[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-adventures-of-hulim":3,"chapter-the-adventures-of-hulim-the-adventures-of-hulim-chapter-505":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Adventures of Hulim",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1882406,2498,"Chapter 505 An Encounter on the Road","the-adventures-of-hulim-chapter-505",505,"\u003Cp>“That the demons have found a method beyond curse transfer to overcome the Forbidden Zone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, many fell deep in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that were true, it would perfectly explain how an entire demon legion had landed—led by a Demon Lord-Class demon, no less!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that’s the case, the situation is dire for us indeed……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laki said gravely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Heroes have not yet reached their full strength. We currently lack the power to stand against a Demon Lord-Class being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if we could join forces to defeat that one, what if the Demon Lord himself can leave the Demon Continent early as well?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Truly, it’s catastrophic……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the worst possible outcome.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unease spread rapidly through the council chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Irus glanced subtly toward Hulim Heyerar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl had not spoken a word, her expression unchanged from start to finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, right—you mentioned two explanations earlier, Irus. What’s the second?” Laki asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Irus withdrew her gaze and spoke after a brief pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The second is the even worse scenario.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chamber fell utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long, heavy moment:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……Wha—???”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cries of shock and confusion erupted from every side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No better-case scenario?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only bad news and even worse news?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Irus! You can’t be serious!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Laki’s disbelieving stare, Irus shook her head gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I would never joke at a time like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because the second possibility is that the Demon Lord’s army has not mastered any method beyond curse transfer at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The meaning is simple—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Irus’s lips moved softly, uttering words that made nearly everyone in the room draw a sharp, cold breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Demon Lord’s army has forcibly mustered this vanguard legion purely through overwhelming numbers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a single sound could be heard in the council chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearly everyone stood frozen like stone statues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did she mean……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>forcibly mustered through sheer numbers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey…… Irus, you can’t—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am completely serious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Irus cut her off preemptively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her expression was stern and solemn, devoid of her usual playful air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her emerald green eyes swept slowly over every person present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the second scenario is true……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, regrettably, we face the most terrifying, most brutal Demon Lord invasion in recorded history. Their high-tier combat power—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“far outnumbers our own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the city walls of Lidoyar Kingdom,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Dwarven Legion was assembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As its commander, Aralond stood atop the wall, watching over the formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I had hoped we would have more time……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head, gazing at the gray, overcast sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never thought it would come so soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eruption of Red Mist Volcano had been suppressed,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but its initial burst had still wrought massive damage. Earthquakes had shattered countless towns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toxic gases mixed in volcanic ash had forced residents of nearby regions to abandon their homes temporarily; they could not return until the ash and fumes cleared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these were not the gravest consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Monster legions left behind by Groth’s remnants, alongside native beasts across the land, had been driven into a frenzy by the volcanic eruption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They posed an existential threat to the people of the Northern Wastes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dwarven Legion was the only force capable of quelling this danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet before the North could fully recover, they were forced to march away……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap, tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps sounded behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to wear such a look, Aralond.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master?” Aralond turned to see Fulmir approaching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder dwarf stepped beside him, eyes fixed on the assembling army ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The situation is far better than we anticipated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though the volcanic ash will lengthen this winter, it is only temporary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust in the resilience of the Northern people. They will manage without us. The front lines, however—that is where countless lives hang in the balance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My true battlefield is not here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. That is the spirit. You have always been quick to accept reality, that hasn’t changed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your words do little to lift my mood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aralond touched the Divine Shield in his grasp and sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is precisely because I understand the reality that I fear. Can we truly win……?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demon Lord-Class demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having witnessed the peak power of a Hero in ages past, Aralond knew all too well the terror of a being on that level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he knew, too, the vast gulf between that power and his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will only know once we fight. The fact that the front has stabilized means the situation is not as hopeless as we fear. Besides……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoever it was, we know the gods have not turned a blind eye. Let us trust that They will watch over us and grant us Their protection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That is not like the level-headed you. But……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You speak the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aralond bowed his head devoutly, hands clasped together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May the gods watch over us——”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>7th of September, 792 New Divine Calendar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dwarven Legion, stationed in the Lidoyar Kingdom to provide relief after the Red Mist Volcano eruption, received urgent frontline dispatches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They halted relief efforts, completed full assembly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and marched south across the border into the Pasara Empire, then turned east within imperial territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They hurried at forced march toward the Witch Hills front line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the advance party encountered an unusual group on the road……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several hundred figures clad in robes of varying hues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wide brims hid half their faces, concealing their features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet despite their far smaller numbers compared to a regular army,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the oppressive aura they radiated was beyond anything ordinary soldiers could emit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For these were mages from the White Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every last one of the hundreds—minimum B-Rank strength……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack! Pop!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around a campfire,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a small group sat in a circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……I never expected to run into you here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Esmelon. I had assumed your group would have arrived long ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laki spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her were the others who had departed the Lidoyar Kingdom alongside Hulim Heyerar—and two new faces: one old, one young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder had long white hair and a full beard, dressed in a simple, unadorned white robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl had short blue hair and matching blue eyes. She had not spoken a word since arriving; indeed, her expression had not shifted once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I intended to train the Hero to battlefield readiness before moving out. I did not foresee this turn of events.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white-haired elder—Esmelon van Lorin, the current Sage—replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Hero? This one beside you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes turned to the blue-haired girl at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even under so many stares, her face remained utterly blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ika—the current Book Hero.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esmelon van Lorin answered simply on her behalf.\u003C\u002Fp>",1112,"2026-06-10T06:36:51.451Z",1,"novelbin.me","1922da78aa9dec28b15b5a1574ccd0b53d8769a19bc313a5c85b808074e980f6","the-adventures-of-hulim-chapter-506","the-adventures-of-hulim-chapter-504",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-adventures-of-hulim-cover.jpg"]