by <unknown>
"To secure a victory in war, you must count on your capability and your calculation that is so precise that it borders on brutality!
"Therefore, compared to the politicians and their fancy slogans, it is the soldiers on the frontline who have a clear understanding about the war between the two Sectors.
"It is especially so for Suo Chaolong, a professional soldier who ran for thousands of kilometers with three crystal suit legions on his tail.
"Suo Chaolong is certainly not an obstinate man. You also saw how he abandoned the racial prejudice and worked with me in the Nether World.
"Although we had a lot of conflict on the surface, we were both conscious enough to never cross the line. His recklessness and bluntness on the surface are just his disguise. His heart is a hundred times calmer than he appears to be.
"Moreover, his Blood Lion Battalion is rather unique, too. There's a difference between them and the real silver-blood demons of the Blood Demon Sector."
Li Yao was dazed. "What do you mean?"
Han Tuhu said, "Have you never found it odd? Suo Chaolong's team was strong enough to fight against the best crystal suit legions of the federation, but why is it still an awkward 'battalion'?"
Li Yao frowned. He did feel a bit odd when he heard the name of 'Blood Lion Battalion'.
In the military system of the Blood Demon Sector, the biggest independent combat unit was a 'contingent'. For a large scale, many contingents could be combined into an 'army'.
But what was a 'battalion' all about? Even a mediocre army was unlikely to be given such a title. It was unlikely that they were a militia, wasn't it?
Chapter 957: Nascent Soul? Demon Emperor? |
"The full name of the Blood Lion Battalion is 'Blood Lion Independent Battalion'," Han Tuhu explained. "They added 'Independent' because the members of the Blood Lion Battalion are all the emigre nobles from the Heaven's Origin Sector."
"Emigre nobles?"
Li Yao suddenly thought of Suo Chaolong, who had claimed repetitively that his ancestors were from the Grand Desolate Plateau.
Han Tuhu nodded. "The Heaven's Origin Sector used to be governed by the demons like the Blood Demon Sector. After the Star Glory Federation rose, in order to compete for the zone of survival, it demolished countless demon forces, the greatest two of which were the 'Far East Demon Kingdom' in the ocean to the east of the continent and the 'Alliance of Thirty-Six Demon Cities' on the Grand Desolate Plateau.
"When the two forces were destroyed, the melding of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector had already begun, and a lot of temporary wormholes appeared.
"Some of the demons from the Heaven's Origin Sector escaped to the Blood Demon Sector through the wormholes after their failure and became refugees.
"The demons who were capable of escape had largely been nobles when they were in the Heaven's Origin Sector. They were the silver-blood demons and brought a lot of assets and resources with them, including the secret treasures and training techniques that had been accumulated over thousands of years. In the Blood Demon Sector, where the 'Four Pillars System' was implemented, considering their bloodlines and the benefits that they brought, the local demons accepted them in the end.
"For a very long time that followed, the invasion that the Blood Demon Sector launched against the Heaven's Origin Sector was always under the banner of 'avenge our brothers of the Heaven's Origin Sector and help them get back their land'. Naturally, the demons had to find a justified reason for their invasion, too.
"However, the resources of the Blood Demon Sector are not endless. It is not hard to imagine that, after the honeymoon period was over, and the resources and secret arts they carried were drained, the emigre nobles from the Heaven's Origin Sector were less popular than before.
"Some of the refugees did not know what they were doing. For example, the refugees from the Far East Demon Kingdom even established a government-in-exile of the Heaven's Origin Sector in the Blood Demon Sector. That's nuts.
"Very soon, they were completely swallowed by the local demons of the Blood Demon Sector with one excuse or another.
"Suo Chaolong's ancestors were different. They were from the 'Alliance of Thirty-Six Demon Cities' on the Grand Desolate Plateau, whose capability was far lower than that of the Far East Demon Kingdom. Therefore, they knew exactly their position.
