Red as Blood

"Ah?"

Shu was taken aback, somewhat confused about the situation.

But Maria kept her eyes narrowed silently.

"You recognized me?"

As she spoke, she stepped forward.

The Daemon took a step back.

"If that's the case, what else do you want to do?"

As Maria spoke, she took another step forward.

The Daemon retreated several steps.

Maria didn't release any aura, and Maria didn't make any aggressive moves.

Daemon can instinctively sense the despair etched into the very marrow of their opponent.

"Aww--!"

It growled, trying to warn Maria that it was in great danger.

But...

"I hate disobedient things..."

Before anyone could react, Maria teleported directly behind the opponent!

To everyone's astonishment, she completely ignored the Daemon's infection and reached out to grab its neck!

This startled the Daemon for a moment, then its face turned fierce!

"Careful!"

The millet cried out loudly, trying to warn Maria.

But Maria remained unmoved, simply watching it coldly.

Then...

Slam it down hard!

"Boom--!"

~~~~~

325

Chapter 325 Red Bleeding.

What is the minimum number of attacks needed to defeat a Daemon?

Maria then gave her answer...

Just one strike...

There were no tests of truth or falsehood, no feints or deceptions.

Maria simply and calmly pinched the other person's head and slammed it to the ground...

"Ao--!"

With a scream that was inhuman, the Daemon's body suddenly collapsed!

Its body shattered into wisps of smoke, emitting a mournful cry as it fled in a sorry state, reaching the ground beneath its surface, seemingly to escape something terrifying.

This scene completely stunned Shu, who was standing to the side.

But she didn't just stand there stunned; after a moment of silence, she decisively activated her ability.

A golden current surged into the ground, sealing off the area she had ignored once again.

As the impact of the Daemon beneath the ground weakened, Shu looked at Maria with a subtle expression...

"You..."

Although Shu had some expectation of Maria's fighting prowess after learning that Maria was the Exorcist General, she still found it hard to believe when she saw Maria actually break down the Daemon's body with a single blow and even make it flee on its own...

Were people this powerful seven hundred years ago?!

What kind of monster did the original body face back then!?

"What's wrong?"

Having done all this, Maria as if nothing had happened, slowly getting up and turning to look at the other person.

After seeing the subtle expression on Shu's face, Maria tilted her head, her expression calm as if nothing had happened...

This gesture naturally silenced the millet.

But after a long while, she simply let out a soft breath.

"No... it's nothing."

As she spoke, she looked up at Maria.

"Thank you so much this time. Without you, this thing would probably have caused another huge disturbance... and delayed the planting season even more..."

As he spoke, the millet slowly walked toward Maria.

But before she had taken more than a few steps, a feeling of weakness and exhaustion washed over her.

She was suddenly stunned, then her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Maria didn't hesitate and reached out to hug him.

At this moment, the other person's body felt a chill...

You don't look well.

Maria's voice was calm, but it elicited a bitter laugh from Shu.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Ultimately, she was merely a fragment of time, and the power she possessed was naturally no greater than that of her original self.

To seal off the entire underground of the Great Wilderness was still far beyond her capabilities.

Especially in recent years, with the accumulation of Daemon power, she has gradually become weak.

This has led to an increasing frequency of reports of Daemon appearances recently.

But what could she do?

She had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep going.

In the distance, the supporting Daoist priests were rushing over, their faces showing signs of haste.

Maria sat quietly at the edge of the field, holding the millet.

Maria gently stroked the other person's hair, feeling their slightly cold body.

"But how long can you hold out like this?"

Maria asked quietly, her calm words tinged with pity.

Shu is indeed working very hard, but how long can she keep it up?

"Haven't you considered asking the Yan for help?"

"... some."

Shu didn't hide anything; in fact, the Yan also knew about the existence of Daemon underground.

They were also very anxious about this, and sent out teams of celestial masters to investigate the underground, study the Daemon, and find a solution to all of this.

However, so far, everyone's progress is still not high.

After all, the power of Daemon is not as threatening as the Great Beast of yesteryear; it is a more bizarre and unpredictable force.

Once you're infected, it's almost impossible to escape for the rest of your life!

Therefore, the Yan handles these matters with utmost care.

This made Maria sigh softly.

"In my memory, those people from Yan were the kind of people who dared to use even Originium and the power of Great Beast..."

"Ha... what kind of outdated statement is this?"

At first, Shu was somewhat resistant to being held by Maria like a child, but once she accepted it, she could feel a strong sense of security from Maria.

The delicate scent of incense, like an invisible arm, slowly enveloped her.

Her voice became even softer.

"I used to hear people say things like, 'The Yan was great back then, but the Yan today is not what it used to be...'"

"But... is that really the case?"

Shu spoke softly, her eyes slightly lowered.

"People these days are really trying their best to live..."

"... Perhaps."

Maria didn't dwell on the problem too much. She simply pondered, quietly holding the millet, and carefully examining her surroundings.

The more Maria perceived the situation underground, the more her brow furrowed.

She could sense that the underground blockade wasn't very effective.

This was not only because the territory of the Great Wilderness City was too large, but more so because Shu's body had reached its limit.

She couldn't do any more...

How much longer are you going to hold out here?

Maria spoke, her eyes slightly lowered.

Not far away, the crowd finally arrived.

But they looked around in confusion.

They came to deal with Daemon, but right now... where are the Daemon here?

"I don't know either..."

Shu seemed to feel that being held by Maria wasn't comfortable enough, so she twisted her body and rubbed against her to find a more comfortable position before continuing to speak.

"Perhaps I should hold out until people are capable of dealing with these Daemons on their own?"

"..."

"What's wrong?"

Shu could clearly feel Maria pause in stroking her hair, and she looked up, somewhat puzzled.

But what she saw was Maria's slightly complicated expression.

This puzzled Shu.

Did she say something wrong?

"No... it's nothing, it's just... I feel something's strange."

Maria shook her head.

She had to admit that Shu's words did make her feel somewhat out of place.

Even at the very end, she never felt that humanity had surpassed her.

She simply admitted that at that moment, she was indeed no longer capable of defeating humanity, but based on Maria's understanding of her, she probably never truly admitted defeat until the very end.

But... millet is a little different.

Her expectations of people seem to be much higher than what one would expect from someone her age...

"Elder sister?!"

Just as Maria was pondering this, Ji, who had hurriedly followed the main group, finally noticed the two people resting there. Seeing Shu lying in Maria's arms, he assumed his sister was injured and rushed over.

Shu didn't say much. Seeing that someone had noticed them, he didn't linger on Maria's tenderness any longer and slowly got up with Maria.