Role Reversal, Counter-Pursuit

This temporary enhancement was related to the number of shadows stored within the Shadow Box.

It was also the foundation of the Blood Shadow Gate.

When the Blood Shadow Gate encountered calamity, the Shadow Box was their means of turning the tables.

Once used, the shadows inside would be depleted and could only be slowly accumulated again.

At this moment, the Beast Sect Leader had used the Shadow Box. His body had already grown to seven meters tall, and his aura had become even more formidable.

Head Constable Xie and Division Magistrate Zhang knew that this expedition was likely doomed.

Upon hearing Head Constable Xie's words, Division Magistrate Zhang knew that he had begun to consider retreating.

At a time like this, if the two of them harbored different intentions, they would truly be doomed beyond doubt.

"Old Xie, if we succeed in this, I'll get you into the Demon Suppression Division!"

Division Magistrate Zhang said seriously, "A year ago, you took part in the Demon Suppression Division's assessment. Because you refused to accept the examiner's judgment and beat him up, you ended up where you are today."

"If this succeeds, it will be a great merit. Even if it costs me my life, I'll make you a member of the Demon Suppression Division in An Ding County!"

Head Constable Xie frowned.

He had indeed faltered just now.

The fellow before them was already extremely dangerous.

He wanted to stay alive.

That was a thought any normal person would have.

But Division Magistrate Zhang's words gave him something else to consider.

Just as Division Magistrate Zhang had said, Head Constable Xie had once taken the Demon Suppression Division's assessment.

He had desperately wanted to enter the Demon Suppression Division. At the very least, within Great Chu, not a single unaffiliated martial artist could refuse an invitation from the Demon Suppression Division.

One sentence could describe it.

Everyone cursed the Demon Suppression Division, yet everyone wanted to become part of it.

Power, status, and prestige.

Head Constable Xie was an ordinary man, and he yearned for those things too.

The Demon Suppression Division's assessment was exceedingly strict. One of its requirements was background.

They did not demand great status or connections, but one's origins had to be clean. They would even investigate three generations of a person's family.

In his early years, Head Constable Xie had done quite a few things and had even spent time in prison.

That was precisely why, after the examiner discovered it, he made things difficult for him at every turn.

Head Constable Xie refused to accept it and rushed forward to slap the examiner twice. From then on, he lost all qualifications to enter the Demon Suppression Division.

So he gave up, came to An Ding County, and became a Constable Captain.

Now that another opportunity had appeared, Head Constable Xie was tempted.

Head Constable Xie took two pills from his robes and tossed one to Division Magistrate Zhang.

"From the alchemy branch of the Miscellaneous Sect. These two pills are my lifesaving treasures. They can increase combat strength by fifty percent, at the cost of seven days of weakness."

After roaming the martial world for so many years, he had his own means of preserving his life.

These two pills were his treasures. Taking them out now was already his wager.

Without the slightest hesitation, Division Magistrate Zhang swallowed the pill along with Head Constable Xie.

At a time like this, only unconditional trust in each other could offer them a sliver of survival.

After swallowing the pills, the qi within their bodies gradually swelled.

In the blink of an eye, their auras became vast and surging.

At that moment, the Beast Sect Leader, who had been screaming all this time, finally recovered.

Dense black shadows covered the Beast Sect Leader's body, making him look like some eerie creature from the abyss.

He stood over eight meters tall, and his claws were nearly two meters long, radiating overwhelming pressure.

"Die!"

The Beast Sect Leader let out a low roar, like a wild beast bellowing.

His two-meter-long claws descended from above, sweeping toward Division Magistrate Zhang and Head Constable Xie.

Having taken the pills, Division Magistrate Zhang and Head Constable Xie had greatly increased their strength.

As the claws closed in, they swung their long blades.

One was incomparably swift, while the other was overwhelmingly powerful.

Together, they barely managed to block the strike.

But neither of them felt good. Even with their strength enhanced, their faces had turned pale, and blood seeped from the corners of their mouths.

"No one can stop me!"

The Beast Sect Leader roared.

His claws whipped up a gale, each strike faster than the last, every blow carrying the force to split mountains and shatter stone.

A vicious glint appeared in Division Magistrate Zhang's eyes.

"Cover me!"

Before Head Constable Xie's eyes, Division Magistrate Zhang shot into the air and raised his long blade high.

Although Head Constable Xie did not know what Division Magistrate Zhang intended to do, he repeatedly swung his own blade, turning it into a blur of afterimages.

Brilliant blade light linked together, forming an even denser net of blades than before.

While the Beast Sect Leader was blocked by the blade net, Division Magistrate Zhang had already leaped above his head and swept his long blade horizontally downward.

This strike unleashed a blade light half a foot wide. It fell from the sky and slashed directly into the Beast Sect Leader's neck.

Cracks appeared in the Beast Sect Leader's neck, and the black shadows scattered apart.

The enormous wound extended from his neck all the way to his left ribs.

"Ah!"

The Beast Sect Leader let out a miserable roar of fury. Black shadows wrapped around the wound as he swung his claws, striking Division Magistrate Zhang viciously.

At the critical moment, Division Magistrate Zhang raised his long blade before him and took the immense force head-on.

The blade instantly shattered into fragments, while Division Magistrate Zhang was sent flying backward. He slammed violently into the ground and spat out a great mouthful of blood.

"You actually wounded me! You all have to die!"

After being injured, the Beast Sect Leader seemed to go berserk. He swung another claw at Head Constable Xie.

Head Constable Xie hurriedly swung his long blade, trying to use the blade net to block the Beast Sect Leader's attack.

The instant the blade net met the claw, it shattered.

Left with no choice, he abandoned his blade and rushed toward Division Magistrate Zhang.

"As long as the green hills remain, there'll always be firewood to burn." Head Constable Xie supported Division Magistrate Zhang.

Without waiting for Division Magistrate Zhang to struggle, he hoisted him onto his shoulder and ran toward the forest behind them.

He truly wanted to join the Demon Suppression Division and had even brought out his trump card.

But it was obvious they were no match for their opponent now. It was better to preserve their strength and find another way later.

Division Magistrate Zhang wanted to struggle, but blood poured from his mouth whenever he opened it.

He had already suffered severe injuries.

Carrying Division Magistrate Zhang, Head Constable Xie vanished into the depths of the forest after several leaps.

"You all have to die!"

Seeing this, the Beast Sect Leader sneered and chased after them with his eight-meter-tall black shadow.

He did not merely intend to kill these two. He wanted to kill every member of the Demon Suppression Division.

Then, while he remained in this state, he would slaughter all of An Ding County to avenge today's humiliation.

The pursuer and the fleeing men had now completely traded roles.

Head Constable Xie fled desperately with Division Magistrate Zhang.

The Beast Sect Leader behind them was not slow in the slightest.

Any trees that blocked his path were smashed into pieces by his claws.

The distance between them gradually shrank, and Head Constable Xie grew anxious.

They could not escape!

At this rate, he truly would perish here today.

Even after taking the pills and becoming this much stronger, he still could not widen the distance between them.

Death would come. It was only a matter of time.

Head Constable Xie did not want to give up this sliver of hope and kept running.

One hundred meters, fifty meters, ten meters!

When the distance between them was less than ten meters, Head Constable Xie could even feel the fierce wind at his back.

He gritted his teeth, turned around, and set Division Magistrate Zhang down.

"Let's risk our lives!"

Since they could not escape, they would make a final stand.

But at that moment, he suddenly froze.

Because the Beast Sect Leader had actually stopped. His gaze passed over Head Constable Xie and looked behind him.