"After they escaped to the Blood Demon Sector, they understood the importance of maintaining a low profile very well. By way of adulation, they managed to cling to the superpowers and survive on. After generations of marriage, they finally secured their stance in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers.
"However, no matter how low-key they were, the stamp of 'refugees' on them was not going to die out quickly, especially at a time when the Blood Demon Sector was attacking the Heaven's Origin Sector. How should the 'refugees' be arranged if the Heaven's Origin Sector is really occupied? Offer the entire Grand Desolate Plateau to them so that they can reestablish their kingdoms? That's hilarious!
"Even if they never had such thoughts, will others believe them?
"Therefore, the local demons of the Blood Demon Sector have never been particularly fond of the emigre nobles.
"A very simple example. At the end of the Battle of Dawn, because of the mutiny in the frontline, almost all the silver-blood demons turned around and ran away.
"But the information was not delivered to the Blood Lion Battalion led by Suo Chaolong in time. Later, since they were left behind, they were naturally given the task of covering the retreat. They were asked to resist the pressure of three crystal suit legions. It was clearly a suicidal mission.
"This is the first clue about Suo Chaolong and his Blood Lion Battalion's standing in the eyes of leadership of the Pantheon of Demons.
"Elder Nether Spring chose to ambush the Blood Lion Battalion perhaps because he also knew that nobody in the Blood Demon Sector really cared about the refugees. If he needed silver-blood demons for his experiments, the refugees would be his best targets!
"Do you understand now? Suo Chaolong and the other 'refugees' have their own interests, and their interests and the interest of the Pantheon of Demons might not necessarily be the same."
Li Yao narrowed his eyes, his bloody pupil rolling around and around. He nodded slowly. "Got it. It seems that I have to think carefully how I should 'persuade' Suo Chaolong and the 'emigre nobles'."
…
In the warehouse where the Blood Lion Battalion was resting, the atmosphere was so gloomy that a cloud seemed like it would condense on the ceiling at any time.
Hundreds of heavily-wounded silver-blood demons were sitting or lying. They were coughing and vomiting blood, with devastation all over their face. They bulged their confused eyes but could not find a way ahead of them.
"Do you think that what 'Vulture Li Yao' said is true? Are human beings and demons really of the same origin?"
"It's false. Certainly false. It's an out-and-out lie!"
"Even if it is true, so what? It was forty thousand years ago. Who really gives a damn thing about it? I only want to know what we are going to do next. Are we going back to the base of the Blade of Chaos together with the rebellions obediently at their mercy?"
"Or what? Do you think that they will escort you back to the Kingdom of Lion Butchers respectfully?"
"Besides, look at what we are right now. Many brothers are showing the features of multiple kinds of demons. They are even more chaotic than the chaotic-blood demons! Some of the brothers have been deprived of all the demon features and now appear exactly like human beings!"
"Even if they let us go back to the Kingdom of Lion Butchers, do you dare return with such an appearance? Do you?"
Desperate humming sounds were hovering above everybody's head like mosquitoes that carried a lethal virus.
Suo Chaolong was squatting in a corner of the warehouse, staring at the floor at a loss.
A tiny ant on the floor was casually crawling far away.
Suddenly agitated while he was watching, he extended his finger to crush the ant, but he held his finger for a while and could not put it down.
"Big brother!"
One of his most trusted subordinates said in a low voice, "Little Feng just passed away. Before he left, he asked us to chop off one of his fingers and bury it on the relic of the 'Hundred Wind Demon City' when we return to the Grand Desolate Plateau one day. It was… his hometown.
"As of now, we have 423 brothers left. Twelve are unlikely to survive today."
"I got it," Suo Chaolong said softly. "Do as Little Feng said. If other brothers pass away, do the same. Chop off one of their fingers and give it to me."
His dark golden eyes suddenly glittered, as if the mission coming next was the sole significance of his life. In a low voice, Suo Chaolong gnashed his teeth. "I swear that I will bring them all back to the Grand Desolate Plateau, to their hometown, one day."
