The Sword's Cry Rings Out

Around Liu Sanji stood several old soldiers with resolute expressions.

Most of them bore disabilities. Some had lost an arm, some were blind in one eye, and others had scars across their faces.

All of those had been left behind from fighting the Demon Race. There was no helping it—the Human Race had too few martial artists, so they could only use ordinary people's lives to wear the demons down.

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

The Garrison Commander's face showed emotion.

Although nearly all the strong soldiers under his command had died and he truly had no one left, he still could not bear to send an old veteran like Liu Sanji, long retired from service, into battle. Besides, it would not accomplish much.

"The hell are you saying? You looking down on me? When I was killing demons on the battlefield, you little brat were still wearing split-crotch pants!" Liu Sanji glared at the Garrison Commander, then turned to the old soldiers around him. "Brothers, those little demon bastards are beneath the city right now, eyeing our families and brothers like tigers eyeing their prey. Tell me, are we going to do them in or not?"

"Do them in!"

"Damn right we will! Hell, living until today was already a profit for me. It is time I went down to keep those old brothers from back then company!"

"Brother San Ji, give the order. We will follow you like we did before!"

The old soldiers were fired up, touching the military sabers at their waists. Their faces brimmed with fighting spirit, without the slightest trace of fear!

Many of the city residents watching from the side had reddened eyes.

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

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

The Garrison Commander still could not bear to send these 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 had a secret agreement with the Demon Race. They would not stop the Demon Race from massacring the city, and the Demon Race would not harm the martial artists within it. Looking at things now, I am afraid it is true!"

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

The sturdy gate shook continuously under the blows. Dozens of long claw marks instantly appeared across it, and shattered stones flew everywhere.

His expression abruptly turned grave.

He had not expected the claws of these Dog Demons to be so sharp that they could so easily tear apart even a city gate forged from diamond steel.

At this rate, the gate would soon be smashed to pieces.

And then, what awaited them would be the extermination of the entire city.

"People of Bear Martial City, listen up! Open the gates and surrender at once, and the great lords of the Demon Race may grant you a quick death! Otherwise, every one of you will be swallowed alive!"

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

Beside him stood more than a dozen young people dressed similarly. The auras around them were all exceptionally terrifying; even the weakest had reached the eighth level of the Martial Disciple Realm.

Though they were human, each of them carried a thick demonic aura, giving them an eerie appearance.

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

The Demon God Hall!

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

For nearly a century, the Human Race and the Demon Race had warred without end.

The Demon Race had always held an absolute advantage, beating the Human Race until it had nearly been wiped out.

Some humans, seeking to survive in disgrace, had defected to the Demon Race. Those people formed 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 had to reach the Fourth Realm, the Demon Sect Leader Realm, before they could take human form and learn human language.

Before that, the people of the Demon God Hall served as intermediaries, carrying messages and handling affairs for the Demon Race.

In turn, the Demon Race gave them demon blood and Demon Cores to assist their cultivation.

With the Demon Race pouring resources into them, the people of the Demon God Hall cultivated quickly. They were exceptionally powerful and vicious, often committing all manner of evil on behalf of the Demon Race. They especially enjoyed humiliating young girls.

"You mongrel bastards of the Demon God Hall, if you want to break this city, step over my corpse first! If 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 to the Dog Demon leader's side and spoke several words with extreme respect.

The Dog Demon leader immediately let out an angry roar.

Hearing that roar, the Dog Demons attacking the city became like they had been injected with chicken blood, madly intensifying their destruction of the gate.

The gate shook even more violently. Under the frenzied assault of the Dog Demons, its damage grew increasingly severe!

Seeing this, the city residents atop the walls trembled all over, their eyes filled with terror.

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

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

Communication jade tokens were extremely rare, and ordinary people simply could not afford them. Thus, the military still used flying eagles to deliver letters!

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

The Garrison Commander opened the secret letter, and his face instantly darkened. "It is a reply from the Zhenbei King. He says that he lacks martial artists below the Martial Master Realm and cannot send reinforcements. He has ordered us to protect the martial artists in the city and evacuate them first. If necessary, the garrison must make certain sacrifices!"

The moment those words came out, the hearts of everyone present sank halfway into an abyss.

Did that not mean sending ordinary people to their deaths so the martial artists could gain a chance to escape?

"The hell does the Zhenbei King mean by this? A martial artist's life is a life, but an ordinary person's life is not?"

Liu Sanji flew into a thunderous rage.

When he was young, he had been a personal guard under Xiao Chen's grandfather, Xiao Rulei. Later, after Xiao Zhentian was made king, he had also served under him for several years. He had deep ties with the Xiao Family, yet he had always found certain actions of Xiao Zhentian's hard to stomach!

For example, Xiao Zhentian favored his youngest son but exiled his eldest son to Bear Martial City. Liu Sanji had been utterly unable to stand that.

Xiao Chen had been such a fine child and had given so much to the Xiao Family, yet he received such an outcome. It was simply infuriating!

