13th February, Meng Chuan was the last to receive his transfer order.
“Ah Chuan, be careful.” Liu Qiyue was extremely worried.
“We will meet again a year later.” Meng Chuan smiled as he looked at his wife. He turned around and jumped on the bird’s back.
“Senior Brother Meng, let’s set off.” On the bird’s back was a second Firmament Skydemon skilled with illusions—controlled by Archean Mountain. The Skydemon cast illusions to prevent others from seeing the bird and the two Godfiends.
Swoosh.
The bird immediately soared into the sky. Meng Chuan glanced at his wife—who was standing in the courtyard and staring at him—and sighed softly.
As a Godfiend, he had no choice. They had to separate when needed.
Whoosh.
He looked at the endless clouds below as he sat on the bird’s back. He took out his transfer order and read it.
I’m transferring to Jiang State Capital? Meng Chuan stared at his transfer order with shock.
The Great Zhou Dynasty only had 23 states. A state capital was one of the dynasty’s biggest cities—millions of people lived inside a state capital.
He was going to Jiang State Capital and needed to guard the city for a year.
…
When the sky began to brighten, the bird arrived at Jiang State Capital—5,500 kilometers away from North River Pass.
The bird silently landed in an inconspicuous manor in Jiang State Capital. They couldn’t be seen thanks to the illusions.
“Someone’s here.” Two figures stood waiting in the courtyard. They saw the young man, Meng Chuan, jump off from the bird.
“A young man?” The two old men laughed.
“Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Yang.” Meng Chuan immediately bowed when he saw the two. He knew that three Godfiends would be in charge of guarding Jiang State Capital. Before arriving, he had no idea who the other two Godfiends would be.
“Junior Brother Meng, let’s confirm our identities first.” The white-haired elder took out a cyan token with Jiang State’s symbol on it. The muscular elder took out his token as well. Meng Chuan took out the token that had come with his transfer order.
The three tokens were somewhat different.
The white-haired elder smiled, and said, “It looks like the three of us will be in charge of guarding this place for the next year. According to Archean Mountain’s arrangements, I’ll be primarily in charge of the defense.”
“Senior Brother Zhang, we will follow your orders,” said the muscular elder and Meng Chuan.
The white-haired elder nodded. “Let’s briefly share our strengths so that our future arrangements are better. I’ll go first. I cultivate a transcendent-grade Godfiend Body, the Indestructible Divine Body. I have Greater Mastery of the Realm of Dao! Unfortunately, my age prevents me from becoming a Marquis Godfiend. However, I’m as strong as the weakest of Marquis Godfiends. I’m best at domains.”
Meng Chuan was shocked. He had known that at least two in every batch of Archean Mountain disciples would have transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies. However, most of these transcendent-grade Godfiends couldn’t become Marquis Godfiends.
Zhang Yunfeng had reached the Realm of Dao at the age of 118. He condensed his Essence soul when he was 150 years old. He was extremely old, making it impossible for him to reach the Darkstar realm. At his old age, he attained Greater Mastery of the Realm of Dao. His technique realm was higher than newly-advanced Marquis Godfiends. However, due to not being able to reach the Darkstar realm, he only had the strength of a weak Marquis Godfiend.
The Indestructible Divine Body was the best for domains among the twelve transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies. Zhang Yunfeng’s domain could partially suppress a Marquis Godfiend. This made him one of the strongest Great Solar Godfiends—an extremely rare feat even in Archean Mountain.
“I cultivate the Great Strength Fiend Body,” said the stocky elder, Yang Fang, with a smile. “I’m not as good as Senior Brother Zhang. I’m only at the Realm of Dao. However, the Great Strength Fiend Body is best at close combat. In a head-on clash, I also have the strength of a weak Marquis Godfiend.”
The two then looked at Meng Chuan.
Chapter 165 - Eruption
“I cultivate the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body,” said Meng Chuan with a humble smile. “In direct combat, my strength is just below the threshold for Marquis Godfiends. The only thing worth mentioning is my speed.”