"Big brother!"
His subordinate hesitated for a moment but could not hold it any longer. He asked, "Do you think 'Vulture Li Yao' was speaking the truth? Are our ancestors really human beings?"
Suo Chaolong looked at him and asked back, "Does it matter?"
His subordinate was dazed for a moment. He blurted out subconsciously, "It doesn't?"
It concerned their origins, their identity, and who they were exactly. How could it not matter?
But on the second thought, it might not have been as important as it seemed.
Even if they figured out that they were human beings or demons, so what? Would the truth be of any help for their current situation?
His subordinate was deeply confused and murmured, "Big brother, the demons that escaped to the Blood Demon Sector from the Heaven's Origin Sector were more than thirty thousand in the prime days. But today, after hundreds of years, there are only a thousand even including our family. The elites are only the four hundred of us here. What should we do now?"
In front of Suo Chaolong, the ant seemed to have sensed the soundwave of their talk. It shifted the direction and crawled toward him.
His finger that was supposed to crush the ant turned into a bridge and picked it up.
The ant crawled in his palm hard.
Suo Chaolong kept moving his hand so that the ant fell into the center of his palm time and time again.
The ant, running into a dead end in every direction, was not in the least frustrated. It was still crawling unhurriedly.
Suo Chaolong watched in a daze. He was suddenly envious of the ant—the ant certainly did not know what desperation was.
Right then, Suo Chaolong's pupils constricted violently.
He had sensed a stream of demonic energy that was unimaginably strong!
It was an expert equal to the demon emperor stage!
What's happening? The Fire Ant King was exhausted and in the middle of recovery. There is no way that he can spread out such intense demonic energy!
Have the enemies caught up?
In the moment, the frustration all over Suo Chaolong was gone. He leapt up from the ground. Baring his sharp canine teeth, he made a gesture in silence. Prepare for battle!
Shua!
The soldiers of the Blood Lion Battalion who were moaning and complaining a second ago were now crouching and bulging their eyes, with all their hair standing up, while they increased their killing intent to the maximum!
They had all sensed the tremendous almost-tangible demonic energy and made it hard for them to breathe. It was rushing in through the gate like a flood which had crumbled a dam!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The newcomer did not make a sound as he stepped forward. But a ferocious animal seemed to be stomping on their hearts brutally. The eyelids of many of them were bouncing, with cold tears dripping off their forehead. They all held their chests and panted hard.
The source of the immense demonic energy, who slowly showed up in the gate, cast all of them into bewilderment. Many of them could not help but exclaim in shock, "Vulture Li Yao!"
It was the fiend who was brutal enough to bring away an unparalleled demon from forty thousand years ago named Skeleton Dragon!
However—
Wasn't he a Cultivator? Why could he emanate such tremendous demonic energy? Besides, his appearance was rather weird.
Li Yao was not wearing the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit at this moment. On the contrary, he activated a lot of primeval cells inside his body and put on his most hideous and ruthless appearance.
His left eye was oozing the most dangerous red brilliance, which resembled the volcanic vent that was full of magma. A row of narrow and long bone blades grew out of his left arm and extended all the way to his back like a set of glamorous armor. Intense demonic energy was also flowing in the middle of the crystal with which he launched the Cell Obliteration Cannon.
Even the air was almost twisted, placing his body in a hazy, unpredictable mist. He looked both mysterious and magnificent!
It was an out-and-out entrance of a demon emperor!
Chapter 958: Overwhelming Demonic Energy! |
"What is happening?"
"Isn't—isn't he 'Vulture Li Yao', a Cultivator from the Heaven's Origin Sector? How can he release such intense demonic energy?"
"Was he lying just now? Is he in fact a demon emperor?"
"Idiot. How is it possible? We clearly saw him wearing a crystal suit and letting out intense spiritual waves. The aura of saber condensed by his spiritual energy was almost a hundred meters long!"
