Demon Flag Mountain Range

Jade Orchid City.

The northern wind carried grit, stinging his face.

Lei Wen pulled up his cloak, hiding half his face in its shadow.

The road had not been easy these past two months.

The closer he got to Demon Flag Mountain Range, the fewer people there were—and the more demons.

The greatest danger was the human heart.

Bandits lurking by the roadside, adventurers driven by greed, even some so-called "righteous men" who specialized in preying on newcomers.

Lei Wen's hands were stained with blood.

He had killed so many people that he had lost count.

In any case, anyone who had bared their fangs at him had ultimately become carrion by the roadside.

At last.

A stretch of dark, jagged silhouettes appeared at the end of the horizon.

Those were mountains.

And also an ocean of demons.

Demon Flag Mountain Range.

Within the Jade Orchid Empire, those four words represented wealth—and burial grounds.

Lei Wen reined in the beast and dismounted.

Black Panther sneezed, pawing anxiously at the ground.

It seemed to fear the wilderness ahead.

The faint, lingering scent of demon beasts in the air seemed to make the mount, which carried only a thin Flagrant Beast bloodline, feel uneasy.

It was a hybrid born from the mating of a second-tier Flagrant Beast, and it was usually considered a fine steed in Jade Orchid City.

But here, it was nothing more than a moving piece of meat.

"Enough, old friend."

"Go. Wherever you go, it's better than following me in there to die."

Lei Wen patted its neck, removed its saddle and reins.

Then.

He gave its rump a hard slap.

Black Panther yelped in pain, spread its four hooves, and bolted back down the road in a cloud of dust.

Lei Wen watched it disappear.

Then turned around.

He faced the dense forest whose shadows seemed to swallow even the sunlight.

Lei Wen rolled his neck, his bones cracking like firecrackers.

"The hunt begins."

Demon Flag Mountain.

The light beneath the forest canopy was dim.

The crowns of towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, allowing only scattered rays of sunlight to filter down like flecks of gold.

The layer of fallen leaves beneath his feet was thick. Every step made a soft crunch, and the ground felt somewhat springy.

It was the texture of decayed plants mixed with animal bones.

Roar!

A two-meter-long Demon Wolf burst from the undergrowth.

A third-tier Flagrant Beast, Demon Wolf.

In the outer regions of Demon Flag Mountain, it was a top predator.

It stared at the skinny human youth before it.

Tender flesh.

There was no scent on him that made it wary, nor did he possess the oppressive aura of a strong fighter.

Easy prey.

The Demon Wolf's eyes flashed with savage light.

Its hind legs kicked off the ground, and it lunged at Lei Wen's throat with bared fangs.

Lei Wen stood where he was without moving.

He did not even draw the saber at his waist.

Just as the wolf's claws were about to touch his chest—

Lei Wen's right hand suddenly rose without warning.

He clenched his fist.

Then threw a punch.

Simple, direct, brutal.

There was no flashy Spirit Qi glow, only the power of flesh and bone.

Crack!

The crisp sound of bones breaking rang especially sharply through the silent forest.

The massive Demon Wolf seemed to have slammed into a mountain moving at high speed, flying backward even faster than it had charged.

It smashed through eight saplings as thick as bowls before landing in the mud like a broken sack.

The wolf's skull had completely caved in.

It twitched twice, then died.

Instant kill.

Lei Wen withdrew his fist, his face expressionless.

A third-tier Flagrant Beast.

At its height, it would not even be able to withstand a single punch from him.

Suddenly.

A scorching sensation came from the back of his left hand.

The fetal mark was glowing.

An incomparably fierce hunger surged up, driving his nerves and making him look toward the Demon Wolf's corpse.

That feeling was like a starving beggar who had gone hungry for three days and nights suddenly catching the scent of freshly cooked meat.

It was urging him.

Eat it!

Devour it!

Lei Wen frowned.

