Assassination

The remaining third of those who did not choose to follow Si Ming were either arrogant and unwilling to bow their heads, or confident that they could break through without relying on Si Ming. In any case, they each had their own ideas and did not form a team.

Si Ming didn't force them. If he forcibly pulled these people into the group, they might jump out and oppose him at a crucial moment, which would only disrupt the order, cause missed opportunities, and harm both themselves and others. It would be better to ask them to leave from the beginning and let them find their own way to make a living.

Gaoyang Wuji said, "Brother Si Ming, it's about time. Those who were willing to join have already joined. Those who haven't joined yet either have differing opinions or are hesitant. There's no need to wait for them. Let's talk about your plan first."

Si Ming looked around and said, "My plan is simple. I will set off immediately to find the demon army commander. If I find him, I will kill him. At that time, the Demon Beast army will inevitably fall into chaos, and you can take the opportunity to break out. Otherwise, if the decapitation attempt fails, everyone can rest and recuperate, and we will try to break out again tomorrow."

Hou Fei scoffed, "Even if you succeed in beheading them, they'll all take advantage of you and use the opportunity to break through."

It's always frustrating that those who join and those who don't receive the same treatment. He could easily imagine that if everyone eventually succeeded in breaking through, they would inevitably be ridiculed by the others.

Si Ming, "We are not their opponents, much less their enemies. If they can successfully break through, I will be happy for them. Everything I have done is simply to better rescue everyone, including dividing the team into groups, which is for the same purpose, not to deliberately split the team. Everyone should know the saying 'one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel'—of course, I am not saying that those who do not want to join are all rotten apples, I do not mean to insult them."

This somewhat ambiguous remark elicited a burst of laughter; after all, people's threshold for laughter is rather low these days.

"Let those who are willing to cooperate gather together, and let those who are unwilling to cooperate boldly go it alone. Only by each getting what they need can we unleash our greatest fighting power. It's like a machine; forcing incompatible parts together will only cause the machine to malfunction. As for whether you trust me or not, that's secondary. When I'm not around, please follow Brother Gao Yang's instructions, make progress together, obey orders without hesitation, just as you promised before that you would never question my instructions."

Gaoyang Wuji was stunned. He never expected that Si Ming would hand over the secondary command to him. Moreover, Si Ming was going to kill the Demon Race commander and would not be able to command everyone. In other words, the difficult request he made earlier was not for his own benefit.

After a long while, Gaoyang Wuji finally uttered a heartfelt exclamation. "Si Ming truly lives up to his Mohist School origins. His dedication to the world and all people, and his selfless devotion to public service, are qualities I cannot match."

Not only him, but everyone else also had a much different opinion of Si Ming, especially the students of Sun Wu University. Some of them had been forced to join by Gaoyang Wuji. Now that they saw their Captain take over the command, the slight Qi Ingestion in their hearts disappeared without a trace, and they respected and admired Si Ming.

Only Si Ming knew that all of this was Yu Shuying's plan. First, she used an overbearing attitude to force others to join, and then she lowered her stance to show that she completely respected the other party and that she had her reasons for doing so. In this way, the bad impression she initially created would be instantly reversed, and the impression created by this contrast was far more profound than if she had been a good person from the beginning.

In fact, he still held command, but the members' attitude changed from reluctant cooperation to willing cooperation.

Chapter 669 Assassination

In the dense forest, Si Ming sped up, his speed almost like a shooting star. Even if the Demon Beast saw him, they couldn't intercept him in time. Of course, Si Ming didn't care whether they intercepted him or not. Even if a demonic Demon Beast happened to be blocking his way, he would just crash into it. Strong demonic beasts could save half their lives, Demon Beast average physical strength would be smashed into pieces on the spot.

With unstoppable momentum, Si Ming charged all the way to the shore. Looking up, he saw that the coastline was full of Demon Beast, not only on Smokeless Island, but also Demon Beast the opposite mainland coast.

After observing the area, he confirmed three things. First, most of the Demon Beast this time were insects, ranging from seemingly harmless caterpillars to heavily armored beetles. At least their body structures met the standards for insects, only their size was frighteningly large.

Secondly, he finally understood why these non-swimmers could come out of the sea without drowning. It turned out that these Demon Beasts had a layer of bubble-like substance on their bodies that could isolate them from the seawater, and they would disappear after they surfaced.

Finally, the idea of hoping the military would come to the rescue can be put aside. The sheer size of the Demon Beast is such that even if the Nation of Valor armed forces were all blind, they should have noticed it. However, their primary task is defense, not offense. Trying to force their way through the Demon Beast's defenses and rush into the rear to rescue people would result in countless deaths, and there's no guarantee of success. It's more likely to be a case of throwing good money after bad. Even if Si Ming were the military commander, he wouldn't do that.

"If only we could find the Demon Beast's lair, we could throw in a few triple-phase bullets and kill a whole bunch of them."

As for charging into the enemy's lair alone and unleashing his full power, Si Ming wasn't arrogant enough to think that way. There were indeed strong individuals among the Demon Race. According to the Demon Race's ranking system, Heavenly Demon was a level above Void Returning Great Grandmaster. Although no Demon Race expert of that level had appeared so far, based on the analysis and reasoning of many people, it was indeed true that Demon Race of that level existed.

