Three Great Demon Gods (Part Two)

Having dealt with the Di Mian Tribe Invisibility Users, the demon army on the other side had already charged toward them. Without hesitation, Sheng Lingxin ordered Long Haochen to circle back.

They only needed to rush back a little over a thousand meters to enter the protection range of Demon Expelling Pass.

Although this sortie had failed, they had also killed quite a few demons and bought Demon Expelling Pass some time. As long as the losses were not too great, Sheng Lingxin could accept it.

Just as Long Haochen, riding Haoyue, finally turned around and withdrew the Sun Fire, a strange and shocking sight unfolded.

On the only path they had to take back, three enormous pillars of light suddenly shot into the sky.

Each pillar was over thirty meters in diameter. Against the pitch-black night sky, these three hundred-zhang-tall pillars of light were impossible to miss.

The three pillars were each a different color. The one in the center was fiery red, while the two on either side were black and green.

Vaguely, it was possible to see that within each thick pillar of light stood a true colossal pillar, engraved with countless magnificent yet bizarre patterns. At the very least, they were patterns Long Haochen had never seen before.

All three immense pillars radiated an oppressive aura. Blocking the path ahead, they were like an impassable Natural Chasm stretching before the Radiant Angels Knight Order.

The situation Sheng Lingxin had least wanted to see had finally occurred. Clearly, the demons had long prepared this trap and were merely waiting for the Radiant Angels Knight Order to emerge. The trap itself did not seem particularly clever; it was simply waiting for prey to walk into it. Yet the Radiant Angels Knight Order had always posed a tremendous threat to the demons, and as the Demon Expelling Pass Military Head, Sheng Lingxin simply could not refrain from deploying this force in battle.

After all, a knight's battlefield was the plains, not city walls. In the end, they had still fallen into the enemy's trap.

Sheng Lingxin took a deep breath, and his entire being seemed to enter a strange state. Long Haochen could clearly sense that the military head behind him had become ethereal, even more unfathomable than before.

"Long Haochen, you know Long Xingyu, don't you?" At a moment like this, Sheng Lingxin unexpectedly asked him such a question.

"Hm?" Long Haochen's heart jolted.

Sheng Lingxin smiled faintly. "I never thought I would meet Big Brother Long's descendant. You needn't deny it. The Fighting Kill Revolving Sword was a skill created by Big Brother Long himself. If he had not passed it down, who else could have learned it? As far as I know, only three people in this world know this skill. One is naturally Big Brother Long himself, and another is you."

He paused before slowly continuing in an emotional voice, "And the last one is me."

Long Haochen turned to look at Sheng Lingxin. He suddenly noticed that the military head's expression was extremely gentle, and there was no longer the slightest sharpness in his gaze toward him.

"Military Head, you..."

The smile on Sheng Lingxin's face did not fade. "I used to be Big Brother Long's little follower, his most loyal supporter. He was my idol. In my heart, Big Brother Long's position even surpassed my grandfather's. I never expected to see Big Brother Long's Fighting Kill Revolving Sword again on the battlefield today. Is he well?"

Long Haochen gently shook his head. "I haven't seen my father in a long time either."

"Father? You really are his son. Hahaha, good, very good. It seems Cai'er truly has good judgment." Sheng Lingxin laughed heartily. The three strange, enormous pillars of light were not far away, yet he could still laugh at such a time.

"Military Head, what is wrong with you?" A vague sense of unease rose in Long Haochen's heart, growing stronger and stronger.

Sheng Lingxin said calmly, "Nothing. I merely remembered some things from the past. These demon bastards think they can destroy my Radiant Angels Knight Order like this? How laughable. Later, do not attack. Ride your mount and head around the left side. I will deal with the enemy myself."

"Yes. Commander-in-chief's Wife, what are those three pillars of light?" Even as he accepted Sheng Lingxin's order, Long Haochen could not suppress his curiosity.

Instead of answering, Sheng Lingxin asked, "This is your first time on the battlefield, isn't it?"

Long Haochen nodded subconsciously.

Sheng Lingxin smiled faintly, a strange expression appearing on his handsome face. "Your luck is quite good. On your first time on the battlefield, you get to face the highest existences of demonkind. You have heard of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods Pillars, haven't you? Those are three of them."

Long Haochen stared at him dumbfoundedly. He desperately wanted to ask this military head, who stood at the peak of the Seventh Rank but had not yet reached the Eighth Rank, why he could still smile now. According to what Long Haochen knew, even the weakest among the Seventy-Two Demon Gods Pillars was an Eighth Rank peak powerhouse.

Just then, Sheng Lingxin raised his hand again, and a ball of light shot into the air. Its halo spread, forming a dazzling large flower in the sky.

Long Haochen now understood that in the darkness of night, this was how Sheng Lingxin issued commands to the Radiant Angels Knight Order.

