“Thirty seconds?” Meng Chuan shook his head slightly. Even an average Great Solar Godfiend could flee dozens of kilometers in 30 seconds, much less the snake demoness—who was clearly quite formidable. They didn’t even know which direction she had fled in.
“If we had held her back for another 30 seconds, Senior Brother Meng would have killed her.” The armored man was somewhat indignant.
“We can’t stop her if she wants to escape.” Zhou Fu shook his head.
Meng Chuan frowned. Thirty seconds ago? That was when I killed the fox demon monarch. The snake demoness must’ve fled immediately once she learned of Demon Monarch White Fox’s death through the token.
“Bring these two juniors back,” said Meng Chuan with a sigh. “Leave the other places to me.”
With that said, he disappeared into the horizon.
“With Senior Brother Meng around, Gu Mountain Prefecture’s various cities will soon be safe,” said Zhou Fu. “We don’t have to worry.”
“Yes.”
The two Godfiends brought their companions’ corpses to the nearest county city and waited for Earth Net to make arrangements.
…
Meng Chuan searched through all the areas that needed help thoroughly. He even checked the cities that hadn’t requested for help. Whenever he spotted smoke, he would immediately head over and check on the situation.
Whoosh.
An hour later, Meng Chuan returned to his small compound in Gu Mountain Prefecture City.
“Ah Chuan.” Liu Qiyue had remained because she was in charge of guarding the prefecture city while he was outside the city.
“Was the prefecture city attacked?” Meng Chuan asked.
“No.” Liu Qiyue immediately asked, “How are the other places?”
After a moment of silence, Meng Chuan said, “The county cities were all attacked. Many village forts suffered attacks as well.”
“All the county cities were attacked?” Liu Qiyue was alarmed.
“Yes.” Meng Chuan nodded. “I also discovered two Godfiend teams in Gu Mountain Prefecture. One Godfiend team was in perfect shape, while the other Godfiend team lost two Indestructible Godfiends.”
“Two Godfiends died in battle?” Liu Qiyue felt terrible. However, this was a war. One had to shed blood if they wanted victory.
…
In fact, many places in the human world had been attacked by demons during this period of time. Flames of war erupted everywhere, and everyone was in a panic.
People in the village forts had never expected the village forts to become dangerous as well. In the past, demons occasionally attacked them, but it didn’t happen very often. Also, those attacks never really did too much damage to the village forts. However, they never expected demon monarchs to attack them. The lucky village forts lost 20 to 30 percent of their population before a Godfiend arrived. The unlucky ones were completely wiped out!
It was truly tragic.
In comparison, the cities were much safer. This was because Godfiends would rescue cities first! Since the cities were large, the number of casualties was relatively low. The larger the city, the safer it would be.
For example, the imperial capital, Archean City, Luo Tang City, Calm Sea City, and the state capitals were not attacked because powerful Godfiends guarded them! Therefore, families—that were somewhat capable—wanted to move to these bigger cities.
Some Godfiend family clans would arrange for a portion of their clansmen to move to large cities like the state capitals. This was also to ensure that the clan could survive. The weaker clans wanted to move to prefecture cities. Those slightly capable hoped to move to a county city.
This caused all the village forts’ population to decrease gradually. As the demons attacked repeatedly, the number of people in the village forts gradually decreased as they migrated to various cities. This raised the prices of houses in the cities greatly. Life in the city would become harder as more people migrated to cities on a large scale. The price of food rose since it was short in demand, and farms and plantations needed more manpower.
Some people even left the cities and began farming on a large scale. They lived out in the fields, lowering the chances of a demon monarch attacking them.
Farming would become a high-income industry in the future, but it was also one of the riskiest industries. The death rate was naturally high if one stayed outside the city for long periods of time.
However, as long as the income was high enough, some people would ultimately be willing to risk their lives to earn money.