Li Yao smiled casually. His face looked even crueler under the illumination of the blood eye. His eyes glanced over all the silver-blood demons slowly.
Every single demon shuddered hard.
Li Yao opened his claws and turned around his palm while he burnt the cells inside his body unhurriedly, forming purple flames right above the crystal at the center of his palm.
The exotic flames interweaved and entangled into a purple red fireball that was as eye-catching as glass!
He held the fireball inside his palm softly and played with it in cracking noises. It seemed to be absorbing all the air inside the warehouse.
The silver-blood demons were having more and more trouble breathing. Everybody's soul was deeply attracted by the fireball. There was fascination in their eyes.
The mitochondria were burning crazily, discharging a huge amount of wasted gas that covered the fireball in a hazy, furry outline like the corona and the lunar aureole. The fireball was displaying features that were vastly different from the spiritual fire that the Cultivators used. It was even more mysterious and eccentric.
It was… out-and-out 'demonic fire'!
After surviving in a world where the strong preyed on the weak for thousands of years, demons almost had a natural instinct to worship their experts.
In a battlefield, the appearance of such intense demonic energy often meant the arrival of a super expert on their side. What came next would certainly be a glorious triumph!
In a trance, many silver-blood demons were shaking their legs hard. They almost could not stop themselves from kneeling down to show respect for the 'demon emperor'!
"Are you a human being or a demon?"
Even Suo Chaolong's expression greatly changed as he raised a hilarious question.
"What about you?" Li Yao asked back.
Suo Chaolong was lost for words for a moment.
He was often shocked by his 'bizarre' appearance when he looked at himself in a mirror. He had turned into one of the enemies that he hated most!
He was of a mind to hold his chest high and announce, I am a demon!
However, suppressed by Li Yao's overwhelming demonic energy, he found it impossible to open his mouth.
Honestly speaking, Li Yao at present was ten thousand times more like a demon that he was!
Was he a victim of the weird experiments, too?
Suo Chaolong was greatly baffled. He thought hard for a while and only came up with one possibility.
H
e could not have but grow a subtle feeling of empathy. Softening his tone, he said, "What do you want?"
Li Yao stared at him. "What I want is irrelevant. The real question is, what do you want? This is a sky-hunting warship of the Blade of Chaos, flying to a secret base of the same organization. You are a silver-blood demon, and you are on this warship with a bunch of heavily-wounded, if not dying, brothers. Have you made clear your position and realized what you should do?
"Are you going to curse the Blade of Chaos as lowly chaotic-blood demons while enjoying their treatment and service?"
Suo Chaolong blushed.
Right now, his face was no longer covered in dense hair, so the redness was rather conspicuous.
Li Yao unleashed demonic energy to the surroundings blatantly while he looked at Suo Chaolong in the eye and said, "Captain Suo, I have come here specifically to visit you because your Blood Lion Battalion is the only troop of the demon race that was faced with three crystal suit legions of the Star Glory Federation in the Battle of Dawn.
"I can tell you frankly right now that, within the next year, the Flying Star Sector will assist the Heaven's Origin Sector with three to five Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and ten to fifteen heavy crystal warships equal to the 'Vast Ocean'-level ones.
"More important, the Flying Star Sector boasts a special technology named 'skill card'. After it is inserted into a crystal suit, the ordinary soldiers, who have received preliminary training, will be able to put on crystal suits. It will be a major boost for the efficiency of combat and construction!
"I hope that you can analyze objectively based on your first-hand experience in the battles against the federal army and your expertise as a professional soldier. Tell me and your brothers around you. Does the Blood Demon Sector stand any chance of winning the war?"
Li Yao's aggressiveness completely infuriated Suo Chaolong.
The veins on his forehead were bulging out one by one. He gritted his teeth and pushed back Li Yao's stare by force while he said resolutely, "The outcome of a war depends on many factors. If the victory can be decided by the calculations on paper beforehand, why bother fighting the war at all?