The Demon Emperor (continued)

Just as he passed through, he saw a dark figure rushing towards him. It was the Black Armor General who ignored the flying stone slabs and charged straight at him. He cursed under his breath and could only hastily raise his sword to defend himself.

However, the expected impact did not occur; the Black Armor General's greatsword stopped less than six feet from Ying Zhou.

"What's going on? Is it malfunctioning? So it really is a puppet?"

Just as he was wondering, he saw Xia Guanxue and Nether Lord, who were fighting fiercely on the other side, stop fighting at the same time and look up at the southern sky. Ying Zhou immediately realized that something must have happened there, but because his cultivation level was too low, he could not sense it for the time being.

"What the hell happened?!" Ying Zhou, with his shorter delay, immediately sensed the two massive Yao Qi and couldn't help but curse, "One of the Yao Qi energies is even stronger than the War God! Could this be the legendary Heavenly Demon?"

Xia Guanxue looked at Nether Lord warily. "Your Heaven-Defying Society really sided with the Demon Race? I thought this was just a smear campaign that guy was trying to frame?"

"If I said that Heaven-Defying Society also unaware of this, would you believe me?" After his initial shock, Nether Lord couldn't help but smile bitterly upon hearing the question.

"Do you think I should believe you?" Xia Guanxue asked rhetorically.

"Believe it or not, it doesn't matter. The Heaven-Defying Society long been labeled a traitorous organization anyway. Even if we add another piece of evidence, it won't make much difference," Nether Lord said with a relaxed attitude. "However, I still want to state that everything was done on the spur of the Military God's word. We, the Heaven-Defying Society, were kept in the dark and were even used by him."

"Does your Heaven-Defying Society have no rules for its members?"

"Wasn't we tricked by your Mohist School? You spread rumors everywhere that our organization uses forbidden techniques to control the lives of our subordinates, causing panic among our members. Perhaps the Military God has become disloyal because of this and has colluded with the Demon Race."

"Hey, hey, hey, we may be friends, but I'll sue you for defamation if you talk nonsense." Si Ming, who had just arrived, immediately retorted after hearing this. "Besides, it's a fact that you used forbidden techniques to control your subordinates, otherwise how would so-and-so have suddenly died?"

"Perhaps we Qi Deviation during practice, causing our energy to become disordered and resulting in a backlash? What evidence do you have to prove that we used forbidden techniques?"

"I don't have concrete evidence, but I didn't say you definitely used forbidden techniques. The newspapers only published 'suspected that you used forbidden techniques.' Do you understand what 'suspected' means? It means making reasonable conjectures based on some clues from indirect evidence. You won't be held legally responsible for that. Of course, if you're not Qi Ingestion, you can sue me in court. I believe the judge will give you a fair and just trial."

Si Ming's barrage of words left Nether Lord speechless, only able to chuckle.

Ultimately, when a government wants to deal with a terrorist organization, it doesn't need any evidence. If they say you're guilty, you're guilty. Whether it's raping an 80-year-old woman or harassing a three-year-old girl, these charges are just fabricated against you. What can you do? Can you stand up and refute them?

Nether Lord's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I don't think now is the time to argue about these issues." He glanced worriedly in the direction from which the Yao Qi was coming.

"That's true... Couldn't your Remote Heaven Society activate a forbidden technique to instantly kill the Military God?"

"So, our organization's control over its subordinates isn't as strict as you imagine. Besides, with the wisdom of Military God, wouldn't he know how to eliminate hidden dangers? Even if there really is that kind of forbidden technique you think there is, he would definitely find a way to break it."

To this seemingly reasonable answer, Si Ming could only chuckle. Who knew if the other party was feigning helplessness to deceive him? Perhaps the Military God's defection to the Demon Race was the will of the Remote Heaven Society, deliberately pushing him out as their representative. Every word Nether Lord said could only be taken as a reference and not believed.

Seeing Si Ming's expression, Nether Lord knew what he was thinking. Of course, Si Ming didn't bother to hide his thoughts, so he could only say, "Whether you believe it or not, our Remote Heaven Society's goal is only to sever the Divine Pillar and break the shackles of the Eternal Barrier, in order to open up a new future for Human Race. We have no reason to ally with the Demon Race. Even if we cooperated in the past, it was simply to use them to help the Demon Race eliminate Human Race, which contradicts the principles of our Remote Heaven Society."

Ying Zhou couldn't help but say, "Isn't your goal to destroy the world?" It seems like all the villains on TV are like that.

"That's something only madmen and fools would do. What good would it do us to destroy the world?" Nether Lord retorted.

"How would I know what the benefits would be? But that Military God seems to know; isn't he also a member of your Remote Heaven Society?"