For the past two years, he remained at Greater Mastery of Saber Soul. When he fused the Power of Essence Soul with his Quintessential Essence, his strength was just below the threshold for Marquis Godfiends. He could maintain this fusion for a relatively long time.
When he fused the Power of Essence Soul with his Diamond Body and Quintessential Essence and used a forbidden spell, he would have the strength of a weak Marquis Godfiend. However, he couldn’t maintain this state for long! Both Zhang Yunfeng and Yang Fang had the strength of a weak Marquis Godfiend in their normal states. Meng Chuan was still inferior to his two senior brothers. If his senior brothers were to use forbidden spells, they would be much stronger. However, they were old. Every time they used a forbidden spell, their lifespans would shorten greatly.
“Junior Brother Meng, you’re so young, but your strength is already close to a Marquis Godfiend’s. It really makes me envious,” said Yang Fang with a smile.
Zhang Yunfeng smiled as well. “You can match a Regis Godfiend’s speed at the Great Solar realm with your perfected Lightning Devastator Fiend Body. According to the information given to me by Archean Mountain, Junior Brother Meng’s speed is at the top even among Regis Godfiends.”
Meng Chuan was shocked. He knew that Archean Mountain had definitely calculated Meng Chuan’s speed after he had become a Patroller. But he didn’t think that this information would be provided to Zhang Yunfeng.
“Junior Brother Meng,” said Zhang Yunfeng. “Other than defending Jiang State Capital, we are also responsible for reinforcing the surrounding prefecture cities.”
“Reinforcing the surrounding prefecture cities?” Meng Chuan was surprised.
“Yes.” Zhang Yunfeng nodded. “In the past, Marquis Godfiends were the ones responsible for reinforcing the surrounding cities. Now, this job is left to Great Solar Godfiends. Whenever we are required to reinforce a city, take me along with you. Together, we can deal with many dangers. Even if you bring me along, you will still be faster than many Marquis Godfiends.”
“However, compared to a Regis Godfiend, I might be slightly inferior,” said Meng Chuan.
“That’s fine.” Zhang Yunfeng nodded with a smile.
“If the two of you are reinforcing the cities, what about me?” Yang Fang glared.
Meng Chuan frowned slightly as his eyes scanned Yang Fang’s stocky body. Yang Fang—who cultivated a Great Strength Fiend Body—was very heavy. His speed would be affected greatly if he took him along.
“I’m best at domains. I can reduce the impact on his speed when Meng Chuan brings me along,” said Zhang Yunfeng. “If you come with us, Meng Chuan will drastically slow down. Besides, I’m afraid the demons might try to lure us out of the state capital. When Meng Chuan and I are reinforcing a nearby city, you will have to lead the Godfiends and protect Jiang State Capital.”
“Alright, fine.” Yang Fang nodded.
The three of them were to defend Jiang State Capital secretly—they were the strongest Godfiends here.
On the surface, Jiang State Capital was guarded by other Godfiends. However, they were much weaker. These Godfiends could use their tokens to alert the three commanding Godfiends.
“From today onwards, Junior Brother Yang and I will be staying in this mansion,” said Zhang Yunfeng. “Junior Brother Meng, you are to go incognito and roam around Jiang State Capital. See if any demon monarchs or Skydemons have sneaked in. With your speed, you can join us quickly whenever you are needed.”
“Alright.” Meng Chuan nodded.
…
Meng Chuan changed into a black robe. He controlled the muscles and bones on his face, making himself look colder. Even his hairstyle was changed slightly. He now looked like an ordinary saber-wielder that roamed the world.
“Boatman, set off.”
There was a river in Jiang State Capital. Meng Chuan sat inside a boat with a black awning. He was drinking wine and eating some food as he sat inside the boat. The boatman paddled along the river; the boat slowly proceeded forward.
Crossing the city on a boat was normal. However, most people did it with friends. Doing it alone was rare.
The boatman didn’t dare to say anything after seeing the stern expression on Meng Chuan’s face.