…
Inside a dark, luxurious underground palace, a single-horned man sat on a throne as he looked down at a black fox demon monarch. Other demon monarchs stood beside the black fox demon monarch.
“Your Majesty, intelligence on Wu State’s force has been gathered,” said the black fox demon monarch obsequiously.
“Speak,”
“In the past month, various demon monarchs in Wu State followed your orders and probed the various cities,” said the black fox demon monarch. “These attacks led to 91 third Firmament demon monarch casualties. We killed three Great Solar Godfiends and 15 Indestructible Godfiends.”
“What a joke.” The single-horned man laughed coldly. “The Imperial Lord has said that losing ten demon monarchs for the death of a Godfiend at the same level means success. However, we lost 30 demon monarchs dying for each Great Solar Godfiend. This is a huge loss.”
“At least we have figured out which Godfiends are stationed in Wu State.” The black fox demon monarch handed over the intelligence in a fawning manner. “This records the Godfiends of each prefecture in detail.”
The single-horned man shook his head. “It can only serve as a reference. The Godfiends will definitely redistribute their forces.”
The black fox demon monarch smiled obsequiously and said, “We are the first batch of demon monarchs to enter the human world. More demon monarchs will enter in time. Our strength will only increase.”
“Yes.” The single-horned man flipped through the dossier and said indifferently, “Let’s wait until we have more demon monarchs. We can slowly fight the humans. We need patience if we want to annihilate the humans.”
He was the only fourth Firmament demon monarch in Wu State. Unlike third Firmament demon monarchs, there were very few fourth Firmament demon monarchs in the Demon Realm. This was because one needed to reach the Realm of Dao and have an Essence Soul at a relatively young age to enter the fourth Firmament realm. The demons’ perceptivity was generally lower than humans, so it was very hard for them to condense an Essence Soul.
For the humans, at least one Great Solar Godfiend could become a Marquis Godfiend out of a few dozen Great Solar Godfiends. For the demons, only one fourth Firmament demon monarch could be produced out of hundreds of third Firmament demon monarchs. Thus, there were very few fourth Firmament demon monarchs. In the entire Demon realm, there were less than 2000 fourth Firmament demon monarchs! The demons didn’t care if third Firmament demon monarchs died, but a fourth Firmament demon monarch? The demons placed great importance on them.
There were very few third Firmament demon monarchs with a chance of breaking through to the fourth Firmament. Too few were willing to come to the human world. The demons’ upper echelons exhausted all means before they managed to get 40 such demons to enter the human world. They never expected to lose 30 percent of them the moment they entered!
Only 27 such demons managed to sneak into the human world successfully! There were very few fourth Firmament demon monarchs in the human world! As a densely-populated state with a lot of food, Wu State was highly valued by the demons. This was why Greater Demon Monarch Fu Jiao was in charge of the area.
Chapter 197 - Painting
As he read the intelligence dossier, Greater Demon Monarch Fu Jiao frowned and said, “I have 15 demon sage descendants under my command. Each one has powerful divine powers. We actually lost two of them. The Demon Realm’s demon sages sent man
y of their descendants into the human world due to the Imperial Lord’s orders. Thus, no matter what, we have to ensure the safety of the demon sage descendants as best we can. The factions behind them will investigate if too many of them die.
“How did that white fox at Gu Mountain Prefecture and that old ox at Yufang Prefecture die? Which Godfiends killed them? Have you investigated?” asked Fu Jiao.
“Marquis Gong Xu killed that old ox at Yufang Prefecture,” replied the black fox demon monarch immediately. “The old ox charged into Yufang Prefecture to begin a massacre. However, Marquis Gong Xu appeared the moment he did so. Although that old ox had divine powers to protect himself, he was still slapped to death and reduced to meat paste by Marquis Gong Xu in a few strikes. Many people in Yufang Prefecture saw this scene, so investigations were quite easy.”
“Marquis Gong Xu?”
