Demons were a cruel, cunning, evil, bloodthirsty race.
Chaos was this race's defining trait. Humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and the like all shared racial characteristics to some extent, such as pointed ears or short stature.
Demons were different. Every one of them looked bizarre, and what they grew into depended entirely on what magical beasts their parents had eaten. The more of a certain magical beast they ate, the more their demon offspring resembled that kind of magical beast.
However, the truth of this claim remained to be verified. Someone had tried feeding demons nothing but vegetables, yet they had not given birth to plant people.
In short, if it had horns on its head, a tail behind it, dark skin, and all sorts of bizarre mutations, then it was a demon.
They possessed intelligence no less than that of humans, but their desire for slaughter far surpassed humanity's. As a result, they were infamous across the continent.
Every one or two hundred years, or perhaps two or three hundred years, a superhuman individual known as the "Demon King" would emerge among the demons. At that time, the demons would obey the Demon King's command and unleash a disaster that swept across the continent.
Whenever the Demon King sought to destroy the world, Braves would step forward. History recorded that the Demon King had never defeated the Braves.
The demons of the present day had withdrawn to the Western Continent, lying in wait for the Demon King's revival.
So how had these things gotten into Zane Dungeon?
Arnor Kingdom bordered the sea to the east, was shrouded in dense fog year-round to the north, and was separated from other human nations by a vast desert to the south. To the west lay the Western Continent, where demons had entrenched themselves.
Fortunately, an endless mountain range blocked the miasma between the two lands, though few people lived along Arnor Kingdom's border.
Bede City lay in the southwest. It was not quite a border city, but calling it inland was a bit of a stretch as well. It sat awkwardly in between.
If demons wanted to enter Bede City, they would have to pass through dozens of major cities. There was also strict Demon Detection Magic at the border. How had they made it here alive?
What could Bede City possibly have that was worth risking their lives to come here for?
"I want to catch a few and question them."
Gong Qiying became interested.
Although he was currently a Living Dead, and his daily work consisted of tricking adventurers who were, for the time being, mostly human, he had always considered himself a good person.
Toward demons, those things everyone wanted dead, he also felt a simple emotion—he wanted to kill them all.
Whether for public or private reasons, he could not pretend not to see them. Demons killed people, after all. Every extra person they killed meant one fewer potential customer for his dungeon.
Why not use demons instead of humans? Either way, he would earn Spirit Power.
The answer was simple: Gong Qiying liked humans more than demons.
He would capture two for interrogation, then break the limbs of the rest and throw them out of the dungeon for the people outside to deal with.
He quickly came up with a plan and continued watching the demons' every move, looking for somewhere along their route that he could use.
"They're heading that way. I remember a new trap was added over there. It should come in handy."
Five demons walked through the Swamp.
There was little light in their eyes, as though a layer of gloom had veiled them, making their appearances even more terrifying.
They did not communicate with one another. They seemed to treat their companions as if they did not exist, yet whenever magical beasts rushed in to attack, their responses were remarkably coordinated.
"Clatter, clatter—"
Under Gong Qiying's control, several Skeleton Monsters charged at a demon covered in blades, whose arms themselves were shaped like long swords. Under normal circumstances, Skeleton Monsters had resistance to slashing attacks.
That demon knew this as well. He merely turned slightly to the side when a whistling sound split the air. An iron ball the size of a human head suddenly appeared and smashed the Skeleton Monsters to pieces.
They had shattered so badly that, even if they were not dead, they would not be getting back up anytime soon.
One demon silently reeled the iron ball back in. A closer look revealed that the ball grew from his body. His left arm was a tentacle, its tip firmly connected to the iron ball.
The demons fought by using their physical traits. Those with sword-like arms used slashing attacks, while those with wings on their backs flew up and rammed into their enemies.
"Not bad reflexes."
Gong Qiying continued manually controlling magical beasts to attack the demons. Yet whether the attacks were ambushes or frontal assaults, the demons always found ways to withstand them, at most suffering some injuries in exchange.
He controlled five waves of attacks in total. The final result was two heavily injured demons and three lightly injured ones.
But after the demons' flesh wriggled for a while, all the injuries he had worked so hard to inflict were completely restored. Clearly, demons possessed formidable regenerative abilities.
Still, even though their appearances had recovered, the two severely wounded demons had begun to walk unsteadily. The loss of stamina was not something they could replenish so quickly.
"They only look intimidating. Their actual combat strength might even be a little worse than Si Telan's." Without realizing it, Gong Qiying had begun using the people around him as units of combat strength.
The good news was that these demons were not especially strong. They could be taken down.
The bad news was that demons of this level had still managed to sneak in. What the hell were Bede City's guards doing?
Were the people near the portal blind?
Under the magical beasts' pursuit and interception, the demons' pace grew hurried. Like headless flies, they darted wildly through the Swamp and quickly lost their bearings.
As they fled, any magical beast that appeared before them was mercilessly slain. Though many magical beasts were still chasing them, and slowing down even slightly could get them surrounded, the demons were willing to waste time killing the nearest magical beasts.
Could the rumors be true? Were demons truly so bloodthirsty that they would stop at nothing?
Then, a treasure chest appeared in front of them. Many dead trees surrounded it, seemingly enclosing the chest while leaving only an opening facing the demons.
The demons glanced at one another. They still said nothing, but they had already made their decision and walked over together to open the treasure chest.
Whether they were careless or ignorant, they all stepped into the ring of dead trees.
One demon knocked on the treasure chest, confirmed that there was something inside, and easily pried it open.
The nearby demons curiously gathered around as well.
There really was something inside the chest, but it was strange—a wet, slimy tongue, with a row of sharp teeth growing along the chest's rim.
It was a fucking Treasure Chest Monster!
Before the demons could react, two withered, pale arms suddenly shot out of the chest and tightly seized the nearest demon. Its enormous mouth opened, and with one bite, it tore off half the demon's body!
The surrounding demons came to their senses and unleashed a barrage of attacks upon the Treasure Chest Monster. In the blink of an eye, they tore it into pieces!
But it was too late!
When they tried to turn back, their escape route had vanished at some point! Countless dead trees surrounded them, even blotting out the sky.
At that moment, waves of dangerous auras emerged. Light appeared on the ground, revealing Magic Arrays—so many that a casual glance made one dizzy. There had to be twenty or thirty of them!
Within every Magic Array, the silhouette of a magical beast slowly took shape!
"Finally took the bait."
Gong Qiying's Living Dead face split into a grin, revealing a horrifying smile.
He had come up with this trap while recalling "Sword Art Online."
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