Chapter 117: The Demon Army Strikes
"L-Lord Vajra, let me explain!" The city lord''s face turned pale with fear.
It was no joke. Vajra was a figure even the lord of the Desolate Storm avoided. It wasn’t that Vajra was overwhelmingly stronger, but he was notoriously single-minded. Once he made up his mind, no one could change it. Moreover, his temperament was unpredictable—cheerful one moment, enraged the next.
Rumors had long circulated that Vajra was the most eccentric of all the lords. Unlike others, he never formed alliances, preferring to roam alone. His only companion throughout his life had been a massive black donkey.
Years ago, a powerful expert from the Huangtian Continent had defeated Vajra, who had then retreated into the Desolate Flame Prison and hadn’t been seen since. The fact that he had only his mount for company all these years showed how much he valued it. And now, the donkey was dead, and Vajra was holding a Blazing Grass in his hand.
The fire-attributed middle-aged man quickly pieced together what had happened. Vajra must have gone to find Blazing Grass for his mount, only for some reckless fool to stumble upon it and kill the donkey with a single sword strike. And now, they had the misfortune of running into Vajra.
"I''ll kill you two scum!"
Vajra roared to the heavens.
Seeing the danger, the city lord activated his wind-attributed movement technique, transforming into a gust of wind to escape.
A massive black hand appeared out of nowhere, snatching the wind in its grasp.
"I''ll kill you!!" Vajra bellowed, squeezing his hand. The city lord didn’t even have time to scream before he was crushed into pulp. A fourth-tier expert, gone in an instant.
"Lord Vajra, we didn’t kill your mount! Look, it was clearly killed by a sword strike. Neither of us uses a sword!" The fire-attributed man seized the moment to explain.
Vajra wiped the pulp off his hand onto a nearby tree and glared at the fire-attributed man. "What sword!?"
The man’s head spun from the deafening roar. "A sword! It’s, it’s a sword!" Even the usually fearless man was now stammering in terror. Vajra’s mind was so simple that he couldn’t even comprehend what a sword was in his rage.
"Your sword!"
"No, no, it’s not my sword!"
"Fine! You dare lie to me! If it’s not a sword, then it’s a blade!" Vajra, now furious, reached out to grab the man.
The fire-attributed man was on the verge of losing his mind.
"No, it’s not a blade!"
"Then it’s a sword! I’ll kill you!!" Vajra grabbed the man.
"No, it’s not my sword or my blade! It’s someone else’s sword!"
Vajra hesitated, then roared, "I’ll kill you, you bastard! Do you think I don’t know what a sword or blade is? You don’t even have a sword!!"
The fire-attributed man, who had never encountered someone so unreasonable, was utterly dumbfounded.
"No, don’t kill me! If I die, you’ll never know who the real killer is. Do you want the murderer to go free!?" The man felt a crushing force as his bones creaked under the pressure, nearly breaking.
Vajra, desperate for revenge, suddenly realized the man’s point. "So it wasn’t you? Then who killed my mount? Tell me, or I’ll crush you!"
The fire-attributed man had no idea who had killed Vajra’s mount, but he couldn’t admit that. "It was someone named Han Er! He’s killed many of us, and we’ve been chasing him into the Desolate Flame Prison!"
"Han Er!!" Vajra’s face darkened with rage. His body trembled, veins bulging on his arms as he clenched his fists.
The fire-attributed man was already pulp.
"My apologies," Vajra muttered, realizing he had accidentally crushed the man. He casually wiped the remains onto a tree.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Han Er, I’ll kill you!" Vajra roared again, remembering his mount’s death.
He closed his eyes, using his powerful fire-element perception to search for the nearest living being.
This was the Desolate Flame Prison, a sea of fire, and he was a fifth-tier War King, a super expert. The flames were his eyes.
"I’ve found you!!" Vajra’s eyes snapped open, and he leaped into the air, landing with a thunderous crash.
Han Ming, who had been happily searching the sky for the Crimson Flame Eagle, suddenly saw a massive figure descending from above.
*Boom!*
Vajra’s enormous body slammed into the ground, cracking the earth. Han Ming quickly stabilized himself, dissipating the shockwave.
"You’re Han Er! I’ll kill you!" Vajra didn’t give Han Ming a chance to speak, reaching out to grab him.
Han Ming was horrified. The sheer aura of this giant was unlike anything he had ever felt. As the massive hand closed in, the demon soul burst out of Han Ming’s body, only to be swatted away by Vajra.
Desperate, Han Ming drew his Cyan Rainbow Sword, cutting a deep gash in his arm and slashing at Vajra.
Vajra didn’t dodge. The crimson arc struck his hand, leaving only a shallow mark.
"Hmm? This is... Old Li’s Cyan Rainbow Sword?"
