The Sword's Cry Rises

Around Liu Sanji stood several old soldiers with resolute expressions.

Most of them bore disabilities—some had lost an arm, some an eye, while others had scars slashed across their faces.

They had all been left behind from fighting the Demon Race. There was no helping it; there were simply too few human martial artists, so they could only use ordinary people's lives to wear the Demon Race down.

"Chicken Lord, at your age, how can we possibly let you go to the battlefield!"

Emotion rose on the Garrison Commander's face.

Although nearly all the strong, able-bodied guards under his command had died and he truly had no one left to send, he still could not bear to send an old soldier like Liu Sanji, who had retired long ago, into battle. Besides, it would not accomplish much.

"Damn it, you looking down on me? When I was out there killing demons, you little brat was still wearing split-crotch pants!" Liu Sanji glared at the Garrison Commander, then turned toward the old soldiers around him. "Brothers, those little demon bastards are right beneath the city walls, eyeing our families and brothers like tigers watching prey. Tell me—are we going to fuck them up or not?"

"Fuck them up!"

"Of course we are! Damn it, living until now has already been a profit for me. It's about time I went down and joined those old brothers from back then!"

"Brother Sanji, give the order! We'll follow you like we did before!"

The old soldiers were aflame with righteous fury. They touched the military blades at their waists, their faces brimming with fighting spirit, without the slightest hint of fear!

Many of the cityfolk watching nearby had reddened eyes.

At this critical moment, the ones standing before them were neither martial artists nor the Demon Suppression Office, but a group of frail, sickly old soldiers.

"Chicken Lord, perhaps the Demon Suppression Office will act soon. Let's wait a little longer!"

The Garrison Commander still could not bear to send this group of old soldiers into battle.

"The Demon Suppression Office?"

Liu Sanji sneered. "Why would they care whether commoners like us live or die? I heard that the Demon Suppression Office in our city has a secret agreement with the Demon Race. They do not stop the Demon Race from slaughtering the city, and the Demon Race does not harm the martial artists within it. Looking at things now, I'm afraid it's true!"

The Garrison Commander frowned, just about to speak when a tremendous crash suddenly came from the city gate. Looking down, he saw dozens of terrifying Dog Demons frantically battering the gate with their sharp claws.

The sturdy city gate shook without pause beneath the blows. Dozens of long claw marks appeared across it in an instant, and shattered stone flew everywhere.

His expression abruptly turned grave.

He had never expected the Dog Demons' claws to be so sharp that even a city gate forged from diamond could be so easily torn apart.

At this rate, it would not be long before the city gate was completely smashed to pieces.

And when that happened, the entire city would be wiped out.

"People of Bear Martial City, listen up! Open the gates and surrender immediately, and the lords of the Demon Race may grant you a swift death! Otherwise, every one of you will be devoured alive!"

Beneath the city gate, a middle-aged man clad in a green robe embroidered with demon beast patterns shouted with a cold smile.

More than a dozen youths dressed similarly stood beside him. The auras they gave off were all exceptionally terrifying; even the weakest among them had reached the eighth level of the Martial Disciple Realm.

Though these people were human, each carried an intense demonic aura that made them seem deeply strange.

At the sight of those green-robed figures, everyone atop the city walls gnashed their teeth in hatred.

Demon God Hall!

The people of the Demon God Hall were actually this arrogant!

For nearly a hundred years, war between humanity and the Demon Race had never ceased.

The Demon Race had always held an absolute advantage, beating humanity until it had nearly been exterminated.

Some humans, seeking only to survive in disgrace, had defected to the Demon Race. These people founded the Demon God Hall.

They learned the language of beasts and gained the ability to communicate with the Demon Race. They also imitated the Demon Race and created half-demon cultivation arts.

Ordinary demons needed to reach the fourth realm, the Demon Sect Leader Realm, before they could assume human form and learn human speech.

Before then, the people of the Demon God Hall served as messengers and agents for the Demon Race.

In return, the Demon Race gave them demon blood and demon cores to aid their cultivation.

With the Demon Race funneling resources toward them, the people of the Demon God Hall cultivated quickly. They were exceptionally powerful and vicious, often committing all manner of evil on the Demon Race's behalf, especially delighting in humiliating young girls.

"You Demon God Hall dog bastards, if you want to break this city, step over my corpse first! You want me to surrender? Dream on!"

Liu Sanji roared in fury.

"Stubborn to the bitter end!"

A chill flashed through the green-robed middle-aged man's eyes. He walked over to the Dog Demon leader and spoke a few words with utmost respect.