While he was drinking wine, Meng Chuan was busy scanning all auras within a kilometer radius. Demons and Skydemon Sect’s spies were very careful after entering human cities. It was very difficult to find spies using only one’s eyes. However, because he could sense all auras within a kilometer radius with his perception domain, the demonic auras of demons and those from the Skydemon sect couldn’t evade detection.
Most of Skydemon Sect’s minions were unqualified to cultivate the Skydemon Sect’s formulas. Only disciples that had truly joined the Skydemon Sect could learn the Skydemon Sect’s formulas. The majority that served the Skydemon Sect did it for the money. Most had no idea they were serving the Skydemon Sect.
He rode on the boat for an hour. He didn’t discover any demons or Skydemon Sect disciples.
Jiang State Capital has always been guarded by Marquis Godfiends in the past. Marquis Godfiends have Essence Souls; thus, they can sense auras. The Skydemon Sect disciples must be very cautious. They probably send their subordinates to gather information instead of entering the city personally.
…
The entire human world was affected by turbulent undercurrents. On the surface, everything seemed to be the same.
On 27th February, all small and medium-sized city passes’ populations were being relocated after receiving orders from Archean Mountain, Black Sand Grotto-Heaven, and Two World Island.
Of course, not every city pass was inhabited by humans. Some city passes out in the sea were surrounded by water. Only Godfiends were presiding over those city passes. Even mortal soldiers weren’t sent to those city passes! This was because the vast sea was a massive obstruction to the demons. Even if they exited those city passes, they would have to enter the sea to get to land. Aquatic demons didn’t survive for long because Godfiends would sweep through the area and slaughter any aquatic demons they encountered.
It was too difficult to cross the vast ocean and reach land. Most small and medium-sized city passes had mortal humans living in them.
“The demons are about to launch a large-scale attack. All North River Pass residents are to relocate. Pack up quickly. We are setting off in four hours.”
27th February, morning.
The entire North River Pass was in a commotion. Hundreds of thousands of residents found the news shocking.
“The demons are going to launch a large-scale attack?”
“We have to move? Can’t we stop them?”
They found it hard to leave their hometown. Many had lived in North River Pass their entire lives. They experienced numerous demon attacks every year. They knew that if North River Pass was breached by demons, hundreds of thousands of people would be slaughtered.
Therefore—no matter how unwilling they were—every family packed their belongings and prepared to relocate. Fortunately, most people had been cultivating since they were young. There were very few at the Marrow Cleansing realm. Most reached the Foundation Establishment realm and Internal Tempering realm. For them, it was very easy for one person to pull a wooden wagon and carry 500 kilograms of goods. There were very few ox and horse carriages. Most were pulled by humans manually.
Since a census of North River Pass’s population had already been done, everybody followed the relocation arrangements. They were heading towards nearby prefecture and county cities. These cities were roughly 100 kilometers away from North River Pass. Moving such distances en masse was too difficult. It was more pragmatic to relocate them somewhere closer.
“It won’t be easy for hundreds of thousands of people to migrate.” Marquis Heavenstar stood above North River Pass and looked down. “The mountain roads are difficult to travel. For hundreds of thousands of people to traverse over 100 kilometers—with mountains along the way—they will probably take a month or two. They would be several times faster if they were on flat plains.”
“Yes.” Liu Qiyue and Fan Cheng nodded.
There were many mountain paths that were extremely narrow. They even had to walk along cliffs.
“Even if they are relocated, we have to continue defending,” said Marquis Heavenstar. “Otherwise, third Firmament demon monarchs will threaten other city passes’ relocation. The Great Relocation Plan has to end before we can retreat from the city pass.”
Dong! Dong! Dong! The sound of drums echoed.
Marquis Heavenstar turned his head.
Thirty-five third Firmament demon monarchs were advancing through the kilometer-long World Entrance. The demons began attacking!
“We’ve just given the order, and the city will only set off in four hours,” said Marquis Heavenstar with a cold laugh. “Yet, the demons have already begun attacking. There will always be idiots who leak information!”
