Suddenly.
A loud shout rang out.
Laced with shock and fear.
Like a muffled thunderclap.
It shook heaven and earth.
The voice was badly distorted.
Quivering.
Like the wail of a vengeful ghost.
Clearly.
Its owner was terrified beyond measure!
"D-demonic aura?"
"Where?"
In moments.
The entire village was alarmed.
Everyone dropped their work.
And rushed out.
Gathering at the village entrance.
The men held blades and weapons.
Charging to the front with grim faces.
The women and children trembled.
Hiding behind the men.
The remaining elderly and infirm.
Moved slowly.
And fell behind.
Everyone's heart and soul shook violently.
As though the sky were collapsing.
The men stood at the front.
Rising onto their toes.
Peering into the distance again and again.
Though they appeared calm.
Their hands shook incessantly around their weapons.
These were harsh times.
Lowly folk like them, mere ants, faced not only natural disasters and man-made calamities!
From time to time.
They also had to endure demonic disasters!
Three months earlier.
A Rat Demon had entered the village.
It had devoured three young, able-bodied men.
Before the village chief drove it back.
And it fled wounded.
This time.
Demons were descending the mountain.
Who knew how many more piles of bones the village would gain!
"Let's hope whatever comes down this time isn't as savage as that Rat Demon!"
A man clutched the black saber issued by Scarlet Thunder City, praying silently.
Yet.
The next moment.
The mist in the sky dispersed.
Demonic aura rolled in from afar.
Staining the horizon.
Like a vast green ocean.
Boundless and endless.
Surging straight into the heavens.
Accompanying that eerie green demonic aura.
Was the earth-shaking thunder of trampling feet.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The mountain forests trembled.
The village shook.
Countless demonic silhouettes.
Appeared within everyone's sight.
Packed