Crushed underfoot

"Lord Setsuna no Takemaru, another ten li or so, and Dog Castle will be in sight!"

A dark-faced deputy beside Setsuna no Takemaru spoke. Setsuna no Takemaru had already informed all his officers and soldiers of their objective and plan.

Their earlier panic had given way to easy confidence.

After all, the demon army would attack Dog Castle first. They only needed to arrive at the end to seize it outright.

The way Setsuna no Takemaru described it, this battle would be nowhere near as terrifying as they had first imagined.

Setsuna no Takemaru nodded slightly and glanced at the sky, where dawn was approaching. The timing was about right. Dog Castle's defenses might already have been breached!

"All troops, advance at full speed!"

Setsuna no Takemaru swept his arm forward, impatient to reclaim that woman, the woman who haunted his thoughts day and night.

Their marching speed surged. They soon covered the ten li, and after cresting a hill, the imposing city appeared before them all.

But the next instant, Setsuna no Takemaru and every officer and soldier stopped. Beneath them lay thick, foul-smelling demon blood.

The sickening stench rushed into their nostrils, making every face change!

"This... what is this?!"

One deputy gaped, his pupils widening and his face filling with horror. Even his body began to tremble.

The sight before them was simply too terrifying. Vast stretches of demon bodies and skeletons, shredded flesh and corpses-the snowy ground had become a river of blood, like a scene from hell.

They had seen battlefields before, but this sheer number of mutilated corpses made their faces twitch with fear.

Tens of thousands of demon bodies had created this blood-soaked hell. Strange pelts still floated on the surface of the river of blood, making the sight truly chilling.

"The demon army actually failed?!"

Setsuna no Takemaru's eyes widened. The imposing city showed no sign of having been breached. The ghastly sight of tens of thousands of floating corpses proved that the army Ryūkotsusei commanded had been completely annihilated.

"How is this possible?! An army of tens of thousands of demons couldn't take a poorly defended Dog Castle!"

Setsuna no Takemaru's face turned utterly dark, his heart shaken with disbelief.

They had investigated everything beforehand. No powerful demons were guarding Dog Castle. It should have had no way to stop such an enormous demon army.

At that moment, the dog demons atop Dog Castle's walls paled again. They, too, had spotted the human army nearby.

Had the overwhelming stench of blood not interfered with their sense of smell, they might have detected the human army long ago.

"These humans! Damn them, even humans dare attack Dog Castle at a time like this!"

The commander defending the city slammed his hand against the wall, his fury rising uncontrollably. To think the dog clan, the rulers of the Western Country, would one day come under attack by a human army!

It even made him wonder whether their great general had been defeated on the front lines.

After all, if their great general had not lost, how would these demons and humans dare attack Dog Castle?

"Finally."

Mingye stepped into the air. The empty space beneath his feet supported him like solid ground as he walked steadily forward.

Chongli did not follow. He remained where he was and waited. With his strength exhausted, his best option was to stay put and wait for Mingye to return after killing the enemy.

Not causing trouble for his master was the sensible thing for a loyal servant to do.

"Who are you?!"

Setsuna no Takemaru tensed all over, drawing his Blood-Colored Long Sword in an instant as he stared at Mingye, whose seemingly slow steps carried him forward with startling speed.

"Setsuna no Takemaru, who killed Red Evil Ogre and Qitian?"

Mingye stood calmly with his hands behind his back, looking down haughtily at Setsuna no Takemaru as he questioned him.

"Naturally, I killed them!"

Setsuna no Takemaru tightened his grip on his sword. Mingye's indifferent gaze reminded him of Tōga several years ago-the same attitude of not considering him worth a glance.

That attitude rankled him to the core. In that instant, anger made him forget his fear, and he stared straight at Mingye as he snapped his answer.

"You... aren't capable of it!"

Mingye smiled scornfully. However weak Red Evil Ogre and Qitian might have been, Setsuna no Takemaru could never have killed them.

Although Setsuna no Takemaru was not weak, he was still only flesh and blood.

He could not possibly withstand the power of Red Evil Ogre and Qitian's flame bombardment, much less kill them.

"Every last one of you acts like this! I rule a city and command an army of over ten thousand, yet you dare look down on me!"

Setsuna no Takemaru roared. He now held the fates of so many people in his hands and occupied an exalted position, yet he was still treated with such contempt.

"A city's ruler? You're nothing but a clown."

Mingye shook his head slightly. There was a reason demons ran rampant in this world. Humans were simply too weak.

Against demons, they had barely any advantages at all.

So what if he ruled a city? A demon could easily take control of an entire city. That was power no human could match.

"If you won't talk, then die."

Mingye could not be bothered to ask again. He raised his hand slightly, and a streak of icy blue light shot from his fingertip straight toward the space between Setsuna no Takemaru's brows!

A chill gripped Setsuna no Takemaru's heart. His Blood-Colored Long Sword flew from his hand as he hastily retreated, grabbing the two deputies beside him to shield himself.

The sharp Blood-Colored Long Sword was knocked away by the icy blue light in an instant. Without slowing, the light pierced the deputies serving as human shields before Setsuna no Takemaru.

It happened so quickly that many soldiers had yet to react before they saw Demon Power pierce the two deputies' bodies.

"G-General... you..."

Disbelief filled the two deputies' faces. They slowly turned their heads toward Lord Setsuna no Takemaru, whom they had revered. They still wanted to say something, but their lives came to an abrupt end.

Setsuna no Takemaru carelessly tossed aside the two deputies' corpses and roared at the soldiers who were still standing in a daze:

"Hurry up and shoot that demon dead!"

The soldiers froze for a moment, shaken to their cores. Looking at the hysterical Setsuna no Takemaru, they felt as though he were a stranger.

"Why aren't you attacking? Do you all want to die at that demon's hands?!"

Setsuna no Takemaru shouted again. Was this the time to stand around in a daze? They needed to kill the enemy now!

Yet at that very moment, Mingye appeared above Setsuna no Takemaru's head. To these humans, his speed was as uncanny as teleportation.

They could not track him at all.

Every hair on Setsuna no Takemaru's body stood on end. Cold sweat soaked his back, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Never before had the threat of death felt so intense.

He wanted to flee!

But a foot slammed down onto his back, snapping his spine and rupturing his internal organs. A great mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth.

Both his costly armor and the inner armor meant to resist Demon Power shattered in an instant.

His horse also crashed heavily to the ground. Setsuna no Takemaru let out an agonized howl, frightening the surrounding soldiers into a frantic retreat.

"Attack... already!"

His eyes looked ready to burst as Setsuna no Takemaru struggled to raise his hand and give the order!

Only then did the soldiers come to their senses. The enemy before them was a vicious demon, their absolute mortal foe.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The archers frantically loosed their sharp arrows, while the spearmen hurled their spears in a frenzy, all intent on killing Mingye.

But Mingye merely tapped his foot lightly, and Slay Gods and Demons suddenly flew from the sheath at his waist. A brilliant sword light illuminated the earth like the light of dawn.

Heads flew into the air. Mingye's foot settled lightly onto Setsuna no Takemaru's head, then crushed it as terror filled his face.

Setsuna no Takemaru was dead!

PS: Please show a little more support, darlings. I'm begging you-tap those free little gifts...