“The Wu State is a relatively prosperous state in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It produces many experts. There are now three Marquis Godfiends in Wu State, Marquis Southcloud, Marquis Gong Xu, and Marquis Thousand Shadow. These three might remain in their hometowns to protect it. One Marquis presides over the state capital while the other two Marquis Godfiends wander about. To encounter a Marquis Godfiend, blame it on the old ox’s bad luck.”
Three Marquis Godfiends guarded Wu State. The demons only had Greater Demon Monarch Fu Jiao that could compare in strength. Furthermore, there was the possibility of a Regis Godfiend appearing.
“What about the white fox at Gu Mountain Prefecture?” asked Fu Jiao again.
“We couldn’t find out.” The black fox demon monarch shook his head and said, “When the white fox attacked the county city, many mortals died silently. The remaining mortals were so frightened that they hid in the tunnels… No one saw how Demon Monarch White Fox was killed.”
“She still lost her life despite having a Bewitchment divine power?” asked Fu Jiao curiously. “Was she killed by a Marquis Godfiend or a powerful Great Solar Godfiend in Gu Mountain Prefecture?”
The demon monarchs didn’t dare make a sound. These demon monarchs weren’t very powerful because they were in charge of reconnaissance. Those who were truly skilled in combat were in charge of various prefectures.
“After we finish probing, have the demon monarchs form units and work together.” Fu Jiao flipped through the intelligence dossier and considered how to assign the demon monarchs. “At the very least, every demon sage descendant should have a powerful team attached to them. We can’t afford to lose them so easily.”
…
Humans and demons fought each other both openly and secretly. For example, after the initial clash, Archean Mountain changed the Godfiend teams in each prefecture. All Indestructible Godfiends left the teams to act as reconnaissance. The battling was left to Great Solar Godfiends and beyond.
On average, only one Godfiend team was assigned to a prefecture. Each team had four Great Solar Godfiends—two Archean Mountain inner sect disciples and two outer sect disciples. Their strengths complemented each other, greatly increasing their overall strength. One team could battle against 10 to 20 third Firmament demon monarchs in a head-on battle.
The Godfiends’ survival rate became higher, but the humans’ ability to reinforce county cities and village forts weakened drastically. This was because there was only a single team in a prefecture! If a few places were attacked at the same time, they had to rush from one city to another.
Thankfully, after losing a large number of third Firmament demon monarchs during the large-scale probe, the remaining demon monarchs became much more cautious, and their attacks lessened in frequency.
After all, a large-scale attack also led to many demon monarchs dying. There was still a limited number of third Firmament demon monarchs in the Demon Realm. They would be unable to keep up such large-scale attacks for long periods of time due to the many casualties.
…
Gu Mountain Prefecture.
Meng Chuan and his wife lived a “peaceful” life. To this day, they had yet to receive any requests for help that brought them out of the prefecture. Even when they were deployed, they were still within Gu Mountain Prefecture.
“Young Master,” a thin man shouted obsequiously.
Meng Chuan had just left his yard. He looked at him curiously. “What’s the matter?”
The thin man pointed at Meng Chuan’s residence and asked, “Young Master, is this your home?”
Meng Chuan frowned.
“I don’t have any bad intentions. I’m a real estate agent,” said the thin man with a smile immediately. “Your residence cost you a few hundred taels of silver, right? Are you planning on selling it now? You can now sell it for 3,000 taels of silver!”
Meng Chuan was somewhat surprised. When he and his wife settled down here, they had spent 800 taels of silver on the compound.
People were willing to spend a lot of money to buy homes. A compound worth 800 taels of silver wasn’t considered a huge compound, but it was quite good. Typically, it required a few servants to take care of it.
“The price has increased to 3,000 taels?” Meng Chuan was astonished. Such a price was considered very high for mortals.
