacking it in the back by enhancing her Spear with her Aura, which she had regained through the Aether training we do every night inside the landscape that is located in the interior of my Spirit Orb.
"Blood Spear Technique: Crimson Pierce!"
The Imp cried in agony, as Eleanora's blow was packed with a lot of newfound strength.