Chapter 129
**Chapter 137: Get Out of That Kid!**
Bang—!
At the critical moment, the bearded man stood in front of Zhao Ying, his mechanical arm deploying an energy shield to brace against the wall. Even so, the impact still sent him reeling, stars dancing in his vision, blood spraying from his mouth and nose.
“Captain Zhao, you take Xiao Yuan and go. I’ll buy us some time.”
“What are you talking about?” Zhao Ying frowned, her voice low and serious. “This cancer demon has absorbed dragon energy from who knows where; it’s already as strong as a demon general. What can you do to delay it?”
“I’m at the master level, and you’re at the soldier level. You and Xiao Yuan surviving is far more valuable than me!” The bearded man pushed Zhao Ying toward the hall, shouting without looking back, “Go now!”
Zhao Ying gritted her teeth.
Leaving a teammate behind wasn’t her style, but she had to admit that the bearded man’s words were the best option.
If she stayed, both she and Xiao Yuan would die.
Xiao Yuan was crucial to the Demon-Slaying Division; even if she and the bearded man perished here, Xiao Yuan must not come to harm.
She had to leave.
Zhao Ying cast a deep glance at the figure facing the demon dragon.
No more hesitation. She bent down, hoisting the unconscious Xiao Yuan onto her shoulder, limping toward the emergency exit.
Bearded man, I, Zhao Ying, owe you a life…
I hope I’ll have the chance to repay you someday.
…
“Demon! Get out of that kid!”
The bearded man gripped a large cleaver, his eyes fixed on the monster that was effortlessly crawling out of the shattered room.
This underground base had received funding and technical support from the Demon-Slaying Division headquarters; the entire underground space was reinforced to withstand missile strikes, with walls thickened and fortified. Taking a hit from an RPG would be no problem.
Yet, to the demon dragon, these sturdy walls were like toys, easily crushed.
In response to the bearded man’s insults, the demon dragon casually swiped a claw, the gust of wind it created forcing the bearded man to squint against the onslaught.
Bang—!
Even though he tried his best to dodge, he was still struck by the massive claw and sent flying.
“Ha, ants.”
The demon dragon sneered, its gaze shifting away from the bloodied figure in the ruins.
It opened its mouth wide, emitting a strange howl, its body convulsing and trembling as its flesh continued to proliferate, growing larger and larger. Countless tentacles erupted from its body, wildly piercing through the ceiling above, quickly creating an opening.
“Feed, feed!”
It needed more spiritual energy.
But even after breaking through the ground, it still sensed very little spiritual energy.
This wretched world had far too thin a supply of spiritual energy, a far cry from the previous rental apartment.
However, without spiritual energy, fresh blood and flesh would suffice.
When Zhao Ying brought Xiao Yuan out, she had already done her best to clear the market, and with the chaos underground, both shoppers and vendors had mostly fled.
The demon dragon was not picky; it started feasting right from the butcher shop.
After devouring an entire street of butcher shops, it had swollen into a massive creature over a hundred meters long.
“Not enough, still not enough! This isn’t fresh enough!”
The demon dragon’s crimson eyes scanned the area, its giant claws recklessly tearing apart the market’s roofs.
Rotten meat was hardly satisfying; it craved the living!
In the air, it quickly caught the scent of something alive.
It abruptly turned and charged toward one of the shops, its massive claw tearing through the wall, then ripping off the roof.
“Don’t, don’t look… don’t look…” Under a table, a mother pressed her two children’s heads tightly into her embrace, trembling as she gazed at the demon dragon peering in, her voice quaking as she spoke.
“Fresh blood food! Hehehe!”
The demon dragon opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow both the table and its occupants whole.
But suddenly, a sharp pain shot through its neck.
It shook its head, and an eye sprouted from the back of its skull, quickly spotting a bloodied figure desperately swinging a large knife, hacking away.
“Get out! Get out of that kid’s body, ahhh!”
The bearded man coughed up blood, one hand gripping a tentacle on the demon dragon’s back to steady himself, while his mechanical arm swung the cleaver at the continuously growing flesh. His bloodshot eyes were filled with rage and determination.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes…
Muscle tore, the blade dulled.
