Volume Three Complete

The demon army was routed.

Inside Black Cloud City, the demon soldiers who had rushed over as reinforcements all swarmed in, desperately trying to put out the fires.

For any species, food was the most important thing.

This was naturally even more so for the physically powerful demon race, whose consumption was enormous.

To maintain their order, cohesion, and fighting strength, all the demon soldiers' food had been gathered and stored here.

Only brave soldiers were qualified to enjoy delicious food.

Yet who could have expected that humans would suddenly infiltrate this place and set fire to the grain stores?

By now, the blaze had spread throughout all of Black Cloud City.

The air throughout the city was filled with the smell of scorched food.

The demon soldiers' eyes immediately turned red. Seeing that the flames could not be extinguished, they began scrambling for the remaining food.

Chunks of charred meat and mutilated animal carcasses were all snatched up and stowed away.

The military rule established before the war—that no soldier was allowed to hoard food—had now become a mere scrap of paper.

Even one of the Demon Venerable generals charged into the fire and gathered up charred animals one after another.

It had many family members at home who needed food too.

The demon race did not have much territory. They had been suppressed by humans for all these years and had only recently begun to emerge again, so food was naturally scarce.

What was more, news that the ancient demon capital might lie within Great Yan had spread. Large numbers of demons from across the Nine Provinces Continent had begun flocking here, making the already scarce food supply even more insufficient.

They had eagerly enlisted precisely because military service guaranteed stable food.

But now the food had been burned. How could they not panic?

Thus, panic, looting, and the urge to flee quickly spread through the entire demon army.

At the same time, the rout of the demon army at the front shattered the last line of defense in their hearts!

More and more demon soldiers poured into Black Cloud City, but they had forgotten all about capturing the enemy. They began fighting over the remaining food and even slaughtering one another over it.

Several high-ranking demon generals first rebuked them, then roared in fury, and finally drew their swords to kill, trying to wake them up and restore order. Yet these demon race members seemed to have gone mad. They cared only about fighting for the last scraps of food and did not spare the generals a single glance.

"You idiotic beasts! Defeat the human army, and there'll be even more food!"

At that moment, a human voice suddenly rang out from the chaotic Demon Venerable army, hysterical and furious.

The man wore armor and was tall and powerfully built. Short whiskers grew beneath his chin, and his eyes were sharp as an eagle's. He looked imposing, with dozens of human guards clustered around him.

It was King Tai, fleeing after his defeat!

At this moment, his eyes were red as he watched the scene before him, his face filled with despair and bleak sorrow.

He had thought he could rely on the powerful demon army to rise again. Who would have known that these beasts possessed none of the order or will of human armies? At the slightest disturbance, they began running for their lives. Now, with pursuers behind them, they were actually fighting and killing one another over a bit of food.

Had they not improved at all after all these years?

No wonder these creatures, so physically powerful and immensely strong, had been ground into the dirt by humans and nearly driven to extinction.

Now that they had risen from the ashes, the situation looked promising on the surface, but in truth they were still nothing but useless rabble.

Great Yan had initially been occupied with internal conflict and suppressing the rebellion, which had given them an opening. Now that it had freed its hands to deal with them, they immediately revealed their true colors.

"Trash! A bunch of trash! You can't make a wall out of mud!"

King Tai cursed while weeping bitterly.

A prince commanding a hundred thousand troops, just one step away from ascending the throne as Emperor, had now fallen to such a state. At this moment, he even wanted to kill himself.

Just then, a voice rang out from somewhere unknown. "Look! Those armored humans are spies in our army! They're the ones who led the humans here to burn our food! Kill them!"

The moment those words were spoken, the demon soldiers in the midst of the chaos all turned to look at King Tai and his group.

These humans stood out glaringly among the demon race members.

Not only because of their appearance, attire, and aura, but also because they stood there unmoving with an air of complete detachment.

Everyone else was scrambling for food, yet only they stood still.

"Spies! They really are spies! We're all putting out the fire, but they're the only ones standing there! They even used their inner force to fan the flames on purpose! Their army will be here soon, so naturally they aren't afraid of running out of food!"

At that moment, the earlier voice rang out again.

"Roar—"

The surrounding demon soldiers flew into a rage at once, roaring as they lunged at King Tai and the guards beside him!

King Tai's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly shouted, "We're not spies! We're not!"

"You've fallen for their scheme! The one who spoke just now is the human spy!"

"General Wei, save me!"

