The brilliant sword light shattered the demon army's hopes of advancing, yet kindled a spark of hope in the hearts of the nearly despairing dog demons.
A figure had appeared before Dog Castle without anyone noticing when. Clad in luxurious black robes, with long jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall, he stood tall as a pillar holding up the heavens, an invisible aura bearing down in every direction.
Mingye had arrived.
A vast gap opened before the castle as countless demons perished in an instant.
One man and one sword stood before all the dog demons, his sword energy like silken threads, like a cold current, like ranks of towering ice walls!
"Who is that!?"
"Who is he!?"
"Were we saved!?"
Every surviving dog demon warrior struggled to open their eyes. They rose from pools of blood and looked at the figure ahead.
"Has the Great General returned?"
"No... that isn't the Great General's aura!"
The dog demons all speculated, their vision blurred by blood.
"Who are you?"
The City Defense General was closest to Mingye. He struggled to rise, gripping his broken saber tightly as he asked in confusion.
"This is my lord, Mingye. He came at the Great General's invitation to protect your Dog Castle!"
Only then did Chongli finally reach Mingye's side. He explained their origins and purpose to the City Defense General and the dog demons.
"All dog demons, fall back into the castle!"
Mingye did not turn around. His aura continued to surge, intimidating the demon army ahead.
His voice was soft, yet it reached every dog demon's ears with perfect clarity.
The dog demon warriors were moved, but none budged. They dared not retreat; they had to protect their Dog Castle.
"You've exhausted your strength. Leave the rest to me!"
Mingye spoke again. These dog demons' auras had fallen to their lowest ebb, and many had severe injuries that needed treatment as soon as possible.
His voice sounded so young, yet the power displayed by that flash of sword light was proof enough of his formidable strength.
The City Defense General cast Mingye a grateful glance, then shouted his order. "Everyone, bring your comrades back into the castle!"
"Yes, General!"
Under the City Defense General's command, all the dog demons withdrew from the castle front, carrying their fallen comrades back inside.
The healers within the castle hurried forward to treat the warriors, but many of the dog demons who were still conscious adamantly refused to retreat indoors.
They all climbed onto the walls and watched that upright figure. He was their only hope now!
Startled by the earlier flash of sword light, the demon army had halted its charge.
Of the tens of thousands of demons in the army, nearly eight thousand had died fighting the dog demons, while Mingye's single slash had slain over a thousand more.
These demons were simply too weak. Only their terrifying numbers amounted to anything.
A giant serpent dozens of feet long stopped at the head of the demons, and those behind it likewise refused to advance.
Though they were not particularly intelligent, they sensed an overwhelming threat of death from Mingye.
The figure who had suddenly appeared before them was far too powerful for them to withstand!
Yet a moment later, the command in their minds seemed to exert boundless magic, making the demons forget their fear and turning them into numb killing machines!
Every demon charged toward Dog Castle once more, utterly fearless.
"A bunch of scum!"
Mingye raised his hand lightly. A gleam of sword light flashed and vanished, and swathes of demons fell, their bodies reduced to shredded flesh and bloody corpses.
Slay Gods and Demons radiated terrifying sword energy in his hand, and the blade's aura continued to strengthen, as though it were absorbing the evil and baleful energies of the battlefield!
This was a property of Slay Gods and Demons. Absorbing all manner of evil, slaughter, and baleful energies could temper its blade and increase its power.
Mingye never moved his feet an inch. A mere swing of Slay Gods and Demons sent masses of demons falling as a rain of blood.
"Roar!"
Chongli transformed into an ancient ferocious beast. His roars shook heaven and earth, while punches powerful enough to blast apart the air pounded the demons to death.
The sight left the dog demons on the walls dumbfounded. This master and servant were terrifyingly powerful.
Beneath Slay Gods and Demons, every demon was cut apart as easily as weeds.
Every stroke of Mingye's sword brought down over a hundred demons.
This was a true feast of slaughter.
Sword energy swirled, and the pressure of his blade spread far and wide. In the eyes of every dog demon, Mingye was now a sword god whom no demon could withstand.
One slash, a hundred demons annihilated!
It was as effortless as watching their Great General wield Tessaiga, slaying a hundred demons with a casual strike.
Against such power, even an army of tens of thousands of demons was reduced, slash after slash, to dust, blood rain, shredded flesh, and bloody corpses.
In less than two hours, not a single attacking demon retained an intact body, and vast quantities of blood flowed across the ground.
The once snow-white ground was stained crimson. The snow melted, and the warmth of the demons' blood turned the snowy expanse into what looked like a river of blood.
Before the castle, that figure stood tall and imposing. Chongli had shed his enormous form and lay panting beside Mingye.
He had already expended a great deal of demon power on the journey. After fighting another battle, he was spent.
"So powerful!"
The City Defense General spoke in awe and fear. The strength Mingye had displayed far surpassed his own, and that of every demon currently in Dog Castle.
He thought that even their Dog Castle's young lord Sesshomaru, who was said to have the potential to surpass the Great General, would be no match for Lord Mingye.
This brief encounter alone had led him to that conclusion.
It was simply unbelievable.
One could only imagine how profoundly the scene before him had shaken him.
The other dog demons were already stunned, their eyes wide and their voices lost in shock.
Yet Mingye did not put away his sword. Instead, he gazed impassively ahead, where faint tremors rippled through the ground that resembled a river of blood.
They signaled that a large force was marching toward them, and was already extremely close.
"Lord Mingye, humans are approaching!"
Chongli rose again. He, too, had sensed the humans' presence, and spoke as he stared ahead.
Mingye nodded calmly. This should be Setsuna no Takemaru's human army arriving.
Unlike the human army, most of the demon army possessed demonic arts that allowed them to fly. Though weak, they could fly as naturally as birds.
Thus, the demon army had reached Dog Castle first and launched its assault.
Had Mingye not arrived in time, this demon army would undoubtedly have breached Dog Castle's defenses and destroyed the entire castle.
The approaching Setsuna no Takemaru could then have marched straight in with ease, reached Izayoi's separate residence, and taken her back.
Unfortunately, Mingye had come, and the demon army had become a river of blood.
Next would be Setsuna no Takemaru's human army.
In fact, as Setsuna no Takemaru approached Dog Castle, he had deliberately slowed his march. He planned to let the demons slaughter one another so that he could enter Dog Castle without losing any troops.
His plan seemed perfect, but when his army caught sight of that towering castle, an overpowering, nauseating stench of blood hit them head-on.
"Th-this is!?"
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