Grassroots Hero Geng, the Bodyguard!

At that moment, the two dog demons commanded their offspring to pounce upon Chen Fan and the others, biting and tearing at them, while they themselves hid in the shadows, not daring to show themselves easily.

Chen Fan swung the Embroidered Spring Blade in his hand, cutting down one dog demon with every slash. Slaying these dog demons at the first stage of the Divine Treasury Realm was as easy to him as eating and drinking.

Lu Xuening and Huang Chengyue were unwilling to lag behind either, and they both attacked. With their strength, killing minor demons of this realm was effortless.

Once the three of them made their move, more than half of the twenty-odd dog demons were dead or wounded after just a few exchanges. The remaining dog demons scattered like monkeys when the tree fell, fleeing in every direction and hiding in every corner of the County Magistrate Estate.

"Captain Lu, what audacity! You actually sent people to surround this official's residence. Are you trying to rebel?"

Just as Chen Fan and the others were searching everywhere for the dog demons and killing them, County Governor Li Shouyi emerged aggressively with the household servants and guards. The instant he saw Lu Xuening, he launched into a furious tirade.

"County Governor Li, harboring demons and colluding with demons are crimes punishable by death."

"Our Brocade Guard answers directly to His Majesty. We oversee aristocratic clans and sects, slay demons and monsters. Anyone who dares obstruct us may be executed first and reported afterward. There will be no mercy!"

"County Governor Li, would you like to test whether the edge of my Embroidered Spring Blade is sharp?"

Chen Fan walked up to Li Shouyi, resting a hand on the Embroidered Spring Blade at his waist as he spoke coldly.

"Y-you... don't be so arrogant!"

Li Shouyi was frightened by Chen Fan's imposing manner and retreated several steps.

Though he was the governor of a county, at heart he was still a scholar steeped in the teachings of the sages. Faced with a martial man like Chen Fan, whose strength was formidable and whose presence bore down on him, he was defeated in an instant.

"Bring all these people under control."

"Anyone who dares resist will be killed without exception!"

Lu Xuening glanced at County Governor Li Shouyi and waved her hand. The yamen runners, constables, and squad leaders behind her hesitated briefly before immediately surrounding Li Shouyi and the others.

"How dare you!"

"I, Li Shouyi, am the parental official of Ping An County, the governor of this county, the very source of your food and clothing. You dare draw blades against me?"

"You have some truly outrageous nerve!"

County Governor Li Shouyi stared at the yamen runners, constables, and squad leaders surrounding him and roared angrily.

Everyone turned a deaf ear and selectively lost their hearing. No matter how viciously he cursed, no one refuted him or laid a hand on him, but neither would they allow him to leave their sight for even half a step.

At that moment, two towering dog demons walking upright emerged from the main hall. Upon seeing Chen Fan and Lu Xuening, they lunged at the two of them.

Killed a fourth-stage Divine Treasury Realm dog demon, stealing its remaining lifespan of twenty-eight years!

Killed a fourth-stage Divine Treasury Realm dog demon, stealing its remaining lifespan of thirty years!

Chen Fan swiftly and efficiently killed the two dog demons. Seeing the prompts on the Attribute Panel before him, he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

Ordinary dogs generally lived only a dozen or so years. After gaining intelligence and becoming demons, their lifespans increased, but compared to those Demon Race beings born with abundant natural lifespans, they were still rather lacking.

At Li Shouyi's residence, Chen Fan and the others killed two fourth-stage Divine Treasury Realm dog demons and twenty-four first-stage Divine Treasury Realm dog demons. In the backyard, where the dog demons lived, they also saw bones piled up like a small mountain.

"This Li Shouyi simply deserves to die!"

Chen Fan said in a deep voice.

"We cannot kill him, but I will report his evil deeds to Dragon Abyss Prefecture. Great Zhou law will naturally condemn him to death!"

Lu Xuening said.

If County Commandant Liu Xuan had merely been forced into it and had no choice but to go along with the demons, then County Governor Li Shouyi was an out-and-out corrupt official.

