The Demon Slayer Has Arrived!

After a brief rest, Jiao Yu gave the order, and the team immediately assembled.

Under cover of night, the group set out.

Guided by the scouts, they avoided the demon beast packs ahead, slipped into the forest, and headed for Chen Family Village.

After half an hour of forced marching, the team finally arrived at Chen Family Village.

But the sight before them plunged everyone into silence.

"Boss, we're too late..."

Fox Murong moved close to Jiao Yu and spoke softly.

Even after three months of grueling battle, after growing accustomed to life and death, the miserable state of Chen Family Village was still too much for Fox Murong to bear.

The trunk of the old locust tree at the village entrance had been splashed dark red with human blood. Beneath its roots lay half a corpse, its ribs completely exposed, white and ghastly.

Several gnawed-clean leg bones lay scattered across the open ground beside it, their broken ends marked with dents where wolf fangs had bitten through.

Wind poured in from the north, carrying a stench mixed with the tang of rust, tightening everyone's throats.

No one spoke. Only the "drip, drip" of water from some unknown house sounded in the silence, falling into a pool of blood—once, then again.

"Boss, look!"

Sharp-eyed, Wei Xuanfeng spotted the clearing to the west of the village at once.

More than a dozen Xuanlan Wolf Demon corpses lay sprawled across the ground.

Some had been nailed to tree trunks by arrows, every shot piercing an eye socket.

Others had caved-in chests, smashed apart bit by bit with someone's fists...

"Search them. Save anyone you find. Kill any wolves you encounter!" After issuing the order, Jiao Yu jogged over, picked up an arrow, and examined it closely. "They're ours!"

"Yes, Boss. The number of corpses is off too. There are footprints over there leading up the mountain. I think the villagers of Chen Family Village must have all been evacuated up there. It's just..." Wei Xuanfeng said calmly.

"Our people haven't been patrolling the mountains around Chen Family Village these past few days. I'm not sure who helped these villagers retreat."

Within Kang City, there were indeed several forces capable of standing against the Demon Race besides the Demon Suppression Directorate.

For instance, those martial arts sects, as well as the few reclusive masters in the city.

"Whoever fights the Demon Race is an ally!"

Though Jiao Yu said so, she stared at the wolf demon corpses, deep in thought.

Just then, a chorus of wolf howls suddenly rose from the back mountain.

"Boss, what do we do?" Wei Xuanfeng looked to Jiao Yu and asked.

"Looks like these wolf pups are determined to wipe out Chen Family Village. Damn it!" Jiao Yu turned and roared, "Stop searching! Form ranks!"

At her command, everyone immediately assembled.

"Wei Xuanfeng, raise the banner!"

Whoosh!

The Demon Suppression Directorate's great banner snapped open in the night wind—black characters on a red field, "Suppress" on the front and "Demons" on the back. Wei Xuanfeng held the banner aloft in one hand, standing beneath the crimson standard.

"Fox Murong, Wen Shihan, guard the standard!"

"Yes!"

Wen Shihan stood at his left flank with meteor hammers in hand, while Fox Murong stood at his right with her bow drawn and arrow nocked.

As the crimson banner fluttered in the wind, Jiao Yu swept her gaze over the crowd.

"Comrades! The people on the mountain are under attack by a horde of demons! I will lead you there—to slay demons and save lives!"

Bolstered by inner force, her voice was deafening.

"Before the sun rises, many will die!"

"Do not be afraid! Do not retreat!"

"Behind you lie the lights of ten thousand homes!"

"Follow the crimson banner closely, gentlemen! Grip your Embroidered Spring Blades tight, and fight unto death!"

"Though the long night admits no light, I will still stake my life to kindle a lamp!"

The moment her words fell, Jiao Yu ignited the blade soldiers' spirits.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Good men, follow me!"

Seeing the team's fighting spirit surge, Jiao Yu immediately drew her Embroidered Spring Blade and led them charging up the mountain.

Wei Xuanfeng carried the military banner, with Wen Shihan and Fox Murong guarding him on either side.

The entire team moved through the mountain forest like a black wandering dragon.

"Boss, there's a wolf pack ahead!"

Because of her archery training, Fox Murong had the sharpest eyes.

With a single glance, she spotted the Xuanlan Wolf Demons far in the distance.

"Don't stop! Kill our way through!"

Seven Killings leaned against a boulder half a man's height tall, his left arm hanging limp as blood dripped from his fingertips.