Among the human Godfiends, some weren’t really betraying the human race. They remained on the humans’ side. However, they would occasionally leak information for some benefits.
Chapter 166 - Reality or Imaginary
They thought that the information they leaked wouldn’t have much of an impact. For example, this mass migration was carried out suddenly—one that would last months, Letting the demons learn of it a few hours earlier wouldn’t have much of an impact. However, they had forgotten these trivial information leaks determined the war outcome. These information leaks could lead to big changes and ultimately determine humanity’s fate.
Of course, there were a few Godfiends that felt like humanity would definitely lose. They were the ones that betrayed humanity completely!
“That’s why Archean Mountain issued the order at the same time,” said Fan Cheng. “We didn’t even know about it beforehand.”
Very few Godfiends knew about this matter beforehand. Marquis Heavenstar had only told Zhang Yunhu and Meng Chuan! Before the Great Relocation Plan was initiated, only humanity’s leaders knew of it. Later, it was the Marquis and Regis Godfiends, followed by the likes of Meng Chuan of Zhang Yunhu. Most Godfiends only learned about the Great Relocation Plan at the end.
“Master, the demon monarchs will arrive very soon.” Liu Qiyue looked down. “Thirty-five demon monarchs will pass through the tunnel in thirty seconds and reach the human world.”
“Let them in first before we kill them all,” said Marquis Heavenstar. Although he was standing there, the mortal soldiers couldn’t see him. This was also one of the Darkstar domain’s special abilities. The Darkstar domain was unique to Marquis Godfiends and above. It had many uses such as concealment, disguise, defense, offense, and flight.
Fourth Firmament demon monarchs had all sorts of divine powers, but they were slightly inferior to Marquis Godfiends because they didn’t have a Darkstar domain.
Marquis Heavenstar stepped off the city wall, floating above North River Pass’s inner city. He retrieved his bow from his back as he stared at the World Entrance coldly.
“Oh?” Liu Qiyue frowned slightly and said, “Master, among the 35 demon monarchs, the spider demoness and ox demon monarch are gone.”
“Oh?” Marquis Heavenstar’s eyes turned colder. “Has news of Marquis Godfiends defending medium-sized city passes been leaked? Or are the demons being cautious?”
After a while, 35 third Firmament demon monarchs entered. Among them were five elite demon monarchs.
Growl!
Awoo!
&
nbsp; Hiss!
All sorts of sounds were heard. Second Firmament demon monarchs and mortals exited the World Entrance crazily. Since they didn’t suffer from any attacks, they quickly exited the World Entrance.
“No Godfiends are stopping us?” The 35 third Firmament demon monarchs exchanged looks.
“Charge, head up the city wall.” A fox demon monarch gave the order.
They knew that this attack was rather special. 35 third Firmament demon monarchs, nearly 100 second Firmament demon monarchs, and countless demons began climbing up the wall.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The demon monarchs rapidly climbed up the walls by using each other as platforms.
“I originally thought that there would be big fish.” Marquis Heavenstar watched this scene calmly. No demons could see him.
The Darkstar domain could block most probes. It also rendered one invisible to the naked eye.
Marquis Heavenstar pulled his bowstring taut, but he had no arrows in his hand. After pulling the bow taut, four flaming arrows took form.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The arrows became four burning streaks after they were shot out.
Marquis Heavenstar stayed in his current position and pulled the bowstring again. His hands were a blur as he pulled the bowstring. In just a few seconds, he had shot over 40 flaming arrows! These flaming arrows streaked across the sky at terrifying speeds. The third Firmament demon monarchs tried to dodge the arrows, but the flaming arrows followed them ever so slightly and struck them. One arrow even killed two demon monarchs!
35 third Firmament demon monarchs and 11 second Firmament demon monarchs died to the 40 flaming arrows.
“Run!” The remaining demons began retreating to the World Entrance in fear.
Humph. Marquis Heavenstar stood high in the sky and waved his hand. His Darkstar Quintessential Essence flew towards the demons.
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