The Dog Demon leader immediately let out a furious roar.

Hearing that roar, the Dog Demons attacking the city became like they had been shot full of chicken blood, crazily beginning to destroy the city gate.

The gate shook even more violently. Under the Dog Demons' frenzied assault, the damage rapidly worsened!

Seeing this, the cityfolk atop the walls trembled from head to toe, their eyes filled with terror.

The moment the city gate broke, every ordinary person in the city would be slaughtered to the last.

Just then, an eagle's cry rang out in the sky. Everyone looked up to see a war eagle swiftly diving from high above and landing on the Garrison Commander's shoulder, a secret letter tied to its leg.

Communication jade tablets were extremely rare, and ordinary people simply could not afford them. Thus, the military still relied on carrier eagles to deliver messages!

The Garrison Commander removed the secret letter from the war eagle's leg and signaled his men to feed it several strips of dried fish. After swallowing them, the war eagle spread its wings and soared into the sky, vanishing into the heights in the blink of an eye.

The Garrison Commander opened the secret letter and looked it over, his face instantly darkening. "It's a reply from the Zhenbei King. He says there aren't enough martial artists under the Martial Master Realm among his men, so he can't provide support. He wants us to protect the martial artists in the city and evacuate them first. If necessary, he wants our garrison to make certain sacrifices!"

The moment those words fell, everyone present felt their hearts turn cold.

Protect the martial artists as they evacuate, and have the garrison make sacrifices if necessary?

Didn't that mean sending ordinary people to their deaths to buy the martial artists a chance to escape?

"Damn it, what the hell does the Zhenbei King mean by this? A martial artist's life is a life, but an ordinary person's life isn't?"

Liu Sanji immediately flew into a rage.

In his younger days, he had been a personal guard under Xiao Chen's grandfather, Xiao Rulei. After Xiao Zhentian was granted his title, Liu Sanji had also served under him for several years. His ties to the Xiao Family ran deep, yet there had always been certain things Xiao Zhentian did that he could not stomach.

For instance, Xiao Zhentian favored his younger son while exiling his eldest son to Bear Martial City. Liu Sanji had been utterly unable to accept that.

Xiao Chen was such a good child. He had given so much for the Xiao Family, only to end up like this. It was simply infuriating!

And now Xiao Zhentian had issued an order like this. It was enough to make him explode with rage!

Boom!

Just then, a thunderous crash rang out. Before everyone's terrified eyes, the city gates were smashed to pieces. Dozens of horrifying Dog Demons and a group from the Demon God Hall charged straight into the city.

Several dozen heavily wounded garrison soldiers stood in their path, only to be devoured by the Dog Demons in an instant.

Licking the scraps of flesh and blood from the corners of their mouths, the Dog Demons revealed intoxicated expressions. Their scarlet eyes swiftly swept across the surroundings as they prepared to devour their next target.

Yet the streets were completely empty. Not another person was in sight.

"Hehehe, humans are all a pack of cowards! At the sight of the great lords of the Demon Race, they don't even have the slightest courage to resist!"

The green-robed middle-aged man from the Demon God Hall sneered and shouted toward the entire Bear Martial City, but no one answered him.

There were still dozens of martial artists in this city.

There was still the powerful Demon Suppression Office in this city.

Yet at this moment, no one came out to fight.

No one was willing to stake their lives for a group of lowly commoners.

People were selfish. Those heroic figures from the storytellers' tales were rarely seen in reality.

Suddenly, the green-robed middle-aged man spotted a five- or six-year-old boy hiding beneath a table, trembling as he looked at him.

With a sinister grin, he walked over, dragged the boy out, and brought him before a Dog Demon. Fawningly, he said, "Lord Dog Demon, children's flesh is the most tender. Please enjoy yourself!"

As he spoke, an unusual ripple of energy accompanied his words, making the syllables he uttered sound strange. When the Dog Demon heard them, its scarlet eyes suddenly lit up. Green drool dripped from its ferocious maw, clearly showing how satisfied it was with this human blood meal before it!

"Haha, humans, Lord Dog Demon is about to devour your child. Is anyone brave enough to step forward and stop him?"

"I'll count to three. If no one comes out, Lord Dog Demon will begin his meal!"

The middle-aged man from the Demon God Hall swept his gaze around and burst into wild laughter.

Once someone entered the Demon God Hall, they completely cast aside their identity as a human and wholeheartedly defected to the Demon Race.