Si Ming scanned the horde of Demon Beast several times and quickly pinpointed the location of the Demon Race leader—this was not difficult; he simply needed to find the area where the Demon Race experts were most concentrated.

"Tsk, it can even fly. Insects are such a hassle."

If Si Ming were to push his Cultivation Body to its limit, he could certainly counteract the Earth's magnetic pull and leap into the air, but this would only be considered levitation, which is different from actual flight. Moreover, he could not maintain his Cultivation Body at its peak for an extended period of time, which would put him at a significant disadvantage against true flying species.

"Fine, let's learn from an assassin and do a professional assassination."

Si Ming assumed a crouching starting position, braced his hands on the ground, and with a powerful push from his hind legs, a sandstorm ten meters high was kicked up from the ground. He shot out like an arrow released from a bow. At the same time, he activated the Divine Sight Illusory Observation Art, adjusted his Qi and Blood circulation, and tripled his agility. With terrifying acceleration, he broke the sound barrier in the blink of an eye.

Si Ming recreated the scene from the forest, but even more exaggeratedly. He sped across the sea like lightning, his True Qi filling his body, ignoring all obstacles as he charged forward. Even if Demon Beast in his path was merely grazed by the force of his energy, its body would be cruelly torn apart. The Demon Beast beside him didn't even know what was happening; they couldn't even catch a glimpse of Si Ming's afterimage.

From a distance, the Demon Beast army looked like a piece of raw meat pierced by a scorching hot iron spike, easily pierced while making a sizzling sound and accompanied by blood bubbles.

Such a massive display of power was not something the Demon Race could ignore; they naturally noticed it quickly.

What does this person want to do?

A man clad in purple crystal armor, hovering in mid-air, looked down at Si Ming, who was charging directly towards him on the sea surface. He frowned slightly. From the outside, he was almost indistinguishable from a human, except for the fine lines on his forehead.

A female Demon Race beside her chuckled and said, "Without a doubt, this Human Race powerhouse wants to capture the leader first."

This female demon had the form of Human Race, but she was completely naked, without any covering whatsoever. Even several sensitive parts that should have been censored were exposed. Her body was covered with black patterns, she had a sharp spiky mouthpart on her head, and a pair of transparent mosquito wings on her back.

The other Demon Race beside her were similar; although they had human forms, they also retained some parts of their Demon Beast bodies—a characteristic of Ghost Rank Demon Race. The man in armor, on the other hand, was clearly a Divine Rank.

"According to the terms of the cooperation, wasn't the island supposed to be the responsibility of that Human Race? I remember he volunteered himself, but in the end he couldn't do it," the man shook his head in disappointment, then pointed to the sea, "Stop him!"

The Demon General beside him all bowed in agreement and each led their subordinates to surround Si Ming.

Si Ming instantly sensed the change; the resistance to his progress suddenly increased, and countless Demon Beast charged towards him, attempting to block his advance. Fortunately, this level of obstacle was like a soap bubble turning into a thin sheet of paper—stronger as it was, it still shattered upon impact and could not slow his pace.

Most importantly, Si Ming was incredibly fast. From the moment the Demon General gave the order to the moment the Demon Beast took action, Si Ming had already closed the distance by more than half, while the Demon Beast had only just begun to mobilize.

After breaking through three kilometers further, Si Ming looked up to estimate the distance and realized that the target had entered his attack range. So he suddenly exerted force with his legs and shot his body into the sky like a cannonball.

Stop him!

The man in armor finally changed his expression and shouted loudly. Several Demon General then swooped down at the same time, each unleashing their ultimate moves.

"Demon Blade - Rushing Thunder!"

The fastest to charge was a female demon with arms as long as a mantis's. She didn't use any weapons, because her hands were divine weapons. Her swordsmanship was also astonishingly high. The Demon Blade: Rushing Thunder Form was originally a straightforward "draw sword style" swordsmanship, but after she made the move, she suddenly turned halfway through, and it was a double turn, forming a triangular trajectory. In an instant, she circled around from Si Ming's front to his back. There was no hesitation in the process of turning around, and it was as smooth as a straight line.

In an instant, lightning mixed with blade energy swiftly slashed towards Si Ming's back. A huge mantis-shaped phantom appeared on the banshee's body, swinging its mantis arm and leaving a white trail in mid-air.

Boom!

Si Ming threw a backhand punch, the powerful force of which shattered the sword energy and lightning, tore apart the afterimage, and blasted the banshee into countless pieces of flesh.

Upon seeing this, all the Demon General instantly realized that the Human Race before them were not on the same level of strength as themselves. So, they all drifted in unison, displaying exquisite flying skills, changing their original plan of frontal interception to side pursuit, and creating distance. They only released their energy from a distance, not daring to engage in close combat.

Now, the Demon Race commander, clad in purple armor, was exposed to Si Ming. He couldn't care less about cursing his incompetent subordinates and hurriedly retreated to create distance. At the same time, he channeled his Demon Power into the shape of a giant whale, which, accompanied by the sound of rising tide, rushed towards Si Ming.

"Dragon Whale Raises a Hundred Tides!"