That hunger did not come from his stomach, but from an instinct buried deep in his soul.

As his strength increased, the fetal mark seemed to become increasingly "alive."

In the past, it would only stir occasionally.

Now, whenever it smelled blood, it would become unusually restless.

For example.

On the way to Demon Flag Mountain Range.

It had actually urged Lei Wen to devour the corpses of those dead mercenaries.

That made Lei Wen deeply helpless.

As someone, he could not bring himself to do something like eating people.

"Heh."

"Are you a starving ghost reincarnated?"

Lei Wen raised his right hand and stared coldly at the fetal mark.

The mark seemed to sense his disgust.

The scorching sensation faded somewhat.

Yet that sense of grievance and unwillingness lingered clearly in Lei Wen's heart.

Lei Wen ignored it.

One of his purposes in coming to Demon Flag Mountain Range was to hunt demons!

Because he had long since figured it out.

The fetal mark on the back of his hand could devour demons endlessly, thereby helping him grow stronger!

But.

Since he had already reached Demon Flag Mountain Range.

Naturally, Lei Wen had no interest in these low-tier Flagrant Beasts.

His true target was the high-tier Flagrant Beasts deeper within Demon Flag Mountain Range.

With that thought in mind.

Lei Wen stepped over the Demon Wolf's corpse and continued toward the depths of the mountains.

A few days later.

The surrounding environment changed.

If the outer region was a noisy marketplace, then this place was the domain of low-tier Flagrant Beasts.

Here was the true place of death.

The trees grew taller and larger, their bark taking on a metallic dark-green hue.

This was the territory of fifth- and sixth-tier Flagrant Beasts.

Lei Wen slowed his pace.

He did not linger in this area.

Sixth-tier Flagrant Beasts?

They were merely slightly more challenging chunks of meat.

His target lay deeper within.

He submerged his powerful Spirit Qi into the sea of qi, drawing in every trace of his presence.

Unless someone saw him with their own eyes, even a third-tier Flagrant Beast would be unable to sense his existence.

That was the advantage humans had over demons.

Knowing how to hide.

Knowing how to restrain themselves.

After another few days.

Lei Wen stopped.

Ahead lay a narrow mountain valley, strewn with jagged rocks.

Clusters of nameless blood-red plants grew wildly from cracks in the stone.

A faint smell of sulfur drifted through the air.

Lei Wen sniffed.

Then smiled.

"Found you."

That scent belonged uniquely to a third-tier Flagrant Beast, the Swift Dragon.

This demon beast carried a trace of thin dragon blood.

Though it looked more like a lizard or crocodile, it was a genuine high-tier Flagrant Beast.

Its skin was thick, its flesh sturdy, it was incredibly fast, and its claws were as sharp as blades.

Back then.

When Lei Wen had followed Barte Lei on patrol, he had seen quite a few Swift Dragons.

But.

Those Swift Dragons were all demon beasts contracted by the soldiers.

Otherwise, Lei Wen would have long since found a way to get himself some Swift Dragon meat.

"Rustle..."

The sound of loose stones rolling suddenly rose.

Two fiery red figures slowly emerged from behind a boulder.

They had bodies over ten meters long, powerful limbs, and sharp claws that gleamed coldly.

Two Swift Dragons.

They had clearly spotted Lei Wen as well.

There was no fear in their vertical pupils, only greed and cruelty.

In their eyes, this little human who had wandered into their territory without knowing better was delivered food.

Human?

Humans with tender flesh tasted the best.

The Swift Dragon on the left let out a low roar, its throat producing a rumble like stones grinding together.

It was communicating with its companion.

"One each?"

The Swift Dragon on the right shook its massive head.

"Legs for me, head for you."

They naturally did not hold back their words.

But the predator's black hair and emerald eyes revealed a chilling, razor-sharp air.

They slowly spread out, forming a pincer attack.

They were very clever.

They knew how to coordinate.