That night
Was utter chaos!
Everywhere the eye could see, smoke rose from the fires of war.
Though some demons died horribly in the demon tide, far more hid within it, unleashing the bloodthirsty instincts they had suppressed for countless years.
Others looted amid the flames, willingly risking their lives to wreak havoc, wishing they could kill, plunder, and burn everything.
Without enough food, warm clothing, or proper shelter, constantly oppressed and exploited, the demons at the very bottom went utterly mad when the hardships of life collided with the terror of death.
Their enormous numbers formed a demon tide. Even level-three or level-four demons dared not brave the force of its onslaught.
Of course, many demons were also caught up in the battle overhead, repeatedly dragged into the air before falling as bloody corpses and mangled remains.
Blood rained across the sky, an endless omen of doom.
Too many had died-so many that a thick stench of blood blanketed the entire Half-Demon Grounds, driving the already unhinged demon residents into an even greater frenzy.
Ghosts wailed and wolves howled, a din that would disgust gods and torment spirits.
Oppressive red light and eerie blue light filled the air above the Half-Demon Grounds. Wolf howls and the sinister aura of Wailing Ghosts reverberated throughout the area.
"So powerful!"
"What level of Lesser Yao is the Black Tiger Yao, exactly? Level five, level six? Or even higher?"
"And that Wolf Yao has actually managed to fight the Black Tiger Yao this long. That one's strength is no small matter, either."
Su Changsheng's expression was grave, his hands clenched tight and his face pale.
Now, with nowhere left to flee and life and death hanging in the balance, he had instead calmed down.
Feeling the earth groan and hearing the rolling thunder from the sky, he realized that all his earlier assessments of the Black Tiger Yao had been completely overturned.
Whether the Black Tiger Yao or the Wolf Yao, their strength utterly surpassed his imagination.
Was this the difference between purebloods and half-demons?
Was this the power of inherited cultivation arts and divine abilities?
How inconceivable!
They were so powerful that despair welled up in a demon's heart.
The Black Tiger Yao, in particular, had not appeared for months. Every demon in the Half-Demon Grounds had taken it for granted that he was dead or had left.
Yet who could have imagined that, after all the half-demons resigned themselves to the Wolf Yao's harsher, more exacting exploitation, the overlord who had once held the lives of every half-demon in his grasp would come fighting his way back!
And the moment he appeared, he challenged the Wolf Yao to a battle that would decide who lived and who died!
His overwhelming might and naked ferocity surpassed even what they had been before.
Su Changsheng had originally thought that, having advanced to level three, he could at least barely protect himself even if he was no match for the Black Tiger Yao.
But now it seemed...
That had been nothing but a joke.
He had thought far too highly of himself and far too little of the pureblood Demon Race's power.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The violent tremors continued until dawn without the slightest sign of stopping. The Black Tiger Yao seemed determined not to rest until he killed the Wolf Yao.
Su Changsheng could not understand what deep-seated hatred existed between the two to make them throw everything aside and begin a battle to the death.
Was it merely a fight over territory?
More importantly, why had the stronghold's higher-ups and the Lesser Yao administrators of the surrounding areas remained completely unmoved, allowing the battle to continue and the residents of the Half-Demon Grounds to die one after another?
Su Changsheng had originally thought that after daybreak, however slow the stronghold's higher-ups were to react, however little they cared about a struggle between ants at the bottom, they would still intervene out of respect for the stronghold's public rules.
But in truth, the stronghold's upper ranks showed no sign of acting at all. Every demon capable of stopping the fight simply turned a blind eye.
The demon residents of the Half-Demon Grounds waited desperately for the stronghold's higher-ups to intervene, only to receive wave after wave of despair.
Sorrow? Helplessness?
Neither!
Only an endless chill surged through Su Changsheng's heart.
He finally understood that, in the eyes of those higher-ups, the lowly half-demons of the Half-Demon Grounds were nothing but dispensable trash. Perhaps they were far less interesting than a battle between pureblood Lesser Yao.
Cruel?
Bloodthirsty?
This was the reality of the Wilds Yao Stronghold.
Perhaps there's another possibility!
The stronghold's higher-ups are deliberately clearing out the surplus demon residents at the bottom. They can't even wait for the conscription order. They want a batch of demons dealt with immediately, right now, without delay.
To them, with disaster upon us, the demons at the bottom consume more than they produce. They've gone from subjects of exploitation to burdens.
Su Changsheng let out a long, quiet sigh.
After all, conscripting demon residents to open up the Wilderness had far-reaching implications. It involved not only the Half-Demon Grounds but also the neighboring Lesser Yao Grounds, the stronghold's central district, and other areas.
No demon could escape it.
That was why the order had still not been issued.
But overpopulation, food shortages, frequent unrest, and the other urgent problems facing the mountain stronghold had driven its higher-ups to choose a crueler, more direct method.
Targeted elimination. Sweeping away the trash!
Set off a fight between Black Tiger and the Wolf Yao, then use it as a natural excuse to cull the Half-Demon Grounds' population and lighten the burden!
So why would the stronghold's higher-ups stop it? Why wouldn't they welcome it?
As for whether it might spiral out of control... so what if it did? That was not a problem at all.
Even if every resident of the Half-Demon Grounds died, countless wild yao in the Wilderness would scramble to get in.
The demon residents at the bottom were merely chives to be harvested, crop after crop. The stronghold's supposed rule against killing one another had been made solely for them.
Once again, weakness itself was the original sin!
Concealment Runes were used one after another. The shock waves from the Wolf Yao and Black Tiger Yao's battle rapidly drained the demonic energy within them.
Soon, Su Changsheng exhausted his proficient-level Concealment Runes, forcing him to begin using skilled-level Concealment Runes.
They were consumed even faster.
Fortunately, he had stored a considerable number, enough to last a while. But their concealment was also far inferior to that of the proficient-level runes.
The danger multiplied.
Time trickled past, and night fell once more.
For some unknown reason, the battle outside entered a brief lull. For four whole hours, apart from the two immense demonic auras that still pervaded the Half-Demon Grounds, every other sign of fighting vanished without a trace.
Had the two demons already settled the outcome?
Though puzzled, Su Changsheng dared not leave the tunnel, or even move an inch, for fear of making some noise and inviting disaster.
Hiss!
Just then, another Concealment Rune was exhausted and crumbled into ash in midair.
He instinctively reached into his robe, only to discover it was already empty. Even his skilled-level Concealment Runes had been used up.
His heart jolted.
"No!"
Without Concealment Runes, the fluctuations of Su Changsheng's own blood and vital energy would become unmistakable. Even the thick mass of the mountain could not fully hide them. To ghostly beings such as Wailing Ghosts, he would be the most obvious target!!!
The Turtle Breath Art was no guarantee. It could not conceal him completely.
A mortal crisis had suddenly struck!
Before you continue