"This is also what troubles me. I really can't understand why the Military God would choose to side with the Demon Race. It makes no sense at all. Why would he give up his rightful status as a prince to become a dog of the Demon Race? What good would that do him? Demon Race Non-Self kind will surely have different hearts. Even if the demon race uses him, they will definitely be thinking of 'killing the hunting dog after the cunning rabbit is caught.' The Military God must understand this."

Si Ming's imagination ran wild. "Could it be that the Military God was originally a spy from the Demon Race in human form? He was actually Demon Race spy, not a human traitor?"

Nether Lord shook his head and said, "Although our Remote Heaven Society very little control over its members, it's not to the point that we don't even know their identities... Oh no, those two Yao Qi are heading this way, and they're moving incredibly fast!"

Si Ming also sensed it; at the other party's speed, they would arrive here in just half a minute.

"It seems we must take our leave now, lest we be captured. Although I am also very curious about the legendary Heavenly Demon, curiosity also means danger, and I do not wish to pay for it with my life," Nether Lord bowed slightly to Si Ming and smiled. "I can guarantee that the Remote Heaven Society never ally with the Demon Race, nor will it make any deals with them. I hope the Mohist School will not hesitate to lend a hand in eliminating them; on this point, our goals are aligned."

After speaking, a flurry of flower petals rose from the ground, swirling around Nether Lord and the Black Armor General. Moments later, their figures vanished as afterimages, their true forms nowhere to be found.

"They ran really fast. It seems I wasn't wrong. The Remote Heaven Society has been diligently practicing their escape techniques for the past two years," Si Ming said with malicious sarcasm.

Xia Guanxue asked, "What do we do next?"

Si Ming, "What else can we do? We should take the War God with us and run away as fast as we can. Although we really want to turn around and fight back, and teach these Demon Race a painful lesson, we need to have the strength to do so. Otherwise, we'll just be courting death."

Ying Zhou scoffed, "How frustrating! I've worked so hard to cultivate for so long, and yet I'm still powerless."

Si Ming didn't try to persuade him further. He knew that Ying Zhou was just venting and wasn't acting rashly or recklessly. So he quickly found the seriously injured Ba Shenhuang and suggested that they retreat first.

After a moment of silence, Ba Shenhuang nodded. He had the ability to analyze the battlefield situation, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. The title of War God was not simply earned through recklessness. His arrogance was based on his superior strength, not on ignorant disdain. Even if he wanted to turn around and fight back, he should do so when he was in his best condition.

Moreover, judging from Huang Yan's last words before leaving, the Demon Race did not intend to just plunder and leave, but truly wanted to occupy the territory. That's why Huang Yan held back, waiting for him to mobilize the border troops to encircle and suppress them, in order to weaken the military strength of the border defense line and create an opportunity for the Demon Beast army to invade.

Only by staying alive can one have a chance to make a comeback.

Si Ming didn't have so many thoughts. He was Su State, not Nation of Valor. Although he felt some sympathy, he wouldn't risk his life for it. To deal with a powerful enemy, it was certainly more reliable to gather allies and gang up on them. There was no need to act rashly.

However, while they wanted to retreat first, their opponents might not be willing to let them leave. Two Yao Qi were constantly chasing them and rapidly closing the distance. When they turned, their opponents turned as well, clearly indicating that they had become their target.

"If we keep running like this, we'll be caught sooner or later. There's no other way. I'll stay behind to buy time..." Si Ming, worried that this was a trap, quickly changed his tune, "I'll buy you some time so you can leave immediately."

Xia Guanxue frowned and said, "Now is not the time for you to be a lone hero. Even if you have to stay behind to cover the retreat, it should be me or one of those guys over there. Your value in escaping is greater than ours. That's the rational judgment."

Si Ming, "I'll do it. Don't worry, even if Void Returning Great Grandmaster comes in person, they can't stop me from escaping. Besides Non-Self 'm deliberately being reckless, but a powerful enemy like this has suddenly appeared. Someone has to go and probe to gather relevant intelligence, so that we don't end up knowing nothing about the enemy's leader when the big battle begins."

There's no need to do it now.

"It's only valuable now that we have two opponents. We can eliminate as much interference as possible and gather accurate intelligence. When war breaks out in the future, the enemy will be surrounded by a large group of subordinates. Gathering intelligence then will be ten times more difficult than it is now. And you should be prepared that I may only be able to hold off one. The other will most likely choose to continue tracking, and that will be up to you to solve. So before worrying about others, worry about yourselves first."

"But..."

"Stop being so wishy-washy. Besides, I also want to test my current limits. The fight with that witch doctor just now wasn't satisfying at all. I only used less than 30% of my strength; I was just warming up."

Si Ming stopped in his tracks, turned around, and decided to face the formidable enemy.

The War God also said, "Don't hold him back. The farther we escape, the safer he will be."

The others, with no more worries, sped up and ran.