“It can definitely be sold for 3,000 taels of silver,” said the thin man immediately. “If you aren’t in a hurry, you can even give an asking price of 4,000 thousand taels. How about it? If you nod, I’ll sell it for you. You can spend 1,000 taels of silver to buy a smaller courtyard. In that case, won’t you have a few thousand taels of silver at hand? In the past two weeks, the price of grain and meat has been increasing. The more money you have, the better.”
This agent kept trying to trick him.
“It’s fine. I don’t plan on selling.” Meng Chuan turned around and left.
“Hey, hey, hey…” The thin man shouted, but there was nothing he could do.
He continued loitering around their neighborhood. Whenever he saw an owner of a surrounding compound walk out—one that didn’t look like a servant—he would immediately go forward and say, “Master, someone has offered 3,000 taels for your compound…”
Meng Chuan sighed.
The demons’ large-scale attack had caused many people to migrate. This was especially true for Godfiend clans and wealthy merchants. People who were privy to the news knew that the larger a city was, the more expensive the land would be in the future. For example, the Meng family clan had moved over 10,000 clansmen to the prefecture city. Hundreds of clansmen were moved to the state capital, Luo Tang City, etc.
This was a large family clan that had existed for over 1000 years. They naturally aimed to avoid disaster by arranging for a small number of clansmen to go to the state capital and Luo Tang City. This was to ensure that their lineage wouldn’t be severed. They had to avoid the situation of an entire clan being wiped out after prefecture city was breached.
With Godfiend clans and wealthy merchants migrating to the cities, this caused the prices of land and buildings to rise constantly. For example, a compound like Meng Chuan could easily fit more houses. It wouldn’t be difficult for it to accommodate dozens of people! Those who could offer such prices naturally had extraordinary backgrounds.
…
Meng Chuan personally selected the paint he needed for his painting.
“Young Master, take care. Young Master, please come again.” The shop owner was very enthusiastic.
Even the price of paint has increased. Meng Chuan was extremely astonished. The prices of everything in Gu Mountain Prefecture were rising. The commoners with houses were better off. They could rent out a few rooms to ease the financial pressure. Those who rented houses in the city suffered. They might even be forced to leave the city! They couldn’t afford the rent or food.
Meng Chuan couldn’t do a thing either. This was happening everywhere in the human world!
Creak.
Meng Chuan brought his paint and other items back to his residence.
“Master.” The old gatekeeper warmly greeted him.
Meng Chuan returned to his study, finished grinding the paint before continuing to paint.
He had already finished painting the scene at North River Pass on a long canvas. Currently, he was painting Jiang State Capital—the battle between the Godfiends and demon monarchs. Some mortals died while others hid in tunnels. The scenes depicted were even more tragic. Blackwater Palace Lord killed one Godfiend after another…
When the sky darkened—
“Ah Chuan, it’s time for dinner.” Liu Qiyue came in and took a look at the painting. She smiled and said, “You are still working on this painting. How much have you painted?”
“It’s still early. There’s no rush.” Meng Chuan smiled.
Initially, he thought he could finish the painting in one or two months, but as he found himself emotionally invested, he realized that he had too many things that he wanted to paint. For example, the indignant look in the eyes of the dead Godfiends and the trembling despair of mortals—many of which were personally seen by him. He wanted to paint them.
This was a record—a record of the things that happened in this tumultuous era.
He realized that he might not even finish the painting in four months, but he wasn’t in a hurry. This was originally a matter of putting his emotion into it, so he would naturally finish it when he was satisfied.
Chapter 198 - Married Couple Working Together
Dawn.
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue did the same as usual. They used their movement techniques and left the prefecture city in seconds. They came to a mountainous area outside the city. Their influence on the Heaven and Earth powers prevented mortals from seeing them.
They had a temporary residence in the mountains—a wooden hut. Their residence in the city was too small. Liu Qiyue needed lots of space to hone her archery. As a Great Solar Godfiend sharpshooter, even the Dao Academy’s archery range was insufficient for her. The mountains outside the city had sufficient empty space for her practice.
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