Dead silence.
One moment it was a hellish furnace where human life was worthless, the next it was so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the heavy, incredulous breathing of the survivors could be heard.
In the square, the captain, who only had one arm, swayed, leaning on his sword, and knelt on the ground.
He looked up, staring blankly at the "forest" before him made up of the corpses of water demons.
Each dark earth spike pierced precisely from the center of the monster's body, suspending them high in the air. Foul-smelling blood flowed down the spikes, gathering into streams, yet Soundless seeping into the earth, without splashing a single drop onto the survivors.
One move.
Just one move.
Tens of thousands of water demons were all annihilated.
What incredible power! Even a god descending to earth couldn't compare!
"Old... Old Zhang..." Another captain stammered, supporting his companion. His gaze swept over the forest of corpses and finally locked onto the lone figure in black in mid-air.
And the jet-black token in his hand, radiating supreme majesty.
Demon Suppression Mystic Token!
The two were shocked. Ignoring their deep, bone-revealing injuries, they struggled to stand up and, with all their might, bowed deeply to the sky.
"This humble servant Zhang Hu, Captain of the Demon Suppression Bureau Canglan Commandery!"
"This humble servant is Li Mang, Commandant of the Demon Suppression Bureau Canglan Commandery!"
"Greetings, Commander!"
Their voices were hoarse, yet filled with the trembling of survivors and a profound awe from the depths of their souls.
Su Yu put away the Demon Suppression Mystic Token, and with a flash, he landed Soundless in front of the two.
He didn't look at the civilians who had been rescued; his gaze calmly swept over the two men.
"Casualties." He only asked two words.
The glimmer of hope that had just appeared on Zhang Hu's face was instantly extinguished by immense grief. He gave a bitter smile, "The Demon Suppression Guard of Yanghe County was originally composed of 372 men, but now... only 34 remain."
The warriors who spontaneously resisted were almost entirely killed or wounded.
Li Mang clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, and added with a worried expression, "My lord, although you have exterminated all the water demons in the city, but... but this is only the vanguard!"
Yanghe County is surrounded by water on three sides. Outside the city, there are at least... nearly ten thousand water monsters surrounding us!
Among them, there is even a powerful demon at the Earth Realm Third Layer!
Ten thousand water demons! Great demons of the Earth Realm!
These words, like a boulder, weighed heavily on the hearts of every survivor who had just glimpsed a glimmer of hope.
That miraculous move was indeed powerful, but human strength has its limits. Faced with an army of 100,000 demons, and a true Earth Realm Great Demon, what could it possibly do?
This is simply jumping from one dead end into an even bigger dead end.
That's it, I'm still going to die.
A deeper despair than before was reflected on everyone's face.
However, Su Yu's reaction completely exceeded their expectations.
After listening to the report, his face remained expressionless; he simply nodded indifferently, as if the 100,000 demon soldiers and the powerful demons of the Earth Realm were nothing more than stray cats and dogs on the roadside.
"Summon everyone."
Su Yu spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"Prepare for a counterattack."
What?
Counterattack?!
Zhang Hu and Li Mang looked up abruptly, wondering if they were hallucinating due to excessive blood loss.
What can we use to launch a counterattack? These thirty-odd remnants of our army to charge into the ranks of a hundred thousand demon soldiers? My lord, are you kidding me!
Before they could even voice their doubts, Su Yu's figure had already blurred into a blur, taking a single step in the air and directly leaping over the dilapidated city wall, appearing outside Yanghe County.
The true hell is now unfolding before our eyes.
The three major rivers outside Yanghe County were no longer their original color; instead, they were filled to the brim by endless water demons, turning into a viscous, writhing black liquid.
Countless grotesque heads bobbed in the water, their densely packed scarlet eyes staring greedily and bloodthirstyly at the lonely city.
A dense, almost impenetrable Yao Qi malevolent energy mingled with the moisture, forming dark clouds that blanketed the entire Yanghe County, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
Before the demon army's formation, a giant demon with a shrimp head and human body, standing three zhang tall, clad in jet-black armor and wielding a ferocious trident, sat atop the back of a giant sea turtle.
He was none other than Northern Nether Sea, the vanguard general under the Seventh Prince of Xia Shijiu!
The terrifying aura of the Earth Realm Third Layer crashed against the ruins of Yanghe County like a tidal wave.
When Xia Shijiu saw that Su Yu dared to leave the city alone, a hint of contempt and cruelty flashed in his lantern-sized eyes.
He slowly stepped forward, slamming his trident down heavily, creating a wave that rose a hundred feet high. In a deep, metallic voice, he roared:
"I am Xia Shijiu, a general under the Seventh Prince of the Northern Nether Sea! By His Highness's orders, I will massacre Yanghe County!"
"Listen up, humans in the city! Immediately commit suicide, and you may leave with a whole corpse!"
If you dare to resist, I will make your souls wail in the icy currents of the Northern Nether Sea for ten thousand years!
"As for you, you ignorant brat of the Mystic Realm, I'll give you three breaths to get lost!"
Faced with this deafening rebuke, Su Yu's expression remained unchanged, as if he had only heard the buzzing of flies.
He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes looking at the arrogant Earth Realm Great Demon, and uttered only two words.
"Noisy."
The moment he finished speaking, he made no extra movements, but simply slowly raised one arm, spread his five fingers, and pointed towards the sky.
Boom--!
At first, it was just a muffled, seemingly heaven-sent roar.
Immediately afterwards, all the light in the world went out!
The Yao Qi clouds that had been hanging over Yanghe County were instantly torn apart and devoured by an even more domineering and tyrannical force!
Instead, endless thunderclouds, churning with purplish-black lightning, converged from all directions at an incredible speed, forming a terrifying vortex so huge it blotted out the sun directly above Su Yu's head!
The air pressure between heaven and earth suddenly dropped to freezing point.
A terrifying aura of destruction, annihilation, and judgment permeated the air.
The disdain on Xia Shijiu's face froze.
He instinctively felt a fear emanating from the depths of his soul; that power was beyond his comprehension!
"What... what are you going to do?!" He felt panic for the first time.
On the city wall, Zhang Hu, Li Mang, and all the survivors stared in horror at the apocalyptic scene in the sky, their bodies trembling like leaves.
They finally understood what the commander meant by "counter-offensive."
That was not war.
It was a one-sided... purge.
Su Yu did not answer anyone.
He simply raised his hand and gently clenched it towards the swirling thunderclouds that had reached their peak.
World-Destroying Thunder Codex, activate!
In the next instant, tens of thousands of violent lightning bolts converged into a pillar of lightning that pierced through the heavens and earth, carrying the will to annihilate all things, and crashed down!