Sure enough, as the halo spread, the Radiant Angels Knight Order following behind them abruptly slowed down and swiftly rearranged their formation. In an extremely short time, their former charging wedge formation became a defensive circular formation. Every Radiant Angels Knight faced outward, and the entire force stopped moving, tightening their ranks into a complete defensive posture.

Long Haochen had yet to recover from the shock of Sheng Lingxin's words about the Seventy-Two Demon Gods Pillars. He had heard of their existence when he was very young. More than six thousand years ago, it was the descent of those seventy-two Demon God Pillars that had plunged the continent from its glorious age into the age of darkness.

Looking at the three colossal pillars of light that seemed to connect heaven and earth, he could not help but feel utterly insignificant.

"Stop," Sheng Lingxin ordered.

Long Haochen hurriedly had Haoyue halt. At that moment, the three enormous pillars of light began to move. They appeared slow, yet were in fact incredibly swift as they advanced toward them.

In a flash, Sheng Lingxin had landed ahead of them. Turning back toward Long Haochen, the smile on his face seemed to grow much warmer. "Remember what I said. Circle back from the left. Your strength will not draw their attention yet. Treat Cai'er well in the future. Since you are Big Brother Long's son, I can rest assured. I only have this one daughter."

He was Cai'er's father?

In that instant, Long Haochen finally understood why he had followed Sheng Lingxin onto the battlefield. He was actually Cai'er's father, and Lan Yanyu, the mage corps commander's husband. No wonder his attitude toward him had been so cold before. Yet now, because of his father, he had acknowledged him.

After giving that simple instruction, Sheng Lingxin slowly walked forward, heading directly toward the three enormous pillars of light. A faint gray current began to condense around his body, making his entire person seem as transparent as gray crystal. A pair of gray folded wings, far smaller than the wings formed by a Radiant Knight, slowly unfurled from his back before folding again tightly against it. From each of his hands extended a streak of gray light, like two gray short swords.

The sight before him was simply too shocking for Long Haochen. Beneath the dark night sky, Sheng Lingxin walked alone toward the distant pinnacle power of demonkind.

The three enormous pillars of light drew ever closer. Compared to the light they emitted, Sheng Lingxin appeared so small. Yet his shoulders, which did not seem especially broad, appeared capable of blocking everything, capable of holding up the very sky.

Long Haochen did not immediately ride Haoyue away around the left side. He stared blankly as Sheng Lingxin walked forward step by step through this place steeped in the smell of blood, and he felt as though something had lodged in his chest.

He forcefully drew a deep breath. Without question, the air on this blood-reeking battlefield was foul. Yet as Long Haochen inhaled deeply, he closed his eyes.

His heart was burning. His blood was burning. His spiritual energy was burning. Hua Wuyu's fighting spirit was burning as well.

Could I really go back just like this? Return like this before the Radiant Angels Knight Order and the Dark Night Assassins?

Where would a knight's glory be? If I did that, would I still deserve to call myself a knight?

How would I explain it to Cai'er? I would have abandoned her father and fled alone?

Slowly raising his head, Long Haochen's eyes filled with pride. "I am the holder of the Throne of God of Doom and Slaughter, the son of Long Xingyu, Knight of Divine Throne of Judgement and Inquisition. Even if I die on the battlefield, how can I become a deserter?"

When he opened his eyes again, Long Haochen's gaze was filled with resolve. Haoyue's three heads turned back to look at him and gently nodded.

Long Haochen was linked to it in heart and mind, so he naturally understood Haoyue's thoughts. There was a blood contract between them. If Long Haochen died, Haoyue would not be able to live alone either. Therefore, he did not make it leave. Since that was so, they would live and die together.

He took one last deep look at Demon Expelling Pass in the distance, and a trace of tenderness appeared on Long Haochen's face. Cai'er... If I could return alive, I wanted to kiss your cheek.

"Haoyue, let's go!" Long Haochen shouted. Several more pills appeared in his hand. He first swallowed a Spirit Returning Pill, then fully activated the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove within his body, recovering as much of the spiritual energy he had expended as possible.

Haoyue's four hooves flew, and it quickly caught up to Sheng Lingxin.

Sheng Lingxin suddenly turned around and roared, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Long Haochen stared at him with a firm, unwavering gaze. "I am a knight. If I abandoned you and fled, what right would I have to be with Cai'er? I am Long Xingyu's son. There is only a Long Haochen who dies in battle—never a Long Haochen who abandons his companions and escapes alone."

Sheng Lingxin froze. Looking into Long Haochen's eyes, he seemed to see once more the Knight of Divine Throne of Judgement and Inquisition who had once swept across the battlefield, invincible in every direction.

Long Haochen's steadfast gaze had already told him many things. He would never shrink back merely because he faced a powerful enemy. At that moment, intense regret suddenly welled up in Sheng Lingxin's heart. Why had he let Long Haochen come out and take such a risk?