And now, Xiao Zhentian had issued such an order again. It nearly made Liu Sanji explode with rage!

Boom!

At that moment, a tremendous crash rang out. Before everyone's terrified eyes, the city gate was smashed apart. Dozens of terrifying Dog Demons, along with a group from the Demon God Hall, charged straight into the city.

Several dozen wounded garrison soldiers blocked their path, only to be swallowed by the Dog Demons in an instant.

Licking the bloody scraps from their mouths, the Dog Demons revealed intoxicated expressions. Their scarlet eyes swiftly swept the surroundings as they prepared to devour their next target.

Yet the streets were empty. Not a single person could be seen.

"Hehehe, humans are all cowards! Upon seeing the great lords of the Demon Race, they do not even have the 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.

There were still dozens of martial artists in this city.

There was also a powerful Demon Suppression Office in this city.

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

No one was willing to stake his life for a group of lowly commoners.

People were selfish. The heroic men in storytellers' tales were not often seen in reality.

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

With a sinister smile, 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 it to your heart's content!"

As he spoke, a strange fluctuation of energy accompanied his words. The syllables he uttered sounded bizarre. Upon hearing them, the Dog Demon's scarlet eyes abruptly lit up, and green saliva dripped from its savage maw. Clearly, it was extremely satisfied with the human blood food before it!

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

"I will 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 laughed wildly.

Once one entered the Demon God Hall, one completely cast away one's identity as a human and defected utterly to the Demon Race.

Those who joined the Demon God Hall were mostly twisted people. Quite a few were vicious and heinous criminals. Perhaps even before joining the Demon God Hall, they had already lost their humanity.

"Stop! Wang Yunqi, as a human, you actually help the Demon Race harm your own people. Are you still human?"

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

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

In the past, he had been a guard at Zhenkun Martial Academy. Later, after violating a female student of the academy, Zhenkun Martial Academy crippled his cultivation and expelled him. From then on, he harbored resentment and joined the Demon God Hall, opposing the Human Race at every turn. Dozens of lives had already fallen by his hand.

"Human? I ceased being one long ago! Those who understand the times are heroes. The Demon Race unifying the world is the trend of the times. What is wrong with me defecting to the Demon Race?"

Wang Yunqi's face was filled with disdain.

"Beast, you are truly shameless! I will split you alive today!"

Liu Sanji's aura immediately turned sharp, like an enraged old lion. Drawing the military saber from his waist, he hacked toward Wang Yunqi.

"Chicken Lord, do not!"

The Garrison Commander cried out in fright.

Liu Sanji was only an ordinary old soldier, not a martial artist. Let alone now that he was old and frail, even in his prime, he could not have matched a single finger of Wang Yunqi, who was at the eighth level of the Martial Disciple Realm!

Wang Yunqi narrowed his eyes. "You do not know life from death!"

Then he casually struck out with his palm. A terrifying demonic aura swept forth and sent Liu Sanji flying.

Liu Sanji spat out blood and crashed heavily onto the ground. The long 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 Ji!"

"Brother Ji has gone up there already—what are we afraid of? We will die sooner or later anyway!"

"That is right, brothers! Charge!"

Seeing Liu Sanji injured, the old soldiers beside the Garrison Commander immediately reddened their eyes. With furious roars, they too drew their sabers and charged forward.

Wang Yunqi frowned slightly and casually slapped them away as well, sending the group crashing to the ground.

Quite a few 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 old soldiers coughing blood and collapsing to the ground, the Garrison Commander's eyes nearly split apart. He turned and roared at the surroundings, "Martial artists of Bear Martial City, even now, you are still hiding and refusing to come out. Do you not feel ashamed?"

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

The roar spread through the entire city and reached the ears of every martial artist.

Yet no one responded.

The city was deathly silent.

"Hahaha, humans are simply laughable!"

"Liu Sanji, I will send you on your way now!"

Wang Yunqi glanced at Liu Sanji on the ground. His gaze suddenly turned cold, and he threw a fierce punch.

Bang!

An explosive burst of air suddenly rang out.

A dense green demonic aura formed the phantom of a tiger beast in the air and shot toward Liu Sanji.

That terrifying aura made everyone tremble in fear.

If that strike landed, Liu Sanji would definitely explode into a spray of blood.

"Not good! It is the Tiger Demon Phantom Spirit Art! Chicken Lord, dodge!"

Recognizing the tiger beast's origin, the Garrison Commander's scalp went numb in fright.

The Tiger Demon Phantom Spirit Art was an ultimate art of the Demon God Hall. Through a secret technique, it could summon a Tiger Demon Spirit to fight. Its power was astonishing, only slightly inferior to the Tiger Demon's true body.

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

He had not expected Wang Yunqi to use such a method merely to kill Liu Sanji!

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

Seeing this, Liu Sanji's face 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 muttered softly, "Young Lord, Liu Sanji will go on ahead. I will not be able to look after you anymore!"

However!

At that moment!

Hum!

A clear sword cry suddenly erupted in the distance, like a dragon's roar!