Vajra grabbed Han Ming, about to crush him, but paused.
"Speak! What’s your relationship with Old Li!"
"Talk!"
"Answer me, or I’ll crush you!"
Han Ming felt his body being squeezed to the breaking point, his face turning purple from lack of air. He frantically gestured at his throat.
Vajra realized he was gripping too tightly and loosened his hold slightly.
"Cough... cough..." Han Ming gasped for air, choking on the scorching heat. His ice shield had been shattered by Vajra’s grip, leaving him exposed to the burning air.
He knew the "Old Li" Vajra mentioned was likely Li Xiaotian. The Cyan Rainbow Sword had come from the Secret Sect and was probably one of Li Xiaotian’s weapons.
"I... I’m his disciple."
Vajra froze, then slowly released Han Ming, muttering, "Years ago, I committed many sins. I killed good people and bad, though mostly bad... probably all bad! Old Li defeated me and said I was simple-minded. Damn him!! Who’s simple-minded!? He said I lacked judgment and couldn’t bring himself to kill me. He made me swear never to leave the Desolate Flame Prison. Since he spared my life back then, I’ll spare yours now. We’re even!"
Han Ming stared in disbelief as Vajra ranted, his emotions swinging wildly. After a moment, Vajra turned and left.
Han Ming watched the giant walk away, utterly baffled. The man had come to kill him, muttered some nonsense, and then left. It seemed Vajra was another of the old man’s defeated foes.
Shaken by the sudden encounter, Han Ming stood up, dusted himself off, and summoned the demon soul. He continued his journey, unaware that this brief meeting with the "monster" would later lead to a heroic alliance against the demon army, where Vajra would stand as the only lord who didn’t betray humanity.
Two days later, Han Ming finally spotted the Crimson Flame Eagle in the sky and gave chase. However, the eagle remained high above, refusing to descend. Han Ming had no choice but to run after it.
Five days passed, and Han Ming, still chasing the eagle, found himself at the edge of the Desolate Flame Prison.
Before him was a bottomless chasm, its depths shrouded in darkness. Eerie wails echoed from within, and a bone-chilling wind made Han Ming shiver. The Crimson Flame Eagle, flying over the chasm, was suddenly pulled down by an unseen force, plummeting into the abyss.
"The Ghost Domain? What now?" Han Ming hesitated at the edge.
"Got you at last!" The wind-attributed elder spotted Han Ming and lunged at him, transforming into a gust of wind.
Han Ming turned, but too late. The elder’s fist struck his chest, sending him flying over the edge of the chasm.
"If I’m going down, you’re coming with me!" Han Ming, mid-air, grabbed the elder’s arm, dragging him into the abyss.
The two fell rapidly, the wind howling in their ears. Han Ming summoned an ice shield to protect himself.
The elder, however, wasn’t done. Even as they fell, he struck at Han Ming.
Han Ming, unable to dodge in mid-air, was furious. "All this over a blood garnet? You’d chase me to the ends of the earth for that!?"
"Restrain him!" Han Ming shouted, punching back.
The two traded blows in mid-air, neither able to dodge. The demon soul appeared, spraying silver threads that entangled the elder. Both took hits, their bodies separating as they plummeted into the endless darkness.
*Splash! Splash!*
Two sounds echoed as they hit water.
It was a vast, dark amber lake, eerily still and lifeless. The calm surface was shattered by their fall.
The elder surfaced first, lunging at Han Ming with a palm strike.
Han Ming raised his arm to block, but the elder’s hand froze mid-strike.
"What... what is that!?"
The elder’s eyes were fixed on something behind Han Ming.
Han Ming cautiously swam backward, keeping his eyes on the elder. When the elder didn’t pursue, Han Ming turned to look.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
A massive, endless army of figures swayed in the wind, their skeletal bodies draped in rotting flesh.
"Demon soldiers!" the elder gasped.
The figures opened their eyes, their empty sockets glowing with red dots. There were tens of thousands of them, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Weren’t these things sealed in the demon realm? How did they get out!?" The elder was in shock.
Han Ming’s heart sank. His worst fear had come true—the demon army had breached the barrier.
The nearest demon soldiers opened their eyes, releasing a dark battle aura Han Ming had never seen before.
"Run! We have to warn the humans! The demon army is here!" The elder, forgetting his feud with Han Ming, leaped out of the water and began scaling the chasm wall.
Han Ming noticed a group of demon soldiers tearing into the Crimson Flame Eagle.
*Whoosh!*
A demon soldier hurled an axe at the elder, its dark battle aura radiating the strength of a first-tier War Maniac.
The elder deflected the axe, but before he could react, dozens more flew at him, each carrying the same level of power.
"Kid, run! Warn the humans! One of us has to make it out alive!!"
The elder, seeing Han Ming frozen in shock, shouted in desperation.