The joints of the mechanical arm crackled with arcs of electricity.
The searing pain and burning sensation coursed through his body, but the bearded man felt nothing.
Why did spiritual energy have to revive…
Why did monsters have to exist…
He had promised to help Chen Huai’an with his illness.
What a promising seed he was.
If Chen Huai’an could survive, he could save countless others.
He could lead the Demon-Slaying Division to break the stranglehold of the aristocratic families…
Eradicate all monsters and evil spirits…
And put an end to everything!
“Get out!!!”
Suddenly, a cold gaze fell upon him.
The bearded man shivered, raising his eyes to meet the eye on the back of the demon dragon’s head.
But he managed a bloodied grin, “Go to hell!”
His shattered vocal cords let out a hoarse roar, spewing blood and foam.
He pulled out a high-explosive grenade, yanked the pin, and stuffed it into the gap he had managed to carve out with the cleaver.
His mechanical arm pushed it as deep as it could go, half his body pressing in.
The grenade exploded in an instant.
Boom—!
The market erupted in a cloud of blood mist.
Chunks of rotten meat flew, and the demon dragon howled in fury.
The bearded man was also blasted away by the shockwave, crashing to the ground like a ragged sack.
Such a close-range explosion had a devastating effect on soldier-level fighters.
But a general-level demon could not be so easily killed.
“Cough, cough…” The bearded man stared at the sky, his vision blurred, a ringing in his ears.
He licked the blood from his lips, trying to prop himself up, but he felt nothing in his hands.
His hands were blown off.
He could only sit up, inching his way forward.
He couldn’t see the demon dragon, only hearing the sound of flesh squirming.
Behind the bearded man, the demon dragon, with only half a neck remaining, began to reconstitute itself, the gap created by the explosion being filled by newly grown flesh.
This process was slow.
Slow enough for that mother to escape with her children.
But it was also fast.
Fast enough that the bearded man couldn’t even turn his body around.
The demon dragon roared as it charged, its fury surpassing even its hunger.
A heavy claw came crashing down.
The ground shook violently.
Bang—!
Flesh exploded, bones shattered, and a screw flew up, landing in a distant pool of blood…
The demon dragon raised its claw, inspecting the gaping wound torn by teeth; in less than a second, the wound had already healed.
Interesting… even in death, it wants to gnaw off a piece of it? But an ant is still just an ant.
It slowly turned, writhing its bloated body as it crawled out of the market. There were fresher meals waiting outside.
It could smell them.
…
At the entrance of the Panjiayuan Market, a large armed force had gathered, the alarm lights flashing on the tank armor.
In a helicopter, Zhao Ying hung up the phone, her expression grave as she looked at the demon dragon flaunting its power at the market entrance.
Countless people in the surrounding residential buildings were filming with their phones.
This general-level demon had appeared too suddenly, too unexpectedly.
The emergence of monsters due to the revival of spiritual energy was likely impossible to keep under wraps any longer. What was more troublesome was that, at present, there wasn’t a single general-level demon slayer available to deal with the demon dragon; the highest level of force they could mobilize was only soldier-level A.
“Are we left with no choice but to request the aristocratic families to send reinforcements?”
Zhao Ying bit her lip.
She could easily imagine the conditions the aristocratic families would impose.
The Tona Method; they would demand the secrets of the Tona Method.
The core and hope of the Demon-Slaying Division, a treasure that had cost countless lives to decipher.
If the Tona Method were handed over to the aristocratic families, the last bit of leverage they had against them would vanish.
From that point on, the Demon-Slaying Division would be reduced to a mere tool for the aristocratic families to maintain the ‘balance between humans and demons.’
…
…
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**Chapter 138: External Support and the Life-Source Artifact**
Mucus, tumors, writhing blood vessels, twisted chunks of flesh…
This was the depths of Chen Huai’an’s soul.
The twisted blood-red formed a picture of the Avici Hell.
Yet, amidst the blood and filth, there was also a patch of pure land.
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