Those who joined the Demon God Hall were mostly twisted individuals. There was no shortage of vicious villains among them. Perhaps even before joining the Demon God Hall, they had already lost every shred of humanity.

"Stop! Wang Yunqi, you're a human, yet you help the Demon Race slaughter your own kind. Are you even human anymore?"

At this moment, the Garrison Commander had already led a group of old, weak, and wounded soldiers down from the city wall. Liu Sanji glared furiously at the middle-aged man from the Demon God Hall and shouted sternly.

The green-robed middle-aged man before them was Wang Yunqi, master of the Demon God Hall in Bear Martial City.

In the past, he had been a guard of Zhenkun Martial Academy. Later, after sexually assaulting a female student at the academy, his cultivation had been crippled and he had been expelled. From then on, he harbored deep resentment, joined the Demon God Hall, and opposed humanity at every turn. Dozens of lives had been lost by his hand.

"Human? I stopped being one long ago! A wise man submits to the times. The Demon Race unifying the world is the tide of the age. What's wrong with me pledging myself to the Demon Race?"

Wang Yunqi's face was filled with disdain.

"Beast, you're truly shameless! Today, I'll split you alive!"

Liu Sanji's aura instantly sharpened. Like an enraged old lion, he drew the military saber at his waist and chopped it toward Wang Yunqi.

"Chicken Lord, don't!"

The Garrison Commander shouted in alarm.

Liu Sanji was merely an ordinary veteran, not a martial artist. Forget that he was now old and frail—even in his prime, he could never have matched so much as a finger of Wang Yunqi, who was at the eighth level of the Martial Disciple Realm!

Wang Yunqi narrowed his eyes. "You overestimate yourself!"

Then, with a casual palm strike, a terrifying surge of demonic energy swept forth and sent Liu Sanji flying.

Liu Sanji spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed heavily to the ground. The saber in his hand had long since fallen away. He struggled to rise, tried several times, but failed. In the end, he lay sprawled on the ground, utterly powerless.

"Brother Chicken!"

"Brother Chicken has gone up there. What are we afraid of? We'll die sooner or later anyway!"

"That's right! Brothers, charge!"

Seeing Liu Sanji injured, the group of old soldiers beside the Garrison Commander immediately had their eyes turn red. With an angry roar, they drew their sabers and charged forward as well.

Wang Yunqi frowned slightly, then casually slapped them away, sending the group sprawling across the ground.

Many martial artists hiding in the shadows clenched their fists at the sight, but in the end, none dared intervene.

"Old Liu, Old Zhang, Old Wu..."

Seeing the veteran soldiers all collapse to the ground, vomiting blood, the Garrison Commander's eyes nearly split with rage. He turned and roared at the surroundings, "Warriors of my Bear Martial City, at a time like this, you're still hiding and refusing to come out—don't you feel ashamed?"

"Demon Suppression Office, get the hell out here!"

His furious roar spread throughout the city, reaching the ears of every warrior.

Yet no one answered.

The city was deathly silent.

"Hahaha, humans, how utterly laughable!"

"Liu Sanji, I'll send you on your way right now!"

Wang Yunqi glanced at Liu Sanji on the ground, his gaze turning icy as he suddenly threw a punch.

Bang!

A sudden burst of air exploded.

Dense green demonic aura formed a phantom image of a tiger beast in midair, shooting toward Liu Sanji.

That terrifying aura made everyone tremble in fear.

If this strike landed, Liu Sanji would undoubtedly explode into a spray of blood.

"Not good—it's the Tiger Demon Phantom Spirit Art! Chicken Lord, dodge!"

The Garrison Commander recognized the origin of that tiger beast and instantly felt his scalp go numb.

The Tiger Demon Phantom Spirit Art was a supreme technique of the Demon God Hall. Through a secret method, it could summon the spirit of a tiger demon to fight. Its power was astonishing, only slightly inferior to the tiger demon's actual body.

Those killed by the Tiger Demon Spirit would have their souls imprisoned forever, becoming nourishment for the Tiger Demon Spirit and suffering endless torment for all eternity.

He had never expected Wang Yunqi to use such a method just to kill Liu Sanji!

Was he trying to ensure that Liu Sanji would never be reincarnated?

Seeing this, Liu Sanji's expression changed drastically as well. He desperately tried to move his body, but his injuries were too severe, and he could not move at all.

In the end, he closed his eyes in despair and murmured softly, "Young Lord, Liu Sanji will go on ahead. I won't be able to take care of you anymore."

However!

Just then!

Hum!

A loud sword cry suddenly burst out from not far away, like the roar of a dragon!