But not a single demon listened to his explanation. Their eyes red, the demons all shrieked and pounced on him.

"Your Highness, go!"

The dozens of fiercely loyal guards immediately protected King Tai as they fled toward the city gates.

At that moment, the final wave of the routed demon army from the front came fleeing over.

Before they could enter the city, thunderous hoofbeats rolled in from not far away!

"The human cavalry is here! Run!"

Someone shouted, and the demon soldiers scattered through the city in a frenzy.

Very soon, Yue Ying arrived with the cavalry. But they did not enter the city. Instead, they continued pursuing and killing the fleeing demon soldiers.

Some of the infantry following behind entered the city and began searching for the remaining demons.

Luo Qingzhou and Elder Sister Yue were still resting underground and had not emerged.

When chaos had erupted in the city earlier, they had gone straight underground.

At first, demons had pursued them underground, but the two of them killed them all. Once the chaos began above and those demons started fighting over food, no more demons appeared underground.

Presumably, all the demons hiding underground had gone out to fight over food as well.

Another half hour passed.

Only after both had recovered their strength did they emerge from underground.

By then, all of Black Cloud City had become ruins, and some human soldiers were clearing the battlefield.

At that moment, Yue Ying also returned victorious with the Silver Armored Cavalry.

The Message Treasure Slip could transmit messages again as well.

Yue Ying asked for his location, then came to Black Cloud City with several hundred female guards to meet up with the two of them.

When the two sides met, they sized each other up.

Luo Qingzhou spoke first. "Congratulations, Lord Yue Ying, on defeating the demon army and achieving an unparalleled merit."

Yue Ying said nothing. She dismounted, personally led over a horse, and stopped before the two of them. "Get on."

Luo Qingzhou did not decline. He mounted the horse, then extended a hand toward the girl below and said softly, "Elder Sister Yue, come."

Yue Yao ignored him, her icy gaze turning toward the other warhorses.

Luo Qingzhou suddenly jumped down, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and directly lifted her onto the horse. He then mounted behind her and held her tightly from the rear.

Yue Yao struggled hard, but could not break free. Seeing that everyone was watching her, she could only lower her head slightly and quiet down.

Yue Ying glanced at the two of them, turned around, and mounted her own warhorse.

Several hundred silver-armored guards surrounded the three of them as they left the city and headed back toward the camp.

Yue Ying rode alongside them at a leisurely pace. After they had traveled for a while, she finally asked, "How did you suddenly think of burning the grain depot?"

Luo Qingzhou replied solemnly, "Actually, before coming here, after seeing the red marker Lord Yue Ying had placed on the map, I guessed that Lord Yue Ying might want to start here, though you probably would not have had the chance. At the time, I secretly resolved that if an opportunity arose, I would definitely help Lord Yue Ying... After all, as a man of Great Yan and the Empress's Husband, it is my duty to slay demons and kill enemies!"

Yue Ying turned her head and looked at him expressionlessly. "Can you tell the truth?"

Luo Qingzhou: "..."

"Fine, the truth is... We were discovered by the demon race and surrounded in pursuit, with nowhere left to run. I happened to remember there was a grain depot here, so we risked everything and came here, intending to set fire to it and create chaos... But I didn't expect those demons to be so incompetent..."

"Pfft..."

At that moment, one of the female guards behind them suddenly snickered.

Luo Qingzhou turned to look. The woman had a silver ponytail and carried a broad blade over her shoulder. Her figure was tall and slender, her long legs straight and firm, and her chest quite impressive. She looked valiant and heroic, with a martial sort of beauty.

"What are you laughing at?"

Dao Ling rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Yue Ying was silent for a moment before looking at the two of them. "I will submit a memorial requesting rewards for both of you for this great victory at the border. May I ask this young lady's name?"

She naturally knew that the girl's physical body was Hua Gu.

What she was asking about was her Divine Soul.

This was also what Her Majesty had instructed her to ask.

Luo Qingzhou glanced at the girl in his arms and said, "There's no need to request merit for her. She doesn't need it."

Yue Ying looked at the two of them again. "In a battle between two armies, whether victorious or defeated, every important part must be reported carefully to Her Majesty. Much less this great victory—you infiltrated deep behind the demon army and burned their grain depot, which was of crucial importance. You deserve the foremost merit, so naturally I must report every detail about both of you to Her Majesty."

Luo Qingzhou looked at her. "Lord Yue Ying, I'll tell Her Majesty about this myself. As for the merit, neither of us cares about it."