He had willingly become the demons' lackey to contend with Cao De for power and profit. He kept dog demons in his home, allowing countless prisoners who should not have died to be devoured by them, and causing countless common families to be torn apart and ruined!

If he did not die, it would be impossible to quell the people's fury!

Using her status as a Ninth-Rank Black-Robed Constable, Lu Xuening directly threw the seventh-rank County Governor of Ping An County into prison to await Dragon Abyss Prefecture's judgment.

After that, they visited the homes of the assistant magistrate, Record Keeper, education officer, adviser, and others in turn. Every one of those homes contained more or fewer demons.

The wolf demon in the Record Keeper's home was the most savage. When he realized the county soldiers had surrounded the Record Keeper's residence, he thought the Record Keeper had betrayed them and directly bit all dozen-plus members of the Record Keeper's family, young and old, to death.

There were two ape demons in the education officer's home. The women of his household had been tormented half to death by those two ape demons.

After Chen Fan and the others killed the two ape demons, the education officer took a blade and killed every surviving woman in his household, then killed himself as well.

There were several Female Snake Demons in the assistant magistrate's home. Besides eating people, they also harvested yang to replenish yin, so nearly all the household servants and guards had been drained dry. Every one of them was skin and bones, their steps unsteady.

Some had even died directly beneath the Female Snake Demons, only to end up in the snake demons' bellies.

"You know, when these Female Snake Demons took human form, they were actually pretty damn enticing!"

Geng, the Bodyguard, the assistant magistrate's bearded guard, said with lingering relish.

Assistant Magistrate Ye kicked him directly, making him stagger and nearly collapse to the ground.

"You still have the nerve to say that? You were the one in the residence getting all heated up with that pack of female demons."

"When you entered my household as a bodyguard, you were broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, able to lift a thousand-jin stone mill and possessed the courage to stand against ten thousand men. Now a single kick from a weak scholar like me nearly knocks you down."

"Aren't you ashamed?"

Ye Jichuan pointed at his childhood friend and bodyguard with a speechless expression.

"Hehehe."

"Wasn't I helping share the burden for the servant and guard brothers in our household?"

"Could Lord Ye really bear to watch those brothers die beneath the Female Snake Demons?"

"The capable should do more work. A little nourishment and I'll be fine."

Geng, the Bodyguard, scratched his head awkwardly as he spoke.

Looking at Geng, the Bodyguard, Chen Fan felt that this fellow was quite a talent.

Grassroots Hero Geng, the Bodyguard!

This fellow would not let undead knight Ning Caichen have all the glory!

"Many thanks to Chief Banner Chen, Captain Lu, and everyone present for saving me from the depths of fire and water. Ye is endlessly grateful!"

Ye Jichuan clasped his hands and bowed to everyone. He did not put on any airs as an official, nor did he fly into a rage because Chen Fan and the others had killed the demons.

It seemed that although Lord Ye had been held hostage by demons, he had not chosen to join them in the same stream of filth and become their accomplice.

County Commandant Liu Xuan had also judged him to be upright and incorruptible, with a pure heart and empty sleeves. It was clear that Lord Ye truly could be called one who emerged from the mud yet remained unstained!

However, Lord Ye was no fool either. In Ping An County, controlled by demons, he chose to protect himself wisely. He would not help the demons harm the people, but neither would he openly oppose them.

He chose to wait quietly for the right moment.

And now, the right moment had arrived!

"Today, we killed seventy-five demons. The largest number came from that nest of dog demons in the County Governor's home. After today's battle, I reckon the vast majority of demons in Ping An County have been wiped out."

"Even if some remain, they have likely hidden far away and will not dare show themselves again. This is an unprecedented great victory for us!"

Huang Chengyue said with a sigh.

It was as though time had suddenly returned to thirty or forty years ago.

Back then, he had just become a member of the Brocade Guard in Ping An County, and the demon scourge there was not yet too severe. A demon incident might not occur even once a year within the city.

Their main duty was patrolling the region. Sometimes they could go months without finding a single demon, making it difficult to accumulate merits.

Whenever they heard of demons causing trouble somewhere, young men like them would howl with excitement and recklessly volunteer for missions to slay demons!