Seven wolf corpses lay scattered across the clearing before him. Every one had been beaten to death with bare fists, their skulls caved in, brain matter and blood flowing all over the ground.

Yet more wolves kept crawling out of the darkness, pairs of green eyes drifting among the rocks—too many to count.

Embroidery crouched amid the crowd, her bowstring already snapped and only seven arrows remaining in her quiver.

The villagers had formed a circle. The elderly and children were crammed into the center, while the young men stood guard outside, clutching hoes, woodcutting blades, and shoulder poles. Even a fire poker counted as a fine weapon.

This was a cliffside platform on the back mountain of Chen Family Village. Sheer cliffs hemmed it in on three sides, with only a narrow path leading up from the south.

Under normal circumstances, with two martial masters at the peak of their realm, holding this single line of defense would have been more than easy!

Even if these wolves could climb the cliffs.

But...

They had ultimately underestimated the toxicity of the Earth Immortal Spring Lotus, even though it had been stored inside a jade box...

"Right side!"

Seven Killings roared and shot forward, smashing his fist into the head of a wolf that had just climbed over the cliff.

The wolf did not even get out a howl before its skull shattered. Its body hung from the cliff face as it slid down, knocking loose a shower of shattered rocks.

Almost at the same time, Embroidery turned toward the left flank. She swung her broken bow sideways, striking an incoming wolf demon across the snout. The beast recoiled in pain, only for two villagers to pin it dead to the ground with their hoes.

This was the seventh time tonight.

Each attack came from a different direction, in groups of three to five. They bit once and retreated, then circled around and came again from another direction.

Seven Killings and Embroidery each guarded one end. When wolves lunged here, they bit there; once they drove those away, more would creep up on this side.

They had still been able to hold out two hours ago. Half an hour ago, it had begun to grow difficult. And now...

Seven Killings panted like a bellows, while the hand Embroidery used to grip her broken bow trembled.

They both knew the wolf pack was wearing them down.

"Still got any strength?" Embroidery asked between ragged breaths.

Seven Killings grinned, his teeth threaded with blood. "What, you want it again?"

Embroidery did not have the strength to curse him.

The wolves moved again...

This time, they came up the narrow path straight ahead. Six wolf demons charged forward abreast, swift as lightning.

Seven Killings was about to rush out, but Embroidery grabbed him.

"Stop playing the hero!"

She met them herself, gripping the broken bow in her left hand as she drew the dagger from her boot with her right...

It was her final weapon.

The six wolf demons pounced.

Embroidery dodged the first wolf's bite, drove her dagger into the second's throat, and had the cloth at her lower back ripped apart by the third's claws. She jammed the fourth wolf's jaws open with her broken bow and shattered its lower jaw with a knee strike.

Seven Killings knocked the fifth and sixth flying from the side—one with its chest cavity caved in, the other with its spine snapped.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The moment she saw Seven Killings, Embroidery dropped to her knees and began coughing violently.

"Damn it, a tiger fallen to the plains gets bullied by dogs."

Seeing this, Seven Killings immediately helped Embroidery up.

Who would have thought that he, a martial master at the peak of his realm, would end up dying in the jaws of a pack of demon-servant-level wolf demons?

What bitter unwillingness!!!

The wolves did not charge in while they had the advantage. They stopped several steps away, their green eyes fixed unblinking on the two of them.

"Old Seven..." Embroidery's voice was weak. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have listened to you and insisted on fooling around for another three days... If we'd gone back to the Demon Suppression Directorate as soon as Lord Yang left, how would we have ended up..."

Seven Killings' old face reddened, and he scratched his head.

"Wasn't it you who said you liked doing it in the fields..."

"Are you trying to die? You're still talking that kind of crap at a time like this!"

The two had seen life and death often enough that they could still laugh and joke at such a moment.

But when the people behind them saw the pair wounded once more, their hearts sank into utter despair.

The sound of sobbing came and went at first, then slowly swelled, until in the end, young and old alike throughout the village were howling in grief...

Just then, a strange commotion broke out behind the wolf pack.

The disturbance immediately drew the gazes of many villagers.

Within the dim gray horizon, a red dot was drawing closer and closer.

The chief of Chen Family Village stood atop a rock, craning his neck just to see farther.

Gradually, he made it out.

That red dot was a crimson banner!

"The demon slayers are here..." he murmured.

"THE DEMON SLAYERS ARE HERE!!!" he roared!