Seeing his firm attitude, Yue Ying's gaze shifted slightly, and she said no more.

A moment later.

A cavalryman rushed over and reported the results of the battle in her ear.

After the cavalryman left, she spoke again. "This time, we killed roughly twenty thousand demon soldiers. The rest fled into the northern desert. They may circle around this place and enter the cities occupied by the demon race. Because the demon army here was utterly defeated, the demon armies in Smoke City and Cloud City behind them abandoned their cities and fled. We still have three occupied cities now."

Luo Qingzhou asked, "How many demon troops have gathered at the border in total? How did they capture so many cities?"

Yue Ying frowned. "There were only thirty thousand at first, but their combat strength was extremely formidable, and the border army could not withstand them. King Tai was commanding the troops here at the time, but he did not go to reinforce them, so the demon army captured several cities. Then the Seven Kings' rebellion broke out within the country, which dragged things on until now. At present, demon troops from some neighboring countries are gathering here as well. There should be around sixty thousand demon troops now."

Luo Qingzhou pondered for a moment. "Judging from this battle, individual demon race members should be quite strong, but as an army, they seem to lack cohesion, faith, and the will to fight. No matter how numerous they are, they feel like a heap of loose sand. As long as we find the right opportunity, they will be easy to break."

Yue Ying nodded. "That is indeed the case. The demon army is not united. Even when their two armies were facing ours, fights and mutual slaughter would still break out among them from time to time."

Luo Qingzhou looked at her. "In that case, we must fight quickly and crush them completely, uprooting them once and for all. If we wait until an outstanding leader emerges among them, unites them, gives them a faith and a goal, and gathers their hearts together, we'll be in trouble."

Yue Ying nodded. "That is what I think as well. Next, we will concentrate our forces and attack the next city, until we retake Mo City and wipe them out completely."

Luo Qingzhou said, "With a commander like Lord Yue Ying at the border, those things certainly won't be difficult. No wonder Her Majesty is so at ease in the Capital."

After a pause, he added, "Also, I think Her Majesty should consolidate command of all the border troops under Lord Yue Ying, so that you can deploy them more effectively. Although General Yuchi is a famous general, I hear he excels at defense. He may lack some understanding of this sort of proactive offensive strategy. Opportunities on the battlefield change as swiftly as wind and clouds and vanish in an instant. A decisive commander must hold military command in order to seize every opportunity quickly."

Yue Ying was silent for a moment, then looked at him. "I think Young Master is quite suitable for that. Shall I submit a memorial to Her Majesty and have Young Master serve as marshal?"

Luo Qingzhou froze for a moment and hurriedly said, "I am merely a martial man, how could I..."

"Merely a martial man?"

Yue Ying suddenly interrupted him. Her gaze was complicated as she looked at him. "Why did I hear Yue Wu say that you are also a gifted scholar?"

Luo Qingzhou: "..."

Soon, they returned to the military camp.

Soldiers continuously entered the tent to report on the situation at the front.

Seeing that it was getting late, Luo Qingzhou cupped his hands and took his leave.

Yue Ying silently escorted the two of them to the entrance of the camp.

Luo Qingzhou then bade his senior sister farewell as well.

Dao Ling walked up to him and asked softly, "Not going to see your father-in-law and second brother?"

Luo Qingzhou said, "No. It wouldn't be convenient."

With that, he waved his hand and left with the girl beside him.

When the two reached that hillside, they immediately sent Long'er a message.

Long'er soon flew out from the forest ahead.

The three of them did not waste a moment. They boarded the flying ship and immediately headed back to the Capital.

It was now noon.

Half of the five days had already passed.

There were only two and a half days left.

They should be able to return to the Capital by tomorrow evening. After that, only two nights and one day would remain.

Time was extremely pressing.

So...

On the way back, Luo Qingzhou not only needed to consume that Golden Toad Demon Core, but also continue cultivating with Long'er.

The demon core could not be consumed directly.

After Elder Sister Yue took the demon core, she refined it for him before returning it to him. Then she left the flying ship and flew ahead.

Only the two of them remained in the cabin.

Luo Qingzhou did not dare delay. He immediately consumed the demon core and began circulating his cultivation technique within his body.

The moment the demon core entered his body, a scorching current of air rose from his dantian sea.

A moment later.

He opened his eyes.

At that moment, Long'er, who was seated beside him, suddenly trembled slightly. Biting her lip, she said timidly, "Young Master, Long'er... Long'er is afraid of you..."