A pensive expression overtook Adam's young and handsome face.
He had a couple of options as a new devil within the 1st layer of hell.
Although his current strength was greater than most demons he encountered, there were still older, more seasoned devils with power levels higher than his within the 1st layer. And it was a good assumption that most established devils here were already significantly stronger than him.
He had just arrived after all.
"Where am I?" Adam asked, his new voice steady, while various strategic thoughts collided in his mind, processing the implications of the information he had instinctively gleaned.
The demon, still kneeling obediently, answered without hesitation.
"In the territory of Arch Devil Gorael, and this specific domain is being managed by three devils whom are near becoming awakened realm devils."
"Hmm?" Adam mused, his hand going to his smooth, now bald chin, a gesture that felt strangely natural, "And how large is the managed territory?"
The demon finally stood up, its massive form unfolding, and answered with a vacant, yet informative, expression.
"100,000 square kilometers."
"..."
Adam paused, the implications of that number hitting him hard.
He finally couldn't quite reconcile the current information. His newly gained knowledge and intellect had finally hit a steel wall.
100,000 square kilometers was an enormous area for only three lesser realm devils to manage, even if they were close to breaking through to middle rank. It made no strategic sense for resource management or defense.
Although he wasn't sure of the exact strength of a peak-tier lesser devil, he still assumed that only 3 wasn't near enough to secure such a large territory.
"Why?"
Adam decided not to try and decipher the meaning through sheer deduction, choosing instead the most direct route.
"We don't know, Lord," the demon, though massive and horrifying in appearance, clearly did not lack intellect, its mental voice calm, "But it seems that Arch Devil Gorael doesn't have any plans on fostering a large army or actively recruiting new devils for the foreseeable future in this particular domain. It appears they only have those three devils guarding a mine filled with a large quantity of ores and delivering them to the deeper levels of hell."
A small, genuine smirk tugged on Adam's lips as he heard the demon's explanation. It was the first of such expressions to touch his new demonic face.
He realized now how incredibly lucky he was.
To be born in a powerful devil's domain that was not aggressively asserting control over its nascent demonic population, that didn't immediately try and subjugate every lesser devil that cropped up, was a rare stroke of fortune!
A sigh of relief, a sensation that was both liberating and eager, escaped Adam's lips.
He started to move forward, his first steps, his stride already confident. A feeling of contentment came from this new life of his that didn't start with a fight for freedom.
He had had enough of being a victim.
"Find me a free location with no devil presiding." Adam waved his hand casually, the undisputed command escaping his lips easily.
Demonic royalty flowed within his veins; his arrogance and strength tied hand in hand.
The demons behind him, a growing horde now numbering perhaps a hundred, had their eyes brighten with unholy carnage and insatiable desire at his words. They roared, a sound of distorted and violent anticipation as they began to run forward, eager to scout and clear the way for their new master.
Lesser rank devils were outnumbered tens of thousands to one by the general demon populace, so they would always restrain themselves when recruiting demons, only taking what they could handle.
This left a massive amount of demons without leadership and desperate for ways to invade other realms. Therefore, finding a newborn devil was always a great opportunity for them.
It was an investment.
Adam walked in a relaxed, almost leisurely manner, yet his new body moved swiftly and effortlessly throughout hell's varied terrain.
His taunt, streamlined muscles moving like a perfect machine of indescribable beauty and power. His eyes pierced through the gloomy fog as he moved forward.
The sky above seemed endless, a perpetual red hue stretched across the vastness of hell, lined with mysterious black streaks and swirling mist. It wasn't completely barren either; twisted, gnarled trees, their branches like skeletal fingers, and strange, unsettlingly colorful fauna dotted the desolate land, providing splashes of vibrant, alien life in the pervasive gloom.
As Adam stepped on the rough ground, a crunch of jagged rock beneath his newly powerful feet sounded, and a faint ripple seemed to spread from his every step. The way the miasma reacted seemed like the ebb and flow of a tide.
Adam marched, his nascent horde following like a living shadow.
The landscape of the 1st layer of hell, though familiar to him through his innate demonic knowledge, was a sensory assault in the physical reality. Going from a blind man for almost his entire life, to then suddenly seeing on a level that surpassed humans, any newborn would have a slight delay to getting accustomed.
Regardless, Adam remained undaunted.
The ground underfoot shifted from jagged, volcanic rock to desolate, dust-choked plains, then to areas where strange, luminescent fungi pulsed with an eerie light, illuminating by grotesque, moss-covered ravines.
The air, perpetually thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid scent of sulfur from the all encompassing miasma, hummed with the distant, low growl of the underworld. It was a sound that vibrated not only in his ears, but directly within his newly formed demonic core and soul. Like sense of home, or family.
As if hell itself was indeed his mother…
Shaking such thoughts away, Adam observed his followers.
They were a motley collection of low-tier demons, while some mid and high-tier demons mixed in.
Their forms varied.
Hulking brutes with single, chipped horns, multi-limbed horrors that skittered on insect-like legs, and a few sleek, reptilian monstrosities that slithered along the ground.
Their individual desires, their chaotic impulses, were palpable to him, a constant, low-level buzz in his mind.
Leading them felt as natural as breathing.
He found he didn't need to shout orders; a mere intent, a focused thought of direction, transmitted itself to them, guiding their brutish actions. This innate control was a marvel, a stark contrast to his past helplessness, but still an instinct that needed to be practiced.
As they moved, the demons occasionally sniffed the air, their bestial senses picking up faint trails. Understanding the lay of the land through their own demonic instincts that rivaled that of top predators in other worlds.
No, it surpassed them!
Adam, his own senses far more refined and sensitive, registered what they sought: the lingering scent of other, unaligned demons, perhaps stragglers or small, wild packs.
A few times, a smaller demon would break rank, its eyes gleaming with a primitive hunger, attempting to pick off some unknown prey.
Adam, with a mere flick of his wrist or a silent command of his mental pressure, would bring them back into line. He didn't want random skirmishes that would attract unwanted attention from Gorael's managing devils.
Not yet at least.
His goal was to consolidate power, not to provoke a larger conflict before he was ready; and finding a place to set up camp was his top priority.